Volume 125 Issue 69
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
kansan.com
Thursday, February 7. 2013
COMMENTARY
Ellis important player for team
Kansas basketball has many players vital to its success. Jeff Withey is the interior or protector issuing a Gandalfian "you shall not pass!" to any player brave enough to challenge him. Ben McLemore shows more athleticism putting on his socks every morning than you or I could show in an entire game. Travis Releford is the lockdown perimeter defender, notably causing Baylor's Brady Heslip and Kansas State's Rodney McGruder to form a "Big 12 Guards Against Travis Releford" support group. A poor performance by Elijah Johnson, as shown in the Oklahoma State game, can be the difference between a win or a loss. However, one player who does not get as much attention, yet will be almost as vital to our success going forward, is freshman forward Perry Ellis.
Bill Self's offenses have always thrived when he has a post player who can attract attention and create his own shot. Thomas Robinson, often through sheer muscle rather than precise post moves, was a focal point of the Jayhawk offense last year. When the ball did not see his capable hands enough, Self let the other players know.
Robinson was also able to draw double teams. The ability to draw double teams is almost as important as the ability to score when guarded one-on-one. Robinson would either utilize his chemistry with Withey to get Withey an open shot under the basket or pass the ball back to the perimeter. The defense would then have to shift, and as long as Kansas' ball movement was quicker than the defensive shifts, a player would get an open shot.
This offense was highly effective using the Morris twins to this effect, as that was how Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar got many of their baskets. Same with Darrell Arthur feeding the guards on the national championship team.
Right now the Jayhawks don't have a player in the post who commands defensive attention which means the perimeter is often clogged. Withe, while polished defensively, is still learning offensively. Often, his post moves resemble the kind of dance moves you would see at a high school prom. Kevin Young, the undisputed Energizer Bunny of the team, doesn't provide much offense other than lay-ups and dunks, though there is potential for more.
Ellis could be that player who provides the scoring punch the Jayhawks need in the post. Although there is no statistic regarding shots that rim in-and-out per 40 minutes Ellis, must be near the lead. That could change with a little more strength, giving him more physical control over where he places the ball, and a little more confidence, giving him more mental control. He needs to develop a fade-away over either shoulder and a 15-foot jumper, but Ellis has more natural scoring ability than any other post on this team, and it's not really that close. If he can become a scorer and attract double teams then Self's currently struggling offense could turn the corner.
It's a lot of pressure to put on a freshman, but Ellis knew the stakes when he came to Kansas. The team needs him for its offense to reach the next level.
Edited by Tyler Conover
KANSAS 55,TCU 62
TEARS IN TEXAS
No. 5 Kansas loses to bottom-of-the-Big 12 TCU
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAI
Coach Bill Sell rubs his face in frustration during Wednesday, Feb. 6 game against Texas Christian University at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, TX where Kansas was defeated 62-55. This is Kansas' 'second consecutive loss in the Big 12.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Kansas basketball team knows how to take one loss.
It happens every year. The Jayhawks drop a game here or there to one of the other contending teams in their conference. Maybe even one to a tough non-conference opponent.
But when the Jayhawks walked off the court on Wednesday night after the 62-5 upset victory by the Horned Frogs, none of the players knew what to feel.
This was Kansas' first group of consecutive losses in 264 games. That dates back to the 2005-2006, when most of these players were still making up the ranks of their respective high school teams.
The Horned Frogs came into the game winless in the conference and struggling, but in the end, they controlled the game from start to finish.
"It was the worst team that Kansas has ever put on the floor since Dr. Naismith was there, " coach Bill Self said.
For Kansas, it came down to execution on offense with the guard play struggling once again.
In the first half, coach Self threw senior guard Elijah Johnson, sophomore guard Naadir Tharpe and even freshman guard Rio Adams at the point guard during portions of the first 20 minutes.
What also led to the Jayhawks' dismay in this game was the inability to make easy shots around the basket, missing several layups. They finished the game with a season low-29.5 percent shooting.
In addition, the team went 3-22 from 3-point range, their worst percentage since the 1988-89 season when they started keeping records.
"It was a bad shooting night, but also, we're not very tough," Self said. "We kind of doubt or quit being aggressive, and certainly, there's a lot of that going on."
At this point, Kansas has become vulnerable after losing to the worst team in the conference statistically.
"The reality is we've allowed everybody the opportunity to believe that they can beat us" Self said. "And they should. We've opened up that flood gate."
One player who continued to play at a solid level was senior center Jeff Withey, who did his best to stay physical on the block. Withey still managed to put together a decent night with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
"Now we just got to get tough and go hard in practice and figure out what's going wrong and nip that in the butt," Withey said. "We're still a great team. We still have a great chance to win the conference, and hopefully, win the Tournament, that's our goal."
One of the other main contributors on the night for Kansas was senior forward Kevin Young. Despite being benched for freshman forward Perry Ellis to start the game, Young displayed his normal ability to contribute with six points and nine rebounds.
Still, Young knows this was an embarrassing loss for his team and it's partly his responsibility to get back on track so this can still be a successful season.
"We just need to look in the mirror, and we need to change," he said. "This can't keep going on. We all know that. As a senior, and speaking for the other seniors, we're going to do everything to change it."
There was a lot of embarrassment to go around for the jayhawks, but losing a game like this goes deeper than this year's team.
More than anything, this game was shameful for Kansas tradition, for Dr. Naismith, which is something that cannot be said very often.
Kansas basketball has historically been able to recover from tough losses and not lose to teams that will hurt its NCAA seeding when the committee looks at them in March.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
"There's a lot of great names that wore this jersey before us," Young said, "and to come out and play like this today, we embarrassed ourselves and embarrassed them."
Edited by Megan Hinman
Jayhawk women's team wilts in Waco
NATHAN FORDYCE
nfordyce@kansan.com
Facing the No.1 team in the nation as an underdog always has the possibility of getting uuly.
And ugly it got for the Kansas women's basketball team.
The Lady Bears cruised to victory with a 86-45 win over the Jayhawks. The 41-point loss is the fourth-largest in school history for the Jayhawks.
Traveling to Waco, Texas, the Jayhawks faced off against the No.1 Baylor Bears in a rematch of the 82-60 victory by the Lady Bears on Jan. 13. And on Wednesday night the Lady Bears weren't looking past the Jayhawks in the midseason Big 12 match up.
Baylor didn't have any trouble getting its shots whether it was in the paint or behind the arc. On the game, the Lady Bears shot 56.7 percent from the field which is the best performance thus far by a Jayhawk opponent.
On the flip-side the Jayhawks had a rough time. Sophomore guard CeCe Harper led the way with 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. The only other Jayhawk to score in double figures was sophomore forward Asia Boyd, who scored 10 points off the bench.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said the team had trouble with the pressure of Baylor.
"We weren't as aggressive," Henrickson said. "We got a little anxious and honestly we didn't
shoot the ball well. We got some good looks that we knocked down and then some were rushed and that's exactly what they do."
The Jayhawks shot a seasonlow 27.7 percent from the field. The starting five of Harper, Angel Goodrich, Monica Engelman, Chelsea Gardner and Carolyn Davis shot 13-of-45 from field for just 30 points.
Goodrich, a senior guard, went just 1-of-9 from the floor and had six turnovers to four assists. Davis, a senior forward, had trouble downlow as she went just 3-of-12 from the field for six points and added eight rebounds. Davis failed to reach double-figures for the first time in the past 12 games.
Lady Bears' senior center and reigning national player of the year Brittney Griner had a game-high 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting. She also added 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Griner's teammates Brooklyn Pope, Kimetria Hayden and Odyssey Sims all scored in double-figures as they went 17-of-26 from the floor.
The loss by the lajhawks gave the Lady Bears their 19th- straight victory as they improved to 21-1 on the season. Kansas fell to .500 in Big 12 play and 14-7 on the season.
Not only did the loss drop the Jayhawks to the .500 mark it also gave them seven-straight losses in Waco against the Lady Bears.
Edited by Tyler Conover
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Senior guard Angel Goodrich drives the ball during the first half of the match against Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon Jan 13. Goodrich had 16 total points with seven assists. Kansas was defeated by the Lady Bears 60-82
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN