Volume 125 Issue 66
kansan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY BANSAN
Monday. February 4. 2013
COMMENTARY
Will the real Elijah Johnson please stand up
There's only so much magic a team can use to save itself late in a game.
With the Jayhawks down eight points at the 54-second mark, freshman guard Andrew White III ripped off his warm ups to replace senior guard Eliah Johnson. A vocal Johnson sat on the bench and watched White score six points in 30 seconds.
Johnson returned to the game and immediately attacked the basket for a quick layup. With seven seconds left, Kansas needed only a 3-pointer to tie the game.
The senior point guard passed up a chance at a 3-pointer, attempted a crossover and lost the ball, sealing the victory for Oklahoma State.
Sure, the defense didn't play well, the offense was sluggish and late-game rebounding killed Kansas' chance at a comeback.
But the main reason for the Jayhawk loss was point guard play. Coach Bill Self replaced Johnson, his senior leader, with the true freshman White III.
"We needed something, and we were definitely a better team with him sitting down," Self said of benching Johnson.
Bingo.
Johnson couldn't find the bucket, only making three of his 14 field goal attempts. He did have six assists, but he turned the ball over four times, including the one that ended Kansas' chance to tie the game.
Everyone has a bad game, but the senior leader is struggling.
That's the "real" Elijah Johnson that the Jayhawk nation saw at the end of last season.
The glaring statistic, though, is his turnover percentage, which stands at 28.2 percent. It could be worse, but compare that with former Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor's 22.6 percent.
His effective field goal percentage and total shooting percentage are both lower this year as well.
Maybe that's the reason why fans are disappointed. Everyone knows what he is capable of doing for this team. He has the potential to be great as a shooting or point guard.
Johnson saved his best performances for the end of the season as he scored in double-figures in the final eight games. His shot was spot on. He was aggressive by attacking the rim and showing his explosiveness.
The expectations are only fitting after playing a crucial role in the NCAA tournament run.
Despite the decrease in his stats, Johnson can still get out of this funk. If anyone on the team can bounce back, it's him.
Ken Pomeroy, creator of ken-pom.com, explains basketball on a possession-by-possession level, and Johnson's numbers have decreased. His offensive rating was 107.7 last year, but this year, it drastically went down to 93.7. Since the start of conference play, Johnson has only broken the 100-rating barrier twice.
There's obviously something wrong, and benching Johnson could help him refocus. The pressure of being the leader might be getting to him. The expectations on repeating a trip to the Final Four have to be on his brain.
Will the real Elijah Johnson please stand up? If not, Kansas has a problem here. The Jayhawks need him.
Edited by Elise Reuter
EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
KANSAS 80, OKLAHOMA STATE 85
HOME HEARTBREAK
Jayhawks fall to Cowboys, end 33-game home-court winning streak
(1)
RYAN MCCARTHEY
rmccarthey@kansan.com
Freshman guard Ben McLemore shoots the ball over Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart in Saturday's game at Allen Fieldhouse. McLemore was 3 of 6 on 3-pointers and 9 of 17 on field goals.
It was a pair of talented freshmen squaring off at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Marcus Smart dominated the glass and hit some big free throws down the stretch.
Ben McLemore helped guide Kansas to a beautiful run in the second half, giving Kansas the lead.
McLemore managed to match the number on his jersey with 23 points on the stat sheet.
"They were just trying to get me going and make plays for me," McLemore said. "I was just taking what the defense was giving me."
McLemore flew through the air the entire game. Whether it was pinning the ball against the glass on defense or finishing an alley-oop, he flashed more of his athleticism in Kansas' 85-80 loss to Oklahoma State.
For the Cowboys,Smart grabbed important offensive rebounds on two different occasions in the final few minutes that led to an extension of the Cowboys' lead.
"We encouraged him in timeouts to start rebounding," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "We needed him to start rebounding. He can be a big-time rebounder when he wants to. He's so physical people can bounce off of him a little bit."
Smart celebrated the win with a few well-executed back flips, but his ability to crash the offensive glass down the stretch is what helped lead the Cowboys to this upset.
Smart finished the game with 25 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
"We're just very excited," Smart said. "We beat one of the top teams with a great coaching staff. It's hard for teams to come to their home court and get a victory."
Kansas coach Bill Self agreed that Smart's competitive nature helped propel the Cowboys to their first road win over a top-five opponent since 1958.
"He was terrific down the stretch, and he definitely whipped our guards," Self said. "That was physical beat-down that he put on our guys."
The layhawks' emotions are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Smart's. With many close wins over the past few weeks, a result like this remained a possibility.
"This one hurts, definitely," senior center Jee Withey said. "We don't really lose at home. We wanted to pull this one for Coach. I know he wants to win against Oklahoma State every time because it's his alma mater. This one hurts a lot, but we can spin it into a positive just like we have in the past with losses."
The loss ended the NCAA's longest winning streak of 18 games and a 33-game home-court winning streak for the Jayhawks.
Still, his 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals were not
"Like Coach says, we've been playing on borrowed time, and we've been cutting it close a lot, and it was bound to happen," Young said. "Now that it did, we just got to spin it into a positive and come out and get better tomorrow in practice."
Regardless of being in foul trouble for portions of the game, Withey battled with Oklahoma State's big men to grab 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Senior forward Kevin Young also struggled with foul trouble. Despite the fouls, Young provided the necessary hustle plays on both ends of the floor, including an alley-oop he executed with 6:32 remaining in the first half.
This week in practice, Self will probably address all the problems seen on Saturday.The biggest concern is the inconsistent guard play throughout the game.
enough for Kansas to come back.
"I wish we could play without guards to be honest with you, but that would be kind of an ugly game if you have five big guys playing out there at all times," Sell said. "But we have got to do something. We are better than what we played today, and we will get it back. With this league race, all we did was invite everybody right back into it. It's a joke what we did today. Hopefully, we can regroup. It's not panic mode or anything like that, but I know our staff feels the same."
Even with all the guard trouble, it's still a collective effort for the Jayhawks. The next stretch of games will be about focusing.
"When the game's on the line all of us have to go get the ball and we just didn't have that sense of urgency," Withey said. "Whenever a team does that, it's heartbreaking."
Even with the heartbreak, it's hard for Kansas fans not to appreciate watching two of the more talented freshman players in the country.
A guy who spends the time following the toughest loss of the season answering the media's questions and signing autographs for all of the Kansas faithful waiting outside the locker room.
Also. McLemore.
A guy who walks around with a grin on his face, who speaks with a quiet tone that's barely picked up by the microphones surrounding him after games.
The confident and charismatic Smart, flipping his way off of Naismith Court. His toughness and leadership helped lead Oklahoma State to a statement win.
He understands the responsibility of this team and knows he doesn't want to feel another loss anytime soon.
Edited by Allison Hammond
Jayhawks outscore Wildcats in double-OT
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
Kansas ended an 11-game losing streak at Bramlage Coliseum against Kansas State on Saturday, winning 89-80 in double-overtime and sweeping the regular season series against the Wildcats.
Upon her return, Davis earned her first
Last season, in this same building. senior Carolyn Davis tore her
Coach Bonnie Henrickson hugs sophomore guard Natalie Knight after Saturday's win against Kansas State. Knight tore her ACL in Kansas's victory over Iowa State on Wednesday and was unable to play in Saturday's game. She will not be able to play for the remainder of the season
ACL. Davis missed the rest of the season. Saturday was her first game at Bramlage since the injury.
Davis
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
"I do not think we made any quality adjustments because Davis continued to get touches," Patterson said. "When you look at the stats, the majority of the shots came from the inside."
victory at K-State. She scored 29 points, collected 9 rebounds and played with the kind of toughness she's shown throughout her recovery process over the past year.
The Jayhawks outscored the Wildcats in the paint, 54-36. Davis played 48 minutes and took 24 shots, making half of them, none
There was no question what the game plan for Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson was. The question for K-State coach Deb Patterson was how to stop it.
bigger than the nine straight points she scored after halftime. That stretch kept Kansas in the game as K-State continued to score.
Kansas played with the same mental toughness it showed at the end of its 18-point comeback victory against Iowa State in its most recent game. Once again, when Kansas desperately needed a 3-pointer—in a strikingly similar situation as they were in against Iowa State—Angel Goodrich stepped up and drained her first bucket of the game.
There were 24 lead changes and 19 ties in 50 minutes of game time.
This time the shot forced a second overtime, as it went in with 10 seconds remaining in the first. In the second overtime, the Jayhawks established a quick lead and didn't look back.
"I was excited for our guys to get it out in the second overtime," Henrickson said. "It was big for us to win the opening tip in the second overtime, score and push the lead to four. I think that was our biggest lead of the game."
Though a three-point shot saved them, the Jayhawks lived in the paint with forwards Carolyn Davis and Chelsea Gardner. In the second half, Henrickson adjusted her game plan to make sure the post players were touching the ball.
"We said, 'You're both gonna sit on the block and all we're gonna
do is dribble, weave or hand-off,"
Henrickson said. "Just throw it to
those guys and let them work."
The plan sounded good to Gardner, and she executed it by scoring 19 points on nine field goals while adding four blocks on the defensive end.
"Bonnie told both of us that we needed to sit down," Gardner said, "so we sat down and waited for the basketball."
It was the first game
Henrickson's team played since that Iowa State game, when sophomore guard Natalie Knight tore her ACL, an injury that will most likely keep her out for the rest of the season. Knight would have defended senior K-State guard Brittany Chambers, the Big 12's leading scorer this season.
"Of the many wonderful things that Natalie Knight does. She is our best defender, and she has done the best job on her (Chambers)."
"At the end of the day, it's a big, big, big win for us." Henrickson said.
Henrickson said.
The Jayhawks still managed to hold Chambers to 14 points on 5 of 22 shooting from the field without Knight by defending with junior CeCe Harper and Goodrich.
Edited by Julie Etzler