Volume 125 Issue 60
kansan.com
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
COMMENTARY
Igniting the 'sibling rivalry'
Kansas fans may have overlooked Kansas State when the 2012-13 schedules were released this season.
Many were focused on a non-conference schedule that included Michigan State, Ohio State and Temple in a year that the Big 12 appeared weak. Many cited the fact that the Jayhawks have won nine of the last 10 games against the Wildcats, and beyond that, 44 of the last 47 games.
Now, just past the mid-season mark, this game couldn't be bigger. No. 3 Kansas heads to Manhattan to face the No. 11 Wildcats, and both teams are tied for first in the Big 12 regular season standings at 4-0 in conference.
The Jayhawks bring top-three prospect Ben McLemore to Bramlage to face a lineup full of gritty players like Rodney McGruder, and Bill Self gets the chance to face Bruce Weber, his replacement at Illinois.
Granted, the Jayhawks are 22-2 in K-State's Bramlage Coliseum and the vitriol in the Kansas sports community doesn't match that of Kansas vs. Missouri, but K-State is still a team Kansas fans groan at the thought of losing to.
Missouri hatred is hard to overcome, but Tuesday's game marks an opportunity for the Sunflower Showdown.
K-State lost Frank Martin to South Carolina, bringing in Weber. The two's personal rivalry dates back to Weber's mock funeral services as a response to Self leaving the Illinois program.
Edited by Taylor Lewis
The Sunflower Showdown isn't likely to lose its Midwestern family feel anytime soon, but there's never been a better chance for the rivalry to take a more intense path.
The newfound coaching rivalry within the Sunflower Showdow is unlikely to publicly boil over, but the history adds more intrigue to the matchup.
That level of intensity doesn't exist in the Sunflower Showdown. You're more likely to hear a coach laud K-State than take Fambrough's approach. Now, however, a few things have changed.
To be honest, it's an incredibly one-sided rivalry, with K-State dominating football in recent years and Kansas dominating basketball, but with the chaotic spiral of conference realignment, times have changed. The door is open to a shift in the intensity of the rivalry.
Missouri's a different story. Late Kansas football coach Don Fambrough said it best: "We're the good people, they're the bad people. That's the best way I know to explain it. I don't like their people. I don't like their players. I don't like a damn thing about 'em."
Think back to your high school days. Everyone had that school. The school across town, maybe the small town down the highway that you loved to beat in every imaginable sport. Root canals, spring cleaning and the DMV ranked slightly above losing to them, but you were still friends with a few people from that school across town.
That similar sibling rivalry feel has permeated the Sunflower Showdown for years.
SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN
RIVALRY RENEWED
Kansas heads to Manhattan to play No. 11-ranked Wildcats
RYAN MCCARTHEY
RYAN MCCARTHEY
rmccarthey@kansan.com
Bramlage Coliseum.
From 1988 until 2008, the Jayhawks took the 88-mile drive down I-70 and returned with a victory against the in-state rival.
For a long time, this was "Alen Fieldhouse West" for Kansas fans, and for good reason.
However, since Kansas State's first victory inside the arena against Kansas on Jan. 30, 2008, it's been a frezzed battle between the two schools.
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Now, the next chapter in this renewed rivalry takes shape today as No. 3 Kansas plays No. 11 K-State at 7 p.m. in Manhattan.
For senior guard Travis Reelford, one his best memories in "The Octagon of Doom" was former guard Sherron Collins' strong performance down the stretch on Jan. 30, 2010.
"He just put the team on his back," Releford said.
Collins dropped an off-balance layup over Wally Judge with 9.2 seconds left in overtime to propel the Jayhawks over the Wildcats.
That year, Releford was a spectator after being redshirted earlier in the year.
TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
But this year, he's got a different assignment: guarding Rodney McGruder, one of the hottest players in the Big 12.
On Monday, McGruder picked up his fourth Big 12 Player of the Week award of the season. He's also averaging 19.5 points per game during the Wildcats' eight-game winning streak.
A steadily improving player in his time with K-State, McGruder is now the key piece for its run to the top of the conference standings.
"It's going to be a tough match-up," Releford said. "He's gotten a lot better on offense. He's looking
The guard from St. Louis — who won Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Monday — impressed
more to score on offense. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it."
Kansas counters McGruder's exceptional play with an outstanding athlete of its own in redshirt freshm Ben McLemore.
once again against Texas. McLemore scored 16 points and six rebounds, including a few emphatic dunks to seal the game. This came after scaring fans with a turned right ankle earlier in the week versus Baylor.
forward because we don't have the Tigers around, and they don't have the Tigers around," Self said.
In those two games, McLemore averaged 16.5 points and seven rebounds while shooting 56.5 percent from the field. On top of that, he also made 57 percent of his three-pointers.
"I think this will turn a little bit to become more heated as we move
Along with putting this as the central rivalry for the Jayhawks moving forward, this contest is also a matchup of former Illinois coaches.
And with his unruffled demeanor in many pressure situations this season, he sees this trip to Manhattan as another game to prove himself and his teammates.
Current K-State coach Bruce Weber replaced Bill self after he
Senior Travis Releford defends a Washington State player on Nov. 19. Releford's job in tonight's game is guarding Rodnev McGruder
For Kansas coach Bill Self, it's always been a rivalry, but he feels it will change in the near future.
The other storyline for this game — other than the matchup of two of the premier players in the conference — is the transition to K-State being Kansas' main rival after Missouri's departure to the Southeastern conference.
BEN MCLEMORE Freshman guard
"I definitely think my confidence level is building," McLemore said. "I give thanks to my teammates for helping me with that and getting me the ball and getting more involved in the game."
took the Kansas job in 2003. Weber was fired last March from the Fighting Illini.
While in Champaign, Ill., Weber attempted to move past Self's departure from Illinois. At one point, he even dressed in
black and told the team he was going to throw a funeral for Self after all the comparisons surrounding the two coaches.
At this point, none of that matters to Self. He describes his relationship with Weber as "cordial and fine," having no issues with him.
"I don't know if you can really take over a job and not, at some point and time, say something that appears to be controversial to the previous staff," Self said. "I know I probably did it with Roy. That stuff happens."
Ever since Weber replaced KState's former coach Frank Martin, he's done an admirable job getting the Wildcats high in the polls and in a position to capture the top spot in the Big 12.
"I see a lot of similarities, not so much in the X's and O's standpoint, but in what's most important in how hard you compete and how you play," Self said when asked about comparing Martin and Weber.
But even with all the preparation coaches can do before a game and connecting the dots of a 10-year coaching carousel, it still comes down to players and, of course, the raucous atmosphere.
That's why the Jayhawks are preparing for Bramlage Coliseum the best way they know how: relying on the experience of one of their
"We enjoy going on the road and playing opponents with crazy fans because at some point, when we're playing at our best, we get a joy out of it," Releford said.
veteran player.
Edited by Taylor Lewis
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas needs stamina against Texas
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
The Big 12 is the strongest league in women's college basketball, and that's how it has felt recently for Kansas, who is 2-3 in conference play after a three-game skid.
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"Every game in the Big 12 is big," senior guard Monica Engelman said. "Especially for us trying to knock off this losing streak."
for a match up on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against another struggling Big 12 team: Texas.
The Longhorns have lost eight straight games and are 0-6 in Big 12 games. Texas is one of three teams that sit behind Kansas in the standings. Both teams will be hungry to put an end to their losing streak.
Texas may not have any wins against Big 12 teams, but it has managed to lead the league in rebounds per game. A huge portion of those rebounds come from two of the teams' starters, sophomore Nneka Enemkpali and freshman Imani M McGee-Stafford. Enemkpali averages 9.8 rebounds per game while McGee-Stafford averages 8.6 rebounds per game.
Kansas coach Bonnie Hendrickson thinks highly of Texas and the stamina its team has.
"That's a team that has tremendous energy, tremendous toughness, a team that will challenge us," Henrickson said. "We've got to be able to answer that challenge from a toughness and energy standpoint."
Energy has been a struggle for Kansas at the start of its previous games. In all of the last four games, the Jayhawks have allowed opponents to get early leads. Against West Virginia, Henrickson's team was able to make the comeback and earn a victory, but in the next three games, it could not.
"We have to start off better," senior guard Angel Goodrich said. "We've got to just come out and play ready."
There has also been a lack of toughness recently from the Jayhawks.
The reason for Kansas' struggles early in their games seemed obvious to Henrickson.
"Everybody plays better with confidence." Henrickson said. "Our lack of toughness and being aggressive has allowed people to be comfortable and confident."
In the team's last game against Texas Tech, leading scorers senior forward Carolyn Davis and Goodrich combined for just 18 points in 66 minutes. The Jayhawks have counted on the production of those two players for most of the season. There were some bright spots for Henrickson in that game.
"We did a lot of really good things," Henrickson said. "I thought Chelsea, Monica and Natalia, those three kids, made plays."
Kansas will need to make a few more plays in future Big 12 games, but it knows that a win against Texas is important on Wednesday.
- Edited by Jordan Wisdom
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Senior guard Angel Goodrich shoots over a Prairie View A&M player in Dec. 16's game. Goodrich says that the team has to start its games stronger.
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