Volume 125 Issue 54
Wednesday. November 28, 2012
kansan.com
SKILLS THAT KILL
COMMENTARY Jayhawks should consider Big 10
For now, it appears our old friend realignment has cleaned up his act and is now here to pay us back for the nonsense he used to put us through.
A WINNING SET
While you were home for Thanksgiving, eating those home cooked meals, drinking your "beverages" and watching football, your old friend decided to stop by Lawrence. You may have missed him, but he left a note. He even dropped off some of his belongings.
This is why Kansas should leave its Big 12 roots to go to the Big Ten. To get away from Texas. To move toward stability. And to join a more prestigious academic league. Not to mention the lucrative Big Ten Network that will help increase Kansas' national visibility.
This is your old friend that used to get in trouble at home and used to come stay at your place for a couple of days. Then, he grew older and it became a nuisance; he made you uncomfortable, and sometimes you worry about your safety. Well, he's back, but with a new plan for the future. One that he hopes you will join.
This old pal is conference realignment, and the Big Ten (or 12 - oh, wait, 14) got him drinking the good stuff again. The Big T ten added Maryland, Rutgers and a whole bunch of TV sets to its already powerful repertoire.
The SEC may be the young, flashy pitcher that rightfully wins the Cy Young Award, but the Big Ten is your reliable 20-game winner that carries you through the playoffs.
The Big Ten added a new pitch to its arsenal with Rutgers and Maryland, but it needs something new to complete it. Internet chatter broke out that it may want its final pitch to be Kansas and North Carolina.
You see, a conference is not complete with 14. That's not how this whole shindig is going to shake out. Now the Big Ten wants two more, and if it calls Kansas, Kansas should listen.
Here's the thing: the Big 12 (10) appears to be stable right now. It got a respected new commissioner and poached two solid new teams.
The fact of the matter is that Texas still owns this conference and walks it around on a leash. Texas has its Longhorn Network and likes the Big 12 (10) revenue pie to be split between 10 teams. Not 12. Not 14. Not 16. 10.
When our old pal realignment last came a-knockin' he had another offer. He wanted to bring two new pals from the East Coast to join the Big 12 party. But, Texas...er.. The Big 12 wanted to keep the pie cut at 10 slices. And the conference used the excuse of having a round-robin schedule to cover it.
But most Kansas fans don't realize how close the school was to being screwed when the Big 12 was being read its last words.
With the conference staying at 10, it missed a vital opportunity to get up and play with the big dogs. It may very well one day do that, but for now, it's not.
Six Jayhawks receive honors as the team prepares for its first tournament appearance since 2005
Edited by Brian Sisk
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Senior middle blocker Taylor Tolefire spikes the ball over the net in last Wednesday's game against Saint Louis University.
GEOFFREY CALVERT
gcalvert@kansan.com
In 2010, then-freshman libero Brianne Riley asked coach Ray Bechard the Kansas career record for digs. When Bechard told her 1,457 digs, Riley's response back was simple.
Riley did get it, and it only took her three seasons. Now, she and her Jayhawk teammates have the chance to get something else — a deep NCAA Tournament run.
The Jayhawks certainly have the firepower for their first tournament appearance since 2005. On Monday, Riley learned she and junior setter Erin McNorton received All-Big 12 honorable mentions. Also, sophomore outside hitter Sara McClinton and junior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc earned All-Big 12 First Team accolades. It's the first time since 2005 a Jayhawk has earned first-team honors.
"She said, 'I got that,' Bechard said. "That's before she even knew she was going to be the libero here, so I guess she's got some self-confidence, too."
"I think the coaches definitely had this as a goal for me because I remember speaking to them this summer and they said, 'All-Big 12 First Team this season Jarmoc?' and I was like 'I'll do my best.' Jarmoc said. "Individual awards are great, but where we are as a team is even better."
Team, and Bechard earned the Big 12 Coach of the Year award. On the academic side, senior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree received the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
The awards didn't stop there. Outside hitter Tiana Dockery was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman
Bechard said his award reflects the team's success, which came because both the players and the athletic department bought into his message.
"Taylor Tolefree said it when she was younger. She said, 'I want to go to the tournament for my seniors.'"
"We haven't stopped and patted anybody on their back, so I don't expect anybody to do that to me,"
BRIANNE RILEY junior libero
Bechard
chard
s a i d.
"Because
if this
group
and this
s t a f f
and this
athletic
depart-
ment
wouldn't have bought into what we're doing, then things like this wouldn't happen."
The numerous awards are also a testament to the Jayhawks' quick turnaround. After a 15-14 record last season, including a disappointing 3-13 conference mark, Kansas' experience helped it win close matches it couldn't win last year.
Kansas remained mentally tougher this season during those close matches because nine sophomores became upperclassmen, including Riley, the team's defensive leader.
"There's a kid that she'd be the first to admit is not the greatest athlete in the world," Bechard said. "But she is the greatest competitor that we've had in that position. We had other good defensive specialists in the program at the time,
but it was pretty clear to us that she was a cut above everybody else when it came to the whole package of what that position requires from pass to serve to dig to communication to mental toughness, all those things."
For Riley, perhaps the best part of becoming the Jayhawks' career digs leader is the previous record holder. Melissa Manda, is one of Riley's biggest supporters. The two keep in touch, and Manda even got her family to become some of Riley's most vocal fans.
"Actually Melissa Manda's grandpa, he texts me after every game," Riley said. "So that's possibly the coolest thing, honestly ever, that her grandpa is so supportive of me."
Although Bechard kept Riley updated throughout the season about how close she was to breaking both the single-season and career record, Riley didn't chase the records only for herself.
After being on two Kansas teams whose bubble burst on Selection Sunday, Riley wanted to get to the tournament this season for seniors Tayler Tolefree and Morgan Boub. Those two set an example for Riley early in her career by striving to reach the postseason for the seniors at the time. Now that Tolefree and Boub are seniors, Riley is glad she could help those two reach the postseason for the first time.
"Taylar Tolefree said it when she was younger. She said, 'I want to go to the tournament for my seniors.' Riley said. "Now I can say that when I was out there, I was working for her."
— Edited by Christy Khamphilay
FOOTBALL
Blocking strategies key for Jayhawks
BLAKE SCHUSTER bschuster@kansan.com
Two hundred and ninety-seven passes have been attempted by the Jayhawks since the start of the 2012 season. Kansas receivers have caught 81 of those, good for 978 yards.
Yet none of those catches have come within the ten yards that make up each end zone. In fact, Oct. 22, 2011, was the last time a Kansas wide receiver took a pass to the house.
That day it was DJ. Beshears who caught a 13-yard pass right before halftime against Kansas State to bring the Jayhawks within 14 points of the Wildcats.
When quarterback Dayne Crist was brought in, the idea was that he would keep the ball flying toward the end zone, but that plan was nixed after a series of miscues in the passing game and the emergence of the Kansas backfield.
The receiving corps has seen a significant shift because of it. Instead of focusing on routes, the wide receivers have been working on their blocking. For senior Daymond Patterson, it isn't something he hasn't done before.
"My first year in high school we blocked a lot," Patterson said. "We ran a spread offense, but we started running so much that we went back to a power offense. I've been a receiver who blocks. It doesn't
Against a West Virginia offense that averages 40 points per game, the jayhawks will need every advantage they can get. Like Baylor, the Mountainees can put up a heap of points in a hurry.
bother me."
The blocking has allowed running back James Sims to close in on 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his collegiate career. It will be present on Saturday as Sims tries to exceed that mark. West Virginia knows what is coming.
"I am not going to all of a sudden come out and begin no-huddle and try to throw it on every down," Weis said. "I think that you have to do what you do, and hopefully you do it a lot better, and that would give you the best chance."
"Everybody knows we like to run the ball." Patterson said. "We can get them playing a little closer to the line and try to take advantage of them from there."
But that could actually help Kansas.
Yet Kansas coach Charlie Weis won't change his offense to score the Jayhawks points.
It's not that scoring a touchdown is weighing down Kansas' wide receivers. But none of them are strangers to their statistics.
Cummings isn't the only one. Two weeks ago the Jayhawks brought back Dayne Crist to open up the passing game. Crist connected for 156 yards on nine completions. Weis says he'll be used again at West Virginia.
"It would give them confidence",
senior receiver Kale Pick said of the
wideouts' scoring. "We've had a few
called back this year. I know I'm
definitely thinking about it."
"One touchdown, two touchdowns, it's not going to change what's happened in the past," Patterson said. "If we don't score a touchdown this year, or if we score five this next game, we just need to do what we can to help this team win."
"I would like to get all the receivers a touchdown in the red zone," Cummings said. "I just try to look for who's open and stay within the offense."
Whether Crist or Cummings finds an open receiver in the end zone, however, won't affect how Patterson looks at his senior year. He's working on getting something just as elusive, but way more important.
— Edited by Lauren Shelly
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Don't be mistaken; Kansas has scored through the air. Running back Tony Pierson has two receiving touchdowns, as does tight end Jimmy Mundine. Only the wide-outs have come up empty in the end zone.
Quarterback Michael Cummings is working on fixing that.
Senior wide receiver Kale Pick catches a pass from freshman quarterback Michael Cummings during the Oct. 27 100th anniversary homecoming game against Texas in Memorial Stadium.
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