Volume 125 Issue 47
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
kansan.com
COMMENTARY
SPARTAN CHALLENGE
Four teams to face off
Edited by Emma McElhaney
It's a spectacle not normally seen in mid-November.
seen in mid-November. It's four of the best teams in college basketball converging on one arena for one night to showcase their talents at the inception of the season.
Just like last season in Madison Square Garden, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Michigan State will all display their talents in the Georgia Dome tonight.
All of these teams have similar qualities that led to multiple Final Four runs in recent years.
Michigan State has a gritty toughness that allows the Spartans to show off their physicality inside the paint.
The coaches are all top-notch. Each has at least one national championship to display on their resume.
Each team brings a different dynamic to the table.
Duke exudes tradition led by coach Mike Krzyzewski, who now has two gold medals to go along with his four national championships.
And of course there's Kentucky the team with the constant revolving door of NBA lottery picks waiting to be plucked in next year's draft.
Their coach, John Calipari,
managed to do something no
other coach has even attempted.
He continues to try and bring
together different styles.
Finally, let's talk about what this game means for the lavhawks
Last season against Kentucky, this game proved to be a precursor to the national title game when they met up in New York.
He's both excited and angered by the ESPN show All-Access Kentucky. I watched it earlier this year, and it truly was a spectacle and something that will provide Kentucky with more exposure (as if they needed more).
It might not end up with the same implications this season, but it's still a chance to prove the potential of this team.
Michigan State has been a nonstop whirlwind since playing Connecticut on Friday in Germany.
CHAMPIONS CLASSIC
I'm not sure if it is an advantage for Kansas to be playing a team that's just returning from a trip overseas, but they have to be somewhat fatigued.
However, the Jayhawks must show more efficiency on the offensive end.
It would nice to see signs of the offense moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, that won't be the case against Michigan State.
With such a physical presence from the Spartans on defense, this game could end up in the 50- or 60-point range.
So as all four of these teams get ready to face off, enjoy watching two games that might be seen again in March.
Putting a lot of stock into these early season games is never a good idea, but it does spark the interest of the national audience.
It will be an ugly brutal game, but there's more than a chance that the lavahawks will win.
Facing Michigan State may help wake the Jayhawks
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Senior guard Elijah Johnson shoots a three pointer during Friday's game against South East Missouri State in Allen Fieldhouse The Jayhawks won 74-55. Johnson had four points.
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
Unlike the last time the Kansas men's basketball team faced Michigan State in the Sweet 16 of the 2009 NCAA tournament, when the teams tip-off tonight at 6 p.m., the stakes aren't as high and losing the game won't mean the end to one team's season.
"I think these early games are something to kind of wake us up," senior guard Elijah Johnson said. "Like the Kentucky game last year, that was a game that woke us up and showed us we weren't as good as we thought we were and we had a lot of work to do."
That doesn't mean big-ticket, early season matchups like the State Farm Champions Classic aren't beneficial to the teams playing in them—they give teams an early test to see in what areas they need to improve.
The Spartans give the layhawks their first game against an opponent who likes to play tough. Unlike the teams Kansas faced in its exhibition season, the Spartans
"Michigan State will expose us if we don't play well because they'll make us be an execution team because they don't give up easy baskets," coach Bill Self said.
A wake-up could be what the Jayhawks need. They looked sluggish through their season opener, unable to knock down their open three point attempts that the Southeast Missouri State zone defense allowed them.
The layhawks finished the day just two for 21 shooting from outside the 3-point arc.
have more experience playing against tall centers like senior Jeff Withey.
The Spartans also aren't afraid of making hustle plays—going for loose balls or crashing the rim hard for rebounds.
This is an area of emphasis Self has struggled to imprint on his own players this season.
"I don't think I've done a great job of getting the points through to our guys yet," Self said. "Toughness isn't about physical strength, that's a small part of it, but it's about not flinching, going after every ball with two hands. It's about carrying out assignments when you just screwed up and you're worried about it. It's about thinking next play."
By playing the game in the Georgia Dome, the Champions Classic offers an environment most teams don't see unless the advance into the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
Coach Charlie Weis speaks at a teleconference to reporters. Weis is 1-9 for this season.
Something the older core of the Kansas roster is familiar with, having played four games in domes during the team's 2012 run to the NCAA National Championship game.
Senior forward Kevin Young thinks the key for his younger teammates to make a smooth adjustment to the Dome is that they listen to Self instead of having each player try to do his own thing.
"He's been here before, he'll be here when they leave, he knows what he's doing." Young said.
Edited by Hannah Wise
Jayhawks remain spirited after loss to Texas Tech
FOOTBALL
BLAKE SCHUSTER
福
bschuster@kansan.com
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
This Kansas team is getting close really close.
The Big 12 win that has evaded the Jayhawks for more than two seasons has never looked more attainable. The coaches know it, the players can feel it and now other teams are beginning to worry about it.
After defeating Kansas in double overtime, Texas Tech defensive end Kerry Hyder said it would have been a "big deal" if the Red Raiders would have lost to the Jayhawks, but it may be time to abandon that sentiment.
"Yesterday's practice was as spirited a Sunday practice that we've had in quite some time," Kansas coach Charlie Weis said on Monday's teleconference call. "They can see the light at the end of the tunnel."
That's not to say the layhawks don't have a long way to go, but that light continues to get brighter.
Consider the fact that virtually every college football enthusiast knows that Kansas is going to have to run the ball to be successful, and yet no one can stop it.
In the last three games, Kansas averaged 290 yards rushing. Eventually, Weis says, the passing game will evolve. When it does, the jayhawks' backfield will only become more deadly. This is why Weis told his offensive staff that this year will pay dividends.
"You get into an offseason where you develop your passing game to
The impending eligibility of wide receiver Justin McCay and quarterback Jake Heaps will certainly help. But that doesn't mean Weis is going to sit back and wait
complement this running game that you've been progressing all year long," Weis said. "That investment in the running game will just make you that much better once your passing game becomes more efficient."
for the reinforcements to come.
"Every week you do something a little bit different," Weis said.
"When a team gets into that rut where they get used to losing you have to make sure you have fresh ideas every week so that the team doesn't get stale."
As he has maintained all year, Weis will not stay status quo with a losing team.
It has been a heartbreaking season for the Jayhawks. Looking back at games against Rice, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Texas and
There was nothing stale about
Kansas last Saturday. Weis even said it was the first time since playing Texas that the jayhawks "Woe is me" attitude seemed non-existent. Instead of waiting for something bad to happen, Weis said the players were trying to make something good occur.
"For a team to be 1-9, I don't think the team could be much more confident that they're going to turn the corner than they are," Weis said.
now Texas Tech, not much separated Kansas from a win in all of those matchups.
This team is close, very close, and they know it.
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— Edited by Andrew Ruszczvk
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