THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
PAGE 5B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Ellis pushed to work harder
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
Freshmen forward Perry Ellis attempts to steal the ball from an opponent at the game against Washburn University on Monday night.
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
Kansas coach Bill Self is slowly turning into a broken record with how frequently he mentions that freshman forward Perry Ellis needs to become more aggressive on the court.
It's a hard transition for a player who could get by on his athleticism in high school, but Ellis will play a key role in the Kansas offense when the Jayhawks open their season against Southeast Missouri State on Friday.
Withey is familiar with the players being called laid back. He had to work past the label of a laid-back player when he first arrived at Kansas.
"He has all the talent in the world right now," senior center Jeff Withey said. "He's going to be really good if he can get out of his comfort zone and get out of his laid-back approach."
Eventually he worked through that and became aggressive enough on the court to be named the 2011- 12 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
But that doesn't mean Withey doesn't have relapses from time to time, such as the first half of the Jayhawk's exhibition game against Washburn, where he only recorded one rebound and one block before finding himself on the bench.
When a player isn't going hard in practice, Self gets on his back and starts riding him quick.
Benching a player in practice, however, isn't the most efficient way to get results. But Self has a couple of other tried-and-true techniques.
If Self couldn't get Withey motivated verbally, he took a different approach.
Withey would find himself running up and down the bleachers of Allen Fieldhouse.
"He knows how to get the best out of his players, and he's going to get you right," Withey said. "He's definitely going to push Perry, and it's going to help Perry out a lot."
Withey is far from the first player
whose mindset Self had to change when they arrived on campus.
Self rode senior guard Elijah Johnson for playing too slow when he arrived on campus four years ago.
And before Johnson, it was other Kansas alums such as Sherron Collins or Tyshawn Taylor, who all figured it out and went on to help Self lead Kansas to eight consecutive conference championships.
In the first half he dove on the floor for a loose ball and also managed a block, a steal and two offensive boards.
"If you don't get yelled at, then it's probably a problem." Johnson said. "I think it's definitely part of the process."
As far as when the message will
"When I got out of that zone and got mad, things changed," Withey said. "If Perry can get out of that, he can be really good."
finally get through to Ellis remains to be seen, but he did show some signs of aggressiveness against Washburn.
Edited by Ryan McCarthy
NBA
Heat stay undefeated at home
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 22 points on 10 for 14 shooting, LeBron James finished two assists shy of a triple-double and the Miami Heat improved to 4-0 at home for the first time in franchise history by beating the Brooklyn Nets 103-73 on Wednesday night.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kris Humphries had a doubledouble by halftime, then was silent in the second half and finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets (1-2). Deron Williams scored 14 for Brooklyn, which got 12 off the bench from MarShon Brooks.
James had 20 points and 12 rebounds in only 30 minutes, and Rashard Lewis scored 13 points for the Heat (4-1). Miami — which plays its next six games on the road
— has won its four home games by an average of 17.8 points.
The Nets had 19 turnovers, which Miami turned into 31 points.
Miami started 3-0 at home in four other seasons, always falling in the fourth game. Not this time.
The Heat started 3 for 12 from 3-point range, then made seven of their last 12, giving them 40 makes from beyond the arc in their last three games.
Brooklyn didn't lose sight of Miami in the first half, still being within five with less than a minute remaining until the break, before the Heat got late scores from Wade and James to take a 50-41 edge into the locker room.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It was a 54-46 game after Keith Bogans made a 3-pointer for Brooklyn early in the third, but after that, all Heat. Miami needed just 91 seconds to put together a 10-0 run — two baskets by Wade started it, and 3-pointers from Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers finished it, putting the Heat up 64-46.
The outcome was never again in
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade drives past Brooklyn Nets guard Keith Bogans during last night's game.
doubt. Chalmers extended the lead to 20 when he sliced down the lane for a nifty layup with 3:45 left in the third, and James made a stepback 3-pointer as time was running out in the period for what was then Miami's largest lead, 79-56.
The party's over.
If you allow anyone underage to drink on your property, you can be held responsible — criminally and civilly — for what they do. You don't have to provide the alcohol, or even be there.
But your problems are just beginning.