Volume 125 Issue 39
kansan.com
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
COMMENTARY
With the talent the layhawks have, they should be able to beat Emporia State in their sleep. So Regardless of how Kansas plays, they shouldn't have to sweat out the final result.
The Jayhawks' defense has ranked in the top 10 in opponent's shooting percentage every year since Self arrived in Lawrence. With seniors Jeff Withey, Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson back to reprise their starting roles, they shouldn't have much trouble defensively against Emporia State. The Hornets don't have much height, and those with height are inexperienced.
Even though the Jayhawks' talent level will probably allow them to blow Emporia State out, perhaps the more important statistics will be assists and both teams' shooting percentage.
Bill Self said another one of his forwards, redshirt freshman Jamari Traylor, is just as athletic as Thomas Robinson was. So how well will Traylor live up to that comparison in his first taste as a Jayhawk? The new crop of guards will be led by redshirt freshman Ben McLemore, who self said reminds him an awful lot of Brandon Rush. Judging by Rush's unselfishness, offensive efficiency and championship ring during his time as a Jayhawk, that's not a bad comparison. And speaking of good shooters, Andrew White III has been said to have one of the purest shooting strokes on the team. Tonight, we'll see.
Don't measure the men's basketball team by the final score tonight.
— Edited by Andrew Ruszczyk
The Jayhawks will improve in all aspects of the game by the time March rolls around. Every team will. But Michigan State awaits Kansas in the Georgia Dome Nov. 13. So instead of tonight being a meaningless walkthrough, look beyond the score to view tonight's game as a barometer for the showdown in Atlanta.
No, Bill Self won't unveil the whole playbook, or introduce many new wrinkles in the offense, but tonight's exhibition will be a fair barometer of where the team's chemistry stands. The important thing isn't the score, but how Kansas looks as a team.
Offensively, ball distribution will show the Jayhawks' cohesiveness. If they are able to score 100 points, but it comes from Emporia State's turnovers or from the sizable talent gap between the two teams, we still won't learn much about Kansas' offense. But if most of Kansas' buckets come off assists, maybe the young Jayhawks are ahead of schedule in terms of chemistry and players beginning to find their roles.
Judge team by performance
By Geoffrey Calvert gcalvert@kansan.com
Looking at the assists and shooting percentage statistics is important because Kansas doesn't have much time before it faces a high-quality opponent. The Jayhawks play No. 14 Michigan State in two weeks in Atlanta as a part of the Champions Classic. When Kansas faced Kentucky last November in Madison Square Garden, the Wildcats' raw talent beat Kansas' because the Jayhawks had not met yet as a team.
So how well will the new guys mesh with the three returning starters? Freshman forward Perry Ellis figured to begin the year by backing up senior forward Kevin Young, but with Young out for about two weeks after breaking a bone in his hand, Ellis will have an early opportunity to make a case for starting permanently for the Jayhawks.
TRAYLOR TIME
THE WAIT IS OVER
Freshman Jamari Traylor finally starts against Emporia State tonight
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Freshman forward Jamari Traylor talks to reporters reporters during Media Day at Allen Fieldhouse on Oct. 13.
ETHAN PADWAY epadway@kansan.com
First, he waited to find out if he would be eligible to play last season. Then, he waited a semester to be eligible to practice with the team.
Even after he was cleared to practice, the closest hed get to a game was going one-on-one against All-American forward Thomas Robinson in practice every day.
From the first time he stepped foot on the Kansas campus last fall, freshman Jamari Traylor had to wait.
But tonight, Traylor's wait finally ends.
Traylor will finally be on James Naismith Court competing against players who are not wearing the crimson and blue of Kansas across their chest when the official tosses the ball up in the air for the tip off of the Kansas men's basketball team's opening exhibition game against Emporia State.
Traylor get's his opportunity to start because senior Kevin Young underwent surgery on Friday after breaking his hand in practice. Kansas is counting on Traylor to fill Young's role as the high-energy guy on the team.
"I've been waiting for a full year," Traylor said. "I definitely want to get out there. Late night was a great experience for me, when I went out there, it was like a weight lifted, and this is just another weight lifted."
Through the first few weeks of the jayhawks' practice, Traylor has fulfilled this role. He said he thinks of himself as a spark plug when he's on the court.
"What I want to see Jamari do, is be able to do it in the game
and not just practice." Kansas coach Bill Self said. "There's no pressure in practice. If you miss a shot it's no big deal. That kind of situation, he's never been in a game. Jamari's just played one year of basketball really ever and so we talk about kids from overseas coming over and only been playing two or three years. He's plowed less than those kids."
Self is also hoping that some of the younger players will pick up on Traylor's energy, and they incorporate that high-energy, aggressive mindset into their game.
"He goes hard all the time." Freshman Perry Ellis said. "He's doing everything as hard as he can, so it's something I'll definitely be watching."
Ellis was the other player in the running for the starting spot and Self said he would be the first forward to come of the bench.
The other freshman joining Traylor in the starting lineup is Ben McLemore, who like Traylor, had to sit out last season after the NCAA ruled both players only partial-academic qualifiers, and therefore ineligible to play.
While McLemore was a considerably more heralded recruit coming out of high school, he still has yet to play in his first collegiate game as well.
"My family is coming up to see me play for the first time in front of 16 thousand fans," McLemore said. "I'm very excited, I can not wait."
Edited by Whitney Bolder.
FOOTBALL
Weis turns attention toward Baylor
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
For the Kansas layahwks football team, Sunday is not a day of rest.
After every loss this season, the Jayhawks have been able to use the Sunday practice to wash away the negativity of the previous week and get back to work. But after losing to Texas on a last-second touchdown, this loss was a little harder to shake off.
"There's no hiding this is the most disappointed we've been all year," coach Charlie Weis said on Monday's teleconference call. "That was the feeling walking in the building and at least by the time they left practice they had gotten that kind of out of their system."
With a clear system it becomes easier to look back on a game that should have been won. James Sims continued dominating Big 12 defenses, gaining 176 yards on Saturday. Redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Cummings made some big time completions under pressure, and the Jayhawks defense forced two turnovers, while limiting the Longhorns to just 21 points.
Weis and the team only care about wins and losses though, but if they were looking to see progress out of this year's squad, they don't need to look any further. After all,
Kansas got whipped by Texas last year, losing 43-0 and only gaining 46 yards in Austin.
Texas coach Mack Brown said he fully expects the jayhawks to beat somebody at home this season. With Iowa State the only remaining game at Memorial Stadium, Brown didn't need to be any more clear. Yet before the Cyclones visit Lawrence on November 17th, Kansas has to make two trips to the state of Texas, starting with Baylor.
“Are there silver limbs? Yes there are,” Weis said. “But it still comes down to you lost 100 in a row in the Big 12 and you need to beat somebody so you can start moving that trend in another direction.”
"The games they've lost has been greatly attributed to a large
It would seem that Dave Campo has more work to do than Weis this week. Kansas may have caught it's first break on offense, but the attack of Baylor's passing
The Bears might be on a four game losing streak, but it's not because they aren't scoring. Baylor averages 44-points per game and has the nations best passing game. For good measure, Kansas ranks 58th in pass defense. Instead the problem for the Bears is a defense that has taken the Jayhawks' title of being the worst in the FBS, allowing over 550 vards per game.
CHARLIE WEIS football coach
number of turnovers," Weis said. "If we can't get turnovers we'll be in a little bit of danger, cause we haven't exactly been lighting up the scoreboard."
game should be enough to keep the Jayhawks focused.
Even though Baylor and Kansas are both searching for conference wins this season, the Bears
ability to put up a lot of points makes them dangerous to every opponent. just ask West Virginia and Texas, who allowed 63 and 50 points respectively by Baylor. The difference is that those teams had the offensive firepower to overcome it. Meanwhile Kansas is only averaging 17 points per game, and will need to be able to keep up with Baylor if they score in bunches.
— Edited by Andrew Ruszczyk
"They'vegot such great offensive firepower and there's a lot of shootouts," Weis said. "Shootouts really aren't advantageous to us. We're going to have to change the mentality of the game for us to have a chance of winning."
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Coach Charlie Weis goes to shake senior defensive Ineman Josh Williams as he warms up before Saturday in the game against Texas for the 100 anniversary Homecoming game in Memorial Stadium.