Volume 125 Issue 37
kansan.com
Thursday, October 25, 2012
COMMENTARY Jayhawks loaded for another run
Kory Carpenter
kcarpenter@kansan.com
Kansas has reached back-to-back Final Fours twice in its history. First in 1952 and 1953 and again in 2002 and 2003.
But unlike many Final Four teams, the Jayhawks return a solid nucleus this season.
If they can complete the feat for a third time and make their way to Atlanta in April, here's how they'll do it:
1. If Elijah Johnson plays like he did down the stretch last season.
Johnson averaged 10.2 ppg last year but was hot late in the season. The junior guard finished with double figures in each of the last eight games which averaged out to 15.1 points in that stretch. His clutch three-pointer and two steals against Purdue saved Kansas from an early exit. Now with Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson in the NBA, Johnson will need to play like that consistently with less "off" games.
2. If Jeff Withey makes "The Jump". Kansas big men have been making "The Jump" for some time now. Cole Aldrich went from 2.8 ppg his freshman year to 14.9 ppg as a sophomore. Markieff Morris jumped from 6.8 to 13.6 ppg between his sophomore and junior year, and in that same time, his brother Marcus leaped from 12.8 to 17.2 ppg. Filling in for the guy behind them has been one of the main fixtures in Kansas' eight straight conference titles. Bill Self called it "bridging the gap." With a number of freshman on this year's roster, Withey will have to bridge the gap if this team wants to continue the streak and play in April.
Ellis, a McDonald's High School All-American, could start most of the season at the four spot. I wouldn't be shocked if senior Kevin Young begins the year in the starting lineup but Ellis could take over early on. He's talented enough but it's just a matter of getting used to playing in Self's system. White is a sharpshooter who will get plenty of minutes if his jumper is falling.
3. Speaking of freshmen, former Marquette coach Al McGuire once said: "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." But if those high expectations are to be met, at least a few of the five true freshman will need to contribute immediately. I'd put my money on Perry Ellis and Andrew White.
4. Redshirt freshmen Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor don't play like freshman. With a year around the program and a semester of practices under their belts, McLemore and Traylor have more expectations than the average redshirt freshman. McLemore will start on the wing and is projected to be a first round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Traylor went up against Thomas Robinson every day in practice second semester and Self said he held his own three out of five days, the other two going to Robinson. A 60 percent success rate against a top-5 NBA pick isn't bad, and Traylor should supply more depth in the post behind Withey and create a nice battle for the fifth starting spot with Ellis.
Edited by Ryan McCarthy
Gameday preview
Page 6B-7B
'LONG'ING TO BEAT TEXAS
Linebacker Toben Opurum celebrates after recovering a fumble at a game earlier in the year. Opurum is one of the three team contains for the 2012 football season.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
ON THE DEFENSIVE
Javhawks using individual workouts to improve defense at every position
BLAKE SCHUSTER
hschuster@kansan.com
There couldn't have been a worse time for the Kansas defense's worst game. Starting out the murderer's row of Big 12 play with a 52-7 against Oklahoma only added to the notion that football fans were watching the same Kansas team from the last few years.
But the defense that got torn apart by the Sooners isn't an accurate representation of the 2012 Jayhawks. The team that held TCU and Oklahoma State to 20 points is needed to find what it lost against Oklahoma.
They had to get their swagger back.
"That's what we do on Sunday," head coach Charlie Weis said of pumping his team up. "They have to be ready to move on, and
usually by practicing on Sunday that really takes care of the majority of the problems."
The Sunday practice has been a hot topic recently. After losing to Kansas State, Weis held a scrimmage the next day without any seniors, sparking chatter that he was no longer focused on them.
Yet it was the complete opposite two weeks later. In fact, defensive coordinator Dave Campo told Weis that he did more coaching last Sunday than at any other point this season.
Weis gave Campo 45 minutes to work individually with his players and in the little amount of time, large steps were taken. Campo set to work on the basics of the game with each player, breaking down further and further how they could improve.
"It's all the sudden, 'Whoa, I
understand what he's talking about," Campo said of his players on Sunday. "From that standpoint it is confidence. Some of those guys reverted back to a lot of stuff they did in high school because they don't have the experience to take the technique from the practice field to the game."
Campo admitted that much of Sunday's work was to prepare for the future even though Kansas still ran on a "win now" mentality. But the individual sessions had one resounding effect — slowly the confidence that was present after playing Oklahoma State began reemerging.
"It was crucial," senior defensive end Toben Opurum said. "We needed that practice to move forward. Watching film, dwelling on the past, it hurt a lot of the guys. A lot of guys felt like they got
fundamentally better, and that's what we needed."
Senior defensive lineman Josh Williams said the Oklahoma game was bad across the board, but he wouldn't let it take away from what the Jayhawks accomplished against the Cowboys.
For Williams, not all hope was lost after giving up 38 points in the first half to the Sooners. Too much of the season was still ahead.
"We built some momentum at the end of the Oklahoma State game," Williams said. "To go and have a tough loss like that, I wouldn't say we lost it; we just have to regroup and refocus and continue to move forward."
Of course one Sunday can't fix all of Kansas' problems. Campo said the improvements in practice are baby steps on a much longer road. It's what the practice did for
the team mentally that may be the biggest triumph.
The defensive showing against Oklahoma is hardly on track with what the Jayhawks have been doing this year. A shot at Texas — in Lawrence and on Homecoming
— provides just the stage to prove it.
Williams and Opurum agreed the baby steps and confidence boosters were helpful but not the final solution — at least not after getting wiped by Oklahoma.
"A game like that puts a bad taste in your mouth and bad blood in you," Williams said. "The only thing to wipe away a game like that is winning a game."
Edited by Ryan McCarthy
VOLLEYBALL
Jayhawks fall to stout Cyclones squad
GEOFFREY CALVERT
gcalvert@kansan.com
The Kansas Jayhawks fended off seven match points Wednesday night at Iowa State, but their inability to hold leads eventually cost them in a 3-1 loss.
Trailing the match 2-1, Kansas used five blocks to grab an 18-14 lead in the fourth set. The Cyclones had swept the Jayhawks in Ames every year since Kansas won 3-2 in 2004, but the Jayhawks looked like they might be about to push the match to five sets and maybe steal another 3-2 victory.
Then Iowa State won the next seven points to go up 21-19 and take control of the match for good.
"They get hot offensively and they can transition you, they can side you out, they can do a lot of different things," coach Ray Beckard said. "We got in our own way sometimes, but let's give credit to a team that played well."
Leading 24-22, Iowa State outside hitter Victoria Hurt committed an attack error that kept Kansas alive for at least one more point.
However, Hurtt atoned for her error on the next point, ending the set with a kill and giving the Cyclones a 3-1 victory. The loss dropped Kansas to 19-4 on the season and 7-2 in Big 12 play.
The Jayhawks blew an even bigger lead in the third set, and it nearly cost them the match then.
After coming out flat at the beginning of the first two sets, Kansas stormed to a 14-6 lead in the third set behind four kills by junior middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc and three by freshman outside hitter Tiana Dockery. After Iowa State closed the gap to 14-10, Kansas responded with a 4-1 run to push its lead to seven points.
But then Iowa State showed why they are so tough to beat at home. The Cyclones went on a 13-3 run that included six straight kills to take a 24-21 lead and grab match point. With all of their momentum zapped, Kansas had every reason to fold.
Instead of wilting, however, Kansas won the next three points to tie the set at 24. Iowa State grabbed leads of 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26.
but Kansas fought off match point each time. Kansas used a kill and an Iowa State attack error to win the set, 29-27.
"I think they just got us a little out of rhythm and kind of flustered," junior setter Erin McNorton said. "Then again, I think we're really good at staying calm when that does happen. They went in once they got the ball back, and again we had a big block."
The Jayhawks committed 29 attack errors, including nine in the second set, and hit .147 for the match compared to Iowa State's .168. However, Kansas outblocked the Cyclone 14-8, which kept Kansas in every set, especially the third. Sophomore outside hitter Chelsea Albers staved off two match points in the third set by blocking two Iowa State attacks.
Kansas may not have needed such desperate play in the third and fourth sets if they didn't have such slow starts in the first two sets. Iowa State broke open the first set with a 5-0 run that gave them a 10-5 advantage, and they began the second set with a 10-4 run.
The Jayhawks eventually tied both sets, and even led the second set briefly, but couldn't avoid committing crucial errors that kept them from grabbing a comfortable lead. Iowa State earned five service aces in the first set, and the Jayhawks committed nine attack errors in the second set.
"It all starts with first contact, and that was a large part of the struggle," jarmoc said. "They're really good at targeting somebody and constantly driving at them."
Bechard said the way Kansas started the first two sets was what upset him the most.
Edited by Sarah McCabe
The Jayhawks are off until Monday, when they host West Virginia at home at 6:30 p.m.
"The disappointing part of it was the starts we got out to in both the first two sets," Bechard said. "They had five service aces in the first set and seven for the match, so that tells you they just came out smoking with the serve.
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
Sara McClinton, the sophomore outside hitter from Omaha, flies high as she sends a powerful offensive delivery over the net to TCU during their match at the Horejsi Family Athletic Center on Saturday.
9