FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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SPORTS
PAGE 11A
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Northern Arizona not to be dismissed as automatic win
Lumberjacks coming off victory in exhibition game; picked to place first in Division ll's Big Sky conference
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Kansas fans shouldn't be fooled by the directional name of the Jayhawks first regular season opponent.
Northern Arizona will be a challenging team for a vulnerable Kansas squad that played without junior center Sasha Kaun and junior guard Jeremy Case for the entire preseason and without sophomore guard Mario Chalmers against Emporia State.
Kansas coach Bill Self said that because of everything his team has had to deal with, he's pleased with where his players are, but said the team definitely wasn't where he expected it to be to start the regular season.
"We're not close to being where we should be," Self said. "But I'm not sure it's possible to be close to where we could be if we don't have Sasha, Mario and leremy out there."
Self said Case was doubtful for Saturday, but had better news about Chalmers and Kaun. He said Chalmers had been battling blisters in addition to his sprained toe, but expected him to play against Northern Arizona.
As for Kaun, Self said the three to six week timeline for the starting center's return appeared to be accurate.
"The trainers and doctors tell me he's doing great," Self said. "But great means, still, at least three weeks, but hopefully not the latter part."
He said Kaun isn't able to do any work on the court. Instead, he's been rehabbing in the water.
"He's spending a ton of time in the pool, learning how to swim," Self said with a smirk.
With Chalmers likely to return, Kansas should have its starting backcourt of Chalmers, junior guard Russell Robinson and sophomore guard Brandon Rush intact, Sophomore forward Julian Wright and junior forward Darnell Jackson should start in the front court.
Freshmen Sherron Collins and Darrell Arthur should be the first Jayhawks off the bench at guard and forward, respectively, and junior guard Rodrick Stewart will also be a key contributor off the bench for Kansas.
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are coming off a 12-point victory against Fort Lewis in its lone exhibition game. Northern Arizona returns four starters from a squad that went 21-11 last season and won the Big Sky regular season title. Like Kansas, Northern Arizona is the preseason favorite to win its conference.
As a team, Northern Arizona made eight of 21 three-point attempts against Fort Lewis. It's this ability to score from the outside — even by Lumberjack big men — that has Self concerned.
"Their big guys can all step away from the basket and, at least, stretch the defense in that regard," Self said.
Even if Kansas gets out to an early lead, Self knows the Lumberjacks are the type of team that can chop away at a lead.
"If they get on a roll, they could shoot nine balls and have 18 points very easily." Self said. "I would say that would be a big concern."
While Self is worried about being upset by a mid-major in Kansas' home opener, Northern Arizona coach Mike Adras isn't exactly overjoyed that the season he gets to play Kansas is the season it's ranked No. 3 in the nation.
"I need to have my head examined," Adras said in a Big Sky teleconference. "There's no question about that."
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Erin Wiley
The Kansas men's basketball team kicks off its regular season Saturday against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Even though the Jayhawks have been plagued by injuries, the backcourt will be intact with sophomore guard Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson seeing action.
Kansan File Photo
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
WBCA Classic to start in K.C. Jayhawks move from exhibition games to regular season
BY CASE KEEFER
The Jayhawks will play in the first round of the WBCA Classic at 2 p.m. Saturday against the Seton Hall Pirates. The team is struggling to play better in both halves of its games.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
This weekend's WBCA Classic may be in nearby Kansas City, but Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson will be treating it like any other road trip.
"We're going to go up there Friday night," she said. "It's a good opportunity to give these young kids an idea of what it's like to travel."
The Jayhawks' first regular season game is at 2 p.m. Saturday against the Seton Hall Pirates, the first round of the WBCA Classic. The Jayhawks will look to build on a rough exhibition game where they had to rally to defeat Washburn.
The team also struggled to finish strong in the first exhibition game against Fort Hays State. These inconsistencies make for an all-too-familiar goal to bring into the Seton Hall game.
"We still have to play better both halves," freshman forward Danielle McCray said. "The last game, the first half was bad and the first game, the second half was bad."
McCray led the team in scoring during exhibition play, with 13 points per game despite having not started in either game. McCray will continue to split time in the backcourt with junior Jamie Boyd,
junior Taylor McIntosh, and fellow freshman Sade Morris.
last season.
After playing 38 minutes and committing only one foul against W a sh b u r n, sophomore forward Marija Zinic will continue to have a
The only other senior on the Pirate's roster, Heta Korpivaara, is
"We can't use youth as an excuse; if we do that, we'll have to excuse the whole year."
BONNIE HENRICKSON Coach
The Jayhawks will need another strong performance from Zinic on Saturday, Seton Hall returns its leading scorer and rebounder, senior Monique Blake. The 6-foot forward received All-Big East Honorable Mention accolades after
bgf role in the tournament. Zinic led Kansas in points, rebounds and blocks in the game.
the only returning player to start all 27 games last season. The match-up between the 6-foot-2 Korpivaara and the 5-foot-11 Taylor McIntosh should be an interesting one.
Sophomore Ivana Catic
started both exhibition games at point guard but had difficulty on the defensive end of the floor. This resulted in more time for freshman guards Kelly Kohn and LaChelda Jacobs.
Kohn and Jacobs are the quickest guards on the team and increase defensive intensity when subbed into the game. The two will have to continue this on Saturday against a pair of play-making Seton Hall sophomore guards, Shantel Brown and Brittney Messina.
The Jayhawks will rely heavily on underclassmen to carry the team into the regular season. Of the nine players to see action in the exhibition game against Washburn, six of them were freshmen or sophomores. This can't be the typical young team, however, and Bonnie Henrickson knows it.
"We can't use youth as an excuse; if we do that, we'll have to excuse the whole year," she said.
Kansas will play again in the second round Sunday against either Missouri State or Iowa, depending upon the outcomes of both first-round games.
Kansan sportswriter Case Keefer can be contacted at ckeefer@kansan.com.
>> SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
Edited bv Shanxi Unsdell
Chiefs, Jayhawks on eerily parallel paths
Only a short drive away from the big city and a Kansan for a sizable chunk of my life, being a Kansas City Chiefs fan simply comes with the territory.
I'm aware that the number of Jayhawk lovers probably more than quadruple the Chiefs' nation on campus, but for those of us that lie within both categories, this season has taught us a lesson or two in stress management.
The football programs that much of Lawrence holds near and dear seem to be progressing through the season on parallel paths.
In the first half of both seasons, both the Jayhawks and the Chiefs put their postseasons in doubt. While Kansas City opened its season with an 0-2 start, Kansas was in the middle of a four-game Big 12 Conference slide.
Aside from the losses, the misfortunes also eerily correlate. Chiefs fans mourned the loss of two-time Pro Bowler Trent Green in the season opener against Cincinnati seconds after the infamous helmet-tochin hit on the franchise's starting quarterback.
Finally done with the great quarterback debate of the previous season, true freshman Kerry Meier stepped into the full-time starting quarterback job in time for the Jayhawks to kick off their
Crazy, I know, but think about it.
season. Meier suffered an injury of his own against Toledo, and suddenly Kansas was short a starting quarterback as well.
While senior Adam Barmann made his blip on the backup radar screen, coach Mark Mangino's decision to shed freshman Todd Reesing's redshirt and start him against Colorado opened the door for what resulted in a quality backup, as Reesing threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for one to lead his team to victory.
What a coincidence.
With both Huard and Reesing put in positions to save their respective teams' seasons, each has stepped up to the task.
Kansas City's temporary quarterback, Damon Huard, has now become the definition of a quality backup. Without completing a pass in the National Football League since 2000, Huard is currently 5-2 as a starter.
At 5-3, Kansas City is currently in the early stages of the AFC's wildcard race, a spot even us diehards couldn't have predicted when
Green went down indefinitely.
Consequently, when Kansas sat at a dismal 3-5, Reeing stepped in and won what may have been a huge game for the Jayhawks against Colorado and had a hand in last week's victory at Iowa State.
The Jayhawks are now just a single victory away from being bowl eligible.
Luckily, Reesing and Huard each had a right-hand man to aide in their success. Senior running back Jon Cornish broke 1,100 yards rushing last weekend at Iowa State, while Huard had the powerhouse known as Larry Johnson to consistently move the ball.
Not to mention the go-to tight ends. Last Saturday, Meier and Reesing both connected with junior tight end Derek Fine for a pair of touchdowns. How did Kansas City's tight end fare last weekend? That's right, the phenomenon named Tony Gonzalez had a couple of touchdown receptions himself.
As stressful as our lives may be, living and dying by our teams' successes and failures, at least they've the courtesy to synchronize their ups and downs.
Kansan sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@ kansan.com.
- Edited by Erin Wiley
Kansas File Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Both Kansas and the Chiefs quarterback situations have not turned out exactly as planned. Freshman Kerry Meler and traditional starter for Kansas City Trenz Green, were both injured earlier in the season. Their backups, Todd Reesing and Damon Huard, have been winners.
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