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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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WEDNESDAY,AUGUST 29,2007
FOOTBALL
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Mangino needs to speak up, finish at top
RY MARK DENT
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
PAGE 1B
BY MARK DENT
KANSAN COLUMNIST
MDET.ENTKANSAN.COM
Time is running out for Mark Mangino to grab everyone's attention. It's three days before the season starts, and the Kansas football coach is missing an opportunity to get KU fans and followers of the Big 12 excited by refusing to call this year a breakout season.
This has to be a breakout season. After two straight years of earning bowl eligibility but finishing in the lower half of the conference, the program needs to take the next step and compete for the Big 12 North title.
The pieces are there. Junior cornerback Aqib Talib is a preseason-since-the-Big-12-Media-Days-in-July All-American. A leaner, wiser Todd Reeing looks ready to be the best KU quarterback since Bill Whittimore. Add the easiest schedule in the country according to ESPN to the mix, and a breakthrough almost seems like a give-in.
Instead, he's offered this and not much else about expectations:
Since the Big 12 Media Days in July, all Mangino needed to do was admit it. Just once. Say this team needs to win eight games. Who would it have hurt? The players wouldn't have keeled over because of added pressure. If anything, it would have given them more motivation. Fans would have loved it too. And think about the media. Kansas would have actually received some national or at least regional interest.
"I think just doing what we're doing — keep working at it," Mangino said earlier this month at a press conference. "We've had success against some Big 12 North teams but it needs to be consistent. It needs to be success home and away, and I think that one's one of the biggest things that will keep us in the hunt in the Big 12 North."
True, Mangino said Kansas could be "in the hunt." But he could've gone a step further and said that the Jayhawks would be underachieving if they didn't finish near the top of the conference. Then everyone would know the Jayhawks aren't some spineless, second-rate squad satisfied with the cellar like they were 10 years ago.
Reporter: Coach, how did Michael Bishop make the transition from community college to the Big 12 so easily?
Then again, this is Mangino. His lack of fiery words is not surprising, just disappointing. Mangino has been quiet since he took the job in 2002. That's what happens when you learn from Bill Snyder.
Snyder, the former Kansas State football coach whom Mangino worked for as an assistant, never heard a question he wouldn't respond to with a one-word answer. His postgame press conferences used to sound like this.
Reporter: What happened to Darren Sproles when he fumbled the ball in the fourth quarter?
Of course, the quiet route worked for Snyder. He won nine games by his fifth year and finished third in the Big 8. It's year six for Mangino, and his best is a seven-victory season. It's time for a change in philosophy. Sometimes a loud voice is needed to raise a program to a new level. Take Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl for example.
Pearl is like a successful Howard Dean. He's loud and bold like the former presidential candidate, except he does it for a job where it's accepted. One time Pearl even went to a women's basketball game with his shirt off and chest painted. His fearless attitude has attracted fans to a sport that wasn't taken too seriously at Tennessee, his men's basketball program, and made the Volunteers a preseason favorite in the SEC this season.
Snyder: Yes.
Snyder: (Nods head)
Mangino doesn't have to take his shirt off and go to a women's basketball game to
SEEDENT ON PAGE 4B
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore forward Darrell Arthur is setting his focus on refining his passing game as he enters his second college season.
Arthur ready to pass Forward focuses on improving passing
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
Listen to Darrell Arthur talk about his shot selection from last season, and you'll swear you're hearing the voice of Allen Iverson or any other NBA guard fixated on the flick of his own wrist.
Arthur, who's been back playing basketball for a week after recovering from a stress fracture, wants to improve his overall game by passing more.
"I was pretty selfish" said Arthur, a sophomore forward. "Every time I got the ball I shot it up."
This isn't the story of an injured basketball player who comes back realizing he might not have the game forever and must change his playing ways. No. Arthur knew before his stress fracture that he needed to change.
Kansas coach Bill Self told him that Arthur, who only had 14 assists all of last season, said they spoke about him passing the ball and slowing down the pace of his game after his freshman year ended. Experience with the USA Under-19 basketball team this summer made Arthur's decision to focus on passing even clearer.
As he practiced with the U-19 team
in early July to prepare for U-19 FIBA Championship, Arthur realized he couldn't shoot every time. Teammates such as Oregon's Tajuan Porter, Kansas State's Michael Beasley and Arkansas' Patrick Beverley wanted the ball too. Arthur decided to share it.
Arthur never got the chance to show his newly-discovered passing skills in action. A stress fracture formed in his leg when he tried out for the U-19 team in July. Arthur didn't feel
"I understood there was more than one scorer on the team," he said. "As one of the
is healed, Arthur is participating in individual workouts three days a week, waking up at six to run every morning and playing pick up games against his teammates twice a week.
captains, I was trying to motivate myself to get the team the last ball first and shoot last."
He's getting back into his groove and getting back to feeling things. He's really going to help us"
They've also noticed his improved passing ability.
"He's getting back into his groove and getting back to feeling things," junior guard
pain for two weeks but finally saw a doctor when he could barely walk. The doctor told him he couldn't play for at least a month and would miss the U-19 FIBA Championship.
Rehab for Arthur included daily pool workouts and the use of an electronic bone stimulator that he said helped the injury heal quicker. Now that his stress fracture
MARIO CHALMERS Junior guard
Mario Chalmers said. "He's really going to help us."
Help from Arthur will be important this season because of the loss of former Jayhawk Julian Wright to the NBA Draft. Arthur will likely take Wright's spot in the lineup, meaning he'll be more.
Last season, that might have been a challenge for Arthur. Now? He's ready to pass.
"I matured over the year," Arthur said. "It's about just looking for everybody. I've been keeping my mind off scoring and thinking about other things."
for his 2.2 assists per game.
Edited by Luke Morris
FOOTBALL
Freshman debuts in season opener
No pressure.
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
"I really don't know what to expect," Boyd-Anderson said. "Coming from Jacksonville, we played in front of packed crowds, but the stadium was nowhere near as big as this stadium. It's human to be a little bit nervous before your first game."
Kansas running back Carmon Boyd-Anderson hails from Jacksonville, Texas, population 14,402. When he takes the field Saturday, the Memorial Stadium crowd will number more than 40,000.
If the soft-spoken freshman is a bit
apprehensive about his performance in his first collegiate game, he may be the only one in the program who is worrying. Judging by Boyd-Anderson's inclusion as the third running back on the depth chart
Boyd-Anderson
and glowing reviews from head coach Mark Mangino and offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, the Kansas coaching staff thinks the back is ready to contribute.
Coming out of Jacksonville High School, Boyd-Anderson was tagged by some analysts as an excellent under-the radar pickup for Kansas. But he stayed
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 4B
BIG 12
Conference institutes background checks
BY THOR NYSTROM
tnystrom@kansan.com
At the Big 12 media day in San Antonio, coordinator of football officials Walt Anderson said background checks could be uncomfortable for officials.
The scandal of disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy created a ripple effect on the sports world that reached the Big 12. The conference announced plans this summer to increase background checks on football and basketball officials.
"But that's the nature of the game," he said. "You almost give up the Bill of Rights when you become an official. But it's a choice. You work in a fishbowl, a fishbowl that gets replaced every play."
The conference also runs random background checks on members of the replay booth and clock operators.
Anderson, also an NFL referee, said the conference had hired a company to monitor point spreads of games. The conference would be notified if there were any suspicious point spread movements that could indicate game fixing. The Big 12 evaluates the performance of its referees on every play of every game to monitor malfaessance.
Members of the Kansas Athletic Department agree with the increased scrutiny.
"I think it is a wise thing to do in this day and age," associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said. "I think that the recent developments speak for themselves and it's also a deterrent for anyone who would be tempted by any kind of impropriety."
Donaghy resigned from the NBA on July 9 after 13 years with the league.
SEE REFS ON PAGE 4B