Volume 125 Issue 96
Thursday, April 4, 2013
COMMENTARY Self will count on freshmen
Bill Self has always been one to develop freshmen slowly over their first years. It might as well be in the first chapter of his coaching handbook.
Some of his biggest success stories have played minimal minutes their freshman years. The entirety of this year's starting five (minus McLemore), Markieff Morris, and Thomas Robinson all are testaments to Self's patient philosophy.
Next year, he will have to deviate from this plan.
Self only returns two players from his prominent seven-man regular rotation in Naadir Tharpe and Perry Ellis. Jamari Traylor got limited minutes at the fourth big off the bench and Andrew White mostly saw mop-up time. Unless Self plans on either playing only four men or giving an increased role to the litany of coach's sons who sit at the end of the bench, Self will have to rely more on his incoming freshmen.
However, this freshman class isn't a bunch of slouches.
The prize jewel is Wayne Selden. Selden will be relied upon heavily to fill McLemore's shoes as a sorer. Selden's stroke is not as pure as McLemore's from the outside, but 3-point shooting is still a strength. Selden also has better handles than McLemore and is more willing to create his own shot.
Finally, Joel Embid compris the only big of Self's recruiting class. Raw as hamburger meat sitting on an unlit grill, Embid has the highest ceiling of anyone in the class, and will probably replace Traylor as the fourth big off the bench, with Landon Lucas, who redshirted this year, sliding into Perry Ellis' role.
This freshman class may not have the name recognition of Kentucky's incoming class, but it provides a myriad scoring and tons of potential. That's good, because Self hasn't had to rely on a freshman class this heavily since Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, and Julian Wright were freshmen.
If these freshmen can come close to living up to those names, the 2013-14 season will be an interesting ride.
Conner Frankamp, fresh off leading the United States to a victory in the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championships, will provide much needed depth behind Tharpe and Selden, though Self has indicated a desire to keep Frankamp off ball as much as possible. Frankamp is the kind of player who could beat you in a game of HORSE using just five shots. He is a natural scorer and the Wichita native should quickly become a fan favorite.
Roundting out the guards is Frank Mason, a three-star prospect who Self believes was undervalued by recruiting analysts. He has been compared to a poor-man's Sherron Collins and will probably play sparingly in his first year, but could have a large impact as one of only two true point guards on the roster.
Brannen Greene, like Frankamp,
thrives as a shooter. Greene will
either be expected to start or back
up White at the small forward
position. Like most freshmen, Greene
will have to work on his defense and
confidence off the dribble. However,
he is a natural scorer, and with Kansas losing its top five scorers, that is an enormous positive.
Edited by Tyler Conover
COMMENTARY
FAVORITE FOLLOW
Fake Jeff Withey reveals his identity as Real Jeff Withey's season ends
Fake Jek Witney poses with the real Jek Witney after revealing himself to the public.
Tv Gardner graduated last May and will be retiring the account.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
TY GARDNER
@FakeJeffWithey
Before we get started, let's take a moment to appreciate how ridiculous this all truly is; how ridiculous it is that I am writing a farewell column for a fake Twitter account, how ridiculous it is that the Kansan agreed to let me do this, and most of all, how ridiculous it is that you are still reading. There is something very abnormal about it all. But that is what this experience has taught me. The rules that apply everywhere else are different here at the University.
I decided to reveal myself in the paper today not because I think this is going to make me some kind of celebrity and not because I think it will impress girls or get me in free at the bars. I'm revealing myself because I wanted to thank you all, and I believe that thank you carry a little more weight when you know who is giving them.
My name is Ty Gardner. I graduated from the University last spring with a degree in political science. And I bleed crimson and blue.
I created @FakeJeffWithey with the idea that it would be a fun way to make jokes and brag about the school I love at the same time. Maybe if I was lucky, I thought, it might catch on and there would be a few hundred people that enjoyed it. Needless to say, things exceeded my original expectations pretty quickly.
Before I started this account, I always bragged about how Kansas fans are unlike any others in the country. I knew this to be true despite the fact that I had only experienced the culture from a fan's perspective.
This all became so much bigger than I could have ever imagined, and there was a reason for that. It was because of you.
Then I created the account, and you started laughing at my jokes. I found out that you hated Kansas State as much as I did. And you even sent in pictures of you and your friends #Witheying (I still can't believe that caught on). Before long, I started to feel like I had a small role to play in the Kansas basketball community.
Knowing that I was a part of the game day experience for so many of you humbled me. As silly as it is given the context, it made me want to be better. I wanted to give you more polished punchlines, witter catchphrases and new ways to make fun of the entire state of Missouri. Why did I want to do this? Because I learned that the only thing better than being a Kansas fan is being cheered on by Kansas fans.
This doesn't happen at other places in the country. Fans of other schools don't camp for days just to be in the building for tip-off. They don't pack the stands each and every night regardless of the opponent. They don't know what it's like to live and die by the result of the game like Kansas fans do.
And at other schools, they don't do this. A regular student with no connections to the athletic department doesn't get to feel like he had a role in something as big as Kansas basketball just because a few people laugh at his
jokes. He doesn't have a chance to experience the support of the great fans in the country. He certainly doesn't get the opportunity to use the school newspaper as an outlet to thank those fans.
But this is Kansas. We do things differently.
Just as we all reach a point where we must move on from the University, the time has come for me to step away from the @FakeJeffWithey Twitter account. As much as I'd love to tweet from the account next year, holding a Withey Block Party without the Withey just doesn't seem right.
Now, I move my Jayhawk jokes to my personal account, @TyGardner. In doing so, I'll be leaving behind the halftime locker room updates and postgame catchphrases. Luckily, I've talked Tyler Self into putting his NBA dreams on hold for one more year so that I still have some familiar material to work with.
So this is the final farewell for @FakeJeffWithey. It may have just been a fake Twitter account, but I'd be completely lying if I said that it hasn't provided me with a ton of good times. This experience has brought so many great memories that I will enjoy for the rest of my life, and it wouldn't have been possible without you. Thank you for the support. Thank you for the love. And thank you for making this university unlike any other in the country.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
— Edited by Megan Hinman
Shortstop, first baseman lead offense
BASEBALL
TREVOR GRAFF
tgraff@kansan.com
Kansas senior shortstop Kevin Kuntz lead the Jayhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Saint Mary Spires scoring two runs on a 3-for-3 night at the plate.
The three-hit performance is Kuntz' fourth on the season with three of these coming in the two weeks since his return from an ankle injury that kept him out of the Jayhawk lineup for three weeks.
"I'm not trying to overdo things," Kuntz said. "I'm just trying to keep it as simple as I can. I don't try to go out and get say two multi-hit games. It's just one of those things where you stick with your approach and not get caught up with what happens after you hit the ball."
The senior scored the Jayhawks first run on an RBI double from senior firstbaseman Alex DeLeon in the bottom of the third. The firstbaseman led the Jayhawks with two doubles and batted in all three Jayhawks runs on the night.
Kuntz scored the second run of the game as well after another DeLeon RBI double scored both Kuntz and junior outfielder Michael Suiter to give the Jayhawks their eventual winning tally in the bottom of the fifth.
"The two balls Alex hit to day were huge," coach Ritch Price said. "He's the only physical guy
The Jayhawks recorded their sixth shutout of the season, a number not reached since 1993 when Kansas appeared in the College World Series. Solid work from the Jayhawks' pitching staff and a rebound in infield defense solidified the shot at the shutout late in the game.
we have in our lineup so it's really important that he's a run producer, and it's nice to see him clutch them."
"It's not easy facing a new guy every at bat, especially when you're starting the inning off as the first guy to face him," Kuntz said. "You just try to study him in the dug out or when you are on deck and go up there and stay aggressive."
The Jayhawks faced six Spires pitchers in last night's game, making it difficult to find a rhythm at the plate.
"We were in the top-25 in the country defensively about two weeks ago," Price said. "We've been sloppy is what we've been. I don't know if it's a result of traveling so much that we haven't got as much practice time, but the strength of our team has been our infield defense."
Pitching played heavily in the shutout. Coach Price said this is in large part due to solid starting pitching and the solid back of the bulpen in sophomore right hander Robert Kahana and Junior right hander Jordan Piche'.
Kansas starting pitcher Drew Morovick went five shutout innings giving up four hits on three strikeouts and two walks on the game. Piche' closed the game with two strikeouts in the final inning.
"They're solid in every phase of the game," coach Price said. "They're a typical good Oklahoma State team with a very good offensive club and three starters that will pitch with velocity."
The Jayhawks face Oklahoma State in a weekend series starting Friday at 6 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark. The Cowboys are ranked nineteenth in the most recent NCBA rankings.
This weekend's series is the conference home-opener for the Jayhawks after facing both TCU and Oklahoma on the road.
"I tell you, I can't wait," Coach Price said. "It's been a brutal seven weeks and it's nice to finally be back at our ballpark. Hopefully it will put some energy back in our dugout again with all the travelling we've been doing."
The victory moves Kansas to 16-11 on the season as Jayhawks' senior starting pitcher Thomas Taylor (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 32 SO, 12 BB) prepares to face Oklahoma State sophomore starting pitcher Jason Hursh (3-1, 2.12 ERA, 40 SO, 7 BB) in Friday's series opener.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Edited by Tyler Conover Sophomore center-fielder Joe Moroney catches the fly ball in the 6th inning.