PAGE 6
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Senior center Jeff Withey goes over his opponent's reach and gets the ball to the basket during the game against Texas Tech on March 4 in Allen Fiedlhouse, where the Jayhawks defeated the Red Raiders 79-42 on Senior Night. Withey lead the team in scoring with 22 points.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Pollard welcomes Withey into rare three-point club
GEOFFREY CALVERT
gcalvert@kansan.com
Normally, coach Bill Self would have immediately yanked senior center Jeff Withey from the game and admonished him on his way to the bench.
Withey isn't Marcus or Markieff Morris, the former Kansas forwards who could spot up and shoot the occasional 3-pointer, especially in transition.
Withey wasn't even as accomplished on the perimeter as senior forward Kevin Young, who hit two 3-point field goals against Ohio State last season.
In fact, Withey had never attempted a 3-pointer before Monday night's game against Texas Tech, the final home game of Withey's career.
It's the same situation former Kansas big man Scot Pollard found himself in when he attempted and made the only 3-point shot of his career during his Senior Night game in 1997.
When Withey hit his 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 5:20 left in the first half, he knew he had just joined some rare company.
"I heard Scot bragging about that, so not anymore," Withey said.
Self said Withey will shoot 3-pointers in practice, and occasionally he has to stop his center from chucking a shot up from beyond the arc during practice. But he was glad to see his senior join Pollard's exclusive club.
1-1 from three because there's no question who the better shooter is of those two," Self joked.
"I think it's very fitting that he be remembered instead of Scot Pollard being the guy that goes
Pollard was in Indiana attending one of his daughter's games Monday night when he started receiving texts about Withey's 3-pointer.
Despite Self's jest, Pollard said it's true that Withey is the better shooter of the two players. Pollard rarely strayed from the basket on the offensive end and was more of a bruising post player than Withey.
"I was a banger and a rebounder and the fifth option on a team of five
SCOT POLLARD Former Kansas center
"I went over to him and I said, 'I told you I could shoot threes.'"
players," Pollard said. "Sometimes I was the sixth option even if I was on the court. Sometimes they'd give it to Paul (Pierce) twice before they'd think about giving it to me, which was always a good decision."
By making that 3-pointer against Texas Tech on Monday, Withey joined Pollard as the only layhawks to make their only 3-point attempt in their careers.
Pollard's 3-pointer came on his Senior Night in 1997 against Kansas State, a 78-58 Kansas victory. Roy Williams, Kansas' coach
at the time, wasn't aware Pollard planned on shooting a 3-pointer, but Pollard had every intention of doing so.
"I was thoughtfully planning it out," Pollard said. "I wanted to show Coach Williams all the 3-pointers he had missed out on during my whole career, and I figured if ever there was a time that coach Williams would not take me out of the game for shooting a 3-pointer it would be on Senior Night."
It was Pollard's first game back after missing time with a sprained ankle, so his minutes were limited. But before Williams took Pollard out of the game for the final time at home, Pollard had the opportunity to launch a shot from beyond the arc on a secondary break.
"I trailed into the break, and nobody was guarding me because as Coach Williams used to say, 'Sometimes there's a reason you're wide open there big fella,' Pollard said. "Nobody was guarding me,and I just thought, hey what the hell, I'm not going to get a chance to shoot a 3-pointer in Allen Fieldhouse during a real game again. I threw it up there and it went in."
Like Self did Monday night, Williams took his big man's playful moment in stride.
"I went over to him and I said, "I told you I could shoot threes." Pollard said. "He just laughed. He了 OK big fella, just don't shoot any more."
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Edited by Dylan Lysen
Hawkins shines in new role for Kansas
NATHAN FORDYCE
nfordce@kansan.com
On a night dedicated to the senior trio of guards Angel Goodrich, Monica Engelman and forward Carolyn Davis, there was
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another star, but this one was an unknown to many.
Getting the starting nod for the first time of the season and her career, junior guard Markisha Hawkins shined in her new role.
Prior to Tuesday's game, Hawkins, a transfer student from Tyler Junior College, had played just 53 minutes over the season, with most of them coming in games that were already decided.
But in the Jayhawks' game
"All year she's asked really good questions," Henrickson said. "You know it's hard because the kid hasn't played all year but every day she asks really good questions, tries to get it right and there's never any attitude."
Hawkins didn't disappoint against TCU with her effort and the energy that she brought to the game. Hawkins scored a career-high 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting and going 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
against Oklahoma on Saturday, Hawkins played in a career-high 18 minutes and put up a career-high 11 points. It was that effort and the effort that Hawkins showed during practices all year that allowed Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson to feel comfortable to put her in the starting line-up.
Henrickson said the layhawks had been in need of an energy boost and Hawkins provided just
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Engelman said the spark that Hawkins was able to provide was something the Jayhawks needed, especially in the first half as she dropped nine points and added the hustle plays that prompted her to snag the starting role beside Goodrich and Engelman in the backcourt.
"She did what we needed her to do," Davis said. "We needed her to come in and defend and rebound. She knocked down some big shots. She penetrated and got some good shots late. She earned this start tonight."
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that. Even though she only ended up with four rebounds, she had even more hustle plays and tip out passes off missed shots.
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On a night where the entire focus was on the trio of seniors, Hawkins opened the eyes of her peers and coach and showed them that she earned the starting spot, even if it came as a surprise.
"I'm proud of Markisha," Goodrich said. "She played really well. She was aggressive and attacked and knocked down shots. She did what she did. I'm so proud of her."
Edited by Madison Schuitz
EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
Senior forward Carolyn Davis plays defense during the game against Texas Christian University on March 5 in Allen Fieldhouse where the Jayhawks won 67-74. Davis had 11 rebounds in the game against TCU.
Kansas falls in final round
MEN'S GOLF
CHRIS HYBL
chybl@kansan.com
According to men's golf coach Jamie Bermel, the course conditions for the final round of the Louisiana Classics at the Oakbourne Country Club in Lafeyette,La., were ideal. The Jayhawks' scoring, however, not so much.
"Our fourth score, having to count a 78 today, especially today when the course was playing as easy as it was this week – and the wind was nonexistent – was pretty disappointing." Bermel said.
Kansas was in second place after the first 36 holes of play, but after a final-day team score of seven over par, the team crumbled to a sixth-place finish. The top three individuals carried the Jayhawks throughout Monday and Tuesday.
"When you have to count a 78, you can't have the three other guys go that low," Bermel said.
but it takes four golfers to make a team.
Kansas has struggled to solidify a lineup throughout the entirety of its schedule, but it's getting easier. Kansas had three applaudable finishes from its top three golfers. Seniors Alex Gutesha and Chris Gilbert both shot below par for the tournament, locking up respectable individual finishes. Stan Gautier finished tied for 17th.
"He was pretty average in the fall; he didn't play well in qualifying." Bermel said. "Then he comes
Gautier and Gilbert solidified their starting spots last week. This week, Gutesha locked up a spot in future tournaments, on a team that has seen lineup changes as a regularity.
with this in the tournament and it gives us a good feel."
Sophomore Dylan McClure and freshman Jackson Foth weren't so high on the individual list. McClure finished tied for 71st and Foth took 81st place. That's not what Bermel has been looking for, and as a result, those spots are up for grabs before next tournament.
"We have about five guys playing for two spots," Bermel said. "We are hoping somebody can play better and fill that spot or that these guys find it and get their spot back. We're going to four rounds of qualifying before the next tournament so hopefully we find the right combination."
Kansas has two weeks before its next tournament at the Desert Shootout in Goodyear, Ariz. on March 21.
Edited by Dylan Lysen