Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jayhawks gain confidence Players look forward to season after winning exhibition games. VOLLEYBALL | 5B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010
Offense offers experience
Linemen line-up looks good for next season's new quarterback. FOOTBALL | 8B
ONE AND DONE
Flying the Jayhawk coop
Freshman guard Xavier Henry slaps students' hands following the Jayhawks' 81-75 victory against Baylor. Henry will leave Kansas after this year.
PAGE 1B
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Henry announces his decision to leave Kansas for the NBA
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_thibodeaux
Xavier Henry's stoic facade finally wore off.
All season, whether it was during his slump, a bad game or a team loss, Henry, a freshman guard, never looked rattled. He seemed oblivious. Sometimes he looked happy when he had no reason to.
"He's a very emotional kid," coach Bill Self said. "His cover-up sometimes to hide the emotion is just to smile."
During Wednesday's news conference when Henry announced his decision to go to the NBA, all his emotions were on display as he poured his tears and heart out.
"I didn't know Id love it here this much at KU." Henry said.
This was an unusual experience for everyone in the room except for the guys wearing blue warm-ups and the coach sitting beside them.
At the beginning of the season, many doubted Henry's commitment to Kansas because he had the skill to go pro. If the season didn't prove his dedication, he dispelled any remaining doubts at the podium.
Sitting next to Henry was his brother C.J., who was in a somber mood himself.
"What you saw today was X," Self said. "That's what we see all the time, but you don't see that during the 40 minutes of a game."
Even though Henry did choose to take his skills to the next level — he said that he was in the process of hiring an agent and that a deal would "definitely" get done — it was a very difficult decision for him.
"I think for the people who knew me, they knew it would be a tough decision either way because they know I love people" Henry said. "And they know once I start bonding with people, it's real hard for me to let go."
Henry said his decision was not at all based on the results of the Jayhawks' season or on a potential lockout in the NBA. Most of all, he said, his decision came because of his preparation. Henry said his coaches had prepared him as well as they could while keeping his confidence up and helping him to grow as a person.
When deciding where to go college after a stint playing minor league baseball, C.J. wanted to go where Xavier went.
The brothers reunited and spent time together like they did when they were younger.
"Time apart from him this year bonded us in a different way," C.J. said. "We became a lot closer and stronger as brothers. I'm just happy for
everything he does, and I know he deserves it. He definitely grown up to be a man
here at KU $ ^{n} $
"I'd rather be remembered for the person I was off the court: the fun-loving kid."
As he moves to the next chapter in his
XAVIER HENRY Freshman guard
s to the next chapter in his life, Xavier leaves behind a season where he averaged 13.4 points per game and started every game. He finished second on the Kansas all-time freshman scoring list next to Danny Manning.
Henry doesn't leave behind a lot of memories, but he nonetheless wants them to hold significance.
"I'd rather be remembered for the person I was."
off the court; the fun-loving kid," he said. "I'm just a kid. I'm always smiling. I'm as
nice as can be."
Xavier is the first one and done player Self has coached, and Self said he expected it to happen coming into the season. Still, Self said he wanted his own son to show the same qualities that Xavier did this season.
"He has about a good a spirit or as good a heart as any kid I've ever coached," Self said. "He is a pleaser; he wants to do what's right. He wants people to like him. He wants to make others happy."
The only people who should be upset about Henry's decision, Self said, are the fans. And that's only because they should want to see him play again. The Layhawks wouldn't be 33-3 this season without him,
SEE HENRY ON PAGE 3B
SOFTBALL
Hawks fall to Tigers in doubleheader
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
The Kansas softball team added two more losses to its season as it lost both doubleheader games against No. 7 Missouri Wednesday night.
"It's a heartbreaker," junior catcher Brittney Hile said. "Everything that happened in the past you forget, and you go out there and play because it's the biggest game of the year. All you want to do is win that game."
Kansas fell to 16-21 (0-6) while Missouri improved to 27-6 (3-3). Kansas is still looking for its first conference victory of the season.
Even though Kansas didn't seal a victory, Smith said she loved a good rivalry and was excited about future games against Missouri.
First year coach Megan Smith is originally from North Carolina, and she said her players helped her understand the Border showdown's intense competition.
In the first game, Kansas had the bases loaded with one out in the third, but the team managed to get only one run out of it to take a 1-0 lead. Missouri tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, but Kansas took a two-run lead in the sixth on a two-run homer from Hile.
"Before I got to Kansas, I knew nothing about it," Smith said. "But I learned about it really quickly."
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 3B
Jon Roser/THE MANEATER
Junior pitcher Allie Clark hurls the ball in the first inning of the second game of a doubleheader against Missouri on Wednesday at University Field.
BASEBALL
BY BEN WARD
bword@kansan.com
twitter/bm/dub
Junior third baseman Tony Thompson wasn't about to let a miscue in the field define his night.
After making one of three errors that allowed Creighton back in the game. Thompson blasted a clutch RBI double
in the ninth
inning,
and lifted
Kansas to
a 5-4 victory
on Wednesday.
The
Jay hawks
[19.10.1]
Thompson
3-2-1) overcame the adversity of a three-error seventh to win an important non-conference game.
"You hope your team is resilient and tough enough to fight back, and our guys did that tonight," coach Ritch Price said.
Thompson got Kansas start
ed in the third inning, lining an RBI single to center to score senior second baseman Roby Price, who had reached on a double. The Jayhawks tacked on a run in the fourth on a groundout by sophomore first baseman Zac Elgie, scoring freshman designated hitter Jake Marasco to make the score 2-0.
Redshirt freshman Thomas Taylor and junior Wally Marceli held the Bluejays to only one run through the first five innings, and senior Travis Blankenship tossed a scoreless sixth to preserve the 2-1 lead for Kansas.
COMMENTARY
Stepping to the plate with two outs in the seventh, Waters
— an Omaha native — blasted a two-RBI triple to the fence in right-center field to give Kansas the 4-1 lead.
With the Jayhawk pitchers dealing from the mound, junior left fielder Jimmy Waters gave them an additional cushion.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 4B
What at first appeared to be insurance runs proved much
Don't hate on Xavier for picking to go pro
BY ALEX BEECHER
abeecher@kansan.com
1
The news conference during which Xavier Henry declared for the NBA draft was supposed to go a bit differently.
Following a dynamic freshman season in which he collected numerous accolades and helped Kansas to a national championship, Henry would triumphantly declare that he had accomplished everything he could at Kansas and would take his game to the next level.
The news conference would thus be a cold and emotionless occasion, devoid of any genuine feeling. The inevitable would simply be confirmed as the business relationship between Henry and Kansas was severed, and both parties would move forward without a look back.
The fans would be satisfied as well, having got what they wanted from the hired gun.
And fans will not be satisfied.
That news conference — the one expected by most every Kansas fan since Henry committed to KU — did not happen.
Instead, on the heels of a second-round NCAA tournament exit, Henry announced his decision to declare for the NBA draft with occasional sobs and a tear streaked face.
The season will be labeled a colossal disappointment. Fans will say one reason why is that Henry never played as a score-at will superstar, a la previous Big 12 one-and-doners Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley.
Fans will say that he lacks the aggression necessary to score in the NBA and that he doesn't rebound or defend well enough. They will contend that Henry, simply put, is not ready.
Many will also label Henry's display of emotions either disingenuous or unearned. They will say that his mind was made up before he came to Kansas, so how could he develop any real connection to University or his teammates? Or perhaps Henry's apparent affection for his teammates will be invoked. If you love playing with them so much, why not do so for at least one more season?
But most of all, they will say that he should have come back for at least one more season. They will argue that his game — and thus his draft stock — could be improved. Fans will say all of those things because they are fans, and those are the sorts of things fans say in these situations. It's inevitable, but it's also unfortunate.
Kansas' failure to cut down the nets in Indianapolis shouldn't be used to indict Henry. He was not brought in to carry an already loaded team; rather, his role was that of a supplementary scorer. Henry filled that role well, ending the season with an average of more than 13 points a game.
Henry is inarguably ready for the NBA. Why inarguable? Because he's going to be drafted in the first round. With the possibility of a lockout looming, the decision to enter the draft had to be made.
So no, the news conference did not go as expected, and no, the season didn't either.
But that doesn't mean the expected negative faction reaction is justified. Instead, in keeping with the trend, that's one more expected result that should fail to actualize.
- Edited by Allyson Shaw