KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, MARCH 5.2010 / SPORTS
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
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"When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro."
FACT OF THE DAY
Larry Bird, Boston Celtics coach
Source: Kansas Athletics
Kansas shot 61.9 percent from the field in the second half against Kansas State Wednesday. It was the team's highest single-half shooting percentage since shooting 65.5 percent in the second half of the Belmont game.
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: When was the last time a Kansas opponent had four assists or fewer?
A:The 1988-89 season. Kansas State had just four assists in Wednesday's game.
Kansas Athletics
SCORES
NCAA Men's Basketball:
No. 11 Michigan State 67, Penn
State 65
No.17 Pittsburgh, Providence
Women's College Basketball: No.22 Georgia, Alabama
**NHL Hockey:**
Tampa Bay 4, Washington 5
Ottawa 1, Carolina 4
Toronto 2, Boston 3
NY Islanders 3, Atlanta 6
Pittsburgh 5, NY Rangers 4
Los Angeles 2, Nashville 4
St. Louis, Dallas
Colorado, Phoenix
Montreal, San Jose
NBA Basketball:
Memphis 105, Chicago 96
LA Lakers, Miami
Utah vs. Phoenix, late
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
MVC names Jacobson its coach of the year
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Northern Iowa's Ben Jacobson has been named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Jacobson led the Panthers to a school-record 25 wins and the regular-season conference title. Jacobson received 35 of a possible 40 first-place votes in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
Indiana State's Kevin McKenna finished second in the voting followed by Wichita State's Gregg Marshall.
A free lesson on free throws
MORNING BREW
cole Aldrich's free throw motion isn't pretty.
He puts the ball into the shooting pocket, bends his knees emphatically and then cocks the ball back like Robin Hood drawing an arrow. With the ball decidedly behind his head, Aldrich moves to release it.
Other teams simply cannot figure out when Aldrich will release the ball. The official box score doesn't recognize it, but opposing players give Aldrich another attempt nearly every game by committing lane violations when they step into the lane too early.
It's often comical. Watching power forwards and centers trying not to fall face first into the paint before Aldrich actually releases the ball is really amusing.
Associated Press
I understand teams like Radford and Al-
I understand teams like corn State don't scout Kansas as well and wouldn't know Aldrich's shot is funky. If the players learn from the first lane violation, I have no issues.
But here's the thing: Teams that play Kansas twice throughout the season still haven't fig-
Aldrich
led it out. Aldrich victimized Kansas State Wednesday, making his first attempt after the Wildcats' lane violation.
It's probably less than a point per game difference, so this all means very little. But it is truly boggling that players can't figure this out.
Coaches aren't watching extensive film on the free throw routines of opponents, but it is getting to a point where they probably should watch Aldrich's. If I'm a coach, I'm ordering one of my reserves or redshirts to take command of the situation.
BY CLARK GOBLE
cgobie@kansan.com
That conversation would go something like this:
Coach: Now son, I've got a big job for you Saturday. Their big guy, the one who's missing a front tooth, has got a funky shot. When he gets fouled, I want you to stand up, wave this flaming torch above your head, play this Kazoo and go bonkers.
Player: Sure thing, Coach. I'd love to help the team. But isn't this pretty elementary for Division 1 basketball players with scholarships who have committed lane violations on this guy's free throw attempts before?
Coach: Son, that's why you're on the bench.
Now maybe I've done more harm than good by bringing this to light in print. Maybe I've broken some unwritten code with a simple first rule: "You don't talk about unorthodox shot motions that lead to absurd amounts of lane violations." The second rule: "You don't talk about said motions."
If teams realize the foolishness of their ways and stop invading the lane prematurely, I'll take the blame.
But until they do, it's just another thing to love about the 2009-2010 Kansas jayhawks.
FRIDAY YOUTUBE SESH
I know what you're thinking: Geez, can this guy talk about anything other than free throws? And yes, two of the last three Friday Brews have been free throw related.
But this week's topic provides yet another opportunity to laugh at the failed attempts of basketball players everywhere to make free throws.
So Chuck Haves, sorry in advance.
He's an effective center for the Houston Rockets with a flaw: He shoots free throws terribly, making less than 50 percent on the year.
If you thought Brady Morningstar's free throw was ugly, wait until you see Hayes. Everything looks good until the release: good rhythm, good routine, solid motion.
But at the shot's peak, everything goes awry. He stutters like a videotape from the 80s and replants his left foot before releasing the ball. I crine nearly every time I watch.
Search "Chuck Hayes Ugly Free Throws" on YouTube and prepare for the worst.
Edited by Taylor Bern
FOOTBALL
Gill receives first verbal commitment of 2011
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
Entering the recruiting process, running back Darrian Miller pictured what he wanted from a university.
And after talking with coach Turner Gill and running backs coach Reggie Mitchell during the recruiting process, Miller decided he found a place that fit his criteria.
He verbally committed to Kansas Wednesday night.
Miller, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back from Blue Springs,
Buckingham.
Mo., is the first known commitment of Kansas' 2011 recruiting class.
"I liked everything about coach Gill," Miller said. "He was very punctual when we were talking. He explained the blueprint of what he was trying to do with the program, and I was eating it all up. It was everything that I wanted."
As a junior, Miller rushed for 2,798 yards and 37 touchdowns, according to Rivals.com. He was named Missouri's Gatorade Player of the Year.
Rivals.com also states that he has offers from Kansas State, Iowa.
Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Miller was recruited by Mitchell. In addition to his duties as running backs coach, Mitchell serves as Kansas' recruiting coordinator.
"I had a criteria of what I wanted a college to offer and they exceeded it by a lot," Miller said. "I didn't find any flaws in the program. It was just really family-like and I felt like it was a good fit for me."
Miller will enter a Kansas program that's currently filled with young running backs. Freshman Toben Opurum rushed for 554 days during his first season and Gill added two running backs in
his 2010 recruiting class.
"In all honesty, it really didn't make that big of a difference to me," Miller said. "I'm never going to shy away from a program because of competition or anything. I've seen them play and I think they're good backs. But I think I'm a good back, too."
Miller will join former high school teammate Keeston Terry, a wide receiver in Kansas' 2010 recruiting class.
Edited by Taylor Bern
CAMPUS
BY NICOLAS ROESLER nroesler@kansan.com
CLUB VOLLEYBALL:
The National Collegiate Volleyball Federation rankings came out on Monday, placing the Jayhawks at No.18 in the country,the highest ranking Kansas has ever held.
This past weekend, the women's club volleyball'A team took first place at Vanderbilt's spring tournament, defeating Vanderbilt in the finals in three sets.
KU SWIMMING CLUB:
Fans can follow the women's volleyball team on it's Twitter page at twitter.com/ kclubvball.
The KU Swimming Club will host the American Swimming Association University League's Central Regional Championships this weekend at Robinson Gymnasium. The meet will be Saturday and Sunday with two sets of preliminaries and two sets of finals.
Participating teams include Missouri, Colorado, University of Texas at Dallas, Nebraska and Metro State College of Denver.
There will be approximately 120 swimmers competing.
Colorado has won the league's regionalals for five straight years.
TABLE TENNIS SEASON STANDINGS:
The event is free to KU students. There is a $2 charge for information packets.
(National Collegiate Table Tennis Association)
Coed Teams, 2009-10 Season
Wichita State: 7-1
Kansas State: 6-2
Kansas 5-3
Newman: 2-6
Nebraska: 0-8
Edited by Cory Bunting
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Baseball
rs. Iowa, 1 p.m.
fouleheader
Columbia, Mo.
**Women's golf**
at Duramed/Rio Verde
Collegiate Invitational,
Rio Verde, Ariz., all day
SATURDAY
Softball
vs. UIC, Carbondale, III., 10 a.m.
Baseball
vs. Iowa, 1 p.m.
Tennis vs. Tulane, New Orleans, noon
Men's basketball
vs. Missouri, Columbia,
Mo. 1 p.m.
Softball vs. Southern Illinois Carbondale, 4 p.m.
Women's basketball vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
Track
at Alex Wilson Last Chance, South Bend Ind., all day;
vs. Iowa State, NCAA qualifier, Ames, Iowa, all day
Women's golf
Swimming
at Duramed/Rio Verde
Collegiate Invitation, Rio
Verde, Ariz., all day
Swimming vs. Nebraska, 2 p.m.
SUNDAY
Softball
vs. Western Illinois,
Carbondale, IL., 9 a.m.
vs. Southern Illinois-
Edwardsville,
Carbondale, IL., 11 a.m.
Tennis at New Orleans noon
Baseball vs. Iowa, 1 p.m.
Women's golf
at Duramed/Rio Verde
Collegiate Invitational,
Rio Verde, Ariz., all day
MONDAY
Men's golf
at Louisiana Classics Invitational, Lafayette, La., all day.