THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 3B
LANSA
5
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15,2010
Focusing on the little things
Coach Bonnie Henrickson hopes her team will improve on defense, handling the ball and preventing turnovers. The Jayhawks started their regular season Sunday against South Dakota.
WWW.KRSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Can Markieff shine again?
The junior forward stuffed the stat sheet, but he can't carry the load all season
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Friday night was one heck of a game by that twin fellow. Not Marcus Morris, though. Well, he didn't play bad. But Markieff Morris was the star of the show (with a nod to Tyshawn Taylor as best actor in a supporting role) as the Jayhawks scored the most points in a game since Bill Self took over at Kansas in a season-opening 113-75 rout of the
the Longwood Lancers.
Markieff stuffed the stat sheet with a 14-point, 15-rebound, five-assist, four-steal, two-block performance. There aren't a lot of stat lines like that, which require you to catch your breath if you read it in one go. If Markieff can continue his stellar play, starting tonight against Valparaiso, the Jayhawks will have one of the top frontcourts in the country.
dangerous offensive team, and the Jayhawks will have to find an answer to their defensive struggles.
"They share the ball well," Self
GAME DAY | 8B
Kansas has allowed all three opponents it has faced this year, including the exhibition season, to shoot better than 40 percent from the field. That is all but unheard of in the Bill Self era, in which the Jayhawks have finished top in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense for all but one year.
Kansas takes on Valparaiso tonight
For some predictions and player stats for tonight's game, check out page 8B.
"For a guy to get 14, 15, five and two, that's a pretty good statistical game," coach Bill Self said. "Especially when he only played 26 minutes."
For a lot of the preseason, questions reigned about who would be able to replicate the post presence of Cole Aldrich.
Defensively, those questions remain. The Lancers had 30 points in the paint despite having no player taller than 6-foot-8 on the roster. All four Kansas posts are taller than that. Monday night will provide a different type of challenge, with Valparaiso boasting six players 6-foot-6 or taller. The Crusaders are widely recognized as a very
said. "So we're going to have to play much better defensively."
Markieff did fill Aldrich's shoes well in other aspects Friday, though. His five assists surpassed Aldrich's career high of three. And most importantly, Kansas
may have found the answer to its potential rebounding quandary, through Markieff's career-high tying 15 boards. He'll have to continue putting up numbers like that, starting Monday against Valparaiso's relatively tall lineup.
"Since we don't have Cole no more," Markieff said, "I think I have to rebound a lot more."
But Markieff can't be the only Jayhawk crashing the boards. Thomas Robinson contributed seven boards off the bench, but Marcus was underwhelming with only two rebounds as the starting power for-
SEE MARKIEFF ON PAGE 7B
See the photo gallery of Friday's opener at kansan.com/photos/galleries
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Junior forward Markieff Morris lays the ball up for two points in the Jayhawks season opener Friday at Allen Fieldhouse. Morris had a double -double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
FOOTBALL
Longtime rivalry ends in ugly loss, 20-3
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
LINCOLN, Neb. — The nation's longest uninterrupted college football series came to an end Saturday night in Lincoln. Kansas and Nebraska have played annually on the gridiron since 1906, yet it was never much of a rivalry. The No. 9 Cornhuskers' 20-3 victory pushed their record to 91-23-3 against the jayhawks, who last won in Lincoln in 1968.
Because no one really expected a close game to finish off the rivalry, the Turner Gill storyline was harped on all week. Gill wasn't much help in that regard, however, playing down the significance of his return to Nebraska's Memorial Stadium where he was a legacy in the 1980s.
"We came into the stadium about 11 this morning, just to have my team come in," Gill said. "There was a little bit of awkwardness for me to come into the stadium on the other side, being here as an opponent versus being on the same side."
Atter the loss, however, Gill spoke about his emotional return.
The running game wasn't much better, tallying a mere 72 yards on the night. When your offense fails to get off the team bus, the defense can't make any mistakes if you want
The Jayhawks' offensive performance was also a bit awkward to
Quarterback Quinn Mecham completed three passes for 15 yards while getting sacked six times on the night.
watch.
"Sometimes you have to hold people under certain points." Gill said. "And sometimes your offense doesn't play as well and you have to keep them off the board."
to beat a team like Nebraska.
attempts, keeping the defense on the field for more than 36 minutes.
"They just made some crucial third downs early in the game, and even later in the game."
"I don't think fatigue was a factor," Gill said. "They just made some crucial third downs early in the game, and even later in the game. We've got to get off the field."
In an attempt to spark the flailing offense, wide receiver Bradley McDougald took snaps out of the
For a defense that was torched by the likes of Kansas State and Baylor, the 20 points given up to Nebraska on the road was a surprisingly good performance. However, the mistake-free football needed to compensate for the lack of offense wasn't there. Two would-be interceptions were dropped, and Nebraska was able to convert on nine third down
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
TURNER GILL Coach
tion periodically, rushing four times for 27 yards.
McDougald wasn't happy with the offensive performance.
as a wide receiver. We do so much work on the outside, and then we turn around and the quarterback is scrambling, so we have to turn around and block. That was a pretty frustrating thing all night."
Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead stiff-arms senior cornerback Chris Harris in the fourth quarter of Kansas' game against Nebraska on Saturday night in Lincoln. Kansas dropped its seventh game of the season, losing 20-3.
"It was very frustrating," he said. "Especially
Even with the offensive struggles, Saturday night's game was never out of hand. There weren't many big plays, and in turn, the crowd was
relatively subdued.
began in 1906 and wasn't ever too pleasant for fans of the crimson and blue.
It was a rather anticlimactic ending to the rivalry — one that first
See a photo gallery from this game at kansan.com/ photos/galleries.
COMMENTARY
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
thibodeaux@kansan.com
Jeff Withey might have set the bar a little too high for himself, at least until he's fully recovered.
Jeff Withey plays well even on hurt ankle
The sophomore center said his right foot, the one in its recovery stages after being broken in September, was sore in practice all week. Coach Bill Self said he planned for Withey to play for only a couple minutes against Longwood on Friday.
Instead, Withey said it was feeling good. He ended up on the court for 12 minutes, racking up eight points, two steals and a block that sent the ball flying dangerously fast into the stands.
"Now when he says he can't do it, he won't have a built-in excuse." Self said.
Withe knew it was a joke, of course. But there was a bit of truth to that statement. We know what he can do, so let's see some more.
"He knows I'm hurt, but I'm sure he does expect it." Withey said in response to his coach's statement. "I expect it from myself."
Just imagine what he could do when he's healthy. Withey said he was about a week away from being 100 percent, if not closer.
And we're all guilty of it. When Withey was a senior in high school, he was the No. 36 player overall recruit according to Rivals.com, and the eighth best center. He sat out a semester at Kansas and has been injured quite a few times.
Last season, he played behind Cole Aldrich during the second semester and never got integrated into the offense. Nobody has seen him play for an extended period of time in a long stretch of games.
The guy was supposed to be pretty darn good. He's not necessarily Cole Aldrich, but a formidable seven-footer nonetheless. Double up on Marcus and Markieff Morris, and pay the price. Withey won't spot up for three like the twins do, but he is capable of dominating the middle.
"Just pure adrenaline," he said.
And get this: Withey played Friday night without any pain medication for his foot.
Opposing teams need to adjust quickly to his presense.
As the Morris twins and Thomas Robinson were each pumping out double-digit points. Withey was the crowd favorite. The crowd erupted when he took the court and it was especially boisterous after his dunk and block.
This performance sent out an important message to Longwood and future Kansas opponents; Don't forget about leff.
He came out Friday and stunned everyone. Against Emporia State the Tuesday before. Withey ran as slow as someone running from a killer in a nightmare. It was painful just to watch him and his recovering footleg.
"A lot of people forgot about me, I guess," Withey said. "I don't mind it at all."
4
Edited by Clark Goble
---