THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2010
Focusing on the little things
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 3B
Coach Bonnie Henrickson hopes her team will improve on defense, handling the ball and preventing turnovers. The Jayhawks start their regular season Sunday against South Dakota.
TROUBLE WITH THE TREY
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Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Senior guard Tyrel Reel leaps to defend a shot from Emporia State guard Jarvis Nichols. Kansas played in its final exhibition game Tuesday night and will host Longwood at 7 p.m. to open its regular season.
Long range accuracy lacking early
PAGE 18
tdwyer@kansan.com
BY TIM DWYER
The team statistics from the end of last year and the end of this year's exhibition season are really pretty similar. The Jayhawks hit 49 percent of their shots last year. They hit 48 percent in the exhibition season. They've pulled down 37.5 rebounds per game this year, compared to 34.5 last year.
But there's one stat in particular that's glaringly different. Kansas hit 40.4 percent of its three-pointers last season. This year? 22.6 percent. A slight drop is understandable, and, frankly, it was to be expected. Gone is Sherron Collins. Gone is Xavier Henry. Gone, too, is C.J. Henry, who only took 21 threes, but hit 11 of them. Those three combined to hit 150 of 375 threes last season, 40 percent of the layhawks' tally.
"We really haven't talked about it much," senior guard Tyrel Reed said. "I think we've got capable shooters on this team, and I think we've got some proven shooters on this team. You know, shots just weren't falling those last couple games."
But this year, even the steady hands of Tyrel Reed (47.3 percent) and Brady Morningstar (39.6) are lacking from behind the arc. Reed has hit just 2-of-7 shots from behind the arc, while Brady Morningstar has yet to make a three in five attempts.
GAMEDAY|8B Kansas prepares for Longwood
"We need Brady and Tyrel, probably more so than anyone else that's been in our program the last couple years, to step up and make shots," coach Bill Self said. "Their performance isn't determined by whether or not they make shots but it certainly gives our team a much better chance when you can stretch the defense."
"I try to just put up about five or six hundred shots a day," Releford
Reed knows the burden lies heavy on his shoulders, but he says there are plenty of guys on the roster that can step up and hit shots. Travis Releford, who was impressive in his start against Emporia State, took a redshirt season last year and most of that additional time was spent working on his jump shot.
said. "I had been doing that all through last season and just continued doing it through the summer; I built up a lot of confidence doing that."
Check out the in-depth look at the teams and statistics for the Jayhawks' season opener.
Self said Releford's role is as a defender, but Releford said he can see himself as a shooter as well. Releford only took eight threes, but the stats from the small sample size lend credence to his argument. He hit three of them, and that 37.5 career percentage is better than all but Reed, Robinson and Marcus Morris.
Marcus and Markieff Morris are the wild cards in Bill Self's rotation. The twins are 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10, respectively, but they both hit better than 37 percent of their threes. Their ability to stretch
the floor with outside shooting is an asset, but Self needs their size inside under the basket.
why not shoot it?"
"The twins have been doing a good job," Reed said. "That's not their forte, and I don't think coach wants it to be their forte, but when they're open, definitely they've been knocking it down, so
Senior guard Mario Little said the shots will start to fall for the rest of the team soon, though.
"We shoot good in practice," he said. "We just haven't been able to buy a shot lately."
— Edited by Abby Davenport
COMMENTARY
This weekend will be full of Kansas athletic events to satiate all sports fans
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
Look at the smorgasbord Kansas Athletics laid out this weekend. There's so much to feast on and it's not even Thanksgiving.
This is the first time all season where we have the three major sports on this campus in consecutive days during the weekend, including this upcoming Monday. No matter what you have going on this weekend, there will almost always be some event for your viewing pleasure.
TODAY: The men's basketball game against Longwood will most likely be the highlight of your weekend. I've been around this University enough to know what Kansas basketball means to you all. Maybe the No. 7 team in the nation has enough left in the tank after two nail-biting exhibition games — wait. Nevermind.
Bold prediction: the Jayhawks start the season 1-0, but don't quote me on that.
SATURDAY: Before the marquee event of the night, those still in Lawrence can go see the swimming and diving team at 1 p.m. They won't have another home meet until the middle of January.
Then look at what's happening in Lincoln, Neb., at 6 p.m. Kansas football versus Nebraska, viewable to those willing to pay the expensive pay-per-view fee — $29.95. On the surface, it looks like the most lopsided Big 12 matchup of the season. But this game might not be all that bad.
The Jayhawks are coming off that monumental comeback against Colorado, which is no comparison to Nebraska.
Coach Turner Gill gets to go back to his college football roots, where he played quarterback at Nebraska. There's no way he gets destroyed in his return. At least, not as bad as when basketball coach Bill Self got run out of the arena at Oklahoma State. Regardless, Nebraska is a top 10 team. They play good football and sometimes good football is worth watching, no matter who it is.
SUNDAY: As with the men's team, the women's basketball team begins its regular season against South Dakota at 2 p.m. If you are willing to forego the first half of the Chiefs' game, check out how good these ladies are. The Jayhawks did receive a vote for the AP Top 25 poll. The combination of Angel Goodrich and Carolyn Davis should be something special to watch this year. They tore it up in the two exhibition games.
The team didn't finish 2009-10 the way it wanted to after losing nine out of its last 12 games as well as Danielle McCray to a season-ending injury. This season looks promising for the Jayhawks.
MONDAY: The men's team bookends the four-day period with its second game, playing host to Valparaiso at 7 p.m.
There isn't going to be a period for Kansas Athletics like this one all year. There is a lot going on next weekend, but if you take advantage of this one, you can see everything and still have your own fun.
Thanksgiving is still weeks away, so this is what you get.
Dig in.
FOOTBALL
Edited by David Cawthon
Former Husker Gill focusing on game, not homecoming
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
Coach Turner Gill's accomplishments as starting quarterback at Nebraska in the early 1980s speak for themselves. He went to three Orange Bowls, never lost a conference game and nearly won the Heisman Trophy in 1983. He was also named to the Big Eight's All-Decade team for the 1980s.
After his playing days were over, he worked at Nebraska until 2004, coaching for three national title teams and Heisman winner Eric Crouch in 2001.
"This game is not about me," he said. "It's about the players and that is the truth of it all." He added, "...you try not to get caught up in all the outside things that are happening."
Nearly 20 years of his life were spent in Lincoln, winning championships and continuing the storied tradition of the Nebraska football program. Even now, at
But when the red sea of over 85,000 fans welcome their former star back Saturday at 6 p.m., Gill's "not about me" attitude might be stalled, for a few minutes at least.
"I'm sure it's going to hit him when he walks onto the field in front of those fans," offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. "I know it's probably going to send a wave of emotion through him."
Kansas, he's his hired fellow former Huskers to his staff. Kansas coaches Buddy Wyatt, Aaron Stamn and Joe Dailey all have ties to Nebraska.
Maybe that is true.
To top it all off, Gill's biggest mentor is Tom Osborne. Gill's head coach at Nebraska during his years in Lincoln. Gill says they stay in touch, often talking a few times a month.
"I'm sure it's going to hit him when he walks onto the field in front of those fans."
Turner Gill runs the ball against Louisiana State in the 1983 Orange Bowl in Miami. First-year coach Gill is leading his layhawks to Nebraska this weekend to face the No. 8 Cornhuskers. Gill played quarterback at Nebraska from 1980 to 1983 and was a finalist for the Heisman trophy in 1983. He also coached at Nebraska in 1990 as a graduate assistant, then again from 1992 to 1904 as a quarterback coach and assistant head coach.
But even with all the ties he has to both schools, Gill doesn't want this week to be about him.
Gill insists the major storyline won't affect his preparations this week. Nebraska enters Saturday's game No. 8 in the BCS standings with an
CHUCK LONG Offensive coordinator
GAMEDAY|78 Jayhawks face low expectations
8-1 record and a top 20 defense. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini is in his third year in Lincoln, and he and Gill coached one year at Nebraska together.
"I had an opportunity to coach with him at Nebraska and saw firsthand how he goes about doing his business and how he's able to put together a very good defensive scheme on each opponent," Gill said.
Pelini, a former defensive coordinator, has improved the Husker
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Take a look at a rundown of the players and predictions for Saturday's game at p.g.m. in Lincoln, Neb.
defense every year, finishing seventh in the country in total defense last season.
Before its historic fourth quarter against Colorado, the Kansas offense had been mediocre for most of the year, only averaging 20 points a game. While the Jayhawks have faced five Big 12 teams already, they haven't seen a defense like Nebraska's this season.
Gill announced that Quinn Mecham will start on Saturday night. Mecham has thrown three touchdowns the last two weeks,
and Gill said he deserves another opportunity to start.
"At this point in time I think he's earned the starting spot," Gill said. "His poise has been very high, and he's also been able to execute the offense."
Gill stressed the need for ball security and good execution by
his offensive players if they want to be successful Saturday night.
Last week's victory over Colorado was a monumental win for the Jayhawks, no question about it. But a win for Gill against his former school and life-long mentor as 35-point underdogs would be much bigger.
Gill, however, still insists this is just like any other game.
"This is just about Nebraska playing Kansas," he said, "and we are trying to do the best we can to win a football game."
Edited by Joel Petterson