THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9,2010
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SELF DEFENSE
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Jayhawks hope to take sting out of Hornets
sophomore guard Travis Reeford guards a Washburn player during Kansas' first exhibition game of the season last week. Kansas will face Emporia State tonight at 7 p.m. in its final exhibition game before opening the regular season on Friday against Lonwood.
BYTIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/WUKbasketball
There's one easy way to tell if Bill Self is unhappy with his team.
PAGE 1B
If they're not playing defense, he's unhappy. Plain and simple. No excuses. Self is a defensive guru, and, judging by the response from his players Monday afternoon, his team is buying in.
What does Self want to improve on?
"Post defense."
How about junior forward Markiep Morris?
"Get better defensively."
Senior guard Tyrel Reed?
Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor?
Sophomore guard Elijah Johnson?
"Defensively, we had a lot of breakdowns. We want to definitely improve on that."
"Defensive intensity is always the key for us."
"We could tighten up on the defense."
Saying it is one thing, though.
Doing it is something completely
from getting open looks for all of the 35-second shot clock, not just the first 25. Taylor said that was a problem in last week's 92-62 thumping of Washburn.
different. The Jayhawks need, by their shots with under 10 seconds their reckoning, to keep teams on the shot clock," he said. "We've
just got to be solid through the whole shot clock."
"Defensively, we had a lot of breakdowns. We want to definitely improve on that."
BILL SELF Coach
"I think we can play defense, but I think last week they got a lot of
R e e d said those 10 seconds could make or break the Jayhawks' defenses
"I feel like good teams can play
"I don't think any of our guys have thought it will be bad that we don't have Cole down low anymore. Plus, all guys think they block shots just as well or better than the guy before them. You'll be disappointed if you didn't feel that way." Self said. "I do think that when Jeff gets back, that will be a bonus for us in that particular element, because, when we do make a mistake he will be able to cover better than our other guys."
The biggest change defensively is the literal biggest change defensively. Gone is the towering 6-foot-11 Cole Aldrich, who went to Oklahoma City with the 11th pick in the NBA draft last summer. Aldrich, who left with one year of eligibility remaining, finished his career two blocks shy of the Kansas career record.
defense for 25 seconds," he said. "Great teams play for 35 seconds. That's where we want to be"
Morris said the best way to improve the post defense would be to own the rebounding battle and limit opponent's second chances. It's another facet Aldrich will be missed in, but Morris said the Jayhawks still want to outbound every team by at least 10.
Looking to fill some of that void will be Jeff Withey, but Aldrich's shot-blocking presence covered all manner of defensive sins.
"We've got to block out a lot more," he said. "With Cole here he would just grab it, you know, over everybody, but now we need to block out a lot more and rebound more as a team."
Edited by Michael Bednar
FOOTBALL
Jayhawks face tough slate after historic victory
Kansas overcame the odds to win Saturday but the rest of the schedule is unforgiving
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
When coach Turner Gill told his players to prepare for the biggest comeback ever during his halftime speech Saturday against Colorado,
he wasn't just spewing out hollow words to motivate his 2-6 football team, down 35-10 at that point. He actually believed it.
"I thought the body language was good" he said
Between the "Believe" shirts worn by staff and players and the constant talk of confidence by
"You always find the positives in every game, and this was a big positive."
able to overcome the deficit that we did, we'll definitely use this as much as we can to continue to gain confidence."
Whatever those errors were, Gill and his coaches corrected them en route to the biggest comeback in KU history.
The offensive woes were shaken in the second half, led by big performances by running back James Sims and quarterback Quinn Mecham. Sims ran for 4 touchdowns and Mecham was a perfect 12-12 in the final 30 minutes. Gill said he thought about replacing Mecham, but decided to give him another shot in the final half.
during his Monday teleconference. "I just thought there were some key errors that we could correct in the second half."
TURNER GILL Coach
With a bowl game still nearly out of the question this season, Gill believes Saturday's comeback can be used for motivation the rest of the year as well as into next season.
If Kansas finds itself down 35 points against any of its remaining
"You always find the positives in every game, and this was a big positive," he said. "For them to be
their head coach, there is no doubt Gill will remind his players of Saturday's comeback many times over the course of the final three games.
The first leg of that journey begins this Saturday as Gill returns to Nebraska to face his former team for the first time as a head coach. The Cornhuskers are 8-1 and a near-lock for the Big 12 northe title.
opponents, a comeback won't be easy: each team left on the schedule is ranked in the top 25 in the BCS standings.
The following Saturday brings the Oklahoma State Cowboys to town, who are also 8-1 and 10th in the BCS standings.
After those tough games back-to-back. The Jayhawks finish off their season with a trip to Arrowhead and the 119th edition of the Border War against the Missouri Tigers, who are sitting at 7-2 on the year.
With only four combined losses by those three teams, expecting another historic upset might be too much to ask if the Jayhawks get down early once again.
Edited by Roshni Oommen
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Kansas coach Turner Gill engages in a heated argument with the officials after junior linebacker Chea Peterman was whistled for a personal foul late in the fourth quarter. The defense was able to stop Colorado's drive and forced a point with less than three minutes in the quarter.
COMMENTARY
Teahan, Woolridge may take redshirts
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
It looks like the Jayhaws have one redshirt candidate decided.
Coach Bill Self didn't make the official statement, but it looks like senior guard Conner Teahan will be red shirting this season.
"It hasn't been decided, but we're definitely leaning towards sitting him," Self said in a press conference Monday.
In order for Teahan to remain eligible for red shirting this season, he won't play tonight against Emporia State.
If you've followed the team for a while, this shouldn't come as a shock.
In three seasons with the Jayhawks, Teahans hasn't seen more than a four-minute average of game time. Last season, he played a total of 73 minutes in 19 games. His size and shooting ability could serve most valuable at the three position.
Seniors Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Mario Little all started last Tuesday against Washburn, but they will be gone at season's end. And if freshman Josh Selby and juniors Marcus and/ or Markieff Morris prove worthy, they could head to the NBA. Teahan would be a welcome leader with most of the upperclassmen gone.
More importantly, Teahan can focus on school and his studies in finance. Last season, Little red-shirted because it ensured his graduation, which Self said is a top priority for his athletes.
Teahan made news last fall when he tried out for the Kansas football team at quarterback. He ultimately stuck with basketball. This season, it looks like he could have seen some action on the field with all the quarterback injuries on the football team.
There are a lot of minutes for the taking in 2011, pending next year's acquisitions. But Teahan could be taking a lot of those, though his small sample size of game experience makes it hard to predict where that will be.
There is a swarm of debate if and who another red shirt candidate could be. The immediate thought is freshman guard Royce Woolridge.
He is a freshman, so he's eligible to play in the preseason and still qualify for a red shirt. But Self wouldn't give any indication on the status of Woolridge.
But on the Jayhawk basketball team, as does happen with top-10 teams, there aren't a lot of minutes for the taking. Self said part of the redshirting decision for Teahan came with the large graduating class.
He seems to be in the same position as sophomore Elijah Johnson was this year: odd-guard out and has experience going against him.
We won't know his status until possibly after the first preseason game. In practice, at least, Woolridge is doing what is expected of him.
"He's a freshman." Self said. "He's going through his moments, but Royce is doing fine."
Edited by Roshni Commen