THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
VOLLEYBALL | 4B
Jayhawks fall in three sets again
THURSDAY,OCTOBER 28,2010
Missouri handed Kansas its fourth straight-sets loss in a row Wednesday in Colombia, Mo. The Tigers edged the layhawks by a combined total of just eight points in all three sets.
WWW.KANSAN.COM
BROTHERLY LOVE
A bulkier, more versatile Markieff
Morris hopes to leave his brother's shadow, become a force down low
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDkasketball
Pick up the college basketball preview issue of any national publication. Flip to the Kansas page. In all likelihood, there sits yet another Marcus Morris profile, and rightfully so. The junior forward was the most consistent player in a Kansas uniform last year and has, by all accounts, taken big steps forward in the offseason.
"Keef became a monster over the summer," he said. "Keef is going to surprise a lot of people. Nobody really got a chance to really see him come out because he always had Cole in front of him."
But in the shadows of that spotlight lurk Morris' frontcourt mates, perhaps most notably his twin brother and newly-listed center Markieff. Marcus is the first to tell you not to forget about his brother.
Markieff — or Keef, as friends and teammates call him — has bulked up over the summer to 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds (from 6-9, 232). The weight gain is most noticeable when the twins stand next to each other. Marcus has a fluid, athletic look to him, while Markieff's shoulders are a bit broader and his neck resembles a roedeo bull's more
PAGE 1B
than a basketball player's thick and full of muscle.
"He's got a really nice body," coach Bill Self said. "He's got some things that are really hard to guard from a move standpoint and
a size standpoint, I think he's finally understanding how to use his body in relationship to what he's got"
His role will likely change from an inside-out style player to a more pure post with the departure of Cole Aldrich, who led the layhawks in rebounding and blocked shots last year. Someone will have to fill that role for the layhawks, and for the moment it appears that burden lies on Markieff.
"I know the big fella's not here," he said.
weight gives him the versatility to play a power or finesse game and it could benefit him against a variety of defensive matchups.
With the size and role change comes a more well-developed post ip game. Markieff said the added
"It depends on the opponent," Markieff said. "If it's a strong guy I'll step outside. If it's a smaller guy, I'll put him in the basket."
Self said Markieff's biggest development has been in his inside game, where he has worked with assistant coach Danny Manning — also the best post player not named Wilt Chamberlain to ever play at Kansas — to develop his offensive repertoire.
"He's got good touch on the ball from range." Self said, "but he's become more of a play player to me. He understands that he can score on the block."
That's not to say he can't still hit the outside shot. Markieff was a 53 percent shooter from three-point range last year, and Self said he take more than the 19 attempts that he took last year. Since he came to Kansas, the Jayhawks have won nine of the 10 games in which he's made at least one three-pointer.
"Keef became a monster over the summer. Keef is going to surprise a lot of people."
Thomas Robinson, who will slide into Markieff's role of first big
"He'll shoot more threes this year," Self said, "because he'll play more. But he doesn't need to fall in love with it."
MARCUS MORRIS junior forward
off the bench, said he sees a different type of improvement.
"He's smarter," Robinson said. "He's always been a smart player, but right now I feel like he's a veteran when
it comes to this. He knows stuff. He thinks 10 times faster."
If what the twins say is true, they won't have to think faster around each other. Marcus said there is a connection between them on the court that helps them understand where the other is at all times, even if the fans or coaches can't see it.
“It's going to be passes that some people don't think that I know it's there that Keef's going to catch and dunk,” Marcus said. “It's going to be fun. It's going to be fun to watch us play together.”
Edited by Clark Goble
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Junior center Markieff Morris slams down a two-handed dunk against the Crimson team at Late Night in the Phog. Morris finished with eight points and two assists as the Blue team defeated the Crimson team 40-39 at the scrimmage on Oct.15.
Mecham making strides in practice as starter
FOOTBALL
Coach Turner Gill speaks to junior quarterback Quinn Mecham prior to Mecham entering the game. Mecham played for the first time this season after Pick and Webb sustained injuries early in the game against Texas A&M.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Practice time is honing Mecham's skills for his first start at Kansas
BY NICOLAS ROESLER
proesler@kansan.com
This is Mecham week.
Starting repetitions at practice, relentless media attention and an upcoming start at Iowa State are all on junior quarterback Quinn Mecham's mir'-
chams mind.
However, his performance in practice shows an excited player ready to play.
Mecham
"He has stepped in, ready to get better, and he's ready to
After practice on Sunday Gill commented on the energy Mecham brought to the practice field. And halfway through the week leading up to his first start
move this team forward," coach Turner Gill said.
in a Kansas uniform, Mecham is continuing to uplift the offense at practice.
"He has actually brought some energy to the team," Gill said after Wednesday's practice.
COMMENTARY
A similar situation of starting quarterbacks going down midway through the season has happened to Gill before. At Buffalo, his starting quarterback was injured on a Thursday before a big game. Gill said the backup came in during practice, and right off the bat brought increased energy. His team ended up winning the game on Saturday.
"They're excited for him," Gill said, "and he's excited for himself."
At the start of the season, Mecham was planning on red-
Mecham has had an entire week to get ready for this game, and his teammates are rallying around him.
SEE MECHAM ON PAGE 6B
Excuses won't be necessary very soon
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kqier@kansan.com
The traditional counterargument of "wait until basketball season" has never truly ended an argument. It is similar to chanting "overrated" when a team defeats a higherranked and supposedly more talented team.
Both of these thoughts insinuate that a fan's team is not talented enough to defeat whichever team they just lost to, or that it would not have been able to beat its opponents if they were as talented as the nation thought. The first argument is the weakest because it only puts up a smokescreen and deflects attention to another sport when a losing team can no longer be defended.
Kansas football has produced opportunities for both of these arguments with its shocking victory against Georgia Tech and subsequent losing streak. The Jayhawks have had tough seasons in the past, including last year, but the lack of hope seems different this year.
Maybe the pessimism is simply due to the Jayhawks' poor 2-5 record and their winless Big 12 streak. Or maybe it stems from the uncertainty around a new coach who was advertised as a miracle worker, but turned out to be just a man who still struggles to motivate college athletes and lead them to success. Even more disappointing was Kansas' failure to defeat in-state rival Kansas State. No loss hurts more than a rivalry game — you can ask athletes at any level and they'd probably agree. The main issue becomes pride, and once that is injured, it is one of the hardest to rehabilitate.
As we see the start of men's basketball on Tuesday, there will be added pressure on the program. Not that they can't handle it, but there will certainly be pressure after a disappointing football season. This campus thrives on victory. After all, the recruiting slogan is "Kansas: A great place to be a champion." Now that Bill Self has given this generation a taste of a championship, expectation increases to new levels for the basketball team.
Rivalries will be especially interesting for Kansas this year. The football team lost to Kansas State and is expected to lose to Missouri when they play on Nov. 27.
But when you turn to basketball, there will also be a challenge. For the first time, Kansas State is picked to finish ahead of Kansas at the end of the regular season, a result that would snap Kansas' six-year streak of regular season titles.
The fans should support the football team in their efforts the rest of the season and show up in force for the Border Showdown at Arrowhead, but they should remember that this team is not without challenges. There is a new coach in his first year at a program where he has not yet brought in a recruiting class. Football will get better, but in the meantime there is a basketball season to watch, and the Jayhawks will taste victory again on the court and take back the pride that comes with defeating their closest rivals.
Edited by Joel Petterson