SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
DOUBLES GUIDE TENNIS VICTORY PAGE 3B
WELDON RECOVERS FROM INJURY PAGE 89
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MONDAY, MARCH 10,2008
PAGE 8B
PAGE 1B
HAPPY ENDING
Seniors seal a four-year deal
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Senior forward Darnell Jackson hugs sophomore forward Darrell Arthur during the final seconds of the game.
BY RUSTIN DODD
dodd@kansan.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - With 33 seconds left in Kansas' 72-55 victory against Texas A&M, Bill Self could finally relax. Kansas' coach marched down the sideline, and high-fived each player along the way. As Self passed senior Darnell Jackson, the senior forward held up four fingers. Jackson's four-fingered salute translated to mission accomplished. Self and his seniors can call themselves Big 12 conference champions for the fourth consecutive year.
"I think you develop your identity away from home." Self said after Kansas improved its Big 12 road record to 5-3. "This was probably the most complete road game we've played."
Complete might have been just the right word. If the Jayhawks had made a to-do list before Saturday's game, they probably could have checked off nearly every item on the list.
1. Play through their big guys. Check. Sophomore Darrell Arthur scored 16 points, which helped Kansas to 44 points in the paint.
2. Pressure Texas A&M's guards. Check, Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins spent most of Saturday harassing the Aggies backcourt, forcing 15 turnovers and finishing with 13 steals.
"That's who we are," Self said. "Our guards need to be able to get after other people."
3. Be balanced on offense. Check, Kansas had at least five guys in double-figures for the second consecutive game, including junior Mario Chalmers, who tied Arthur for a team-high 16 points.
4. Have a healthy Collins. Check. Kansas' sophomore guard played a season-high 32 minutes and finished with 13 points and seven assists.
5. Send the seniors out right. Check, Kansas' four seniors walked out of Reed Arena with the Big 12 regular season trophy in tow. "Emotions were flying high," Collins said. "We just wanted to do everything possible to send them out with a bang in a perfect way."
The game started in the perfect way for Kansas when senior guard Robinson found Arthur for an alley-oop off the opening tip. Arthur stayed active against a lengthy Texas A&M frontcourt that featured 6-foot-9 senior Joseph Jones and 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan. With Kansas trailing 15-14, Arthur, a Dallas native, scored six of Kansas' next eight points to help Kansas stake a 22-14 lead. Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon called a time-out, and Kansas never trailed again. Arthur's 16 points came on 8-of-10 shooting, and Self credited his guards for most of Arthur's easy looks.
"We didn't get much from our big guys except off guard penetration," Self said. "Our guards did a real good job of getting into the paint."
SEE HAPPY ENDING ON PAGE 4B
FOOTBALL
Team celebrates season with dinner, awards
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
Two months, four days and 20 hours after the final horn sounded and the Jayhawks were declared 2008 Orange Bowl Champions, both the team and their fans still weren't finished celebrating.
About 5,000 fans filled the east stands in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday night for the Jayhawks' 2007 Football Awards Banquet. This was a chance for the coaches to hand out their awards and for the fans and players to relive a record-setting season.
"Tonight, we celebrate the greatest season in the history of Kansas football," co-host David Lawrer ce said.
The players, all dressed in suits, were announced one-by-one with some players receiving standing ovations. Sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing's ovation was so long that it drowned out the name of the player following his.
"Oohs" and "aahs" were heard from the crowd at some of the biggest throws, catches and tackles from the season.
With the players in their seats on James Naismith Court, the lights turned out and everyone turned their attention to the video board for a 20-minute highlight video.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 7B
2007 Kansas football award recipients
Senior Academic Scholar -
Brian Seymour
Otto Schnellbacher Award (Scout team offensive player of the year) - A.J. Steward
George Mrkonic Award (Scout team defensive player of the year) Richard Johnson
Offensive Lineman of the Year Anthony Collins
Iron Hawk Award (Outstanding performance in the weight room) son
Most Improved Offensive Player - Marcus Henry
Most Improved Defensive Player – Joe Mortensen
James McClinton Kerry Meier
Nolan Cromwell Award (Leadership) -
Brandon McAnderson
Joe Mortensen
Willie Pless Award (Most tackles for the season) son
Galen Fiss Award (Exemplary service to campus and community) - Mike Rivera
Nolan Cromwell Award (Leadership)
Brandon McAnder
Don Fambrough Award (Unselfish player)
Kerry Meier
Ryan Cantrell
Gale Sayers Award (Most courageous player) marcus Herford Derek Fine
Bruce Kallmyer Award (Special teams MVP) marcus Herford Derek Fine
John Hadi Award (Offensive MP) - Tudd Reesing
Ray Evans Award (Defensive MVP) -
James McClinton
Aqib Talib
Hawks extend their winning streak to six
BASEBALL
BY SHAWN SHROYER shroyer@kansan.com
North Dakota State made it interesting, but Kansas stretched its winning streak to six games on Sunday, and swept the doubleheader and the series.
Both offenses ran rampant the first two innings and were tied 5-5 heading into the third, but steadier pitching prevailed for the next three innings until the Jayhawks (8-5) broke the game open with a six-run sixth that led to a 11-9 victory against the Bison (0-6).
"I felt good about some of those guys breaking out," Kansas coach Ritch Price said of his offense. "Now we've just got to get a little bit more consistency from some, of our people."
The game remained knotted 5-5 through five innings, but the Bison and right-handed reliever Ben Mathiason (0-2) could only keep the Jayhawk bats at bay for so long.
Senior left fielder John Allman hit a
Junior center fielder Nick Faounce got the Kansas offense jump started with a one-out double off the left-center field wall in the sixth. Two batters later he was coming home to break the tie.
Weston White/KANSAN
Senior shortstop Erik Morrison throws the ball to first base after fielding a ground ball. Morrison threw the runner out at first base in Kansas' 4-3 extra innings victory over the Bison Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.
grounder at North Dakota State shortstop Ryan Langlais that he let get by him. Langlais' error allowed Faune to score, Allman to advance to second and sopho-
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 6B
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