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LATE NIGHT AT THE PHOG
Sophomore forward Justin Wesley slams down a one-handed dunk during the scrimmage match against the crimson team. Wesley, the younger brother of former KU basketball player Keith Langford, will sit out the 2010-11 season.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
The 26th
THE WAVE OCTOBER 22,2010
The 26th annual kick off to basketball season shows the team is ready to move on from last year
"I don't feel that I need to show the fans that I'm the next Sherron because the fans just want to win. That's all I'm here for, is to win for my team."
Josh Selby, freshman gaurd
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jaynawks to fight Aggies for conference win
Freshman Jordan Webb passes downfield during the third quarter of Kansas game against in-state rival Kansas State at Memorial Stadium Thursday night. The Jayhawks will attempt to earn their first conference in 10 games.
kcarpenter@kansan.com
BY KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
For Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and Kansas coach Turner Gill, it's a long way from the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Sherman was the Green Bay Packers coach for six seasons, and he hired Gill as the Director of Player Development in 2005. After meeting Gill, Sherman was immediately impressed.
"I felt he could relate well to the players and coaches," Sherman said. "He is full of integrity."
Five years later, the two coaches are in the Big 12 Conference, Gill in his first season with the Jayhawks and Sherman in his third with the Aggies.
Both teams have struggled through the first half of the season and both are still looking for their first conference win. The Aggies started the season strong with three consecutive wins, but have dropped the last three, including conference losses to Oklahoma State and Missouri. Kansas has faced similar adversity, dropping the last two games by a combined score of 114-14.
"He's still having trouble. He won't be ready for this ballgame," he said. "We'll have to make the decision next week if he's able to go or not."
Freshman safety Keeston Terry will miss another week with a leg injury he suffered in the second half loss to Southern Miss. Gill confirmed the decision after Wednesday's practice.
Terry played a large part in the upset of Georgia Tech, recording five tackles in the 28-25 Kansas win. His absence the last three games has been noted, as the Kansas defense has given up an average of 43 points per game.
in those performances are repeated Saturday night in Memorial Stadium. Homecoming week for KU fans might end on a sour note,
Texas A&M senior quarterback Jerrord Johnson has ruled the air for the Aggies this season. He's averaged 43 passes a game, including a staggering 62 attempts in the loss to Oklahoma State. Johnson is also second in the Big 12 in total offense, second only to Baylor's Robert Griffin III. However, Johnson is capable of making bad decisions. His nine interceptions so far this season are more than he threw all of last season.
as the Aggie offense is 10th in the nation in passing yards per game with an average of 305 per contest.
On offense, Kansas has failed to put up double digits in Big 12 play, only scoring 14 points the last two games. Freshman quarterback Jordan Webb is in his first season running the Jayhawk offense, and it has shown recently. After starting his season with only one interception in four games, he has thrown three in the last two losses.
The three straight losses by the Aggies could be a sign of hope for Jayhawk fans. However, last week Kansas State came to town after an embarrassing loss as well. All they did was put up 460 yards of offense while beating the downrodden Jayhawks 59-7.
"We always have some plays like that in the game plan," he said "It's just about finding an opportunity to execute them."
With the offense struggling to score points, Gill didn't rule out the idea of calling a few trick plays Saturday night.
Gill said he wants to have the lead early to call a trick play like a reverse or half-back pass, but that obviously hasn't been the case the last two games.
Big 12, with big games still remaining in conference for each squad. Texas A&M still plays Oklahoma and Texas while the Jayhawks have yet to play Nebraska or Missouri. A win by either team would give the respective squad much needed momentum heading into the second half of the season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Saturday's loser will be 0-3 in the
- Edited by Abby Davenport
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Collins, Cole Aultrich and Xavier Henry.
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This is true. Since the 2007-2008 season, when Martin was hired as the Wildcat coach, Kansas has a 42-6 record. Kansas State is 30-18.
How do people expect the Jayhawks to win when they lose the winningest player in program history, a big man who bailed anybody out on defense and a versatile scorer?
But Self does not live in the past
Martin says that this is Kansas conference because of its dominance.
"Nobody has beat them on the floor, which is where you decide who wins," Martin said.
His main goal when he became the coach was to win the Big 12 Championship. He has yet to do that because Kansas has won it the last six seasons.
It's what coach Bill Self calls "Kansas Math."
It's addition by subtraction. It's not like the NBA where guys can play for the same team from their rookie season to retirement. Guys come and go their first year or stay for four, but in the end they will be replaced.
It's the same thing Martin does, but in Manhattan.
On paper Kansas State looks like the favorite, but Martin lives in reality and winning on paper doesn't cut it for him.
He thinks it's difficult to win a national title and it's even more difficult to repeat. He is hungry for another title.
He doesn't look at the preseason polls either. When asked about receiving two first-place votes, he had no idea that Kansas received two votes.
I don't think coaches really care about preseason polls and awards. They don't mean anything if the team isn't cutting down the net in April.
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Edited by Abby Davenport
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