006
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
▼ BUNT 'EM OVER
Bill Self worthy of national attention
Bill Self is the best coach in America.
PAGE 1B
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
He was rewarded by the Big 12 Conference coaches with the Big 12 Coach of the Year award Monday, but he deserves recognition from the national media as well. The national award will most likely go to the coach of a top five team in the polls, someone like Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, Memphis' John Calipari or Villanova's Jay Wright, but Self has done as well as any of them with freshmen and sophomores in the starting lineup.
The Kansas Jayhawks, despite starting the season 3-4 and dropping two of their first three Big 12 games, recovered to win a share of the conference title. Their NCAA tournament hopes looked bleak after back-to-back losses to Kansas State and Missouri, but now Kansas is a lock to make its 17th consecutive appearance in the Big Dance. The Jayhawks might even be as high as a No. 3 seed if they win the league tournament this weekend in Dallas.
Self's team has won 12 of its past 13 games, which included a 10-game winning streak. Only three teams in Division I have streaks longer than that right now, and they are all playing against mid-major conference schedules (Gonzaga, George Washington and Nevada). During the past 13 games, no other team has posted a better record than Kansas.
Self accomplished those feats while starting three freshmen and two sophomores. The league honored four out of those five players on Monday as well. Freshman Brandon Rush was the only rookie named first-team All-Big 12 and was the Freshman of the Year. Teammates Mario Chalmers and Julian Wright joined him on the conference's All-Freshman team. Chalmers and sophomore Russell Robinson were recognized as members of the All-Defensive team.
Looking at those facts, it is clear that no coach in the country has done a better job than Self. It may take a national championship, or at least a great performance in the national spotlight, for him to get the proper salute.
Unfortunately, the one game that most national media paid attention to was the Texas debacle. That loss was one of the worst performances by the Jayhawks this year, and killed the momentum that the Jayhawks and Self had built during the previous month. Kansas fans know that game was not representative of the body of work that their team had put together, and maybe the 'Hawks will get another chance to show that they are one of college basketball's elite.
The Jayhawks' chances of winning an NCAA title this year are slim. Assuming all of the young horses in Self's stable come back next season though, nobody will look past him for National Coach of the Year — especially when he's cutting down the nets in Atlanta at the Final Four.
Wilson is a Windsor, Mo., senior in journalism.
Baker not to be underestimated
BASEBALL
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Kansas (13-4) will look to extend its win streak to eight games in its last home game before embarking on yet another road trip.
The Jayhawks, ranked No. 25 in the Baseball America poll, play host to the Baker Wildcats (6-14) at 3 p.m. today. The last time the teams met, Kansas coach Ritch Price collected his 300th Division I victory, when the Jayhawks handily sat down the Wildcats, 16-6.
show that the Wildcats hung in last year's match-up and led twice in the game. A six-run sixth inning for Kansas eventually put the game out of reach, but Baker showed itself as a team not to be overlooked.
The lopsided score didn't
"They're an NAIA school but they came in here last year, and I think they were beating us the first seven innings." sophomore third baseman Erik Morrison said. "So we can't take anyone lightly. We come in here and get our stuff done, and hopefully we'll get a W."
Randall Sanders/KANSAN
SEE BAKER ON PAGE 3B
Senior pitcher Don Czyz closes out the Jayhawks' 7-1 victory over Western Illinois in the second game Sunday. Czyz and the Jayhawks take on the Baker Wildcats at 3 p.m. today in Lawrence.
'Hawks lose opener
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Christopher Hanewinckel/K-State Collegian
Crystal Kemp backs down K-State center JoAnn Hamlin during the second half Tuesday night.
KU seniors' hopes dashed early
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
It was reminiscent of the game last Thursday night, when the three Kansas seniors came in with high hopes only to have them fall quickly. The Wildcats opened the game with a 12-0 run before the Jayhawks could put points on the board.
DALLAS — New state, same story.
After pulling close and briefly taking the lead, the Jayhawks could only watch as they were dominated on both sides of the ball, never bringing the game closer than nine points in the second half. Senior forward Crystal Kemp said the team lacked intensity down the stretch.
The women's basketball team lost 72-52 to Kansas State Tuesday night in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. It was the Jayhawks' 11th consecutive loss to the Wildcats.
"You can't teach anyone to have heart and go out there and play hard, and I don't think we did that tonight," she said.
Kansas State followed the game plan most teams have used against Kansas: set screens to create opportunities for
three-point shots against the conference's worst three-point shooting defense.
"They did a great job chasing me off screens," senior guard Erica Hallman said.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson went deep into her bench, giving significant minutes to Zinic, sophomore forward Jamie Boyd and junior guard Shaquina Mosley. The coach even went as far as benching Kemp at the first time-out and holding her out of the game for two minutes.
SEE SENIORS ON PAGE 8B
The team struggled to find offense beyond Kemp and Hallman. Freshman forward Marija Zinic was the third Jayhawk to hit double-digits; 12 of her 14 points came at the freethrow line.
Henrickson also was unable to get any production out of senior guard Kaylee Brown, who shot only 1-for-10 from the floor, with many of her shots coming offbalance.
"For a senior, it's tremendously disappointing for her to be that undisciplined," Henrickson said, adding that an ankle injury Brown sustained two weeks ago had healed.
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTWRITER
DALLAS — The smile never left Shaale Lehning's face.
It didn't matter if she was being shoved to the floor by Kansas guard Erica Hallman or running over a cameraman on the floor after being fouled, the smile was always there.
It might have been because the freshman, who was playing her first postseason game of her career, exploded for a career-high 20 points.
Lehning came into the game connecting on just six of 32 three-point attempts on the season, but hit 3-of-5 three point shots against Kansas. She was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point distance in the first half.
"I just wanted to come in and contribute in any way I could," Lehning said. "They were sort of sagging off of me on defense and once I hit my first shot, I got a lot of confidence. I didn't feel disrespected, that is just part of their defense, helping with the post players."
Lehning opened the game with a three-point shot when Hallman backed off of Lehning to help double team Kansas State freshman center JoAnn Hamlin in the post. Lehning's three was perfect, hitting nothing but net.
Coming into the game, Lehning was thought to be more of a pass-first point guard, and a guard who contributed rebounding for her team. Kansas State head coach Deb Patterson said Lehning's outburst against Kansas was just part of her maturation as a point guard.
Her next two three-point shots came at crucial moments for her team. Kansas had cut the lead down to five points at 15-10. Lehning again took advantage of a sagging Hallman to sink another three-point shot. She did it again with Kansas trailing by just two points. This time it came off of Kansas State freshman forward Marlies Gipson's penetration.
"She understands the game so well," Patterson said. "She knows when she needs to score and when she needs to do other things. I've said all along she's the best playmaking guard in the league."
SEE WILDCATS ON PAGE 8B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Megan True/KANSAN
Sophmore guard Russell Robinson races by the Colorado defense and down the court on March 1 in Allen Fieldhouse. Robinson averaged more than two assists for every turnover this season.
"I was always told to never run from a situation," Robinson said. "I was faced with a situation similar to this with my AAU team and I made a decision to leave and it didn't work out."
BY RVAN COLAIANNI
colaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
Robinson glad he stayed at KU
DALLAS — Russell Robinson considered transferring from Kansas last season.
Robinson, a sophomore from New York City, saw significant playing time early during his freshman campaign, but midway through the year his playing time diminished. He longed for home, but knew he had to work through it.
Robinson learned from that decision and decided to stay at Kansas. He has proven himself as one of the best defenders in the conference, being named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team. Kansas coach Bill Self challenged Robinson to become a better defender last season and during the offseason.
For the Jayhawks, it's a good thing he didn't transfer.
The point guard has worked hard to develop his game. He has now started all but one game this season, and that was when senior guard Stephen Vinson started in his place on senior night.
Self heard the rumors last year that Robinson was considering transferring, but said Robinson's father, Russell Sr., would not let him leave.
"We told him that he isn't the best defender in the league yet," Self said. "We told him that if he's going to be the best, then he needs to become a lock-down guy that can take a guy out. He hasn't done it to a level that maybe we had hoped, but I do think that there isn't a better one-on-one defender in our league."
"His father would be totally disappointed in him if he ran from a situation that was created probably by him not doing everything that he could potentially do," Self said. "Russell wouldn't run from that."
After playing more than 10 minutes per game and averaging only 3.5 points per game last season. Robinson has been reborn this year.
"He wasn't going to let anybody beat him out this year," Self said. "There was no way that Russell Robinson was going to go through again what he did last year — he was too determined to do it."
Robinson has become the lock-down defender. Multiple times this season, Self has called him the heart and soul of this year's Kansas team.
"I'm just consistent, not real high, not real low." Robinson said. "Everybody's got a role and that's been my role this year. I just feel everyone contributes being the heart and soul."
SEE ROBINSON ON PAGE 3B