THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
SOFTBALL|4B
(1)
Team finishes fall ball season strong
MONDAY,OCTOBER 11,2010
Home run barrage helps Jayhawks run-rule three community college teams in last weekend's invitational.
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PAGE 1B
PRO FO'SHO
Former KU stars go head to head
Cole Aldrich and Mario Chalmers share the court in KC on Friday
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
When Mario Chalmers told the man dubbed "the King" that he would get the larger ovation before the Heat's 103-96 victory at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, he wasn't led. Aldrich, too, got a roar from the crowd louder than James' when he was announced for his first NBA start. The biggest cheer of the day, though, went up when Bill Self, sitting in the first row behind the Heat bench, was shown on the video board.
"I understand how big Kansas basketball is, especially the University of Kansas," said James, who finished with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. "I know Rio and Gole Aldrich and I understand how huge they were in college."
But Kansas City is not his town. Not when he plays with Mario Chalmers. Not when he plays against Cole Aldrich. And not when Bill Self is in the building.
LeBron James is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. He may be the greatest basketball player in the world. He made $42.8 million last year and was the seventh most valuable athlete in the world, according to Forbes Magazine's list of "The World's 50 Top-Earning Athletes."
Aldrich was huge at times for the Thunder Friday, including a monster stuff of all-star power forward Chris Bosh and a steal from James that set the crowd roaring. At others, though, Aldrich looked overwhelmed by the pace of the NBA game — Bosh, who was Aldrich's primary defensive responsibility for the majority of the game, led all scorers with 23 points.
Former Jayhawks Cole Aldrich and Mario Chalmers share a moment before Friday night's tip off between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Aldrich and Chalmers were both members of the 2008 national championship team and are now both playing at the professional level.
"Cole's always around the basket," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "He's a tough kid that just keeps battling, keeps playing hard. That's what I like about him and that's what his teammates like."
Aldrich, who finished with two points, four rebounds and three
SEE PRO PLAYERS ON PAGE 5B
VOLLEYBALL
Jayhawks topple No.10 Iowa State in four sets
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Sophomore middle blocker Tayler Tolefire hits for a kill Wednesday against No. 10 Iowa State. The Jayhaws defeated the Cyclones 3-1, making it the first time that KU had recorded a victory against a top-10 team.
Senior Melissa Manda had 32 digs in the upset victory
BY IAN CUMMINGS icummings@kansan.com
The volleyball team defeated a top ten opponent for the first time in program history on Saturday, winning a four-setter against the No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones.
"Everything felt really good tonight." Manda said. "Everyone was playing at the highest level I've ever seen them play. It feels really awesome."
Senior defensive specialist Melissa Manda contributed a career-high 32 digs to the effort, matching the record for any player in the Big 12 this season.
Previously, the highest-ranked team that the Jayhawks had defeated was No. 13 Texas A&M on Nov. 20, 2004.
Kansas topped Iowa State 3-1 in front of a crowd dressed as much in pink as in the traditional blue. The match supported efforts to raise cancer research funds as part of the Jayhawks for the Cure campaign, which benefits Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the University of Kansas Cancer Center. Manda said this added even more significance to the
The Jayhawks were coming off of a disappointing road loss last weekend in Lubbock, Tex., where they dropped a five-etter to Texas Tech. At home again on Saturday, they pulled away from the Cyclones early in the game with kills from senior outside hitter Karina Garlington, sophomore middle blocker Tayler Tolefree and junior outside hitter Allison Mayfield.
match and motivated the whole team.
"I think it definitely adds to the intensity of the game, because everyone has someone in their life that has been affected by cancer," Manda said.
As the Jayhawks closed in on the end of the set, Manda saved the ball several times in one strongly contested point before Garlington delivered the kill. In the set point, the crowd cheered a solo block from Garlington, took a deep breath as Iowa State made an effort to save the ball and then raised the volume when the ball finally rattled to the floor on the Iowa State side, giving Kansas the set 25-14. Garlington went on to lead the team in kills, hitting 18
KANSAS VS.
NO. 10 IOWA STATE
3 - 1
NEXT GAME:
Kansas vs. Baylor
WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Waco, Texas
COMMENTARY
with an efficiency of .378 - the second-highest in the match - and contributed four digs and two solo blocks.
The second set was much closer. The score tied 13 times, finally arriving at 23-23. After a kill from Tolefree, Manda closed the set with back-to-back service aces. Tolefree totaled 11 kills with an efficiency of .667, the highest of any player in the match and has hit for a far above-average efficiency of .411
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 4B
Q-and-A sets high standards for season
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
Seeing coach Bill Self and the team taking questions in Allen Fieldhouse yesterday made it clear: Basketball season is here
And at the University of Kansas, there is no better time of year.
About 150 fans gathered in the fieldhouse for a Q-and-A session, followed by an autograph signing. This was the inaugural event, and Self said it went well — even if Allen Fieldhouse was barely at 1 percent capacity.
"We decided to do this a month or so ago to try to get some students over here that maybe don't get a chance to see the guys, to touch the guys," Self said. "I thought it went fine."
The basketball team has yet to get into the groove — it's watched ticket scandals, dealt with conference realignment and the eligibility of freshman Josh Selby's amateur status.
This was a great opportunity for the fans, but perhaps more so for the team. The summer wasn't as calm as anyone from Kansas Athletics would have liked.
That will all change Friday when Late Night in the Phog kicks off the upcoming season
"I'd be nice just to focus on basketball," Self said. "We've had a lot of balls in the air in the last six months."
This wasn't as bad as last year when the team had to make everyone forget about the brawl and the legal troubles.
Now the team is just trying to forget last year's loss and the tumultuous offseason on behalf of the Athletics Department.
"What is a goal that you have for this year's team?" Self asked the audience.
This, after a second-round loss in the NCAA tournament last season.
Someone said to defend the Big 12 title. Another student said it was to win a national championship. The student body basically just challenged the team sitting before them to the highest goal imaginable.
But Coach had the response everyone wanted to hear.
"I agree," Self said. "Those are the two goals."
In order to accomplish these goals, the Jayhawks will most likely need the services of No. 1 recruit Selby. His status is still up in the air on whether or not he will play this season.
Self said Sunday that nothing has been decided by the NCAA, though he is confident things will turn out for the best. He said he respects the time the NCAA is taking to investigate, but Self would love to know the status just as soon as possible, as we all would.
"Josh hasn't done anything wrong," Self said.
— Edited by Kelsey Nill