THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MEN'S BASKETBALL
PAGE 12A
Giles grabs more boards, helps 'Hawks
BY RYAN COLAIANNI rcolaianni@kansan.com KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWITER
Kansas coach Bill Self knows that his team can take it to an even higher level, and that all depends on center CI Giles.
"I think this team can be a lot better." Self said. "With the emergence of CJ, if he continues to play well, we still haven't peaked out yet I don't believe."
Giles has been more active in the past few games. He scored in double-digits against Baylor Tuesday. It was his first since an early January contest against Kentucky.
"If I go out, and go run and block shots and rebound, and box out and do all the little things consistently defensively, my offense will come." Giles said.
Giles
His size and length are what
NBA scouts could be drooling over as a prototypical athletic center in the NBA. He has struggled at times this season, but has recently put it all together. He has been grabbing more rebounds and altering more shots when he is in the game. In the first four conference games this year, Giles had a total of seven rebounds. He almost outdid that number with six against Baylor. In the last four conference games, he has had 20 rebounds.
"The biggest thing that he is doing is that he is going after balls, he is blocking shots," Self said. "There is a whole other dimension that this team really hasn't seen consistently yet."
SEE GILES ON PAGE 9A
▼20 QUESTIONe
Missouri fans must have been asking themselves, "What if?" a lot lately. What if someone other than
What if someone other than Thomas Gardner was capable of scoring on offense? What if Brandon Rush had followed in the footsteps of his older brother Kareem and donned the black and gold? What if Bill Self had become Missouri's coach?
Don't laugh. That last scenario almost happened. That's right, the man who currently leads the jayhawks could have been the one you taunt.
Missouri Athletics Director Mike Alden had quite a decision to make following the retirement of long-time coach Norm Stewart
in 1999. He ultimately narrowed his list down to a top Duke assistant, Quin Snyder, and a rising head coach at Tulsa, Self.
In the spring of 1999, Snyder was considered among the hottest coaching prospects in the nation. As Duke's top recruiter, Snyder
brought in several of the nation's top players, including future All-Americans Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier. He seemed destined to recruit Duke's winning aura in the Midwest.
Self was a young, charismatic coach who had a way with players, fans and recruits. His resume, at the time, included postseason appearances at Oral Roberts and Tulsa.
Though Self eventually withdrew his name from consideration for the Missouri job, it's hard to imagine that the roles in last Saturday's Border Showdown could have been reversed with Self on the Tiger's bench.
SEE SCHNEIDER ON PAGE 7A
▼ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 62-50
Late run dooms Jayhawks
Kansas leads but can't win at Texas Tech
Senior guard Keylee Brown and freshman forward Marija Zinic fight for a rebound with Texas Tech forward Alesha Roberston during the first half of the women's basketball game at the United Spirit Arena Wednesday night in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Kansas 62-50.
Linc Armes/Daily Toreado
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSA STAFF WRITER
The women's basketball team held its own for most of last night's game in a hostile road environment, eventually falling 62-50 to Texas Tech.
The Jayhawks led early in the second half, and with five minutes to play, the Red Raiders led by only four. But a pair of three-pointers sparked an 8-2 run that put Kansas away.
It was not a surprising loss, as Texas Tech is considered one of the nation's premier college basketball teams. Texas Tech has not lost a Big 12 home game this season and last night's crowd of more than 9,000 people contributed to unfriendly surroundings for the Jayhawks.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said after the game that teams that depended on offense had been struggling in the conference this year.
Last night's game provided an intriguing match-up in the paint, as Jayhawk senior forward Crystal Kemp went up against Red Raider senior forward LaToya Davis.
Davis had the hot shooting touch, making nine of 11 shots and scoring 21 points in her 38 minutes of play.
"I think you can still win ugly in this league," she said. "There's a lot of people whose offensive numbers are down."
"I thought Crystal did a great job of handling the double-team," Henrickson said. "I thought she made great passing decisions in the second half."
Kemp put up 12 points, but mainly served in a passing role as she was double-teamed every time she touched the ball.
Those passes often found their way to sophomore forward Taylor McIntosh, who had a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds.
Henrickson said she was encouraged by the team's defensive performance. Coming into the game, Kansas was giving up an average of 66 points per game, but was able to hold the Red Raiders to just 62.
Senior guard Erica Hallman led the team in scoring with 15 points, making six of her 16 shots from the field.
It was Kansas' final road
The last time Kansas won a road game against a Big 12 South team was in 2003, when the Jayhawks defeated Texas A&M 64-57 in College Station, Texas.
game of the season, meaning the team will finish the season 1-7 away from Allen Fieldhouse. The lone victory came in Ames, Iowa against Iowa State.
Kansas will finish the season with home games against two rivals. Kansas will play host to Missouri in the Border Showdown on Saturday morning at
The final game of the season will be a Thursday night game against the Kansas State Wildcats, who are currently on the bubble of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. That game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on CSTV.
"If I need to beg, I'll beg to get people to come help us create an atmosphere," Henrickson said.
11 a.m. That game is a rematch of one that was tightly contested in Columbia.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Junior outfielder Kyle Murphy recently transferred to Kansas from Indian Hills Community College. Murphy has received more playing time and last week hit his first home run as a Jayhawk.
BASEBALL
— Edited by Timon Veach
BY SHAWN SHOYER
sshoyer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Transfer filling gap in outfield
The Kansas baseball team wasn't expected to need a replacement for team captain and senior outfielder Matt Baty until next season. However, it appears the Jayhawks have found his successor in junior college transfer Kyle Murphy.
Murphy got his chance to prove himself when Baty went down with a knee injury early in the season. While Baty is still a member of the team and is in no danger of losing his starting
1
spot, Murphy has proven capable of stepping in for him when needed.
"He's a guy that, you take me out, you're not losing anything when he goes in," said Baty, who has recovered from the injury.
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In 10 appearances this season, Murphy is batting .308 with one home run, two runs scored, four RBI and a .692 slugging percentage. Murphy has also played flawless defense with 16 putouts in as many chances.
SEE TRANSFER ON PAGE 7A
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