8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THE COLUMN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2. 2006
Marquee contest on tap
Here come the Sooners.
Here come the Sooners. For the first time this season, a game in Allen Fieldhouse will be the kind that students can brag to their friends back home about having the chance to go see.
I don't count the Kentucky game because of the timing. This is one that will happen during the heart of the semester. It's the kind of game that many players on this roster, consisting mainly of freshmen and sophomores, would say brought them to Kansas.
After four consecutive victories, three of which can be described as impressive, this young team feels the best it has all season, a feeling that parallels that of the fans. Camping began almost as soon as the final buzzer signaled the end of Monday's 86-52 rout of Texas Tech.
The only disappointing thing is, that from a national perspective, this potential battle for the Big 12 Championship will be played on the same day as the most important sporting event in the entire world. Therefore, assuming no player scores 81 points (or even if they do, they might have to also break the backboard and deliver a baby too), it will likely fly under the radar below the Super Bowl.
JIMMY CHAVEZ
jchavez@kansan.com
This will be the first real test for this new starting lineup of Julian Wright, Sasha Kaun, Mario Chalmers, Russell Robinson and Brandon Rush. It very well may be the lineup that takes this team into March.
Oklahoma will bring its physical Big Ten-like style into Lawrence, led by big men Taj Gray and Kevin Bookout, the latter of whom seems to have been there since the Kansas/Oklahoma National Championship in 1988.
Regardless, after this game,
neither team's fans should fly off
the handle, win or lose. This season's Kansas team's adaptation to big-time college basketball is progressing just nicely. But it's not just me. The players, who are beginning to mirror their coach in demeanor, would be the first to admit to not getting too high or too low. They know there is a long way to go and all signs point to them being ready when the spotlight shines.
Instead, fans should be excited and appreciate the caliber of game that they will be treated to on Sunday. It will a great litmus test to see how far the team has left to go. Play well before a presumably big audience, and perhaps they will finally crack that all-elusive Top 25. Perhaps Brandon Rush can make a run at another SportsCenter Top 10 on the same day as the Super Bowl. Perhaps the fans can turn Allen Fieldhouse back into the place that many teams feared visiting just a few years ago. Perhaps it will live up to its showdown status.
Here come the Sooners.
Wacker
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
Chavez is a San Antonio senior in journalism.
feet 11 inches, he was passed up by most schools. Mangino loved his talent and dismissed the notion that he wouldn't be able to throw the ball over linemen at the college level. Mangino went so far as to compare his skill set to that of former Jayhawk, Bill Whittemore. And if his numbers on the field weren't impressive enough, he had a 4.5 weighted grade point average in high school and Mangino said he was enrolled in the Honors Program at Kansas.
Now, this isn't basketball. These 21 recruits aren't going to make an immediate impact for the Jayhawks next year. It's reasonable to believe that next year, the Jayhawks won't match their seven-win campaign from this season.
With no set starting quarterback, a downgraded defense and an improved Big 12 North division, five or six victories could be considered a success.
But Mangino and his staff have made some great moves to ensure that Kansas won't have to endure many more rebuilding years.
- Wacker is a Chesterfield,
Mo., senior in journalism.
Speedbump
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
The Jayhawks battled back again in the game's final minutes, cutting the lead to three with just 28 seconds remaining.
However, Kansas could not hold its own on the defensive end, and Colorado sealed the game by making all but one of its free throws down the stretch.
"We knew that we could play with them," Colorado guard Whit-
Colorado built its lead during a stretch where Kemp's shooting touch went cold; she went a rare 2-of-7 from the field to open the game.
nev Law said.
Kemp and the other seniors all chalked up the defensive woes to a lack of intensity on that end. Kemp acknowledged that the team has the goal of making the postseason, something they see slipping from their grasp.
Edited by Meghan Miller
Defense
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
Escalera and senior Whitney Law, found open shots all night, especially in the first half. Escalera and Law lit up Kansas for 11 and 14 points, respectively, in the first 20 minutes.
Colorado's back court duo was able to get open shots off of miscommunication from Kansas defenders trying to get around Colorado screens. This enabled Colorado guards to slash through the lane or take open jump shots.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said the open shots in transition and the play of Colorado's Jackie McFarland in the paint were the key points in her team's defensive breakdown.
"Obviously to me, it looks like a lack of commitment and pride on that end of the floor," Hennickson said.
The Jayhawks had no answer for McFarland in the paint. She had 16 points, beating off a single defender deep in the pain on numerous occasions. Her presence forced Jayhawk defenders nearly under the basket, leading to easy layups.
Hallman said the Jayhawks knew the answer to getting back to their winning ways earlier in the season when the team started a school-best 12-0.
"We've got to find a way to get started back on the right way," Hallman said. "It's going to have to start defensively."
- Edited by Cynthia Hernandez
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