THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2007
KU 88 - UT 84
5B
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Freshman forward, Darrell Arthur and Texas forward, Damien James watch sophomore forward Julian Wright jam the ball against the Texas defense. Texas led by as much as 22 points during the first half of the game, Jawharks knocked away at the Texas score in the second half. Wright added 19 points and brought down eight rebounds to help Kansas win in overtime, 88-84.
view from press row
We may have seen the emergence of an aggressive Brandon Rush this weekend. There have been false alarms in the past, but this week-end the sophomore guard seemed more comfortable with the role. It started at halftime of Friday's game, when he was urged to become more forceful with his shooting. Usually it's just coach Bill Self telling him that, but on Friday his teammates chimed in as well, and Rush took over during the second half.
It was a rough weekend for junior center Sasha Kaun, who got kicked in the face on Saturday and took a hard fall during the second half on Sunday. He's a fighter and didn't leave for the locker room after either incident.
> It wouldn't be Press Row if I didn't mention how awesome Kevin Durant is. The man was worth the price of admission all by himself. During Saturday's game, Durant's parents sat with Boston Celtics' scout Danny Ainge. The Celtics are currently the second-worst team in the NBA, putting them in prime position to draft Durant.
> Best poster ever: "The people behind me can't see. Go Jayhawks!"
One of the annual rituals at the Big 12 Tournament is for coaches to lobby for teams in the conference who are "on the bubble" to make the NCAA tournament. This year, the other coaches went to bat for Kansas State. Self pointed out that the three best teams in the Big 12 — Kansas, Texas and Texas A&M — would all go into the tournament as top seeds, and it was ridiculous to suggest that the fourth-best team in the conference was somehow much worst than those three. K-State coach Bob Huggins couldn't avoid the issue all week, but in the end his lobbying didn't pay off: The Wildcats did not make the tournament..
> Want to know about the Jayhawks free-throw shooting woes? Don't ask Self. "We talked about it as a staff on the bench that we weren't going to talk about free-throw shooting," the Kansas coach said Friday. "Sometimes the more you talk about missing short putts or free-throw shooting, the more it gets in your head." Kansas needs to do something and in a hurry. The Jayhawks made only 50 percent of their free throws on Friday, a number that is unacceptable toward the end of the season.
Texas Tech fell to K-State, ending the Red Raiders' tournament run. After the Big 12 game, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight put on one last show before leaving Oklahoma City. He was asked why the Red Raiders were unable to get anything going offensively. "I don't know," Knight said. "We may have eaten the wrong cereal. We may not have had proper lighting in the locker room. Or maybe Kansas State was pretty damn good defensively."
Sherron Collins is back, and it couldn't come at a better time. The Jayhawks are deep enough inside, but there will be times during the tournament where they'll rely on the freshman guard to handle the ball.
My favorite part of any big tournament is the Million-Dollar-Mega-Bonus-Corporate-Sponsor shot. Phillips 66 sponsors the one at the Big 12 Tournament and brings its mascot, Captain Proclean. He is a giant cartoon version of a gas pump and must be at least a little scary to young children. This year's contestant didn't win, but last year's did. Later that night, the winner was in the lobby of the tournament hotel and was buying drinks for everyone while his giant novelty check sat nearby.
- Michael Phillips
Kansas closes 22-point gap to defeat Texas
BY MARK DENT
Darnell jackson slowly climbed up the ladder, snipped a piece of the net and smiled at his friends and family in the stands.
They watched excitedly as the junior forward celebrated his team's second straight Big 12 Tournament Championship just as they had earlier when he blocked Texas guard D.J. Augustin and sank two big free throws down the stretch.
But the clutch play in front of the hometown didn't make Jackson cocky. He knew Kansas' 30-4 season and championship were about more than his performance at the end.
"No heroes, there's no heroes on this team," Jackson said. "It just feels really good to win."
The lajhawks may not have heroes, but they do have several players like Jackson who can step up. Kansas battled back from a 22-point deficit and 37 points from Texas forward Kevin Durant for an 88-84 victory. It was the biggest comeback in school history and the lajhawks' fifth Big 12 Tournament Championship.
"Guy after guy made big play," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Julian played out of foul trouble and made some big plays. Mario was kind of laboring around and the next thing you know he controls the game for a short period of time. And Darnell stepped up."
including 18 in the second half and overtime, but his biggest contribution came near the very end.
Jackson played 26 minutes.
With 13 seconds left and the Longhorns down 84-81, Augustin shook his defender and appeared to have a clear path to the basket. Jackson, who was playing a defense designed to free him for blocks, shied off his man and approached Augustin.
"I just told myself if he drives to jump straight in the air and not foul him," Jackson said. "He let it go, and I ended up coming up with a blocked shot."
No.2 Kansas 88, No.15 Texas 84 OT
He also came up with the ball. Jackson caught it, got fouled by Augustin and sank both of his free throws. The shots stretched Kansas' lead to five, and a late three-pointer by Texas didn't matter.
Jackson only sealed the deal. He wouldn't have had the chance if not for Mario Chalmers. The sophomore guard made a three-pointer with about 13 seconds left. He peeled off a screen from sophome forward Julian Wright and had a wide-open look.
Texas had to focus on those two because they had been equally as hot. Freshman guard Sherron Collins broke out of a slump in a big way with 20 points and three assists.
"It was the biggest thrill of my life." Chalmers said. "They focused more on Brandon and Sherron and left me wide open."
Records — Texas 24-9, Kansas 30-4
**Kansas** — Wright 8-13 3-4 19,
Kaun 0-3 0-0 0, Robinson 1-4 3-4
5, Chalmers 6-12 3-3 17, Rush 6-
17 3-4 19, Arthur 1-5 0-0 2, Collins
8-18 2-2 20, Jackson 0-3 6-6. Totals
30-75 20-23 88.
**Texas** — James 4-10 1-4 9, Durant
12-30 10-11 37, Abrams 5-16 6-7
19, Augustin 2-8 4-4 8, Mason
1 3-0 0-2, Winder 1-1 3-6 5, Atchley
2-3 0-4, Pittman 0-0 0-0 0, Totals
27-71 24-32 84.
Associated Press
Texas 39 40 5 — 84
Kansas 34 45 9 — 88
Before Sunday, he only had 18 total points in his last four games. Like he did earlier this season at Kansas State and Missouri, Collins played his best in a close, important game.
"We had no chance to win unless he was real good today," Self said. "He was fabulous. Today he just felt like the game was his. I love it when he's in the attack mode like that."
The only performer better than Collins Sunday, Self said, was Durant. Sophomore guard Brandon Rush spent most of the day trying to stop the Texas freshman.
Durant started strongly just like he did against Kansas on March 3. He scored 22 points in the first 15 minutes of the first half. After that, Rush didn't allow him to make another field goal until nearly midway through the second half.
"Durant has the quick release" junior guard Russell Robinson said. "I think Brandon was able to take
Durant's absence from the scoreboard allowed Kansas to come back. The Longhorns' reliance on one player was one of the major reasons they lost. That's not something the Jayhawks will have to worry about as they prepare for a run in the NCAA tournament. They've found out all season and especially on Sunday that they have plenty of guys who can make a difference.
away the shot and take away the drive."
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
"Everyone feels like they can produce and help the team." Wright said. "Anybody can step up at any time, make a shot and do something. That's pretty much been our identity this year."
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Darnell Jackson, junior forward, blocks a shot from a texas player. Jackson had two blocks and six points during the game.The Jayhawks scored 19 points from steals and made 26 points in the paint.
Edited by Carissa Pedigo
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