2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MANNING (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"I think the best player in the country is Kevin," Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said. "I don't even think there's a question about that."
Six very important games
When asked to compare the two, coach Bill Self said they're similar, but Manning has an extra gold star on his resume.
"They're both scoring and
concept. This guy is a great player" Self said that the only thing remaining to be seen about Durant is how he handles the pressures of March.
rebounding at about the same clip.
Self said, "But Danny took that team and won a national championship, and those are six very important games."
"I think he's hands down the best player in the country, and probably the best freshman to ever have played."
Manning led the Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA title as a senior, then played 15 seasons in the NBA. He or Wilt Chamberlain hold virtually every Kansas record, and former broadcaster Max Falkenstein said those were the two best players fed seen play for Kansas. Manning is currently on the Jayhawk staff as the director of student-athlete development.
His numbers as a senior are almost directly comparable to Durant's as a freshman (see chart), but Manning gives the nod to Durant.
BILL SELF Kansas Coach
"He's so much better than me as a player. It's not comparable," Manning said. "He's filling up the stat sheet, and he buys into the team
It's something that Manning got to practice three times before leading the Jayhawks to the title. He did it as a No. 6 seed Texas will likely enter the tournament much higher.
Manning were to face Durant, what would the layhawk great do to stop him?
"You can't," he said, shaking his head. "He does it all."
He's the engine
The task of guarding Durant on Saturday will go to sophomore forward Julian Wright, but he'll need some help.
"We're not going to get into a one-on-one contest, because he's too talented." Wright said.
Against Texas A&M, Durant was double teamed the entire time, but still managed to score 30 points in a double-overtime victory.
Kansas will substitute players in and out throughout the game in the hopes of keeping a fresh player on him at all times. Wright said the team will try to limit his rebounding, but the layhawks know he will be hard to contain.
"He obviously makes that team go," Wright said, " he's the engine."
Don't expect a Jayhawk double team to be effective. Durant is used to being pushed and pulled from all directions.
"Every single night people come at him with one guy, two guys or three guys," Barnes said. "For him to do what he's done has been amazing."
Forget about class
The Boston Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies are batting for the title of worst team in the NBA. Yet when the draft comes around, neither of them will be losers.
Durant and Ohio State's Greg
Durant and Oden. Jr. are the two top prospects Coming into the season, the 7-foot Oden was the consensus No. 1 pick, but Durant's play this year has thrust him back into the conversation. It'a a topic that Durant isn't going to address until after the season.
When he steps onto the Allen Fieldhouse court Saturday, Durant has the opportunity to take the first step in that journey and win a share of the Big 12 title. Regardless of the outcome, he'll likely sweep every important postseason award.
"You can put what he's done
That's the same way Manning left Kansas in 1988. Of course, Kevin Durant wasn't even alive when that happened. For now, the 18-year-old superstar is content to score 30 points a night, create just as many points for his teammates and let everybody else do the talking for him.
small forward," Barnes said. "Kevin has been everywhere for us."
"He'll have time when the Final Four is over with" Barnes said. "He just wants to enjoy what he's doing right now."
"He told me,'Coach, I don't want it to be about me. I have great teammates, and they deserve as much attention as I'm getting."
The last player to make it to the Final Four in a similar situation was Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony in 2003; but Anthony had a veteran supporting cast, and didn't have to carry the load for his team as often.
up against any basketball player in the country," Barnes said. "Forget about class."
RICK BARNES
Texas Coach, speaking of Durant
"They used Carmelo mostly as a
The awards committees are ignoring Durant's youth, but
it's not going to disappear anytime soon. In the near future, the measuring stick for college basketball greatness will have a new word on it. Freshman.
54567
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips@kansan.com.
- Edited by Will McCullough
DAVISON (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Self said Durant was the best player the Big 12 had ever had. Well, coach, let's think of some great Big 12 players: Kirk Hinrich and Paul Pierce, both former Jayshawks: Andre Emmett of Texas Tech: Maucer Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley of Iowa State; and T1. Ford of Texas. Of course, I'm leaving several off, but Self is right. The Big
12 hasn't seen a player dominate the wav Durant has.
read 12 points and 11 rebounds.
On top of that, he is arguably in the midst of the best season an individual has ever had in college basketball. Self went as far as saying Durant could carry Texas on his back all the way in the Big Dance, similar to what Danny Manning did for Kansas in 1988.
I don't know if Texas is that
good, but it might just be
No doubt, on Saturday one of the best players college basketball has ever seen will play in the best venue in college basketball, Allen Fieldhouse.
At least, as Self said, Durant won't be making a return trip. Luckily for Kansas and the Big 12, Durant is likely to jump to the NBA after the season.
Note: Another good match-up, which has been overlooked because of Durant, is Augustin and freshman guard Sherron Collins, two of the premier point guards in the league.
Davison is an Overland Park senior in journalism and business
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Kansas hosts *Western Illinois at Holland on Sunday. Senior outfielder Kyle Murphy and junior outfielder John Allman are the only layhawks behind 300.*
Edited by Kelly Lanigan
now, some effects still seemed to be lingering, namely against Oral Roberts on Tuesday.
The 9-1 loss at the hands of the Golden Eagles was the worst this year.
"It's definitely a little bit of a wake up call," senior center fielder Kyle Murphy said. "But we're making some mistakes that were not going to make in a couple months." Murphy also said he didn't think the team's confidence had dropped.
Murphy was the only Jayhawk to score against Oral Roberts. He joins junior left fielder John Allman as one of only two Jayhawks hitting
over .300.
With only a pair of layhawks surpassing the .300 mark, the Leathernecks of Western Illinois will have the advantage at the plate. As a team, Western Illinois will enter the series hitting .308.
With the luck Kansas has with playing at home, exact times are hard to come by. The proposed start hard to however, is 2 p.m. Sunday.
BASEBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Kansan sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted at abauer@kansan.com.
Edited by Will McCullough
Stop by our table at Wescoe or the Kansas Union this week to celebrate
march madness!
Each day there will be different contests and prizes to win!
Breakfast with Breakfast with
Baby Jay at the Big Jay at the
Wescoe from Union from
9-10:30 a.m. 9-10:30 a.m.
Free hot cocoa Free donuts
while it last!
Change for
Champions
kick off,
donate your
change to the
Special
Olympics,
all week.
Men's
Basketball
KU at OU,
8 p.m.
Go Hawks!
Sign the Good
Luck Banner for the
Basketball Teams
located on
Wescrose Beach
from 11 a.m.
1 p.m. and
enjoy some
giveaways.
Free Cosmic Bowling at the jaybowl from 7-9 p.m. with a donation to Special Olympics.
Jaybowl
Spirit Contest
1-5 p.m.
Adams Alumni
Center
Student with
best display of
KU Spirit wins
$100!
Thursday
MARCH 1
Women's Basketball KU at Missouri 6:30 p.m.
Sign the Good Luck Thanks for a Banner for the great season in the Basketball Allen Field Basketball Rock located House. Teams in the Kansas Chalk Jayhawk! Union from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and enjoy some give aways.
Friday Saturday
MARCH 2 MARCH 3
TRACK AND FIELD
Squad spreads out yet again
The tactic is common for collegiate
Much like it did two weeks before the Big 12 Indoor Championships, Kansas will send its athletes to several meets across the country in hopes of getting more joyhayes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
02/28 OUTFORMATION Hold Still
03:02 TRUCKSTOP HONEYMOON Fast Food Junkies
03:03 REV. HORTON HEAT Murder by Death/The Tossers
03/04 COLD WAR KIDS
03/05 DOORS AT 61 ANBERLIN
Bayside/Meg & Dia/Jonezetta
03/10 DR. DOG
What Made Milwaukee Famous
The Teeth
03/16 BOTTLE ROCKETS Julia Peterson & the Breaks
03/13 THE BRIDGE Exit Clove
03/28 TIM REYNOLDS
03/31 EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY The Paper Chase/Eliuvium
UPCOMING
BOB SCHNEIDER
JJ GREY & MOFRO
For a complete listing of shows check out www.bottletnelive.com
For video on a link to band sites, visit www.myspace.com/bottleneck
Wissel looks to improve his provisional time of 8:03.33 that he ran at the Husker Invitational, while Hefferson will attempt to meet provisional requirements.
teams around championship time, and it paid off for coach Stanley Redwine earlier in the season.
One week after finishing second and third, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, junior Julius Jiles and sophomore Ashley Brown will return to Ames, Iowa, to try to improve their times.
Redwine sem sonit distance runners Colby Wissel and Paul Heffernon out to Seattle for the Husky Classic on Feb. 10, and the duo returned with provisional times in the 5,000 meters. This time they will travel to the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind., to compete in the 3,000 meters.
Usually, the top 15 to 18 competitors in the nation make it to the NCAA Championships. Currently, Scott is ranked No. 14 and Parker is No. 19.
Iles finished in 7.85 seconds in his preliminary last week and Brown also churned out her season-best time of 8.38 seconds. A group of 800-
Freshman Kirk Cooper and sophomore Ryan Hays will join Scott. Freshman Britany Parker leads the female attack, which includes senior Laura Gjerde and junior Libby Harmon.
Kansan sportswriter Taylor Bern can be contacted at tbern@kansan.com.
meter runners will join the sprinter in hopes of posting NCAA-quality times. The group includes freshman Jack Sachie, sophomore Charity Stowers and senior Jannice Gatson.
Also, several KU pole vaulters will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to get a feel for the NCAA Championship runway. Freshman Jordan Scott, the Big 12 pole vault champion, highlights a group of six iumers making the trip.
TODAY
athletics calendar
Softball vs. Iowa State 12:30 p.m. Tulsa, Okla.
Softball vs. Tulsa, 5:30 p.m. Tulsa, Okla.
Swimming and Diving at Zone Diving, All day, TBA
at Zone Diving, All day, TBA
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
Men's basketball vs.
Texas, 11 a.m. In Allen Field
house
Track at NCAA Qualifier, All day. Armes, Iowa
Swimming and Diving
at Zone Diving. All day TBA
Edited by Kelly Lanigan
Swimming and Diving at Zone Diving, All day, TBA
Tennis vs. Iowa State, TBA,
Ames, Iowa
SUNDAY Baseball vs. Western Illinois, Noon, Hogglund Ballpark
TENNIS
4
Today's scheduled tennis dual between Kansas and Iowa in Iowa City has been be cancelled due to a major winter storm that hit Iowa on Thursday evening. Kansas was scheduled to play Iowa at 3 p.m., before traveling to Ames to take on Iowa State on Saturday.
lowa postpones dual indefinitely for weather
According to a release from the Athletics Department, a decision whether to cancel that dual will be made today. Kansas is currently 2-8 (0-2 Big 12) after a 6-1 road loss to No. 41 Oklahoma State last Saturday.
If played, Saturday's dual against Iowa State would give Kansas an opportunity to pick up its first conference win of the season, and to extend its winning streak against Iowa State to 28. Kansas has not lost to Iowa State since 1981.
1
Iowa State is 4-3 (0-3 Big 12)
following a weekend in Colorado.
The Cyclones defeated Northern
Colorado, 4-3, and fell to No. 47
Colorado, 7-0.
Rustin Dodd
1
---