Calm and collected K-State coach Bob Huggins kept his cool during Wednesday night's Sunflower Showdown, despite the 27-point loss.
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
TOYO
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 1B
KANSAS 97, KANSAS STATE 70
SAME OLD'CATS
Anna Faltermieier/KANSAN
Freshman forward Darrell Arthur goes up for a basket in the second half of the game against Kansas State Wednesday night. Arthur finished the game with 14
Rush leads team to strong victory
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
It's tough to single out one dome inating play from the Jayhawks 97. 70 victory against the Wildcats.
It might be the one where, with the layhawks up by five late in the first half, Brandon Rush answered with a three-pointer. Rush was asked if he remembered that shot.
The layawhaws lit up the Wildcats from the inside and the outside, off screens and all alone, physically and psychologically.
"Nah," he said. "But I made a lot of threes."
"That's what we can do when we play 40 full minutes," Rush said.
Closing this game wasn't a problem either, as the lajahawks came out of the locker room with the same sense of focus that gave them
After freshman forward Jason Bennett proved unable to handle the attack, Huggins went to Darren Kent — yes Darren Kent — to play the second half. During the past six games, Kent has played less than 5 minutes. He played 14 on Wednesday.
"If you have a lead, you give the appearance of it being insurmountable if you come out and play well," coach Bill Self said.
Kansas State coach Bob Huggins brought a lot of hype to Lawrence, but he didn't bring anybody who could contain the Jayhawk big men.
The layhawks scored 60 of their points in the paint, but that's not
SEE VICTORY ON PAGE 4B
On-again, off-again games can't continue
BY JONATHAN KEALING
FOUND. Men's basketball team.
Able to shoot free-throws, hit
the occasional three-pointer
and play lockdown defense down
the stretch.
I went back out to the court shortly after interviews concluded Wednesday night, hoping I find where this Kansas team goes. Kind of like a good dog, this team runs away sometimes, but it comes back.
You've seen this team before, the one that pounded Kansas State so handily. It appeared when Oklahoma State came to town back in January.
BY JONATHON KEALING
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
IKEALING@KANSAN.COM
You may remember it as the team that took a top-ranked Florida Gator team into overtime
- any time the spotlight shone brightest on Kansas.
and emerged victorious. For a while, the conventional wisdom said this team showed up any time there was a major game
But then, how do you explain the game Saturday against Texas A&M, which was probably the biggest game of the season?
SEE KEALING ON PAGE 4B
》 FOOTBALL
Mangino finds strength intelligence in recruits
BY ASHER FUSCO
From the outside looking in, football appears to be a game based purely on brute strength, with only the fastest, most athletic players finding success.
Looking at the resumes of Kansas' 2007 signing class, it is apparent coach Mark Mangino considers a player's academic character just as important as his foot speed.
"Thefactthat we've brought
demic honors in high school, and even more deserved accolades, according to Mangino.
"It's a highly unusual scenario when a 50-year-old man is text messaging an 18-year-old at 10 at night."
Kansas' 2007 signing class drew mild reviews from recruiting experts. Web site rivals.com listed Kansas as 10th in the Big 12
MARK MANGINO Coach
Nearly half the members of the incoming class garnered aca
we've brought in intelligent kids is important," Mangino said. "It leads to good football aptitude."
and 50th in the nation
Lawrence Free State signee Ryan Murphy has drawn the most attention from analysts, but the wide receiver will most likely sit out the upcoming season with a shoulder inju-
Though Murphy will not contribute immediately, other sign
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 10B
》 SOFTBALL
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior pitcher Kasie Humpfrey pitches last season. The softball team opens its season tomentosa in San Diego against University of California, Santa Barbara.
Young team opens season in California
BY EVAN KAFARAKIS
Kansas softball kicks off the 2007 season today at the Campbell-Cartier Classic in San Diego.
The 2006 Big 12 Conference post-season champions welcome back 10 letter winners and add eight newcomers to the squad that went to its second straight NCAA Regional last season.
Leading the way for the layhawks, who are predicted to finish sixth in the Big 12, is senior pitcher Kassie Humphrews.
Humphreys is the Conference's top returning pitcher, as she was a
2006 All Big 12 selection and compiled a 1.19 ERA and held opponents to a 156 batting average.
"Our strength is going to be our pitching staff," coach Tracy Bunge said. "We are very solid at that position."
The No. 2 spot on the pitching depth chart will be either sophomore Val George or freshman Sarah Vertelka.
Both will contribute and will look to keep Humphreys fresh as the season goes on.
"We want Humphreys to be as
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 10B