ONLY 148 DAYS AND COUNTING
Big 12 coaches wait for Kevin Durant to go pro, Missouri finally finds success, Baylor blows it and Darryl Dora goes cold. Mark Dent covers all the Big 12 action in Fastbreak.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
10A
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 12A
KANSAS 76, NEBRASKA 56
CREAMED CORN
Jayhawks use hot start, stifling defense to blow by Cornhuskers
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
LINCOLN, Neb. - The layhawks had heard the gripes. The big men play soft, there is no consistency, Kansas can't put away opponents.
During the past few weeks those complaints piled up like the brownish, dirty snow outside Allen Fieldhouse, an unsightly mess that was becoming an annoyance.
Monday night, the Jayhawks finally melted away those doubts with a sizzling defensive performance in a 76-56 rout of the
Nebraska Cornhuskers.
"We didn't plan to come out there and blow them out like that," sophomore for ward Brandon Rush said. "But they weren't making shots."
He had no such problems against Nebraska. Wright scored the first eight games of the game and threw in one of his trademark thunder-dunks in the second half to announce that he was back.
On this year's team, nobody knows more about those expectations and sophomore forward Julian Wright. After a strong showing against Baylor, he came back down to earth against Colorado in a game that included a missed dunk.
"We didn't plan to come out there and blow them out like that. But they just weren't making shots."
"I usually don't come out that aggressive," he said. "We were
Even with
nets in March."
BRANDON RUSH Sophomore Forward
able to penetrate and pitch out, our guards kn o c k e d down shots
the Huskers dismal offensive per formance, the lahayws still played close to perfect in the first half. Coming just days after defeating Baylor by 26 and Colorado by 23. Monday's performance may have been enough to silence even the biggest doubters.
"Part of playing at Kansas is that there are high expectations," junior guard Russell Robinson said. "No matter how good you do, it's not going to be good enough unless you cut down the
"I think people nitpick a little, but not too much", Rush said. "They want us to blow every team out by 40."
Kansas had
its way with
Nebraska's
four-guard
set. Husker
junior center
Aleks Maric
had only two
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
shot attempts in the first half, making it impossible for Nebraska to move the ball through the paint. The stagnation resulted in a 13:39 stretch where Nebraska didn't score.
"Julian and Brandon were both great. They made the easy plays and moved the ball," Self said. "And they were both aggressive, which was great to see."
By the time the second half began the game was already out of hand. Nebraska cut into the Kansas lead, but two time-outs by the layhawks and a media
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 7A
Sasha Kaun, junior center, maneuvers around two Nebraska players Monday night. The Jayhawks defeated the Huskers 76-56.
BASEBALL
Competition for closer position
Paul Smyth, sophomore pitcher, prepares for new responsibilities after a solid freshman season. Closer and set-up positions are available on the roster.
Amanda Sellers/KANSA
With the Kansas baseball season opener merely two days away, Paul Smyth hopes Sublime's "Pawn Shop" will soon be the song that takes away any expectations opposing hitters have for a comeback in Hoglund Ballpark. Each pitcher has an intro song that plays as he enters the game.
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Smyth is a sophomore reliever for the Jayhawks and, although a year of tutelage under former closer Don Czyz has given him the inside track to earning the closer job, transfer Hiarali Garcia is pushing Smyth for the role.
When it comes to closers, intro songs are just as important as over-powering fastballs or off-speed pitches that buckle batters' knees.
"Because we lost so many people, it seems like almost every single role is open." Smyth said. "Really anyone can step in anywhere."
J
Although Smyth appeared to be the incumbent for the closer role this season, Garcia has become a serious candidate for the role since his arrival from Eastern Oklahoma State in the fall.
Smyth was a key component of Kansas' bullpen last season, setting the school record for appearances by a freshman with 36; second only to Czyz's 37 on the season. Smyth finished the season with a 5-1 record and one save as Czyz's set-up man. Facing tougher competition, however, Smyth's ERA and pitching ratios weren't as impressive as Garcia's with a 6.13 ERA and 37 strikeouts to 72 hits and 15 walks in 54.1 innings.
But stats alone won't be enough to replace Czyz. As a closer, Czyz had the killer instinct necessary to seal a victory regardless of the situation and the short-term memory that helps closers put bad outings behind them.
and it's easy to see why with the numbers he posted in 2006. In 12 starts and 82.2 innings pitched, Garcia finished with a 6-3 record, a 2.58 ERA, 89 strikeouts, and only 69 hits and 22 walks surrendered.
Smyth has been a relief pitcher most of his career, so he's well
Coach Ritch Price called Garcia a "high-profile junior college transfer"
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 9A
Coaches rank Jayhawks near bottom in poll
However, 2006 proved that much could change between the preseason and postseason. Last season Kansas tied for eight in the preseason conference voting with 24 points, but eventually finished fifth in the regular season standings and swept the Big 12 Championship, defeating Nebraska 9-7 in the title game.
BY SHAWN SHROYER
.
The Big 12 Baseball Pre-season Coaches Poll was released Monday and the Jayhawks were picked to finish ninth out of 10 teams with 22 points in the voting, despite their Big 12 Championship victory last year.
Despite its success last season, Kansas lost a chunk of its impact players to the MLB Amateur Draft and graduation, including its entire weekend rotation and the top four players in its batting order. This likely contributed to its low standing in the poll.
Kansan senior sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
— Edited by Darla Slipke
BIG 12
>> BROADCAST ICON
Legendary color man distracting
Vitale losing focus
Dick Vitale is easily ESPN's best-known college-basketball commentator. He's coming to Lawrence this Saturday to call the Texas A&M game. Some love his shtick while others find it annoying. But his style aside, he's just not as good as he used to be. For some reason, Vitale can't stay focused these days.
On Jan. 22, Mike Rutherford,
a dedicated Louisville fan, took
notes on Vitale's performance during
the Cardinal's game against the
Connecticut Huskies. Rutherford
wrote down every topic Vitale
discussed other than the game at hand,
then published the results on his
blog, www.cardchronic.com.
It seems that Vitale, college basketball's all-time greatest ambassador, recently came down with a severe case of attention deficit disorder. According to the list, he went off topic 156 times. I didn't believe it was possible. "The list is 100 percent real," Rutherford said in an e-mail. "Actually there were a couple of times Vitale just tossed out the last names of people I'd never heard of, so the list is probably three or four items shorter than it should be.
He's never shy to praise Kansas basketball. He gave Nick Collison a standing ovation for his performance against Texas in 2003, a classy moment most Jayhawk fans will never forget. He also helps charitable causes like the Jimmy V Foundation, which fights cancer. Really, Vitale is a great guy and by every account he used to be an awe some announcer.
Rutherford's list includes: Duke, Kansas, the Indianapolis Colts, Mike Kryzewski, the New York Yankees, Duke's 1986 team, Maria Sharapova, Bill Parcells, Johnny Dawkins (former Duke basketball player), Rosie O'Donnell, Donald Trump and Awesome Baby (his race horse), just to name a dozen.
"If you watch an old college game on ESPN Classic you'll realize that he used to be a great color man," Rutherford said. "I recognize all that he's done for college basketball and appreciate it."
"I do kind of hope Vitale saw it," Rutherford said. "Not necessarily because I want to embarrass him or anything, but because I want him to realize that people are tired of this."
Vitale deserves unlimited credit for giving college basketball a fun and familiar face for many years. There's no denying his enthusiasm for the game and his appreciation of all its aspects, especially its great fans.
Some fans will never get tired of Vitale. His appeal is still widespread. He'll never get tired of announcing games either. Everywhere he goes fans carry a pedestal for him.
But his job is to watch the game and comment on what's happening. It's as simple as that, and he hasn't been doing it. So please, Dick, leave the off-topic remarks for the dinner table and just call the game.
Robinett is an Austin, Texas senior in journalism.
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