THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23. 2007
SPORTS
11A
ARTHUR (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
school yet, but I just didn't know where I wanted to go at the time."
Bears fans didn't like losing Arthur to a Big 12 rival, but Rogers told the Waco Tribute-Herald that he understood the decision.
"It hurt a little, but he made the best decision for himself and his family," he said. "He's still a good friend."
Both have had successful transitions to the college game, and have been mentioned as potential NBA players.
Robinson said that Arthur has been a valuable addition to the team, and thinks he's ready to handle the hostile crowd that will await him on Wednesday.
"I'm pretty sure they're not going to be too happy about it," he said. "But he's tough-minded and hopefully he'll be ready to play."
Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillips.kansan.com.
Edited by Darla Slipke
Self savs...
QUOTES FROM COACH
BILL SELF'S WEEKLY PRESS
CONFERENCE, HELD MON-
DAY AFTERNOON:
Why high school teammates facing each other in college is not rare:
think this happens more than what you'd think, but in this case, because it was blown up to be Baylor against Kansas, maybe there was more attention drawn to it. I think [Darell] will be more excited to play against Kevin than to play again Baylor I can't see that being a big deal."
"In all honestly, kids from our region, more often than not, they stay in the Big 12 region, I
On Texas Tech storming the court:
"I'm all into people having a good time and enthusiasm. I'm not knocking storming the court, I just wish there was some way to keep them away from the players. You're going to have one student who is going to unintentionally chicken wing a guy, and hell be lying on the floor. That's all it takes."
Scouting Baylor:
"They are dangerous, period. I don't know if the other night (deefing Texas Tech 73-70) makes them more dangerous. They've got six guys that will all get 20 minutes a night, and they've got a lot of balance, like us. They are a dangerous team. They've been in a lot of games."
BIG 12 (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
Kansas coach Bill Self after a 68-64
Jawhawk victory in overtime.
"They're a lot better than what people projected them to be," Self said. "Look at what that staff has done. They sign five guys and four of them are playing a ton of minutes. They had a great recruiting year in two weeks."
While McDermott, Sadler and Anderson have found Big 12 life difficult, Huggins, Sutton and Oklahoma's Jeff Capel have been enjoying success. Capel's Sooners just crushed Baylor, winning 91-51, Oklahoma State outlasted Texas in triple overtime last Tuesday and is a favorite to finish in the top three in the conference.
Huggins has perhaps been the
most impressive. Kansas State lost its best player, Bill Walker, to a torn ACL in its first conference game against Texas A&M. The loss had huge ramifications for the Wildcat offense.
"Bill's got a great basketball IQ on top of being a great talent," Huggins said after the injury. "We had been working on plays with him in it over break and now we need to reconfigure things to the way it was before Bill."
Well, the reconfiguration has worked. Kansas State lost its first game to Texas Tech without Walker, but has won three straight since. The three-game winning streak has lifted the Wildcats into fifth place in the conference.
But the four teams that Kansas State is looking up at in the standings all have one characteristic in common — they are all led by experienced Big 12 coaches, proving that the establishment is still king, at least for now.
"The three years I've been here, it's by far the most balanced," Gillispe said about the Big 12. "You have to continue to improve as players, as coaches and as a fan base to keep your head above water in this league."
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
Edited by Joe Caponio
THE RANT
Fast pace key to success
To win, Self must allow players to increase game tempo
Something just has not meshed with the Kansas basketball team this season.
The team may be the most talented and the deepest in America, with arguments to be made for North Carolina and Florida. However, on any given night it is difficult to know which Kansas team will show up, the one that beat Florida and Oklahoma State, or the one that struggled at Texas Tech and DePaul.
I think that a lot of the problems Kansas has had in the past three games is its inability to run and pick up the tempo. That might be because of the offense that Kansas runs, usually a half court, high-low style that Kansas has used since Bill Self arrived in 2003.
Kansas looked great against Florida when it ran up and down the court with the reigning champions.
Kansas was unable to pull out the win, but that brief spurt showed me what Kansas needs to do against teams that decide they want to slow the game down. Kansas needs to press on every made basket. That will force the other team into bad
In Saturday's loss to Texas Tech, when did Kansas finally appear to look like the talented team that they are? When they started pressing during the final few minutes in Labbock. The result was a faster style of play which led to a 13-1 run that tied the game.
decisions and lengthen the game.
Against Missouri more than a week ago, 'Tigers' coach Mike Anderson, who usually runs a "40 Minutes of Hell" style, conceded to Kansas' athletic ability and did not press, thus slowing down the game. It nearly worked, with Kansas pulling out a slim three point victory.
It has been said that the more possessions there are in a game, the decreased likelihood that an upset will occur. That is because the more talented team will be more likely to exploit the deficiencies of the less talented team.
No one is arguing that Texas Tech is a better team than Kansas.
They are better coached, but Bobby Knight does not have the talent that Bill Self has. Self needs to realize that his team needs to play faster. They need to press constantly, even when they are leading.
evaluate the team following games and my coaching resume is a little shorter than Self's.
I don't pretend to know what Self knows. He has the opportunity to evaluate these players every day in practice, I get the opportunity to
However, from just watching the games, it appears that Kansas needs to play faster. The Jayhawks need to use the athletic ability that caused them to be ranked so highly in the pre-season.
Kansas has some of the most talented defensive guards in the nation, and enabling them to use those talents on the entire court through pressing, and not just in half-court sets, is going to rattle other teams.
Self and the lajahaves have talked a lot this season about not stepping on the throats of opponents when they lead by 10 to 15 points. This has enabled teams to stay in games, and come tournament time, it could lead to the same result that we've seen the last two seasons.
Playing at a faster pace will work well with the athleticism that this team has and will make it more likely for those 10 point leads to end up as 25 point leads.
This team still can make a Final Four, but it is going to have to do it by using its athletic ability.
Colaiaanni is a McLean, Va., senior in journalism and political science.
Edited by Joe Caponio
Still Best Cash for Books
Jayhawk Bookstore ...at the top of Naismith Hill
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
KEMP (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
Despite the early struggles she has encountered, Kemp has used the athleticism and tenacious demeanor to her advantage that served her well in her time at Kansas.
AUDITION
A press release from her Romanian team describes Kemp as a very intelligent player with the size and strength to create problems for opposing teams.
UNIVERSITY DANCE COMPANY
Though she is enjoying her experience playing professionally, she is still determined to coach women's basketball someday.
Nearly 6,000 miles from home, Kemp knows she has no control over the puzzling language or odd cuisine. However, she is still able to control the area directly surrounding the basket with authority. Maybe life in Romania is not as foreign as it seems.
Kansan sportswriter Asher Fusco can be contacted at afusco@ kansan.com.
Wednesday, January 24th
7:00 pm
Studio 242
Robinson Center
NO SOLO MATERIAL REQUIRED
Kemp is quick to credit all of her past and present coaches for providing her the opportunity to succeed in professional basketball. She looks back at her time at Kansas and recalls one of coach Henrickson's favorite sayings: "Control what you can control."
— Edited by Sharla Shivers
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 785-864-4264
Crystal Kemp faces many challenges as she begins her professional basketball career in Romania. She plans to coach when she is done playing.
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