4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY DECEMBER 7 2006
》THE RANT
Winter break games will reveal Jayhawks' identity
By the time students come back to campus for the spring semester, we will have a much better idea about whether Kansas basketball is going to contend for the national championship in March.
At that point Kansas will have played on the road against South Carolina and Iowa State and had a home contest with Boston College and Oklahoma State. Those games should show whether Kansas has the mental toughness and the game to make a run. Those are not exactly national title contenders, but road games in difficult environments like Columbia, S.C., and Ames, Iowa, will test this team, especially because it showed little heart during its first road game against DePaul.
Before the season began, nearly every media outlet chose Kansas to be one of the top five teams in the country. After the first month of the season, it is difficult to say whether Kansas will be a top-five team at the end. Losses to lowly Oral Roberts and DePaul have shown Kansas' weaknesses, while a victory against Florida showed how good this team can be when it plays to its potential.
So far this season, Kansas has probably been the most inconsistent team in America. One day they
can look like they are destined to win the national championship — like they did against Florida — and another day they can look like they are going to lose in the first round again, like they did against Oral Roberts or DePaul.
Self said this team was still
young and still learning. I don't buy it. The only players who should still be learning are freshmen Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins. They have to learn the system. The other players have been here.
meetings, halftime rants and other motivational things that Self has attempted with his players this season. Apparently, those only work some of the time, and have not led to consistent play.
That is a problem.
If these things become regular.
You cannot take a day off in the NCAA tournament. Otherwise you are going tobe defeated. Kansas coach Bill Self cannot allow that to happen.
You can't take a day off in the NCAA tournament. Otherwise you're going to be defeated. Kansas coach Bill Self cannot allow that to happen. We have already read this season about players-only
never would have envisioned when he decided to play at Kansas.
Kansas returned all five starters and that should make this team an experienced team.
the players are not going to respond to them when Self needs them too. Kansas needs to start getting up for every game, not just games against the reigning national champion. By the time the spring
semester starts, we'll have a better idea if Brandon Rush is really an All-American. We will know if he has gotten out of this slump that he has been in for the past five games. Rush will need to do that if he hopes to play in the NBA next season. Otherwise, he will be back for his junior campaign, something he
We will know whether Sasha Kaun will be able to play significant minutes like he did last season after his knee injury. Against USC, when he was forced into significant minutes during the first half because of Darrell Arthur's foul trouble, Kaun looked tired by the end of the half. It will take time to get back into his rhythm, especially because he has played sparingly this summer since he returned home to Russia.
For now we can only wait. Wait until the eight games pass, and then we will know how good this team will really be.
Darnell Jackson has played well thus far this season, but Kansas will need Kuin to spell Arthur, especially when Big 12 season arrives and jackson's lack of size becomes a liability.
Kansan sportswriter Ryan Colaiani can be contacted at rcolaiani@kansan.com.
Edited by Patrick Ross.
featuring faculty artists
Leslie Bennett & John Staniunas
7:30 p.m.
December 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 2006
2:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Crafton-Preyer Theatre
reserved seat tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices. University Theatre, 864-3982; Lied Center, 864-ARTS, and SUA Office, 864-7469, and online at www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are $16 for the public, $10 for all students, and $15 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff. Both VISA and Mastercard are accepted for phone and online orders.
Please join us for a talkback with the director, designers, and cast immediately following the Saturday December 2, performance.
This production is KU's entry in the 2007 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival XXXIX.
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