THE UNIVERSITY OF DARLY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2006
SPORTS
3B
>> SERENITY NOW
Coaches unfit for contracts
BY FRED DAVIS III
KANSAN COLUMNIST
FDAVIS at KANSAN.COM
No disrespect to Richard Lariviere, the University's new provost, but it's too bad that the school didn't name Athletics Director Lew Perkins the head boncho of student affairs.
Because wed all be 4.0 students.
Whv?
It's clear that as long as you show up with Lew Perkins in charge, you'll be rewarded — handsomely. Just look at two of his biggest fans, Mark Mangino and Bill Self.
Both Self and Mangino received fat contract extensions this year. Self's came last week, days after the Hawks beat the defending champion Florida Gators and before they lost to then 2-4 DePaul. Mangino hit the lottery, uh, got paid, in the middle of one of the most disappointing football seasons in recent memory.
Somewhere KU debate coach Scott Harris, who recently won Coach of the Year honors, is scratching his head trying to come up with an argument for why he hasn't gotten a pay increase vet.
Maybe it's because the athletics department uses a formula to calculate new contracts that is similar to the Cedric the Entertainer philosophy of "we wish".
We wish that Mangino would
win the games he's supposed to. We wish he would win some games on the road. We wish Bill Self would get us out of the first round of the NCAA tournament. We wish he recruit players that stick around without leaving in a hail of controversy.
Yet, when breaking down both guys' respective bodies of work at the University, one must be judicious. First, Coach Self.
The guy bought himself some serious love when he arrived in Lawrence because of the ugly departure of Roy Williams. There are two categories of Roy people in Lawrence — those who love him and those who hate him. So Self has been afforded the luxury of phasing out the Roy era of fast-paced, 90-point games with slower, methodical defensive struggles and 60- to 70-point sluggests.
Considering how much fun it's been to watch those slower games, it's even more fun watching the 'Hawks get bounced out of the tourney after one game two years in a row. Excuses abound for why those losses happened: youth, wrong players for the system, have we said youth yet? At least the team won a conference championship.
But now Coach Self has his players, and so far, well, the team looks ripe for a first round exit again. The problem? No one fears Kansas basketball anymore. That choke mentality that suffocated KU basketball in the mid-'90s dissipated in the early part of this decade before reappearing after Bucknell and Bradley. According to Coach Self, his team lacks a
leader. Freshman Darrell Arthur said practices are lax because the players are void of intensity and focus. Too bad our team's not full of McDonald's All-Americans and blue-chip prospects... Watt, it is. Good thing it's only early December.
Has Bill Self done a good job during his tenure so far at Kansas? Depends on who you ask. While a contract extension seems legitimate for a guy who has gone 79-26 in four plus seasons, I might've waited until after the tournament to discuss the long term.
As for Coach Mangino, my thoughts on the football team have been well documented and this season's coaching failure is nothing short of despicable. To put the lunacy of Mangino's $1.5 million contract into perspective, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was just awarded a new extension worth $1.75 million. Spurrier has won a national championship and is widely regarded as one the best minds in all of football.
Both coaches still have plenty of time to prove that they merit inclusion in a higher tax bracket, and I wish they would. In the meantime, with the semester drawing to a close, approach your professor before finals and say, "Hey, I want the Self-Mangino treatment - give me an A just for being here."
— Edited by Mindy Ricketts
The women's basketball team, coming off a 64-11 loss, will try to improve its offense against South Dakota State tonight at Allegiance Field.
Kansan File photo
Improving offense critical
》 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY CASE KEEFER
Following a devastating 66-41 loss to Wisconsin, Kansas will return to its home floor to play the South Dakota State lackrabbits tonight. The team's biggest test will be how it responds after such a lossed loss.
SDSU does have senior forward Megan Vogel, who averages 19 points and five rebounds a game. Kansas sophomore forward Mariaj Zinic will have to slow her production down with solid defense in the paint.
"If we're mature enough to realize that was a bad night for Kansas, we'll learn from it," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
"It was dumbounding to look at them," Henrickson said. "I didn't see any toughness and I didn't see any intensity."
Kansas' biggest problems arose with not being able to shut down Wisconsin starting guards Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks, who combined for 30 points.
The Jackrabbits didn't boast as talented of a backcourt against the Jayhawks. Sophomore Ashlea Muckenhirn and junior Andrea Verdegan averaged 12 points per game combined.
"We were offensively abysmal,"
None of the players on the Jayhawk roster had a great game against the Badgers. The leading scorer recorded 10 points and the leading rebounder had five boards
Zinic struggled offensively against the Badgers, shooting 2-for-8 from the floor. It wasn't just Zinic though; as a team, the Jayhawks shot 30 percent.
Henrickson said.
Much of the pressure to get the offense going in the right direction will fall on freshman forward Sade Morris. In the last three games, Morris has shot just less than 50 percent with 24 points. Overall, Morris is tied for second on the team with eight points per game.
Morris will also have to contribute on the defensive end against SDSU. SDSU's second most reliable weapon has been sophomore forward Jennifer Warkenthien.
great job this year by beating USC and Virginia".Herrickson said.
Henrickson will continue to use many players on the perimeter, but as seen in the last two games, expect senior guard Sharita Smith to sub more frequently. She was the only player Henrickson praised following the loss to Wisconsin.
SDSU has lost two of its last three games, but its 5-2 record includes victories against a couple of impressive opponents.
"South Dakota State has done a
"I thought Sharita was aggressive," she said. "I hope those young kids watch her and realize that's what we're looking for."
Kansan sportswriter Case Keefer can be contacted at ckeefer@ kansan.com.
Edited by Jacky Carter
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