Can the Jayhawks continue their winning ways? Gameday gets you ready for Saturday's game.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2006
The University of Missouri may bending admissions standards for athletes.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
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MEN'S BASKETBALL
Bill Self to make more than Mangino Amount is 2nd most in Big 12
BY C.J. MOORE
This week just keeps getting better for Kansas basketball coach Bill Self.
Siblings Brady Morningstar, freshman guard for KU men's basketball, and Linsey Morningstar, senior setter and defensive specialist for KU volleyball, are both completing their first semester at the University of Kansas this fall. While Brady began at the University after attending prep school for a year, Linsey broke with family tradition and attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., for three years prior to transferring to Kansas.
Less than a week after Self
had arguably the best victory of his career, Kansas Athletics Director Lew Perkins rewarded him with a new contract worth
Rvan McGeenev/KANSAN
$1.3 million per year for the next five years. If Self stays at Kansas through 2011, he will receive extra money that increases his年薪 salary to $1.6 million, making him the highest paid coach at the University and second-highest paid coach in the Big 12 behind Texas coach Rick Barnes.
"I wanted to tie him up," Perkins said. "He deserved it. Our basketball program obviously has a great deal of potential lying ahead of us. I'm big on continuity."
Self still had two years remaining on his old contract but, Perkins said he didn't want to wait until there was only a year left to give his coaches contract extensions. Perkins went to Self after last season and the contract had been in the works during the offseason.
Self's contract comes more than two months after Perkins gave football coach Mark Mangino a new five year contract worth $1.5 million, which made the highest-paid KU coach and University employee at the time.
Edited by Erin Wiley
Self's new contract may come as a surprise to some people after back-to-back first round losses in the NCAA tournament.
Other than playing those killer B's, Self has had success in Kansas. He took the layhawks to the elite eight his first season, has a .757 winning percentage, along with two Big 12 regular season championships and a Big 12 tournament title last season.
"I look at the whole picture," Perkins said, "Obviously we're not happy, and I think he'll tell you himself he's not happy getting beat in the first round. I think too much attention is placed on how far you go in the NCAA."
"If you told me before we got here that wed win the Big 12 two out of three years and finish second the other year, I'd say that's pretty good;" Self said. "If you told me that we would lose in the first round twice, I'd say that's very poor."
"I don't know anybody out there that I would want to be our head coach," Perkins said. "Don't be fooled because if Bill left, wed find someone really good. But right now I think he's as good as there is in the country."
Kansan staff writer C.J. Moore can be contacted at cjmoore@ kansan.com.
Perkins said that winning was important when it came to mens basketball at Kansas, but he never looked at one game as critical to the future of the program. The future looks bright for Self and the Jayhawks, Perkins said, and the new contract gave Kansas fans and recruits assurance that Self is Perkins' man.
Siblings continue tradition
PROFILE
Brady and Linsey Morningstar are brother and sister who have taken different paths to eventually reach the same destination: The University of Kansas.
Brady is a freshman guard on the men's basketball team, and Linsey just completed her senior season as a setter/defensive specialist on the volleyball team.
Ironically, both are finishing up their first semester at the University.
Following a standout career at Free State High School, Linssey signed with Temple and played her first three seasons with the Owls.
"I wanted to try something new!" she said.
By initially not playing at Kansas, Linsey broke a Morningstar family tradition. Her sister, Jamie, was a KU volleyball player from 1999 to 2002, her motier, Linda, is a KU alumna, and her father, Roger, was a member of the men's basketball team, playing on the 1974 and 1975 Big Eight Conference championship teams.
Though Linsey chose to begin her collegiate career far from Lawrence, Brady fully supported his sister's decision to play at Temple.
"I was glad." Brady said. "I got to go out there and visit her quite a bit. Temple is a great place, but I'm glad she got to come back here for her senior year."
Although the volleyball team finished with a dismal 10-19 overall record, including a 3-17 last place finish in the Big 12 Conference, Linsey has no regrets about coming to Kansas.
"I had a lot of fun this year," she said. "Coming to KU was a great decision for me. I don't care what our record was. Coach Bechard gave me the opportunity to help the team. And I felt like I was part of the senior class even though I played only one year."
While Linsey's collegiate playing career is already finished, Brady's career is just beginning.
During the 2005-06 season Brady played at New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire where he averaged 22
points per game. Now in his first season as a layhawk, Brady is trying to make his own mark on the KU basketball team. Against Dartmouth on Tuesday night, Brady played 13 minutes, grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists and scored five points. His performance in the game and effort in practice have not gone unnoticed by coach Bill Self.
"I really believe by January he's going to be a guy that can impact our program in a favorable way." Self
By then Brady could emerge as the jayhawks' fifth perimeter player, behind Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Sherron Collins.
Linsey offered her brother some advice on how important it was to enjoy his time as a student athlete and to make the most out of each and every day.
“Take advantage of every opportunity, both in games and practices,” she
said. "Because each offers a unique opportunity to get better as a player. And in four short years it's over."
For years, the Morningstar family has tried to answer a difficult family question: who is their favorite child?
Linsey said that over Thanksgiving break she was.
"They stayed home to watch my senior night instead of going to Vegas," she said.
But the Nov. 22 match at the Horeisi Family Athletics Center did
not turn out like Linsey hoped it would. Kansas was swept by the No. 1 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers 16-30, 16-30, 20-30.
Meanwhile, Brady was preparing for the Las Vegas Invitational, where Kansas defeated Ball State, 64-46, and then upset defending national champion and No.1 ranked Florida Gators, 82-80, in overtime.
Though Brady did not play in
SEE MORNINGSTAR ON PAGE 3B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jayhawks face formidable foe in Badgers Wisconsin, fresh from victories in Las Vegas Tournament, boasts superior rebounding ability
BY CASE KEEFER
Kansas will face a tough opponent Sunday when it takes on a Big 10 team, the Wisconsin Badgers. The Jayhawks' only loss on the season was to another Big 10 opponent, Iowa.
The Badgers are off to a 6-1 start, winning the Las Vegas Tournament with victories over UNLV and Kansas State.
"We've got to recognize and respect that the level of competition is going to ante up here a little bit," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
Two junior guards, laneses Banks and Jolene Anderson, lead the Badgers. Banks and Anderson have started in every game for the past two years and been the leading scorers.
Wisconsin's biggest strength is its rebounding ability, which has been Kansas' biggest problem. On the sea-
freshman forward Mariah Dunham, who is averaging six points per game and four rebounds.
"On the perimeter, there are so many kids fighting for time that you better make the most of your minutes. You don't have a lot of wiggle room."
"Wisconsin is a great rebounding team," freshman forward Danielle McCray said. "We've got to work on boxing out and going to the boards a lot."
son, the Badgers have recorded 273 rebounds.
McCray is averaging nearly nine points per game off the bench, the second most on the team. She will meet her match Sunday. The Badgers' best player off the bench is fellow
The lawhawks plan to combat the dangerous pair with their depth in the backcourt. Seniors Shaquina
BONNIE HENRICKSON Coach
Mosley and Sharita Smith, sophomore Ivana Catic, and freshmen Kelly Kohn and LaChelda Jacobs all rateted in at the two guard positions in Wednesday's victory over Western Illinois.
"On the perimeter,
there are so many kids fighting for time that you better make the most of your minutes. You don't have a lot of wiggle room," Henrickson said.
In the front court, Kansas' biggest concern is its foul problems. In their last two games, the Jayhawks have committed 47 fouls. The two leading team in fouls are starting center Marija Zinc and starting forward Taylor Mcintosh.
"Fouls are becoming an issue in us," Henrickson said. "What's really disappointing is that we really made a point to call fouls in practice."
With Zinc and McIntosh on the bench because of foil trouble, junior forward Jamie Boyd has shined. In the last two games, Boyd had had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
"She doesn't make a lot of mistakes," Henrickson said. "She's just playing smart right now."
Freshman forward Porscha Weddington saw her first substantial minutes of the season Wednesday and played well with four points, two rebounds and a steal.
The Badgers' starting backcourt features two 6-foot-4 players, sophomore Caitlin Gibson and junior Danielle Ward. To slow down their production, the Jayhawks must stay out of foul trouble.
“It's going to be a tough one,” she said, “but I know we'll come ready to play.”
In order to leave Madison, Wis,
with a victory, it's going to take
Kansas' best game of the season.
Jamie Boyd thinks her team is up to
the challenge.
Kansan sportswriter Case Keefer can be contacted at ckeefer@kansan.com.
Edited by Shanxi Upsdell
KANSAN FILE PHOTOS
LaCheldia Jacobs, freshman guard, moved past a Western Illinois defender Thursday night. The Jaheldia hawks need to tighten their game for a victory against the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday
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