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Linebacker leaders See how Kansas linebacker Gabe Toomey compares to North Carolina State linebacker Pat Thomas. The two could impact the outcome of the Tangerine Bowl.PAGE 6A
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sports commentary
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, December 8, 2003
Shane Mettlen
smetten@kansan.com
Odd results abundant in weekend matchups
That must have been the case Saturday. Kansas State, the football team that went a month this season without beating a Division 1A opponent, embarrassed Oklahoma, the team that looked unstoppable all season long. That in itself isn't enough to assume that something has gone terribly wrong and changed the makeup of the universe. Upsets do happen. Remember the same thing happened to K-State in 1998 when Texas A&M knocked off the greatest team K-State ever fielded.
Saturday must have happened in bizzaro world. Bizzaro world, as made famous by Superman and later Seinfeld, is the parallel universe where everything and everyone is the opposite.
That football game could have just been an oddity. But when you combine it with the way a couple of Big 12 Conference teams played basketball it becomes obvious something strange was going on.
Kansas took the nation's No.1 team to Anaheim, Calif. to play Stanford in the Wooden Classic, and it was an ugly basketball game. The ridiculously strict officiating made it impossible for either team to find a rhythm. Both teams became tentative as any hint of contact resulted in a foul call.
Most of the time Kansas can find a way to win a game like that. Discipline and mental toughness have traditionally been a trademark of Jayhawk basketball. Those qualities have been stressed even more under coach Bill Self. But Saturday, when the game wasn't going Kansas' way, it resorted to an every man for himself style of play. Instead of taking advantage of Stanford's foul trouble by getting the ball to Wayne Simien down low, Kansas tossed up shots from the outside. The Jayhawks took the lead, briefly, when Keith Langford took the ball to the rim in transition and was fouled. Langford made a free throw to complete the three-point play and it looked like Kansas would start playing Jayhawk basketball again. But it didn't. The team kept gunning from the outside and eventually shot itself out of the game, hitting only 3-20 from three-point range.
"We were fooled by the last game," Self said afterwards. "We shot the ball so well, we came and jacked up a lot of shots."
It wasn't the brand of basketball fans are used to seeing from the Jayhawks, but it did look oddly familiar. It looked like Missouri basketball.
Oh, the Tigers, famous under Quin Snyder fora lack of discipline and living or dying by the three-point shot, actually looked like a team with heart Saturday.
Missouri also got off to a bad start Saturday. The Tigers trailed almost the entire game and were down 56-42 with just 7:15 left in the game. But Missouri finished the game on a 21-2 run to secure a tough win on the road.
'Hawks fail to pass, shoot
By Chris Wintering
cwintering@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
ANAHIEM, Calif. — Kansas coach Bill Self called his team's shooting miserable, and its passing horrendous in the top-ranked Jayhawks' 64-58 loss to No. 21 Stanford Saturday at the John Wooden Classic.
In his first loss as Kansas' coach, Self watched the Cardinal play its 1-1-3 zone, which his team never had an answer for.
"They let us pass the ball around the perimeter and sat in the post man's lap a lot, which is smart," Self said. "That's how I'd play us too."
It was a similar strategy that Texas-
Christian used a week ago against Kansas. The difference was that Kansas, now 3-1, couldn't hit shots on the perimeter against Stanford to extend the zone.
"I think we played so passive against the zone, like we're scared to make a mistake passing the basketball." Self said. "The best way to beat a zone is to have good shooters on the floor, and tonight we just didn't shoot it very good."
The Jayhawks went 3-20 from the three-point line. Sophomore Jeff Hawkins went 1-7 from behind the arc after hitting five three-point shots against TCU.
By not making shots on the perimeter the Jayhawks were not able to stretch the zone to get their big men the ball. Against TCU, junior Wayne Simien only made
one field goal, and against Stanford Saturday, Simien only had 10 points on 2-6 shooting from the field. Self said that the team had not given the ball to its preseason All-American as much as it should vet this year.
"I feel it's all my fault — I have to find ways to get him the ball." junior Aaron Miles said of Simien's limited touches.
Miles thought that the team did too much dribbling and not enough passing. That was evident because of the Jayhawks' 6 assists, the team's lowest total since 1993.
"When a team plays zone, your assist total should be even higher." Self said. "That tells me as much as anything that we passed the ball miserably, regardless of how we shot it."
Junior Keith Langford agreed that the perimeter players struggled and needed to get the ball inside. He said that the zone made perimeter players think they were open, but shooters quickly found themselves covered when taking the shot.
"We probably relied a little too much on one pass and one shot," Langford said.
Kansas trailed the entire first half against Stanford and found itself down by as much as 12. The Jayhawks fought back and with 20 seconds left in the half had the ball with a chance to take the last shot, down 33-29.
Volleyball season ends upbeat
SEE FAIL ON PAGE 6A
By Mike Norris
mnorris@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
MALIBU, Calif. — Sarah Rome said the pain was gone. It was only 20 minutes after the Kansas volleyball team had been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round by No. 4 Pepperdine, and the senior outside hitter was surprisingly calm.
"We've accomplished so much," Rome said. "This team has nothing but love for each other."
SEE WEEKEND ON PAGE 6A
Despite a few tears, everything seemed OK for a team whose season had just ended.
The Jayhawks were in Malibu, Calif., had beaten Long Beach State, a five-time NCAA champion, the day before and had advanced farther than any Jayhawk team in school history. Why should they be disappointed?
"I couldn't be more proud of a group," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. "I told them I didn't want to see tears because they lost, I only wanted tears of the fact they can't compete together anymore."
He said the chemistry of this team will be hard to replace.
A lot of teams say they have chemistry, but this team showed it.
During the season no one wanted to talk about themselves after a match because they were so busy praising each other.
Juniors Ashley Michaels, Ashley Bechard and Jill Dorsey are roommates and played volleyball together before coming to Kansas.
Sophomore Josi Lima and freshman Jana Correa played together in São Paulo, Brazil before hooking up in Lawrence.
Their ability to have fun while still competing sets them apart from other teams. You can see it in their faces.
From the excitement of beating a ranked Minnesota team on their home court, to the disappointment of losing to Pepperdine, they enjoyed themselves.
They were smiling and laughing during warm-ups before the biggest match of their lives against Long Beach.
On the other hand the 49ers warmed up with stone-cold faces, operating like machines in an auto factory.
The emotions of warm-ups carried into the match. Kansas smiled its way to the 3-0 victory, as the machine that was Long Beach fell apart.
Beachard said there shouldn't be any complaining when you get to travel from Lawrence to Malibu in December.
"So why not enjoy it and play some good volleyball?" he said.
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 6A
Kensas' Josi Lime blocked the shot of Pepperdine's Lindsey Hache during the Jayhawks' four-game defeat to the fourth-seeded Wave. The defeat eliminated Kansas from the NCAA Tournament.
Jeff Jacobson/KUAC
Kansas takes first Jayhawk Classic title in four years
Midway through the second game of the Holiday Inn Jayhawk Classic, Lauren Ervin was working on a perfect tournament.
By Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The freshman forward had made all nine of her shots from the floor, and two from the free-throw line, when she did the unthinkable; she missed a free throw.
"I work on shots in the paint all practice." Ervin said with a laugh. "I just think I'll need to work on free throws a little more and I'll be knocking them down."
One had to look hard to find fault with both Ervin and the Jayhawks over the weekend, as they defeated Cal-State Fullerton 90-46, and the University of Texas at El Paso 71-50 in the championship to take their first Jayhawk Classic title since the 1999-2000 season.
"I was really happy with the tournament as a whole," coach Marian Washington said. "We worked really hard and showed good execution."
Though she was not perfect from the field, sophomore Crystal Kemp still dominated play inside, being named the unanimous Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Kemp scored 23 points in just 22 minutes against Cal-State Fullerton, and followed with a 15-point performance against UTEP to help Kansas to the championship.
"She's very committed to trying to play a consistent season for us," Washington said. "Every game she's been able to help us in one way or another."
Ervin and junior guard Aquanita Burras were also named to the six-person All-Tournament team for Kansas. Ervin finished a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor in the two-day event.
The Jayhawks were able to take control against Cal-State Fullerton in the second half. In an eight-minute second-half stretch, Kansas outscored Fullerton
28-2, capped by sophomore forward Nichelle Roberts' layup off a no-look pass from junior guard Larisha Graves.
"The second half I felt we executed a lot better," Washington said. "We got excited for each other and it was good to see."
Ervin would later put on a show of her own. With four minutes remaining, the freshman stole a pass, raced the length of the court, then raised the ball above her head for a strong layup and a foul as Kansas extended its lead to 38.
The Jayhawks shot an incredible 85.2 percent from the field in the second half, missing just four shots.
Kansas took advantage of 22 Fullerton
Ervin added 16 points and nine rebounds to complement Kemp's team-high of 23 points. Junior guard Aquanita Burras and sophomore guard Kaylee Brown both contributed nine-point efforts.
turnovers, scoring 24 fast-break points.
The Jayhawks shifted their strength from offense to defense in the second game, allowing just 13 points in the first half to take a commanding 40-13 lead into the break.
Kansas fed off the crowd and kept its defensive intensity in the second half, illustrated in a two-minute stretch.
SEE CLASSIC ON PAGE 6A
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