what we heard
"I enjoy being No. 1. Even though it's just a number and really doesn't mean anything, I love seeing it by our name."
- Men's basketball player Keith Langford on Kansas' rank in the polls
wednesday, december 3,2003
off the bench
the university daily kansan 9A
Stoops gets award for strong season
The Associated Press
NORMAN, Okla. - A No. 1 ranking, a Big 12 title and a berth in the national championship game all seemed to be reasonable pursuits for Oklahoma this season.
Still, the dominating fashion in which the Sooners have gone about accomplishing those goals couldn't have been expected for a team that entered the season without a proven quarterback, running back or receiver.
In recognition for pulling it off, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops was named Big 12 coach of the year by The Associated Press.
"I appreciate that, I really do." Stoops said yesterday. "But I get way too much credit for everything that's happened here. It's just easier for everyone to put it all on one coach."
Stoops won in a landslide, receiving 17 of 19 votes in balloting of reporters who regularly cover the conference from newspapers in the league's seven states.
The only other coaches to receive votes were Kansas State University's Bill Snyder, whose team will face the Sooners on Saturday in the Big 12 title game, and Oklahoma State University's Les Miles, who won the honor last year.
The postseason honors are likely just
beginning for the Sooners.
The AP's offensive and defensive players of the year will be announced today and the all-conference team tomorrow.
Quarterback Jason White is a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and Mark Clayton is a finalist for the Billetnikoff Award, given to the nation's top receiver.
Defensive teammates Tommie Harris, Derrick Strait and Teddy Lehman are up for a host of postseason honors and kicker Trey DiCarlo remains in the running for the Lou Groza Award.
The emergence of White and Clayton offers the best proof of the depth in Stoops' program.
The Sooners entered the year needing to replace starting quarterback Nate Hybl, 1,800-yard rusher Quentin Griffin and the top four receivers from last season.
White, whose last two seasons ended with knee injuries, went from a run-first quarterback into the nation's leader in passing efficiency. Clayton emerged as the top target, breaking most of Oklahoma's significant single-season and career receiving records along the way.
"I don't know that anybody had them on a preseason All-America watch list," Stoops said.
Three years after winning the national championship, the Sooners (12-0, 8-0
Big 12) have been as dominant as any college team in recent memory.
Iney beat their five Big 12 South foes Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M Baylor and Texas Tech — by a combined score of 291-50.
They boast the nation's top-ranked defense and the highest scoring offense.
Oklahoma's special teams has the nation's most accurate field goal kicker in Trey Dicarlo and a record-setting punt returner in Antonio Perkins.
Another mark of Stoops' touch on the program: In the five years before Stoops arrived in Norman, Oklahoma was 0-9 in games against teams ranked in the Top 10. During Stoops' stint, the Sooners have gone 11-1 in those games.
His staffs have been so good that three assistants have been plucked by other major schools to become head coaches: Mike Leach at Texas Tech, Mark Mangino at Kansas and, most recently, his brother Mike was hired by Arizona.
"They've assembled a really, really good football team," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "You see them on TV you feel it a little bit. When you're standing on that sideline, you really feel it."
Stoops also won Big 12 coach of the year honors in 2000, his second season in Norman.
Men's basketball
Simien awarded honor of Biq 12 player of week
DALLAS — Wayne Simien's 28-point performance in Kansas' 81-74 victory over Michigan State earned him Big 12 honors as player of the week, while Texas freshman P.J. Tucker repeated as rookie of the week, the conference said yesterday
week, the conference pads by Simien, a 6-foot-9 junior from Leavenworth hit all nine of his free throws and shot 9-of-12 from the floor in reaching a career-high point total.
He's 20-for-21 from the free-throw line through three games this season.
ine through three games the series
Tucker averaged 16.5 points in two
Texas victories last week.
The 6-5 freshman from Raleigh, N.C., had 18 points and 11 rebounds against Sam Houston, then recorded a team-high 15 points along with four rebounds against Centenary.
Through the first three games of the season, Tucker led Texas in scoring with 17 points per game.
He also became the first freshman in Longhorn history to start his career with back-to-back double-doubles.
The Associated Press
K-State faces tough match-up for Big 12 title
The Associated Press
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University's defense has the numbers, but not the name.
Sure, the players call themselves "the Lynch Mob," and have since 1993 when Bob Stoops, now Oklahoma's head coach, was the Wildcats' defensive coordinator.
Nationally, though, the name has never caught on the way, say, "Black-shirts" did at Nebraska.
But with a strong performance against Stoops' top-ranked Sooners in Saturday's Big 12 title game, No. 14 Kansas State could earn some recognition for a defense that has spent all season hearing how good its Oklahoma counterpart is.
"It's kind of irritating to hear everybody talk about, 'OU defense this, OU defense that,'" defensive tackle Jermaine Berry said yesterday. "They get more pub, I guess, because they're undefeated and
we had that threegame losing streak."
Oklahoma (12-0)
has earned every bit of its reputation.
The Sooners
The soberists come into Saturday's game in Kansas City, Mo., ranked first nationally in pass efficiency defense, pass defense and total defense and third in scoring defense.
Kansas State isn't far behind, though. The Wildcats are fifth nationally in total defense, sixth in pass defense and seventh in scoring defense, and that's with opponents scoring five touchdowns this year against the offense and special teams.
"To a certain extent, that's to be expected," defensive coordinator Bobby Elliot said. "There are going to be some points scored against you when you're not on the field, but not 55."
Over the course of its six-game winning streak, Kansas State (10-3) has yielded just five offensive touchdowns.
Two of those should carry asterisks: Jammal Lord's touchdown pass in Kansas State's 38-9 victory at Nebraska, when replays showed Lord's knee down before he threw the ball, and Brad Smith's 2-yard TD pass for Missouri in the regular-season finale after Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson lost a fumble at his own 2.
Better practice habits helped fuel Kansas State's intensity after the three-game loss streak in which the Wildcats' defense gave up eight offensive touchdowns, end Thomas Houchin said.
"It's something we got away from at the beginning of the year," Houchin said, "but now if one person messes up on defense, our whole defense gets down and does push-ups. You get tired of doing push-ups."
Kansas State can't afford any slip-ups against the Sooners, who haven't needed much help getting into the end zone this year. They are ranked first in scoring
offense at 48.3 points per game and have gone over the 50-point mark six times.
Quarterback Jason White has come back from two knee operations to throw for 3,446 yards and 40 touchdowns.
White has been a model of efficiency, too, completing 65.4 percent of his passes with only six interceptions.
"He's a student of the game," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "There are a lot of things to like about him, but that one just promotes all the others."
While the Wildcats would rather play against the pass than the run — they're 18th nationally in run defense at 107.4 yards per game — they can't ignore the Sooners' running backs.
SOMETIMES TAMING UP
Kejuan Jones has rushed for 787 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Renaldo Works has eight TDs, 710 yards and a per-carry average of 5.1 yards.
"If you set your cap for pass defense and let them run, they'll take that," Elliot said.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
图
Hey, Ryan Greene, you should takes notes from Shane Mettien on how to write a story. He supports the Kansas Jayhawks. Maybe you should try it.
ten against a heavy-pressure defense in its first road game, Kansas (3-0) got big performances from a pair of young guards and an impressive homecoming by Keith Langford.
The 'Hawks are No. 1. The season will be fun. I hate Mizzou a ton. Hamburger on a bun. OK, so the last line sucks, but that is all that I could think of.
Does anyone else think that the Horned Frogs of TCU look like they are doing Little Bunny Foo Foo?
When Giddens wears his headband, it makes me feel really freaky.
ten against a heavy-pressure defense in its first road game, Kansas (3-0) got big performances from a pair of young guards and an impressive homecoming by Keith Langford.
Hell, everything in Texas has horns, even the frogs. We should be the Horned Frogs.
There is about 17 minutes left in the TCU game and I know there is time but we are only up by two. Is this a joke? I am not laughing.
--ten against a heavy-pressure defense in its first road game, Kansas (3-0) got big performances from a pair of young guards and an impressive homecoming by Keith Langford.
Hey, ESPN, our coach's name is Bill Self, not Roy Williams. Quit talking about Roy Williams.
ten against a heavy-pressure defense in its first road game, Kansas (3-0) got big performances from a pair of young guards and an impressive homecoming by Keith Langford.
Nick Collison did not deserve to have his jersey retired until he plays at least one NBA game.
--ten against a heavy-pressure defense in its first road game, Kansas (3-0) got big performances from a pair of young guards and an impressive homecoming by Keith Langford.
We are No. 1. How do you like them apples?
Kansas athletics calendar
Friday
Swimming at U. of Houston at Houston, 6 o.m.
Saturday
Men's basketball at Stanford, 3 p.m. at Ana-
huali Calif.
Swimming at Texas A&M, 1 p.m. at College Station Texas.
Women's basketball
Holiday Inn/Jayhawk Classic, Kansas against Cal State Fullerton, 12:30 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse
Sunday
Women's basketball, Holiday Inn/Jayhawk Classic,TBA
Self dismisses No.1 ranking, savors third victory of season
The Associated Press
FORT WORTH, Texas — Kansas coach Bill Self is still learning a lot about his new team, which has made a quick rise to the No.1 spot.
While Self doesn't think the top ranking means too much right now, he likes what he's seen, even if things aren't perfect.
"I know that we don't play as smart as we should all of the time, but it was a good win," Self said after the Jayhawks beat TCU 85-66 Monday night in their first game as No. 1. "We've got to be a much smarter team, but I do like our team a lot."
With the post players virtually forgotten against a heavy-pressure defense in its first road game, Kansas (3-0) got big performances from a pair of young guards and an impressive homecoming by Keith Langford.
Forward Wayne Simien and center David Padgett were held to just one basket each, and Simien had just six points coming off a career-best 28 against Michigan State. The guards made up for that.
“Coming on the road, and your two starting big guys combine for two baskets ... it gives us confidence knowing guys can score from the perimeter," Self said.
Sophomore Jeff Hawkins had 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including five
three-pointers. Freshman J.R. Giddens, starting in place of injured guard Michael Lee (broken collarbone), had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
"He made a lot of great plays and there's no substitute for good shooting," Self said about Hawkins. "And J.R. in his first college start, he's one of the unsung heroes. That's something we can build on."
Not to mention the 24-point showing on 9-of-10 shooting in 24 minutes by Langford, playing in his hometown against the TCU coach who helped recruit him. He missed most of the first half after two early fouls.
Kansas became the No.1 team in The Associated Press' poll Monday with a
jump from sixth — the biggest to the top in the poll in almost 40 years.
The Jayhawks took advantage of losses by the top four teams last week, and their only game was an 81-74 victory over then-No. 3 Michigan State.
Self said the ranking had little, if any effect on his team — especially in December.
"Poll's really shouldn't come out until after Christmas," Self said. "The BCS doesn't rank after the first week. It takes time. Certainly we had to be tested away from home and we were."
Langford put Kansas ahead to stay with a short jumper that broke a 43-all tie with 17:33 left.
The Jayhawks overcame 20 turnovers,13 of them before halftime and two more in the first minute of the second half.
That was part of a game-turning 19-8 run during which Langford had 11 points and two assists.
"If we don't handle pressure better than that, we're going to face defeat real soon," Self said. "Give TCU credit because they outplayed us the first 25 minutes, they were the better team. Then we played pretty good the last 15 minutes."
"CU is coached by Neil Dougherty, a Kansas assistant coach for seven years before taking over the Horned Frogs last season.