2B / SPORTS / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2011 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
QUOTES OF THE DAY
"The coaching staff is one in a million to me. I mean having D-Man (Danny Manning) to coach you in every practice and give you the insight on what moves you should make and what opening you should get to. You definitely got to cherish that because it won't happen all the time."
Junior forward Marcus Morris
FACT OF THE DAY
Kansas men's basketball has recorded 27 or more victories per season for the last five seasons.
-kuathletics.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: How many games has Kansas shot better than 50 percent from the field this season?
A: Twenty, including eight of its last nine games
www.big12sports.com
Rising point guard revives program
MORNING BREW
Most street-ballers don't survive outside the concrete jungle. Sebastian Telfair couldn't do
concrete jungle. Sebastian Telfair couldn't do it. Neither could Kenny Satterfield. Or Ed Cota. Or God Shammgod, Omar Cook and Malloy Nesmith. The list of New York City point guards turned point gods stretches on.
But these were entertainers of the asphalt. Jesters under the sun. They could crossover, break ankles and dance about it. They could pump up a crowd with a basketball and forget the emcee's microphone. But most couldn't hit a jump shot, let alone lead a basketball franchise. So Mark Jackson, Kenny Anderson, Kenny Smith and, further back, Bob Cousy, Lenny Wilkens and Tiny Archibald, exist as the few exceptions.
Then there was Kemba.
Then there was Kemba.
Kemba Walker, a University of Connecticut student-athlete who was born in the Bronx, started this season with player-of-the-year performances. Walker put life support on a once-dying breed of point gods. But now Walker's jump shot is revisiting the mediocrity of most of the other point gods, and another guard is quickly climbing to the top.
Dwight Hardy of St. John's University in Queens, who was also born in the Bronx, is bringing life to two traditions gasping for air: point gods and Johnnies basketball.
point goals and joinite bliss in
In the 1970s and 1980s, under the guidance of coach Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
became a basketball juggernaut. Guys such as the aforementioned Jackson, Malik Sealy, Chris Mullin and Ron Artest, just to name a few, led the Johnniets to where they sit today: the seventh winningest program in college hoops.
Then the St. John's joy ride swerved over speed bump after speed bump. Some put all the blame on former coach Mike Jarvis, who was incompetent as a recruiter and was immersed in several off-court scandals. Some speculate that it all ended when St. John's traded its cost-of-living stipends for on-campus dorms. Others say that when you add these two together, in the new 16-team format of the Big East Conference, the Johnies couldn't escape the basement.
nes couldn't escape the Now, with coach Steve Lavin and Hardy as the poster boys, St. John's basketball is back. Before the season, Lavin hauled in one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, featuring six ESPNU top 100 players. This season, the
Johnnies are reminding New Yorkers of their past glories.
They triumphed against then-No. 3 Duke, No. 13 Georgetown, No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 9 Connecticut, No. 4 Pittsburgh and on Saturday, No. 14 Villanova. Sure, playing in the Big East, with home games at Madison Square Garden, offers you a buffer of upset opportunities. But the Johnnies have won eight of their past nine games and reached the top 25 for the first time since November 2000.
2000. A new-age point god, Dwight Hardy, has revived St. John's basketball. And with Lavin's hands on the reins, the Johnnies won't plummet.
— Edited by Amanda Sorell
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
TODAY
Women's Golf
Sir Pizza Cards Challenge
All Day
at Weston, Fla.
TUESDAY
Baseball
vs. Southern Utah
3 p.m.
Lawrence
Women's Basketball
vs Iowa State
7 p.m.
at Ames, Iowa
Women's Golf
Sir Pizza Cards Challenge
All Day
at Weston, Fla.
Men's Basketball
vs. Texas A&M
8 p.m.
Lawrence
WEDNESDAY
Individual performances aren't enough for the Jayhawks
BY GEOFFREY CALVERT qcalvert@kansan.com
The Kansas track and field team competed at the Big 12 indoor championships during the weekend in Lincoln, Neb., with the men finishing 11th and the women taking eighth.
"I expected both teams to place higher than what we did. I thought we could have been in the top six on both sides. Obviously that didn't happen," said coach Stanley Redwine.
wine.
On the men's side, Texas A&M won with 134 points, easily outdistancing the Jayhawks' 23.50 points. The women's title went to the hometown Huskers with 115.50
points. The Jayhawk women mustered 40 points.
"We didn't have enough people score the points that I thought they could possibly score. It's a very competitive meet and some of our people didn't step up as they should have," Redwine said.
Sophmore Mason Finley hoped to repeat as the men's shot put champion. His throw of 65 feet, 5 inches was good enough to qualify for nationals, but junior John Pinkelman from Nebraska won the event with a throw of 65 feet, 10.25 inches.
throw of 65 feet, 10,254 inches.
"Mason had a really good throw. Unfortunately at the Big 12 and championship events it's about winning." Redwine said.
"Mason will come back and be strong. To throw 65 feet is still a great deal. He lost by
5 inches. So I think he'll be ready for the NCAAs and hopefully show better there."
NCAAS and hip-hop superstar
Senior Jaci Perryman led a group of five jayhawk women who competed in the women's pole vault. Perryman placed fourth and was joined on the podium by freshman Demi Payne, who placed eighth.
"We had pretty good performances, in particular Demi Payne, who is one of our freshmen, who got eighth place," Perryman said. "That was really nice to have two of the girls on the podium getting some points for our team. We came away with some good marks."
Perryman was pleased with her performance but also said she could have done better.
"I feel like I met my goals, but after meet-
cause you leave wanting more," Perryman said.
Heading into this weekend's NCAA Qualifier, Perryman outlined a key way in which she can improve.
which she can improve.
"One of the things for me this weekend was getting on some bigger poles. I need to be on bigger poles to get those higher heights, so this weekend I've got to trust that I can get on some bigger poles to throw me higher into the air."
The Jayhawks also found success in the women's 4x400 meter relay, which placed third. The team was comprised of senior Kendra Bradley, freshman Diamond Dixon, sophomore Denesha Morris, and junior Shayla Wilson, with sophomore Taylor Washington as the alternate.
Washington as the anchor. "Last year we were fourth and this year was a lot different. It's the best we've ever done that I know of in Kansas history," sophomore Taylor Washington said. "I'm not disappointed at all. No one wants to settle for third but we've come a long way to get
goals, but after meeting them it got me really motivated and kind of itching for some more. It was kind of bittersweet with pole vault be-
Redwine was pleased with the relay teams' performance against an especially challenging field, which he said "was probably one of the best in the world." He is hopeful that their time of 3 minutes.36.13 seconds will qualify them for the NCAA Championship.
Dixon has been a key contributor for the Jayhaws this season. Along with running in the 4x400, she placed third in the 400 meters with a time of 53.10 seconds, setting a school record and likely qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
NCAA Championships. "Diamond is my best friend. We came from the same high school," Washington said. "She played a wonderful role in the 4x400. She runs better when there are people ahead of her. She basically acted like Ms. Pac-man and ate people up, which she did well. We got the stick to her a little bit behind in fourth place, and she picked us up to third."
Don's Auto Center
Edited by Emily Soeta*
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