THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
MEN'S BASKETBALL | 6A
Reed earns academic honor
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011
Senior guard Tyrel Reed finished among an elite group of players who excel both academically and athletically as part of the Capital One Academic All-American team.
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BROCK SOLID
PAGE 10A
He was offered chances to play at top football programs, yet is here at Kansas
BY KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
Brock Berglund is a riddle. He was very successful in high school, but he played at a small school in Colorado. He says he was offered
Berglund
Brock Berglund, a freshman from Highlands Ranch, Colo., graduated early from high school to come play at Kansas. Berglund is the Jayhawk's new quarterback. He plans on majoring in business and minoring in film
scholarships from college football powers, but recruiting services tell a different tale. He expects to start at the University of Kansas as a true freshman, but he hasn't even practiced yet.
As an eighth grader, he took a flyer about a no-name high school in Highlands Ranch, Colo. The Valor Christian High School football coaches were looking for a varsity quarterback. Berglund wasn't looking for anything in particular.
"I was doing a friend a favor by going to this open house at the school," said Berglund, Kansas' 6-foot-3-inch, 205-pound freshman quarterback. "There were literally no buildings, had to wear a hard hat."
The school was mostly a pile of dirt, but it hired football coaches from California with connections. Brock, not unlike the school, was an unproven but promising prospect. He had been honing his quarterback skills since the age of six when his dad, a former college football player at Fort Lewis College in Colorado, worked on Brock's
throwing mechanics.
Even before he was allowed to play tackle football, Berglund played quarterback. While other flag football teams rotated positions, Berglund stayed under center. And when Valor came calling, he was ready.
"Me and my dad and my mom did the research and said, 'Are these
guys who they say they are?' And they were" Berglund said. "They were personal friends with Pete Carroll [current Seattle Seahawks coach], Norm Chow [former UCLA offensive coordinator]. They knew everybody."
who won the starting varsity job entering his freshman season.
An eighth grader recruited as a varsity quarterback would inflate anyone's ego, especially someone
Things didn't start off smoothly, though. As a sophomore, Berglund led Valor to a 4-6 record in its first varsity season in Colorado's 3A division. But success came quickly. As a junior, Berglund led Valor to the 3A state title. The newfound recognition earned him an invite to the All-
American combine after his junior season, a year in which he threw for 2,226 yards and 30 touchdowns.
"I went to some national camps and I was like, 'OK, I can fit in with these guys,'" he said.
Recruiting websites didn't necessarily agree. Recruiting services Rivals.com and Scout.com rated Blundl a three-star prospect
out of a possible five. But Brock said he received scholarship offers from top-notch programs such as Stanford and Oregon.
"There was part of me that wanted to go to a national power like Alabama or Florida," he said, "but you realize the facilities are sweet but the coaches can get anyone they
SEE BERGLUND ON PAGE 7A
BASEBALL
Junior first baseman Zac Elgie readies for a pitch from freshmen pitcher Alex Cox yesterday afternoon against Creighton at the Hoglund Ballpark. Kansas fell to Creighton 4-3.
Opening Day leaves Jayhawks with a chilly loss to Bluejays
BY MIKE VERNON mvernon@kansan.com
Freshman Alex Cox, in his first career start, had a strong first outing. The young尔爛 threw for 4.1 innings, giving up four hits and one earned run. While the numbers were good for Cox, the 6-foot-5-inch pitcher frequently struggled with his control. Cox walked three batters in the first four innings, and he knows that is not going to cut it when Big 12 play rolls around.
The chilly weather in Lawrence did not stop the 927 fans from showing up to Hoglund Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon to catch Opening Day for the Jayhawks. The Creighton Bluejays sent those fans at Hoglund home unhappy after defeating the Jayhawks 4-3 in a 10-inning duel.
A big tell that Cox didn't have his best stuff today was the fact that the second time he faced the Creighton lineup, they were able to pick up on his tendencies. The Bluejays were able to time the ball much better and, subsequently, scrapped together four hits in the fourth that led three runs for the Bluejays.
Cox is expected to be a big part of the Jayhawks pitching staff this season, and his wild ways today might have been caused by some additional adrenaline flowing through his veins.
"Obviously, I didn't do as well as I hoped." Cox said. "I need to be able to throw more than one or two pitches for strikes."
"I wasn't that nervous, but I think the excitement of my first college start got to me a little bit." Cox said.
a one-day star for the Jayhawks was evident, though. In his first three innings pitched, Cox only gave up one hit to the Bluejays. Because of this potential, coach Ritch Price had a much more optimistic outlook on the freshman pitcher's performance.
The potential for Cox to become
"For his first start, I was pleased," Price said. "I thought he did a nice job of attacking the hitters and locating the ball down."
Early in the game, it appeared as though things were going to improve for the Jayhawks. Kansas got on the scoreboard first, scoring three runs in the third inning in a rally that included both a Zac Elgie
While pitching for Kansas held up nicely, the bats continued to struggle.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 7A
COLUMN
Johnson's emergence makes guard positions a more intriguing debate
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
The Jayhawks can be good — very good — without Tyshawn Taylor. If Elijah
Johnson plays every game like he did Monday, the Jayhawks will be very good without Tyshawn Taylor.
Johnson was brilliant Monday, but was it sustainable? Probably not.
TWEETING WITH THE KANSAN
Forgive my skepticism that Johnson will continue to play at a level that was everything "and more" than coach Bill Self said he could have hoped for.
Johnson, prior to Taylor's suspension, had a brutal conference slate, shooting just 21 percent from behind the three-point line, and he had been essentially worked out of the rotation. Bill Self has Brady Morningstar — who is smarter with the ball and a better defender — to fill the glue-guy role.
But there's a glimmer of hope that stands out, should Taylor's indefinite suspension turn permanent. Johnson, for some reason, is at his best when he knows he's going to get minutes. He insists he prepares the same way no matter what — he said it last night and he said that before the season when it was unclear whether or not Josh Selby would even be a part of the team — but the statistics say there’s some mental switch that Johnson has, conscious or not, that takes him to a whole new level when he plays high minutes.
Take the eight games in which
@UDKbasketball
"Can Elijah Johnson lead the Jayhawks on a tournament run if Tyshawn Taylor is out?"
@AllenFieldmouse "Elijah is bringing a defensive mindset that Taylor can't (or won't) — this is what the Jayhaws need."
@xDYLx
"Johnson could lead the team if he cuts down turnovers Much like this last OSU game, he could be a really good point guard."
@bailann
@bailann
"Based on how Elijah played last night, yes. But who knows if he can keep up the leadership. Tyshawn has not."
Johnson has played the most minutes, including Monday night's career-high 30. All eight are in the top half of his offensive games, based on the offensive rating statistic. In the worst of those eight games, he finished with a 134.7 offensive rating. For comparison's sake, 110.0 is regarded as a pretty good o-rating. Twice he finished with an o-rating in the 200s and in one absurd performance finished with an o-rating of 622.3. That's what happens, I guess, when you make every shot you take and don't turn the ball over, like Johnson did against Memphis early in the season.
Johnson's detractors cite his Taylor-like penchant for sending wayward passes in the general direction of Danny Manning, rather than the guys who, you know, still play for Kansas. But go back to those eight games, and check the
assist-to-turnover ratio. It comes in at a Morningstar-esque 25- to 7.
There's literally not a single facet of Johnson's game that gets worse when he plays higher minutes, and that includes his defense.
Monday, Johnson set about shutting down Keiton Page, who picked apart the Jayhawks a year ago in Stillwater, Olda. It was for all intents and purposes his first time as the man on defense. Page went 2-of-11 from the field, 2-of-8 from long range. It was his fourth-worst game of the season.
Taylor is a better option. He has experience, both over the course of this year running point for this team and in the past in the NCAA Tournament. But Johnson just made it a very interesting discussion.
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux