KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011 / SPORTS
9A
GAME PLAN (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
The Morris twins, who off the court come off as the type who wouldn't hurt a fly simply because it would take a lot of effort to swing at it, have been exposed as easily frustrated when the game gets physical. Both twins have multiple intentional or technical fouls and one or the other has picked up a crippling foul in both losses.
"Marcus and Markieff are the biggest leaders on the team
tion," coach Bill Self said. "They can get guys to follow them more than anybody else can. But unfortunately, sometimes that's great. But there are
"It's important to keep a good attitude at all times because everybody can see that attitude."
Taylor into a cold night. Taylor has shown a tendency that when one part of his game is off, the others will shortly follow. In both losses, Taylor struggled offensively, 2-for-8 against Texas, 1-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio at Kansas State, and subsequently got burnt on the defensive end. His defensive responsibilities, Texas' J'Covan Brown and Kansas State's Jacob Pullen, both dropped season highs.
times when that's not good, as evidenced by when you let your emotions get the best of you"
MARCUS MORRIS Junior forward
The next part of the plan is forcing the mercurial Tyshawn
Self and Taylor both said Monday night was as rough a game as Taylor has ever had at Kansas.
"That was a rough night for Ty," Self said. "He knows it."
That's probably as rough a night as he's ever had as a basketball player"
Taylor put it a little more succinctly.
But they all know their flaws, and they all insist they're changing them.
"I sucked."
"It's important to keep a good attitude at all times, because everybody can see that attitude, especially the referees," Marcus said. "You don't want to get on their bad side because once you do, you aren't going to get the majority of the calls."
Taylor, too, said he's focused on turning it around.
"It starts with me as a point guard," he said. "I'm pressuring the ball most of the time, so it starts with me. If I can be more intense defensively, I think we'll be good."
So the twins and Taylor and the rest of the team had a meeting this week.
"A few of us got together and had a real deep talk," Markieff said.
Edited by Sarah Gregory
And now they're trying to change the game plan.
A little competition
Tim Taylor, a senior from Libertyville, III., (left) goes up for an easy lay-up while David Kempin, a senior from Wichita, (right) tries to make a defensive stop. Taylor and Kempin's teams participated at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center's intramural basketball Thursday night. Taylor's team defeated Kempin's team 78-52.
Chris Bronson/KANSAN
Jayhawks looking to leap the Frogs
BASEBALL
Kansas will start its season against the No.1 Texas baseball team tonight
Baseball coach Ritch Price fields questions from reporters on media day for the baseball team Tuesday afternoon. Price admitted that the Jayhawks season-opening game will be a tough one, but their 5-1 record against top-ranked teams bodes well for them.
BY MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
Aaron Harris/KANSAN
The baseball team opens its season tonight in Fort Worth, Texas, against the No.1 Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University. The Jayhawks haven't been able to mask their anticipation for the upcoming season, especially the tough first game.
"Everybody's really excited to step on the field Friday night against No. 1 (TCU)," senior outfielder Jimmy Waters said.
Waters leads the Jayhawks, who are sure to have their hands full against TCU's top pitcher Matt Purke. Purke, a sophomore, went 16-0 in his stellar freshman season at TCU last year. He posted an earned run average of 3.02, and won Baseball America's freshman of the year award.
"Our guys are really excited to face Purke," said T.J. Walz, a senior and tonight's starting pitcher for the Jayhawks. "There's no better guy to go out and try to beat for the first game."
Saturday, senior Wally Marciel will take the mound for the Jayhawks against Sugar Land, Texas, native, Kyle Winkler. The projected starters for Sunday will feature a matchup of Jayhawk sophomore
Purke, a second team All American, struck out 142 batters in only 116.1 innings pitched last year. If the Horned Frogs would like to make back-to-back World Series trips, Purke will have to be one of the key ingredients.
Things won't be easy for the jayawk pitching staff either. The Horned Frogs return seven position starters from last year's World Series competing team. Four of those seven players finished with a batting average of more than .300 last year.
The Jayhawks are no strangers to taking on top-ranked teams. Last season, the Jayhawks beat the No. 1 Louisiana State University Tigers in a highly competitive three-game series. The season before that, in 2009, Kansas swept then No. 1 Texas as well, leaving coach Rich Price with a 5-1 record against-top ranked teams.
"I think we just have a history with number one teams," senior outfielder Casey Lytle said. "I think we all know how that outcome turns out."
Walz, the 2010 Jayhawk Pitcher of the Year, is up to the challenge. He is coming off a season in which he went 8-6 with an ERA of 5.06. The whole team, including Walz, seemed to be itching to get back onto the field in a game atmosphere.
"I'm anxious. I've been waiting for it since going against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament last year," Walz said. "Were ready to get back out and prove ourselves."
Tanner Poppe and senior Steven Maxwell of TCU.
It will be tough for the lajahwys to come away with a win in Fort Worth this weekend, but they have done it before, and they believe they can do it again.
"I strongly believe we have what it takes to go down there into a No. 1 ranked team again and try to repeat what we did last year," Lytle said.
- Edited by Helen Mubarak
WHAT'S NEXT?
**Game 1:** Feb. 26 vs. St. Louis at 3 p.m.
**Game 2:** Feb. 27 vs. Iowa at 3 p.m.
**Game 3:** March 1 vs. Southern Utah at 3 p.m.
JAYHAWK CLASSIC
Location: Hoglund Ballpark, Lawrence
BASKETBALL
Spiders tangled in their own web
PHILADELPHIA — Ramone Moore scored 24 points, Juan Fernandez had 20 and No. 23 Temple used a 16-0 run to batter Richmond 73-53 on Thursday night.
The Spiders were one of the hottest road teams in the nation and the Owls had dominated on their home court. Temple (20-5, 10-2 Atlantic 10) kept its streak going, winning its 20th straight home game.
Richmond (20-7, 9-3) snapped an eight-game road winning streak, the second longest in the nation.
Temple's defense produced 10 turnovers and the Spiders were simply forcing poor shots down the stretch in a feeble effort to catch up.
Fernandez made his first seven shots before missing a desperation attempt as the shot clock expired.
The Owls, who haven't lost at home since Jan. 2, 2010, against No.1 Kansas, cranked the pressure in the second half.
The Spiders blew a chance to stop the run, but missed two easy shots at the basket — something Fernandez did not do when he made an uncontested 3 for his fifth field goal on five shots to cap the 16-0 streak.
The Owls shot close to 60 percent from the floor for most of the first 30 minutes and easily clinched their fourth straight 20-win season under coach Fran Dunphy.
Associated Press
Midwinter Meltdown Community Contra Dances
Friday & Saturday Feb 18&19
7:30-
10:30 pm
at Camelot 1117 Massachusetts
Live music & calling No partner necessary Dress cool/casual
Adults $8 ~ Students $3
Adults $8 ~ Students $3
Learn the basics free at 7:10pm Fri / 6:45pm Sat
Full info at www.lawrencebardance.org
UPCOMING DEADLINES
Deadlines for 2011 Summer & Fall Semester programs are March 1st. www.studyabroad.ku.edu