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02
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Senior guard Mario Little is whistled for a foul as he grabs Kansas State guard Rodney McGruder during the second half. Kansas committed 22 fouls and gave up 24 points from the free-throw line in the 84-68 loss at Bramlage Coliseum Monday night.
rally have in the week heading up to Kansas State. "The twins are terrific passers, even though their stats don't say that in assist-to-turnover ratio. They have more assists that they would get credit for if it was hockey."
key.
In hockey the pass preceding the assist is also credited with an assist, and the twins excel at opening up the game with passes out of a double team. Little, however, is a pure scorer in the post who is hesitant at best to give up the ball once he gets it. Jeff Withey, who played a conference-season high 11 minutes, hasn't developed the Morris's skill set, either. So with the twins in foul trouble and Thomas Robinson out, Kansas State was able to neutralize what had been the best offense in the nation for the past six games.
nation for the past six months. "They played the same defense they usually played, we just couldn't really buy a basket," said Little. "We let that transition to
the defensive end. Just couldn't get it right." Little finished 3-of-9 from the field.
from the field.
Self, with remarkable prescience, said last Thursday that he
had a problem because his team is so effective offensively that it becomes hard to convince them that they need to be keyed in at all times on defense.
"In games where you're not making shots, or a game where you're playing with foul trouble, can you get four or five stops in a row in the clutch part of the
game?" Self asked.
It only took four days for Self to get his answer: a resounding no.
- Edited by Jacque Weber
Kocon returns to field after overcoming injury
BY HANNAH WISE
hwise@kansan.com
"All I knew was softball. Being unsure of what would happen, it scared me a little bit," red-shirt junior outfielder Liz Kocon said. After the first weekend of what would have been her junior season, everything shed known herentire life had come to a screeching halt in an instant.
son, everything
thing he neglected "I immediately knew something was wrong. It kind of felt like my hip was out of place," Kocon said.
dove to catch. It was so low that when she moved to field the ball her toe got stuck in the turf jamming her leg up into her hip.
The team was practicing in the Anschutz Pavilion. Kocon was
The coaching and training
LIZ KOCON
red-shirt junior outfielder
"If adversity does come your way, you just push through it."
preparing to
not sure of the degree of injury at first. Kocon was prescribed ice baths to lessen s we ll i ing in her hip. After
preparing to field a low ball, about angle level. It was a ball that, if the team had been outside, she would have
receiving the MRI results, she was diagnosed with two muscle tears in her hip. She opted to
allow the muscles to heal on their own without surgery.
as long. Kocon took the
The next step was recovery.
After resting and reducing swelling with ice baths, the training staff moved Kocon to the water treadmill in the aquatic rehabilitation center. Using the water treadmill helped to keep pressure off her hip while allowing her to stay in shape and exercise to rehabilitate the muscles with minimal pain.
"It was a clean tear so it was just easier to heal that way. Surgery would have taken just as long." Kocon said.
minimal pain.
"It was a lot of stretching and just gradually getting back into full running. I am still limited today, but it is a lot better than where I was," Kocon said.
SEE KOCON ON PAGE 9A
After a season-ending injury, Liz Kocon returns to the field with an extra year of playing time.
again, the bonding with nature can resume, and our recreational activities can commence.
in an activities activity.
The rain is going to start
Saturday and basically go
throughout the week, so enjoy
this climate now. There is no
better time than the now. If you
put it off, something will come
up, and you'll miss it.
It's an exciting time for sports reporters too because that means more of you are available for stories. And if you think your group, club or intramural has a cool story and deserves coverage, please feel free to let us know in the case we may not find you.
Your body likes the changes anyway. And the world is entirely open. No waiting, no limits. Unless you count the streets.
you have to. Going to the gym can be fun, and that's where everyone goes during the winter months. But weaving through a crowded track or getting stale muscles while in line for a weight bench isn't the ideal way to exercise. Maybe this could jump-start that New Year's resolution you faltered on.
Get some people together, forcefully if need be, and engage in something other than video games and watching Jersey Shore. Run, throw, catch, kick, hit, jump, even hop and skip if you have to.
According to weather.com, it's supposed to be up in the 50 degree range for the duration of February after Friday. What you do when that happens is up to you. That could be too cold for some people to toss a ball around or to jog a few miles.
Sure, it's going to look a little gloomy at times. And it could be wet with the remaining snow dissipating. But just remember the sun is still shining somewhere. You don't have to wait for spring.
1
- Edited by Erin Wilbert