THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
GAMEDAY|8A
ESPN College GameDay in the Phog
MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2011
Thousands of Jayhawk fans filled Allen Fieldhouse Saturday for ESPN College GameDay. Saturday marked the fourth time Allen Fieldhouse hosted College GameDay in the show's seven-year history.
WWW.KANSAN.COM
STANDING TALL
Robinson returns in style
Jayhawks win big in extra special game' against Wildcats Saturday
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
Wayne Simien, arguably the best post player in Kansas history not named Wilt Chamberlain, saw his jersey hung in the rafters at halftime Saturday night. How fitting, then, that it was Kansas' current post players, at least one of whom has an excellent chance of hanging his own jersey in those rafters someday, that carried the torch for Kansas in a 90-66 shellacking of rival Kansas State.
And as good as the Morris twins were — very good: 30 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 18 rebounds — Saturday was once again about Thomas Robinson. But this time it was about his presence on the court just as much as the tumult he endured off of it.
"This was an extra special game," coach Bill Self said, "not because it was K-State, but because it was the first game that he's had an opportunity to really play for his mother."
"I know my mother wouldn't want me to sit around crying forever."
"That was a special deal for him," Self said. "And of course the fans here are incredible, how they recognized him when he checked in and how they recognized him when he checked out. That's a special moment. That's one that he'll never forget."
It was unclear whether Robinson would even play until late Thursday night, but somehow, after losing his mother Lisa and both his maternal grandparents, he played. Then, sporting a black and white "LR" patch on his left shoulder, he put on the performance of his career, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting and nine boards.
After struggling in the early going, missing a dunk and a couple shots from in close, Robinson found his range early in the second half. With four points on
two consecutive possessions five minutes after the half, Robinson jacked up an 18-footer — he called it a "heat check" — which under normal circumstances would have found him deeply enconced on the bench shortly after. But Saturday wasn't normal, so when the heat check went in, Self laughed it off, like he laughed off the technical Robinson picked up after hanging on the rim too long after a dunk.
"I played tonight because I can't sit around for too long." Robinson said. "I know my mother wouldn't want me to sit around crying forever."
Collectively, it was the best
THOMAS ROBINSON Kansas forward
performance of the season,
especially considering
that Kansas State's front-
court, even after all
Wildcats' struggles,
is regarded as one of the
best in the Big 12. For Kansas to lay down a 24-point beating, it took a near-perfect effort from the Morris twins and Thomas Robinson.
And near perfect is what they gave. Aside from the dominant offensive performance, the Jayhawks frontcourt stifled the Wildcat posts, who totaled just 15 points among the four of them.
"Our bigs were really good," Self said.
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux
Sophomore forward Thomas Robinson attempts a layup against the Wildcats. Robinson shot 7-11, scoring 17 total points Saturday night.
Kansas women sliding fast in Big 12 play
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kqier@kansan.com
Kansas played much of the game without sophomore forward Carolyn Davis who ran
into early foul trouble with no points and two fouls at the end of the first half. She has been leading the Jayhawks in scoring this season.
Sophomore Monica Engelman
"It was tough to sit on the bench that long." Davis said in the post-game press conference.
stepped up and scored 18 points to lead Kansas in this game.
Sophomore guard Brittany Chambers faces off with a KU defender. The Women's Basketball team beat Kansas 65-60 Saturday, Jan. 29, in Bramlage Collisseum.
PAGE 12A
Fouls doomed the Jayhawks as three players fouled out and the Wildcats were allowed 30 attempts at the free-throw line.
Without a significant inside game, the jayhawks never led
the game and claimed a season low in defensive rebounds.
In a rivalry game on the road, Kansas continued their five-game slide with a 65-60 loss to Kansas State University. Kansas fell to 14-7 on the season and 1-6 in conference play.
Engelman had a strong game overall, pulling down five rebounds and adding two assists. Engelman kept the Jayhawks in the game with consistency on both sides of the floor with 8-11 shooting.
Kansas, only recorded 11 turnovers, the lowest in the last 13 games. This is an issue the Jayhawks have been working on all season and are finally starting to see results.
Davis
The Jayhawks were aggressive in a game where they established an eight-player rotation and all eight players scored at least one basket in a 45.3 percent effort from field goal range.
"I feel like I stayed pretty confident in my teammates and I feel like for myself I stepped up," Engelman said after the game. "I did not feel like there was any burden for me to score."
"I felt like we made some progress from a couple of standpoints and competing in the long run," coach Bonnie Henrickson
said. "I think that we learned to do our job and embrace our rolls."
Next game, Kansas will host Colorado on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Jayhawks garnered their only conference victory against the Buffaloes in Boulder.
- Edited by Emily Soetaert
PROFILE
Vitale's heart is bigger than his voice
BY NICO ROESLER
nroesler@kansan.com
Dick Vitale, "Dickie V", or as one of his friends pronounced it "Vi-ta-ley," like an Italian word for vitality (actually vitalità), returned to Lawrence on Saturday to commentate the Kansas vs. Kansas State game. More specifically, he returned to Allen Fieldhouse where b-
Entering the room, there was not a person who didn't receive a greeting. Strong handshake, a warm, somewhat loud, "Hey how are ya!" in a voice instantly recognizable not for its clarity or sharpness, but for its rough, three-days-of-yelling without-a-drink-of-water quality.
Vitale
reveled in the spirit and atmosphere that he calls a "top five" venue in the country (he doesn't like to rank these things).
"i still get goose bumps in this place when they start that Rock Chalk chant." Vitale said after likening Allen Field House to other hallmark sports facilities like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park.
He said the passion that comes from the city of Lawrence as a whole for the University makes it one of the few true college towns in his opinion.
Although his trips through Lawrence are normally packaged like the chicken dinner he was hustling to eat before appearing on ESPN for his pre-game analysis--everything is pre-planned and organized to a T--he is reminded every time he goes home about his trips to Lawrence.
Imagine, Vitale joined ESPN in 1979 and called the first ever college basketball game televised on the network. College basketball, along with its passion, has always been accompanied with Vitale's voice on ESPN.
rence.
Sitting just to the right of his desk in his home office sits a two-foot-tall bronze statue of a Jayhawk. He was surprised with this gift at halftime of a Kansas game three years ago. He said it was a complete surprise and was a touching moment in his long career.
"Passion is vital," Vitale said. "The day comes I don't have that excitement for sitting here and being courtside, nobody is going to have to tell me, I'll wake up that one morning, grab the phone, call my boss, party's over."
But for now, he's never been better. He said he could match the energy of any young fan in the stands of Allen Fieldhouse. His passion, his life's work, has now also turned into a way to reach out to people.
He touches the country giving motivational speeches and his message is simple. Passion is the key to success. "If you are passionate about what you do, good things are going to happen," he said.
And he's not slowing down.
One of the things Vitale has been fervent about is his contributions and role with raising money for pediatric cancer research and the V Foundation for Cancer Research, named after legendary North Carolina coach, Jim Valvano.
Last year Vitale published "Dickie V's ABC's and 1-2-3's". Proceeds from the children's book designed to give kids a fun start with reading go to the F Foundation. He was happy to go through the book filled with illustrations and a bright orange basketball with a button in it on the top
SEE VITALE ON PAGE 11A