THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL | 6B
Jackson leads No.8 Syracuse to 72-58 win
Syracuse (9-0) knocked off No. 7 Michigan State (7-3) behind Jackson's big game and Scoop Jardine's 19-point effort.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8,2010
UTICA 32
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
WALKING ON MEMPHIS
Kansas gets sloppy win,81-68
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor leaps over a Memphis defender as he shoots Thursday night in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Taylor had 14 points in the 81-68 win against Memphis.
BY TIM DWYER
twyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDKbasketball
NEW YORK — The Jayhawks watched the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Garden a day before taking the legendary court for their own game.
Apparently, the No. 4 Jayhawks failed to take notes. They picked up a solid 81-68 victory against No. 14 Memphis, but it was one of Kansas' sloppiest games of the year.
The layhawks committed a season-high 22 turnovers, 12 of them coming in an ain't-got-no-alibi ugly first half.
"Our whole team was ridiculously careless tonight," coach Bill Self said. "But that was the first time we faced any pressure."
The Memphis pressure had plenty to do with Kansas' errors — the Tigers are by far the most athletic team Kansas has faced this year — and it fell largely on the shoulders of point guard Iyshawn Taylor to figure it out.
"He started out really nervous, but he made some really big plays," Self said.
Taylor's nervous start was noticeable throughout the team. Self said the team had a different kind of
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Kansas continues to win in the non-conference portion of its season, moving to 8-0 Tuesday
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Scrimmage players relish playing in the Phog
BY CARLO RAMIREZ
cramirez@kansan.com
Seeing 16,300 people all in one place is something Zack Muskin, a senior from Omaha, Neb., still gets butterflies thinking about.
him in almost the pace of his heartbeat. Each shot he took during the scrimmage at Late Night in the Phog against the women's basketball team seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. The crowd and noise would fade as he lifted his frame off the ground to send a prayer toward the rim. Time has never gone slower for Muskin, and he has never felt better than when one of his shots pierced through the net.
The Dream Team, assembled from students enrolled full-time in classes, were asked to scrimmage against the women's team during Late Night. The women's team uses five to six male players each practice to give the ladies stronger, more physical opponents. The guys play the role of "scout team," running the plays and executing the tendencies of the team's upcoming competition. They allow starters and backups time to rest their legs and grasp the opposing team's tendencies. Freshman guard Diara Moore said she believed the players make a big difference preparing her for competition.
"Definitely up there with the coolest things I've got to experience," he said.
The practice players rotate each day depending on their class schedules and practice for a few hours. Players like Muskin see the practices as an opportunity to stay in shape and play in Allen Fieldhouse a few times a week.
"The guards are so quick off the dribble, it really helps my defense and they always play hard which helps a lot," Moore said.
Dannielle Campbell, a first-year graduate assistant in charge of coordinating the players, looks for skill set, worth ethic and selflessness when choosing a practice player.
Beside the perks of playing in the Fieldhouse, "committed" players receive Kansas athletic clothing, an occasional free meal and the opportunity to release some anxiety and go play basketball for a few hours a week. The players know it is a rare opportunity to play in one of college basketball's best venues.
"As long as they are about the girls and know its not about them," Campbell said. "The purpose is to make the girls better."
"Playing in the Fieldhouse never gets old," Muskin said with a smile.
Jerry Wang/KANSAM
- Edited by Clark Goble
Senior center Krysten Boogaard attempts to shoot over practice player Jeremy Vitt, a senior from Hiawatha, at Late Night. Boogaard finished with a team high six points as the women's team defeated the practice souad 22-14.
COMMENTARY
Gill scores early in recruiting
BY NICOLAS ROESLER
nroesler@kansan.com
Guys — or girls — next time you are out at a bar trying to find a girl/boy to talk to, think of what Turner Gill is going through this offseason. Recruiting follows the same basic steps.
You begin by talking and getting to know the person. You find out what their talents and interests are and where they would like to be in two years. Do the flashing lights of a bowl game intrigue them?
More than likely, if you are talking to a beautiful girl who stands out above other prospects at the bar, girls will be interrupting you left and right to try to get her attention. Some, in order to gain added time with the girl, will offer her a drink.
They are the cheaters.
In order for Miller to become a star, he needs an offensive line to open up running lanes. Already on cue, Gill has shown his chivalry by wooping that needed big man to campus.
They will be the ones on the news being sued for offering illegal incentives.Not to mention,high school recruits aren't of age to drink.
Dylan Admire from Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park has been named to the Kansas All-State team for two years. He could be a prize catch for Gill if he bulks up from his current 265-pound frame.
Coach Gill is in the biggest imaginable bar, the United States, and he is already pulling in recruits with only a three-win season as his wing man. Somehow, this early into the offseason, the equivalent of 10 p.m. on a Friday night, Gill has two recruits committed to come to Kansas in the spring.
However, the team has already found a running back, freshman James Sims. He has shown the speed and the power necessary for a back taking the majority of the carries per game. Behind him is a shifty guy just like the incoming Miller, sophomore DJ Beshears. Even further down the depth chart is another main recruit from this year's freshman class, Brandon Bourbon. If Gill stays out at the clubs any longer, his players at home might become a little jealous
Miller will have to find a way to fit in without being a home wrecker. His high school tapes show his capability to become a star. He runs sideways nearly as fast as he runs forward with a 20-yard shuttle time of 4.23.
Darrian Miller, a running back from Blue Springs, Mo., is the only player on Kansas' wish list with a four-star rating from Rivals.com. With a nod of the head to Gill, he has signed a letter of intentto Kansas. Ranked as the 23rd-best running back in the country by Rivals, Miller could bring more of an attraction factor to Kansas' recruiting prowess next season, like an added wing man for Gill going forward.
The offseason is just beginning and the night still young. In Kansas football's line of sight is a bar full of three-star recruits, but some could prove to be diamonds in the rough.
Gill is proving why Kansas began its love affair with him before this season started — because he was rumored to be able to recruit stars no matter what night he goes out. Now all he needs is a trophy quarterback, and junior college transfer Zack Stoudt could be that star.
Reel 'em in Gill. Reel 'em in
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Edited by Joel Petterson