THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Kansas leapfrogs K-State in polls
NCAA BASKETBALL | 9A
The success of the men's team in the Las Vegas Invitation leads to their rise in the rankings while K-State drops following last week's loss to Duke.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30,2010
KANSAS
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MOVE IT OR LOSE IT
Self critical of static offensive movement
Despite the Jayhawks national lead in assists, Self points out the weaker offensive aspects
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDKbasketball
After a 57-point whooping of Ohio, coach Bill Self complained Friday that the ball was "sticking" in his offense. The Jayhawks weren't making the right passes, weren't getting good open looks
Never mind that the Jayhawks scored 98 points. Never mind that they had 20 assists.
So Self admitted Monday afternoon that while the ball may have been sticking Friday night, it certainly wasn't any sign of the apocalypse for No.4 Kansas.
After all, Kansas leads the nation with 22 assists per game and a 1.94 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"I can complain about certain
things," Self said, "but there are a lot of coaches out there that would love to complain about the ball sticking when you have 20
Morris
assists every game."
Self also said the problem was rectified as soon as the day after, when the Jayhawks needed all 40 minutes to beat Arizona 87-79.
"The ball moved against Arizona," Self said. "The first eight minutes against Arizona, that's about as well as a team can play offensively. I mean, it was fabulous. The ball moved, there was different guys, there was balance."
That balance is largely a product of two things; the first being the Jayhawks' ability to move the
ball.
"That's one of the biggest things Coach talks to us about," said junior guard Tyshawn Taylor, who leads the Jayhawks with 43 assists (7.2 per game), good for fifth in the nation. "He says he loves sitting down and watching us when the ball is moving and we're getting the good shots that we've been getting."
Junior forward Marcus Morris, who is averaging 1.5 assists per game from the power forward spot, said it has always been a point of emphasis for Self.
"He wants the ball moving at all times; he doesn't like when it sticks in just one-on-one," Morris said. "He doesn't like that. He definitely preaches that a lot to get the open shot, get the best shot. We lead the nation in assists? I didn't know that."
Of course, it's easy to get assists if the team is leading the country in field goal percentage, which the Jayhawks are. Kansas' 57.8 shooting percentage is 2.4 percentage points better than second place Central Florida.
Whatever the method, Kansas will need to keep getting assists and keep the ball moving over the next six games, which, including the Arizona game, make up the toughest stretch of the Jayhawks season.
"As far as us leading the country in assists," Taylor said, "we've just been making a lot of shots right now. We're shooting a high percentage. It'll come down to one pass and somebody will hit a three and that'll count as an assist for somebody."
— Edited by Leslie Kinsman
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor makes a no-look pass to a teammate during the second half of Kansas' game against Ohio Friday night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Taylor led the Jayhawks with six assists in Kansas' 98-41 victory.
FOOTBALL
Gill to search for recruits, improve 2011 team
BY KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
Turner Gill was clear about his goals when hired as head football at the university of Kansas.
"Recruit, beat Missouri, recruit, win the north, recruit, win the Big 12 ... and then we are going to recruit."
Well, he can still accomplish four of those heading into his first offseason in Lawrence.
Freshman running back James Sims is taken down by a Missouri player Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jayhawks lost the game 35-7 in their final game falling to 1-7 in Big 12 play.
It will need to be, as the first-year coach struggled to a 3-9 record.
it's a continuing deal," Gill said following the 35-7 loss to Missouri last Saturday. "I'll be evaluating our football team and also recruiting, so recruiting is always going all the time."
The Missouri postgame press conference often mirrored his opening remarks last winter, with a strong emphasis on recruiting and continued building of the Kansas football program, a program that has fallen fast since the Orange Bowl victory in 2008.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Speed and athleticism. That's what the coaches want, and for the most part, that's what the coaches didn't have all season. Gill repeated his desire for the two traits more than a few times after the Border Showdown.
Former coach Mark Mangino's tended to focus more on recruiting wide receivers and defensive backs. But holes in his recruiting were apparent in 2010. Kansas struggled to pressure the quarterback with its defensive line, and the inexperienced and thin offensive line kept the array of Jayhawk quarterbacks moving out of the pocket seemingly all game.
With a quarterback already committed and the staff still looking at a junior college quarterback for next year, it's possible the quarterback trio of Jordan Webb,
Well, maybe not quite. Rumors have surfaced that quarterback turned receiver Kale Pick could possibly transfer in the spring, but neither Pick nor coaches have commented much on the topic.
Quinn Mecham and Kale Pick will have a few challengers for the starting job next September.
Well, maybe not quite
"I'm not sure," Pick noted of the quarterback battle moving forward. "That's something that we have to get figured out, see what the coaches think and who they want to go with."
Pick, who played sparingly after being benched in week one, said he wasn't sure if he would petition to return to quarterback role.
Whatever happens with Pick, it's obvious the coaching staff wants a playmaker at quarterback, and they weren't pleased with the
performances by Kansas quarterbacks this season.
"I would say at best, maybe OK," Gill noted of the quarterback play this year. "We've got to have a person at that position be consistent in making those plays. We'll get that corrected as time goes on."
Corrected in the form of a newcomer taking the reins in 2011? Who knows at this point.
What is known, is that Gill's emphasis on recruiting has only gotten stronger after a year of bad performances and lopsided defeats.
"We've already got a good start and we'll have our talent in here and we'll be competing. We're in the hunt for a lot of people."
COMMENTARY
Edited by Anna Nordling
Bruins shouldn't be feared
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
For most opposing colleges, it would be intimidating.
Walk into UCLA's Pauley Pavilion and you are overcome by banners in every direction: Four undefaced seasons. Eighty-eight consecutive regular season victories. Twenty-six Final Four victories. Seven consecutive national titles, 11 in all.
That's more than double of what Kansas has and more than any other NCAA college basketball program in history.
But today, Kansas has the upper hand on Thursday's opponent, even in more than just its basketball team. Since UCLA beat Kansas in the 2007 Elite Eight, I haven't been impressed.
The Jayhawks went to Los Angeles to play the Bruins last year and the didn't exactly live up to either team's standards. Kansas won 73-61 in a sloppy game and nothing too flashy stood out. There were 29 combined turnovers in the game, but it was hard fought and muddy.
UCLA was one of the top five programs in the history of college hoops, and it was my first time in L.A., but Pauley Pavilion and its attendance needed help. A third of the fans were in support of the No.1 team at the time, enough to spread the Rock Chalk chant across the pavilion.
The third most winningest team in college history (Kansas) versus the eighth team on that list (UCLA) and many of the seats were still empty. The pavilion's capacity is about 3,000 less than Allen Fieldhouse.
Even former Jayhawk Xavier Henry noticed something about it last year.
"It wasn't as filled as 1 thought it would be at UCLA," he said, "but it was all right."
OK, Pauley Pavilion is getting renovated with a $136 million project, set to finish in 2012. It should be pretty nice given the dollars and the history. But it was such a downer to have to see the lowly state it was in last year.
Overall, L.A. is a difference place than Lawrence — it thrives on lights and luxury. For a while, the basketball team was part of this culture. But celebrities decorate the streets and the professional teams loom large over the college ranks.
What the Lakers have done in recent years overshadows the Bruins. They seem to always be in the running for a championship. Not that it takes away from what UCLA did, but fans like to live in the "now."
The Bruins have lost two straight after starting 3-0. If the Jayhawks continue their torrid play at home on Thursday, UCLA is going to be .500. But it should bask in this light.
At least when the Bruins play here they will have 16,300 fans who enjoy college basketball watching them. Maybe at one time, UCLA was the place to play. But right now, that place is in Allen Fieldhouse.
No disrespect to the opponents the Bruins have played,but playing in Lawrence will be a fresh experience for the team.Maybe playing in a venue like this will extract some of the greatness this program once had.
— Edited by Roshni Oommen
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