THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
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Wave the record-breaking banner
Use the poster inside to continue one of the University's popular traditions: waving the Kansan before men's basketball home games.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Kansas guards fight to keep streak alive
BYTIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDKasketball
Brady Morningstar, the elder statesman of the Kansas team who will turn 25 this season, remembers what it feels like. He knows how quiet Allen Fieldhouse and the Kansas locker room can be when the Jayhawks lose in their home
building. He was on the bench more than three years ago when Kansas lost to Texas A&M, and he doesn't want to feel that again. He won't even bring it up with his teammates.
" Nobody knows what it
feels like, you know what I'm saying? Morningstar said. "They don't want to know what it feels like."
A victory tonight would stretch the Jayhawks' home winning streak to a school-record 63 games. And so the 15 other Jayhawks that share the locker room with Kansas' only fifth-year senior remain blissfully unaware of that sensation. Not that they're complaining.
"That's what we came here for: to fight and to play for our position. That's why we came here."
be the Jayhawks' traditional eighman rotation. And that is without ultra-talented freshman Josh Selby, who isn't cleared to play until Dec. 18 against USC.
"He's going to be a great player for us," Reed said. "I think he just brings something different; an element of toughness, an element of I'm not going to lose, I'm going to go do whatever it takes to win! I think it's really going to help our
"That wouldn't be fun," Tyrel Reed said of losing a game in the Fieldhouse. "I've been here three years, and the senior class hasn't lost here yet and it's just a big thing for us and we want to keep it going."
To keep it going the layhawks will look for reliable play from their deep stable of guards to complement the always reliable Morris twins inside. Six guards — seniors Mario Little, Morningstar and Reed, junior Tyshawn Taylor, and sophores Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford — are already competing for at most five spots in what will
MARIO LITTLE Senior guard
team. Sherron had that a little bit."
Reed said the toughness of Selby was something you could just see, even though they haven't played in a game together.
"He just doesn't want to lose at anything," Reed said. "He just takes everything whether it be basketball, or — I mean, if you were playing a game of tiddlywinks I think he take it personal."
Selby's one of the lucky ones in that he's all but guaranteed a spot in the Kansas rotation (Self said Friday when Selby was cleared that he would have a "big role" in the Jayhawks' season). Tyshawn Taylor, too, is guaranteed the spot, and Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar bring too much to the table as the only four-or-more year players getting legitimate playing time for Self to dismiss them entirely. That leaves Johnson, Releford and Little battling for one spot, but Little said the competition for minutes doesn't bother him.
"Coach deals the deck," Little said. "That's his job. That's what we came here for: to fight and to play for our position. That's why we come here."
Right: Senior guard Brady Morningstar lays the ball up for two points Friday against North Texas. The Jayhawks won 93-60. A win tonight will put the school at a 63-straight winning streak.
—Edited by Roshni Oommen
Gill prepares with hopes of Showdown victory
FOOTBALL
New coach realizes magnitude of game
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO Last year's senior running back Jake Sharp attempts to fight off Missouri defensive Carl Gettis in last year's Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jayhawks lost to the Tigers 41-39
BY KORY CARPENTER kcarpener@kansan.com
"Recruit, beat Missouri,
recruit."
Those were just some of the goals coach Turner Gill outlined in his opening press conference last December. His first season has been tough on fans and players alike. And the Missouri game will be no different, as the Tigers are 9-2 and No.14 in the latest BCS rankings.
There's no doubt, however, that the first-year coach understands the importance of the Border Showdown between Kansas and Missouri.
Saturday's Border Showdown won't push the Jayhawks into a bowl game, and barring a Colorado upset over Nebraska Thursday, it won't affect Missouri's standings in the Big 12 either. But try telling that to the 2008 Kansas team, who came into the season finale on a two game losing streak after dropping out of the top 25. Missouri was ranked and favored by two touchdowns, but that didn't stop Kerry Meier and Co. from pulling off an upset in one of the best games in the rivalry's history, the Jayhawks winning 40-37.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"We do understand the magnitude of this football game, as far as our alumnus, former players that have played in this game," Gill said. "We know it's a very meaningful game, and it's also a chance for us to finish strong on a good note."
The losses earlier that year were quickly forgotten after the win over Missouri. And if the Kansas coaching staff knows anything about history, they know this: a win on Saturday over the Tigers, who are
favored by more than three touchdowns, will ease many of the pains felt by Kansas fans during the season.
It hasn't been the easiest season to be a Kansas fan, coach, or player.
"it's not as good as we definitely hoped for," Gill noted of his first year in Lawrence. "We would have
as the team has struggled to its 3-8 record going into the Border Showdown.
liked to be bowl-eligible, but we're still very confident that we will build a winning program at the University of Kansas."
winning program remains to be seen. But a win over the team's heavily favored rival could do wonders heading into the offseason.
Whether Gill and his staff eventually turn Kansas football into a
COMMENTARY
—Edited by Leslie Kinsman
Showdown victory not far-fetched
BY MAX VOSBURGH
cthibodeaux@kansai.com
There's a lot of excitement surrounding the Kansas basketball team right now.
The Jayhawks are 3-0, freshman guard Josh Selby has been cleared to play on Dec. 18, and a win tonight would break the school record for consecutive wins at home.
However, let's not forget one thing. It's Missouri week. This Saturday the Kansas football team will take on the Tigers for the 119th time in history. It's the second most played rivalry in college football history. As it stands, the Jayhawks lead the all-time series 55-54-9, meaning a Missouri win would tie things up between to two schools.
However, a Kansas win may not be as far-fetched as you'd initially think.
Now, the Jayhawks will look to duplicate last year's competitive performance by keeping things close with Missouri. Over the last three Border Showdowns at Arrowhead, the margin of victory by the winning team has been eight, three and two respectively.
Over Missouri's last five games this season, the margin of victory by the winning team has only been an average of 10.8 points. The Tigers haven't been blowing people out lately and have only won three of those last five games.
Kansas and Missouri moved the rival game to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City three years ago. The first game in the professional stadium featured two teams ranked in the top five in the country. Kansas was ranked second at the time and was playing its last regular season game, in what was a complete surprise of the season. They set a Kansas football record for most wins in a season and faced the Tigers without a loss and with realistic hopes of playing for the national championship.
Last year, despite the Jayhawks winning only their first Big 12 Conference game of the year, they still put up a fight against Missouri in the final game of the season. Kansas lost only 41-39.
The Kansas seniors that have competed in the last three Showdows know that in Arrowhead Stadium, anything can happen. After the senior's last home game against Oklahoma State, coach Turner Gill was already thinking about leaving on a positive note against the Tigers.
Over 80,000 people packed into Arrowhead and witnessed the Tigers hand the Jayhawks their first loss of the season. Kansas would go on to play in the Orange Bowt that season, beating Virginia Tech for their first BCS bowl victory in school history. Missouri went on to lose the Big 12 Championship game to Oklahoma before winning the Cotton Bowl Classic versus Arkansas.
"I'm glad they have one more game and hopefully we can finish on a great note for those guys," he said.
The two schools met the next year when Kansas, after losing considerable talent to the NFL draft and to graduation, was having a down year compared to the success of the previous year, but all things considered, it was still an exciting season for Kansas football. Missouri was ranked 11th when they faced the unranked Jayhawks and Kansas was looking to spoil the Tigers' hopes of playing in a BCS Bowl game that season. In a back and forth game, Kansas won on a last second pass from Todd Reesing to Kerry Meier, winning the Jayhawks one of the most exciting Border Wars in school history.
It was the first of three epic games between Kansas and Missouri at Arrowhead.
-Edited by Leslie Kinsman
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