Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2010
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COMMENTARY
PAGE 1B
KANSAS 81, BAYLOR 75
Collins captures fans and court
BY ALEX BEECHER abeecher@kansan.com
Sherron Collins is the type of competitor who would jumping the console to
Marcus continues hot streak
displug the console to avoid losing a game of Madden. He likes to have control over everything, to master all possible circumstances. In theory, that should be a bit more difficult in real life than in the virtual world. Reality isn't so easy to unplug, nor does it offer a "quit" option, a reset button or manually adjustable difficulty settings. When the game is close, as it was Wednesday night, you can't set the game to "easy" and toss in half-court threes (that only works during practice, as the Youtube video demonstrates).
Instead, you have to buckle down and find other ways to make things happen. Not just for you, but for the entire team. Wednesday night against Baylor, that's precisely what Collins did.
Not that this should come as a surprise. Collins entered the season a consensus pre-season All-American, the undisputed leader of the nation's supposed best team. So the idea of him leading Kansas to victory isn't surprising.
A good point guard runs the offense effectively. They do, in every conventional sense, the same sorts of things that Collins did. But a great point guard, which Collins is, does more. A great point guard turns thousands of fans into a collective force by virtue of his creative play.
Of course sometimes, creativity isn't enough. Sometimes,
Collins whipped an already electric crowd to a more furious frenzy by leunching a string of And-1 quality moves that would make Hot Sauce blush. Hed then either finish, kick to an open shooter or dish one of Kansas' on-the-spot big men for an emphatic flush.
But it's not just that he did it,
it's how.
SEE COLUMN ON PAGE 5B
Sophomore forward Marcus Morris winds up for a dunk against Baylor Wednesday night. Following the 81-75 victory, the Layhawks moved to a 3-0 Bin 12 record and 17-1 overall
Rebounds in final minutes seal victory
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_thibodeaux
Since the beginning of conference play, there's been a new Marcus Morris.
Morris, the sophomore forward who coach Bill Self has deemed most improved from last year, hasn't shown that improvement all season. But his game against Baylor showed he may be over his deficiencies.
Morris had 22 points and eight rebounds in Kansas' 81-75 victory against Baylor Wednesday. Even though senior guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich are considered the leaders of the team, Morris is slowly earning that title as well.
"We know who our leaders are and I'm just trying to lead by example," Morris said.
Whether it was the benching at Nebraska or being pulled aside by teammate Brady Morningstar and his coaches, Morris has turned his flashes of brilliance and lulls of non-existence earlier this season, and his benching three games ago, for the better.
"I think the coaches got to him," Collins said. "He wants to help us win. I mean his intentions are good. He's just a little bit lazy at times."
Collins, who scored a game-high 28 points, has seen a recent change in his sophomore big man in more than just his play.
"He's talking more, he's more vocal, he he's joking around a little bit more," Collins said. "That's just Marcus, though."
In the past three games, Morris is averaging 20.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. As good as those numbers look, that hasn't been what Morris strives for.
"I don't worry about points," he said. "I just want to win."
Where Morris goes, the Jayhawks go. Coach Bill Self said it was a great game, with Morris being a big part of that, making plays to close out the game. Self said Morris has been wrongly scrutinized by the media in recent weeks.
"He's too honest with the media," Self said. "He says he has to play harder so the perception
SEE RECAP ON PAGE 4B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas struggles, falls 53-42 at Iowa State
McCray finishes with just six points
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothman
The disappearance of senior guard Danielle McCray was the demise of Kansas.
The Jayhawks were without their scoring leader and emotional catalyst for too long and consequently fell to Iowa State 53-42, descending to 11-6 on the season.
"We feel kind of down," senior guard Sadie Morris said. "It was one that we could have gotten."
Because of two early fouls, McCray was sidelined for more than 10 minutes in the first half. She scored zero points, missing all three of her shot attempts, and was as invisible as a preseason second team All-American could be.
When she finally returned in the second half, McCray was a non-factor. She scored just six points, a season low and the first time she failed to reach double digits, on three of 13 shooting and zero of five on three pointers. She also surrendered five turn-overs.
"I'm just thinking, 'don't let her get a good shot,'" said Denae Stuckey, Iowa State's senior guard and sister of Kansas safety Darrell Stuckey.
Her six rebounds and the attention she always garners only somewhat negated her offensive woes.
"To hold her to six is the stat that will jump off the page." Iowa State coach Bill Femnelly said of McCray's low total.
"Every time I had the ball, someone was in my face," McCray said. "There were two or three people right there."
As a result of the dimmed star, Morris returned to her role as the savior.
As she has been all season, Morris was the team's rock on Wednesday - a model of consistency.
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Playing as a point guard and a wing, she operated lock-down defense on Iowa State's senior
guard Alison Lacey, one of the most prolific all-around players in the Big 12. Morris also added 16 points, three rebounds and three assists.
"We're asking her to do an awful lot right now," Henrickson said. "Guard the best guy, play the point and now we need her to score."
Senior guard Sade Morris fires a shot in the first half against Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Morris played all 40 minutes of the game and led the team with 16 points.
Morris was the main reason Kansas trailed only 25-20 at halftime.
SEE RECAP ON PAGE 6B
“Going into the locker room, when we're that bad offensively and Danielle is in that much foul trouble and it's 20-25, I'm thinking we're OK,” Henrickson said. “We had just been horrible and it's a two possession game.”
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN