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Sports DON'T TREAD HERE THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
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COMMENTARY
Football coaches move forward
PAGE 1B
BY NICHOLAS ROESLER
TRYING TO GET HIS BALANCE
When Athletic Director Lew Perkins released Mark Mangino in December, Jayhawk nation let go a sigh of relief for the end of the finger-pointing-negativity the story brought the University and the football team. But while everyone on the outside started to breathe easier, the staff that Mangino assembled began a mad hunt to find a new home.
- Edited by Megan Heacock
As sports fans, we do not always see past what SportsCenter might report. Because Mangino was let go, most of his staff members were in danger of losing their jobs.
Newly hired coach Turner Gill is coming into the Kansas football program with the same goals ("beat Missouri"), but a new philosophy and an entirely new staff. This leaves all of Kansas' ex-coordinators and in coaches they never really wanted to be. Despite their unfortunate fate, they've managed to move on.
It is also important for all of the fans of Kansas to respect and be grateful for what the entire staff did under Mangino. One of the perils coaches face is to give their entire life, passion and love to the program. They are not only trying to build a successful team, but they are also influencing the players' lives.
Ed Warriner, Kansas' offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2009, led the layhawks to the Orange Bowl in his first season and directed an offense led by 5-foot-11 quarterback Todd Reesing on the way to breaking enough records to adorn a room. Because Gill has his own offensive coordinator, Chuck Long, Warriner has teamed up with ex-Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly at Notre Dame as his new offensive line coach.
These losses happen all over the country, including Buffalo, Gill's former school, and that's part of the profession. Assistant coaches must be able to carry a certain sense of dignity in order to walk away from a program for which they have given so much.
Others have not been so fortunate to find a slot at other universities. Clint Bowen, Kansas' defensive coordinator last season, interviewed at Kansas State but did not get the job. Not to say that Kansas fans are glad he did not get the job at Kansas State. In this economy, it is understandable that a person would take any job available.
This is the reason they deserve admiration. Yes, they are ultimately judged by their performance in the win and loss columns. But they should also be respected for the sacrifice they give to a program that might not be their home come tomorrow.
Freshman guard Xavier Henry drives to the basket for a layup during the first half Saturday afternoon. Henry shot four-for-eleven from the field for 14 points
Weston White/KANSAN
Henry juggles team and talent
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
twitter.com/c_thibodeaux
Xavier Henry isn't going to take over a game. Not while senior guard Sherron Collins is around.
Whenever the Jayhawks needed a hero in games such as Memphis, Cornell and Tennessee this season, only one player consistently stepped up — Collins.
Not the freshman guard who was recruited for his multiple scoring methods. Not the physically imposing 6-foot-6 18-year old who can take the ball to the
rim any time he wants. Not the lefty who scored 31 points earlier this season and simply called it a "wood game."
Kansas coach Bill Self said earlier this season that Henry might be hesitant while learning to be aggressive, yet stick to the plays. Henry said himself all he wants to do is play within the team and to do what he's told.
When Henry was asked if he was going to take over a game sometime this season, his answer walked out of the locker room.
"No," Henry said, pointing to Collins. "That's that man's job
right there."
Henry may very well be the best pure scorer on the Kansas roster, and during the first part of the season he looked it. But as the stakes have increased for No. 3 Kansas, which plays Baylor tonight at 8, Henry has been deferring to the veterans.
Self said Henry still had far to come.
"I don't even consider X a great scorer yet," Self said. "I think his ceiling is very high, considering he's a good scorer and a real good shooter. But I think he can do more to score, whether it be getting to
the hole, getting to the free throw line, things like that."
Still, Self said, he has never coached a freshman as talented as Henry.
"He's the best freshman that I've had. No question about that," Self said.
"You know your line on the team," Henry said. "This is Sherron's team — Sherron and Cole." We know if we're going to get something done, we give it to them. And maybe if it's not their night, somebody else needs to step up."
The problem with first-year
To read about the Jayhawks' game against Baylor, see pages 7B and 8B.
players, Collins said, is they spend most of their time finding a balance between personal and public expectations.
'He just wants to do so good and when he doesn't do good, he kind of gets disappointed in
SEE HENRY ON PAGE 7B
Freshman forward Carolyn Davis lays the ball in during Sunday's 72-59 victory against Missouri. Davis scored 13 points in her first career start.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Davis playing with new aggression
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothman
In the biggest game of the season — in a must-win home game against Border War rival Missouri — coach Bonnie Henrickson unchained her latest freshman star.
With freshman guard Angel Goodrich out from an ACL injury, everyone expected senior guard LaChelda Jacobs to be a newcomer to the starting lineup. But few foresaw a second new starter entering the mix. Just as it looked as if Kansas was shorthanded, freshman forward Carolyn Davis arrived in colossal fashion.
"She's 16-for-20 in practice yesterday in traffic," Henrickson said. "She's manhandled all the posts inside."
In Sunday's 72-59 victory against the Tigers, Davis started for the first time in her career, scored 13 points and gathered six rebounds. She was a constant force in the paint, exhibiting her soft hands when corralling passes flung from all directions. Then she displayed her polished skills by finishing plays with high-percentage layups.
an area where former starter
"It was just any other game. That's how I look at it. It was just another game," Davis said.
Right before the game Davis said she received advice to play as though there was nothing different.
The advice paid dividends and showed in Davis' efficiency. She finished the day converting 5-of-8 shots from the field. She also sunk all three of her free throw attempts
To read about the Jayhawks' game against Iowa State, see page 3B.
Krysten Boogaard struggled at times.
On the defensive end, Davis helped shut down a talented Missouri front court. Her primary assignment, junior forward Shakara Jones, averaged 10.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game heading into Sunday's game. After a day with Davis, Jones managed to post just six points and three rebounds.
Davis said that off the court she was a nice person, but that her
SEE DAVIS ON PAGE 3B