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NSAN
2009
THE UNIVERSITY OF DAILY KANSAS
THURSDAY DECEMBER 10 2009
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009
SPORTS
7B
FOOTBALL
Final reaction to Mangino departure
Freshman running back Toben Opurum reacts to questions from members of the media last week after coach Mark Mangino resigned from his coach position. Mangino's resignation leaves Kansas' football program searching for a new coach for next season.
BY JAYSON JENKS AND
CLARK GOBLE
jjenks@kansan.com,
cgoble@kansan.com
Weston White/KANSAN
Former offensive lineman Ryan Cantrell just finished his first year of coaching high school football in Texas. Even a year removed from playing under former coach Mark Mangino — and even after a week since Mangino's departure, Cantrell still isn't sure what to make of the situation.
"I'm still kind of torn over it because he was a really hard guy to play for," Cantrell said. "But I was a better player for it, and as I begin my journey in coaching I'm going to be a better coach for the lessons he either taught me indirectly or that I learned while there."
A similar reaction is shared by other former and current players and people around the community.
Mangino spent the final two weeks of the season in limbo, stuck between an internal investigation launched against him and an uncertain future as Kansas' coach
Mangino resigned last Thursday after reaching an agreement with Athletics Director Lew Perkins.
Soon after the internal investigation was made public the Monday before Kansas played No. 3 Texas, former players came forward about Mangino's verbal — and in some cases physical — abuse.
"If there wasn't a problem then none of this stuff would have happened," former linebacker Mike Rivera said.
When Mangino arrived in 2002, though, his demanding approach was praised and touted as exactly the type of tough-love mentality that a struggling football team needed.
And, on the field, strides forward were made.
In 2003, the lajawhaks played in their first bowl game since 1995. They won a bowl game in 2005 and, of course, the Orange Bowl victory in 2007.
"KU needed someone like him," Cantrell said. "He needed to change a damn culture. You have to run it a certain way. You have to be a hard disciplinarian. He was fair with every person on the team. Granted, he may have stepped over the line a couple times, but he felt that was the way he had to go about things."
Yet as some former players speculated, Mangino's tactics started to wear thin as the Jayhawks experienced more success.
In turn, those players said Mangino's disciplinarian style wasn't needed as much with successful players as when he first arrived at Kansas.
"I definitely think as time changed, he wanted to try and change," Cantrell said. "We could
definitely see as players during the Orange Bowl year, he did let up a little bit. Now, winning helps a whole hell of a lot with that."
In the days following the announcement of the internal investigation, Mangino noted that losing provided the platform for disgruntled people to step forward.
Whether that's true or not, Kansas's record didn't aid Mangino's cause.
"What I'm trying to say is I was terribly disappointed in the way that it happened," former coach Don Fambrough said. "I'm not saying that it wasn't necessary. I'm not arguing that at all. My argument is that I thought it was handled in a terrible, terrible way."
Regardless, many viewed Mangino's departure as inevitable after reports and stories of past problems continued to be published.
"It'd be hard for him to come
back from a situation like that," sophomore Austin Mohs from Omaha, Neb. said. "It kind of seems like a reoccurring thing over the last couple of years, guys not having good relationships with him."
There's little doubt that Mangino helped build Kansas' football program from the ground up.
But in the end his tactics presented too many problems to overcome, and too many former players accounts were damning.
"It's definitely weird and it's a little funny feeling knowing that he is gone and this program will be headed in a new direction," senior defensive back justin Thornton said. "But as far as that, it's just wait and see and hopefully Lew Perkins will do a good job of getting someone good in here."
— Edited by Alicia Banister
NBA
Nuggets end winning streak, lose to Bobcats
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gerald Wallace had 25 points and 16 rebounds and the Bobcats frustrated Carmelo Anthony and Denver in a 107-95 victory Tuesday night that snapped the Nuggets' four-game winning streak.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The winner of the match featuring the NBA's top-scoring team and player against the league's top defensive unit: the hard-to-figure Charlotte Bobcats.
Anthony, the NBAs leading scorer, had 34 points and seven rebounds, but Wallace outplayed him down the stretch and a frustrated Anthony picked up a technical foul with just under a minute left to help seal Charlotte's second straight win.
Charlotte Bobcats' Stephen Jackson (1) shoots over Denver Nuggets' Nene (31) and Carmelo Anthony (15) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday. The loss to the Bobcats ended the four-game winning streak.
Stephen Jackson added 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and helped keep Anthony scoreless over the final 4 minutes as Charlotte closed on a 20-8 run.
"You have to make a guy like that work," Jackson said. "You can't stop him completely. He's going to get calls and he's the leading scorer in the league. You just want
Called for a foul on Jackson with 52.6 seconds left, an upset Anthony drew a technical foul — his second in as many nights. jackson hit all three free throws to put Charlotte up 102-93.
to make it as difficult as possible."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Nuggets, playing without injured forward
Kenyon Martin, lost for only the second time in 10 games.
"I think our defense has always been good," Wallace said.
"It was just one of those nights where they had everything going for them," Anthony said. "They made shots. They got to the free throw line. They got to the boards. A lot of little things helped them win this game."
In a matchup of the NBA's highest-scoring team (Denver, 109.7 points a game) and the league's stingiest team (Charlotte, 90.4 points allowed), spurts were dictated by pace.
So the team that remains best known for being the first to lose to New Jersey after the Nets' record-worst 0-18 start, notched a second win over a division leader. The Bobcats are 8-3 at home with a victory over Cleveland.
Anthony did most of his damage in transition and by getting to the foul line on drives.
The Nuggets had trouble defending Wallace in the halfcourt, and both players attempted 11 free throws.
Coming in averaging 29.6 points a game, Anthony scored a season-low 14 on 5-of-21 shooting a night earlier in Philadelphia. He regained his touch, but Denver struggled without Martin, who dislocated his left pinkie against the 7eers.
Chris Andersen played a lot of late minutes, and the Bobcats attacked him defensively. Raymond Felton twice beat him to the hoop on drives, the second layup putting Charlotte ahead 95-89 with 3:24 left.
Joey Graham, twin brother of Bobcats forward Stephen Graham, started in Martin's spot and Denver fell behind 21-14.
STEPHEN JACKSON Charlotte Bobcat
"You have to make a guy like that work. You can't stop him completely"
"Kenyon does a great job of reads. Tonight they scored a lot of points in the paint, especially in the first half."
Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I think their penetration surprised us"
"He was great. He's been great," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "Gerald and Jack and Raymond really kept us in the game."
Wallace, the NBA's leading rebounder, had his 13th double-double. His putback of his own miss over Anthony with 1:50 left gave Charlotte a 97-91 lead.
Flip Murray, 10 of 45 from the field and 8 of 17 from the foul line in the past six games, hit two free throws and a 3-pointer at the end
Nazr Hammaded made up for Chandler's woes by hitting 9 of 10 free throws and scoring 15 points. Murray had 10 points and Charlotte hit 31 of 37 free throws.
of the half to help Charlotte to a 54-49 lead despite center Tyson Chandler again getting into foul trouble.
J. R. Smith was Denver's second leading scorer with 16 points as the Nuggets managed only 11 assists and failed to reach 100 points for just the sixth time.
"We turned the ball over too much, mainly myself," said guard Chauceney Billups, who had 14 points, one assist and five turnovers. "Anytime we have more turnovers than assists, chances are we're not going to look too good."
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BASEBALL
Players eager to build off success
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com.
Even with Hoglund Ballpark blanketed with snow and ice, the infield covered for the winter, the mentality of the baseball team is not entrenched in an "offseason" mode. The team is hard at work, eager to get back on the diamond and build off last season's success.
"If we could wed start the season as soon as possible," sophomore utility player Zac Elgie said.
Kansas made a big jump last year, finishing at 39-24 (15-12) and ranked No. 5 in the Big 12, after finishing 11th in '07-'08. The Jayhawks regular season success qualified it for the NCAA tournament, where it advanced to the Chapel Hill Regional championship before falling to eventual College World Series participant North Carolina.
"We proved we could play with anybody last year," junior third baseman Tony Thompson said. "Now we know what we need to do and what's expected of us."
While the end result wasn't ideal for Kansas, it furthered the team's desire to improve.
Before the lajahwks begin planning a return trip to post-season play, they'll first have to contend with one of the toughest schedules in the nation. Aside from the always-stacked Big 12, which includes College World Series runner-up Texas, Kansas will play 13 games against Top 25 ranked clubs from a season ago. In total, the team will play 30 games against teams that qualified for the NCAA tournament last season.
Schedule aside, Kansas returns most of its starters from a season ago. Led by standouts like Thompson and junior pitcher T.J. Walz, the Jayhawks should have strong leadership that will be essential to the team's success.
"We've got lots of older guys coming back that will help set a good example for the young guys." Thompson said.
The team will have some big holes to fill, though — most notably the graduation of catcher Buck Afenir and departures of shortstop David Narodowski and pitcher Sheafer Hall, who both passed up their senior seasons to play in the MLB.
To help fill the void the team
Jordan Brown — Outfielder, Blue Springs, Mo.
2011 EARLY SIGNING CLASS
Mark Brown — Outfielder pitcher, Detroit, Mich.
Alex Harris — outfielder, Murphy, Texas
Ka'iana Eldredge —
infield-catcher, Honolulu,
Hawaii
Tom Hougland --- catcher, Parker, Colo.
Brad Salgado — infielder, Temecula, Calif.
Conner Murray — infielder pitcher, Overland Park
Tyler Smith — pitcher, Cypress, Texas
will need increased production from its younger players, including Elgie and sophomore pitcher Lee Rindenhour. It's a task teammates feel they're more than capable of handling.
"We've got some talented young guys, and some quality guys that we've brought in," Thompson said. "Even if some of them don't get as much playing time right away, they'll get better as the season goes on."
And down the road there's even more help coming to Lawrence.
Coach Ritch Price recently announced that the team has inked eight players to next year's roster during the early signing period. Price said he expects the soon-to-be jahawks to shine on the field for years to come.
For now, hard work and dedication will have to do.
"This may be the best class we had during our time at Kansas," Price said in a press release. "We believe that this group of young men will help us continue to be a Top 25 program."
NFL
"We're just trying to get ready for the spring," Thompson said. "It's all about making sure we're prepared."
Follow Ben Ward at twitter.com/bm dub.
- Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
be without him the res of the season.
Broncos' Ryan Harris will sit out rest of season
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have had spotty results without stand-out right tackle Ryan Harris in the lineup, and now they'll
The third-year pro was put on injured reserve Wednesday with an injury to his right big toe that will require surgery and rehab lasting well into the winter.
Associated Press
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