THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2009
SPORTS
3B
FOOTBALL
Coaching change tough for recruits
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
Right now, as interim coach Bill Miller talks on the phone, he's pulling up to a high school — yet another point of interest along Miller's winding recruiting trail.
Shortly after he ends his phone call, he'll approach a high school coach and player, and he'll attempt to sell a program that holds no guarantees that he'll return as an assistant coach next year.
In so few words, Miller is merely buying Kansas football time until Athletics Director Lew Perkins selects a replacement for former coach Mark Mangino.
And his main recruiting pitch is simple: Hang in there and we're going to get a good name at Kansas. If you like some of the things that you've seen or
Miller
that we've done, hang around and see who it is.
What else is there to say?
Now that Mangino's tenure has officially ended, much attention shifted toward the process of hiring a new coach. Yet much conversation has also revolved around the recruiting world. With the program in turmoil for the last two weeks of the season — and currently with no coaching staff permanently in place — recruits are left with little concrete information to use in their decision-making process.
"It's an interesting deal, let me tell ya," Miller said. "We're just trying to be professional about it. We've been asked to try to hang on to some of these guys and continue to encourage these guys a little bit longer until we can get a head coach hired. That's really what we're doing."
Perkins met with Miller, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen and wide receivers coach David Beaty shortly after announcing Mangino's resignation Thursday. In the meeting, Perkins asked the three to act as co-interim coaches in an effort to bridge the gap between coaching changes.
The situation certainly doesn't make the ultra-competitive world of recruiting any easier.
At a time when many schools are peppering recruits with talks of bowl games and postseason play, Kansas' assistants have been forced to simply preach patience to recruits.
"We're interested in doing an excellent search in as quick a time frame as we can," Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said. "And one of the reasons to do that is to minimize the effect of the coaching change on recruiting."
Perhaps the recruiting area most affected by the uncertainty rests at the junior college level where recruits will start making school selections in the upcoming weeks.
With so little time between now and then, Miller said many players may decide to turn their attention elsewhere.
"If you look at it from their standpoint, particularly with people who are going to have to make a
decision here in a couple weeks, that's probably not conducive to their timetable." Miller said. "And it damn sure isn't to ours because there is some immediate help we need."
Keeston Terry, a senior wide receiver from Blue Springs, Mo., who verbally committed to Kansas in August, said in a text message to the Kansan that his plans haven't changed as a result of Mangino's resignation.
Terry is rated as a 4-star prospect on Rivals.com and the 38th best receiver in the 2010 class.
But Terry also acknowledged that other schools have reopened their recruitment, noting that coaches from Iowa and Missouri
have spoken with him in the past week alone.
"If there is a good player that you know is going to Kansas with all this going on, you're going to call him," said Kelly Donohoe, Terrer's coach, at
Farther south, in the northern part of Texas, a similar situation has unfolded at Denison High School in Denison, Texas.
Blue Springs. "That's just what good coaches do: A little hole and they're going to jump in it. That's just part of the cut-throat recruiting world."
"We're interested in doing an excellent search in as quick a time frame as we can."
Currently, two players on Denison's roster — defensive end Jaqwaylin Arps and linebacker Jimmy Mundine — are verbally committed to Kansas, meaning
JIM MARCHIONY Associate athletics director
that either player could change his commitment at any time with no consequence.
But he did meet with both players about the possibilities of the situation.
Denison coach Cody White said that because his team is still playing for a state championship, his players haven't talked in detail about their situations.
"A verbal commitment is nonbinding by either party," White said. "There's nothing signed at that point. I told the kids when we sat down and talked, 'Is it the University or the coaching staff?'
And another thing is those new guys aren't bound to honor that commitment to you. You give up
to prepare yourselves for other options."
Cornerbacks coach Je'Ney Jackson, though, reassured White that Perkins and Kansas would honor previous scholarship offers regardless of who assumed head coaching duties.
Still, even with
with that said, the coaching uncertainty does little to aid a Kansas program attempting to find its way in the top of the Big 12.
"What concerns me right now is recruiting," former Kansas coach Don Fambrough said. "We're in danger right now of losing a year of recruiting."
Follow Jayson Jenks at twitter. com/JaysonJenks.
Edited by Tim Burgess
NBA
Bobcats snap Nuggets' four-game win streak
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gerald Wallace had 25 points and 16 rebounds and the Charlotte Bobcats frustrated Carmelo Anthony and Denver in a 107-95 victory Tuesday night that snapped the Nuggets' four-game winning streak.
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 victory.
Stephen Jackson had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Nazr Mohammed added 15 points for the Bobcats, who outscored Denver 20-8 over the final 6 minutes.
J. R. Smith had 16 points for the Nuggets, who played without injured forward Kenyon Martin.
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.
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.
It meant a lot of minutes for Chris Andersen, and the Bobcats attacked him defensively in the
fourth quarter. Raymond Felton twice beat him to the hoop on drives, the second layup putting Charlotte ahead 95-89 with 3:24 left.
Wallace, the NBA's leading rebounder, had a putback of his own miss with 1:50 left over Anthony that gave Charlotte a 97-91 lead.
Anthony soon lost his cool.
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.
Joey Graham, twin brother of Bobcats forward Stephen Graham, started in Martin's spot. Denver got off to a similar poor start as they did in Philadelphia, trailing early 21-14 against the Bobcats.
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 of the half to help Charlotte to a 54-49 lead despite center Tyson Chandler again getting into foul trouble.
Bobcats coach Larry Brown tweaked his rotation early. D.J. Augustin, who had been a healthy scratch in consecutive games, and rookie Gerald Henderson, who had played sparingly of late, both played before Flip Murray.
While the Nuggets went on a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to finally put away the 76ers, they had no similar run in them for the Bobcats, who had struggled of late and are remembered as the first team to lose to New Jersey after the Nets' 10-18 start.
Murray's 3 early in the fourth quarter put Charlotte ahead 81-78. Murray had 10 points and Charlotte hit 31 of 37 free throws.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Charlotte Bobcats' Stephen Jackson shoots over the Denver Nuggets' Nene, and Carnegie Anthony in the first half of a game in Charlotte, C. N., Tuesday. Charlotte won 102-95.
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ROBINSON (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
a point guard."
Robinson hopes it's just a momentary stop, and if recent returns are any indication, it's starting to look like it will be.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, exJayhawk Darnell Jackson's current team, extended an invite to Robinson to try out during the preseason and he played in five games, starting one.
In his time with the Cavs, he averaged a respectable 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per contest.
"I think Russell has come a long way," Bill Self, who coached Robinson at Kansas, said. "Russell may have come the furthest of all of them. He was the last cut of the Cavaliers this year, and if he keeps improving his stroke, which he has since last year, I do think he'll be on an NBA roster in the next year or two, which would be unbelievably great for anyone who knows Russell because he tries so hard."
In a fan poll on the Cavaliers' Web site at the end of the pre-season, they asked who fans would most like to see named the 15th
and final man on the Cavaliers' bench. Robinson, one of five players on the list, was the resounding favorite, pulling 66 percent of the vote.
Instead, management gave the nod to Coby Karl, a former Boise State shooting guard who came in second with 15 percent.
"Until I get back."
"We definitely stay in touch," Robinson said. "Those guys keep me motivated and I'm just living my MBA experience through them right now."
"It's a grind and this minor league is way tougher." Robinson said. "I was with Cleveland for the preseason, so I already know how it is up there, and it's a lot easier."
MEN'S BASKETBALL
While Robinson was in town for his game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders, Mario Chalmers flew in with his Miami Heat to take on the Lakers that night, and Brandon Rush was around with the Indiana Pacers, waiting for Saturday to play the Los Angeles Clippers.
Late rally helps Red Raiders win
— Edited by Tim Burgess
ASSOCIATED PRESS
as coach in February 2008. They are off to their best start in seven decades since a 12-0 start in 1929-30 and moved into the rankings Monday.
The Red Raiders (9-0) played their first game as a ranked team since the end of the 2004-05 season, and first for Pat Knight since he succeeded father Bobby
FORT WORTH, Texas — John Roberson scored eight of his 21 points in a game-turning run that finally put No. 23 Texas Tech ahead as the Red Raiders overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat TCU 80-70 Tuesday night
Texas Tech didn't lead until Theron Jenkins made a free throw with 16:09 left to break a 44-all tie. He was intentionally fouled at midcourt after stealing a pass and the whistle nullified his breakaway slam dunk.
Zvonko
The Red Raiders then maintained possession because of the intentional foul, and Roberson hit a 3-pointer. After a TCU miss, Brad Reese hit to make it 50-44, culminating the 24-3 run that wiped out their 14-point deficit.
Z v o n k o
Bulian had 24 points and 10 rebounds for TCU (5-4).
TCU was hosting a ranked non-conference opponent for only the second time in 48-year-old Daniel Meyer Coliseum.
nine points.
Roberson also had a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half, when Tech scored the final
Mike Singletary had 17 points and David Tairu 14 for the Red Raiders. D'wayln Roberts had nine points and 19 rebounds.
TCU was hosting a ranked non-conference opponent for only the second time in 48-year-old Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The Frogs lost 85-66 to then-No. 1 Kansas six years ago.
But with the Red Raiders playing their only game in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this season, there were a lot of red-clad fans for the visitors. They finally got to do some cheering after Tech's slow start.
The Frogs led after Bulian hit a 3-pointer
from the left wing on their first shot of the game, and it was 8-2 after he had a slam dunk and Edvinas Ruzgas hit a 3-pointer.
By the first media timeout 4:01 into the game, which came after Tairu traveled for Tech's fourth turnover, TCU already had a 14-4 lead. Less than two minutes after that, the Frogs stretched it to 18-5 on Kevin Butler's shot.
But the Frogs went cold after Moss stole a pass that led to a layup by Niola Cerina and made it 41-27 with 2:06 left in the first half. Roberts' two free throws 10 seconds later started the key run that extended after halftime.
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