Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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KANSAS 20, TEXAS 51
PAGE 1B
kansas coach Mark Mangino stands along the sideline watching texas drive down the field for a touchdown during the fourth quarter Saturday night in Austin, Texas. Kansas lost 20-51 for its sixth-straight Big 12 loss and now moves to a season record of 5-6.
Loss wraps up long week
Sixth consecutive loss follows days of investigation
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
AUSTIN, Texas — Traditionally,
in the moments after games
— in media gatherings after
victories or losses — coach
Mark Mangino sticks to the
no-nonsense approach.
His mood doesn't seem to swivel with a lopsided victory or disappointing loss. Generally, he keeps his public temperament level, and he has always preached that is his style while at the University.
Yet after Kansas' 51-20 defeat in the heart of Texas, something felt different about his interview. There was a personable tone mixed with his characteristic professionalism. Mangino smiled and laughed. He engaged in playful banters with reporters.
And he even offered a
life perspective.
"I have a player, DJ. Marshall, who is in Tulsa, Okla., at a cancer center," Mangino said. "He just started his chemotherapy this week."
He paused and lowered his voice before continuing.
"That's called a bad week. I've had a great week."
The change in response-style may be a result of what hasn't actually appeared to be a great week for Mangino or his players. In the days leading up to Saturday night's game against Texas, they answered
never-ending questions about the internal investigation launched by the Athletics Department against Mangino and about the state of the program.
Faced with a relentless line of investigation-based questioning, the Jayhawks attempted to maintain a sliver of hope: Regardless of anything else, Kansas still had a game to play against Texas.
In front of a record-setting crowd on Saturday, Texas crushed that optimism, delivering the Jayhawks their sixth-consecutive loss.
After the game — after a result
that most people expected — questions returned to the investigation surrounding the football program and Mangino's job.
"It's been a distraction for all of us," senior defensive back Justin Thornton said. "Not just the players and the coaches but the whole community and school. That's all that anyone wants to talk about. It's frustrating."
COMMENTARY
After the game, in a small room tucked away inside Darrell K. Royal Stadium, Mangino sat at a desk and
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 5B
Kansas' coach is on his way out
Were it not for contract provisions, coach Mark Mangino may well have
been canned at halftime or even a few days before Saturday night's foregone conclusion in Austin, Texas.
The allegedly foul man stands opposite Athletics Director Lew Perkins on a bridge that burns wilder each day.
The investigation of Mangino and his football program the Athletics Department launched last week stems from allegations that he poked senior linebacker Arist Wright during practice and has been further stoked by parents and former players coming forth with accounts of a coach who breaks down and bullies his players.
But don't think that's all. Lori Williams, associate athletics director for risk management, is leading an investigation to determine whether a check with enough room for seven digits is needed or if there's enough dirt to sever ties with cause. I'm willing to bet Mangino will not be Kansas' coach in 2010.
Per Mangino's contract, the coach has 21 days upon being fired to file a written appeal to Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little or Perkins. If Mangino is found to have been fired without cause — or if he is simply fired without cause — he will be owed $6.6 million. That's $2 million for three years plus an additional $600,000 buyout
The reason Mangino wasn't fired last week or upon returning to Lawrence after his team's sixthstraight defeat can be summed up using a familiar and ironic axiom: dollar signs.
That Kansas was KOed 51-20 on prime-time national television was a mere formality. The only difference between this game and the team's previous five losses was that it simply got beat rather than
SEE COLUMN ON PAGE 5B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Morris leads undefeated Jayhawks to victory
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
When the opposition scraps Kansas' game plan, Sade Morris will still be there to mitigate the problem.
So when Kansas' usual transition-based offense was forced into a half-court set by Michigan's speed and attentiveness, coach Bonnie Henrickson put the game in the hands of the stabilizer.
The senior with the salvaging jump shot also serves as the team's lockdown defender. She is the stabilizing force to the No. 19 basketball team.
Kansas defeated Michigan 77-66 and moved to 3-0 on the season as Morris scored a career-high 26 points, passing 1,000 career points in a Kansas uniform.
"Somebody had to score," Morris said.
the milestone. "I just came ready to play."
Junior guard Veronica Hicks led the motion-centric Wolverine offense with 20 points. The Chicago native possessed a streetball-ish swagger with a knock down jump shot. She was the primary reason for keeping the game as close as it was.
"I had no clue," Morris said of
Junior center Krysten Boogaard established her low-post presence early on and seemed to be on her way to an impressive
"They brought the house early," Henrickson said.
"Scoring never matters to me. I just care about winning."
stat line. She was also attacking Michigan's high picks and working as a force all over the floor.
SADE MORRIS Senior guard
See more women's basketball coverage on page 3B.
three minutes of first-half play. Her dormancy set the stage for
However, the foul bug bit Boogaard and she was held to just
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Senior guard Sade Morris fights past michigan Guard Jenny Ryan during Sunday's game. Morris passed the 1,000 point mark in Kansas '77-66 victory against Michigan.
another freshman,
besides guards Angel
Goodrich or Monica
Engelman, to see the
floor. Forward Carolyn
Davis checked in for sophomore
Aishah Sutherland
11 minutes into the
game, giving her the
first-half minutes she
had yet to see up to
this point.
But the Houston native looked sluggish on the pick-and-roll and stagnant on the offensive end as she was manipulated by senior
center Krista Phillips. On the last play of the first half, Henrickson drew up a Goodrich and Davis pick-and-roll, but Davis' youth showed as she drew the foul but missed both free throws. But Davis was happy enough to get some early action.
"Of course at first I was nervous," Davis said. "I just cleared my head and went out and played."
Hicks and the rest of the Wolverines rattled Goodrich and the usually fast-faced Kansas offense. Goodrich often tried to force the ball to senior guard Danielle McCray, straying from her other options and the usual five-sided gameplan that had been so 'effective in the past. Operating out of a half-court set for much of the game, Goodrich could not speed past defenders and instead had to be more creative in calling plays. She tallied seven points and assists, but also surrendered
But it was Morris' stabilizing effect that solidified the half-court set in a grinding victory. Whether it's drawing a foul, nailing a late three or stealing a critical pass,
"We just weren't getting out fast enough," Goodrich said. "We weren't all connected as a team."
seven turnovers.
Morris has proved herself a steady force.
"Scoring never matters to me," Morris said. "I just care about winning"
— Edited by Amanda Thompson