Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Teams's record misleads
Kansas will face a revitalized Michigan. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | 3B
Kick the Kansan in football
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
BAD NEWS BEARS
Senior guard Sherron Collins pops the ball out of a Central Arkansas guard's possession Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Collins had three steals in Kansas' 94-44 victory.
Weston White/KANSAN
Jayhawks send Bears packing
Collins, Henry Morris, Reed come out on top in points
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@lenovo.com
Coming in with just over two minutes to go in the first half, Henry scored eight points in his first action as a Jayhawk in a 94-44 victory against Central Arkansas. His last action in competitive basketball before Thursday came in 2005 when his high school basketball team lost in the playoffs.
C. J. Henry hasn't played a real game of competitive basketball in four years. It was hard to tell Thursday night.
PAGE 1B
"I told coach I wanted to try my knee out tonight because it felt pretty good leading up to the game," Henry said. "And when he told me he wanted me to come in, I was excited."
Henry said his knee was at 80 percent before the game and that it felt pretty good after the game. Kansas coach Bill Self said Henry's movement looked good and enjoyed seeing him on the court.
"It was good to see him get a couple down," Self said. "He's a good shooter."
His teammates were happy to finally see him in action as well.
"I was very happy that he got out there," junior guard Tyrel Reed said. "He's been battling some injuries and all that good stuff but I
know he's capable."
Henry said he thinks he can be part of the rotation later in the year but he needs to get minutes
in with the first team.
"I've got to get used to playing with everybody," he said. "That's the main thing this team needs-chemistry."
But everybody
nights like this but, Reed said, it'll be Collins and Cole Aldrich doing the heavy lifting most night.
"It was good to see him get a couple down."
was in on the action. Four players scored in double figures. Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry, Marcus Morris and Tyrel Reed all led in scoring with 12 points. Three other players scored eight points each.
Kansas looks very balanced on
BILL SELF Kansas coach
"We've got a lot of guys that
got a lot of guys that are capable of scoring," Reed said, "but I think we've got Cole and Sherron that are going to be up there scoring most of the points a lot of the time, Xavier as well."
Right from the get-go. Kansas performed stifling defense and moved the ball. After the Bears scored the first field goal of the game, the layhawks on a 31-3 run, including 23 straight at one point.
CARK was held to an appalling 19.2 percent shooting in the first half while trailing 37-15.
MEN'S REWIND
For full coverage, check out the men's basketball rewind on page 4B.
The Jayhawks went up big but let Bears almost double their halftime score in the second half alone.
"It's easy to let up on games like this when you get up early and let other teams come back," freshman forward Thomas Robinson said.
The home crowd got a scare early in the second half, reminiscent of Tuesday night against
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 5B
FOOTBALL
Players focus on Texas despite media attention
Jayhawks prepare for game during coach's internal investigation
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
Kansas' meetings with the media have generated an unusually large number of participants this week. There have been more cameras, more recorders and simply more outside interest.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 21
WHERE: Austin, Texas
TV: ABC, 7 p.m.
RADIO: 1320 AM
Yet hardly any of the questions have revolved around Kansas' game at No.3 Texas tomorrow night.
In tead,
the Jayhawks
spent this week
responding
to reports,
allegations and
an internal
investigation
on coach Mark
Mangino.
KANSAS VS. TEXAS
season — the first occurred after incidents between the football and basketball teams surfaced — Kansas' players were grilled about something other than plays,
Coach Mark Magino says he wants to focus on Saturday's game against Texas instead of questions about the internal investigation. Former and current players came forward this week with stories about encounters with Mangino.
For the second time this.
"We want to focus on football and not on other things," senior safety Darrell Stuckey said. "I feel like everything about this season has been focusing on other things besides football. I'm here to play
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTOS
strategy or their performance
"We want to focus on football and not on other things."
football, not talk about other things."
DARRELL STUCKEY Senior safety
After athletics director Lew Perkins released a statement confirming that he met with players — and after former players have come forward with stories
That's not what happened this week.
about their time with Mangino the media attention has been turned up this week.
Senior quarterback Todd Reesing addressed the situation.
emphasizing the need to remain focused on the tough task of playing against Texas.
"I told them this was going to be something that was hard to handle," Reesing said. "As you can tell I've been standing here for five minutes, and I've answered zero questions about the game against Texas this Saturday. It's going to be something we're going
.
The javahawks spent the week saying all the right things. They talked about honing in on the Longhorns. They preached that the surrounding situation won't affect members inside the team.
to have to deal with."
And they've talked about still attempting to earn a spot in a bowl game.
"To tell you the truth, as soon
Still, the timing really couldn't be much worse for a Kansas team that has dropped five consecutive
as we step on the field it's like nothing has happened" senior wide receiver Kerry Meier said. "I think that's the right way we need to approach it."
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 3B
COMMENTARY
Taylor does not live up to hype of preseason
W here, oh, where has my No. 10 been? In a year where
No. 1 Kansas still seems too good to be true (although tempered a tad by Memphis), the recalcitrant playmaker with NBA potential has been, well, a dud. This year sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor swapped his jersey number from 15 to 10. Ever since that change, the once sparkling jewel has withered and decayed.
In the season opener, a 101-65 slaughtering of Hofstra, Taylor had a quietly productive night, leading the team with six assists and tagging on eight points. However the feisty guard's definitive "number three option" label in last year's offense had never been so glaringly slung into the past as it was that night.
As Taylor did his part with 24 minutes of play, freshman guard Xavier Henry hoarded a gleaming national spotlight, scoring 27 points off of endless three-pointers and thunderous slams. It was a booming proclamation that we might not see Taylor reach the hype that once followed him in high school.
Preceding his days in Lawrence, Taylor was the hero at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J. He had all the credentials you could name. Awards? Hudson County 2008 Player of the Year and USA Today's fictitious national championship. Legendary coach? Had that too. Bobby Hurley Sr. Dream-like last hurrah? Yes, even that too. In his senior year, Taylor led his school to a 32-0 record and claimed the 2008 Tournament of Champions.
After proving to be one of the most dynamic freshman in the nation and earning Freshman All-America Third Team honors, it seemed as if Taylor would only shine even brighter in his sophomore campaign and function as the eventual successor to Collins. His inconsistent yet still highly promising year seemed to be nothing but the next chapter in the life of a future NBA stud.
Oh, how things can change.
When spelling a cramp-ridden Collins against Memphis, Taylor looked like a cat near water. He never found anything close to a comfort zone in the Scottrade Center, finishing 0-4 from the field with seven turnovers and only two free throws to show.
While Taylor would like to put up 30 points on any given night, that is simply not what is best for this talent heavy team. He is clearly struggling with this humbling realization as he clunks shot after shot.
And the rapid development of freshman guard Elijah Johnson, who ironically snagged Taylor's former No. 15, the consistency of junior guard Tyrel Reed and the return of injury free freshman guard C.J. Henry can do nothing but decrease Taylor's minutes on
SEE COLUMN ON PAGE 5B