University of Kansas Jayhawks 
| Jayhawks prove themselves in victory against Texas Tech 21 Feb 2012 at 11:29pm The Jayhawks needed a victory. They needed to prove they could win without Carolyn Davis and that other players would step up in her absence. They needed to build confidence and their record. Despite foul trouble and 10 lead changes, Kansas notched a 69-64 victory in Lubbock, Texas, to take the season sweep against Texas Tech and improve their record to 18-9 (7-8). ?You can tell the difference in the locker room,? sophomore guard CeCe Harper said. ?Everyone is excited and energetic. It is a great feeling.? Kansas succeeded in all those goals behind a record night from junior guard Angel Goodrich, who dished eight assists to break the single-season program assist record with 208. Goodrich led Kansas in all categories with 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Late last week, she was announced as a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the top female point guard in the country. Goodrich didn?t even realize what the award was, but with a reminder, she fell silent. ?Wow,? Goodrich said. ?It?s an honor.? Goodrich will deny the importance of numbers, but she is scoring more than 40 percent of the team?s points this season and has led the team through the last 10 days of injury and losses valiantly. Coach Bonnie Henrickson talked about how she is everywhere for the team, and Harper agreed. ?Angel is having a great season: from getting everybody open shots to knocking down open shots when she can and keeping us in offenses,? Harper said. ?She plays for everyone else and she is very good to play with.? When freshman forward Chelsea Gardner picked up her second foul less than two minutes into the game, Kansas turned to sophomore forward Tania Jackson, who played 17 minutes and hit a huge three pointer with 2 minutes, 46 seconds left in the game to extend the lead to six points. Freshman guard Natalie Knight and senior forward Aishah Sutherland also struggled with fouls in the game, which led to opportunities for some bench players to shine. Kansas got strong games from freshman forward Bunny Williams and sophomore guard CeCe Harper as they see minutes increasing each game. Williams had six points in the final 10 minutes on her way to a career-high 10 points. Harper had nine points and played a career-high 38 minutes for the Jayhawks. Harper has started the last two games in place of junior guard Monica Engelman, who has not been playing to coach Henrickson?s standards. ?She played a ton of minutes and played with a ton of confidence and that is contagious,? Henrickson said. All nine healthy athletes on the Kansas roster saw playing time. Goodrich said that this gives the team a chance for expansion despite Davis? season-ending injury. ?One of the things we wanted to focus on was playing together and staying together no matter what,? Goodrich said. [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] Kansas point guard a finalist for Nancy Lieberman Award 21 Feb 2012 at 9:24pm Junior guard Angel Goodrich has carried the women?s basketball team this season. In Tuesday night?s game at Texas Tech, she broke Kansas? single-season assist record, reaching 208 for the season. Goodrich is a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the top point guard in Division 1 women?s basketball. Voters focus on floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills, all of which were qualities of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman during her career. Goodrich is a second-year captain and she ranks second in the nation with 7.7 assists per game. She also adds 12.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. She is one of eight finalists for the award, which is voted on by sports writers across the country and will be announced during Final Four weekend. Fellow Big 12 athlete Odyssey Sims, of Baylor, made the list. Goodrich and Sims will play at 6:30 on Friday night when the Jayhawks host the Baylor Bears. [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] Kansas swimmers and divers compete for championship invites 21 Feb 2012 at 7:20pm Six months of ups and downs and hours spent training in the pool culminate this week for the Kansas swimming and diving team when it competes in the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo. Kansas? disappointing early-February loss to Iowa State in its last competition has lingered for three weeks, but the team is now focused on its biggest meet of the season. ?We moved forward,? said senior Stephanie Payne. ?You work towards this meet the entire season. Everything we do from the day we start the season until today is preparing us for now.? The meet is a three-and-a-half day team championship battle in Mizzou Aquatics Center against Iowa State, Missouri and national powerhouses Texas and Texas A&M. Still, much of the attention will be on individual competition, as each swimmer aims to secure an invitation to the NCAA Championships next month. ?We?ll focus on our individual performances first and let the team stuff take care of itself,? said coach Clark Campbell. ?It?s something you simply can not control.? Throughout the past two weeks, the team started tapering ? lowering volume and intensity of training ? in preparation for the meet. Tapering is designed to consolidate months of training into just a couple of races. ?When you taper and peak towards the end, you just feel like a new athlete,? Campbell said. ?All that training you do bubbles up and you?re able to perform at a high level.? To catalyze that power and speed, swimmers will wear knee suits for just the second time this season. The slick, skin-tight suits compress the swimmer?s body and provide a more hydrodynamic movement in the water. The suits only come out a couple of times a year and the swimmers said they love the change in wardrobe. ?You feel like a completely different swimmer,? said junior Brittany Rospierski. ?Your body position is different, much higher in the water which is what you want.? For those who do not qualify for the NCAA Championships, this will be the final meet of the season and the last opportunity to achieve personal career-best times. Campbell said that as a team, the goal is to achieve 70 percent individual lifetime bests. Perennial powers Texas and Texas A&M will likely battle for the top two spots in the team competition. The two schools have finished in the top two for the past 12 years. Kansas looks to outperform Missouri and Iowa State. Missouri outscored Kansas at the Mizzou Invite in December, the last time the fast suits were worn. Still, it?s the Iowa State loss that looms in the team?s mind. ?Mostly we just want individual bests,? Payne said. ?And to beat Iowa State.? [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] Legends of the Phog: Jayhawks in the NBA 21 Feb 2012 at 5:37pm Brandon Rush, guard Golden State Warriors Rush leads the league in three-point percentage, yet despite shooting 53.8 percent, will not get the opportunity to play against former Jayhawk teammate Mario Chalmers in the three-point contest. On Saturday, Rush scored eight points, going 3 of 7 from the field and hitting two threes in as many attempts. He also had four rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist. Drew Gooden, center-forward Milwaukee Bucks Gooden did not travel with the team this past weekend due to a sprained wrist and knee soreness. There is no timetable for his return. Gooden last played on Feb. 15, putting up 11 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in 26 minutes of playing time. Forward John Leuer is starting in his place. Nick Collison/Cole Aldrich, forwards Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder went without several players during Monday?s match-up against the Hornets, one of whom was Collison because of a left quad contusion. This was good news for teammate Cole Aldrich, who gained more playing time in his absence. In 19 minutes, Aldrich put up four points with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Marcus Morris, forward Houston Rockets Morris received great news from the Rockets on Monday, as the organization announced it recalled him from the D-League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers. While he was available to play on Monday, he sat out in the game against the Grizzlies. Morris averaged 22.8 points and 9.1 rebounds in 10 games with the Vipers. Josh Selby, guard D-League Reno Bighorns On Feb. 13, Selby was assigned to the Reno Bighorns, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies. He?s averaged 2.9 points and 1.4 assists on 38.9 percent shooting in 10.3 minutes during his first season with the Grizzlies. His best game came on Dec. 30, when he tallied nine points with seven assists in 26 minutes. Over the weekend, Selby took the court with the Bighorns and put up 24 points (7-12), shot two of three from beyond the arc and had eight rebounds in 30 minutes of playing time. [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] Brew: Qualities of the National Player of the Year 21 Feb 2012 at 5:27pm Since 1969, the Atlanta Tipoff Club has awarded college basketball players a prestigious award named after Dr. James Naismith. The Naismith College Player of the Year honors one male player and one female player for their efforts in college basketball. This year, many student athletes continue to impress, but will their effort be enough? Here are the categories that they must fall into. Winning Sounds simple, but some candidates are missing their opportunity. The players have to win big games. Kentucky center Anthony Davis played Kansas, North Carolina and Louisville. That?s a stacked schedule, but Davis held his composure and played well. Kansas forward Thomas Robinson knows how to play a tough schedule as well, only struggling against Kentucky in the second game of the season. Yes, losses to Iowa State and Davidson hurt, but the wins against Baylor and Ohio State give Robinson a clean slate. Other candidates, though, might have lost their chance. Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger has yet to increase his production against top 15 teams. Sullinger is 1-3 against those teams. Creighton forward Doug McDermott may be third in the nation, averaging 23.2 points, but losing three straight games and being second in the conference messes up his chance at holding the trophy. No seniority When the Naismith award honored a player, it usually honored a senior. From 1985 to 1994, seniors dominated this award. Since then, only six seniors, including 2011 winner Jimmer Fredette, have won the award. That?s excellent news for Robinson. The Washington, D.C., native is only a junior. Anthony Davis is somewhat in the clear, being a freshman. Kevin Durant in 2007 was the first and only freshman to win the award. Being a freshman could hurt Davis, but his stats move him to the next category. Now, here is the bad news. Although Marcus Denmon is having a great year averaging 17.9 points, he is a senior. Players who stay all four years deserve a special award, but the voters love younger talent. Star power Jimmer Fredette, Blake Griffin and Kevin Durant all displayed the ability to take over for their teams. This year, Robinson and Davis showed the same, but one?s performance is a tad different. Thomas Robinson is the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double and leads the league in rebounding. His average of 11.8 rebounds is second in the nation. Plus, he averages 17.7 points. Anthony Davis averages 13.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and shoots 65.5 percent. Davis also averages 4.9 blocks, the best in the nation while leading his Wildcats to first place in the SEC. But here?s the real question: What happens when those players aren?t on those teams? If Robinson wasn?t a Jayhawk, the team still would be good, but the down-low presence would be completely wiped out. If Davis wasn?t with the Wildcats, the team would be altered, but the Wildcats would still have a loaded roster with Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Cilchrist, Terrence Jones and Marquis Teague. These three categories are crucial and the players should fall into them. All of these players are deserving, but only Thomas Robinson is truly fit for this honor and will give Kansas its second player in history to hoist the trophy. [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] Jayhawks unphased by upcoming Missouri rematch 21 Feb 2012 at 4:18pm There?s some game coming up on Saturday, but you wouldn?t know it by asking the Jayhawks. ?We will not mention Missouri,? coach Bill Self said. ?Except to tell them that we?re not going to mention Missouri until after the game Wednesday.? Talking before they were swarmed by reporters, junior forward Thomas Robinson and senior guard Tyshawn Taylor prepared for questions about Missouri. ?It?s understandable; it?s a big game. Everybody?s excited about it,? Taylor said. ?But we?ve got to still take care of business Wednesday.? No. 4 Kansas (22-5, 12-2) visits College Station, Texas, for tonight?s Texas A&M Aggies game at 8. Including non-conference games, the Aggies have the highest scoring defense in the league, allowing 60.2 points per game, .2 points better than Kansas. In the first match-up between the teams this season, the Jayhawks won 64-54, but they shot just 37.9 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 30-28 at halftime. Junior guard Elijah Johnson missed all six of his three-point shots and the Jayhawks dished a conference-season low of eight assists. The 82-73 victory against Iowa State on Jan. 23 was the only other game of the season where Kansas trailed at halftime at Allen Fieldhouse. ?Here, we labored to make a basket, but they did too,? Self said. ?It?s got a Big 10 middle-of-the-season type feel to it.? Aggies coach Billy Kennedy likes to use the shot clock to his team?s advantage. His offense will work the ball around the perimeter to eat clock and disrupt rhythm. This strategy keeps the ball out of the hands of Kansas? playmaking scorers. Defensively, they will try to force Kansas into long possessions and difficult shot attempts. ?Not many teams are good for those 35 seconds,? Robinson said of the shot clock. ?Their transition defense was really good the first time we played them and it continues to be good.? The Aggies proved on Jan. 14 they can hang with the Jayhawks. So even with that big game coming up on Saturday and student campers lining the floors of Allen Fieldhouse, Self won?t let his team forget about Texas A&M. ?Out of fairness to them and all their hard work and effort they put in,? Self said, ?I think it would be such a disservice to allow them to look past what is just as meaningful a game as the game is on Saturday.? [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] Should the Border War continue? Tell us what you think 21 Feb 2012 at 11:12am The athletic administrators have had their say. The players and coaches will be quizzed on the topic in the coming days. But we want to know how you, the fans, feel about the Border War. Should it continue? Should it end? [From Kansas City Star: University Of Kansas] Preview | Kansas at Texas A&M 21 Feb 2012 at 5:00am • WHEN/WHERE: 8 p.m. Wednesday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas [From Kansas City Star: University Of Kansas] KU's Johnson doesn't measure his game by just shooting 21 Feb 2012 at 5:00am Elijah Johnson is a 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard who sometimes is KU's primary ball handler. His athletic ability allows him to do a little bit of everything for the Jayhawks, including going strong to the boards. But Johnson has the potential to do the most damage to opponents from beyond the three-point arc. [From Kansas City Star: University Of Kansas] Jayhawks struggle after loss to Missouri, prepare for Texas Tech 20 Feb 2012 at 10:13pm Saturday afternoon?s game did not start off the way Natalie Knight envisioned. Knight, a freshman guard from Olathe, did not attempt a shot against Missouri. Going into halftime, the Jayhawks trailed by 15 points. Earlier in the week, coach Bonnie Henrickson sent Knight a text message reminding her to be an aggressor on the offensive end. At halftime against the Tigers, Knight again received a reminder to be aggressive offensively, but this time it was verbal. Knight made two crucial three-pointers as a part of 10-point surge to get Kansas within striking distance of Missouri. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, there was never a chance to build on Knight?s success. The team dropped an important game to the Tigers, extending their losing streak to three games. ?Basically everyone has to be more aggressive,? Knight said. ?Carolyn was basically averaging 20 points a game, so we got to make up for it somewhere and we?re starting to realize that a little bit more.? Developing the offense after junior forward Carolyn Davis? knee injury continues to be a work in progress for Kansas. ?It?s a lot on them because we can?t change everything we have,? Henrickson said. ?We still need people to step up and be more aggressive.? One player who gave good minutes off the bench was sophomore forward Tania Jackson. She finished with 11 points and seven rebounds against Missouri and stepped up when freshman forward Chelsea Gardner struggled against the Tigers? front court. ?We felt like from experience standpoint, from a rivalry standpoint. She [Jackson] knew what that was going to feel like. Chelsea had no idea what that was going to feel like,?Henrickson said. Henrickson was also frustrated by the team?s inability to guard Missouri. The Jayhawks allowed the Tigers to shoot 57.4 percent from the field. ?We just didn?t show up to play, and with a game of that magnitude and what we had on the line, that?s inexcusable,? Henrickson said. In tonight?s match-up at Texas Tech against the Red Raiders, the Jayhawks will rely on Gardner and Jackson to help senior center Kierra Mallard. At 6-foot-3, Mallard draws the most attention under the basket. Currently, she?s averaging 11.6 points and eight rebounds per game. Knight said ball pressure will be key for a Jayhawk victory. Henrickson also said Knight has turned into a scoring threat on this team, especially since key veteran, junior guard Monica Engleman, hasn?t played at the level Henrickson feels she?s capable of. ?She has bailed us out and saved us all year. I?m just frustrated I have to ask her to do more,? Henrickson said. Another help to the Jayhawks is junior Angel Goodrich, who continues to play consistent at the point guard position. So far this season, Goodrich has dished out 200 assists, and she?s only eight away from breaking the University?s single-season record. ?I just give thanks to my teammates because I wouldn?t be able to have assists if they didn?t make the shots,? Goodrich said. [From The University Daily Kansan stories: Sports] |