Audio Scott Van Pelt Show: Coach Self talks about the win over OSU and the upcoming Big 12 tournament


“Somebody told me today we’re 53-20 on the road in league play — 53-20 is pretty amazing,” added Self, whose Jayhawks actually are 54-19 on the road. “We went 7-2 on the road this year. For this team to go 7-2 on the road is pretty cool. It’s pretty special. The two games we lost (Iowa State and Missouri) ... we could have won either one of them.

“In the national championship year, the best we could do is 5-3. To win away from home like that is a tribute to how far these guys have come.”

Self made sure the Jayhawks did not take this eighth-straight title lightly following Monday’s 70-58 win at his alma mater, OSU.

He had the players place the league championship trophy on the floor of the locker room after accepting it from Big 12 associate commissioner John Underwood and had the Jayhawks do a bit of dancing around the hardware.

Self took part in the dancing.

“It was great. We were all dancing. I’ve done it four times now,” said red-shirt junior center Jeff Withey. “It’s always the same, a great feeling,” he added. “It’s really fun to be able to do that.”

…Self said starting guard Tyshawn Taylor would be joined by fellow senior reserves Conner Teahan and Jordan Juenemann in Saturday’s starting lineup versus Texas.

“The three seniors will start. We always do that,” Self said. “Jordan walked on, has been with us four years and has done a really good job. Conner has been with us about as long as (Brady) Morningstar it seems,” Self cracked of the fifth-year senior. “I’m proud of Conner. Boy did he come up big against Missouri (four threes). Of course Tyshawn ... I don’t know if I’ve been around many who have come as far as he has in so many ways.”

Self said junior Thomas Robinson would not give a speech after the game, but could be recognized in some way.
Though no official announcement has been made, it’s a given he will be turning pro after the season.

“People have asked me about Thomas (on Senior Night). As much as I care for him and stuff, we do have a history and tradition. This is Senior Night, not Junior Night,” Self said on his radio show.

…The Omaha World-Herald says KU and Nebraska have talked about starting a series beginning next season. The paper said, “it would always be a road game for NU, but some games would be played at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.”

“We never talked about anything but one game,” said KU schedule maker, Larry Keating. “It was so preliminary we didn’t even discuss it here. We talked a while back. Nothing is going to happen this year.”
LJW


Kansas has won eight consecutive regular-season conference titles. Let that sink in. Eight straight.

That’s not just impressive, it’s absurd.

When the No. 3 Jayhawks beat Oklahoma State Monday night, it clinched the crown outright, in a season when they not only lost six key players and four starters from a 35-3 squad, but Baylor and Missouri produced seasons in which both were top 10 mainstays.

Yet, here’s Kansas (25-5, 15-2 in Big 12) winning the league crown yet again. For the eighth year in a row. If it doesn’t sound impressive, consider that Syracuse has nine Big East regular-season titles, total. It’s just … absurd.

Even talented teams have down years. Even if the Big 12 doesn’t match the Big East or Big Ten for great teams at the top, it’s not like it’s been filled with cream puffs. But the Jayhawks won. Again.
NBC Sports


No one should feel sorry for Kansas. Not ever, really, but especially not in a moment like last night. The Jayhawks were celebrating their eighth straight Big 12 title, breaking out the hats and T-shirts, showing off the trophy. They were a happy bunch, and if you’re human, you had to share a least a little bit of their happiness; for Thomas Robinson, whose story is well known, and for Tyshawn Taylor, whose career is just now starting to coalesce.
 
A small part of me also felt some sympathy, though, because the Jayhawks may not yet realize what they have done. This team, the in-between team, the team with no bench, has somehow played its way into serious March expectations. It has baited the trap of its own success.


…Now KU is on pace to finish 16-2, which is a better record than anyone was supposed to have in the Big 12's round-robin format. (Bill Self predicted the league champ would have three or four losses.) The Jayhawks will get a No. 1 seed or a 2-seed at worst, which means that, by definition, it will be an upset if they’re not playing in the Elite Eight or the Final Four.

And, hey, is there a team out there KU can’t beat? Outside of Kentucky and Syracuse, neither of whom should be in the Jayhawks’ region, it’s hard to say anyone is definitively better.
 
So, no, you shouldn’t feel sorry forKansas. The Jayhawks will get a great seed, start their NCAA road in Omaha and have as good a chance as anyone to make a run in what should be a wide-open field.

Whatever happens, though, this year shouldn’t be defined by March. This is the natural inclination, and it’s not always wrong; the 2010 team, for instance, is rightfully remembered for losing to Northern Iowa in the second round. That was the story.
 
With this team, the story was the process, and it’s fair to say the process has been more fun than most people predicted. That should be true regardless of what happens in March.
TCJ


Just imagine if this Kansas team had Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor.

Both players were declared ineligible by the NCAA prior to the start of the season, but Jayhawks senior guard Tyshawn Taylor had strong praise for the duo.

"He's for sure a pro," Taylor said this afternoon on SiriusXM's Inside College Basketball regarding the 6-foot-5 McLemore. "He's got the most upside of any good on the team right now. He's young, is long and is the best athlete in terms of getting off the floor."

Kansas coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks staff all agree about McLemore, a St. Louis native, and his potential.

Traylor is a junkyard dog type who would help give the Jayhawks another productive and much-needed body up front.

"He's like a 6-foot-7 T-Rob," Taylor said while comparing him to KU star Thomas Robinson. "He's strong, real athletic and is a beast from Chicago. He plays hard every possession."

While both players aren't eligible this season -- and Bill Self is instead forced to use former walk-ons Conner Teahan and Justin Wesley off the bench -- this bodes well for next season once Taylor and Thomas Robinson (in all likelihood) depart.

The Jayhawks will have more quality depth and more overall pieces with returning starters Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Jeff Withey, McLemore and Traylor and a freshman class that includes forward Perry Ellis, wing Andrew White and solid (likely four-year) bigs Landen Lucas and Zach Peters.

That doesn't sound all that intimidating, but neither did this year's team -- and last I checked the Jayhawks were 25-5, wrapped up the Big 12 regular-season title and are battling for a No. 1 overall seed.
CBS


Are you a Thomas Robinson guy or do you favor Anthony Davis? That’s the big question in college basketball lately.

Take Saturday.

Just a few hours after Kentucky’s shot-blocking sensation wowed a national TV audience with his defense (five blocks) and a career high 28 points, Kansas’ rebounding machine did the same thing. He  posted a double-double and made the game-saving block in the Jayhawks’ win over Missouri.

That’s how it’s been the last few weeks as the pair have pulled away from Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and others in the national player of the year race. With a week left in the regular season, who ya got?

Let’s ask Tom Brennan and Vin Parise.
Video: NBC Sports



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If college basketball's national of player of the year race were a distance race, then it's time for either Kansas forward Thomas Robinson or Kentucky forward Anthony Davis to deliver a decisive finishing kick.

Robinson has been among the leaders since before the start of conference play because of his consistency as a low-post scorer and rebounder. Davis has caught up with Robinson as a result of a late-season scoring surge to complement his game-changing defense.

According to ESPN.com's most recent straw poll of voters, Robinson holds a slim 141-112 lead on Davis with Ohio State's Jared Sullinger a distant third with 26 points. Versatile Michigan State senior Draymond Green also merits consideration due to his role in spearheading the Spartans' Big Ten title push, but he'd be a clear third on my ballot at the moment.

My vote as of today would be for Davis because I think his defensive brilliance outweighs Robinson's diminishing edge in scoring output. Here's a head-to-head comparison chart between the two that only further illustrates just how difficult it is to favor one over the other:
Yahoo


Did you know that all three KU national championships – 1952, 1988 and 2008 – have occurred during a leap year? Of course you know 2012 is a leap year; Feb. 29 is Wednesday.

I don’t know what this means. I don’t know if it means anything. I just know that when Maddie pointed this out to me, a couple of books flew off their shelves and I heard a strange sound coming from the attic.

Kansas was in the NCAA championship game in 1940, another leap year. The Jayhawks played in the title game in 1953, 1957, 1991 and 2002, non leap years.

I guess the moral to this story is that if you’re trying to come up with reasons why Kansas can win the national championship this year, you have another one in your arsenal.
WE Lutz


The Shockers are rolling and at times look like they could beat almost any team in the country. Including Kansas.
But what would happen if the teams actually did play in the NCAA Tournament?

Kansas’ tradition carries weight. But Kansas has also lost NCAA games to Missouri Valley Conference teams Bradley and Northern Iowa in recent years. Just last season, VCU sent the Jayhawks home in the Elite Eight.

As good as the Jayhawks have been this season – and they have been surprisingly good given their lack of experience – I do not believe they are a far superior team to Wichita State. Nor do I think it would be a fluke if the Shockers beat KU.

I do think the Jayhawks have an edge with 7-foot Jeff Withey and 6-10 Thomas Robinson. Wichita State center Garrett Stutz would match up well with Withey, perhaps, but who do the Shockers have to battle the physically-gifted Robinson?

Then again, the Shockers are an outstanding transition team and would be able to keep up with the Jayhawks in the full court. Wichita State has more shooters and more ways to score.

When I think about this potential game, I get worked up. I want it to happen.

It apparently is never going to happen during the regular season – and you know how I feel about that – so all we can hope for is a postseason meeting between the Jayhawks and Shockers. It has happened only once, in 1981, and I believe all Wichita State fans remember how that one went.

Shocker basketball fans love their team, no doubt about it. But they can become obsessed with KU. I don’t really get it, but it’s real. Perhaps it’s all the success the Jayhawks have had over the years. Perhaps it’s a perception that KU fans think they’re a little better than the rest. Perhaps there is some class envy here.
WE Lutz


With the 50th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game on March 2, 1962 almost here, that long-ago night in Hershey, Pa., has been dissected more thoroughly than a crime-show corpse.

Details of the historic event _ the ball, the broadcast, the fans, the absence of sportswriters, Wilt's pregame arcade exploits, his postgame ride home, the badly embarrassed Knicks, the thoroughly cooperative Warriors _ have become so familiar that the enormity of the accomplishment seems somehow diminished.

But sometimes interesting questions about that game and its implications arise: What happened in Chamberlain's next game? Why hasn't any NBA star come close since? How many others at any level have scored 100? And what became of them?

Here are some answers:

The next game

For Chamberlain, the day of the Philadelphia Warriors' next game began with a newspaper columnist calling him a monster and ended with a 4-foot-6 harmonica player gnawing at his leg.

March 4, 1962, two days after his astonishing performance, should have been the biggest day in Chamberlain's big life.

Instead, the aftermath of his 100-point performance was marred by the same kind of small-minded scorn the 7-foot-1 Philadelphian had long endured from a world that continued to view him as a physical freak.

The Warriors on March 4 met the same team they'd thumped on March 2 _ the Knicks.

But it wasn't on a Friday night in Hershey. This game took place on a Sunday afternoon when basketball had the sports calendar to itself. It was played in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York, in the nation's largest city, the world's media capital.

On the surface, it all looked like a perfect storm of good timing. Surely New York's fans, its TV cameras, and sportswriters would swarm to the event.

Yet hardly anyone cared.

Only 9,346 fans, about half of what the 18,496-seat facility on Eighth Avenue could hold, showed up to see the man who had made history on Friday.

The city's nine major newspapers, far from ballyhooing Chamberlain's appearance, greeted it with more cynicism than awe. Like so many at the time, they completely missed Chamberlain's remarkable athleticism and saw only his size.

"Basketball is not prospering because most normal-sized American youngsters or adults cannot identify themselves with the freakish stars," wrote New York Daily News sports editor Jimmy Powers that morning. "You just can't sell a seven-foot basket-stuffing monster to even the most gullible adolescent."

There were no elaborate pregame ceremonies marking the feat, no filmed tributes, no testimonials.

Without much time to digest its significance, fans, like the writers, appeared to view the 100-point game as a comical fluke. So when Knicks center Darrell Imhoff, who had fouled out trying to cover Wilt two nights earlier, left this game late, he got a standing ovation for having helped limit the Philadelphia center to a mere 58 points.

The Warriors won again, 129-128. Chamberlain's 58 points marked the fifth straight game he had scored 50 or more.

The Knicks made some history of their own, though it, too, went unacknowledged. Forward Willie Naulls, who scored 39, topped the 30-point mark for a seventh straight game. It would stand as a team record for 48 years, until Amar'e Stoudemire broke it in 2010.

Chamberlain, who oddly lived in New York while playing in his hometown, was asked to take a bow that night on TV's popular Ed Sullivan Show.

When the perpetually stiff host, a former sportswriter, introduced the player, the sight of the nattily attired giant towering over Sullivan stirred the audience to giggles.

The giggles turned into a roar when Johnny Puleo, a tiny harmonica artist who was performing that night, dashed onto the stage and glared up at Chamberlain. Perplexed, the basketball star assumed a boxer's pose until Puleo lunged at him and bit his thigh.

As the audience roared at the vaudeville-like antic, Chamberlain tried to make a joke. "If he grows up," he said to Sullivan, sounding slightly embarrassed by the whole demeaning bit, "I might lose a job."

Only three games remained in the regular season, and Chamberlain finished with 30, 44, and 34 points. Remarkably, those totals created statistical neatness for his unparalleled regular season _ final per-game averages of 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds.
Link


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When Kansas University senior Aishah Sutherland first was recruited by KU coach Bonnie Henrickson as a senior at Perris (Calif.) High, she had to check out a map to make sure she knew where the Sunflower State was located.
Today, as she prepares for the final home game of her four-year college career — 7 tonight vs. Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse — this West Coast native’s imprint is all over the Midwestern program.

Though often overshadowed in the box scores and headlines by all-Big 12 teammates Danielle McCray, Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich, Sutherland, gradually and away from the spotlight, piled up impressive numbers that have landed her on the short list of top players to ever play women’s hoops at Kansas.

“She has, at times, benefited from that, being able to be the third guy,” Henrickson said. “And what a really, really good third guy she’s been.”

Heading into the final home game of her career, Sutherland ranks second in career blocks (144), third all-time in rebounding (867) and seventh in games played (125).
LJW


Angel Goodrich knows what’s coming.

Even though the opposing guard charges forward toward the hoop, she saw the impending drive a few steps back while everybody else scrambled around the court.

Instead of panicking, she found the spot to set up for the charge.

Goodrich slides her feet parallel to the player, bracing for the impending impact. The player’s elbow jabs into Goodrich’s chest.

As Goodrich falls, her chin tucks tightly underneath her head as the rest of her body falls back onto the court.

Goodrich lands on the ground fully sprawled out on the wooden floor. She turns her head to see what direction the referee pointed.

The official motions in the other direction with his opposite hand behind his head signaling an offensive foul, just like many times before.

The Kansas bench jumps up and down in excitement.

Goodrich simply grins.

Master of the Charge

Taking a charge is nothing new for Goodrich. The junior guard from Tahlequah, Okla., has been doing it her entire basketball career.

It has become her signature move. The ultimate sacrifice for the team, one that won’t be found on the stat sheet next to points and assists.
UDK


The former wife of the highest-ranking official caught in a ticket scalping scandal at the University of Kansas has asked a federal judge to rule in her favor in the civil lawsuit filed by the government over assets.

A court filing Tuesday by Mary Jean Kirtland seeks a summary judgment, arguing she did not participate in the scheme or receive property deriving from it. Her ex-husband, Ben Kirtland was the associate athletic director in charge of development.

Her filing argues the government wants to enforce a criminal restitution judgment against an innocent spouse and to set aside the property settlement in her divorce.

The government's lawsuit against the Kirtlands comes as prosecutors pursue assets from key athletic department officials who stole more than $2 million worth of football and basketball season tickets.
AP

Big 12 Schedule & Results


I would give anything to go back to college and have to opportunity to pitch against ku tomorrow and shove it up their @$$
https://twitter.com/#!/acrow43/status/173585152914632704


It's already been a rough spring for right-hander Aaron Crow, less than a week into official workouts, and for reasons that have nothing to do with his quest to win a spot in the Kansas City Royals' rotation.

Two losses by Missouri in basketball - and not mere losses - had the same effect on Crow as they had on any staunch Tigers alum, particularly Saturday's meltdown at Kansas after building a 19-point lead in the second half.

The KU loss so agitated Crow that he fired off a tweet that he wished he could return to college for a day so he could personally stick it to the Jayhawks. That resulted in some harsh responses to his show of school spirit.

A few days later, he said: "I'm OK. I'm fine, but I hope we can play them again in the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA Tournament."
Link


Missouri has cleared a final hurdle before it joins the Southeastern Conference on July 1.

The Big 12 Conference announced Tuesday that it had reached financial exit settlements with Missouri and Texas A&M, who are withdrawing their Big 12 membership to join the SEC next season. Both schools will have an estimated $12.41 million withheld from the revenue they were scheduled to receive this fiscal year from the Big 12.

The amounts are based on what is expected to be distributed by the conference, primarily revenue from football television contracts, plus bowl game and NCAA Tournament appearances.

“This agreement was accomplished through a collegial, respectful process among the conference, its institutions, and the University of Missouri that led to a resolution that all parties believe is fair,” Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas said in a statement. He issued a similar statement regarding Texas A&M.
Missouri will compete in the SEC in all sports beginning next school year.
KC Star


Kansas State long ago proved it can win basketball games without making a lot of shots.

During a 76-70 victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday at Reed Arena, it showed what it can do when three-pointers fall through the net like layups.

Thanks to a sensational shooting effort from three-point range — the Wildcats made 12 of 17, including 8 of 9 in the first half, — they raced to a 44-33 halftime lead and never trailed again in front of 5,461 fans.

“They just went in,” said senior forward Jamar Samuels, who made two threes on his way to 17 points and 11 rebounds. “We weren’t even thinking about it. We were just putting it up. Then I look at the scoreboard and it says 89 percent in the first half. I was like, ‘Oh man, that is unreal.’ So we just kept shooting it.”
KC Star


Word had leaked that Sports Illustrated would be publishing an exposé the next day about what had gone wrong at UCLA since its three straight Final Four appearances, so reporters quizzed Howland about a story that neither he nor they had read.

It's a testament to the ensuing panic among UCLA fans that when Pullitzer Prize-winning author George Dohrmann's story <a href=http://www.mediafire.com/?5b19jihdqjd7qx6 target=blank>did finally appear late Tuesday night,</a> many expressed relief it didn't contain bomb shells likely to attract NCAA investigators. Instead Dohrmann simply painted the most detailed picture yet of the lack of discipline, accountability and leadership at UCLA that has left the Bruins on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years.

The picture of Howland the reader is left with is unflattering but not all that surprising. We knew he sometimes struggles to forge a strong bond with his players because he's more of a tactician than a people person. We knew he made some questionable recruiting decisions the past few years. And we knew he was far too lax in disciplining former forward Reeves Nelson to the detriment of the program.

Where Dohrmann really breaks new ground is via the level of detail in his reporting of how Howland lost control of the program. Only now do we have a clearer picture why UCLA's ballyhooed No. 1 ranked 2008 recruiting class was such a flop or why Nelson should have been dismissed from the program long before Howland finally jettisoned him in November.

Among the memorable anecdotes Dohrmann provides:

• Three members of the 2008-2009 team ignored Howland's orders not to go out on New Year's Eve, instead going to a rave at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, doing ecstasy and not getting home until well past 4 a.m. The next morning at practice they bragged to their teammates that they still felt the effects of the drug.

• Howland apparently looked the other way when Nelson talked back to assistant coaches, started fights, intentionally injured teammates and even punted balls high into the stands after practice and told the student managers to "Fetch." Nelson's immaturity was directly responsible for the transfers of Mike Moser and Matt Carlino, now starring at UNLV and BYU respectively.

• Nelson essentially confirmed he urinated on a pile of roommate Tyler Honeycutt's clothes and turned over his bed out of revenge. Earlier in Nelson's sophomore season, the forward believed Honeycutt ratted him out to the coaches for renting a party bus on a night when Howland had instructed the team not to go out.

Immaturity and recreational alcohol and drug use like this is hardly unique to UCLA, yet Howland doesn't need these stories surfacing at a time when his popularity is already low. Sandwiched around a second-round NCAA tournament appearance last season, the Bruins lost 18 games in the 2009-10 season and hold a middling 16-13 record this year.
Yahoo


The biggest problem, one that we all knew about? The uncontrollable egos of UCLA basketball players, namely Reeves Nelson. Nelson, as you might recall, was dismissed from the basketball team. And while we never speculated as much as we should have as to why, his actions come off as no shocker.

His actions — purposely injuring teammates in practices, yelling at coaches, getting into fights with fellow Bruins and urinating all over Tyler Honeycutt’s clothes — weren’t the most insane part. The biggest problem, the S.I. article asserts, was Howland’s treatment of these incidents.

Because Howland didn’t do a damn thing when it came to Nelson. Nelson was allowed to do whatever the hell he wanted to as long as he was putting up points and helping UCLA win games. It didn’t matter that he was totally messing with team chemistry and dividing the team. It didn’t matter that his ego was scaring away players like Mike Moser and Chace Stanback (both of whom were also hard on the Ecstasy/alcohol/marijuana scene, mind you). It just mattered that Nelson produced, and that he was the best player on the team.

And other players, like Drew Gordon, that didn’t buy into Howland’s system? They got their asses shipped out without hesitation. As Sports Illustrated puts it, you could do drugs, get into fights and drink alcohol all you want, but if you doubted Howland, your ass was gone.

The S.I. article also told of Howland’s final straw with Nelson, when Nelson began to punk new transfers David and Travis Wear. When Howland had told Nelson to back off of them, Nelson became uncontrollably pissed.

And then there was the issue of Howland’s treatment of his assistants which can be described with one word: shit. Howland treated his own staff as if they were his unruly children that needed to be spanked. Furthermore, Howland was particular as hell and wanted everything — literally everything, such as room temperature — to be a certain way, and that, as the SI article discusses, alienated him from players and coaches.

Favoritism has plagued Howland his entire career at UCLA, and though it is what got UCLA to three straight Final Fours, it is also what has UCLA in this crap-hole of a mess we’re in right now. His egotistical, “socially awkward,” and control-freak demeanor made it hard for players to enjoy playing for him. It’s why players that get a chance to leave do so at the earliest possible moment.

Just because this story didn’t uncover a huge drug bust, though, doesn’t mean it wasn’t damning and it wasn’t telling. The dysfunction of our program was a result of Howland giving in to his most talented players while failing to get rid of divas that had completely effed up team cohesion. His inability to reign in egos and to reign in emotions — a direct result of his alienation — messed everything up.

And things aren’t going to get better — if Shabazz Muhammad acts like a total diva (and he might, considering his entire junior and senior years have been broadcasted left and right), there’s no telling how Howland deals with that. Kyle Anderson, a five-star UCLA commit, might end up the same way.

This falls on everyone and everything. Dan Guerrero, for hiring such an egotistical control freak. Ben Howland, for alienating his players and almost pitting them against one another. And the players, for not acting like Bruins and instead acting as if they were at some damned state school/usc where parties are the only reason to attend college.
GoJoeBruin fan blog


Draymond Green tried to clinch the Big Ten title by himself Tuesday night.

He needed more help.

Cody Zeller scored 18 points, Victor Oladipo had 13 and Christian Watford finished with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, leading No. 18 Indiana past No. 5 Michigan State 70-55, the Hoosiers' third win this season over a top five team.
AP


A federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., names Tuberville, John David Stroud and eight investment entities as defendants, claiming the two men “employed devices, schemes, and artifices to defraud” seven plaintiffs from Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee.

The lawsuit said Tuberville and Stroud misappropriated assets and falsified client statements and fund performance reports as they “unjustly enriched themselves” at the expense of the investors.

Tuberville, who spent two seasons away from coaching after leaving Auburn in 2008, released a statement through his attorney, Vic Hayslip of Birmingham, Ala. Tuberville was “surprised” at the lawsuit and has never even met or spoken with most of the plaintiffs, the statement reads.

“He categorically denies any wrongdoing which has been attributed to him in this suit,” Hayslip’s statement says. “Coach Tuberville absolutely never solicited any investment from any of these or other individuals.”
Link

Mike Bethea knew he needed to prod his star player's playful side.

The Rainier Beach High School basketball coach sensed it as soon as he saw Anrio Adams walk into Monday's practice wearing a blue cardigan over a white T-shirt, jeans and Air Force Ones.

Several players and an assistant coach stopped talking about the recent NBA All-Star game to tease the 6-foot-3 guard. They let him know he was late. The state quarterfinals were only a few days away.

The senior pointed to the clock on his phone. He knew he had a few minutes to spare. As he walked to the bleachers, Bethea wrapped him in a headlock.

The coach wrestled Adams to the ground. They stood up, laughing. At that moment, Adams said he was "back on balance" with his coach.

"He was in one of his little playful moods," Bethea said. "Whenever he does that, we're going to wrestle. It's kind of a thing to break the ice with him. Right after that he was cool, smiling. He was ready to go."

The laughter lingered the rest of practice.

This is the person Adams strives to be, a playful playmaker teammates look to as a leader. This is the player Bethea thought Adams could become, an 18-year-old earning his second chance. This is the prospect the Kansas coaching staff is counting on, a deft scorer whose maturity must match his impressive physical gifts.

"Growth is everywhere and it has to happen every year," said Adams, who will lead the third-ranked Vikings into the quarterfinals against No. 5 Mountlake Terrace at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. "It doesn't have to be personality-wise or attitude-wise, it's something that just happens. I think I've got a long way to go and everybody else knows that as well. I'm just working as time progresses."

…"You saw a kid who wanted, asked for and needed a second chance," Bethea said. "Not from a basketball aspect of things, just to redeem his character. Word had gotten out that he had some character issues. He just wanted a chance to be able to show people that wasn't the real him."

He has shown flashes of brilliance on the court. With broad shoulders, long arms, big hands and thick calves, he has a body type and skill set that draw comparisons to Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade. Local coaches say he is as talented as any player they've seen, right up there with NBA guards Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford, former stars at Rainier Beach.

Long Beach Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer called Adams "a monster" after the Jackrabbits edged the Vikings in the King Holiday Hoopfest in January.

"He's great," teammate Marquis Davis said. "That's all I can say."

One question remains: When will his maturity match his talent?

"There isn't a kid more talented in the country," Bethea said. "But, you know what, man, we're just working on the neck-up part with him. I think he can do it."
Seattle Times


Since the game is basketball, there are always four other North players on the court with Conner Frankamp.

Sometimes there’s that guy, No. 20 I think it is. And there’s the big guy who looks like a football player. And the guy with the goggles and the guard who looks like he’s 11, not a high school sophomore.

But Frankamp is the elephant in any room. So overwhelming is his talent that it’s easy to look past his teammates, to discount them as nothing more than tiny ornaments on an enormous Christmas tree.

Frankamp, a 6-foot-1 junior, averages 35.3 points per game. He has scored 706 points in North’s 20 games; the rest of the Redskins have scored 470. Frankamp practically lives with a basketball in his hands during North games. Without Frankamp, North isn’t 13-7, coming off a victory over three-time defending Class 6A champion Heights and sitting with its best chance to make a state tournament during the Frankamp-era.

Frankamp points out, however, that he would not be having the season he’s having without his teammates, overshadowed as they are.

“It’s uncomfortable for me to get all the notoriety,’’ he said. “I don’t like hearing that this is a one-man team. It’s a team game, for sure, and I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing without them.’’

…Those jobs are defending and rebounding. If there are offensive scraps, they are the first to be fed.

“Our time will come,’’ Williams said. “But it’s great having a KU player on our team. It’s an experience to tell your kids about when you get older.’’

North meets Campus on Thursday night in a Class 6A sub-state game at North. The winner plays against either Hutchinson or Maize on Saturday night in Hutch.

“Our goal,’’ Squires said, “was to finish third in the City League and to get to the state tournament.’’

One has been accomplished, another awaits. The Redskins are excited.

Sure, this is a team that rides Frankamp hard. He’s doing things few players can do. He’s a once-in-a-generation kind of talent.
WE Varsity Kansas


It’s official — Blue Ridge-Miller Round 4 is set for tonight after the No. 5 seed Mavericks used an explosive second quarter to cruise past visiting Pope John Paul the Great, 87-71, in the opening round of the VISAA Division I playoffs on Tuesday night.

Senior forward Andrew White, whose team will try to get over the hump against the fourth-seed Barons in St. George this evening with a trip to the state semifinals on the line, led the way against John Paul with 26 points and six rebounds.

…White scored 10 points in the first quarter, as the Mavericks held a slim 19-18 advantage heading into the second. After converting a three-point play and knocking down a jumper, White got free after a Travis Hester steal and perfect assist to throw one down to the delight of the home crowd. On the ensuing possession, White stole the rock himself and flew down to slam another one down to push the lead to eight and and ignite his teammates and supporters, who were seeing he and the other seniors play their final home game at Miller.

“[We were] just trying to turn it up and set a tone, always, that’s the mentality,” the University of Kansas-bound star said of the sequence. “I know that today was a big game, it was still ‘win or go home,’ so I just wanted to push my team any way possible and that kind of put a spark in the team and [my teammates] helped carry it all the way through. I think when I get going, it also opens things up for other people and that’s what got the team rolling, so — whatever I’ve got to do to win.”

…White added: “We just have to play hard and play as one unit, I think that’s the biggest thing. When all five players on the court are playing hard and people coming off the bench are playing hard, we look like a completely different team. We gave this game away last week, so I’m just really looking to motivate my team.”

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in St. George. The winner will advance to the state semifinal round on Friday at Virginia State University in Petersburg.
Daily Progress


"I am hoping we can run the table because it would be awful tough to lose when it really counts,'' Sampson said last week, one day after the team completed its perfect regular season with a victory over Bridgton Academy. "Last year we went 31-3, but we lost in both of the tournaments because we weren't focused, and that has motivated us this time around. I think we're more focused."

…Sampson, who visited Kansas last weekend, is still undecided. He had originally committed to St. John's, but now is also considering Kansas, Baylor, Florida, Providence and Louisville. He was first-team All-NEPSAC last season.

…All of these schools are within 45 minutes of each other in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. All three will be in the national prep school championship tournament in Connecticut. All three have had numerous alums on Division I rosters; Kansas' Thomas Robinson, a likely top-five pick in the 2012 draft, went to Brewster, where he was a teammate of KU point guard Naadir Tharpe. Former UNC star and NBA first-round pick Rashad McCants attended New Hampton. Noel could well be one of the top picks in the 2013 draft.

"Who would have ever thought you'd have all this talent in the hills of New Hampshire?" Papile said. "They all play at a very high level and they are not the diploma mills you read about. These kids go to class and do the work. And no one has done a better job of blending academics and basketball than Brewster."

Brewster won the national prep title in 2010, but Smith thinks this unit may be even better. The 2010 team lost five games, but, as Smith noted, "We lost two games in overtime, one in double overtime and another on a buzzer-beater.

"Still, I think there's a little more depth this year. We have four kids who are here for a second year and that's a little unusual,'' Smith said.

…Sampson said he is grateful for his two years at Brewster, adding, "I think if I had gone to St. John's and never come here, I would not be nearly as well off as I am now."
ESPN


All told, two top-5 ranked prep junior recruits and one high school senior hoopster insisted they could have made a difference at the 2012 game in Orlando, with one going so far that he made the audacious suggestion that he could score 30 points in the league's star-filled event.

Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian Academy guard Julius Randle, Tilton (N.H.) School center Nerlens Noel and Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy point guard Tyler Lewis all insisted that they could have made an impact in Orlando during the NBA's annual superstar fest. The trio, as well as a few other recruits, were interviewed about how they might fare in such a setting by ESPN's Jason Jordan.

Of the three stars who thought they were ready to ball with the pros, Randle was by far the most sure of his ability to play in all facets of the game.

"I just think that I could do my thing in that setting," Randle told ESPN. "I'm not saying I'd be the best player on the court, but I could contribute. I could definitely contribute."

…Of course, the over-confidence of Randle and Noel -- and many of their peers -- only reinforces why the NBA adopted the adjusted entrance rules they did as well. Clearly these players would be entering the draft if they could, and while the likes of Randle or Noel might actually make a difference in the long run, many of their peers who chased the dream when they did probably wouldn't, and would be left without any part of a college education as a result.

Still, given their most recent quotes, it seems unlikely that a college diploma is near the top of Randle's or Noel's future plans.
Yahoo


St. Thomas head coach Danny Evans admitted that few were picking St. Thomas (25-11) to knock off Plano Prestonwood Christian (25-4) in their semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, at Mansfield Timberview.

"Prestonwood Christian is the team to beat, no question about," Evans said. "They're nationally ranked. All five starters are Division I-caliber players. It will be a major test for us."

The Lions feature standouts such as 6-foot-9 senior forward/post Zach Peters, 6-9 power forward Zach Randall and 6-7 freshman guard Mickey Mitchell.

"Mickey is the top freshman in the country and the other guys are extremely talented," Evans said,
However, TAPPS District 3-5A champion St. Thomas upset Plano Prestonwood Christian in last year's championship game to claim its second TAPPS state crown.
Houston Chronicle


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Bill Self at Kansas
8 Conference Titles
4 Conference Home Losses


Saturday's win sealed Kansas's share of the 2012 Big 12 regular-season title. This feat marks the eighth straight time Kansas has won at least a share its conference regular-season championship. After Saint Mary's strong finish in the West Coast Conference, which felled Gonzaga's bid at an 11th straight WCC title, KU's mark is now the longest active win streak in the country. Per ESPN Stats & Information, the next-longest are, or were, Xavier's five-year run in the A-10 (which is coming to an end this week) and Murray State and Belmont's three-year runs in the OVC and A-Sun, respectively.

The Atlantic 10 is a good league. The OVC and A-Sun occasionally berth a challenger or two. Saint Mary's has pushed Gonzaga for years. But none of those leagues are as consistently deep or talented or difficult to navigate as the Big 12.

At various times in Kansas's run, the Big 12 has been the best or second-best conference in the country. (Per Ken Pomeroy, that's the case again this year; the Big 12 ranks behind only the Big 10 in overall strength.) At various times in Self's tenure, his competition has recruited and rostered the likes of Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Acie Law, Tristan Thompson, James Anderson, Tony Allen, and D.J Augustin -- and that's literally just the NBA guys that first came to mind. I'm sure there are countless more worthy of inclusion, including future lottery picks like Perry Jones III, or stars like Jacob Pullen, or Missouri's unique lightning-in-a-bottle squad this season.

But despite all that, Self has managed to recruit the Jayhawks as well as any coach who came before him. In many years, he's had an embarrassment of talented riches. The sheer fact that Thomas Robinson came off the bench last season should tell you that much. But even in seasons in which Self lost scores of former stars -- like in 2011, when he lost Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry and Sherron Collins, or this season, when he lost two-thirds of his starting backcourt and both starting forwards to graduation and/or the NBA draft, and lost two incoming freshmen to partial qualifier status in the offseason -- he's managed to get the Jayhawks to the top of the league anyway.

There may have been some NCAA tournament upsets along the way, and some have been more dramatic than others, but in the biggest sample sizes, against some of the best college hoops talent of the past decade, Self's Kansas program has prevailed. It's a ridiculous, mind-blowing run of success, and we don't talk about it enough.

At the end of the day, coaches are measured by national titles, and you get national titles by surviving the insane landmine that is the NCAA tournament. But when you peel back the March Madness and really dig in, this is what college hoops success looks like. In the past 10 years, few have done it better than Self.
ESPN Brennan

The Jayhawks (25-5, 15-2) have won the conference title outright the past four years, and players wore blue T-shirts with "8 STR8" on the front after the game, signifying their eight straight titles overall -- including shared crowns in 2005, 2006 and 2008, when they weren't the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament.

This time, they waited to celebrate until they had it wrapped up all alone, instead of after beating archrival Missouri in a top-five showdown Saturday to clinch at least a shared championship.

"It feels amazing, because a lot of people didn't think we'd be this good this year," Taylor said. "I think if you asked us at the beginning of the year, our goal was to always win a Big 12 championship. We prepared like we wanted to win."
AP


“I just want to thank everybody that said we weren’t going to win it this year,” Robinson said with a smile, before taking questions from reporters.

“We got (No.) 8 baby. This one feels good, too,” Robinson added after scoring 17 points off 6-of-15 shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds in 36 minutes.

“We knew what we had before we hit the floor (this season), before the whole world saw it,” he noted after the Jayhawks improved to 15-2 in league games with one remaining. Second-place Missouri is 12-4 with two to play. “I knew our guys weren’t scared to work hard. Proving ourselves to people was motivation to us. I think it had everything to do with it, to prove to everybody we could come back and defend our title.”

…“We are tired,” Self said. “This is as tired as I can remember being, personally. I know the players are. That game Saturday was the most emotional regular-season game ever. There was a lot of pressure on our guys to win that game. This was probably the hardest game we’ve had this year other than that game. Our guys were pretty efficient.”

Robinson agreed that the Jayhawks were dead tired.

“Coach said something in the locker room, that this was an emotional letdown. That’s a good way to describe it,” Robinson said. “We were so high the other night, so geeked up. Today we were still talking about it. Our bodies were tired. We had to come back and get it rolling today.”

The victory and title seemed to energize the Jayhawks, who posed for pictures with the trophy with family members and fans before heading to the team bus.

“Where’s the trophy?” Robinson said, unable to locate it.

Freshman Merv Lindsay had carted it safely to the team bus, signaling it was time for the players to board the vehicle for a four-hour ride home.

“This team,” Self said, “has been awfully fun to coach.”
LJW


Two things were confirmed in an ESPN "Big Monday" game at Gallagher-Iba Arena:

Keiton Page, as Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford will tell anyone within earshot, is special.

And Kansas is Kansas.

…With the outcome assured, Ford took Page out of the game with 37.6 seconds remaining so the senior guard could get one last round of applause from fans.

Page was embraced by teammate Cezar Guerrero and KU's Taylor on the court before he headed to the bench area for another round of hugs.

"I've been playing against him for four years," Taylor said. "He's been a tough guard all four years... It was his senior night and he came out and played well. I'm happy for him."
Tulsa World


"All props go to him (Page)," Robinson said. "He's a great player."

KU led by eight at halftime and the lead was up to 14 with about 11 minutes to go. OSU did not threaten to make this a tight game the rest of the way.

As a result, the Jayhawks continue to roll toward March looking very much like a national championship contender.

…Kansas looks to be as good as any of the top national contenders out there in a season without dominant national powers.

In other words, Self has the Jayhawks right where they need to be.

The Jayhawks were not expected to be a national power this season.

But, that is shortchanging what everyone knows about Self. When it comes to pure coaching, getting teams to maximize their skills, Self may be at the top of the profession.
Tulsa World


OSU football players and coach Mike Gundy poured onto the court at halftime for a Fiesta Bowl trophy presentation. Students chanted "Gundy, Gundy, Gundy."

Receiver Justin Blackmon, who is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, showed off his arm by throwing orange T-shirts into the crowd.

During a stoppage of play midway through the second half, Reece acknowledged the presence of former OSU players Mel Wright (who once hit a shot to beat Wilt Chamberlain-led KU), Eddie Sutton and Desmond Mason. Fans chanted "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie" when the former coach was introduced.
Tulsa World

The blue championship hats were passed out in the locker room: Big 12 champions, 2012.

Kansas’ Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor sported the new look — wearing the ball caps backwards, naturally, as they discussed the Jayhawks 70-58 triumph over Oklahoma State on Monday that gave them a title they won’t have to share.

“It’s amazing,” Taylor said. “A lot of people didn’t think we would be this good. Our goal is to always win the Big 12 championship.”

…At one point, Self was so mad at Taylor’s defense on Page that Self assigned Elijah Johnson to guard Page.
But on this night, Taylor’s made up for shaky defense with terrific offense.

He scored 27, and just when it appeared the Cowboys would make a run, Taylor poured in 10 straight.
Robinson added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas’ big weapon against Oklahoma State in a 15-point victory earlier this month, Jeff Withey, played on a sore ankle and wasn’t much of a factor with six points and two rebounds.

Withey had 18 points and 20 rebounds previously against the Cowboys.

…Perhaps most satisfying, this championship came in the marathon season created by the 10-team league. Before the year, Self said he believed a 14-4 record would be good enough to win.

Kansas has gone at least one better, and has a chance on Saturday at home against Texas to make it 16 victories in a league that this week again sports three top-10 teams.
KC Star


Kansas coach Bill Self was none too pleased with Jeff Withey after Page missed the front-end of a one-and-one in the final minutes. Nobody seemed to know it was a one-and-one, including Withey, who got the miss and attempted to hand the ball to an official.

“That was not top 10,” Self said. “I’ve never seen that in a basketball game.
KC Star


“We’re the leaders of this team,” said Taylor, who has been a starter for half of the eight consecutive league titles. “After a few of our early games, we just established T-Rob and I have to come to play every game or our team won’t be as effective. T-Rob and I have been having a lot of talks about that.”

…Robinson has as good a shot at anyone of winning National Player of the Year honors. If Self’s case for National Coach of the Year isn’t stronger than everybody else’s, then whose is? And if Taylor isn’t the first-team All-American point guard, name a better one.

Taylor played 44 minutes against Missouri, 37 against Oklahoma State. He lit up the Pokes for 27 points and turned it over just twice. That’s three turnovers in 81 minutes in three days. Tired or not, he had to keep track of Page, never an easy assignment. On every play, the Cowboys set more screens for Page than Joan Rivers has faces.

Taylor still had enough left in his tank to score the game’s only points during a span of 3:03 when KU’s lead expanded from eight points to 18. Three-pointer, tear-drop shot, dunk and another three-pointer, and Taylor alone gave KU a 70-52 lead with 2:07 left.

Taylor sounded gassed after the game, and he wasn’t alone in that regard. This is a team that needs to catch its breath before playing again. That’s why the quick turnaround from Saturday, although it increased the chances of an upset Monday, was a fortunate bit of scheduling.

The Jayhawks can re-energize in time for an 8 p.m. tipoff Saturday and a Taylor senior speech that would have to run past midnight to cover all the twists and turns of his ever-compelling, ever-improving Kansas basketball career.
LJW


"Give Kansas credit," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "When you play a team as good as they are, you have to bring your A-game, and we didn't tonight."
Daily O'Collegian


Page finished with 29 points and coach Bill Self was not pleased with Taylor’s defense at times. Self said he and Taylor argued about the defensive assignment in a team huddle.

“I told Elijah, ‘He can’t guard him; You take him,’ and he got kind of upset at that and he did a better job later,” Self said. “Fortunately for us, he was able to match him basically basket for basket down the stretch when we had to make a couple of plays.”

Page narrowly won the individual matchup, but Taylor’s timely scores, which included four three-pointers, were enough to keep the Cowboys at a comfortable distance throughout the game.

“Tyshawn Taylor kept making big shots,” Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said.

“I kept telling our guys, ‘The time’s good, the score is right, we just need to just go on a run here at some point.’ And he would just always make a big shot.”

Kansas clinched the outright Big 12 regular season title and Taylor is playing as well as he’s ever played in a Kansas uniform. He credited his teammates and Self for trusting him as well as a good amount of maturation.

“I’ve been a starter for four years so I feel like I’ve been in a lot of these situations before.”
UDK


KU junor forward Thomas Robinson on Monday was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.

Robinson scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Saturday’s 87-86 overtime victory over Missouri. He had 18 points in the second half and overtime. His block of Phil Pressey’s inside shot with two ticks left forced overtime.

Earlier in the week, he had 13 rebounds and 10 points in a 66-58 victory at Texas A&M.

The four Big 12 Player of the Week honors tied for third-most in a season in conference history. The list of four-time honorees includes KU’s Drew Gooden in 2001-02, Texas’ Kevin Durant (2006-07) and P.J. Tucker (2005-06) and Iowa State’s Marcus Fizer (1999-00).

All of the previous four-time honorees were named Big 12 Player of the Year.

...“We practiced 15 minutes, saw that wasn’t going anywhere, then got on the bus and drove four hours down here.
“With Saturday/Monday games, we never practice more than 45 minutes to an hour anyway,” Self added. “It was a draining deal. Fortunately we won. Not winning ... that game in the fashion in which it was played would have been very very hard to have this recovery time. That’s life. In the NCAA Tournament we practiced 18 minutes on Sunday when we played Memphis (Monday). This is nothing unusual.”
LJW


ESPN Video: KU vs OSU highlights

There's not a PG in America playing as well as Tyshawn Taylor has played since January. Gotta be one one of the All-American teams.
https://twitter.com/#!/JasonKingESPN/status/174352740162617344


" They saying I'm doing the unexpected ..I'm saying I'm jus doing what I projected "
https://twitter.com/#!/_tee_y/status/174416347177041920


Guys on two different Big 12 coaching staffs tonight told me Tyshawn Taylor is Kansas' most important player. Guys who compete against him.
https://twitter.com/#!/franfraschilla/status/174401354612228096


I meant what I said ...that wasnt jus for tv ...keton page is a bad boy ...he can play ... #respect
https://twitter.com/#!/_tee_y/status/174373948878888960


You can say many things about Tyshawn, and everybody seems to have something  to say about him. But whatever you say, say this too: Tyshawn Taylor is unforgettable.

If that wasn’t true before, I don’t think anybody at Kansas will ever forget about him now. I do believe Tyshawn became a Kansas legend on Saturday, when he played 44 minutes at an intensity and under a pressure most people will never know. He made one turnover. He scored 24 points. He scored nine points in overtime. Twice, he answered a huge Missouri play with one of his own, and when it came time to decide the game, it was Taylor on the foul line, with that face and those shoulders. He made them both, and Kansas won.

…it is fair and accurate to say Tyshawn carries a heavy burden in his family, a greater one, even, than most kids from tough backgrounds. A greater one than someone his age should have to. I don’t know much, and I don’t mean to imply I do, but I know enough to know some of the valleys in the rolling hills of his career have not been his fault.

And yet there he was. Here he is. He has been on a peak for two months, mostly. He might be the Big 12 player of the year. He might end up on the All-America team, and if he does for the rest of time you’ll look up into the rafters at Allen Fieldhouse and see it: Taylor 10. Right up there with Chamberlain, Manning and Pierce. Can you imagine that?
Tully Corcoran

so blessed to be apart of #kubball #8str8 is a great accomplishment now its time to work for that National championship!!
https://twitter.com/#!/JeffWithey/status/174363581314371584


Not 1,2,,3,4,5,6,7, but 8 big 12 titles
https://twitter.com/#!/Humb1e_Hungry23/status/174355437334953984


#8STR8
https://twitter.com/#!/justiniwesley/status/174348062892892162


Congrats to my jayhawks on 8 straight big 12 championships. That's how we do it. Rock chalk baby
https://twitter.com/#!/mchalmers15/status/174350232702816256


Congrats to my #kuboys on 8 straight Big 12 conference champs!
https://twitter.com/#!/colea45/status/174345674010263552


Congrats to tha young boys on 8 straight #RCJH#kubball
https://twitter.com/#!/treed14/status/174345946493235203


8 in a row!!! Congrats to my boys for taking care of of okstate!!
https://twitter.com/#!/MookMorris2/status/174357274054238208


Kansas got that 8th straight Big 12 title! Gonna keep the streak alive next year!
https://twitter.com/#!/L_Lucas44/status/174355232439013376

Fletcher Mackel had Kansas ranked fourth last week.

That was a little high at the time, in my opinion.

But whatever.

I could live with it because after Kentucky and Syracuse the next few spots were up for debate, and KU at No. 4 wasn't unreasonable. So I left Fletcher alone and focused my attention on the 15 AP voters who inexplicably left Indiana off their ballots. But now I have to highlight Fletcher because he's confusing the hell out of me. Again, he had Kansas fourth last week. The Jayhawks then won at Texas A&M and beat Missouri to claim at least a share of the Big 12 title, and now Fletcher has Bill Self's team ranked ... seventh?

Yes, seventh.

So this might be the first time in the history of AP voting that a man has dropped a team three spots after a 2-0 week that featured a win over a Top 10 opponent. Fletcher had Kansas ahead of everybody except Kentucky, Syracuse and Missouri last week. Now he's got Kansas behind Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina and Marquette -- meaning Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina and Marquette all jumped the Jayhawks after the Jayhawks' perfect and impressive week. Following tha logic, my guess is that KU will beat Oklahoma State and Texas this week, win the outright Big 12 title and then fall behind Georgetown, Wisconsin and UNLV on Fletcher's ballot next Monday, at which point Fletcher will also drop Thomas Robinson to Third Team All-American because all this playing well and winning isn't really that impressive.
CBS

"Saturday Night Live" star Sudeikis, who is from Overland Park, Kan., went to Fort Scott Community College on a basketball scholarship before turning to acting. He and girlfriend Olivia Wilde attended a Kansas game in December. Kansas coach Bill Self, a big fan of Wilde's work on "House," said at the time, "I like Jason OK, but I was really looking forward to meeting her, and then they left early."
ESPN Page 2

More KU Alumni pics


VOTE for TROB for NPOY (Scroll down, poll on bottom left)


VOTE for TROB for NPOY on dickvitaleonline.com


VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section (Last day to vote! KU is 500 votes behind! You can use multiple email adressess hint hint.)


VOTE for Coach Self's Assists Foundation


Coaches vs Cancer: Help Coach Self raise $ for ACA with his 3-point Attack


Former NBA forward Julian Wright to join D-League Austin Toros.
https://twitter.com/#!/SpearsNBAYahoo/status/174364614035914752


The Memphis Grizzlies recalled guard Josh Selby from the Reno Bighorns, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
Selby (6-2, 183) saw action in four games with the Bighorns, including one start, and averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.25 steals in 31.0 minutes. He shot .483 from the field, .500 from three-point territory and .714 from the free throw line.
http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/selby_returns_from_bighorns-120227


Marcus Morris, a former KU standout who currently plays for the Houston Rockets, was cited for misdemeanor battery early Sunday in Lawrence, city prosecutor Jerry Little told the Lawrence Journal-World on Monday.

Kim Murphree of the Lawrence Police Department told The Star that police were called at 2:37 a.m. Sunday to The Cave, a nightclub at The Oread, a hotel near the KU campus. She said a male employee alleged he was punched by another man after an argument and that it was also alleged another man punched the employee from behind.
Murphree said two men were given citations for misdemeanor battery but could not confirm their identities. Little told the Journal-World that Morris, 22, and Julius K. Harris, 23, of Philadelphia, were cited and ordered to appear March 20 in Lawrence Municipal Court.

Morris and his twin brother, Markieff, who currently plays for the Phoenix Suns, were off during the NBA All-Star weekend and attended KU’s victory over Missouri on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
KC Star


LJW: Jayhawks in the NBA

Big 12 Schedule & Results


The Jayhawks will meet either Oklahoma or Texas A&M in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. on March 8.

The Sooners and Aggies are tied for eighth, and no matter what else happens this week, those teams will play two games in a row.

Oklahoma and A&M meet in the season finale on Saturday, and they’ll open the tournament at 6 p.m. March 7.

The only other seed known after Monday’s games: Texas Tech will finish 10th and play at 8:30 p.m. on March 7.

A Missouri victory over Iowa State on Wednesday in Columbia clinches the second seed for the Tigers.

The top four seeds are known. Baylor and Iowa State can’t fall below a fourth seed.

In the first year of a 10-team league, the top six teams will receive byes.
KC Star

Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie at least hoped that senior night might be so emotional for No. 9 Baylor that his Red Raiders would be able to take advantage.

Not a chance.

After being recognized before the Bears' home finale Monday night as the winningest senior class in school history, Quincy Acy, Fred Ellis and Anthony Jones easily got their 95th victory, 77-48 over the Red Raiders.

"You don't get a win just because it's senior night. But they played, and they made it a special night because of their play," Gillispie said. "Those guys have had great careers here. They've won a lot of games. My hat's off to them, and hopefully they'll do very well in the postseason."

Perry Jones III, the sophomore who is not related to Anthony, had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears (25-5, 12-5 Big 12). A.J. Walton scored a season-high 13 points, while Anthony Jones also had 13 and Acy 12.
Even the little-used Ellis, who hadn't scored a point since Dec. 19, made two free throws.
Link

Phil Pressey whine
bit.ly/Agza2u


When coaches and recruits want to know about Illinois basketball, they no longer ask Chicago-based recruiting analyst Joe Henricksen about coach Bruce Weber’s job status. They’re already onto the next name.

“Just in the last week or so, the conversation is ‘Who is the next Illinois coach?’’’ Henricksen said Monday.

At this point, it would be a major upset for Weber to save his job, even after the Illini ended a six-game losing streak with a 65-54 win over Iowa on Sunday.

Illinois (17-12 overall, 6-10 in the Big Ten) hosts No. 13 Michigan (21-8, 11-5) on Senior Night at Assembly Hall on Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN). The Illini would need to string wins together like they haven’t since January in order to have a chance at an NCAA tournament bid.

Like nearly everyone else, recruits and those advising them are watching and expecting a coaching change. The clock is ticking with the state’s loaded prep classes of 2013 and 2014. The recruiting folks also want to know the future of Illini assistant coach Jerrance Howard.

“The one thing that always happens when there is a new hire is that sense of joy, pride and feel-good in a program,’’ Henricksen said. “With a new guy and new energy, it’s kind of like a new lease on life.

“That’s always a plus for a program. A lot will depend if Jerrance Howard is around.’’

Three important names in the future of Illini basketball, Henricksen said, are Howard plus committed juniors Jalen James and Malcolm Hill. And then there’s Jabari Parker, a superstar Chicago Simeon junior in his own stratosphere.
Every Illinois Paper

The widespread perception may be that Kentucky, UCLA, Duke or even UNLV may end up securing the services of 6-foot-6 senior wing Shabazz Muhammad, but his father says Kansas has a legitimate shot to land his son.

“Kansas has a real shot, definitely,” Ron Holmes told SNY.tv Monday following his son’s official visit there this past weekend. “They did a great job.”

…“When you go on these official visits, you might have a perception about a school but you can really see yourself playing there if the official visit goes right and the official visit definitely went right,” Holmes said.

Muhammad is considering Kansas along with Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, Arizona and UNLV.

“We go to Duke next week and do the North Carolina game,” Holmes said of the March 3 game at Cameron Indoor. “Just interested to see how it compares because I was very, very impressed with Kansas.”

…As for Kansas, Holmes said he was very impressed with the strength and conditioning program run by Andrea Hudy and the academic and career counseling program run by Scott Ward.

“Andrea Hudy was very thorough on how they would help Shabazz become a better athlete, make his movement better, all that kind of stuff, so I was really impressed with that,” Holmes said. “The academic situation is really, really good…Those things are helping your kid go the right away academically, physically with weight training.

“And it’s just a program, man. You look at winning eight Big 12 championships in [Bill Self's] years. And even if you look at the team this year, it’s not as good as the team last year, so there’s never a dip there.

“The crowd support was very, very good after the game, wherever we went to go eat. Just everybody wearing their Kansas stuff. It’s just a program. I was just very, very impressed.

“I understand why when kids go there, they commit after an official visit because it was second to none in that area.”
Zags Blog


The Wolves (15-11) travel to the fifth-seeded Miller School (19-9) for a 6 p.m. first-round game Tuesday.  The Miller School, which is in the Charlottesville area, is led by 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior forward Andrew White. White, rated among the nation’s top 100 seniors, committed to Kansas in December. He is averaging 22.5 points per game.

White’s size is typical of the Mavericks’ lineup. Five of their 11 players are 6-6 or taller, including 6-7 sophomore Markell Lodge, who has an offer from George Mason University.
InsideNova


Mountlake Terrace is going to get an early wake-up call Thursday.

Fifth-ranked Mountlake Terrace plays third-ranked Rainier Beach at 9 a.m. in a Class 3A state quarterfinal boys basketball game at the Tacoma Dome.

And the 23-1 Hawks are going to need to hit the court running against the 24-3 Vikings.

According to local coaches who have seen Rainier Beach play this season, the Vikings are pedal-to-the-metal for 32 minutes.

…the Hawks certainly have to prepare for Rainier Beach's Anrio Adams, a 6-3 guard who has made a verbal commitment to play his college basketball at Kansas. But Adams has his sights set on a state championship first.

"Athletically he is at a different level than Terrace is used to seeing," Hunter said.

Adams seemingly can do it all on the floor and Hunter said the Hawks need to beware of how good a shooter Adams is.

"We are going to make him work," Sood said of Adams. "Great players are going to get theirs. We hope if Adams is going to get his points its not going to be on 60 percent shooting, but 40 percent."
Herald Net


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“We’ve got eight of those things now,” KU senior guard Tyshawn Taylor said of Big 12 championship trophies. The 2011-12 hardware will be delivered by the league office to KU at a later date per Self’s wishes.
LJW


Self clinched at least a share of a Big 12 crown Saturday against Missouri. That's eight straight.

How many conference championships has Mike Krzyzewski won during that span? Two.

Tom Izzo? Two.

Jim Calhoun? Two.

Billy Donovan? Two.

Rick Pitino? Two.

Jim Boeheim? One.

Only Roy Williams — five championships in the ACC — is within shouting distance of Self since 2005. You have to go back to John Wooden (1967-75) to find a streak of eight straight in a major conference.

Just think, Bill Self could've been at Nebraska. OK, not quite.

But Bill Byrne did pursue Self in 2000 after firing Danny Nee. Instead, Self left Tulsa for Illinois. In 12 seasons since (three at Illinois, nine at Kansas), Self has never finished worse than second in his conference. His worst league record in that span is 11-5.

…Most of college basketball's best-known coaches are within shouting distance of retirement. Boeheim, Calhoun, Krzyzewski, Williams, they're all over 60. Pitino and Izzo are close.

Self is 49. He owns 10 regular-season championships in the Big Ten and Big 12. How long until he's recognized as the best in the business?

March looms large. Self wears scars of NCAA tournaments past. But there is a good omen on the horizon.

Kansas is expected to begin NCAA tournament play March 16 and 18. In Omaha.

In 2008, Self began his only Final Four run here. Sixteen days after he left Omaha, Kansas cut down the nets in San Antonio.
Omaha World Herald


KU AD: Kansas grabs a share of eighth straight conference crown


CBS ULIVE Free Video: 

Second Half Highlights (5.26 minutes)
                                        
Two minutes of first half highlights

CBS ULIVE also has the entire game available for $ (Link is currently on page 7 of the ULIVE basketball site)

KU AD: Postgame stats, quotes, notes, recap, photos


Big comeback against the bitter rival ends with the home team winning, and we all know what happens next. The students make like water breaking through a dam and stream onto the court, forming a sea of flailing bodies.

Not here. On game day, those who pay to walk through the door for a two-hours-and-change show don’t make it about themselves in Allen Fieldhouse, not when the athletes are under the same roof. They know the stage belongs to the players and don’t believe in desecrating it with the footsteps of mere mortals, even when the show happens to have been greater than any they had ever witnessed, replete with a plot twist as improbable as it was delightful.

The patrons left the building Saturday sweating and smiling, shaking their heads over an affirmative response to a pair of questions they no doubt couldn’t stop asking themselves:

1. Did I really just witness my Kansas basketball team recover from a 19-point, second-half deficit to defeat the nation’s third-ranked team with Missouri on its chest in what could be the final time the rivals meet in a long, long time?

Yes.

2. Did the coach who has on his roster a band of basketball players who lead more with emotion than intellect, so often don’t take great care of the basketball, shoot well only in streaks, are cursed with a penchant for spacing out, really just clinch a tie for his eighth consecutive Big 12 title? Even with an eight-man rotation that has two former walk-ons and a mid-major transfer still trying to find his way, and, oh, by the way, just one returning starter from a team that lost two lottery picks and a pair of starting perimeter players?

Yes.

How and how?

The answers to both questions can be traced to the same qualities. The team that defeated Missouri, 87-86 in overtime, is packed with bold players who believe in their ability to win every battle. And they believe their general, coach Bill Self, will prepare them better than the other team’s general. What the players might lack in style, they more than compensate for with a loud competitive streak. Competing is what they do best.
LJW Keegan: Border Warriors prove mettle


The game went into overtime. Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor pulled Kansas ahead. Missouri’s Marcus Denmon made huge shots that were like noise-canceling headphones to Allen Fieldhouse. Tyshawn Taylor made two free throws with 8 seconds left. Missouri couldn’t get off a shot before the buzzer. Anyway, that’s how the ending seemed. Nobody heard the buzzer because Allen Fieldhouse exploded into a million tiny pieces.

Only in the exhale did realization hit: The best rivalry in college basketball is over. The best. Oh sure, people will talk about how Missouri and Kansas could play each other in the Big 12 tournament … so what? Maybe, at times, the slot machines will spin 7s and Missouri and Kansas will play each other in the NCAA Tournament — that will be nice. And yes, maybe someday Missouri and Kansas will work out some arrangement to play each other once a year in some nonconference carnival. But that won’t be the same.

Missouri and Kansas have played blood basketball for more than 100 years. That’s over now.

But, wow, what a way for it to end.

…The first Missouri-Kansas basketball game I ever wrote about for The Kansas City Star happened 15 years ago in Columbia. I won’t lie: I was pretty arrogant about college basketball then. I had lived in North Carolina when Dean Smith reigned in Chapel Hill, when Jim Valvano raged on the sidelines for N.C. State, when Mike Krzyzewski was young and Duke was ascending. I felt pretty sure that was real college basketball and the rest of the country played a perfectly fine but inferior brand.

Here it is, all these years later, and I’ve been to North Carolina-Duke, I was courtside for Kentucky-Louisville, I’ve watched basketball in Pauley Pavilion and the Palestra and Assembly Hall, and was surrounded by orange in Stillwater and Syracuse. Those places are great. But I have never seen a college basketball game quite like that first Missouri-Kansas game. Until Saturday.

…It was simply a different kind of basketball than I had seen in North Carolina or Kentucky or Indiana or anywhere else. I know that everybody believes their personal rivalry is fiercer and tougher and more intense than any other. But when I saw Kansas play Missouri that day in 1997, I was convinced. This was the best college basketball rivalry going.

…“Missouri was playing with house money,” Self said. Kansas players, meanwhile, seemed to be playing with houses on their backs. The Jayhawks missed eight of 15 free throws, had as many turnovers as assists and trailed by 12. This should not take away just how well Missouri was playing, though. Those three guards — Denmon, Pressey and Michael Dixon — were pretty much unstoppable, and Ricardo Ratliffe dominated inside. That seems like a team that can beat anyone in March. When the second half began, Missouri kept dominating, and Missouri led by 19.

Kansas’ comeback moved in slow motion. There really wasn’t any one play that turned things around. Kansas just started chipping away a bit. Elijah Johnson made a couple of three-pointers. Conner Teahan made a couple of three-pointers. And with about 10 minutes left — with Missouri still up 11 — everyone in Allen Fieldhouse all at once seemed to realize that Kansas still had a chance to win this game. And that’s when the noise turned up. I’ve seen probably 75 or 100 games in Allen Fieldhouse over the years. Those last 15 minutes, well, I never heard it that loud.

(Interlude: I just got an email from the magnificent baseball writer Bill James. “It said this: (1) That was possibly the greatest live sporting event I’ve ever seen. (2) A phrase for your article: Hugging strangers. By the end of the game we were hugging strangers.”)

…You can’t stop progress or time. What is that line from the play “Inherit the Wind” about airplanes? “Mister you can conquer the air, but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline.”

Mister, you can make college sports bigger and bigger, make more and more money, reach larger and larger audiences … but the conferences will look like gibberish and Kansas won’t play basketball against Missouri anymore.

When it ended, sure, there was some emptiness. Which takes us back to that kid holding the sign. He was across the court, so it was difficult for me to see him, but from what I can tell he looked to be maybe 18 or 19, and he was decked out in Kansas colors. His sign said: “KU Won’t MIZZ-you.”

And you know, it was relatively clever, as far as signs go. But something about it bothered me. I did want to walk over to him and whisper in his ear: “Yeah, you will, kid. You will miss Missouri. You will miss all this more than you can ever know.”
KC Star Joe Posnanski (I miss you Joe!)


“We probably should have won the game,” Missouri coach Frank Haith said. “Just (like) Kansas probably felt they should have won the game at our place.”

Oh yes, about that 74-71 Missouri win on Feb. 4 in Columbia. The Tigers showed a lot of resolve in that game, mounting an 11-0 run that erased an eight-point deficit with 3 minutes to play.

…“We had the game in our hands,” Missouri senior guard Kim English said. “We gave them a gift.”

…“They shot 33 free throws, a lot of those came in the second half,” Denmon said. “When you’re living at the free-throw line and scoring while the clock is stopped, it’s easy to chip a lead away.”
KC Star


Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self had a heart-to-heart talk with junior forward Thomas Robinson on Thursday — a day after Robinson was whistled for a technical foul in the final minute of a 66-58 victory at Texas A&M.

“I was really disappointed in him Wednesday. I think he was feeling pressure. Today he didn’t (feel pressure). He played to win. In no way did he think about anything but winning the game,” Self after watching Robinson score 28 points and grab 12 rebounds in KU’s 87-86 overtime victory over Missouri.

“He was great today. That’s what the best players do. They make plays with the game on the line,” Self added of Robinson, whose basket and foul shot tied MU at 75 with 16.1 seconds left.

His block of Phil Pressey’s driving layup with two ticks left assured overtime.

“Without being too critical, he was the polar opposite today than he was in College Station. That wasn’t him in College Station. Here’s a guy who didn’t play last year or as a freshman, wasn’t a McDonald’s guy (out of high school), not a highly recruited kid by highly recruited standards. He’s now one of two for national player of the year and has his family counting on him to do things and has everybody in his ear, doesn’t have people in his family necessarily tell him, ‘I’m proud of you regardless of what happens,’” Self added.

Robinson was beaming after the victory.

“It was big. Revenge, payback … it definitely feels good,” he said. “It felt like someone just jumped us (in building 19-point lead) and ran away, and finally we caught up with them. I can’t even put this into words. I don’t think I’m ever going to be part of something as big as this game was tonight. Just when I thought we couldn’t get to another level, we stuck together and got better tonight.

“I don’t think you can put a team in a tougher situation at home,” added Robinson, who hit 10 of 21 shots and eight of nine free throws. “We were down 19 against a Top Five team and we stuck to it and got through it.”

…Former KU coach Larry Brown, as well as former KU assistant coach Lafayette Norwood, plus ex-Jayhawk players Eric Chenowith, Nick Collison, Xavier Henry, Matt Kleinmann, Raef LaFrentz, Christian Moody, Brady Morningstar, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Kevin Pritchard and Wayne Simien attended. Also in attendance: actor Rob Riggle.
LJW


They saved the best for last.

In their final regular-season meeting as conference opponents, Kansas and Missouri staged a game for the ages with the Jayhawks somehow prevailing 87-86 in overtime on Saturday.

...Amid deafening Allen Fieldhouse joy, Travis Releford pulled off his jersey and ran around the floor. KU coach Bill Self raised his arms in triumph.

And a crushed Michael Dixon had to be helped up off the floor.

Fourth-ranked Kansas, 24-5 overall and 14-2 in the Big 12, had just clinched no worse than a share of its eighth straight Big 12 regular-season championship. A win in either of its final two games, or a Tigers loss, gives KU the title outright.

…In the end, Kansas senior guard Tyshawn Taylor took a bow. His two free throws proved to be the game winner and the moment couldn’t have been sweeter.

Earlier in the month, Taylor missed two free throws late in the Jayhawks’ three-point loss at Columbia and he hadn’t been reliable from the line in late-game situations.

But with 8.3 seconds remaining, the first one slid through, tying the score. The second swished.

“I’m glad I got to shoot them,” Taylor said.

…The comeback started when Johnson made a couple of three-pointers during Mizzou’s flurry to open the second half. If those bounce away, who knows what happens.

“He made the huge threes when we stunk,” Self said. “Those kind of go unnoticed but they were huge plays.”
…“We could have won by 20,” Self said. “And it wouldn’t have been as sweet as the way we won it today.”
KC Star


All day Saturday, the tension cascaded throughout Lawrence. Students had camped out for days. The sidewalks outside Allen Fieldhouse were lined by 1 p.m.

And 90 minutes before tipoff, a man named Patrick Walker stood on the sidewalk on Naismith Drive, just across the street from the fieldhouse. Walker, a 1987 Kansas graduate from Chicago, had arrived in town with his father Bob, a 1952 graduate, and his 12-year-old son Bo.

“How much?” Walker asked a ticket scalper.

“Six,” the scalper said.

And seconds later, Walker was reaching into his wallet and handing over $1,200 in cash for two precious tickets.

“I actually already paid $650 each for two others,” he said. “I literally didn’t care. I was going to this game. I didn’t care how much it cost. If I got a couple extra grand in the bank when I’m 80, or I went to the last KU-Missouri game at Allen? Who cares?”

…After the game, Kansas coach Bill Self would be asked what he was feeling in those moments when it looked as if the Jayhawks were done.

“This would have been a sad ending for a lot of people,” Self answered.

The Jayhawks, of course, were not done. And the final minutes of regulation and overtime unfolded like so many other furious Kansas runs inside Allen Fieldhouse.

,,,Yes, Kansas and Missouri may play one final time at Sprint Center in the Big 12 tournament. Self would welcome it. But after Saturday, there will be no more afternoons in Allen Fieldhouse like this one.

“It’s a shame that it’s gonna end,” Self would say. “But it’s definitely gonna end.”
KC Star


The first time Kansas ran the play, Thomas Robinson scored, got fouled and hit a free throw that tied the game in the final seconds.

The second time Kansas ran the play, Tyshawn Taylor dunked after making a backdoor cut, giving KU a one-point lead in the final seconds of overtime. It’s a play the Jayhawks run late in games, a play they’ve used in big moments before.

“It’s the same exact play that won us a national championship,” Taylor said.

To describe exactly what goes on during “the play” is a bit complicated, because it has so many variations and options. But the Jayhawks turn to it late in games, allowing them to use their guards and big men together with screens, pick-and-rolls and cuts.

“Out of that play,” Taylor said, “we just have a lot of different options.”

Kansas coach Bill Self turned to the play twice out of timeouts when his team really needed a basket. And both times the Jayhawks ran it flawlessly, getting easy buckets both times.

…“That’s a play that we have designed specifically for late games,” KU guard Conner Teahan said. “But coach Self, I’ll tell you, he’s a mastermind when it comes to those plays.”
TCJ


What this means for Kansas: KU has accomplished one of the most underrated feats in college sports by winning an eighth consecutive Big 12 title -- especially considering this was supposed to be Self's worst Kansas team. The Jayhawks lost four starters from last year's Elite Eight squad. In the waning minutes Saturday, the Jayhawks had a walk-on (Conner Teahan) on the court, along with a Loyola Marymount transfer (Kevin Young) who averaged about 8 points a game at his previous school. Kansas also won without much of a contribution from center Jeff Withey, who turned his ankle in the opening half and hardly played after intermission. More important to Kansas fans is that the Jayhawks will have bragging rights again -- and perhaps forever -- on their most hated rival. Kansas leads the all-time series 172-95.
ESPN Rapid Reaction


ESPN Video: Tyshawn Taylor interview by Jason King


Outside Allen Fieldhouse, nearly an hour after the most memorable game in the venue's storied history, a black chartered bus with gold stripes and a Show-Me-State license plate idled in the parking lot.

One by one, each member of the Missouri Tigers basketball team walked past armed security guards and made his way toward the door. Matt Pressey stopped and signed items for autograph seekers, Michael Dixon hid his face beneath a gray hoodie and Marcus Denmon slouched in his seat as he peered through a tinted window.

…At 6:27 p.m. CT, the Border War was over.

The driver's foot pressed a pedal and the Missouri Tigers were whisked away from Allen Fieldhouse and Lawrence.

Forever.

…At least the final regular-season contest between Kansas and Missouri was the most thrilling one -- a 2-hour-and-24-minute spine-tingler that ended with KU coach Bill Self pumping his fists at midcourt like a boxer in the center of a ring after a title fight.

Sweat beads dotted Self's forehead. His face was red with exuberance.

"This was as exciting of a game as I've ever been a part of," said Self, who has indicated he has no interest in continuing a series with the Tigers when they move to the SEC. "It wouldn't have been a disgrace to lose to a good team, but it's Missouri. You've got to win."

…The hype leading up to the final edition of the Border War was as intense as it's ever been. All week long, fans of both teams bickered back and forth on message boards and radio call-in shows. Former players from both schools talked trash on Twitter. Forty-eight hours before tipoff, Self told reporters he expected the game-day crowd to be as emotional and intense as Allen Fieldhouse has ever seen.

The atmosphere didn't disappoint.

Ushers and elderly fans wore neon ear plugs, as the noise level reportedly rose to 120 decibels, which is comparable to the sound of a jet taking off less than 100 yards away. Videos poking fun at the Tigers played before the game and during timeouts. In the stands, former KU greats such as Raef LaFrentz, Nick Collison and Marcus and Markieff Morris watched as Kansas attempted to claim its eighth straight Big 12 title -- while also avenging a 74-71 loss to Missouri earlier this season.

"It's so loud," said Dixon, who scored 17 points for Missouri. "When they scored a basket, it felt like they scored 10 baskets."

…Watching from the stands, Taylor's mother, Jeanell, covered her eyes and then peeked through her fingers as her son stepped to the line. She breathed a sigh of relief after Taylor swished his first foul shot. And after he made the second one?

"I broke down and cried," Jeanell said. "That's my baby."

Taylor chuckled as Jeanell told the story.

"Can you believe her?" he said. "Drama queen."

Deep down, though, Taylor understood his mom's emotion and the magnitude of the moment. The New Jersey native arrived in Kansas in the summer of 2008 knowing nothing about the Kansas-Mizzou rivalry.

But four years later, there he stood Saturday, one of the heroes of the most riveting Border War game ever.

And probably the last one, too.

"The games may be over," Taylor said. "But the rivalry isn't. It will always exist."
ESPN Jason King


ESPN Video: Katz and Gottlieb recap Saturday


Judging by my Twitter feed -- which may or may not be a representative sample of all of America (OK, it isn't) -- you were probably watching this game, so there's little need to recap it minute by minute. (Plus, our own Jason King has you covered, and he'll have more from Allen Fieldhouse to come.) Instead, let's take a moment to review the state of the national player of the year race, in which Thomas Robinson remains very much a factor. Anthony Davis (as you'll see just below) has crept closer and closer to Robinson in recent weeks, and rightfully so: Davis' game-changing talents are the main reason Kentucky is so difficult to beat. But Robinson isn't ceding to the freshman without a fight. His performance today -- Robinson posted 28 points and 12 rebounds -- was a dose of mastery at the season's most important time. Even within the game, Robinson was the hero: His game-tying three-point play gave Kansas the tie in regulation, and his subsequent block of a streaking Flip Pressey with just four seconds remaining pushed the game to overtime. Whenever Kansas needed a big play, Robinson gave it to them.

Let the player of the year arguments rage on. If you can pick one player over the other, more power to you. Because I certainly can't.

In any case, I'm going to go watch the replay of this game. More than once, probably. When the college hoops gods serve up something this good, you can't discard it after one use. Whatever happens to the Kansas-Mizzou rivalry now, regardless of the Big 12 tournament, we'll always have this. Thank you, hoops gods. We love you, too.
ESPN What we learned from Saturday


So, college basketball's regular season doesn't matter? Ask Missouri's Michael Dixon, who collapsed to his knees and then his back when the Tigers failed to launch a shot on their final possession. Ask Kansas' Thomas Robinson, who made the defensive play of the game and nearly ripped apart his jersey when the final buzzer sounded.

"We're never going to be part of something as big as this game was tonight,"  said Robinson, who finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Ask the 16,300 who turned Allen Fieldhouse into a sound cauldron that left ears ringing. A jetliner at takeoff registers 120 decibels. As the second half started, the scoreboard showed a decibel reading of 118. It was louder as the Jayhawks clawed back from a 19-point second-half deficit. When Robinson's blocked shot sent the game to OT, the decibels reached 128; 130 is considered the threshhold for possible hearing loss.


…"Words can't even describe it, for real," said KU senior Tyshawn Taylor whose free throw with 8 seconds remaining provided the winning points. "This game mattered to us. They beat us last time. And it was for the Big 12 championship. That's what we play our season for. After every huddle, every game and every practice, we yell, 'Big 12 champions.'"



CBS analyst Clark Kellogg shook his head and kept repeating "unbelievable" in the moments after the game as the KU fans continued to rock their chalk.


…Kansas needed all of its Phoggy magic to beat a Missouri team that lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Former Jayhawk Scott Pollard used a wireless microphone to whip up the students after they entered the building. A student dressed as John Brown – a central figure in the real Border War that helped start this two-state rivalry – re-imagined a famous painting, holding a replica 2008 Orange Bowl trophy instead of a bible and a replica NCAA championship trophy instead of a musket.



Former Jayhawks Raef Lafrentz, Nick Collison, Kevin Pritchard and members of last year's team were introduced during media timeouts. At halftime, new KU football coach Charlie Weis introduced his coaching staff. He wrapped up with "Let's get it going in the second half and get a rally started."


Robinson's 3-point play with 16 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 75. Phil Pressey used a screen at the top of the circle to drive for a left-handed layup. Robinson swatted it.

"Honestly, I think my eyes were closed," he said.



Actually, he had been guarding English in the left corner but appeared at the rim to block the shot and send the game into OT.


…English, Haith, Denmon and Ricardo Ratliffe sat at a table in the interview room facing two dozen mini-cams and about 100 journalists. If that didn't make the postgame tough enough, outside the doorway, across the hall from the Kansas locker room, they could hear KU fans rhythmically chanting "Let's go ... Jayhawks."
Big 12 Sports


Tyshawn Taylor simply smiled, shook his head in disbelief, and tried to describe his emotions.

"I'm so proud of my teammates," he said finally. "They stuck it out, man."

In the final scheduled game between Kansas and Missouri, it was only fitting the two bitter adversaries would need five extra minutes to decide it.

Robinson's three-point play in the waning moments of regulation kept their 105-year-old rivalry alive, and Taylor's foul shots with 8.3 seconds remaining gave the fourth-ranked Jayhawks a dramatic 87-86 victory over the No. 3 Tigers on Saturday.
CBS wire


“To me, it’s about this team winning its eighth straight championship,” Self said. “For this team to come as far as it has, winning its eighth straight – I’m not the most emotional guy, but that was as good as it gets.

“Plus, there were recruits in, so I was kind of hamming it up, too.”

…“The one thing about our players: Just because the roster changes, the expectations don’t,” Self said, “They committed to it, and they’ve amazed me, to be honest.”

…That neither Kansas nor Missouri was able to win the game it dominated suggest it might be worthwhile to try this again in a couple of weeks in the championship of the Big 12 Tournament, see if maybe they can play an ordinary basket-for-basket classic instead of one of these dramatic comeback deals.

…“The conference tournaments are important, but they’re for seeding,” Self said. “It doesn’t determine your conference champion.”

That ended Saturday in the Big 12, in the same way as it does pretty much every year.
Sporting News


"This loss doesn't define our season," English said, adding, "This isn't football. We're not out of the national championship running with a regular-season loss."

But that wasn't much consolation in the moment as the Tigers dropped their 13th in a row in Lawrence, dating to MU coach Norm Stewart's last season.

The teams could see each other again in the Big 12 tournament finale.

But KU will always have this one, the exclamation point on a series it now leads 172-95.

"That's an 'I was there' game," said KU director of basketball operations Barry Hinson .

…KU finally tied it 75-75 with 16.1 seconds left on a three-point play by Robinson after a foul on Dixon, a play Haith said he'd like another look at.

As Dixon put it, "My hand was on top of the ball, and he caught it and it went through my hand. And I got the foul."
Seconds later, Robinson emphatically blocked Pressey's move to the hoop at the buzzer to send it to overtime — despite emphatically hitting Pressey, too.

"He was mugged?" Haith echoed a questioner, smiling and adding, "Hey, some of the bounces don't go your way."

Taylor hit a 3 to open OT and give Kansas its first lead since the first half, but MU went back ahead, 84-83, on a Denmon 3. And the Tigers led 86-85 on his basket before Taylor's two free throws with 8.3 seconds left.

MU had one last chance, but Dixon got tangled up with the ball and couldn't get a look or get it away to Denmon in time for a shot.

"I drove and Thomas Robinson kind of bumped me a little bit, and I dribbled the ball off of my body," Dixon said, adding that he got turned and was momentarily "kind of disoriented."
ST Louis PD


The atmosphere Saturday was impossible to describe with words. Words do not adequately replicate the experience of absorbing the noise that topped 120 decibels at five or six points in this thrilling contest. This is like having your nose pressed against the hull of a 757 aircraft with the jet engines going full-bore for two hours. My ears still are ringing, and I want more. I want a lot more. I want this rivalry to keep going like a Groundhog Day dream, because this installment of the Border War might have been the finest of them all.

This is one of those games that disproves the silly theories from some folks that the college basketball regular season is meaningless. Tell that to the fans from both sides who turned Mizzou Arena and Allen Fieldhouse into the loudest places on earth.

Maybe that's why the Tigers and Jayhawks went into overtime to settle this last scheduled game between the foes, why the what-might-have-been-the-end of the rivalry ended with the drama of a scramble as the last precious seconds squeezed off in a building that was so loud and rowdy that no one was sure the game was over until you got sight of the referees waving their hands wildly in the air. You couldn't hear the final buzzer.

This game had everything you could have wanted. National TV. Ultimate drama. High stakes. Overtime. Controversy. It had star players trading big baskets. It had smart coaches matching one good strategy against another.

It had so many lead changes (19), ties (12) and mood swings that when it was over, there were exhausted Kansas and Missouri fans everywhere who were able to exhale for the first time in nearly 2 1/2 hours. It had everything you could have expected or wanted from what might be the final MU-KU battle, everything that is but a happy ending for the Tigers.

…"Arrrrrrrggggh," Sunvold groaned. "I know it was a great game, but ohhhh man, I really do hate those bleeepin' Jayhawks." And that, folks, was the Mizzou in Sundvold talking, an eloquently coarse lament that may have echoed the exact sentiments of an entire heart-broken state.
St Louis PD


If a rivalry that was first soaked in bloodshed must indeed end, the spirited showdown waged on a basketball court named after the game’s inventor was a pretty good way to settle this whole feud over SECession.

After losing a game they shouldn’t have lost earlier in Columbia, the Jayhawks won a game they shouldn’t have won.

…And never have so many stayed quite so long to take in what they just saw. They roared again as KU coach Bill Self left his postgame TV interview waving his index finger after the Jayhawks secured at least a share of an eighth straight conference title.

Every student who could give up 10 packets of Ramen noodles for one Sharpie brought a sign.

One guy came dressed as John Brown and posed for pictures while assuming the famous mural pose, holding out makeshift NCAA Tournament and Orange Bowl trophies.

Why, a centennial mascot was even introduced, designed to resemble the 1912 Jayhawk, though it really proved that dead birds are usually better left untouched.

All the fun that English referenced was still going on right outside the interview room as the Tigers dejectedly answered questions. A group chanted, “Let’s Go Jayhawks.’’

Fortunately, the joy they expressed was civil. For the most part, the whole afternoon was, from the time the Missouri staff and players sauntered into the building around 1:50 p.m., until their bus took off around 6:30.

Virtually everyone offered some kind of personal goodbyes, though a few Mizzou fans turned out too, including some who came dressed in gold shirts emblazoned with the SEC logo.

The end is now official in terms of scheduled basketball games. The whole business about conference realignment was never about basketball anyway. If it was, Mizzou wouldn’t be leaving.
TCJ Haskin


Michael drove down from Omaha, Neb., just to see the game, a 19-point comeback thriller that Kansas won 87-86 in overtime. Jon flew in from Colorado with the dual purpose of seeing the game while also seeing his younger brother.

Before arriving in Lawrence, Jon looked for tickets on Craigslist. He found a couple of people willing to sell tickets for $300 each. He sent emails but never heard back.

He showed up to Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday willing to spend that much. Instead, he encountered a ticket famine.
“I’ve never been to an event where there have never been tickets for sale,” Jon said. “Somebody is going to pay something for them. I’ve seen so few. Well, nobody really.”

The brothers said they saw only one ticket being sold. It went for $400.

Two factors played into the rarity of tickets. First, Kansas and Missouri are top-five teams battling for the Big 12 Conference title and a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That in itself creates demand. But this game also marked the last time Missouri will visit Allen Fieldhouse for some time — at least as long as coach Bill Self and athletic director Sheahon Zenger are still at KU.

“You’d think this was something more,” Jon said. “It’s still a college basketball game. Let’s call a spade a spade. Then again, this is one that most people care more about. This one goes beyond a basketball game for a lot of people.”

As Jon and Michael kept checking their phones for the time they would call the search off, Jon looked down the road at another man on the prowl for tickets.

“That guy over there dropped from four to two,” Jon said, “which means that either two members of the family gave up hope or they actually got tickets.”

Standing a short walk away from the Lynch brothers, Rob Brandner also held up two fingers along Naismith Drive. Brander drove from his home in Sioux Falls, S.D., early Saturday with his fiancé and two daughters looking for tickets.

About 40 minutes before tipoff, though, Brandner’s ticket demand decreased from four to two.

“We’re down to two realizing that four is impossible at this point,” Brandner said.

Brandner said he was willing to pay $200 per ticket, but he hadn’t even seen a ticket for sale in nearly two hours of looking.

“I’ve never seen an event where there were so few tickets for sale on the street even if they were selling them for a high price,” he said. “There just aren’t any tickets.”
TCJ


UDK: 'Ridiculous' comeback


As fans gathered to watch the final installment of the Border Showdown Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse, there was another battle brewing between the University’s men’s basketball fans.

Since the beginning of the season, a fight to take the “whoo” out of the Rock Chalk Chant and stop fans from yelling “home of the Chiefs” at the end of the National Anthem has erupted.

When campers gathered last Saturday for the lottery at Allen Fieldhouse, organizers asked those in attendance not to “whoo,” yell “home of the Chiefs” or wear anything but blue. They said that Bill Self didn’t approve of the chants and asked campers to follow tradition.

Significantly less people sang “home of the Chiefs” during the game, and the words “home of the brave!” appeared on the Jumbotron with the image of the American flag waving in the background.

The “whoo” was less audible than it has previously been, but was still present in the crowd even though a Kansan poll showed 85 percent of voters wanted to remove the "whoo."
UDK


The Kansas-Missouri basketball rivalry peaked Saturday. It had to. I watched the game from my living room and was totally wrung out. They say it was never louder in Allen Fieldhouse. I both believe that and am amazed by that.

I was in the fieldhouse the 1990 night that No. 1 KU played No. 2 Mizzou. Never experienced noise like that in my life, and never will again I'm quite certain. I was a KU senior then, and I remember going home to my apartment late that night, walking into a dark bedroom, collapsing onto a bed, closing my eyes and trying to just settle down. I fell asleep to the ring in my ears, and swear I woke up to it the next morning.

By all accounts, it was more intense Saturday than it was that night 20 years ago. Or any other night in KU basketball history. Only the last (for now) game against Missouri could provoke that kind of insanity. That's what it looked and sounded like to me, anyway, watching from my living room. Sheer insanity.

For the sake of this blog, then, I thought it worth asking: As of today, what's the fiercer rivalry?

KU-Mizzou basketball?

Or OU-Texas football?

Has to be OU-Texas. Right? I mean, it's a football rivalry, and football is why we're all here. It's why decisions are made. How money is made. It's the reason that KU-Mizzou is going away, Mizzou passing itself off as a football school and joining the richest, baddest football conference in America.

Has to be OU-Texas, never mind money and TV and realignment. Every year, that game has a direct impact on the two teams' championship dreams. You can't say that about KU-Mizzou. You can't say that about any basketball rivalry, since everything's basically for pride until March.

Think of all those stakes across all those years of football for both OU and Texas. All of those one-shot deals for all of those players. They get two cracks at each other every year when it comes to KU-Mizzou basketball. A third, occasionally, at the conference tournament.

Think of all those times OU and Texas have used their get-together as a springboard to national glory. How many times has that come to pass for Missouri, still running low on conference championships and completely void of a single Final Four appearance?

…But you know something… The level KU-Mizzou reached this basketball season, the level it reached Saturday in Lawrence… Man…

Generations of hatred boiled over is all.

See, this is what folks around here don't quite understand; I had no idea, until I went to college at Kansas. Oklahoma and Texas are neighbors, but nobody from Texas ever crossed the Red River and burned Norman to the ground. No Okie abolitionist ever waged a holy war on the proslavery Lone Star State.
Tulsa World


NPR: Money ends college sport's oldest rivalries


"The next coach may play [Missouri]," Self said. "The next president, the next A.D. may force me to play."

But for now, it's history.

"For people to end it over a dollar sign makes no sense," Robinson said. "Tradition and rivalries are priceless."

But this one had its price.

It's called conference realignment.
cbs


An open letter to Kansas: Don't let it end

Dear Kansas people who get paid big bucks to make smart decisions,

Pardon my passion, but I just finished watching a basketball game that defined instant classic.

One overtime wasn’t enough. I wanted 12. This was the cliché game, the one no one wanted to end.

Ever.

…Eh. Missouri fans might learn to hate, say, Kentucky. But trust me, Kentucky fans won’t deign to hate you back.

So Kansas, I urge you to bury your anger and do the right thing. Play one game a year in Kansas City. Play it on campuses. Play it wherever.

There’s not a lot out there these days to convince people that college athletics is little more than the back-stabbing antithesis of collegiality. You can change that. You can be the bigger university.

Think about that.

You can be the bigger university.

Wouldn’t that be a helluva thing to laud over your most hated rival?

Sincerely,
Dana O’Neil
ESPN (Where are the articles begging Texas to keep playing A&M? I'm amused by all this feigned angst from ESPN. Most "Rivalry Weeks" revolve around their beloved Duke/UNC games. They hardly gave KU/MU a second thought.)


Final BORDER WAR in Lawrence. The Images Edition.


Final BORDER WAR in Lawrence. The Tweets Timeline Edition.


Final BORDER WAR in Lawrence. The Videos.


Final BORDER WAR in Lawrence. What I saw.

KU AD: OSU pregame notes


With the deafening din of Allen Fieldhouse ringing in their ears after Saturday’s breathless overtime triumph against Missouri, the fourth-ranked Jayhawks get their first crack at owning the Big 12 championship outright against Oklahoma State at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tip off is around 8 p.m.

“It will be a gut check as much as any we’ve played,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “If we could pick a game not to play on Big Monday, it would be this game.”

But play they must, against a Cowboys team that’s coming off an 18-point home victory over Texas A&M, and one that’s defeated Missouri, Iowa State and Texas on its home floor.

The source of the Jayhawks’ potential energy drain isn’t hangover from celebrating at least a share of its eighth straight Big 12 championship, but exhaustion.

Trailing by 19 points three minutes into the second half, Kansas battled to post the greatest comeback victory by the home team in the building’s 58-year history.

It took player-of-the-year type moments from Thomas Robinson — a three-point play with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game at one end, a block of Phil Pressey’s left-handed drive on the other — to ensure overtime.

…The news on the injury front also is good. Self said Sunday that center Jeff Withey, who sprained an ankle early against Mizzou and played only nine minutes, is probable for tonight.

In the Jayhawks’ 81-66 home victory over Oklahoma State on Feb. 11, Withey had 18 points and a career-best 20 rebounds.

…Oklahoma State could be shorthanded. Freshman standout Le’Bryan Nash missed Saturday’s game against the Aggies after suffering a fracture in his left hand in the previous game to Oklahoma. Cowboys coach Travis Ford said availability will be a game-time decision — Ford’s.

“He says he wants to play,” Ford said after the A&M game. “They basically left it up to me. He really wants to play.”

A Kansas victory — or a Missouri loss in either of the final two games — means the Jayhawks will have the conference championship for themselves for the fifth time in the eight-year run. In 2005, 2006 and 2008, KU shared the crown.

“We want to own it outright,” Self said. “Why share it when you can have it to yourself?”
KC Star


“That was the craziest game I’ve been a part of. For a game I played in, it was the most awesome experience of my life,” added Teahan, a fifth-year senior out of Kansas City (Mo.) Rockhurst High.

In the wake of all that unbridled emotion comes the stark realization that today — just two days after the taming of the Tigers — the Jayhawks (24-5 overall, 14-2 Big 12) again must take the court in an 8 p.m. ESPN Big Monday contest against Oklahoma State (14-15, 7-9) in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“I will do what I need to do to get back to where I need to be Monday,” said Teahan, who played a career-high 37 minutes versus Mizzou. “I’ve never seen a win in Stillwater. Nobody else on our team has seen a win there. That’s motivation in itself.”

…Self said Sunday that junior center Jeff Withey is “probable” for tonight’s game. Withey twisted his left ankle in Saturday’s game. ... The Jayhawks drove a charter bus to OSU late Sunday afternoon after a short 15-minute practice.
LJW


Self won’t be surprised if the Jayhawks are a step slower than normal.

“They’re not going to go to bed Saturday night, not because they’re going to be out doing anything wrong,” Self said. “They’re going to be geeked up.”

This isn’t the ideal state for a trip to Stillwater, where Self is 1-5 as a head coach. The Jayhawks lost there two years ago when they were ranked No. 1, and KU’s national title season in 2008 included a loss at Oklahoma State, too.

This OSU team isn’t great, but the Cowboys figure to be at their best for Keiton Page’s final home game.

“Oklahoma State is like a whole different team when they’re playing at home,” Taylor said. “The last time I played there, we lost, and we were the No.1 team in the country.

“It’s going to be tough, man, but we understand how important this is to us and everybody that supports us.”
TCJ


Dear Oklahoma State fan,

On this day, I want to make sure you know one thing—It's Monday.

If you're anything like me, you've sleep walked through the day with an energy drink permanently affixed to your hand and dark bags hanging like dead weight under your eyes.

That's a usual Monday for just about every person these days, especially your typical college student.

But this Monday is different.

On this day, February 27, 2012, there is a different feel.

Today just so happens to be the two-year anniversary of the 2010 Oklahoma State upset over the top-ranked Kansas Jayhawks.

…"GIA isn't what it used to be. This place was deafening. A madhouse. It used to be an advantage."

I may have heard it more than anyone, as my Twitter wars (@brendon_wm) that have erupted from me simply saying, "It's loud in GIA" have been well documented.

Now, it has turned into an empty arena, where students start the timeless "Orange Power" chant as alumni sit and stare at them as if they're speaking some form of Turkish.

…This is where you come in.

We took a trip up to Lawrence to watch the Cowboys play the Jayhawks on February 11th.

Allen Fieldhouse had a complete sellout to watch their top 5 team play a mediocre team with a 12-12 record. It was incredible.

Tonight is senior night, and Keiton Page is two three pointers away from holding the school record.

Today is the two-year anniversary of the 2010 upset of top-ranked Kansas.

The three paragraphs above should be enough for you. What will it take to restore fame to "The Rowdiest Arena in America"?

It all falls on you.

Student, alumni or fan, come to Gallagher-Iba to pay your respects to Keiton Page and the storied history of the basketball program and see what happens.

It probably won't be enough. Kansas is as good as ever, coming off of a huge overtime win over their hated rival, Missouri.

But it shouldn't matter. If you don't want to come for present Cowboys like Keiton Page, Le'Bryan Nash, Markel Brown or Travis Ford, and you don't want to come for the past legends of Eddie Sutton, Byron Eaton, James Anderson and Desmond Mason, then at least come for one reason.

Come because basketball is the cement serving as the foundation that this school is built on.

Come because you're an Oklahoma State Cowboy.
Daily O'Collegian


VOTE for TROB for NPOY (Scroll down, poll on bottom left)


VOTE for TROB for Cap One Impact Performance


VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section (Voting ends the 28th. How is Purdue ahead of us? I think those engineer students have rigged a voting machine.)


VOTE for Coach Self's Assists Foundation (Our showing is pathetic for Coach Self)


Coaches vs Cancer: Help Coach Self raise $ for ACA with his 3-point Attack

Big 12 Schedule & Results


One of Missouri coach Frank Haith’s former players at Miami has been declared ineligible by the NCAA for receiving improper benefits.

The University of Miami issued a statement Sunday that said junior center Reggie Johnson, a player Haith recruited and coached before he left for Missouri last year, took the benefits from an unnamed member of the former staff. The Hurricanes have asked the NCAA for a speedy decision on whether Johnson can be reinstated.

“In the process of the ongoing joint NCAA-UM inquiry, it was discovered that members of Johnson’s family received impermissible travel benefits from a member of the former basketball coaching staff,” the statement said. “Johnson was unaware of the benefits and his family was told they were permissible by that member of the former basketball coaching staff.”

The inquiry came to light last fall, when Yahoo! reported that a member of Haith’s staff, with the cooperation of jailed booster Nevin Shapiro, paid guard DeQuan Jones $10,000 to attend the school.

Haith denied that allegation, and Jones was later reinstated.

Missouri spokesman Chad Moller said the new allegation is part of the ongoing investigation that the school still cannot comment on.
KC Star


How life has changed. In a city scarred by the deadly 1993 confrontation between federal agents and the Branch Davidian group, at a university marred by decades of athletic ineptitude, where a former basketball player killed his former teammate in 2003, it can now be suggested that Baylor sports fans are spoiled by success.

To wit: Baylor has Griner, the Heisman Trophy winner (Robert Griffin III) and a potential N.B.A. lottery pick (Perry Jones III). Collectively, they went 40-0 from early November to mid-January, when at least 10 Baylor sports teams were nationally ranked.

The old-timers see this not as a renaissance, but an awakening. One regent, the prominent lobbyist Buddy Jones, said: “We like to use biblical analogies, and this is a year of biblical proportions. As we would say in Christendom, it’s like an early rapture. We spent 40 years wandering the wilderness. I hope this is our exit.”

Ian McCaw, athletic director: “Someone tapped me on the shoulder at a national meeting and said, You have the No. 1 athletic department in the country right now.”
New York Times: Baylor's Athletic Program hits the big time


Assembling the men's basketball NCAA Tournament bracket is like officiating. No matter the end result, criticism is guaranteed.

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione will experience the scrutiny first hand.

One of 10 members on the NCAA Tournament Selection committee, Castiglione will help determine the 68-team bracket that will be revealed in 13 days.

“It's really exciting,” Castiglione said. “Certainly, it's one of the greatest sporting events in the world. They call it an event. It's many, many games but together it's called March Madness.”

Castiglione replaced former Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe on the selection committee. Beebe served the past two seasons. Castiglione will be on the committee this year and 2013.
The Oklahoman

shabazz muhammad‏ @phenom15balla
Had a lot of fun in Lawrence this weekend great visit #rockchalk!!!!!


JaKarr Sampson was in the house at Allen Fieldhouse Saturday when Kansas beat Missouri, 87-86 in OT, in the latest, and perhaps, last edition of the Border War.

The 6-foot-8 Sampson visited Kansas along with 2012 late-signing studs Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Parker.

“It was a real good visit,” Don Anderson, Sampson’s AAU coach, told SNY.tv Sunday by phone. “They showed us the facilities and talked to JaKarr and told him what they wanted to do with him as far as him being a player. You know, doing it the Kansas Way.”

Sampson previously visited Baylor and is next eyeing trips to Providence and Florida.

“Providence and Florida are trying to get him to come,” Anderson said. “I don’t know when that’s going to take place. He said he wants to take a look at Florida and Providence.”

Anderson said Sampson was instead focused on playing with his unbeaten Brewster (N.H.) Academy team (29-0) — No. 1 in the Five Star Power Rankings — at the upcoming New England Prep School AAA Basketball Tournament on Feb. 29 at Endicott College in Beverly, Mass.

After that comes the National Prep Championship March 6-7 at Albertus Magnus College.

St. John’s remains in the hunt for Sampson, who decommitted in the fall.

“St. John’s, he’s still looking at,” Anderson said. “He visited them. He wants to take a look at these other schools.”
Zags Blog


The big story of the day was the huge guest list for Kansas’s Border War against Missouri. The game, an instant classic won by the Jayhawks, 87-86 in overtime. had 2012 and 2013 Kansas commits Brannen Greene, Perry Ellis, Conner Frankamp and Landen Lucas in attendance.

On top of that, Bill Self and staff hosted three of the top unsigned seniors in the nation
– JaKarr Sampson, Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Parker – for official visits. Sampson, a former St. John’s commit from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, is being recruited the hardest by Providence, but is also looking at Baylor, Florida, St. John’s, Texas and others. Muhammad, the top wing prospect in America, will head to Duke next weekend for an official visit. As first reported by SNY.tv, he will be joined by senior forward Amile Jefferson of Philly Friends Central on the trip to Cameron Indoor. Parker, another unsigned senior from Miller Grove in Georgia, is also looking at Ohio State, UConn, Duke, UCLA, Memphis and Kentucky. Parker, Muhammad and Sampson will all decide in the spring.
Zags Blog


No. 33-ranked Tony Parker, a 6-9 senior center from Miller Grove High in Lithonia, Ga., who attended Saturday’s game, will choose between KU, Duke, Ohio State, Memphis and UCLA. “It was a great game and it was a great atmosphere,” Tony’s dad, Virgil, told Rivals.com. Tony wrote on Twitter: “I sat next to Larry Brown today at the game. (It was) the best atmosphere in my life.” ... No. 1-rated Shabazz Muhammad, 6-6 from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas, wrote on Twitter: “Had a lot of fun in Lawrence this weekend; great visit. #rockchalk!!!!” He’s considering KU, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA, UNLV and others. ... JaKarr Sampson, 6-8 senior forward from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, told Rivals.com, “It was fun and it was crazy. I’ve never been to a place like that and I’ve never seen an atmosphere like that before. I got goose bumps on my back. It was just a fun game.”
LJW


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


My 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos now on Youtube

Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops)
2/25/12 5:31 PM
Taylor makes the first. All tied up. Tingles....


Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops)
2/25/12 5:31 PM
Denmon's gonna win this game for Mizzou


Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops)
2/25/12 5:32 PM
Shot went in after the buzzer. KU wins an incredible game


ESPNHomeCourt (@ESPNHomeCourt)
2/25/12 5:32 PM
Rock, Chalk, Comeback! #Kansas storms back from 19 down to force OT and beat #Mizzou 87-86 at the Phog. Game of the year?


Nate Bukaty (@nate_bukaty)
2/25/12 5:33 PM
Greatest sporting event I've ever seen in person in my life? Yeah, greatest ever.


Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS)
2/25/12 5:35 PM
That was a terrific basketball game. I'm gonna celebrate by wearing sunglasses for the next 10 hours.


Josh Selby (@joshselby2)
2/25/12 5:35 PM
Big win by KU


Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz)
2/25/12 5:36 PM
Tremendous comeback from Kansas. Terrific game. Let's just book the rematches in KC in Big 12/NOLA. Could be like 2001 Duke-MD with 4 games.


Tyrel Reed (@treed14)
2/25/12 5:36 PM
And that my friends is the way to send them out of the conference #byebye


CBSSports.com (@CBSSports)
2/25/12 5:37 PM
Game of the Year? "It’s a shame we won’t see this game again for a long time. What a game, what a rivalry."


Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops)
2/25/12 5:37 PM
Sorry Mizzou fans your team blew a 19-point lead. Stop carping about refs. Remember the charge calls in Columbia? Two great teams, period.


Nate Bukaty (@nate_bukaty)
2/25/12 5:49 PM
Weirdest thing about sports: best game I've ever been to, and I was miserable the entire time.


Landen A. Lucas (@L_Lucas44)
2/25/12 5:50 PM
That was easily the best basketball game Iv ever been to. I definitely made the right decision. Happy to be a jayhawk! #RCJH


Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow)
2/25/12 5:46 PM
Missouri fans have amnesia about call in last game--all square on phantom home calls--#onemoreborderwar


KU Alumni Assoc. (@kualumni)
2/25/12 6:02 PM
RT @KUNews: Celebrate #kubball's win vs Missouri w an exclusive photo for your profile. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! ow.ly/i/tHRq


Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz)
2/25/12 6:07 PM
The heated debate over Davis vs. TRob is healthy. You can't go wrong either way this season. No need to diss the other, though.


Tyrel Reed (@treed14)
2/25/12 6:07 PM
As a college basketball fan that was a fun game to watch


Brannen Greene (@b_greene14)
2/25/12 6:08 PM
The game was too crazy! #KUCMB


Christian Garrett (@CGarrett_21)
2/25/12 5:54 PM
LETS GO!!!...BIG 12 CHAMPS. JESUS gets all the glory for that one that was all him!


Jay Bilas (@JayBilas)
2/25/12 6:05 PM
Two whistles on Thomas Robinson, both of them clearly incorrect. Missouri hit two threes after them. Impactful calls.


Jay Bilas (@JayBilas)
2/25/12 6:08 PM
Amazing game between KU and Mizzou. But, too many poor calls, including T-Rob fouling Pressey at end of regulation. Refs were not good.


CBSSports.com (@CBSSports)
2/25/12 6:13 PM
"If this was it, the Border War sure went out in style."


Landen A. Lucas (@L_Lucas44)
2/25/12 6:20 PM
Can't wait to play here! instagr.am/p/HctIe-CKW4/


Kansas Athletics WEF (@WilliamsFund)
2/25/12 6:22 PM
Mission Accomplished 172-95. #kubball #rockchalkjayhawk


Jeff Withey (@JeffWithey)
2/25/12 6:29 PM
@Trobinson0 showed the world today why he deserves POY.. So proud of my team


Tully Corcoran (@tullycorcoran)
2/25/12 6:30 PM
Here's the thing: If Thomas Robinson is a national player of the year candidate, so is Tyshawn Taylor. Never imagined I'd say that.


Ryan Burr (@RyanBurrESPN)
2/25/12 7:14 PM
Kansas Thomas Robinson 28pts 12 reb 1 block in a dead heat with Kentuckys Anthony Davis 28pts 11reb 6blocks for national player of year


Ryan Burr (@RyanBurrESPN)
2/25/12 7:11 PM
Jayhawks clinch share of 8th straight Big 12 reg title with ot win over Mizzou and bracketology moves Kansas to a #1 seed @GottliebShow


Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow)
2/25/12 7:20 PM
actually no--RT @navyrm2: @GottliebShow. Are u convinced Kansas has enough to win it all


keith langford (@keith_langford)
2/25/12 5:41 PM
ROCKCHALK JAYHAWK!!!! MUCK FIZZOU! 8 str8 big 12 chips!! Never been more proud of a group of guys at the K! Much Alum Love from Tel Aviv!!!


mario chalmers (@mchalmers15)
2/25/12 6:31 PM
Congrats to my jayhawks. That's the way to fight to the end. Mizzou take that L and go to the Sec


#TeamRio (@Rio2KU)
2/25/12 7:48 PM
“@ohthatsWAGNASTY #RockChalk”


tyshawn taylor (@_tee_y)
2/25/12 7:53 PM
that's how you fight man ...that's how you fight ;; #lovemyteam


Charlie Weis Jr. (@CJWJR23)
2/25/12 5:44 PM
The best sporting event I've ever gone to. That includes 5 superbowls, And nearly every great college football stadium #RCJHKU!!!!!!


Corey Haith (@CoreyHaith11)
2/25/12 6:41 PM
Refs deciding games<<<<<<<<<. #NothingYouCanDo


JaKarr Sampson ‏ @ KarrSampson14
Man that game was crazy


Rob Riggle ‏ @ RobRiggle
Wow!!! Best game I've ever seen at Allen Fieldhouse! Big night in Lawrence tonight!


olivia wilde ‏ @ oliviawilde
rock. chalk.


tony parker ‏ @tonyparker32
I sat next to Larry brown today at the game the best atmosphere in my life


Aziz Ansari ‏ @azizansari
Holy shit! Kansas just put in Jeremy Lin!! Don't know how or why but this game is awesome!!! #Linsanity


Aziz Ansari ‏ @azizansari
This Kansas game features the highest concentration of white people in blue t-shirts I have ever seen.


Tim Carson (@thetimcarson)
2/25/12 7:29 PM
@nate_bukaty As a KSU guy who lucked into tickets for the game, nothing comes close to the atmosphere there today. Bramlage doesn't touch it


Nate Bukaty (@nate_bukaty)
2/25/12 8:48 PM
Ran into Jon Sunvold after the game. He said KU probably shoulda won in Columbia, and MU probably shoulda won today. Best of 3 in KC??


Jeff Withey (@JeffWithey)
2/25/12 9:12 PM
Thanks for all the support jayhawk nation my foot is fine I sprained it but I'll be ready to play Monday. Rock chalk


Dave Telep (@DaveTelep)
2/25/12 11:14 PM
We might have to take this college POY trophy and saw it in half. @Trobinson0, @AntDavis23 are not making it easy. GREAT seasons.


Dave Telep (@DaveTelep)
2/25/12 11:16 PM
Time to reiterate: T-Rob was NOT a McDonalds AA. It can be done. Hats off to him, keeps getting better and determination is off the charts


tyshawn taylor (@_tee_y)
2/25/12 11:49 PM
if it was camera crews following us tonight it would be something like a movie and that's no b.s


Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla)
2/26/12 12:05 AM
Thought Frank Haith would get my Coach of Year vote in Big 12. Done a great job. But that was a Bill Self coaching masterpiece today. Wow!


Andrew Joseph @AndyJ0seph
Move over Duke. Thomas Robinson's block produced a 127.3 dB reading. New college basketball record #kubball

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Bill Self was asked this week whether Saturday's showdown between No. 3 Missouri and No. 4 Kansas will be the biggest game ever played inside Allen Fieldhouse. Self said it's not, and he's likely right. But the idea that such a question can even be reasonably posed is a testament to the magnitude of what will be the final Border War game for the foreseeable future. A KU win would clinch at least a share of an eighth consecutive Big 12 title for the Jayhawks while a Missouri victory would create a tie atop the league standings with one week remaining in the regular season. So, yeah, this is big. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. ET. You can watch it on CBS -- which, I'm told, is America's Most Watched Network.
CBS


I spoke with Withey by phone after Kansas’ victory at Texas A&M Wednesday.

What do you remember the most about the loss to Missouri earlier this month?

Jeff Withey: It wasn’t one of my better games. Looking back, I see so many things I could’ve done personally to help the team out a lot, things I’ll need to do this time. If Kim English is on me again, he’s a smaller guy, so I’ll need to post up stronger and try to take advantage of that match-up so that Thomas [Robinson] can go one-on-one with his man. Defensively, I need to try to make sure they can’t drive into the lane as much, maybe block a lot of shots so they won’t even try to come in there very much. I guess just be more aggressive. The first game I definitely wasn’t as aggressive as I should’ve been.

How has this team responded?

JW: We had the game won. To be up by 10 and lose that game, a lot of things had to go wrong. I think the whole team has tried to build off the loss. Sometimes when you lose a game like that you’ll break down (mentally) to the point where it’s hard to come out of it. We’ve done a good job of putting that in the backs of our minds. Instead of dwelling on it, we’ve focused on the games ahead and played pretty well. But I’m not going to lie. We’ve had Saturday’s game circled on our calendar. We can’t wait to play them again. Practices leading up to the game are going to rough and intense. We’re going to get after it and get ready for this game.

…Even though you didn’t grow up in Kansas or Missouri, you’ve certainly learned a lot about the rivalry between these two schools. What stands out the most?

JW: It’s really important for our state and our university. People are really passionate about it. It goes back to Civil War times. Everyone is talking about it on campus. That’s all they care about, us beating Mizzou. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s a fun game, though. I’m glad it means that much to so many people. It definitely makes the game more fun for us, more exciting.

So many teams enter seasons talking about winning national titles, but at Kansas, you don’t look that far ahead. How impressive is it that your team is on the cusp of an eighth straight Big 12 title?

JW: That’s our goal every year, to win the Big 12 title. After that it’s the conference tournament title and after that the national championship. It goes in that order. We know how important this game coming up is. We’ve got a one-game lead right now. If we don’t care of business this weekend, it means nothing. We’re focused right now. We know what’s at stake.
ESPN King


Kansas had shaky moments after leaving Columbia but did just enough at Kansas State and Texas A&M to hold on to victories.

Plus, Self said, he’d like to see a little Novak Djokovic in all of his players. You know, the tennis player who has won the last three and four of the last five Grand Slam events.

“Basketball is a little like tennis,” Self said. “There are certain points you have to win. When you’re down five with 3 minutes to go, you have to get a stop. If you’re up five with less than 2 minutes to go, you have to have a good possession. These are the things you must do to become a good closing team.”
KC Star


Bill Self doesn't harbor much sentimentality about the end of the Kansas-Missouri rivalry.

He admits that the atmosphere in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday, when the fourth-ranked Jayhawks play the No. 3 Tigers for the final time in the regular season, will be more "juiced" than perhaps any other time since the venerable gym opened in 1955.

But he also knows that there is a lot more riding on the game than nostalgia.

"These kids will be fired up to play, without question, for a lot of reasons: A chance to get a ring - at least a piece of it - a chance to play Missouri and, more importantly, a chance to beat a team that beat us the first time we played," Self said. "That will be our focus."

…"I don't know if this is the biggest game we've had," Self said. "If I remember right, Tyshawn's freshman year we played Texas at home, winner-take-all for the conference championship. That was the last game of the season, if I'm not mistaken. But regardless of what I say or how I look at it, people will look at this as a huge game.

"The most important thing, though, is to win the game, and put yourself in position to win the game," Self said. "That's our goal - that's Missouri's goal."

Self may be downplaying the importance of the rivalry coming to a conclusion, preferring instead to focus on the laurels that come with another marquee victory at the Phog.

But once he stepped out of the locker room for practice Thursday afternoon and saw hundreds of students already lined up for prime seats - many had arrived at the break of dawn on Sunday - he couldn't deny the significance of one more win over Missouri.

"I mean, I love playing Missouri. I loved playing them when I was at Illinois. I've loved playing them here," he said. "But that's not anything I'm going to lay around, sit around, think about, `Oh, I wish.' I just don't think that strongly about it."
AP


Rex Walters, KU guard, 1991-93
“It’s awful. They broke tradition and natural rivalries for money I guess. I loved playing against Mizzou and we will miss those type of games....but we still have K-State,” said Walters, head coach at University of San Francisco who went 6-0 vs. MU.

“I just remember Norm (Stewart, who went 33-41 versus KU) yelling at Richard Scott and myself. We really didn’t know what he was saying — I would have definitely said something back if I understood him .... bad habit that coach (Roy) Williams couldn’t break me from — so Rich and I looked at each other and started laughing ... that and the score probably made him even more upset.

...Milt Newton, KU forward, 1985-89
“The SEC is not in our region so it’s funny to think of MU playing in that conference,” said Newton, who went 5-4 versus the Tigers. “Let’s face it, the SEC has historically been a football conference, with a sprinkling of some basketball teams with Kentucky being the constant. We’re going to miss beating up on them on a regular basis.

...Brett Ballard, KU guard, 2000-02
“After we won my senior year, I was running off the court and a Mizzou fan threw a cup and hit me. The funny thing was the CBS camera was on me for some unknown reason so it was on TV and it definitely gave my friends and family a laugh. Also my senior year the Antlers kept calling my apartment phone. The night before our home game my roommate was on the phone with them for 45 minutes and they thought it was me. We always hang a KU flag on our locker room door at opposing arenas. At Mizzou a couple of years ago they took it down and said we couldn’t do that. Needless to say we put it back up and it stayed up (and we won).”

...Scooter Barry, KU guard, 1985-89
“One year, the rumors of coach Brown leaving were floating around and we came out to an oversized cardboard construction of a bus towing a smaller cardboard construction of a U-Haul with giant headshots of coach (Ed) Manning driving coach Brown across the court! Even the coaches had to crack smiles as they taunted them on the bench. They made giant cartoon characters of players. I remember Kevin Pritchard depicted as a Wolf-Boy and a feminine version on me that was accompanied by chanting, ‘Scooter, you’re the daughter your father always wanted!’ They were hilarious!”

...Tyrel Reed, KU guard, 2008-11
“I was so excited every year knowing we were going to play them twice and all of us players are a little bit more amped to play that game. It may be cliched since it’s the most recent memory and seems to be the one people talk about, but it would be when I hit the three last year at MU in the corner and yelled at the crowd. I didn’t say anything in specific just got caught up in the moment I guess. I mainly remember seeing the replay on the Internet after the game and seeing coach (Kyle) Keller go crazy, which was hilarious to me.”

...Wayne Simien, KU forward, 2001-05
“My favorite memory in Columbia was my junior year when they made the mistake of scheduling us to play the last game ever in the Hearnes Center. We won, 84-82, when David Padgett hit a shot at the buzzer. Also my freshman year when we completed our 16-0 Big 12 undefeated season in Columbia. In Lawrence, it was the year we were both in the top 10 and we smashed them.”

...Eric Chenowith, KU center, 1998-2001
The students always sold shirts that said ‘Muck Fizzou’ which I thought was hilarious. My senior year I wore one under a white Dri-Fit shirt while I was shooting around before the game and the students picked up on it so I had to do a quick change before coach saw. By the way, we won that day.”

...Ted Owens, coach, 1964-83
“As sad as it is, after all these years the anti- and pro-slavery battles across the border and so forth, there still are ill feelings between Missouri and Kansas. You would notice in recent years things Missouri (fans) wore. I’m not pointing at Missouri. We did enough things that were probably not right, ourselves, but even as late as two or three years ago they wore T-shirts praising Quantrill for killing all the people in Lawrence, at the Kansas-Missouri game (football) in Kansas City.”

...Keith Langford, KU guard, 2001-05
You hear ‘Border War’ and assume that the meaning behind it all is the fact the Kansas and Missouri are neighboring states. I kept this understanding all in school spirit until a day in history class when I found out the true meaning of Kansas and Missouri despising one another. Learning about Bleeding Kansas, Missouri being a slave-advocating state and details of the Missouri compromise has a profound effect on my views of the rivalry.

“I changed from ‘Oh, I don’t like these Mizzou guys,’ to ‘How could they go to this school?’ I went from thinking that the Mizzou fans in the stands cheering against, attempting to spit on, and yelling racial slurs at us were just showing school spirit to ‘maybe this does have a deeper meaning.’ In turn it gave me a deep disdain for the entire build-up of the game and the fact that it was still called the Border War. Of course I understand that guys who enroll there probably are not aware and probably don’t care as long as they can get a degree and further their basketball careers, but I do believe that awareness of what you represent and ‘fight’ for are critical. I’m also saying that using hindsight. So I do bid the ‘Border War’ adieu but we all would be naïve to think that we have seen the last of it.

...Jeff Boschee, KU guard, 1999-2002
“My last year at the Barstow School, we are playing in the championship game at a tournament at Cass Midway. It is a rural Missouri school with surrounding communities attending. We were playing Adrian, and their fans — literally, I think — would have kicked my butt if they could have. As I am coaching, everytime something went wrong with my team, two at least 50-year-old men, with their Mizzou shirts on, would stand up and yell and harass me. I would just look down and smile at them. They had the look of death in their eyes. As the game went on, they kept yelling at me, yelling at the officials, till finally they got kicked out. As the two were walking by me right by my bench, one would say ‘M-I-Z,’ and the other would say ‘Z-O-U.’ Then one stopped right in front of me, and said to me, ‘You stupid Jayhawk arranged us getting kicked out here ‘cause we were Missouri fans!’ I just chuckled and went on my way.
Must Read from LJW: The end of the Border War in the words of former KU players



Big 12 Minute: Kansas v Missouri


NYT: Hating you was easy, losing you is hard


When faced with the task of going up against Kansas junior forward Thomas Robinson, Ratliffe said you don’t stop him, you just try to contain him. Ratliffe said he wants to limit Robinson’s open jump shots andallow zero dunks “because that gets the crowd into the game,” he said.

Last year, Ratliffe played Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse for the first time and said it was a crazy, loud atmosphere.

“It was definitely the best crowd I’ve witnessed. They’re all in unity. They all hate us,” Ratliffe said. “It’s kind of scary at first to jump tip. Then you try to just block it all out. A lot of people just heckling at you, people that you don’t even know and that don’t know you just yelling at you for no reason. It’s kind of like, ‘Why are you mad at me?’”

Ratliffe plans on using former Missouri coach Mike Anderson’s tip to deal with the hostile environment — pretend like the crowd is cheering for Missouri instead of Kansas.
Columbia Missourian


Columbia Missourian: Other's kindness graces Steve Moore's path to Missouri



Because Missouri is moving to the SEC next season, Saturday’s Tigers-Kansas game will mark the end of a series that began in 1907, and a bitter rivalry.

Asked about it Friday, Williams, the Jayhawks’ former head coach, said he was sorry to see it end.

“It’s just a wonderful rivalry, passionate -- more passionate than you can imagine, because it goes back past football and basketball, it goes back to the border wars and Quantrill’s Raiders coming in and burning down Lawrence. So it’s not just somebody shot a jump shot and blocked it.

“The state line running right down the middle of Kansas City, you live on the Missouri side or the Kansas side. Norm Stewart refusing to ever spend any money in the state of Kansas so they would either drive over on game day or stay in Kansas City, but stay on the Kansas side. There’s some hard, hard feelings there -- it’s not just who is going to win this game. The difference is, that it’s over every spectre, too -- it’s over basketball, football, baseball, they really do have it.

“The passion of the rivalry is really off the charts, and we had some great games. When I first got there, they beat us the first four tmies, and we got them the next six. And I figured out I liked that a heck of a lot better. But it’s truly one of the great rivalries in college athletics. And from a distance, now, 1150 miles or whatever, I would hate to see that end, because it is one of the great rivalries.”
ESPN


QUESTION: Who wins Saturday’s Border War between Missouri and Kansas, and why?

VAHE GREGORIAN
This entire Mizzou season has been a major surprise, perhaps the biggest in college basketball. So don’t count out the Tigers tomorrow, not for a second. But for all the hoopla around the last scheduled meeting in the series, MU most will have to overcome a Kansas team mindful of how it let one get away in Columbia and do it in a venue where Mizzou has lost by an average of 20 points on its last four trips. If Mizzou can contain Thomas Robinson this time and Jeff Withey again, the Tigers can win. Expect a close one befitting the moment but a narrow Kansas win.

BRYAN BURWELL
A part of me wants to give you the upset pick so I can thump my chest if the Tigers can pull off the upset. But I think it is such a tough task to go into The Phog and win, so I expect that Kansas will win. However if Mizzou can withstand the knockout punch early and keep it close, they have what it takes to pull of the historic upset. However, Kansas by 10.

STU DURANDO
Kansas will win, first for the obvious reason that the Jayhawks are at home. I also think they are a more well-rounded team at this point. They seemed to have the first meeting under control until Marcus Denmon single-handedly rescued the Tigers. I’ll take Kansas 74-68.

KATHLEEN NELSON
Kansas. The Tigers haven’t won in Lawrence since the Norm Stewart Era and needed Marcus Denmon to stand on his head and shoot sideways to pull out the victory earlier this season in Columbia. Kansas State has exposed Missouri’s vulnerabilities twice. I think Bill Self is smart enough to see them and can put players on the floor to replicate the Wildcats’ formula.

JOE STRAUSS
Kansas will win by double digits. They’re home. They’re rolling. They’re better. I’d wager your mortgage on it. Beakers, 80-69.

JEFF GORDON
Kansas should win signficantly. They are playing very well at this point. Their home court is huge. They want to give the Tigers a rough sendoff to the SEC. This game is a big step toward earning a No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks had the Tigers measured in Columbia. This time they won’t let them get away.

TOM TIMMERMANN
Last time out it was a close game that went Mizzou’s way thanks to a few calls in the last minute. At Phog Allen, I think those calls go the other way. Mizzou’s defense isn’t where it needs to be to stop Kansas and the Jayhawks win the game and get the No. 1 seed at the Midwest Regional in St. Louis.
St Louis PD


BOTTOM LINE: Top five teams playing for the inside track of the Big 12 championship and a chance for a No. 1 seed, what could possibly make this game bigger? Oh, right. There’s a chance they may never play again. Mizzou is fueled by the confidence of an earlier victory over KU, and the Jayhawks can use the same outcome as motivation. The Tigers were roughed up in their last outing against K-State and the Jayhawks play a physical brand. Mizzou wins they shoot and chase down loose balls and long rebounds like it did in Columbia. KU wins if the Jayhawks prevent that from happening. In the ultimate once more with feeling game, the Jayhawks prevail by single digits.
KC Star


The masses will arrive at Allen Fieldhouse early Saturday afternoon, dressed in bright colors and bearing no casseroles.

Nobody is coming to see a funeral, even if Saturday effectively marks the death of a century-old series. A celebration? It’s not exactly that, either, given the layers of enmity built up between the two sides.

More than anything, Saturday’s game — the final scheduled skirmish in a 100 Years War — will be an event, bringing forth from the woodwork anyone with association to Kansas, Missouri or the sport of basketball.

This became apparent earlier this week as a throng of reporters encircled Tyshawn Taylor, the point guard who will star in Saturday’s Border War finale. Amid the crush of questions, someone piped in and asked Taylor to spell his name.

“You need me to spell my whole name?” he said. “T-Y-S-H-A-W-N …”

And your position?

“Point guard.”

Clearly, the end of a longstanding rivalry transcends a particular player, a particular team or a particular game. It feels vaguely like a sitcom reunion, like the parade of familiar faces filtering through the courtroom scene in the final episode of “Seinfeld.”

…Pending another meeting in the Big 12 Tournament, Saturday’s game could be the final flashpoint before the Border War is frozen in time. If Missouri wins, the Tigers can claim perpetual supremacy based on a sweep in the final season, though KU can counter with its sizable advantage — 171-95, entering Saturday — in the all-time series.

“We can pull the records out,” said John Hadl, the former KU quarterback who now raises funds for the school’s athletic department. “We’ve been to Final Fours and championship games. They have a bunch of zeroes.”

Recently, Hadl met Norm Stewart — one of the Border War’s greatest heroes or most despised villains, depending on your perspective — for a round of golf near Stewart’s home in Palm Springs, Calif.

It would be hard to find two men more qualified to represent their schools in an eternal pact. Hadl quarterbacked KU to an upset of No. 1 Mizzou in 1960, then witnessed the acrimony over allegations (initiated by Missouri, the Jayhawks will say) that KU used an ineligible player. Stewart, 30-34 against the Jayhawks in 32 years as Missouri’s basketball coach, is remembered in Border War lore for refusing even to buy gas in Kansas, a legend that became gospel even if it wasn’t true.

So, hey, why not settle the whole thing right there? It could have been their secret: 18 holes in the desert to resolve a rivalry soon to be defunct.

Hadl chuckled.

“We would have figured out some way to get it tied,” he said.
TCJ


The story was embellished over the years to almost mythic proportions, how former Missouri coach Norm Stewart so detested the state of Kansas that he would refuse to allow the bus driver to purchase gas on the wrong side of the state line.

In truth, Stewart had a grudging respect for the Kansas basketball program.

…“Did I put a special meaning on it? Sure,” said Stewart, now 77, retired and living in Palm Springs, Calif. “They were always the best in the conference, it seemed, and if you could beat them, you figured you could beat everybody. It became a big game.”

…“We understand the rivalry. We understand there’s history,” added Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor. “But I think we have to understand the game more than the rivalry. The game is important for us. After the game, we can talk about the rivalry and how it ended.”

There’s no shortage of people to talk about it in the meantime.

Students began camping out for prime seats at daybreak Sunday, more than six days before the tip. There have been so many credential requests that there isn’t enough room inside the Phog for all the media planning to descend upon the sleepy college town of Lawrence, Kan.
AP


I’m giddy just thinking about this game. Seriously. I’m writing this sentence with a huge smile on my face. Games like this are what makes this sport incredible. Two top five teams playing their final regular season game for the foreseeable future in what is one of the most intense rivalries in college athletics with the Big 12 title on the line. If I could change anything, I would make this game, which could be the final regular-season matchup in the 105-year history of the Border War, played on the last day of the regular season. It feels like this is for all the marbles. It would be even better if it actually was.

…My pick: I’m going with Kansas. I think the duo of Withey and Robinson will be too much, and the fact the game is in Lawrence will make a difference. I do, however, think it will be just as close and entertaining as their last matchup.
NBCsports


Gov. Sam Brownback expressed disappointment today that he’ll be co-leading a committee meeting with Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon when the University of Kansas Jayhawks play the University of Missouri Tigers on Saturday.

“This is terrible," he joked.

He said he’s not interested in the two rivals continuing their matches outside of the Big 12 conference schedule. Missouri is moving to the Southeastern Conference after this school year.

“I thought the KU athletic director had it right," Brownback said after a news conference ended at the Statehouse. “This is like a guy divorcing you and then saying ‘can we still date?’ I don’t think so.”

Missouri started this three years ago with talk of leaving for the Big 10, he said. Now they want to play.
“This has been very difficult for us," Brownback said.
WE


"It's a time of a lot of change in college sports, and it's one of the casualties of it, I think, is a rivalry like this that looks like it's not going to happen for a while. For all of the fans and players who play in it, it's going to be really sad, because it's been the biggest game of the year for a long time." — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison, who helped Kansas reach consecutive Final Fours.


"There have been many talks of the Civil War and what happened and the whole free state/not-free state. It's a very ugly thing. It's a part of history, though. That's what makes the rivalry so strong of — I couldn't say hatred, because it's not hatred — it's just very hostile toward each other." — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Cole Aldrich, who played from Kansas from 2007-10.


"To me, those were the funnest games. Kansas-Missouri, there's no bigger rivalry. There's just so much history." — Atlanta Hawks guard and former Kansas star Kirk Hinrich.


"It's one of the biggest rivalries in NCAA basketball and it's going to be sad not to have that rivalry going back and forth. ... It's going to be weird. When I was at KU, we always looked forward to that game." — Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers.


"We have to enjoy this atmosphere because, why wouldn't you? It's a rivalry. It's Kansas-Missouri. It's Allen Fieldhouse. It's one of the games you come to Kansas for." — Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor.
AP


UDK: Top ten Border War moments


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VOTE for Coach Self's Assists Foundation


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Big 12 Schedule & Results


According to The Nielsen Co., through games of Feb. 12, Kansas City far surpasses St. Louis in ratings for college basketball shown on ESPN — by far the largest carrier nationally of the sport.

KC has a significant base of fans of Mizzou and KU, plus other schools, and ranked fourth among the 56 major U.S. markets in which viewership is measured electronically; St. Louis was 18th. And KC beat STL by more than 2-1 in ratings numbers. Nielsen says 2.7 percent of homes in the Kansas City area were tuning in to those telecasts, with the figure in St. Louis at 1.2.

The top five markets: Louisville (4.6), Greensboro-High Point, N.C., (3.5), Columbus, Ohio, (2.9), Kansas City (2.7) and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (2.6).

The last time the Tigers and Jayhawks met, with ESPN pumping things up by conducting its "College GameDay'' shows live from Mizzou Arena, the game drew a season-high basketball rating in St. Louis of 9.2. But that was dwarfed by the Kansas City rating — a massive 24.6 figure.
St Louis PD

Visitors for the game




Tony Parker, a senior at Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.), is the No. 21 player in the Class of 2012 and one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation, with UConn, Duke, UCLA, Ohio State, Georgetown, Memphis, Kentucky and Kansas all in the running for his services. He has agreed to chronicle the remainder of his final season and recruiting experiences leading up to his decision through a blog with ESPNHS.

Wassup.

Since my last blog, I have won another region championship -- the third I've won out of the four years in my career under head coach Sharman White. The game was extremely tough. Both teams really came to play. Southwest DeKalb played really hard and they have two big-time players in Auburn signee Jordan Price and Memphis signee Shaq Goodwin.

This time, with it being the region championship and SWD having lost the last two times we played, they came in with a huge chip on their shoulders and played like it. We came out with a chip also because SWD beat us the year before in the region championship. So both teams had a huge chip and felt like we had something to prove, and to me, both teams proved that SWD and MG are two of the best teams in Class 4A. And when we come to play, we are very hard to beat. SWD came out strong, but in the end we came out and finished strong so we were able to escape with a close win.

My Kansas visit

Kansas is a great school and they have produced very good post players. Right now they have a dominant big in Thomas Robinson, and a commitment from Brannen Greene, who is also from Georgia. Brannen and I are cool and he makes Kansas sound great. The Kansas game this weekend is where I might use my last official visit simply because that game will have one of the best -- if not the best -- atmospheres in college basketball. With Missouri being highly ranked and coming off a loss and Kansas still trying to prove themselves as a dominant team, I think it would be a showdown between two hungry teams.
Espn


The Vikings (24-3 overall), who advanced to the state quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome with the victory, hit five 3s in the first half and finished the game with eight, swinging the ball around the zone and repeatedly finding the open man.

Three times it was Beach's lone senior contributor Anrio Adams. The 6-foot-3 guard, who will play basketball at Kansas next year, scored 19 points.

...The game opened with Davis draining a 3 from the top of the key followed a few possessions later by an Adams' steal and reverse dunk.
Herald Net



Talk about cementing your legacy.

That’s exactly what Shabazz Muhammad, the nation’s top-ranked high school basketball player, and his Bishop Gorman High teammates did Friday in the 4A state championship against Reno’s Hug High at the Lawlor Events Center.

His highlight-reel-style dunks one after another, a smooth-shooting stroke from the outside and a dominating performance rarely witnessed in Nevada from a high school player will surely be talked about for years to come. The same can be said for Gorman’s star-studded roster.

The senior wing Muhammad put on a show in his finale, scoring 30 points in the first half to finish with 36 points on 15-of-17 shooting to lead the Gaels to a 96-51 victory for their third state championship in four years.

“The first half was quite a display,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “Shabazz will be the first to say, he gets the spotlight because of his scoring, his highlight dunks and his rankings, but we don’t win this championship without all these guys. We don’t even come close.”

Muhammad outscored Hug 30-25 in the first half, only missing one shot in a streak of scoring that included a trio of nothing-but-net 3-pointers during a two-minute stretch in the second quarter and several dunks typically reserved for a dunking contest. On consecutive possessions, he converted a windmill and then a 360-degree dunk — which earned him a technical foul for celebrating.

“I got up pretty good on that,” Muhammad said of the 360-degree dunk. “I had four dunks in a row. I usually don’t have celebrations, but I had to that time and got a technical.”

The players on the Hug bench even appeared to be in awe of the scoring display, often smiling in amazement after a Muhammad dunk. Following the game, Muhammad was bombarded with picture and autograph requests from fans and teammates.

He even autographed his game shoes and gave them to a fan — a teenager from Reno whom he had never met. While most of the autograph hounds got Muhammad’s signature on their game ticket, Fernando Rodarte, 13, had his all-white Air Jordans signed.

“They are going to be worth something one day,” he said. Muhammad's autograph on a basketball already sells on eBay for $149.
Las Vegas Sun

KU AD: Missouri pregame notes


KU AD videos/transcripts: Coach Self and players preview Missouri game


“I’m sure none of my teammates ever will be or ever have been (intimidated),” English said. “They’ve been the better team there. The fans had nothing to do with them winning in Lawrence.”

Nevertheless, Missouri coach Frank Haith is taking steps to prepare his players for the avalanche of noise and hate the Allen Fieldhouse faithful figure to rain down upon them Saturday.

…Junior guard Michael Dixon even said he thinks Missouri will use cards, like you’ve famously seen Oregon’s football team do in the past, to call in plays from the sideline as a way to counteract an environment that English is sure will be off the charts.

“It’s gonna be turned up a notch, no doubt,” English said. “After we beat them here (Columbia) my freshman year, when we went there, it was super loud — the court was shaking.

“They’ll definitely be excited for us to get in there.”
KC Star


A "perfect storm" of circumstances has Kansas basketball operations director Barry Hinson wondering how ear-splitting it might get when third-ranked Mizzou visits No. 4 KU in the 267th and last scheduled game between the ancient rivals.

The loudest precedent, said KU video director Mike Lickert, was 118-something decibels against Texas in 2009 and nearabouts often.

"We're close to OSHA standards," Lickert said, smiling.

To breaking them, he meant — an observation that compelled Hinson to forage online for a decibel comparison chart to put it in context.

"Aircraft takeoff, 180; fireworks, 140; snowmobile 120," he read aloud. "Chainsaw's a 110. Lawnmower's 90."
Below the list, on hearingaidknow.com, he found what he was looking for.

"Noise levels of 130 or over will be painful and likely to cause immediate hearing damage."

Mizzou Arena was plenty loud for Kansas on Feb. 4, leaving Self and Hinson among others dazzled.

But it's a din of inequity at KU, perhaps unequaled anywhere — and almost certainly the most precious experience to be lost for Mizzou with its move to the Southeastern Conference.

Typically, the boom is at its apex just before tipoff, and it's impossible to ignore. Scan the crowd, and you'll see some wearing ear plugs, others covering their ears.

When Ohio State played at KU earlier this season, Hinson saw a Buckeye just mouth the word "wow" in awe just before the ball went up.

Only adding to the mystique, as Hinson put it, Baylor coach Scott Drew once took his team off the court during the video buildup moments before the game started.

"That means we must have done a good job," said Lickert, who acknowledges the cranked-up sound system contributes mightily to the sound level but insists the stoked audience of 16,300 really moves the meter.
Lickert perhaps has some diabolical additions planned for the MU game, but he wasn't letting on.

…"You can't go to Kmart, Walmart or Target, walk in and say, `Where's the aisle where you sell tradition?' " Hinson said. "You can't purchase it. And I know it sounds like a Mastercard 'priceless' commercial ...
"But 100 feet from this office is Wrigley. It's Fenway. Old Yankee Stadium. It's the Colosseum. I mean, it is. And it's set down in a small town in midwest America. On Naismith Drive."

That history inspires senses of reverence and responsibility in those entrusted as stewards now.

…"If a booster gave us $100 million, wrote the check but (said) the only thing we could spend that money would be to build a new facility, we would respectfully decline. I mean, seriously," Self said. "We would respectfully decline, saying, 'Hey, appreciate the offer, hope you we can use your money in some other way, in some other fashion. But if that's the only way that we can use it, we respectfully decline. Because we're not building a new one.' "

For all that's happened there, though, Saturday may create a moment — and a noise — like no other.

"I don't think in my lifetime I'll ever be in such an intense environment," said Hinson, adding, "It will be almost like a portrait."

Of a place in time never likely to be repeated for Mizzou — and in a certain way, even for KU.
St Louis PD


There's a ton on the line in Saturday's Missouri-Kansas showdown in Lawrence, Kan. Missouri is ranked third in the Associated Press poll. Kansas is fourth. They're both pursuing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. And it's the last meeting between the two rivals, at least for the time being, since Mizzou is moving to the Southeastern Conference next season.

But here's what likely isn't at stake: Kansas' Big 12 title streak, arguably the most impressive run going in men's college basketball.

The Jayhawks have won seven straight regular-season Big 12 titles. Regardless of what happens against the second-place Tigers (12-3 Big 12), the first-place Jayhawks (13-2) should be able to win at least a title share, with their only remaining games being against so-so Oklahoma State (road) and Texas (home).

Kansas' streak is quietly climbing the ranks of college-basketball history. Gonzaga has an 11-year run going in the West Coast Conference, but it's in jeopardy: The Bulldogs were a game behind Saint Mary's entering Thursday's play.

In the major conferences, only UCLA (13) and Kentucky (nine) have had longer streaks. It isn't exactly John Wooden's run, but Kansas coach Bill Self (pictured) has already extended another streak. This will be the 14th straight year that he'll finish no worse than second in his conference, a stretch that includes two years at Tulsa and three at Illinois.
WSJ: Death, Taxes, and Kansas Dominance


The end is near for Kansas University senior guard Tyshawn Taylor, who has just two home games left to play in his college career.

Both figure to be major happenings — Saturday’s 3 p.m., clash against Missouri in what is being billed as the last game in history between the rivals in Allen Fieldhouse, and an 8 p.m., March 3, Senior Night contest against Texas.

“I think it’s definitely going to be the biggest in my four years,” Taylor said, asked if Saturday’s rematch of a 74-71 loss to the Tigers on Feb. 4 in Columbia, Mo., could be the biggest game since Allen Fieldhouse opened.

“Look at all the people we have out there (hundreds of student campers). This is the most campers we’ve had in a minute, so I think it’s gonna be crazy. I’ve been a part of probably three or four like really crazy games, and I think this is probably going to top all three or four of those,” Taylor added.

…KU junior Jeff Withey realizes the roar before the opening tip could raise the roof.

“You can barely hear yourself think when it’s like that,” Withey said. “It’s real exciting playing in an atmosphere like that. I know it’s going to be really intimidating for the other team.”

…Plenty of former KU players will be in the house Saturday. They include: Eric Chenowith, Nick Collison, Matt Kleinmann, Raef LaFrentz, Christian Moody, Brady Morningstar, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Kevin Pritchard, Tyrel Reed, Bud Stallworth, Billy Thomas and Stephen Vinson.
LJW


If just for a second, you can separate more than 100 years worth of antagonistic history from the contemporary importance of this single contest — as close to a winner-take-all affair as you can get in a regular-season college game — then you can begin to appreciate why Saturday afternoon's final installment of Tigers versus Jayhawks could be the perfect game to bring down the curtain on this wonderful show.

So forget about all the hatred. Forget about all the sniping. Forget about who's to blame for the ending of the MU-KU hostilities. Just consider how the last game of the rivalry couldn't be scripted any better than this. Missouri is 25-3 and ranked No. 3 in the country. Kansas is 24-4 and ranked No. 4 in the land. KU is 13-2 and in first place in the Big 12 Conference and Mizzou is 12-3 in second place with only three regular-season games to play.

So for instant gratification, we know that the winner on Saturday not only pretty much locks up the regular-season conference title, but also gains a huge edge towards wrapping up a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest region in St. Louis, while the loser probably drops to a No.2 seed and gets shipped out to another region far from home.

And if we must bring it back to a history lesson for a moment, than consider how much fun Mizzou fans will have if they can roll out of the Big 12 not only with the best regular season in school history, but with two victories over KU and a conference title in their back pockets, too. Oh, but consider this too: Losing becomes worse than a disaster. It becomes an eternal haunting, because KU loyalists will have the ultimate dig in their back pockets.

"So let me get this straight: this was your greatest season ever, but you couldn't beat us for the title? Hmmmm."
St Louis PD


Earlier in the month, Robinson was stellar against the Tigers, especially in the second half and finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds. If Kansas had gotten anything from Withey that night the Jayhawks might have left Mizzou Arena with a victory.

“I wasn’t a factor,” Withey said.

Withey was assigned to guard MU guard Kim English, who is about 6 inches shorter, and English easily won the battle.

“I need to put pressure on English and hopefully make them play bigger,” Withey said.

The goose-egg from Withey that night brought a swift and positive response. In the next game, at Baylor, Withey scored a career-best 25 points. He followed that with an 18-point, 20-rebound performance against Oklahoma State and was one blocked shot short of a triple-double in a triumph at Kansas State.

Difficult as the Missouri defeat was for Kansas to swallow, it may have been a factor in launching Withey’s late-season surge.

“I learned I had to be aggressive,” Withey said.

Kansas won the board battle against the Tigers, but only by 29-26. Mizzou post man Ricardo Ratliffe and its frontliner off the bench, Steve Moore, combined for eight points and six rebounds. One of the differences in that game was the rebounding effort by Missouri guards. Marcus Denmon had nine.

But if Withey continues to play with confidence and Robinson can turn some frustration into positive energy, the Kansas big men figure to have a major impact Saturday.
KC Star


His next step is probably medical school. He has been accepted to the KU School of Medicine, where he plans to pursue a career as a physical therapist. You get the feeling that he'll hit the ground running.

Former schoolboy basketball legend, former Jayhawk and published author - all before the age of 23.

Yes, he'll do just fine.

His book, "Reed all about it: Driven to be a Jayhawk," might be deemed the stuff of fairytales for any boy who has grown up in the Sunflower State. Basketball, as we know, is king around here. And with all due respect to Kansas State and Wichita State, there is no bigger dream than playing basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.

It's one of basketball's heritage schools.

A blue blood.

Elite, to put it succinctly.

And for most kids, playing there is merely a pipe-dream.
Hutch News


Tyrel Reed book signing Sat. Feb 25 from 11am to 1pm KU Bookstore, Kansas Union, Level 2


Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most remarkable days in Kansas University basketball history: the day Isaac “Bud” Stallworth exploded for 50 points in a 93-80 victory over Missouri in Allen Fieldhouse.

The sweet-shooting 6-foot-5 senior from Hartselle, Ala., hit 19 of 38 shots and 12 of 13 free throws on Feb. 26, 1972, thrilling a packed Allen Fieldhouse crowd that included his mother, who was watching her son play in KU’s tradition-rich building for the first time.

Members of KU’s 1952 national title team, who were in town for a 20th-reunion celebration, also were on hand to see Stallworth’s one-for-the-ages outing.

“It was a great, great day — a remarkable performance,” former KU coach Ted Owens said of the second-highest scoring output from a Jayhawk. Stallworth’s ‘half-a-hundred’ points trailed only Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 52 points against Northwestern on Dec. 3, 1956. It remains the most points a Jayhawk has scored in a conference game.

“It’s not like we were playing a bad team. Missouri was good. Norm (Stewart, MU coach) tried everything. He put three different guys on Bud. Bud just had one of those nights,” Owens said.

Stallworth — he had the front-end of a one-on-one free throw make erased when teammate Wilson Barrow stepped into the lane — scored 50 without benefit of the three-point line.

“Think about this ... 13 of those baskets would have been three-pointers today,” Owens said. “That’s 63 points.”
LJW


A smile stuck on English’s face as he recalled his freshman visit to one of his five most enjoyable places to play a basketball game (not “favorite” because he’s never won there).

He walked out of the tunnel alongside four-year teammate Marcus Denmon and remembered one man “about 110 years old in a Kansas shirt.” English recounted the man’s message with the cracked voice of a real geezer:

“'You from Missourah?'" English imitated. "'You gonna burn just like you burnt down our town!'”

English’s face became serious, speaking of the matchup that could determine the throne-holder of the conference.

“It’s definitely something I want to end my career doing, by winning at Allen Fieldhouse,” he said. “(We seniors) are just enjoying this. If I go on to have a long NBA career, it would never be anything like college ... We’re just enjoying every step of it.”
UM Maneater


Missouri’s final scheduled appearance at Allen Fieldhouse will be a singular event, one that warranted some campus preparedness.

On Thursday, Kansas sent an email reminder for fans planning to attend: Show up early, beware the phony tickets and, oh yeah, it’s gonna be hot in there.

“There will be a lot of energy in the building, I would think,” coach Bill Self said.

The Fieldhouse will be a complex stew of emotions on Saturday, enhanced by the heat of a conference race, the end of a historic series and the plain distaste between two rivals.

…“I don’t know if you can get too hyped for a game,” he said. “I think the more hyped we are, the better for us. We’ve got to play with a lot of energy, be excited, have fun and enjoy this atmosphere.”

Amid the excitement, though, the Jayhawks almost must keep their wits and avoid being sucked into a shootout with the Tigers, the Big 12’s highest-scoring team.

“It’s not so much the tendency that we have to match them, because that’s not who we are,” Self said. “The tendency is (to) let your emotions get the best of you, where you get too excited.”

Processing emotion comes down to maturity, Self said, and Saturday’s game could come down to that, too.
“I certainly anticipate a maturity level being the key intangible in whoever plays the best,” he said. “You’ve got to put blinders on. You can’t look left, and you can’t look right.”
TCJ


After the game, I was walking down the hallway to the locker rooms and passed Kansas star Tyshawn Taylor using the wall to hold himself up. Anyone who believes these players don’t care is simply incorrect. They care deeply, and Taylor showed how much he had invested in that game. He was mentally and physically spent, and devastated about the loss.

That game was incredible in its solid play. Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor, a rarity in today’s bump and grind games. Missouri hit 10 three-point field goals and doubled up the Jayhawks in free throw attempts. One thing is certain, the Jayhawks cannot get a bagel from Jeff Withey and expect to win, even at home. In Columbia, Withey played 23 minutes and did not score, grabbing four rebounds.

After that first game, it was clear to me that both Kansas and Missouri are capable of reaching a Final Four, and fully capable of winning this thing with a good draw and some good fortune. Kansas is probably better suited for it, because of its inside strength and ability to get the ball inside and get to the free throw line. Missouri will cause problems because of its style differences and match-up problems it poses, but the Tigers are vulnerable to a lot of teams on bad shooting nights.

…And the winner is: Kansas. The Jayhawks have to feel like they let one get away at Missouri. I think the Jayhawks will pull out a win and claim the driver’s seat toward their eighth straight Big 12 title, 75-70.
Jay Bilas previews the Border War


The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame sits on the southeast side of Springfield. The splendid facility — the front patio contains a brick inlay shaped like Missouri and a walkway is lined with busts of inductees — was largely bestowed by John Q. Hammons, who, if not responsible for founding Springfield, should at least be credited for its rebuild.
As I walked in, halfway through the museum’s daily hours, the curator pardoned himself for having to turn on some exhibits, then returned and rang up my $5 admission as the day’s first visitor.

…One particular basketball video, however, was downright startling.

The clip was on a constant loop and the name of a KU guy, an instrumental KU guy, continually reverberated within the hall’s basketball display. Phog Allen’s crusade to make basketball an Olympic sport, as well as the 1952 team he assisted, were featured prominently on the rewind.

It was a reminder — not so subtle given the upcoming game, which we circled long ago, at the fieldhouse named in his honor — that Doc Allen, the father of basketball coaching, was very much tied to Missouri, his birthplace.

We all knew that, I think, yet it still was interesting to read his Hall of Fame plaque and learn Allen was enshrined in 1952 along with Casey Stengel, a year after Carl Hubbell became the first inductee in the Missouri shrine.

At that point in my visit, I was content remembering the last scheduled hoops clash between KU and Mizzou would be played in a place named for a Missouri native who gave his heart and soul to Kansas.

Then, one last exhibit in the Missouri Hall brought conference realignment full circle.

Posters celebrating five-year intervals of the Missouri Valley Conference were hung in a row, along with caricatures of all the inductees in the MVC Hall of Fame.

This is a league that weathered its share of turnover during 100-plus years. Yet the Valley does not hide any of its heritage. Allen and his early KU teams were heralded. The timeline the museum effectively captures even tells of the 1928 split creating the Big Six. Another departure, in 1941, involved Washburn.

Wounds that old heal over time, though the Missouri Valley’s recovery left it with the label as a mid-major conference.

Nonetheless, its name remains intact and a place exists to tell its story.
TCJ


Professional Live Artist and former KU football player, John Bukaty, will paint live at the game and create a masterpiece of this this historical event court-side. He is donating the painting to the University.

The classic work, "The Final Battle of the Border War" is like nothing ever seen before on canvas!

Be one of the few to own this masterpiece of the one greatest basketball games in Allen Field-house history. Only 100 Large Limited Edition Giclees signed and numbered by John Bukaty. There are also a Limited Edition of 500 Medium Limited Edition Giclees (21"x32") available.
Info


The men’s and women’s basketball teams are known to come around and deliver pizza to the hungry campers some nights. One night, junior forward Kevin Young pushed junior forward Thomas Robinson around in a laundry hamper as the players delivered pizza.

“It was good,” Kyle Haley, a junior from Hays, said about interacting with the players. “It’s different I guess, knowing they’re my age. It’s kind of unique that they’re as popular as they are.”

Haley got to split a Pizza Hut cheese pizza, delivered to him by junior guard Elijah Johnson, with another camper. But pizza time is not the only time the campers can catch a glimpse of the players.

“I’m looking at the gods of our school,” Tansey Schoonover, a freshman from Roswell, Ga, said as students gathered to watch the men’s basketball team walk to practice.

Students try to maintain sanity during hours of camping. Vipond’s group pitched in together to purchase an air mattress that stands over a foot tall.

“I try to attempt doing homework, but it doesn’t really work,” Vipond said. “So, basically just surf the Internet. Sometimes I sleep, if you have an early shift, but it’s really hard on this floor.”

Worse than waking up early is the fear that a camper might oversleep his or her shift. In her freshman year, Maggie Hirschi, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., woke up at 5:55 a.m. for her 6 a.m. camping shift at the Fieldhouse before a game against Texas. She rushed over from her Oliver Hall dorm room but arrived too late, and her group lost its number three camping spot.

The north concourse will continue to bustle with student activity until numbers are handed out three hours before tip-off on Saturday.
UDK


VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section (Semis end today, top 8 advance to finals)


VOTE for Coach Self's Assists Foundation


Coaches vs Cancer: Help Coach Self raise $ for ACA with his 3-point Attack


The field of rookies joining him in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge is not the bar for Morris. Most of the guys that provide a measuring stick for Morris are playing here on Sunday.

“I’m looking at the best big men,” Morris said of the standard he sets for himself. “I’m not worried about what the rookies are doing. I don’t look at myself as a rookie and don’t try to put myself in that category as a rookie. I just want to be a great person to be on this team and play as hard as possible.”

By rookie standards, Morris’ season has been a success to the point he was selected to be in the 20-man field for Friday’s game, when rookies and sophomores play together as a twist on the Rookie/Sophomore Challenges of past years. Former Suns stars Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley drafted teams and O’Neal tabbed Morris with his fifth pick.

Morris initially said there was nobody in particular he was excited about joining in the game.

“My brother (Marcus) is not playing so it doesn’t matter to me … Oh, or Jeremy Lin,” Morris said. “He’s entertaining so it should be exciting to play with him.”
Tucson Citizen


KU will have to be opportunistic to try to score against the 6-foot-8 Griner and BU during today’s 6:30 p.m. home game against the No. 1-ranked Bears. Baylor remains as the only undefeated team left in men’s or women’s Div. I basketball.

The Jayhawks’ first crack at the Bears’ defense didn’t go so well.

KU made just 18 of 61 field goals (30 percent) and 13 of 49 twos (27 percent) in a 74-46 loss at BU on Jan. 28. In that game, Griner contributed five blocks in 31 minutes.

“You can’t go challenge her at the rim,” Henrickson said. “That’s wasted possessions.”

Henrickson said it was important for her team to take advantage of transition opportunities and also knock down open jumpers when they were available.

On Saturday, Texas Tech demonstrated another strategy that was effective against BU: shooting lots of three-pointers early instead of taking the ball into Griner.

The Red Raiders made six of eight first-half threes, taking a 35-30 halftime lead before eventually falling, 56-51, at Waco.

KU did show the ability to hit outside shots in the first match-up, making five of 12 threes (42 percent).
LJW

Big 12 Schedule & Results


ESPN Power Rankings 2/23: Kansas #3


SI Power Rankings: Duke vaults from #7 to #4


VIDEO: Pat Knight channels his inner Bobby


ESPN: Q&A with Big 12's Chuck Neinas on expansion



But it seems Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is not just upset about his team’s loss. According to Card Chronicle, Pitino went off in the postgame press conference about the officiating.

The officials “are really starting to get under my nerves,”Pitino said. “I don’t know who the hell they think they are.The level of arrogance, I just cannot believe it.”

And more, according to our RapidReporter Evan Hilbert: “I have a problem with the officials. They thought they were the three guys going into the Referee Hall of Fame the way they talked to me. I don’t know what they’re looking at sometimes, but they’re so positive, they should really go into the Referee Hall of Fame.”

Wow.

Looking at the box score, both teams had the same number of fouls (16), and each team’s marquee big man – Yancy Gates for Cincinnati, Gorgui Dieng for Louisville – were saddled with four fouls. Throw in the fact that Louisville had to commit fouls late in the game to get Cincinnati to the free-throw line, and it doesn’t seem egregious in either direction.

With that said, there were some questionable out-of-bounds calls, as well as a couple of travel (and non-travel) calls that went against Louisville at key points.

And Pitino wasn’t done with his venom. He wasn’t fond of how the Cincinnati fans acted. He did say Cincinnati had the biggest homecourt advantage he’s seen this season, and would like to see the Louisville crowd bring the same energy on Sunday.

There’s one caveat, though, according to Pitino: “without some of the low-class behavior.”
CBS


After spending three consecutive days as the color analyst for ESPN’s broadcast of the Maui Invitational, Jay Bilas decided to give himself a break.

He wouldn’t immediately fly back home to North Carolina. Instead, he would give himself a chance to recuperate.

“The Maui tournament always ends the day before Thanksgiving,’’ Bilas said. “I stayed on Thanksgiving day so I could sleep in and spend the day in Maui before taking a red-eye back on Thanksgiving night. I turned on the TV in my hotel room and one of the officials that did the Maui final on Wednesday was doing a game in Orlando. I was still blurry-eyed in Maui and he’s in Orlando.

“Maybe the guy did a great job. I don’t know,’’ Bilas said. “But that’s asking a lot.’’

The top college basketball officials can take on a heavy workload. The officials work as independent contractors. They take assignments from different conferences. There is no limit as to the number of games an official can squeeze into his schedule.

In recent years, there has been a rising concern as some officials work as many as 90 games over the course of a season.

“This has been a topic that was discussed even back when I was coaching,’’ Jim Satalin, the former head coach at St. Bonaventure and Duquesne who spent nine years as the Atlantic 10 Conference’s supervisor of officials before retiring last year. “Are guys working too much? That was my complaint as a coach. There were times when I thought guys were tired and not physically or mentally ready to go the next day.’’

...Art Hyland, the Big East’s supervisor of officials, thinks officials need to work games to stay sharp, but there’s a limit. And Hyland admits that some officials push the limit.

“I only give the best officials on our staff two games a week, maybe three,’’ Hyland said. “I wouldn’t like it if they worked only two of three. They need more work to stay sharp. The best number would be four games each week. If you don’t work enough, you don’t stay sharp.’’

...According to the website StatSheet.com, which tracks officials schedules, Luckie had worked 79 games this season as of Feb. 22. That figure placed him third for most games called this season.

Brian Dorsey, who works mainly with the ACC but also with several other conferences, leads the way with 83 games called this season. In the first 22 days of February, Dorsey had worked 19 games.

“There’s a limit and most officials understand that,’’ Hyland said. “Do some of them probably push the limit? Yeah. If you’re doing six or seven a week, you’re going to start to wear out.’’

…Luckie worked nine games in nine consecutive days from Dec. 28 to Jan 5, including a New Year’s Day game between Syracuse and DePaul in Chicago the day after calling Louisville-Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. Roger Ayers called 11 games in 13 days between Jan. 28 and Feb. 9. Bryan Kersey refereed a whopping 17 games in 19 days, starting on Dec. 28 and ending Jan. 15.

“It does raise questions about your ability to do the best possible job at the end of that swing,’’ Bilas said. “If you’re doing five games in six nights, does anybody reasonably believe you’ll be at your best on the sixth night?’’
syracuse.com

GM! Flight soon. Getting ready for the airport.
https://twitter.com/#!/b_greene14


Despite failing to get off a good shot at the end of regulation, Miller School coach Scott Willard knew at the start of overtime that his visiting Mavericks had enough leadership to win in a hostile environment.

When senior guard Chase Cannon (10 points) made pivotal free throws in OT for the 93-89 victory over No. 1 seed Virginia Episcopal School in the VIC semifinals, coach Willard pointed to a tough schedule that had the team prepared for the challenge.

“We had our heads up and I believe we took control of overtime and didn’t let the last play affect us,” he said. “We’ve played one of the toughest schedules I would say on the East Coast. We’ve got guys who have been there before. As coaches we don’t panic, as players we don’t panic.”

Experienced leaders may have helped the Mavericks, but having talent did not hurt. Miller’s Andrew White (31 points, 9 rebounds) was effective driving the ball and knocking down jump shots against both the man and zone defenses from VES. With less than four minutes to go and trailing 72-68, White scored five straight points on two layups, including a made free-throw after drawing a foul. Cannon then hit a 3 on the right wing to cap an 8-0 scoring run.

“Last time we came in here and we lost,” White said. “I didn’t feel like I had the rebounds and the hustle plays I should have. So coming into this game, making my shots is always a focus, but I didn’t want to be outhustled tonight. Just doing whatever I had to do to win.”
News Advance


Gorman wasted little time taking control against Northern Nevada’s Douglas High, scoring its initial basket five seconds into the game and leading 24-0 before the Tigers got on the scoreboard.

One year after the nationally ranked Gaels were upset in the state semifinals by Reno’s Bishop Manogue High, they quickly erased any aspirations of another upset.

Gorman’s Shabazz Muhammad scored 12 of his game-high 27 points in the first-quarter outburst and the Gaels led by as many as 45 points in the second half, easily earning a spot in Friday's championship game with a 73-38 victory.
Las Vegas Sun


Wichita North upsets Heights on Senior Night (video at link)


When Conner Frankamp touched the ball Thursday night, he nearly couldn't miss.

The North junior scored 38 points in an upset of Heights, dropping them 47-38. The loss marked the first back-to-back losses for the Falcons since the squad dropped two in a row at the end of the 2008 season in the Class 6A State Tournament.

"It's a great feeling!" Frankamp said following the game. "It's great to get them this year with all their players. I didn't play very well the first half but I tried to stay confident and get my team involved as much as I could."

The strong showing also translated on the defensive side of the ball, as the Redskins shut down Heights on offense and held the Falcons All-American player, Perry Ellis, to just 11 points.

The spotlight was instead reserved for Frankamp who scored 27 of his 38 points in the second half. The effort moved Frankamp into fourth place on the City League's all-time scoring list with 1,676 points. The junior passed South's Ricky Ross who compiled 1,667 points over his career.

"He is a special player and he came out firing tonight," North head coach Gary Squires said of Frankamp. "In the second half he really got it going and put on a show for us."

Playing their fourth game in seven days, it's been a long stretch for Heights (18-2), as they slipped from 18-0 to 18-2 to end the regular season.

"We played terrible basketball tonight and we got exposed," Heights head coach Joe Auer said. "North had a great game plan and we got what we deserve tonight."

"We are spent, we are just completely drained," Auer said of the toll taken on his team. "All teams are tired this time of year but the kids just look emotionally and physically spent."

Perry Ellis, who was held to his lowest point total of the season, struggled to get open looks all night long. The performance also came in front of Kansas head coach Bill Self, who was in attendance.
Kansas CW (video at link)


Glacier Peak vs. Rainier Beach, Friday night, 6 p.m. at Bellevue College

Pederson's game-winning shot Tuesday against Shorecrest propelled the Grizzlies to their third straight state tournament contest, which has the fans from the four-year old school in Snohomish excited. What they may not be excited about, however is the opponent: Rainier Beach, which stands between GP and a trip to the Tacoma Dome next week. After being ranked No. 1 for nearly the entire regular season, the five-time state-title winning Vikings (last in 2008) were upset by Seattle Prep in the district tournament. While Beach will focus on Pederson the Grizzlies will have their hands full with the Vikings' lightning-quick guard Anrio Adams, who averages 20.5 points per game.
Herald Net


Aaron Thomas scored 19 points and Jakarr Sampson added 11 points and 14 rebounds to help Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) escape with a 60-56 win over Tilton (N.H.) on Feb. 20.

With the win, the Bobcats (28-0) completed the regular season sweep (3-0) of rival Tilton (25-6).

…Former NBA player and coach John Lucas II is the new director of player personnel for the National Basketball Players Association's Top 100 camp.

A three-time All-American at the University of Maryland, Lucas was the No. 1 pick of the 1976 NBA Draft and played in the league for 14 years. He's also been the head coach of three NBA teams and has experience executing summer camps for high school and middle school-aged players.

He will be responsible for securing players for the 19th annual camp, a key summer evaluation stop held June 13-17 at the University of Virginia.
ESPN


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


My 2011 Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos now on Youtube

In the jailhouse recordings, Clemons tells others the same things Bunge said he told her about how he got money from coaches. Reached Wednesday by phone and asked whether Bunge's allegations were indeed true, Clemons responded, "Yeah. Y'all printed it, so it must be true," and then hung up.

While the university revoked Clemons' athletic scholarship during his jail stay, he remains enrolled at the school.

Two of the people with whom he spoke the most while in jail appear to have been key to his decision to stay in Columbia and appear to have played a role in his other decisions. They are Carmento Floyd, wife of MU system President Elson Floyd, and Amy Stewart, wife of Ed Stewart, the school's associate director of athletics for administration.

Several calls the two had with Clemons--sometimes together--suggest considerable infighting and backbiting within the athletics department. Conflict between the department and the university president also were discussed.

In three consecutive phone calls made July 29 to Amy Stewart, she advised Clemons he couldn't trust assistant coach Lane Odom or the rest of the coaching staff.

"You have got to sever your ties with the basketball staff," she said. "You've got to."

Stewart told him she didn't think the coaches cared about him. "They don't give a damn about where you go to school, or your degree, or anything," she said.

Several times, Stewart gleefully said she hoped Clemons would "take down" the coaching staff. "Your (rear end) is some trouble. Whew! Shoot, taking 'em down, you are. You're gonna take 'em down, you know that, right? You know that? And I am having great pleasure."

...
In another conversation, Clemons told Stewart he wasn't the only player getting money: "When I first got here ... they did everybody. I mean, they do A.J. (Arthur Johnson) and Rickey (Paulding). If they need money, they'd go to (assistant coach Tony) Harvey. He'd get it for 'em."

"They what?" Stewart responded.

"If they needed money, they'd go to Harvey. He'd get it for 'em. But it was him first, and I stopped messing with him. I stopped talking to him and ... then went to Lane (Odom)."
St Louis PD



In the recordings, Amy Stewart related a story, which she attributed to her husband, about the atmosphere at the Hearnes Center at the time.

"Ed come home, every time he come home, he be like, ‘Them crackers shaking. They going crazy. They don’t know what to do. They shaking. They can’t talk to Ricky. They’re like some crackheads running around there,’ " Amy Stewart said.

"Well, good enough for them," Carmento Floyd replied.
Columbia Daily Tribune

By Jeff Gordon Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
updated: 05/30/2003 10:22 AM

Let's go ahead and make the prediction: The Missouri Tigers basketball team will finally reach the Final Four.

The long wait will finally end. Quin Snyder will accomplish what he was hired to do. He will take the Tigers to that high stage Norm Stewart couldn't quite reach.

He will finally convert his consistently outstanding recruiting into that deep NCAA Tournament run that Mizzou fans have longed for. He will arrive as a coach and the Tigers will emerge as a true national power.

The signing of 6-foot-8 power forward Linas Kleiza put the Tigers over the top. This kid is a monster, an inside-out threat who should complement veteran postman Arthur Johnson quite nicely.
St Louis PD

In fact, Martinez's roommate, Paige Laurie, recently had a sports stadium at a major university named in her honor. Laurie's parents donated money to the school and wanted it named for their daughter. Paige Laurie is a granddaughter of one of the founders of Wal-Mart. Her mother has more than $2 billion. Her father owns the St. Louis Blues hockey team.

Laurie's parents said they wanted the stadium named after her because they were proud of her.

But I don't think they knew that Martinez says she did much of Paige's schoolwork for her -- for money.

"She's always had everything done for her, I think. I mean, when she first came I taught her how to do her laundry. I did some of it for her sometimes," Martinez said.

Martinez says Laurie had more time to party and meet celebrities, because she was paid to do Laurie's work for her.
ABC

The University of Missouri is removing the name of a 22-year-old Wal-Mart heiress from its brand-new sports arena, a week after she was accused of cheating her way through college.
...
In a similar controversy, university officials have also indicated they will remove Enron founder Ken Lay's name from an economics professorship if he is convicted in the scandal that brought down the energy giant.

Officials said that would probably require the school to return Lay's $1.1 million donation. The Lay chair in economics has never been filled.
AP