KU AD: Box score, quotes, notes, videos, photos
BillSelf.com video highlight of the night
LJW Photos
UDK Photos
TCJ Photos
KC Star Photos
Kansas University senior walk-on Jordan Juenemann was playing press defense for the Red Team — the scout team — 10 minutes into practice on Jan. 13 when KU director of basketball operations Barry Hinson appeared on the Allen Fieldhouse floor.
“Coach (Bill) Self yelled, ‘Jordan!’ and I thought I was in trouble. Like, ‘What did I do?’” Juenemann said, entering storyteller mode after Saturday’s 83-50 home rout of Texas Tech.
“Coach said, ‘Coach Hinson has something to show you with these papers.’ Right when I got to coach Hinson, coach Self said to the team, ‘Jordan is getting ready to sign his scholarship papers.’ Right there I had a feeling I can’t even describe. Coming in as a freshman, my goal was to do that. To have that accomplished ... I’m just proud,” added the former Hays High standout, a walk-on no more.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Juenemann resembled a true scholarship athlete in exploding for a career-high seven points off 3-of-3 shooting (1-for-1 from three) while playing the final four minutes Saturday. He was one of nine KU players to score on a night the bench chipped in 31 points.
…“It was a blast,” Juenemann said. “Before the game, coach said ‘We have just three (home) games left.’ He gave me four minutes of opportunity. It was so much fun.”
All’s well that ended well for KU on a night that started on what Self called “kind of a downer.”
A power surge in the fieldhouse knocked out the videoboard screen at an inopportune time, during introductions when the pregame highlight video (the one capped by Mario Chalmers’ game-tying three in the 2008 national title game) blares and fires up the crowd and the team. The video was shown at halftime.
“I told the guys, ‘There’s no highlight film, so let’s make our own highlights,’” Self said.
LJW
When senior guard Jordan Juenemann entered the game in its closing minutes, a group of girls from the student section screamed: “We love you, Jordan!”
Those are calls Kansas fans have heard before. But on Saturday night, in those four minutes he played, Juenemann hit all three of his shots, including a high arcing three-pointer from the center of the perimeter.
“It was a lot of fun,” Teahan said of Juenemann’s finale. “I think the whole team enjoyed it.”
Up on the video board, with the game out of hand and Juenemann knocking down shots, Self revealed a rare game-time smile. When the starters were through, the bench had their time, outscoring Texas Tech’s bench 31-10.
While Self said it wasn’t all pretty, his bench player’s logged valuable minutes. In limited time on Saturday, Tharpe made some of his best passes of the season, Young said he felt more comfortable and Juenemann’s shots said it all.
“Coach Self gave them the challenge to step up,” Releford said. “Today I think they met that challenge.”
UDK
Kansas’ 83-50 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday is what was supposed to happen when teams on the opposite ends of the league standings collide.
The Jayhawks recorded the easy victory — No. 1,000 all time in conference play for the program — and coach Bill Self was able to rest starters as Kansas approaches a stretch of the schedule that will determine the Big 12 championship.
The run starts Wednesday at Texas A&M, continues Saturday with co-Big 12 leader Missouri’s visit and Feb. 27 at Oklahoma State. By then, the finish line for the Big 12 marathon season will be in sight.
“It’s a hard schedule, a really hard schedule,” Self said. “Missouri is so important, but the thing is, winning at A&M is just as important. Winning at Oklahoma State is just as important.”
Saturday’s outcome did nothing to alter the perception that fourth-ranked Kansas, 22-5 overall and 12-2 in the Big 12, is ready for the challenge.
“It was a good win, we were solid,” Self said. “But it definitely wasn’t anything to get giddy about.”
…No starter played more than 28 minutes. It’s the first time in Big 12 play that all of the starters logged less than 30 minutes.
Self was especially eager to give Taylor rest, and his starting point guard logged 27 minutes with primary backup
Naadir Tharpe logging 12 minutes.
The idea going forward is to avoid loading Taylor with 37 or 38 minutes. He’s broken down in the final few minutes of games when he plays that much, which has resulted in missed free throws and turnovers.
Resting Taylor for about three minutes each half is the idea, and Tharpe’s line on Saturday was encouraging: He made his only three-point attempt, was credited with an assist, two steals and had no turnovers.
Withey, the team’s hottest player, chipped in nine points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. He altered a handful more. In the first half, Tech had seven field goals, and four came from beyond the arc.
“It was very tough to score inside,” said Tolbert.
For the Jayhawks, it’s on to the stretch that will define its season. The Aggies played Kansas tough in Lawrence three weeks ago. Oklahoma State beat Missouri in Stillwater, and the Tigers? The build-up for the final game as conference opponents will be epic.
“We know it’s going to be hard,” Self said. “We have to play a little better than what we’ve been playing, but if you told me before the season that we would be 12-2 in the league with four games left I probably would have sold out for that.”
KC Star
Even on a night the starters weren’t as sharp as usual, they didn’t need help from the bench to defeat Texas Tech, 83-50, but it made for a more entertaining evening for an Allen Fieldhouse crowd warming up for Saturday’s explosion.
Reserves accounted for 31 of the points, the most entertaining seven delivered by walk-on-turned-scholarship-player Jordan Juenemann.
Kevin Young contributed 10 points and three steals. Conner Teahan nailed a trio of three-pointers and has made seven of 15 the past five games.
Naadir Tharpe, other than getting burned on defense shortly after making a three-pointer, played a productive 12 minutes that included a pair of steals.
But it’s not as if Kansas coach Bill Self is going to change his rotation based on one game against the least-experienced, last-place team in the Big 12. The bench scored 31 points Saturday, which was just five more than the output in Lubbock.
Going to a place like Manhattan to face a hungry, physical Kansas State team, where the bench scored two points,
is a better indicator.
Teahan will continue to play a lot to spell the perimeter players and force the defense to spread out to cover him because he can get hot, three points at a time. Justin Wesley will get his minutes and his personal fouls when the opposition has two tall post players. In other situations, Kevin Young will play. Of all the players on the bench, Young seems most likely to have a shot at increasing his minutes. How can he do that?
“Play harder,” Young said. “Play a lot harder.”
LJW Keegan
Kansas had built such a big lead and was playing so well, Bill Self had no qualms about using only a few seconds of a timeout before sending his guys back onto the floor.
Then the coach caught Thomas Robinson giggling with his teammates while watching as a humorous clip starring the junior forward played on the video screens. Even the referees were smiling as they watched, and Self knew his team had lost its focus.
"I think it's human nature," Self said, "and we've shown over time that we're not the most mature team or handle maturity that well."
AP
New York Giants placekicker Lawrence Tynes, whose team won the Super Bowl, attended the KU-Texas Tech game and was introduced to the crowd as a Tynes highlight video appeared on the big screen.
“We’re building a house in Overland Park,” said Tynes, a former member of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tynes, 33, and wife Amanda and their children make their offseason home in KC.
It marked his first game in Allen Fieldhouse.
“They kind of did what I expected,” Tynes said of KU clobbering the Red Raiders, 83-50.
Former KU forward Dave Robisch also attended, as did former KU football receiver Kerry Meier of the Atlanta Falcons.
LJW
Afterward, Gillispie outlined a few of his biggest frustrations.
One was the start of the game, where scouting-report miscues led to KU’s first two baskets: layups by Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford.
“Those are mental errors that don’t have to be made,” Gillispie said. “They’re a good team, and they’re hard enough to guard when you don’t make mistakes.”
The Red Raiders also had 20 turnovers, three above their season average. Gillispie said that included one pass “over the top where the cheerleaders couldn’t even catch it, and they’re way off the court.”
Tech also had problems competing on the boards, especially early. KU came away with offensive rebounds on seven of its first nine misses and ended the game retrieving 13 of its 27 missed shots.
“We didn’t pursue the ball hard enough,” Tech guard Ty Nurse said. “The person that wants it more is going to get it. They just played harder.”
There were some positives. Gillispie was pleased with his team’s three-point shooting, as the Red Raiders made six of 12 three-pointers. TTU also was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
LJW
Phog Allen Fieldhouse, with its deep-rooted tradition and basketball-crazed fans who fill its hallowed stands each game like clock work — has given even the most experienced, talent-laden opponents nightmares over the years.
For teams like Texas Tech, which don’t yet fall into the former category, a trip into “The Phog” can be especially daunting, as the Red Raiders found out during an 83-50 loss to No. 4 Kansas on Saturday night.
Tech (8-18, 1-13 in Big 12) entered the game having surrendered just 47 points in each of its last two contests. Kansas (22-5, 12-2) had 44 by halftime, doubling up the Red Raiders for a 22-point lead.
“It was a good whipping by a very, very good team,” Tech coach Billy Gillispie said. “We just made too many mistakes offensively and defensively to have any kind of a chance to be in the game with them.”
The loss was Tech’s 12th in as many trips to Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks, tied for first place in the Big 12, are an astounding 89-1 in their last 90 games.
Lubbock AJ
A power surge caused a video board malfunction and prevented the ear-splitting pregame historical montage that precedes the KU player introduction. The problem was quickly fixed and the Jayhawks came on to the floor in the second half to the production.
But the board was fixed in time to run a clever production comparing Thomas Robinson to actor John Travolta. The clip even drew a smile from Robinson, but not from coach Bill Self.
KC Star
Withey leads The Keegan Rating
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers suffered a 135-132 double overtime loss to the Canton Charge on Saturday at the State Farm Arena. Marcus Morris led the Vipers with a double-double 31 points, 16 rebounds,
The Monitor
LJW: Jayhawks in the NBA
The reality hit hard in the postgame press conference following the Kansas women’s basketball team’s 70-65 loss to Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
Any aspirations of an NCAA Tournament appearance most likely faded with the Jayhawks’ defensive meltdown against the Big 12’s worst team.
“It’s a dagger, there’s no doubt about that,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said of the loss. “It’s a dagger.”
Missouri made 57 percent of its shots (27 of 47) despite coming into the game as the Big 12’s worst scoring offense, averaging 53.8 points per game in conference play.
With the victory, the Tigers improved to 11-14 overall and 1-13 in the Big 12.
Henrickson became emotional afterwards when asked if the loss of forward Carolyn Davis to an knee injury on Feb. 12 was causing her team to play with fear. She said, if anything, the team was dealing with the loss of KU’s best player better than she was.
“We won’t use that as an excuse,” Henrickson said, her eyes tearing up. “Neither one of those two (forwards Aishah Sutherland and Tania Jackson) would. Bring all of them in here. They wouldn’t.
“They’d tell you, ‘We’ve got to find a way to win, and we needed to guard better today,’” Henrickson added, tapping the table with her finger for emphasis. “They would not make an excuse for you. They wouldn’t. And I’m not either.”
LJW
VOTE for the Kansas Jayhawks student section (Purdue in 1st place? What? VOTE!)
VOTE for Coach Self's Assists Foundation (C'mon people, he's losing to Sean Miller and Dave Rose!) Voting ends 2/27 Rose 33%, Miller 15% Self 8%
Coaches vs Cancer: Help Coach Self raise $ for ACA with his 3-point Attack
Kansas Athletics is excited to partner with Wayin, to run a five-day contest leading up to the Border Showdown contest in men's basketball against Missouri. Who wouldn't want to win a signed basketball by the 2011-2012 KU basketball team? Well now is your chance!
The contest will be hosted through the KU Athletics facebook page (at Facebook.com/KUathletics) and will run from Sunday, Feb.19 at noon until Friday, Feb. 24 at noon. This contest will consist of fifty trivia questions (ten per day) and cover five different categories: KU/MU history, player trivia, coaches trivia, Allen Fieldhouse trivia, and random history. Be one of the top three people on the leaderboard to win the grand prize! Test your knowledge and Wayin on the Jayhawks!" Sign up at Wayin.com using Facebook connect to register or go to Facebook.com/KUathletics on Sunday and register through the "Wayin on the Jayhawks" tab.
http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021712aaa.html
Big 12/College News
Big 12 Schedule & Results
Rodriguez played one of the finest games of his K-State career by scoring 15 points, dishing out six assists and making four steals. He continually attacked the Bears’ zone defense and created open shots for himself and others while playing adequate defense on Baylor point guard Pierre Jackson.
The Wildcats could not have beaten the Bears without him. But Rodriguez could not have played as well as he did without his coach.
Five days earlier, Rodriguez played so poorly in a loss to Kansas that he described it as, “The worst game of my life. Not just my college career, my whole entire life.”
He was low on confidence, and it would have been understandable for Martin to begin evaluating other options at point guard. But that thought never entered his mind. Martin sat down with Rodriguez before Saturday’s game, and told him to stay positive, to keep battling and to realize the entire team had confidence in him.
So even when Rodriguez turned the ball over and allowed Jackson to slip past him for an easy layup in the opening moments Saturday, he stayed positive and came through with a memorable performance.
“I always wanted to play for somebody that communicates with me, especially because I am the point guard,” Rodriguez said. “We need to have a good connection. The position I was in, I was kind of frustrated. He sat me down and told me, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’re going to be OK. Stay positive.’ I told him, ‘I needed to hear that,’ especially from him, because I’m playing for him. He’s my coach.”
KC Star
The play unfolded in a flash, like so many in basketball, and the referee — who watched Missouri senior Steve Moore absorb some degree of contact and fall backward — blew his whistle and made a decision:
Charge!
Just like that, Moore had made arguably the play of the game Saturday against Texas A&M, despite finishing with only two points and two rebounds off the bench. His timely charge swung momentum, preserved a five-point lead and set the stage for a cold-blooded three-pointer by senior Marcus Denmon that all but sealed a 71-62 road victory over the Aggies.
“A lot of stuff Steve does doesn’t show up in the stats,” Denmon said, repeating a phrase several Tigers have parroted all season long. “But he’s just as important as any of us for our team. It was huge.”
So was the way Missouri closed this one out. The Tigers lacked energy at times and didn’t get much inside scoring — senior forward Ricardo Ratliffe and Moore combined for six points — but made up for it by shooting 56.1 percent from the field, getting timely defensive stops and making a handful of heads-up hustle plays (like Moore’s).
…The call set off a chorus of boos from the announced crowd of 11,818 at Reed Arena and enlivened Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy, who didn’t think Loubeau initiated enough contact a foul to be called.
“Well, I didn't know David could knock down a 6-9, 300-pound guy, to be honest with you,” said Kennedy, whose team dropped to 13-13 overall and 4-10 in Big 12 play. “We've got to get those kind of breaks against a very good Missouri team.”
Haith said it looked like a charge, at least from his viewpoint.
“But I’m all the way across the court,” Haith said. “You know, those are bang-bang plays and Steve is really good at moving his feet and getting in position to make those plays.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Denmon, who took advantage of the momentum swing by drilling a three-pointer with 35 seconds left and making three free throws the rest of the way to ice it.
“When people try to bully-spin,” Denmon said of Moore, “he’s always there.
“It could go either way, just like any other call,” Denmon continued. “But today it was a charge, and it was a good play.”
KC Star
Two of the best players in North Carolina State history were thrown out of the Wolfpack's 76-62 loss to Florida State (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) on Saturday.Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani were in the stands behind the scorer's table when they were removed from their seats by official Karl Hess with 6:40 left as Wolfpack player Scott Wood prepared to shoot a free throw.
NC State athletic director Debbie Yow issued a statement Saturday night saying she spent the afternoon and evening seeking an explanation from the Atlantic Coast Conference about what happened. She said she spoke to commissioner John Swofford and Karl Hicks, the league's associate commissioner for basketball operations, "regarding our concerns and our need for clarification as to why this occurred."
"We expect fair treatment of our fans at State athletic events," Yow said.
John Clougherty, the ACC's supervisor of officials, said in a statement later Saturday night that game officials have the authority to ask the home team's management to remove fans when, in the official's judgment, their behavior is extreme or excessive. After Hess gestured to have Gugliotta and Corchiani removed, they were approached by an officer from the Raleigh Police Department.
"It's unfortunate in this instance that ACC protocol of communicating directly with the home game management was not followed, and instead, a building security officer was solicited," Clougherty said. "We will re-communicate this policy with all officials to ensure proper protocol is followed."
In response, Yow said in an email to The Associated Press that she appreciated Clougherty's comments, she expects that protocol to be followed at future NC State games and that Swofford and Hicks understand her school's concerns.
If Hess had gone to the game manager rather than security, the situation would not have been so public, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
Hess declined comment several times when approached after the game by an Associated Press reporter. Corchiani tweeted roughly 40 minutes after the game that Hess "didn't like fact Googs (and) I told him he was having a bad day, inconsistent, (and) telling the truth."
ESPN
No. 17 Michigan finished off a 56-51 victory over No. 6 Ohio State.
The Wolverines (20-7, 10-4 Big Ten) are 15-0 at home and tied with the Buckeyes for second place in the Big Ten, a half-game behind Michigan State.
"This is a very special day for this program," Beilein said. "There are a lot of small victories that come when you are rebuilding a program, and this was one of them."
Beilein's day started with a predawn visit to Michigan fans lined up outside the arena to see the ESPN "GameDay" show.
"I got there at 6, and I was afraid we were only going to have 40 or 50 kids out there, but they were lined up past the football stadium," Beilein said. "It was moving the way our fans embraced this game.
"It didn't just feel like a rivalry game -- this felt like we were playing for the Big Ten championship."
The star of the night was a true freshman who was introduced to the fired-up crowd as "The pride of Columbus, Ohio, Trey Burke."
Burke finished with 17 points, including a clinching runner with 11 seconds left that helped Michigan stop a six-game losing streak to the Buckeyes.
"I was going to call timeout, but I saw Trey had some room, and I trusted him to know what to do with a three-point lead in the final 20 seconds," Beilein said.
Burke's shot floated over All-America forward Jared Sullinger, hit high off the backboard and fell through the net. Burke said he knew what kind of shot to take because he knew what to expect from Sullinger -- his former high school teammate.
"Jared likes to take a lot of charges, so I knew he would be looking for that instead of trying to block my shot," said Burke, who also had five assists. "I just wanted to pull up short and get it over him."
AP
Bruce Weber is another Lon Kruger, the former Illini coach now at Oklahoma who has gotten past the second round of the NCAAs once in his last 12 years. Weber just seems worse because he followed Bill Self, not Lou Henson. With Self or the players Self recruited, Illinois finished first or second in the Big Ten six years in a row. After that run, one NCAA tourney win in the last six years is not acceptable. Not at what should be the best coaching job in the Big Ten.
Indiana has gotten past the second round of the NCAAs once in 18 years and is 48-72 the last four years. Ohio State is a football school that wins because it hired the coach Illinois should have hired (Thad Matta). Michigan State and Wisconsin also win because of great coaches. MSU had won three Big Ten titles in 29 years before Tom Izzo.
Wisconsin hadn’t finished higher than fourth in the Big Ten since 1962 but has been fourth or higher all 10 years under Bo Ryan. If Illinois fires Bruce Weber and hires a coach like Bill Self, Bo Ryan, Thad Matta or Tom Izzo, the Illini can become the Kansas of the Big Ten.
Rockford Register
There were tears in the Illinois locker room Saturday after Nebraska used a 36-4 run to win 80-57 and send the struggling Illini to their fifth consecutive loss.
"I think the whole thing piled up and the wheels came off," coach Bruce Weber said. "Part of it was Nebraska, there's no doubt. They got on a roll.
"For the most part all year, we've competed with everybody. I think the doubt just hit us. The weight of the world came tumbling down, and we couldn't stop it."
It put the Illini on shaky ground to make the NCAA tournament and added pressure to the beleaguered Weber, who has been the subject of speculation that he will be fired at the end of the season.
AP
When I wrote a few weeks back that Weber might be in trouble, I mentioned that he has lamented not recruiting toughness. After the Purdue loss, he lamented not developing toughness.
I’m not sure you can instill toughness unless an inner will already is in place.
Deron Williams and Dee Brown oozed toughness as well as talent. Trent Meacham and Chester Frazier had the will to win. So do Sam Maniscalco and Tracy Abrams. With many others who have played for Weber — and Illini watchers know who they were — I don’t know that anyone was going to bring out toughness.
Toughness starts with the type of player who’s recruited.
But points like that are water under the bridge.
Other things can be dissected. Weber never seemed interested in developing a deep bench. The recruiting can be second-guessed from here to Cairo. But that’s all hindsight.
The bottom line is, Illinois is 49-52 in Big Ten games the last six years. It has won one NCAA tournament game over that span. And the coach has lost the fan base.
That’s a recipe for a pink slip when there’s a new sheriff such as Thomas in town.
Chicago Sun Times
For Pac-12 men’s basketball, these are troubled times. Read the national scribes. Listen to the television voices. The conference, home of storied programs such as UCLA and Arizona, is a punching bag, a head-scratching collection of mediocrity.
In three weeks, on Selection Sunday, a committee will select the field for this season’s 68-team NCAA Tournament. According to bracketologists — those who specialize in predicting the field — it will not be a good day for the so-called “Conference of Champions.”
Most say the Pac-12 will receive three bids, but if the conference’s top teams tank the next two weeks, or if the wrong team wins the Pac-12 Tournament, two are possible. Maybe even one.
Since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985, no power conference — a group that includes the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Southeastern and Pac-12 — has received just a single bid.
“To me, (the Pac-12) looks like a bunch of NIT teams, every one of them,” said Jerry Palm, one of the more-successful bracketologists, referring to the consolation tournament that selects among those not invited to the NCAA event. “And to make it worse, they keep beating each other up.”
The collective resume is ugly: During the non-conference season, Pac-12 teams went 2-31 against teams in the Top 50 of the RPI rankings, a system used by the committee to determine teams’ overall worth. The conference’s most-impressive wins: Oregon State over Texas and Stanford over Colorado State.
As a result, no Pac-12 team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in 11 weeks. It doesn’t help that three Pac-12 teams — Arizona State, Utah and USC — are considered among the worst major-conference teams in college basketball.
Arizona Republic News
Kim Barnes Arico and her St. John's Red Storm ended two incredible UConn streaks and years of frustration with one shocking victory.
Shenneika Smith's 3-pointer from the wing with 8 seconds left lifted St. John's to a 57-56 win over No. 2 Connecticut on Saturday night, snapping the Huskies' 99-game home court winning streak. It was the Huskies' first home loss to an unranked opponent in nearly 19 years.
"It's truly unbelievable," Barnes Arico said. "There aren't many teams that can say they beat UConn in this place and now we're one of them."
St. John's became only the fifth team to win at Storrs since 1993, joining Tennessee, Georgia, Notre Dame and Rutgers. The Red Storm, who have won seven of their last eight games — the lone loss coming to then-No. 2 Notre Dame — haven't had much success anywhere against the Huskies. They lost the previous 27 meetings since a home victory over the Huskies in 1993.
AP
The first time the McBride Clinic in Oklahoma called Valerie Hardrick, seeking payment for the MRI done on her son, she told the company it had the wrong person.
Kyle Hardrick was a sophomore on the University of Oklahoma basketball team with a history of knee problems. He had complained during that 2010-11 season of further knee issues that Valerie claims team medical officials did not identify correctly or treat aggressively. But the parents knew nothing of the MRI taken nine months earlier.
When the second call came from the clinic, Valerie was stunned to learn what the test found: Kyle had a torn lateral meniscus. Valerie said a rehabilitation plan for Kyle was prescribed by a team doctor for Oklahoma, whose officials would not comment on details of the case. Two months later, Kyle had surgery that found far more damage than suspected. He has improved but still experiences pain today while sitting out a year of basketball at his new school, Pratt Community College in Kansas.
Valerie estimates the family has paid $10,000 in medical bills while its health insurance covered $20,000. "It's been difficult, no doubt," Valerie said. "You don't imagine paying those medical bills out of your own pocket when your child gets a scholarship."
The Hardricks' story may be an exception to the rule regarding health care in college sports. But it does reflect a gap that can exist in medical coverage because universities create their own policies on what to pay when treating athletes.
Since 2005, the NCAA has required universities to certify that athletes have insurance for athletically-related injuries before they can compete. The insurance can come from the school, a parent or an athlete's personal policy, and must cover up to the $90,000 deductible of the NCAA catastrophic injury insurance program.
The NCAA says its requirement protects athletes from substantial, unexpected medical expenses and eliminates misconceptions about the university's responsibility. It also protects schools from lawsuits because covered athletes are less likely to sue when expenses are paid by some form of insurance, the NCAA says.
…Time isn't on the side of Kyle Hardrick, the ex-Oklahoma basketball player. He and his family have fought unsuccessfully with Oklahoma to obtain a medical hardship waiver so he can play at Pratt, his new school.
The biggest reason the Hardrick family says it has fought for the waiver -- through lawyers, the media and in Washington, D.C., on a Congressional panel -- is that Kyle wants his terminally ill father, Michael, to see him play again. It is the waiver that the family wants; it is not seeking payment from OU for any medical expenses, Valerie Hardrick said.
Before Jeff Capel was fired as Oklahoma's coach in March 2011, he and his staff agreed on Kyle seeking a waiver. Capel, now an assistant at Duke, wrote to the Big 12 last September that a waiver for Kyle was warranted. But Oklahoma compliance director Jason Leonard wrote to Valerie Hardrick in April 2011 that the school had no medical documentation to support filing for a waiver and that doctors concluded Kyle was able to play.
Valerie claimed in a waiver request to the Big 12 that Oklahoma team physician Dr. Brock Schnebel said he had no documentation of the injury and didn't want to get embarrassed in front of the NCAA by asking for a medical waiver. Valerie believes the real reason for the reluctance is that Oklahoma did not properly treat an injury. Kyle's personal doctor in Oklahoma later documented the injury and treatment.
"Because of the extent of the injury and how long it was going on, Oklahoma is afraid they're going to have to explain why the injury was hidden for so long," Valerie said. "They're going to protect their doctors."
Oklahoma officials said in a statement: "We rely on a highly-respected team of medical doctors, many of whom have experience with teams representing the United States in international competition, to diagnose, treat and render decisions related to the care for our student-athletes. Even with the level of care provided, student-athletes and their parents or guardians retain the option of seeking medical attention from physicians not associated with the university and do so, by policy, at their own expense."
Last September, Oklahoma offered a 12-page settlement agreement to the Hardricks to assist in filing a medical hardship waiver as a "courtesy," according to the document. In return, the Hardricks would agree never to sue Oklahoma or seek enrollment at any school governed by the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.
The document described an "alleged injury" to Kyle that never caused him to miss a game or practice. It noted that Kyle stopped participating with Oklahoma in January 2011 due to academic reasons.
Valerie said Kyle would have been on academic probation if his scholarship had been renewed, which it wasn't. The Hardricks wouldn't sign the settlement agreement. Valerie said she is concerned that Oklahoma's help in getting a waiver now could be detrimental to the request if the school provided a statement to the Big 12 saying Kyle wasn't injured.
So the frustration continues.
Despite suffering from terminal cancer, Kyle's father continues to work every day to help pay off Kyle's medical bills, even when he's weak after chemotherapy, Valerie said.
"We've really taken a hard hit with OU not renewing his scholarship and not paying for rehab and medical costs," Valerie said. "That's a hard toll on the family."
al.com
Rodriguez played one of the finest games of his K-State career by scoring 15 points, dishing out six assists and making four steals. He continually attacked the Bears’ zone defense and created open shots for himself and others while playing adequate defense on Baylor point guard Pierre Jackson.
The Wildcats could not have beaten the Bears without him. But Rodriguez could not have played as well as he did without his coach.
Five days earlier, Rodriguez played so poorly in a loss to Kansas that he described it as, “The worst game of my life. Not just my college career, my whole entire life.”
He was low on confidence, and it would have been understandable for Martin to begin evaluating other options at point guard. But that thought never entered his mind. Martin sat down with Rodriguez before Saturday’s game, and told him to stay positive, to keep battling and to realize the entire team had confidence in him.
So even when Rodriguez turned the ball over and allowed Jackson to slip past him for an easy layup in the opening moments Saturday, he stayed positive and came through with a memorable performance.
“I always wanted to play for somebody that communicates with me, especially because I am the point guard,” Rodriguez said. “We need to have a good connection. The position I was in, I was kind of frustrated. He sat me down and told me, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’re going to be OK. Stay positive.’ I told him, ‘I needed to hear that,’ especially from him, because I’m playing for him. He’s my coach.”
KC Star
The play unfolded in a flash, like so many in basketball, and the referee — who watched Missouri senior Steve Moore absorb some degree of contact and fall backward — blew his whistle and made a decision:
Charge!
Just like that, Moore had made arguably the play of the game Saturday against Texas A&M, despite finishing with only two points and two rebounds off the bench. His timely charge swung momentum, preserved a five-point lead and set the stage for a cold-blooded three-pointer by senior Marcus Denmon that all but sealed a 71-62 road victory over the Aggies.
“A lot of stuff Steve does doesn’t show up in the stats,” Denmon said, repeating a phrase several Tigers have parroted all season long. “But he’s just as important as any of us for our team. It was huge.”
So was the way Missouri closed this one out. The Tigers lacked energy at times and didn’t get much inside scoring — senior forward Ricardo Ratliffe and Moore combined for six points — but made up for it by shooting 56.1 percent from the field, getting timely defensive stops and making a handful of heads-up hustle plays (like Moore’s).
…The call set off a chorus of boos from the announced crowd of 11,818 at Reed Arena and enlivened Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy, who didn’t think Loubeau initiated enough contact a foul to be called.
“Well, I didn't know David could knock down a 6-9, 300-pound guy, to be honest with you,” said Kennedy, whose team dropped to 13-13 overall and 4-10 in Big 12 play. “We've got to get those kind of breaks against a very good Missouri team.”
Haith said it looked like a charge, at least from his viewpoint.
“But I’m all the way across the court,” Haith said. “You know, those are bang-bang plays and Steve is really good at moving his feet and getting in position to make those plays.”
It was a sentiment echoed by Denmon, who took advantage of the momentum swing by drilling a three-pointer with 35 seconds left and making three free throws the rest of the way to ice it.
“When people try to bully-spin,” Denmon said of Moore, “he’s always there.
“It could go either way, just like any other call,” Denmon continued. “But today it was a charge, and it was a good play.”
KC Star
Two of the best players in North Carolina State history were thrown out of the Wolfpack's 76-62 loss to Florida State (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) on Saturday.Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani were in the stands behind the scorer's table when they were removed from their seats by official Karl Hess with 6:40 left as Wolfpack player Scott Wood prepared to shoot a free throw.
NC State athletic director Debbie Yow issued a statement Saturday night saying she spent the afternoon and evening seeking an explanation from the Atlantic Coast Conference about what happened. She said she spoke to commissioner John Swofford and Karl Hicks, the league's associate commissioner for basketball operations, "regarding our concerns and our need for clarification as to why this occurred."
"We expect fair treatment of our fans at State athletic events," Yow said.
John Clougherty, the ACC's supervisor of officials, said in a statement later Saturday night that game officials have the authority to ask the home team's management to remove fans when, in the official's judgment, their behavior is extreme or excessive. After Hess gestured to have Gugliotta and Corchiani removed, they were approached by an officer from the Raleigh Police Department.
"It's unfortunate in this instance that ACC protocol of communicating directly with the home game management was not followed, and instead, a building security officer was solicited," Clougherty said. "We will re-communicate this policy with all officials to ensure proper protocol is followed."
In response, Yow said in an email to The Associated Press that she appreciated Clougherty's comments, she expects that protocol to be followed at future NC State games and that Swofford and Hicks understand her school's concerns.
If Hess had gone to the game manager rather than security, the situation would not have been so public, a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
Hess declined comment several times when approached after the game by an Associated Press reporter. Corchiani tweeted roughly 40 minutes after the game that Hess "didn't like fact Googs (and) I told him he was having a bad day, inconsistent, (and) telling the truth."
ESPN
No. 17 Michigan finished off a 56-51 victory over No. 6 Ohio State.
The Wolverines (20-7, 10-4 Big Ten) are 15-0 at home and tied with the Buckeyes for second place in the Big Ten, a half-game behind Michigan State.
"This is a very special day for this program," Beilein said. "There are a lot of small victories that come when you are rebuilding a program, and this was one of them."
Beilein's day started with a predawn visit to Michigan fans lined up outside the arena to see the ESPN "GameDay" show.
"I got there at 6, and I was afraid we were only going to have 40 or 50 kids out there, but they were lined up past the football stadium," Beilein said. "It was moving the way our fans embraced this game.
"It didn't just feel like a rivalry game -- this felt like we were playing for the Big Ten championship."
The star of the night was a true freshman who was introduced to the fired-up crowd as "The pride of Columbus, Ohio, Trey Burke."
Burke finished with 17 points, including a clinching runner with 11 seconds left that helped Michigan stop a six-game losing streak to the Buckeyes.
"I was going to call timeout, but I saw Trey had some room, and I trusted him to know what to do with a three-point lead in the final 20 seconds," Beilein said.
Burke's shot floated over All-America forward Jared Sullinger, hit high off the backboard and fell through the net. Burke said he knew what kind of shot to take because he knew what to expect from Sullinger -- his former high school teammate.
"Jared likes to take a lot of charges, so I knew he would be looking for that instead of trying to block my shot," said Burke, who also had five assists. "I just wanted to pull up short and get it over him."
AP
Bruce Weber is another Lon Kruger, the former Illini coach now at Oklahoma who has gotten past the second round of the NCAAs once in his last 12 years. Weber just seems worse because he followed Bill Self, not Lou Henson. With Self or the players Self recruited, Illinois finished first or second in the Big Ten six years in a row. After that run, one NCAA tourney win in the last six years is not acceptable. Not at what should be the best coaching job in the Big Ten.
Indiana has gotten past the second round of the NCAAs once in 18 years and is 48-72 the last four years. Ohio State is a football school that wins because it hired the coach Illinois should have hired (Thad Matta). Michigan State and Wisconsin also win because of great coaches. MSU had won three Big Ten titles in 29 years before Tom Izzo.
Wisconsin hadn’t finished higher than fourth in the Big Ten since 1962 but has been fourth or higher all 10 years under Bo Ryan. If Illinois fires Bruce Weber and hires a coach like Bill Self, Bo Ryan, Thad Matta or Tom Izzo, the Illini can become the Kansas of the Big Ten.
Rockford Register
There were tears in the Illinois locker room Saturday after Nebraska used a 36-4 run to win 80-57 and send the struggling Illini to their fifth consecutive loss.
"I think the whole thing piled up and the wheels came off," coach Bruce Weber said. "Part of it was Nebraska, there's no doubt. They got on a roll.
"For the most part all year, we've competed with everybody. I think the doubt just hit us. The weight of the world came tumbling down, and we couldn't stop it."
It put the Illini on shaky ground to make the NCAA tournament and added pressure to the beleaguered Weber, who has been the subject of speculation that he will be fired at the end of the season.
AP
When I wrote a few weeks back that Weber might be in trouble, I mentioned that he has lamented not recruiting toughness. After the Purdue loss, he lamented not developing toughness.
I’m not sure you can instill toughness unless an inner will already is in place.
Deron Williams and Dee Brown oozed toughness as well as talent. Trent Meacham and Chester Frazier had the will to win. So do Sam Maniscalco and Tracy Abrams. With many others who have played for Weber — and Illini watchers know who they were — I don’t know that anyone was going to bring out toughness.
Toughness starts with the type of player who’s recruited.
But points like that are water under the bridge.
Other things can be dissected. Weber never seemed interested in developing a deep bench. The recruiting can be second-guessed from here to Cairo. But that’s all hindsight.
The bottom line is, Illinois is 49-52 in Big Ten games the last six years. It has won one NCAA tournament game over that span. And the coach has lost the fan base.
That’s a recipe for a pink slip when there’s a new sheriff such as Thomas in town.
Chicago Sun Times
For Pac-12 men’s basketball, these are troubled times. Read the national scribes. Listen to the television voices. The conference, home of storied programs such as UCLA and Arizona, is a punching bag, a head-scratching collection of mediocrity.
In three weeks, on Selection Sunday, a committee will select the field for this season’s 68-team NCAA Tournament. According to bracketologists — those who specialize in predicting the field — it will not be a good day for the so-called “Conference of Champions.”
Most say the Pac-12 will receive three bids, but if the conference’s top teams tank the next two weeks, or if the wrong team wins the Pac-12 Tournament, two are possible. Maybe even one.
Since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985, no power conference — a group that includes the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Southeastern and Pac-12 — has received just a single bid.
“To me, (the Pac-12) looks like a bunch of NIT teams, every one of them,” said Jerry Palm, one of the more-successful bracketologists, referring to the consolation tournament that selects among those not invited to the NCAA event. “And to make it worse, they keep beating each other up.”
The collective resume is ugly: During the non-conference season, Pac-12 teams went 2-31 against teams in the Top 50 of the RPI rankings, a system used by the committee to determine teams’ overall worth. The conference’s most-impressive wins: Oregon State over Texas and Stanford over Colorado State.
As a result, no Pac-12 team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 in 11 weeks. It doesn’t help that three Pac-12 teams — Arizona State, Utah and USC — are considered among the worst major-conference teams in college basketball.
Arizona Republic News
Kim Barnes Arico and her St. John's Red Storm ended two incredible UConn streaks and years of frustration with one shocking victory.
Shenneika Smith's 3-pointer from the wing with 8 seconds left lifted St. John's to a 57-56 win over No. 2 Connecticut on Saturday night, snapping the Huskies' 99-game home court winning streak. It was the Huskies' first home loss to an unranked opponent in nearly 19 years.
"It's truly unbelievable," Barnes Arico said. "There aren't many teams that can say they beat UConn in this place and now we're one of them."
St. John's became only the fifth team to win at Storrs since 1993, joining Tennessee, Georgia, Notre Dame and Rutgers. The Red Storm, who have won seven of their last eight games — the lone loss coming to then-No. 2 Notre Dame — haven't had much success anywhere against the Huskies. They lost the previous 27 meetings since a home victory over the Huskies in 1993.
AP
The first time the McBride Clinic in Oklahoma called Valerie Hardrick, seeking payment for the MRI done on her son, she told the company it had the wrong person.
Kyle Hardrick was a sophomore on the University of Oklahoma basketball team with a history of knee problems. He had complained during that 2010-11 season of further knee issues that Valerie claims team medical officials did not identify correctly or treat aggressively. But the parents knew nothing of the MRI taken nine months earlier.
When the second call came from the clinic, Valerie was stunned to learn what the test found: Kyle had a torn lateral meniscus. Valerie said a rehabilitation plan for Kyle was prescribed by a team doctor for Oklahoma, whose officials would not comment on details of the case. Two months later, Kyle had surgery that found far more damage than suspected. He has improved but still experiences pain today while sitting out a year of basketball at his new school, Pratt Community College in Kansas.
Valerie estimates the family has paid $10,000 in medical bills while its health insurance covered $20,000. "It's been difficult, no doubt," Valerie said. "You don't imagine paying those medical bills out of your own pocket when your child gets a scholarship."
The Hardricks' story may be an exception to the rule regarding health care in college sports. But it does reflect a gap that can exist in medical coverage because universities create their own policies on what to pay when treating athletes.
Since 2005, the NCAA has required universities to certify that athletes have insurance for athletically-related injuries before they can compete. The insurance can come from the school, a parent or an athlete's personal policy, and must cover up to the $90,000 deductible of the NCAA catastrophic injury insurance program.
The NCAA says its requirement protects athletes from substantial, unexpected medical expenses and eliminates misconceptions about the university's responsibility. It also protects schools from lawsuits because covered athletes are less likely to sue when expenses are paid by some form of insurance, the NCAA says.
…Time isn't on the side of Kyle Hardrick, the ex-Oklahoma basketball player. He and his family have fought unsuccessfully with Oklahoma to obtain a medical hardship waiver so he can play at Pratt, his new school.
The biggest reason the Hardrick family says it has fought for the waiver -- through lawyers, the media and in Washington, D.C., on a Congressional panel -- is that Kyle wants his terminally ill father, Michael, to see him play again. It is the waiver that the family wants; it is not seeking payment from OU for any medical expenses, Valerie Hardrick said.
Before Jeff Capel was fired as Oklahoma's coach in March 2011, he and his staff agreed on Kyle seeking a waiver. Capel, now an assistant at Duke, wrote to the Big 12 last September that a waiver for Kyle was warranted. But Oklahoma compliance director Jason Leonard wrote to Valerie Hardrick in April 2011 that the school had no medical documentation to support filing for a waiver and that doctors concluded Kyle was able to play.
Valerie claimed in a waiver request to the Big 12 that Oklahoma team physician Dr. Brock Schnebel said he had no documentation of the injury and didn't want to get embarrassed in front of the NCAA by asking for a medical waiver. Valerie believes the real reason for the reluctance is that Oklahoma did not properly treat an injury. Kyle's personal doctor in Oklahoma later documented the injury and treatment.
"Because of the extent of the injury and how long it was going on, Oklahoma is afraid they're going to have to explain why the injury was hidden for so long," Valerie said. "They're going to protect their doctors."
Oklahoma officials said in a statement: "We rely on a highly-respected team of medical doctors, many of whom have experience with teams representing the United States in international competition, to diagnose, treat and render decisions related to the care for our student-athletes. Even with the level of care provided, student-athletes and their parents or guardians retain the option of seeking medical attention from physicians not associated with the university and do so, by policy, at their own expense."
Last September, Oklahoma offered a 12-page settlement agreement to the Hardricks to assist in filing a medical hardship waiver as a "courtesy," according to the document. In return, the Hardricks would agree never to sue Oklahoma or seek enrollment at any school governed by the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.
The document described an "alleged injury" to Kyle that never caused him to miss a game or practice. It noted that Kyle stopped participating with Oklahoma in January 2011 due to academic reasons.
Valerie said Kyle would have been on academic probation if his scholarship had been renewed, which it wasn't. The Hardricks wouldn't sign the settlement agreement. Valerie said she is concerned that Oklahoma's help in getting a waiver now could be detrimental to the request if the school provided a statement to the Big 12 saying Kyle wasn't injured.
So the frustration continues.
Despite suffering from terminal cancer, Kyle's father continues to work every day to help pay off Kyle's medical bills, even when he's weak after chemotherapy, Valerie said.
"We've really taken a hard hit with OU not renewing his scholarship and not paying for rehab and medical costs," Valerie said. "That's a hard toll on the family."
al.com
Recruiting
Recruit in the house: Jordan Woodard, a 6-foot, 175-pound junior guard from Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High, attended on an unofficial recruiting visit. Woodard is currently ranked No. 122 by Rivals.com in the Class of 2013. He has heard from KU, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and many others.
LJW
Rainier Beach, which led by five at halftime, got early contributions from a number of players, including Djuan Piper (he finished with 11 points), Naim Ladd (12) and Anrio Adams (17).
Brewe and junior D.J. Fenner weathered the blows and answered. Fenner scored a game-high 28 points, but had plenty of help. Josh Martin grabbed big rebounds and pass-first point guard Michael Phillips drained back-to-back 15-footers in the fourth quarter that tied the score at 49.
"This is a nice reward toward our goal, which is a state championship," Fenner said. "You've got to get there somehow. To be able to come out here with a chip on our shoulder and prove to everybody we're contenders for that state 'chip, that's a big thing."
It was a physical, back-and-forth matchup that ended with Brewe celebrating a win over Rainier Beach for the first time in his Seattle Prep career.
"It's tough to beat Rainier Beach," Brewe said.
…The Vikings (23-3) are the No. 2 seed and play the winner of Tuesday's Shorecrest-Glacier Peak game at 6 p.m. Friday at Bellevue College.
Seattle Times
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
LJW
Rainier Beach, which led by five at halftime, got early contributions from a number of players, including Djuan Piper (he finished with 11 points), Naim Ladd (12) and Anrio Adams (17).
Brewe and junior D.J. Fenner weathered the blows and answered. Fenner scored a game-high 28 points, but had plenty of help. Josh Martin grabbed big rebounds and pass-first point guard Michael Phillips drained back-to-back 15-footers in the fourth quarter that tied the score at 49.
"This is a nice reward toward our goal, which is a state championship," Fenner said. "You've got to get there somehow. To be able to come out here with a chip on our shoulder and prove to everybody we're contenders for that state 'chip, that's a big thing."
It was a physical, back-and-forth matchup that ended with Brewe celebrating a win over Rainier Beach for the first time in his Seattle Prep career.
"It's tough to beat Rainier Beach," Brewe said.
…The Vikings (23-3) are the No. 2 seed and play the winner of Tuesday's Shorecrest-Glacier Peak game at 6 p.m. Friday at Bellevue College.
Seattle Times
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
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