The annual Kansas Basketball "Late Night in the Phog" event, presented by Hy-Vee, along with Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles will provide the perfect storm that the KU Information Technology staff was looking for to test the newly installed Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) inside of Allen Fieldhouse as a result of the campus' partnership with AT&T.
The multi-million dollar installation, at no cost to the University, for several new 4G LTE antennas will provide a more efficient management of wireless capacity in heavily-trafficked areas. DAS has the ability to provide enhanced, more consistent wireless coverage to customers allowing them to keep tabs on the Royals while getting their first glimpse of the 2014-15 Jayhawks.
In addition, during "Late Night," highlights and live footage of the Royals game will be played on the video board during breaks in the schedule. Prior to the start of "Late Night," the 2008 NCAA National Championship game will be replayed, along with pre-game Royals footage to entertain the fans.
The 2014 "Late Night in the Phog" will run from 6:30 p.m. to approximately 9:30 p.m. Admission is free and will remain a ticketless, first-come, first-served event; re-entry will not be granted. Doors will open at 3 p.m., and children 12 and under will not be admitted without an accompanying adult. A list of prohibited items can be found here.
Kansas Athletics has announced it will take extra steps to ensure the fun and safety of all attending fans:
· KU and Lawrence Public Safety personnel will provide an increased presence.
· Kansas Athletics will open the Allen Fieldhouse entrances early if warranted by a large-enough crowd of fans waiting to enter.
· Kansas Athletics will increase its communication with fans throughout the day, using social media, conventional media and on-site communication.
· As on game nights, KU students will enter through their customary separate entrance on the northeast side of Allen Fieldhouse.
In anticipation of the construction of the DeBruce Center at the northeast corner of Allen Fieldhouse, workers have installed fencing that restricts access to some sidewalks adjacent to the Fieldhouse. The best way for students to access their entrance, therefore, is to approach that entrance from the west side of the parking garage.
With school in session Oct. 10, university parking lots will be restricted by permit until 5 p.m., with the exception of Lot 90 located across Naismith Drive from Allen Fieldhouse; that lot will be available for public parking at no charge starting at noon. Public parking will also be available in the parking garage just north of Allen Fieldhouse for Late Night in the Phog after 5 p.m.; cost will be $5 per vehicle.
As is the tradition at Late Night, fans are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items, which Kansas Athletics will donate to "Just Food" of Douglas County. Just Food will also be outside Allen Fieldhouse taking cash donations for those not able to bring a food item.
KUAD
Situated a row or two behind the Kansas University basketball bench, Cliff Alexander had one of the best seats in the house for last year’s Late Night in the Phog in Allen Fieldhouse.
“It was crazy — 16,000 people in here going crazy. I loved it. That’s actually what kind of got me to come here,” KU’s 6-foot-8, 240-pound freshman forward from Chicago said with a smile.
“It’s not a game, but it gets you. It gets you,” Alexander added.
…“I can’t wait for it,” said sophomore guard Conner Frankamp. “I remember last year before I came out to dance I probably was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. Hopefully this year the nerves will calm down a little bit. We’re all looking forward to it.
“For these young guys, it’ll be crazy for them and crazy for the older guys, too, I’m sure,” Frankamp added. “Not many places in the country have as many fans as we do here. It’s very exciting for us.”
…“I was here last Late Night. I watched the team get down. I watched the team have fun,” said 6-7 New Orleans native Oubre. “It brings out the characters and everything. I’m ready to give the fans what they’ve been waiting on, dancing, dunking, doing whatever they want. We got it. We’re bringing it.”
LJW
Imagine traveling halfway across the world and trying to explain Kansas’ annual Late Night in the Phog. OK, where to start? There are the ritualistic skits and dancing; the montage videos that play at fighter-jet decibel levels; and the 16,300 fans in blue, packing Allen Fieldhouse for what is ostensibly a lot of prepackaged entertainment and an informal basketball scrimmage.
Better yet, try explaining it to Kansas freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, a native of Ukraine who will experience his first “Late Night” at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Suffice to say, there’s nothing quite like Late Night in his home country. So Mykhailiuk, a 6-foot-8 guard, spent some time on YouTube during the last few weeks, studying up on the Late Night traditions.
So when Mykhailiuk was asked what he was most excited about concerning Late Night, he had his answer ready.
“Dance,” Mykhailiuk said. “I will try.”
KC Star
Cant wait to run through the tunnel to start my 3rd season as a Jayhawk! This place is unbelievable even in the dark!
@evan_manning5
Frankamp struggled with his shot, then struggled to see the floor, and it became a vicious cycle, really, until the final few weeks. When you're a three-time All-stater, and you're stuck at the end of the bench, doubt inevitably creeps in. Am I the right fit? Is this the right place?
"It (was) tough, yeah," Frankamp said. "But my family and friends are great, and the coaching staff here and the team are great. They just try to keep positive thoughts in our head and I think that worked quite a bit. Quite a bit."
Indeed, during a painfully short NCAA tourney stay of two games, Frankamp turned out to be one of the few bright spots -- averaging 11 points and 21.5 minutes per contest and connecting on 4 of 9 treys against Eastern Kentucky and Stanford.
"It was a good ending to the season on my part," he said. "But it wasn't anywhere we wanted to be."
…"We're going to be pretty versatile this year," Frankamp said. "It's going to kind of be a different style, I think, in playing a little bit smaller."
The trick is using that style to play a little bit smarter as well. This past March, Frankamp wasn't so much an electric option at the head of the snake as a decidedly safe one: His turnover ratio of 4.2 per 100 plays was twice as good as anyone else on the roster, and four times as strong as Mason (16.7 per 100) or Selden (17.1). Because of his ability to help the offense keep the ball, the Wichita native's advanced metrics were stellar offensively: His "offensive rating"-- points produced per 100 possessions -- on Sports-Reference.com last year was 118.5, third-highest on the roster behind only Ellis (127.8) and the departed Tarik Black (126.7).
Fox Sports
Habitually, now, the conference’s coaches pick KU to win the championship and it’s no different this year as the Jayhawks received six of the 10 first-place votes.
Only six of 10, mind you.
Texas got three votes and Oklahoma one. Kansas State didn’t get any votes to win the conference championship, but the Wildcats are picked to finish fourth, followed by Iowa State, Baylor, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech.
Maybe we’ll have a race. Maybe, even, Texas, OU or even K-State can overtake Kansas. Just don’t bank on it.
The Jayhawks have one of the most intriguing teams in the country with the return of Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden, Frank Mason, Jamari Traylor and Conner Frankamp. But there are a lot of highly-touted newcomers, including likely one-and-done freshmen Cliff Alexander (6-feet-8, 240 pounds) and small forward Kelly Oubre (6-7, 200).
Wichita Eagle Lutz
Tarik Black scored 10 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in 26 minutes for Houston that decided to rest all-star big man Dwight Howard.
Link
Kansas University’s women’s basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 in a poll of league coaches released Wednesday.
The Big 12 coaches picked Texas to edge Baylor for the top spot.
LJW
Cole Aldrich and the fake tooth!
PostingandToasting.com
Big 12 / College News
“With Jah, you’ll see,” Krzyzewski told Gary Parrish of CBS Sports.com, which named Okafor their Preseason National Player of the Year. “He’s good. And he’s been accepted pretty much right away [by his teammates] … because there’s nobody like him. There’s no comp.”
No comp?
Really?
Okafor’s a great kid and great talent to be sure. He is projected as the No. 1 pick in next June’s NBA Draft, but no comp?
How about Karl-Anthony Towns from Kentucky?
How about Cliff Alexander from Kansas?
How about Myles Turner from Texas?
“It’s all premature, no one’s played a game yet,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “So he’s able to score on [Marshall] Plumlee, that’s what we’re led to believe? Well, that’s great.”
…The scout compared Okafor to Jared Sullinger of the Boston Celtics, who has turned into a solid, but not dominant pro.
“Sullinger had a great college career, too, and he had a lot of similarities so we’ll see,” he said. “I like the kid but I don’t understand the posturing of all these guys.”
Duke assistant Jeff Capel told Parrish that Okafor is “dominant.”
“He’s dominating who? I hope so,” the scout said. “I hope he’s dominating Marshall Plumlee.”
Zags Blog
University of Texas basketball player Martez Walker has withdrawn from the university, the school said Thursday.
Walker was first arrested last month on charges that he assaulted his girlfriend in his dorm room. He was suspended from the team after the incident.
Link
Former Huntington Prep/Evansville Bosse standout JaQuan Lyle will attend IMG Academy (FL) this semester.
@NDkendrick
Now that the Power Five conferences have their autonomy, NCAA President Mark Emmert has a wish list he'd like them to tackle right away.
Emmert, speaking after a lecture at Western Connecticut State University, said Wednesday the conferences should prioritize the establishment of guaranteed scholarships, better insurance for student-athletes, new rules for dealing with agents and better concussion protocols.
AP
According to Jim Boeheim’s book, Carmelo Anthony didn’t really hit the books.
In “Bleeding Orange,” the Knick star’s former coach at Syracuse reveals Anthony’s grades for the first semester of his lone year (2002-03) at the upstate university. He made four C’s and one D that fall before leading the Orange to the NCAA championship in the spring and bolting straight to the NBA.
“Maybe if we hadn’t won the title, he would’ve come back,” Boeheim writes, according to multiple reports. “I honestly don’t know, and I don’t think Carmelo knows. Carmelo did his work, went to class and never gave us any trouble. He made four C’s and a D in his first semester, and if anyone wants to roll his eyes at that, plenty of freshmen who aren’t carrying a basketball team on their back do a lot worse.”
Boeheim added that Syracuse was unable to nominate Anthony for the Wooden Award as the nation’s top collegiate player because his GPA (1.8) didn’t meet the minimum requirement of 2.0.
NY Daily News
Big 12 Composite Schedule & Results
Recruiting
@TarikBlack25 on beast mode
@OneBigHaitian
10/9/14, 1:10 PM
Heading to Kansas Tomorrow #LateNightInThePhog
@TheTraeYoung)
10/9/14, 4:37 PM
I will be visiting Kansas University tomorrow!!
@Im_that_dude22
Elite 2017 guard Troy Brown will be at Kansas' Late Night festivities this weekend. Their visit list for the weekend is beyond ridiculous.
@EvanDaniels
Late Night in the Phog visitors: Jaylen Brown, Carlton Bragg, Brandon Ingram, Tyler Dorsey, Stephen Zimmerman, Marcus LoVett, Malik Monk, Jayson Tatum, Schnider Herard, Trae Young, Mitch Ballock, Kobi Simmons, Tyler Cook, Marques Bolden, Troy Brown and Nick Rakocevic.
It will be followed by Kentucky next week, along with a tentative trip to UCLA next month. What about Georgia Tech and UGA? He’s still working on that, although one of those trips to the in-state schools could be knocked out by North Carolina.
Brown told Scout.com’s Evan Daniels that the Tar Heels were his “dream school” as a kid, and he’s added them to his list of finalists. Brown is a 6-foot-7 forward from Wheeler High School who is rated as the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect for 2015. Here’s what Brown told Scout about Georgia Tech: “Georgia Tech is right up the street. It’s right in my hometown in Atlanta. I could have access to a lot of things. I can get home when I want to or my mom can get to me when I need her. Georgia Tech has a great facility. Coach Brian Gregory is great. I’ve known him since the eighth grade. He was the first one to offer me a scholarship. I’ve been up to their campus numerous times. I know how things work up there. I’ll definitely be inquiring about them before I make my decision.”
Brown on UGA: “Coach Yasir [Rosemond] he’s been with me before he even got to Georgia. I’ve known him since I was in the eighth grade and from when I was growing up. We have a relationship already. He tells me all the time that it doesn’t matter where I go that he just wants to see me do good and I respect that. I’m inquiring about them and find out if I really want to go somewhere far or stay home. Georgia is definitely going to be in the mix, as is Georgia Tech.”
Atlanta JC
Draft Express: USA Basketball Development Camp Measurements and Analysis
Louisville coach Rick Pitino would like to eliminate the influence of athletic shoe companies in the recruiting process.
Pitino ended a news conference Thursday railing against a system he believes is often driven by shoe companies such as Nike and even adidas sponsoring AAU programs.
The 62-year-old Pitino believes the relationship between shoe companies and AAU programs has become problematic in recent years.
''What I personally don't like (is) I can't recruit a kid because he wears Nike on the AAU circuit,'' Pitino said. ''I had never heard of such a thing and it's happening in our world. Or, he's on the adidas circuit, so the Nike schools don't want him.''
The coach added that it is a very tough situation to address ''because our pockets are lined with their money.''
Link
He was asked if Louisville's apparel contract with Adidas, vs. industry-leading Nike or fast-rising Under Armour, hurt the Cardinals' recruiting, and he provided a rather frank answer. "I think our pool shrinks. Our pool shrinks," he said. "But, that being said, in the last few years we're having some of the best recruiting classes that we've had in the last 13." The shrinking-pool comment prompted a ton of references to other Adidas schools, namely Kansas.
"Why nobody wants to talk about that is because it's money related," he said. "The University of Louisville makes a lot of money through Adidas ... I think it needs to be cleaned up."
Link
Before an official visit, a prospect must submit transcripts and test scores to the compliance office and register with the @NCAA_EC
@jayhawkcomply
Recruiting Calendar
My Late Night in the Phog videos, KU Alumni games videos, 2011-12 Border War videos, Legends of the Phog videos, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/kcjcjhawk