Kansas.com: KU Jayhawks

Decision time has arrived for Jayhawks' Little

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

Mario Little can feel the clock ticking. Only a few days remain until a decision has to be made about Little's ability to play the rest of this season, and he still hasn't tested out the stress fracture in his left leg.

Kansas coach Bill Self has made it clear he thinks the Jayhawks need Little, a 6-foot-5 junior transfer guard, to play the second half of the season.

"Coach has been begging me to test it out," said Little, who played a combined 15 minutes in KU's last two games for his first action of the season. "It's tough playing with pain. I'm just trying to suck it up with the help of my teammates and coaches. I'm just trying to do it for KU, really."

Here's the situation: Even though Little has played in two games, he is still available for a redshirt year because of the NCAA's medical hardship rule. A player is eligible for a medical hardship year when, due to health reasons, he plays in less than 30 percent of his team's games and does not play the second half of the season. The first half of the season ends Saturday at Michigan State. If Little plays in any game after Saturday's, a redshirt year would no longer be an option.

"This is our last game to look at him," Self said.

McCray tops 1,000 points for KU

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

Junior Danielle McCray topped 1,000 points for her career and helped Kansas improve to 11-2 with an 80-60 victory over Fairfield on Wednesday in Lawrence.

McCray became the 20th Jayhawk to score 1,000 career points, scoring 16 against Fairfield. She has 1,008 points for her career.

Kansas took control of the game early, building a nine-point lead and holding the Stags to just two free throws in the first 4 ½ minutes of play.

McCray and sophomore Krysten Boogaard scored 10 points each in the first half and Kansas went to the locker room with a 41-25 lead at halftime.

Fairfield began the second half on a 6-0 run, but could never get closer than eight points.

Aldrich keeps Kansas on board

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:32 CST

The Kansas Jayhawks didn't play with much desire. They didn't find the toughness to fight through ball screens, and they didn't get enough hands in enough faces of Siena shooters on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Still, one player's extra effort was enough to bail the Jayhawks out of a potentially embarrassing situation. Cole Aldrich grabbed four offensive rebounds. Three of them turned into seven Aldrich points. Kansas beat Siena by seven, 91-84, and there was no question who made the difference.

Aldrich scored a career-high 24 points, snatched away 13 boards and blocked four shots. But those crucial seven points, they're the ones that explain why Aldrich has emerged as one of the best big men in the country at the halfway point of the season.

Aldrich leads the Big 12 with 46 offensive rebounds in 14 games.

"Best I've ever had," KU coach Bill Self said. "He's leading the league in offensive rebounds per game, in a league with (Oklahoma's) Blake Griffin in it. And how many points has he gotten us this year not only by reading it but also not allowing his man to block him out? His effort on the offensive glass is stellar."

JAYHAWK REPORT

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Tuesday's box score

SIENA (84)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Rossiter	36	4-7	4-5	7	3	2	2	12
Franklin	24	2-7	2-2	3	1	2	5	6
Ubiles	27	4-9	0-1	5	0	0	3	8
Moore	34	8-15	0-0	4	8	2	2	18
Hasbrouck	34	5-11	3-4	4	5	2	3	16
Jackson	21	6-11	1-1	1	1	1	0	17
Downey	13	3-4	0-0	1	1	2	5	7
Wignot	8	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0
Duell	2	0-2	0-0	0	0	1	2	0
Priestley	1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	200	32-67	10-13	29	19	12	24	84
Team reb.				4
Percent		47.8	76.9

KANSAS (91)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
MarkMorris	24	1-4	2-2	8	2	0	2	4
Aldrich	32	9-13	6-9	13	0	1	3	24
Mornngstr	32	2-7	2-2	2	5	1	0	7
Taylor	26	3-8	1-2	4	2	1	2	8
Collins	34	5-13	6-7	2	4	5	2	18
Reed	22	3-6	6-6	1	0	1	0	14
MarcMorris	17	4-8	0-0	6	3	1	3	8
Releford	8	2-2	0-0	2	1	1	3	5
Little	5	0-0	3-4	0	2	0	0	3
Totals	200	29-61	26-32	42	19	12	15	91
Team reb.				4
Percent		47.5	81.3
Siena (10-5)	38 46 -- 84
Kansas (11-3)	51 40 -- 91

Three-point goals -- Siena 10-21 (Jackson 4-7, Hasbrouck 3-4, Moore 2-4, Downey 1-1, Duell 0-2, Ubiles 0-3), Kansas 7-19 (Reed 2-4, Collins 2-6, Releford 1-1, Taylor 1-3, Morningstar 1-4, Mark.Morris 0-1). Steals -- Siena 6 (Moore 3, Hasbrouck 3), Kansas 6 (Morningstar, Reed, Releford, Taylor, Marc.Morris, Aldrich). Blocks -- Siena 4 (Hasbrouck, Wignot, Rossiter, Ubiles), Kansas 9 (Aldrich 4, Mark.Morris 3, Morningstar 2). Officials -- Curtis Shaw, Rick Randall, Don Daily. A -- 16,300.

Reed in clutch

Jayhawks not ready to think about MSU

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar have been around long enough to know why tonight's game against Siena could be dangerous.

They appeared well-schooled before Monday's practice, both citing the Saints' 21-point upset win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament last season as evidence that Siena was not just a team sandwiched between ranked squads Tennessee and Michigan State.

But what about the freshmen? They have never experienced a win like KU's 92-85 victory over the Volunteers, and they've watched enough basketball to know what playing at Michigan State on Saturday means. Could they really get up for Siena?

"I think they understand now," Collins said. "They understand how important these games are, that Coach is not lying about a team being good. They understand the significance of this game. We gotta come out and play or we can lose."

The Tennessee game was an emotional one for KU. The Jayhawks, 10-3, played with a sense of urgency that they hadn't showed at any point this season.

SIENA AT KANSAS

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:39 CST

Pos.	Siena (10-4)	Ht.	Yr.	Pts.	Reb.
F	Alex Franklin	6-5	Jr.	13.8	6.9
F	Ryan Rossiter	6-9	So.	8.7	6.3
G	Edwin Ubiles	6-6	Jr.	14.5	4.9
G	Kenny Hasbrouck	6-3	Sr.	11.9	x-2.9
G	Ronald Moore	6-0	Jr.	8.4	x-5.9

Kansas (10-3)

F	Markieff Morris	6-9	Fr.	5.5	4.7
C	Cole Aldrich	6-11	So.	14.8	9.6
G	Brady Morningstar	6-3	So.	7.8	2.8
G	Tyshawn Taylor	6-3	Fr.	10.2	x-3.7
G	Sherron Collins	5-11	Jr.	17.6	x-5.1

x-assists

Siena: The Saints have lost four games this season, all to respectable opponents: Tennessee, Wichita State, Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh.... The Saints return seven players who played in Siena's 83-62 upset of Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament last season.... The Saints' five starters all average more than eight points.... Siena was the unanimous choice of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference coaches to win the 2009 MAAC title.

Kansas: The Jayhawks defended their home floor on Saturday with a 92-85 victory over then-No. 14 Tennessee and now bring the nation's third-longest home winning streak (32) into the Siena game. The streak is the fourth-longest in KU history.... KU coach Bill Self will coach his 500th career game tonight; he is 359-140 (152-35 at KU).... Kansas guard Brady Morningstar is hitting 47.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Woolridge's game grows, and so does his legend

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Like most 16-year-old boys, Royce Woolridge is surrounded by friends. They're chowing down on deep-dish pizza and, in between bites, telling stories of their antics playing basketball at Sunnyslope High in Phoenix.

Woolridge fits right in with his high school teammates -- until you ask the dreaded question: Where are you going to college?

Woolridge's friends are seniors, a year older than him, and they don't know yet. They hope Arizona State. Woolridge has already decided on a school, and he won't enroll for 17 months. He was a 15-year-old sophomore last May when he announced that he wanted to play college basketball at KU starting in the fall of 2010.

With one phone call to KU assistant Kurtis Townsend, Woolridge instantly became the earliest known oral commitment in Kansas history. In other words, no player who has donned the crimson and blue in the modern recruiting age has ever been so sure.

"If any other college offered me," Woolridge says, "I wouldn't have taken it immediately."

McCray, Jayhawks whip NM State

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Danielle McCray scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out five assists to help Kansas defeat New Mexico State 91-49 Sunday in Lawrence.

In addition, she had three steals as 12 Jayhawks scored.

KU shot 45.1 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from three-point range.

New Mexico State shot 35.7 from the field and 22.2 from three-point range.

Kansas had 53 bench points, four more than New Mexico State's total.

Sports icon's autograph for sale

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Dave Monger is looking to sell a piece of sports history: an autograph of basketball inventor and Kansas icon James Naismith.

"It's not something you see every day -- an autograph of the man who invented basketball," said Monger, who teaches physical education at Allison Traditional Magnet Middle School in Wichita.

The signature is enshrined in a scrapbook given to Monger by his grandfather, Eugene Faker, about two years ago.

Faker, who ran track and played other sports at East High School in the 1930s, got Naismith's autograph during the annual Kansas Relays event in 1935, Monger said.

When "Antiques Roadshow" came to Wichita last summer, Monger took the autograph to show the experts. One called it "a very bold signature" and appraised it at about $3,000.

Jayhawks run past No. 14 Vols

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:18 CST

Sherron Collins couldn't sleep on Friday night.

"I just was tossing and turning all night thinking about the game," Collins said.

Collins had made a point of claiming the Kansas Jayhawks as his team, and, in their two biggest games of the season, they had fallen to Syracuse and Arizona. Now, here was No. 14 Tennessee, swaggering into Allen Fieldhouse for a nationally-televised Saturday matinee.

Simply put, there was more pressure on Collins to perform than there's been on any one KU player since Wayne Simien wore crimson and blue.

"We've had a luxury that very few teams have had," KU coach Bill Self said. "I don't think that Mario or Brandon or Darnell or Shady or Sasha ever thought, 'If I play poorly, we are going to lose.' "

Finishing with a flourish

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 05:09 CST

Best moment

Todd Reesing's 26-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Meier to beat Missouri 40-37. The Jayhawks couldn't have written a better script. Just remember: From March through August of 2007, Reesing and Meier dueled for the starting quarterback job at KU. Reesing outplayed Meier, won the job and made it look as if Meier may never play another significant down.

Meier could have transferred when things didn't go his way. But he stayed and learned how to play wide receiver in 2007. A year later, his patience and perseverance paid off when Reesing bought time and found him behind the Missouri defense in the end zone on the biggest play of the season.

Worst moment

The embarrassing 63-21 loss to Texas Tech in Lawrence on Oct. 25. Everything fell apart at the same time for the Jayhawks, who desperately needed to find a way to win at home against the Red Raiders if they wanted to take the Big 12 North.

JAYHAWK REPORT

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Saturday's box score

TENNESSEE (85)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Smith	35	6-13	9-15	9	3	0	2	21
Chism	33	6-11	3-4	8	0	1	4	17
Maze	26	4-11	4-5	2	4	4	5	14
Hopson	25	3-6	3-3	3	1	3	2	11
Tabb	17	1-4	0-1	0	1	1	0	2
Tatum	24	3-10	2-2	7	1	2	0	10
Prince	21	2-8	1-2	6	3	2	5	5
Williams	7	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	4	0
Woolridge	6	1-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	3
Negedu	6	0-0	2-2	2	0	0	1	2
Totals	200	26-66	24-34	37	14	13	23	85
Team reb.				1
Percent		39.4	70.6

KANSAS (92)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
MarkMorris	7	2-2	0-0	2	0	0	5	4
Aldrich	37	10-14	2-2	10	1	3	3	22
Collins	36	7-14	10-14	5	9	4	1	26
Morningstar	33	4-7	1-2	4	6	3	2	12
Taylor	23	6-11	0-0	0	3	1	4	12
Reed	24	2-5	2-2	2	2	0	1	8
MarcMorris	20	3-8	1-3	6	2	4	5	7
Little	10	0-3	0-0	5	2	1	2	0
Releford	8	0-2	1-2	4	0	0	0	1
Thomas	2	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	1	0
Totals	200	34-66	17-25	39	25	17	24	92
Team reb.				5
Percent		51.5	68.0
Tennessee (9-3)	31 54 -- 85
Kansas (10-3)	40 52 -- 92

Three-point goals -- Tenn. 9-26 (Maze 2-3, Hopson 2-3, Tatum 2-6, Chism 2-6, Woolridge 1-2, Prince 0-1, Smith 0-2, Tabb 0-3), KU 7-16 (Morningstar 3-5, Reed 2-5, Collins 2-5, Little 0-1). Steals -- Tenn. 10 (Maze 3, Chism 3, Prince 2, Hopson, Tatum), KU 5 (Marc.Morris 2, Taylor, Colins, Aldrich). Blocks -- Tenn. 10 (Chism 6, Williams, Tatum, Tabb, Smith), KU 6 (Aldrich 6). Technicals -- Tenn., Smith; KU, bench. Officials -- Mark Whitehead, Rick Hartzell, James Breeding. A -- 16.300.

Little help

NO. 14 TENNESSEE AT KANSAS

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Pos	Tennessee (9-2)	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG
F	Tyler Smith	6-7	Jr.	16.9	5.6
F	Wayne Chism	6-9	Jr.	11.8	8.5
G	Scotty Hopson	6-7	Fr.	8.8	2.1
G	Bobby Maze	6-2	Jr.	9.5	3.0
G	Josh Tabb	6-4	Jr.	4.2	2.2
	Kansas (9-3)
F	Markieff Morris	6-9	Fr.	5.6	4.9
C	Cole Aldrich	6-11	So.	14.2	9.6
G	Brady Morningstar	6-3	So.	7.4	2.7
G	Tyshawn Taylor	6-3	Fr.	10.0	2.6
G	Sherron Collins	5-11	Jr.	16.9	2.3

Tennessee: The Volunteers have won four of their last five games since losing to Gonzaga. Tennessee also lost at Temple 88-72 (KU beat Temple in Allen Fieldhouse 71-59 a week later). Tennessee is a deep, talented team that likes to run. The Volunteers feature eight players that average at least 6.6 points. Chism, UT's best big man, is day-to-day with a bruised spine and bruised elbow and may not play.

Kansas: The Jayhawks recovered nicely from their 84-67 loss at Arizona on Dec. 23 with a 79-43 victory over Albany on Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse. Aldrich, who struggled against Arizona, had 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. The Jayhawks will defend their 31-game home winning streak against Tennessee in the first meeting of the teams.

RPIs as of Friday: Tennessee 23, KU 90.

KU chasing marquee wins

BLAIR KERKHOFF — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:38 CST

Typically, Kansas is a statement game for opponents. Beat the Jayhawks and build postseason credentials, even make the season.

These days, it's Kansas hunting for a trophy victory, and today's home contest with No. 14 Tennessee provides that opportunity.

The Jayhawks (9-3) have put themselves in this position with three losses that could easily have gone the other way. They fell to Syracuse in overtime, to Massachusetts by one and blew a nine-point second-half lead at Arizona.

Add it up and Kansas made no top 25 ballots in either major poll this week but more importantly find themselves with an RPI of 90, which, if not at least cut in half by the end of the regular season, could keep the defending national champion out of the NCAA Tournament.

"The margin of error for us from this point forward is not as great as it would be if we had made a free throw or get a stop against Syracuse or make the shot against UMass," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "If we were 11-1 right now, we'd be ranked 15th in the country."

Goal-line stand part of Jayhawk rout at Insight Bowl

J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:33 CST

All around Joe Mortensen, people were happy.

Two of his teammates and his coach were up on a stage, making victory speeches to thousands of fans wearing crimson and blue in the southeast corner of Sun Devil Stadium. Some younger players, guys who have yet to leave their imprint on the Kansas football program, did funny dances and imagined a bright future.

Mortensen stood on a college football field as a player for the last time, a 42-21 pasting of Minnesota in the Insight Bowl that smeared green all over his white jersey. He kept talking about midnight. How he would celebrate when New Year's Day arrived here in the desert. How he would reflect on this scene that he and his senior classmates helped create.

"It's been a great ride," Mortensen said. "It's too much fun. Like, everything was the last time. Last warmup, last stand, last college game. We soaked it all in."

We, on Wednesday night, meant Mortensen and fellow senior linebackers and program builders Mike Rivera and James Holt.

Jayhawks roll past Houston

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

Danielle McCray scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Kansas to a 73-56 win over Houston on Wednesday afternoon.

Sade Morris added 12 points and Krysten Boogaard barely missed a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points.

Courtney Taylor led Houston with 15 points and eight rebounds. Porsche Landry and Roxana Button both added 10.

McCray sparked a Jayhawk run with 18 second-half points. With a two-point KU lead, 36-34, McCray scored 10 of Kansas' next 12 points to give the Jayhawks a 48-39 lead with just under 12 minutes to play.

HOUSTON (8-4): Mason 1-3 1-2 3, Taylor 5-17 5-6 15, Hill 4-9 1-2 9, Scott 3-13 0-0 7, Landry 4-8 2-4 10, Joseph 0-2 0-0 0, Button 4-13 0-0 10, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-66 9-14 56.

BOX SCORE

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

Scoring

Kansas (8-5)	14 14 7 7 -- 42
Minnesota (7-6)	14 0 0 7 -- 21

Attendance--49,103.

First Quarter

KU--Dezmon Briscoe 60 pass from Todd Reesing (Jacob Branstetter kick), 14:49

Minn--Jon Hoese 1 run (Joel Monroe kick), 13:18

JAYHAWK REPORT

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:40 CST

First quarter

Key play: On the first play from scrimmage, Todd Reesing avoided a sack, rolled to his left and flipped the ball over the Minnesota defense to a wide-open Dezmon Briscoe for a 60-yard touchdown. KU led 7-0 with 14:49 left.

Key stat: 117. The number of yards Minnesota gained throwing at KU cornerback Kendrick Harper on three plays.

Second quarter

Key play: KU linebacker Mike Rivera stuffed Minnesota's DeLeon Eskridge on third-and-1 and got the ball back for Reesing with the Jayhawks leading 21-14.

Aldrich, Jayhawks shake doldrums

BLAIR KERKHOFF — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:59 CST

By the first media timeout against Albany on Tuesday night, Cole Aldrich had four points, two blocks, a rebound, an assist and no fouls.

Arizona was clearly in the rear-view mirror.

Aldrich finished with 20 points and led the Jayhawks to an easy 79-43 triumph in Allen Fieldhouse.

The solid outing was a welcome development for Kansas. At Arizona last week, Aldrich finished with 10 points and four rebounds, season lows, and labored in foul trouble. He was held to four field-goal attempts and was dominated by a more physical Jordan Hill in a 17-point loss.

Tuesday, Aldrich responded.

JAYHAWK REPORT

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:37 CST

Tuesday's box score

ALBANY (43)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Harris	27	2-12	2-2	6	0	4	4	6
Connelly	28	4-12	0-0	3	4	1	0	8
Gifford	18	2-4	0-1	6	1	1	4	4
Raffa	32	4-13	3-5	5	1	4	2	11
Ambrose	18	1-4	0-0	1	2	1	2	2
Allen	18	0-3	0-0	0	1	1	3	0
Hastings	18	1-3	0-0	1	0	0	0	2
McRae	21	3-5	2-2	3	1	4	2	8
Barraza	12	0-2	0-0	1	1	0	0	0
Covington	8	1-2	0-0	1	0	1	1	2
Totals	200	18-60	7-10	34	11	17	18	43
Team reb.				7
Percent		30.0	70.0

KANSAS (79)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Morningstar	22	2-5	0-0	5	3	1	1	6
Mk.Morris	20	1-3	3-4	1	1	1	4	5
Aldrich	21	8-10	4-4	6	1	3	3	20
Taylor	19	1-2	0-0	2	1	1	2	3
Collins	30	2-5	2-3	0	4	5	2	7
Thomas	15	0-1	6-6	5	1	0	0	6
Reed	23	4-6	1-1	1	4	0	0	12
Mc.Morris	18	3-4	0-1	5	2	1	0	7
Releford	14	3-4	0-0	4	2	1	0	7
Teahan	6	0-2	0-0	0	1	2	0	0
Bechard	3	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	1	0
Appleton	3	2-3	0-0	0	0	0	0	4
Buford	3	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	0
Kleinmann	3	1-1	0-0	1	0	0	1	2
Totals	200	27-48	16-19	34	20	15	14	79
Team reb.				2
Percent		56.3	84.2
Albany (8-5)	19 24 -- 43
Kansas (9-3)	40 39 -- 79

Three-point shooting--Albany 0-15 (Hastings 0-1, McRae 0-1, Barraza 0-2, Ambrose 0-2, Harris 0-3, Allen 0-3), Kansas 9-19 (Reed 3-5, Morningstar 2-4, Mc.Morris 1-1, Releford 1-1, Taylor 1-2, Collins 1-4, Teahan 0-2). Steals--Albany 8 (Hastings 2, Allen, McRae, Barraza, Harris, Connelly, Gifford), Kansas 9 (Mc.Morris 2, Mk.Morris 2, Collins, Taylor, Teahan, Reed, Appleton). Blocks--Albany 0, Kansas 6 (Aldrich 3, Taylor, Mc.Morris, Kleinmann). Technicals--None. Officials--Ted Hillary, Kevin mathis, Warren Evans. A--16,300.

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