Special section entry 1, Wichita Eagle

KANSAS KANSAS STATEHeights product Perry Ellisaccomplished all of hisdreams in high school. Nowhe’s ready to take it to thenext level. Page 4DD

Bruce Weber has taken overelite programs before. Canhe maintain what BobHuggins and Frank Martinstarted? Page 5DD

Photoby Tra

visHeyin

g/The Wichita

Eagle

SMALL COLLEGES■ Previews of Newman,

Pittsburg State, Friendsand Cowley.

■ Capsule looks at therest of Kansas’ smallcolleges and juniorcolleges.

■ Small-college andjunior-college seasonschedules.

Pages 11-12DD

Kansas.com is your best source for season-long news and features aboutthe Shockers, Jayhawks and Wildcats:

■ Continually-updated blogs from beat writers Paul Suellentrop (WSU),Rustin Dodd (KU) and Kellis Robinett (K-State).

■ Photo galleries from most games involving the state’s Division I schools.■ Bob Lutz’s blog, which goes crazy for college hoops through March.■ Past stories and box scores from games.■ Big 12 and Missouri Valley standings.

WWW.KANSAS.COM2DD THE WICHITA EAGLE ■ SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2012

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: WICHITA STATE SHOCKERS

Gregg Marshall’s Wichita Statebasketball teams make me nervous.

He always has 10 or 11 guys whocan really play and we all know thatin this day and age that college ath-letes are selfish. They want the ball.They want to score and rebound andfill up a box score.

But season after season, Marshallpulls it off. He gets the Shockers toshare the basketball and none ofthem get caught up in me, me, me.

Look for more of the same thisseason, just with players we don’tknow a lot about.

Outside of returning seniors CarlHall and Demetric Williams, Mar-shall, beginning his sixth season asWichita State’s coach, has been hand-ed a fresh batch of Play-Doh.

There is such a thing as too muchdepth, and there have been a few

times during Mar-shall’s tenure whenI thought he wastrying to extracttoo much bloodfrom a turnip.

Most of the time,though, Marshallhas been a master-ful manipulator ofthe Shockers’ deeproster. He is a vet-eran coach wholearned long agowhat style of play

suits his teams best. And with Mar-shall, it’s all-out, intense defensivepressure that rules the day.

He asks his players to go as longand to play as hard as they can, un-derstanding that he has guys on thebench licking their chops to get in. AtWSU, there is a next-man-up mental-ity and it has served the Shockerswell.

This isn’t to imply that there isn’ttalent. There are a lot of players whocan contribute and it’s a credit toMarshall and his coaching staff thatthey have been able to figure outwhich roles suit which players.

This season, it might take a while.Wichita State’s past two teams havebeen chock-full of experienced se-niors, and those veterans have beengood at handing down. Now, though,there aren’t many vets. But there area bunch of talented newcomers fromthe high school, junior college andtransfer ranks.

The Shockers have been picked tofinish fourth in the Missouri ValleyConference by coaches, sports in-formation directors and media mem-bers who cover the league.

Fourth.On paper, I suppose, it makes

sense. Gone are Toure Murry, JoeRagland, Garrett Stutz and DavidKyles from a team that won 29 teamsand made it to the NCAA Tourna-ment. That’s a lot to lose.

Still, I suspect the days of theShockers finishing fourth or lower inthe Valley are gone as long as Mar-shall isn’t.

He’s too good of a coach and thereare too many good players at WSUfor a fall to fourth place. Also, I ques-tion just how strong the Valley will bein 2012-13. Creighton is a legitimatetop 15-20 team, but I’m not ready toanoint Illinois State or Northern Io-wa, the teams picked to finish secondand third, as stronger than WSU.

More experienced teams, yes. Butstronger? I think I’ll take a rain check.

I expect a strong season from the6-foot-8 Hall, who has looked beastlyduring preseason practices and scrim-mages. Williams will step into moreof a leadership role.

Oregon transfer Malcolm Armsteadand returning sophomore TekeleCotton add to what should be a load-ed backcourt, as does redshirt fresh-man Ron Baker, who I’ve been tout-ing as a difference-maker since heplayed at Scott City.

Marshall loves his team, he’s justnot sure how it’s all going to fall to-gether.

He has a bunch of guys who canplay in the backcourt and a bunch ofguys who can play on the wing. Thereis more depth in the frontcourt thanthere has been for a couple of sea-sons, too. Junior college transfersChadrack Lufile, Cleanthony Earlyand Nick Wiggins, who go 6-9, 6-8and 6-6, are in the mix. So is oldstandby 7-footer Ehimen Orukpe,who has one more season to provehimself. Don’t forget about 6-8 sopho-more Jake White, either.

Sophomore Evan Wessel mightstart at the small forward. And fresh-man point guard Fred VanVleet isdefinitely a part of the Shockers’future. Can he be a part of the pre-sent, too?

Even freshman forward DerailGreen has caught Marshall’s eye bymaking a bunch of perimeter shotsthis fall.

This team is loaded with playerswho can contribute. And it’s Mar-shall’s way to fit as many of them inas he can.

There might be Valley teams withfive better players than WSU, espe-cially at the start of the season. Butthere probably are none that canmatch the Shockers one through 12or 13.

BOB LUTZON THE SHOCKERS

A DEEP, DEEP BENCH

Gregg Marshall gave his sustainability speechin March 2011, although few realized it. DuringWichita State’s NIT championship run, he enthu-siastically rejected the notion he coaches at amid-major.

Check my bank account, he said. Check theway my team travels, and the budget, and mytalent and the Koch Arena crowd, he challenged.Had that question and answer taken place in theNCAA Tournament, it goes viral and “Check myW-2” becomes a sound bite on ESPN.

With that statement, he signaled his belief inWichita State’s spot in college basketball. Enter-ing his sixth season, he is after a fourth straight20-win season, something unprecedented forthe program.

“I knew coming in, if given time, we could bevery successful here because of the renovationsto the facility and the great crowd support,which means revenue,” he said. “When youeliminate excuses why you can’t win, then it’s upto you to win. We’ve got what we need to win.”

Marshall and his coaching staff are provingthat in landmark numbers. His 2011 team won aschool-record 29 games on its way to the NIT

championship. The Shockers followed with 27wins, a Missouri Valley Conference title and anNCAA Tournament appearance in 2012. Those56 wins are the second-most in MVC history fora two-season span.

WSU, with a history characterized by a decadeof success followed by a dropoff, is on a roll withone losing season since 2002. As in the past,success follows the traditional markers.

In the 1950s, the hiring of Ralph Miller andthe construction of the WU Fieldhouse (laterLevitt Arena and now Koch Arena) opened the

A vision for success

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita EagleWichita State coach Gregg Marshall, beginning his sixth season, talks to his team following a public scrimmage on Oct. 25 at Koch Arena.

Marshall believes Wichita State is a place to winBY PAUL SUELLENTROPThe Wichita Eagle

Please see SHOCKERS, Page 7DD

We won’t really know much about WichitaState’s offense until it faces one of those stay-in-front, hand-in-the-face, take-a-charge defenses inthe Missouri Valley Conference. You know whatEvansville or Northern Iowa can do to an offensethat isn’t disciplined enough to run its playsagainst solid, physical defenders who refuse to letscorers do pretty things.

Well, the Nov. 13 game at Virginia Common-wealth will tell us something, but it’s too early inthe season (and too talented an opponent) to givesignificant weight.

Offense is the issue for the Shockers, and anynumber of statistics tell the story.

WSU lost its top five scorers from last season.Those five seniors, three of whom played fourseasons in coach Gregg Marshall’s system,formed the backbone of one of the nation’s mostefficient offenses. They made a lot of shots —guard Joe Ragland shot 50.4 percent from three-point range. They ran the offense and rarelyturned the ball over (12.2 a game despite averag-ing 77.1 points). They shot a school-record 74.8percent from the foul line. Those attributes pre-sented fans with an MVC title and a spot in theNCAA Tournament.

Things won’t be so silky. It will take time forMarshall and the players to learn how this teamneeds to operate. It will take time for the new-comers to learn how to contribute when their shotisn’t falling.

“We may not figure it out by the first game,”Marshall said. “It may be Christmastime. It may beJanuary when we hit our stride. I think this teamwill continue to get better if they continue to workhard, like they have, and be as coachable as theyhave.”

Carl Hall, its top returning scorer, averaged 8.4points and rarely scored outside the lane. WSUmade 230 three-pointers last season — four re-turners account for 33 of them. Several new-comers — none of whom know the frustration ofrunning into former Evansville center Pieter vonTongeren for a charging foul — must contribute.

The Shockers, not surprisingly, aren’t too con-cerned. They’re used to winning around KochArena and see no reason why things shouldchange.

Hall gets a chance to show he can be the focalpoint of the offense in a different way than centerGarrett Stutz did last season. Stutz did most ofhis damage with his back to the basket, scoringover defenders and drawing fouls. Hall is smaller,more powerful and quicker. He is ready to showoff an improved mid-range jump shot and movespolished against teammate Ehimen Orukpe, a7-foot, shot-blocking machine.

“If I can score on Ehimen, I know I can get it onmen my size,” Hall said.

Hall’s job is to command a double team fromdefenses, as Stutz normally did. WSU’s offensehit a high gear last season when Hall volunteeredto go to the bench and Ben Smith, a floor-spacingshooter, replaced him in the lineup. With most ofWSU’s shooters departed, other must step up togive Hall and Orukpe room to operate in the lane.

Senior guard Demetric Williams made 19 of 54threes (35.2 percent) last season. Sophomoreguard Tekele Cotton made 8 of 23 (34.8). Seniorguard Malcolm Armstead made 51 of 156 (32.7

percent) in two seasons at Oregon before trans-ferring to WSU. Newcomers Cleanthony Earlyand Nick Wiggins scored big in junior college.Sophomore forward Jake White is regarded as anexcellent shooter, as is redshirt freshman guardRon Baker.

“I’ve been in the gym the whole summer,” Wil-liams said. “Malcolm can shoot the ball. Ron canshoot the ball. We’ve got shooters on this teamand we’ve got people working hard to knockdown open shots.”

They looked good in WSU’s public scrimmagein late October, when the teams combined tomake 11 of 23 threes. Making those shots in frontof 16,000 fans in Omaha is another matter.

“They’ll have to respect us night in and nightout,” Armstead said. “It’s just a matter of us doingwhat it is that we need to do.”

Defense and rebounding are normally givens forMarshall teams. The Shockers outrebounded 135of their 170 opponents in his five seasons andranked No. 15 nationally in rebound margin

(plus-6.5) last season. WSU earned the MVC’saward as its top defensive team the past twoseasons. WSU’s returners did a lot of the toughstuff last season and know how to influence agame with defense.

Williams, an excellent on-the-ball defender,should make a push for the MVC’s All-Defenseteam. Hall is a ferocious rebounder and Orukpeblocked 30 shots while averaging a mere 7.8minutes. Cotton’s defensive-back body and athlet-ic ability gives him potential to be a lockdowndefender. Marshall loves sophomore guard EvanWessel’s willingness to dive on the floor for looseballs. Add Armstead, who set Oregon’s seasonrecord for steals with 65, and the Shockersshould establish a defensive identity.

That identity may need to carry the Shockersthrough rough times with the offense.

“All the good teams, defense takes care of theoffense and gets them out in transition to makeplays,” Armstead said.

Talent shouldn’t be a problem. Marshall will lookdown his bench at plenty of players with the skillsto help him win. Williams and Armstead give himtwo experienced point guards who can push theball and play tough defense. Freshman guardFred VanVleet, slowed by a sprained ankle, shouldhelp when healthy. Hall, Orukpe and transferChadrack Lufile supply plenty of bulk. White canspread the floor with his shooting without sacrific-ing rebounding. Early offers a rare blend of sizeand scoring ability in the front court. Cotton, inlimited minutes as a freshman, showed a taste fordefense and made half his shots.

Figuring out how to hand out minutes and man-age personalities is the challenge. Last season,Hall gave up a starting spot for the good of theteam. Williams learned to slow down and look forshots within the offense. Toure Murry passed offthree-point shots to better shooters and helpedscore by getting to the line. The Shockers, nomatter how talented, won’t win big unless thisnew group figures out how to make similar sacri-fices.

Travis Heying/The Wichita EagleCarl Hall shoots against VCU in last year’sNCAA Tournament. Hall gets to become moreof an offensive focal point as a senior.

PAUL SUELLENTROPBREAKS DOWN THE SHOCKERS

All times p.m.Date Opponent TV TimeMonday Pittsburg St. (exh.) 7Saturday N.C.-Central 7Nov. 13 at VCU ESPNU 6Nov. 15 W. Carolina 7Nov. 17 Howard 2Nov. 20 x-DePaul CBSSN 6Nov. 21 x-W. Kentucky CBSSN 6 or

or Iowa 8:30Nov. 28 Tulsa Cox 22 7Dec. 2 at Air Force Cox 22 4Dec. 8 N. Colorado 7Dec. 13 at Tennessee Cox 22 6Dec. 20 Charleston South-

ern7

Dec. 22 y-Southern Miss 7Dec. 30 Northern Iowa FSKC 5Jan. 2 at Drake Cox 22 7:05Jan. 6 at Bradley ESPNU 4:30Jan. 9 S. Illinois Cox 22 7Jan. 13 at Evansville Cox 22 3:35Jan. 16 Illinois St. 7Jan. 19 Creighton ESPN2 3Jan. 23 at Missouri St. Cox 22 7Jan. 26 Bradley Cox 22 7Jan. 29 Indiana St. Cox 22 7Feb. 2 at N. Iowa ESPN2 9Feb. 5 at S. Illinois Cox 22 7Feb. 9 Missouri St. FSKC 6:30Feb. 13 Drake Cox 22 7Feb. 17 at Illinois St. ESPNU 7Feb. 19 at Indiana St. 6Feb. 22-23 Bracketbuster TBA TBAFeb. 27 Evansville Cox 22 7March 2 at Creighton TBA TBAMarch 7-10 MVC Tournament FSKC

at St. Louisx-at Cancun, Mexicoy-at Intrust Bank Arena

SCHEDULE

WWW.KANSAS.COM SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2012 ■ THE WICHITA EAGLE 3DD

1. Creighton

Coach: Greg McDermott, 52-22 in two seasons2011-12: 29-6, 14-4 MVC (2nd), NCAA Tourna-

mentStar power: F Doug McDermott (22.9 points,

8.2 rebounds), C Gregory Echenique (9.7 points,7.3 rebounds)

Remember this name: G Austin Chatman, asophomore, takes over at point guard. He will passmore than Antoine Young, his predecessor, andthe Bluejays need him to avoid turnovers and keepthe offense running.

On the bright side: The Bluejays got a taste ofNCAA success and expect to do more this sea-son. McDermott is a better scorer with the addi-tion of some dribble moves and G Grant Gibbswill help Chatman direct the offense. Echenique isa smoother offensive threat after a summer work-ing on his skills.

Compelled to mention: Creighton will missYoung’s ability to score with the shot clock runningdown. The Bluejays need a defensive stopper toemerge to counter the MVC’s talented wings.

Come mid-March: The Bluejays expect to playa Sweet 16 game and celebrate the program’slong-awaited NCAA Tournament breakthrough.McDermott should be a national Player of the Yearcandidate and pondering his NBA options.

2. Wichita StateCoach: Gregg Marshall, 109-61 in five seasons2011-12: 27-6, 16-2 (1st), NCAA TournamentStar power: F Carl Hall (8.4 points, 5.0 re-

bounds)Remember this name: G Malcolm Armstead is

an irritating defender who played two seasons atOregon and set a season record with 89 steals.He practiced with the Shockers last season.

On the bright side: The Shockers are moreathletic than any MVC team — nobody owns abackup center who can match shot-blocker Ehi-men Orukpe — and experienced enough to figureout how to win. If newcomers such as CleanthonyEarly and Nick Wiggins learn their roles, WSU willbe deep and dangerous.

Compelled to mention: Nobody is sure wherethe scoring comes from after the loss of five se-niors from one of the nation’s best offenses.Blending in eight players wearing a Shocker uni-form for the first time is a challenge.

Come mid-March: The Shockers easily couldbe an NCAA-quality team. Will their non-confer-ence schedule and the strength of the MVC makethem an at-large candidate? This team should bebetter in March than it is in December, so perhapsthis is the season the Shockers win the MVCTournament. If not, the NIT is the likely destination.

3. Illinois StateCoach: Dan Muller, first season2011-12: 21-14, 9-9 (T3rd), NITStar power: C Jackie Carmichael (13.9 points,

9.7 rebounds), G Tyler Brown (13.7 points, 3.8rebounds)

Remember this name: F John Wilkins gets oneseason to live up to his recruiting hype. If Wilkinsgets tougher and takes full advantage of his sizeand skills, the Redbirds will move up.

On the bright side: Muller, a former Redbirdsstar, writes a storybook return and gets IllinoisState to its first NCAA Tournament since 1998.Carmichael continues his rapid improvement andmoves into NBA Draft consideration, all whilepushing McDermott for MVC honors.

Compelled to mention: Freshman Kaza Keaneneeds to play adequately at point guard, not aneasy task for a rookie. Senior Anthony Cousinstruggled at that spot two years ago and is betterat shooting guard.

Come mid-March: The Redbirds are desperateto return to the NCAA Tournament after severalclose calls. The schedule is stronger, but not so

strong they can afford many stumbles. Look for theRedbirds to get back to the NIT after coming upshort as an at-large candidate again.

4. Northern IowaCoach: Ben Jacobson, 129-70 in six seasons2011-12: 20-14, 9-9 (T3rd), NITStar power: G Anthony James (12.5 points), F

Jake Koch (8.5 points, 5.4 rebounds)Remember this name: G Deon Mitchell lost

weight and should be quicker and able to playmore minutes. The Panthers need his penetrationand passing to set up shooters.

On the bright side: UNI is reloaded, to a point,from its back-to-back MVC titles in 2009 and ’10.Six of its top seven scorers are back and redshirtsdeepen the roster. The Panthers are an experi-enced, no-nonsense bunch that won’t make mis-takes. Sophomore C Seth Tuttle, last season’sMVC Freshman of the Year, should be an im-proved offensive threat.

Compelled to mention: UNI is 19-17 in theMVC and 0-2 in the MVC Tournament the past twoseasons. It needs to find inside scoring to winmore consistently. UNI relied too much on three-pointers last season. Has it topped out, or is thereanother level in this group?

Come mid-March: The Panthers can build astrong NCAA resume with their challengingschedule. Should they emerge in January with twoor three quality wins, watch out. Until then, pencilthem in as another NIT team..

5. EvansvilleCoach: Marty Simmons, 67-88 in five seasons2011-12: 16-16, 9-9 (T3rd), CBIStar power: G Colt Ryan (20.5 points, 5.2

rebounds), G Ned Cox (9.2 points, 3.0 assists)Remember this name: F Ryan Sawvell battled

bigger players in the post as a freshman. Simmonshopes he can play forward more as a sophomoreto lessen his physical disadvantage and use hisshooting.

On the bright side: Ryan gives the Aces achance in every game and his ability to draw foulscan ruin a defender’s night. He is surrounded byan experienced team that will battle every minuteon defense. Yes, teams hate to play the Aces.Evansville lost five MVC games by two points orless and a sixth in overtime. Perhaps it is due forgood luck.

Compelled to mention: Evansville started oneplayer taller than 6-foot-5 in its 73-55 exhibitionwin over NCAA Division II Southern Indiana andneeded Ryan to take 20 shots and score 33points. It is hard to make that formula work over aseason in the MVC.

Come mid-March: The Aces are one teamthrilled by the potential of an NIT bid. It hasn’tbeen to the NIT or the NCAA since 1999. Un-fortunately for Ryan, this isn’t the season to breakout. The CBI and CIT are calling again.

6. DrakeCoach: Mark Phelps, 62-69 in four seasons2011-12: 18-16, 9-9 (T3rd), CITStar power: F Ben Simons (16.4 points, 3.4

rebounds), C Seth VanDeest (8.8 points, 4.4rebounds in 2010-11)

Remember this name: G Chris Hines started26 games at Utah and averaged 9.6 points. Heisn’t a great shooter (33 percent from the field and33.7 percent from three), but his experienceshould help the Bulldogs recover from the loss ofRayvonte Rice, who transferred to Illinois.

On the bright side: VanDeest is back aftermissing last season with surgery on both shoul-ders. His return moves F Jordan Clarke to hisnatural position and the Bulldogs can match upwith most MVC teams in the lane. If you’re lookingfor a surprise team, this is it. The Bulldogs helpedtheir backcourt with three transfers, got bigger

with a healthy VanDeest and Simons is a star whokeeps getting better. Don’t overlook the Bulldogs,especially in the Knapp Center.

Compelled to mention: Rice led Drake in scor-ing, steals and free throws and ranked second inrebounds and blocks. That is a lot of production toreplace.

Come mid-March: The Bulldogs should be inthe CBI or CIT. If the newcomers in the backcourtare as good as advertised, a better destination ispossible.

7. Indiana StateCoach: Greg Lansing, 38-29 in two seasons2011-12: 18-15, 8-10 (8th), CITStar power: G Jake Odum (10.8 points, 4.8

assists)Remember this name: F Manny Arop, a trans-

fer from Gonzaga, needs to help Odum with scor-ing or it could be a long season. He started eightgames in 2010-11 and averaged 4.6 points and2.9 rebounds for the Zags. If the player whoscored 16 points and made 4 of 5 three-pointersagainst Notre Dame as a freshman shows upregularly, the Sycamores are in good shape.

On the bright side: Lansing says Odum ishealthy and happy after suffering through a stressfracture and plantar fasciitis last season. He rarelypracticed and his injuries slowed his drives to thebasket. No player is more important to their teamthan Odum, so Indiana State is a threat as long ashe is motoring.

Compelled to mention: Other than junior R.J.Mahurin, Odum is working with teammates whohaven’t done much. Newcomers must come upbig for the Sycamores to move into the upperdivision. Junior center Mike Samuels, a 6-foot-11transfer from Wabash Valley (Ill.) College, will likelymiss the season with a broken foot, robbing theSycamores of a big body.

Come mid-March: The Sycamores will be athome, plotting a better senior season for Odumwhen he is teamed with a more experiencedgroup.

8. BradleyCoach: Geno Ford, 7-25 in one season2011-12: 7-25, 2-16 (10th)Star power: G Walt Lemon (12.6 points, 2.5

assists), G Dyricus Simms-Edwards (11.5 points,2.9 assists)

Remember this name: F Tyshon Pickett, atransfer from Dodge City Community College, willstart and brings toughness and scoring to a teamthat needs both in large quantities. He averaged14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds as a sophomore.

On the bright side: A record-breaking badseason is over and Ford can start rebuilding aonce-proud program. Senior center Will Egolfadds experience to the frontline and a new-foundshooting touch. He made 4 of 5 threes in an exhi-bition game after going 0 for 16 in his careerbehind the arc. Should Edwards rebound from adisappointing junior season, the Braves couldmove up a spot.

Compelled to mention: This is largely the samecrew that barely scored 60 points in MVC playand surrendered 73. Leading scorer (and second-leading rebounder) Taylor Brown is gone, so ex-pecting dramatic improvement seems optimistic.

Come mid-March: Bradley is home-boundagain, looking forward to Ford’s third season. Ifthings go well, the Braves will escape the bottomhalf of the standings.

9. Missouri StateCoach: Paul Lusk, 16-16 in one season2011-12: 16-16, 9-9 (T3rd)Star power: G Anthony Downing (11.5 points,

3.2 rebounds), G Keith Pickens (4.8 points, 4.4rebounds)

Remember this name: G Tevin Bracey aver-

aged 7.8 assists, third in NJCAA Division I, atWestchester (N.Y.) Community College. He isn’tmuch of a scorer, but the Bears need someone tokeep the offense organized and get the ball toDowning.

On the bright side: Nobody expects much afterlosing 2011 MVC Player of the Year Kyle Weemsto graduation and F Jarmar Gulley to a knee injury.That’s not much of a bright side. At least Lusk canbe patient with a roster featuring one healthysenior (Downing).

Compelled to mention: The Bears need Pick-ens to stay healthy and contribute defense andleadership. That is no sure thing for a player whomissed 2010-11 after knee surgery and practicedsparingly last season to protect his legs.

Come mid-March: Gulley’s return is ninemonths away and the roster will be a year older.

10. Southern Illinois

Coach: Barry Hinson, first season2011-12: 8-23, 5-13 (9th)Star power: C Dantiel Daniels (8.3 points, 4.9

rebounds), G Jeff Early (8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds)Remember this name: G Desmar Jackson

averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for Wyo-ming in 2010-11.

On the bright side: Hinson will get plenty ofleeway from fans sick of the slide under formercoach Chris Lowery. Lowery left him three seniors,a renovated arena and Daniels, who could growinto a quality MVC inside force.

Compelled to mention: Daniels will miss atleast four more weeks with a leg injury, perhapsmore, and that is just the start of SIU’s injury prob-lems. An assistant coach is practicing and Hinsonbegged for a walk-on from the student body latelast month to help.

Come mid-March: Hinson will hit the recruitingtrail hard with hopes of reviving the program.

THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE

While most of college athletics mocksmath and geography with conferencerealignment, the Missouri Valley Con-ference stays true to simpler days ofround-robin scheduling and a meaning-ful regular-season champion.

Its footprint makes sense. Basketballrules. Rivalries matter and are allowedto grow. Travel, for most schools, iseconomical with the 612-mile distancebetween Wichita and Evansville thelongest trip.

That’s certainly no West Virginia-to-Texas Tech (1,465 miles) or South Flor-ida-to-DePaul (1,172).

That stability is not totally by choice —if Saint Louis wanted to join, the Valleywould likely be thrilled. Hard-core fansstand ready to vote out certain schoolsand add others, unlikely as that is.

In the real world, the Valley’s 10-teamgroup of six public and four privateschools in six states offers protection,stability and better odds at an NCAATournament automatic bid than a 12-,14- or 16-team conference. It’s not sexy,but ESPN isn’t sending emissaries withbetter options.

Commissioner Doug Elgin, again,recently said expansion is not a front-burner issue. The MVC acquits itselfnicely among the group of conferencesbattling with the Big Six for players,attention and money. While the im-provement of the Atlantic 10, with re-cent additions Butler and Virginia Com-monwealth, is a threat to monitor, theMVC’s satisfaction with 10 schoolsworks.

“I think we have a unity and a cohe-siveness in our league that ties memberschools together very tightly,” Elginsaid. “The Valley is also one of thoserare conferences that has geographicalintegrity and regional rivalries that are

both intense and respectful.”Those words carry more punch when

the Valley earns at-large bids to theNCAA Tournament, as Wichita State didlast season.

The MVC earned 13 from 1999-2007before a four-year drought. Coaches areoptimistic last season’s success is thestart of another good run. WSU flamedout in the NCAA Tournament, but did

enough in the regularseason to earn a No. 5seed. Creighton wonthe automatic bid andwon an NCAA Tourna-ment game. IllinoisState and NorthernIowa played in the NIT.

“I’ll be surprised if wedon’t have two or threein with the strength ofour league,” first-season

Illinois State coach Dan Muller said. “Ithink we have a number of teams in ourleague this year that have difficultschedules, that give them opportunitiesto get quality wins for at-large bids.”

MVC schools aren’t going to jet toprominence with one-and-done stars.They do it with experience and continu-ity. Eight of the 10 coaches are back.One of the newcomers, Southern Illi-nois’ Barry Hinson, isn’t really new. Hecoached at Missouri State for nine sea-sons.

Four coaches are four seasons ormore into their tenure, meaning they’vehad time to build a solid roster. Thatdoesn’t count Creighton’s Greg McDer-mott, who is in his third season at oneof the MVC’s most stable programs. OrMuller, who inherited a great situationfrom Tim Jankovich.

Illinois State is one of six schools withfour starters returning. Two more re-turn three. Player of the Year DougMcDermott starts his junior season as apreseason All-American. Five of the top10 scorers are back, as are six of the top10 rebounders.

Elgin believes the Valley’s talent andschedules put its teams in position toland at least two at-large bids. All 10

schools play in a tournament, withNorthern Iowa’s appearance in theloaded Battle 4 Atlantis headlining. ThePanthers open with Louisville and faceeither Missouri or Stanford in the sec-ond game.

Creighton can grab attention earlywith McDermott’s star power, a No. 16ranking and a matchup with No. 23Wisconsin in late November. WichitaState continues to schedule stronglywith VCU and Tennessee on tap.

This is the first season of the MVC’sreturn to encouraging schools to sched-ule aggressively using financial penal-ties.

“I really do believe the league is on atremendous upsurge across the board,”Elgin said.

For conferences such as the MVC,NCAA berths rarely come easy. Schoolssuch as SIU, Bradley and Missouri Stateare in major rebuilds, threatening todrag down the conference’s powerranking. The margin of error is slim, soif an upper-division team such as Wich-ita State or Evansville slips, the confer-ence suffers.

As usual, Valley schools will playmost of their marquee opponents awayfrom home. Michigan’s trip to Bradleymarks the lone appearance by a BCSschool on a Valley floor. Iowa and IowaState’s regular trips to Drake andNorthern Iowa were scuttled in favor ofa one-day classic in Des Moines.

Elgin remains optimistic his band ofbasketball-first schools can compete.

He estimates MVC schools poured$900 million into arenas and practicefacilities — university and city — in re-cent seasons. Evansville is stepping upwith last season’s move to the FordCenter, a new arena downtown, andthe opening of an on-campus practicegym. Creighton recently announcedplans for a practice facility.

The MVC hasn’t changed membershipsince Tulsa departed in 1996. In theworld of college athletics, that makesthe conference a leader in stability andValley members seem to like it thatway.

Elgin

MVC comfortable with its stability■ With no changes in 16years, Valley works atstrengthening from within.

BY PAUL SUELLENTROPThe Wichita Eagle

All times p.m. unless notedNovember

9 — E. Illinois at Bradley, TBA; Philander Smith atMissouri St., 7; North Texas at Creighton, 7; IndianaSt. at UCLA, 10.

10 — Evansville at Notre Dame, TBA; William Jew-ell at Drake, 11 a.m.; Wartburg at N. Iowa, noon;N.C.-Central at Wichita St., 7.

12 — Texas-Pan American at Bradley, 7; UC SantaBarbara at Illinois St., 7; S. Illinois at New Orleans, 7.

13 — Wichita St. at VCU, 6; Winthrop at IndianaSt., 6.

14 — Toledo at N. Iowa, 7; UAB at Creighton, 7. 15 — Illinois St. at Drexel, 6, W. Carolina at Wichita

St., 7; Buffalo at Evansville, 7. 16 — Yale at Evansville, 7:30. 17 — Truman St. at Indiana St., noon; North Dako-

ta at N. Iowa, 1; San Diego St. at Missouri St., 1; How-ard at Wichita St., 2; Bradley at IUPUI, 6; Drake atDetroit, 6; Benedictine-Springfield at S. Illinois, 7; W.Illinois at Evansville, 7:30.

18 — Delaware St. at Illinois St., 2; Presbyterian atCreighton, 2.

19 — Jacksonville at Missouri St., 7. 20 — Indiana St. at Ball St., 6; Bradley at South

Florida, 6:30; Farleigh Dickinson at Illinois St., 7; S.Illinois at S. Illinois-Edwardsville, 7; Longwood atCreighton, 7; Evansville at Tennessee Tech, 7:30.

21 — DePaul vs. Wichita St. at Cancun, Mexico, 6;Malone at Missouri St., 7.

22 — Wichita St. vs. Iowa or Western Kentucky atCancun, Mexico, 6 or 8:30; N. Iowa vs. Louisville atNassau, Bahamas, 8:30; Drake vs. California at Ana-heim, Calif., 10:30.

23 — Drake vs. Rice or Georgia Tech at Anaheim,Calif., TBA; N. Iowa vs. TBA at Nassau, Bahamas, TBA;UAB vs. Illinois St. at South Padre Island, 5; Wiscon-sin vs. Creighton at Las Vegas, 9.

24 — Creighton vs. TBA at Las Vegas, TBA; IllinoisSt. vs. TCU or Northwestern at South Padre Island,Texas, TBA; Missouri St. vs. South Carolina at PuertoVallarta, Mexico, TBA; N. Iowa vs. TBA at Nassau, Ba-hamas, TBA; Tenn.-Martin at Bradley, 1; S. Illinois atSaint Louis, 7.

25 — Drake vs. TBA at Anaheim, Calif., TBA; Mis-souri St. vs. SMU or Ark.-Little Rock at Puerto Vallar-ta, Mexico, TBA; High Point at Indiana St., noon.

26 — Alabama A&M at Evansville, 7 p.m.28 — Bradley at Central Michigan, 6; Tulsa at Wich-

ita St., 7; Fresno St. at S. Illinois, 7; Boise St. atCreighton, 7.

30 — Drake at Nevada, 8. December

1 — Illinois St. at Louisville, noon; New Mexico atIndiana St., 1; St. Joseph’s at Creighton, 2; Michiganat Bradley, 3; Evansville at Colorado St., 3:30; OralRoberts at Missouri St., 4:30; Wis.-Milwaukee at N.Iowa, 7.

2 — Wichita St. at Air Force, 4. 4 — George Washington at Bradley, 7; Wyoming at

Illinois St., 7. 5 — N. Colorado at N. Iowa, 7; S. Illinois at W.

Kentucky, 7; St. Mary’s at Drake, 7; Missouri St. atTulsa, 7; Miami (Ohio) at Evansville, 7.

6 — Creighton at Nebraska, 7. 8 — Indiana St. at Morehead St., 1; Murray St. at

Evansville, 1; Missouri St. at Oklahoma St., 3; N. Iowaat George Mason, 5; W. Michigan at Illinois St., 7; N.Colorado at Wichita St., 7; IP-Fort Worth at Drake, 7.

9 — Akron at Creighton, 1. 13 — Wichita St. at Tennessee, 6. 15 — Alabama St. at Evansville, 1; Iowa at N. Iowa,

1:30; Iowa St. at Drake, 4; Indiana St. at IUPUI, 6; S.Illinois at Wis.-Green Bay, 7; Valparaiso at MissouriSt., 7; Creighton at California, 10.

16 — Morgan St. at Illinois St., 4:30. 17 — Georgia Southern at Bradley, 7; New Orleans

at S. Illinois, 7. 18 — Missouri St. at Alabama A&M, 7; Oakland

City at Evansville, 7. 19 — Illinois St. at Dayton, 6; Mississippi Valley St.

at Bradley, 7; N.C.-Central at Drake, 7; Tulsa atCreighton, 7; N. Iowa at UNLV, 9.

20 — S. Illinois vs. UC Davis at Logan, Utah, 6:30;Charleston Southern at Wichita St., 7.

21 — S. Illinois vs. Nicholls St. at Logan, Utah,6:30.

22 — Evansville at Butler, 1; Austin Peay at IllinoisSt., 2; St. Mary’s at N. Iowa, 2; E. Illinois at Drake, 2;Indiana St. vs. Mississippi at Honolulu, 4; VirginiaTech vs. Bradley at Las Vegas, 7; Southern Miss atWichita St., 7; Missouri St. at New Mexico St., 8; S.Illinois at Utah St., 9.

23 — Bradley vs. TBA at Las Vegas, TBA; Indiana St.vs. San Diego St. or South Florida at Honolulu, TBA.

24 — Indiana St. vs. TBA at Honolulu, TBA. 29 — Drake at Bradley, 7; Evansville at Creighton,

7.30 — Illinois St. at Indiana St., noon; N. Iowa at

Wichita St., 5; S. Illinois at Missouri St., 5:30. January

2 — Creighton at Illinois St., 7; Indiana St. at N.Iowa, 7; Wichita St. at Drake, 7; Bradley at S. Illinois,7; Missouri St. at Evansville, 7.

5 — Indiana St. at Creighton, 2; S. Illinois at Ev-ansville, 7; N. Iowa at Illinois St., 7; Missouri St. atDrake, 7.

6 — Wichita St. at Bradley, 4:30. 8 — Illinois St. at Missouri St., 7; Drake at Creigh-

ton, 7. 9 — Bradley at Indiana St., 6; S. Illinois at Wichita

St., 7; Evansville at N. Iowa, 7. 11 — Creighton at Missouri St., 7. 12 — Bradley at N. Iowa, 1; Drake at Illinois St., 7;

Indiana St. at S. Illinois, 7. 13 — Wichita St. at Evansville, 3:30. 15 — S. Illinois at Bradley, 7; N. Iowa at Creighton,

7. 16 — Missouri St. at Indiana St., 6; Illinois St. at

Wichita St., 7; Evansville at Drake, 7. 19 — Missouri St. at Bradley, 1; Creighton at Wich-

ita St., 3; Evansville at Indiana St., 7. 20 — Drake at N. Iowa, 2 or 7; Illinois St. at S.

Illinois, 2 or 7. 23 — Creighton at Drake, 7; Indiana St. at Illinois

St., 7; S. Illinois at N. Iowa, 7; Wichita St. at MissouriSt., 7; Bradley at Evansville, 7.

26 — N. Iowa at Indiana St., noon; Evansville atIllinois St., 7; Bradley at Wichita St., 7.

27 — Drake at Missouri St., 2 or 7; Creighton at S.Illinois, 2 or 7.

29 — Illinois St. at Bradley, 7; Indiana St. at Wich-ita St., 7; N. Iowa at Evansville, 7.

30 — Missouri St. at Creighton, 7; Drake at S. Illi-nois, 7.

February2 — Bradley at Creighton, 2; Evansville at Missouri

St., 2; S. Illinois at Illinois St., 4; Indiana St. at Drake,6:30; Wichita St. at N. Iowa, 9.

5 — Evansville at Bradley, 7; Missouri St. at N. Io-wa, 7; Wichita St. at S. Illinois, 7.

6 — Creighton at Indiana St., 6; Illinois St. atDrake, 7.

9 — S. Illinois at Indiana St., noon; Missouri St. atWichita St., 6:30; Illinois St. at Creighton, 9.

10 — N. Iowa at Bradley, 2 or 7; Drake at Evans-ville, 2 or 7.

12 — Indiana St. at Missouri St., 7. 13 — Bradley at Illinois St., 7; Drake at Wichita St.,

7; Creighton at N. Iowa, 7; Evansville at S. Illinois, 7. 16 — Indiana St. at Bradley, 1; Creighton at Ev-

ansville, 2; Missouri St. at S. Illinois, 7; N. Iowa atDrake, 7.

17 — Wichita St. at Illinois St., 7. 19 — Wichita St. at Indiana St., 6; S. Illinois at

Creighton, 7; N. Iowa at Missouri St., 7. 20 — Bradley at Drake, 7; Illinois St. at Evansville,

7. 22-23 — Bracketbusters, road games for Bradley,

Creighton, Evansville, Illinois St., Missouri St.; homegames for Drake, Indiana St., N. Iowa, S. Illinois,Wichita St..

27 — Drake at Indiana St., 6; Missouri St. at IllinoisSt., 7; N. Iowa at S. Illinois, 7; Evansville at WichitaSt., 7; Creighton at Bradley, 7.

March2 — All games TBA: Bradley at Missouri St., Indiana

St. at Evansville, Illinois St. at N. Iowa, S. Illinois atDrake, Wichita St. at Creighton.

7-10 — MVC Tournament at St. Louis.

MVC SCHEDULECOLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE

All-Missouri ValleyFirst team School Pos. Ht Yr.Doug McDermott Creighton F 6-8 Jr.Colt Ryan Evansville G 6-5 Sr.Jackie Carmichael Illinois St. C 6-9 Sr.Ben Simons Drake F 6-8 Sr.Carl Hall Wichita St. C 6-8 Sr.Second teamJake Odum Indiana St. G 6-4 Jr.Seth Tuttle N. Iowa C 6-8 So.Tyler Brown Illinois St. G 6-4 Sr.Gregory Echenique Creighton C 6-9 Sr.Anthony James N. Iowa G 6-0 Sr.

Player of the yearDoug McDermott, Creighton. A superb

scorer who spent the summer working ondefense. He is the MVC’s first national ofplayer of the year candidate since HerseyHawkins in 1988.

NCAA Tournament teamsCreighton

Coach on the hot seatMark Phelps, Drake. The Bulldogs need to

make a good run with center Seth VanDeesthealthy. Phelps’ teams have yet to finishabove .500 in the MVC or avoid the play-inround at the MVC Tournament in four sea-sons.

PAUL SUELLENTROP’S MVC PREDICTIONS


In 1927, the New York Yankeeswon 110 games and lost 44. Theirlineup was loaded with Babe Ruth,Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Tony Lazer-ri and others. Four Yankees pitcherswon 18 or more games.

When teams in any sport are in themidst of a superb season, you some-times hear, “Who do they think theyare, the ’27 Yankees?” That team iswidely regarded as the best in base-ball history with its .714 winningpercentage.

But .714 isn’t .841, is it?Since the Big 12 was formed in

1996, the Kansas basketball team hasravaged fellowconference mem-bers to the tune ofa 217-41 (.841)record. The Jay-hawks have woneight straight con-ference champi-onships, thoughthey did sharethree of those ti-tles.

If you take itback to the finalfive seasons of the

Big Eight, Kansas has finished in firstplace or in a first-place tie 17 of thepast 22 years, with a 271-57 (.826)conference record.

This kind of dominance is unprece-dented and a little bit creepy. KUhasn’t lost more than four games in aconference season since 1999-2000and hasn’t had a losing conferencerecord since Roy Williams’ first sea-son as coach in 1988-89.

Kansas has wagged the Big 12’s tailin basketball for the better part of aquarter-century and the dominance iseven more glaring when the Jay-hawks play at home, where their Big12 record inside Allen Fieldhouse is60-4 — 145-8 overall — since Bill Selftook over in 2003-04.

Any way you look at it, throughKU’s Big 12 dominance to the Jay-hawks’ incredible success at AllenFieldhouse, this is a program on apedestal, a king of the hill without aserious pursuer.

Which is why, despite the losses ofThomas Robinson and Tyshawn Tay-lor from a team that reached thenational championship game, theJayhawks are an overwhelming pickto win another Big 12 title. Prognosti-cators are in the habit of picking KU,and it’s a hard habit to break.

The rest of the conference looksflimsy, for sure. Outside of Baylor andmaybe Texas – and mayyyyyyyyyybeKansas State – it doesn’t look likethere’s a team even capable of un-seating KU, which has a team loadedwith baby fat – nine freshmen.

This is the year to potentially getthe Jayhawks, yet no other Big 12team appears capable of doing so.

Elijah Johnson could be an All-American as a shooting guard. CenterJeff Withey would just as soon sendyour shot back through your bodycavity as look at you. And seniorTravis Releford has done nothing butget better since he arrived oh thosemany years ago.

They are the Jayhawks’ backbone.Self plans to fill in with one semi-

experienced player, senior forwardKevin Young, and a whole bunch ofyoung’uns, starting with redshirtfreshmen Ben McLemore and JamariTraylor, who looks to have a littleT-Rob in him.

Wichita’s own Perry Ellis is squarelyin the mix, too, as are fellow fresh-men Landen Lucas, Zach Peters andAndrew White, though Peters hasbeen out with an injury.

Kansas lost to Kentucky in the na-tional championship game with arazor-thin roster. Self has lots ofchoices this season, but he’s pickingfrom the kids aisle.

So there will be crazy ups anddowns, hairpin turns and wild thrillsas Self mixes veterans with new-comers.

But it’s a concoction that can work.Given KU’s history and success, it willwork. Remember, nobody can beatKansas inside the Big 12 or insideAllen Fieldhouse. Other than that, theJayhawks are fair game.

Good luck trying to catch them.

YOUNG, BUT STILL BIG 12’S BEST

BOB LUTZON THE JAYHAWKS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: KANSAS JAYHAWKS

Charlie Riedel/Associated PressKansas center Jeff Withey averaged9 points and 6.3 rebounds lastseason.

The newspaper clipping sits on aliving-room table, a treasure amidstthe clutter of trophies, plaques andfamily photos. They mean some-thing, each one of them, but FondaEllis wants to show you this pieceof fading newsprint.

She stands up and moves acrossthe room, a basketball in the cor-ner, a video-game console on thefloor, her husband, Will, sitting onthe couch. It’s a Sunday afternoonin October, and the sun is shiningthrough the windows of this beigehouse on North Battin Street.

Fonda finds what she’s lookingfor and holds it in the air — a copyof the Rock Valley Bee, her home-town newspaper in Iowa. It’s afunny story, she says. Her parentsstill lived there, and her father,Floyd Terpstra, had kept calling thepaper’s editors.

You have to do a story about mygrandson, he would say. You have to.

No matter that Perry Ellis grewup 460 miles south in Wichita. Orthat he had signed to play basket-ball at Kansas, a world away fromthe bucolic fields of northwestIowa. Or that he shuns the spotlightdespite being a 6-foot-8 powerforward who became a high schoollegend at Heights and one of thenation’s top college recruits.

“It’s how I was raised,” he says. Finally, the paper had relented.

And the end result was in FondaEllis’ hands, a cover photo of herson, dressed in KU gear, flanked bytwo doting grandparents. Now youlook back at the photo, at PerryEllis’ expression: barely a half-smile, his shoulders slacked, almostuncomfortable. Then again, Ellishas always hated photos.

“He’s always the one that standsin the back,” Fonda says.

■ ■ ■Ellis is standing at the free-throw

line on a late October afternoon,his coach’s voice echoing throughAllen Fieldhouse. Another practiceis winding down, and Kansas coachBill Self is running a series of in-bounds plays.

On this day, the Jayhawks’ reg-ular routine has been slightly al-tered. In nearly 30 minutes, Selfwill begin his annual clinic for areahigh school coaches. The bleachersare speckled with men holdingclipboards: a captive audience forthe Education of Perry Ellis.

“You know what you’re doing,Perry?” Self says, his voice raisingan octave.

Ellis stands still, the whole teamwaiting on a freshman.

“Then don’t be out here if you

don’t know what you’re doing,” Selfcontinues.

Senior center Jeff Withey walksout to the free-throw line to takehis spot, and Ellis retreats to thebaseline, his eyes on Withey as theplay begins.

“We don’t need blenders,” Selfwill say later. “We need guys totake charge.”

In almost a decade at Kansas, Selfhas landed higher-ranked recruits.He has won big: two Final Foursand a NCAA title. But he has neverhad a player like Ellis. A McDon-ald’s All-American who was one ofthe top 25 recruits in the country. Ahigh school valedictorian who nev-er brought home a B in high school.A native Kansan, born and raised inWichita.

To some, Ellis represents theideal KU recruit, a blend of talentand determination, a product of aloving Kansas family. But now hestands inside Allen Fieldhouse,joined by six scholarship freshmen,and Self is counting on Ellis to bethe bridge to the future.

After winning an eighth straightBig 12 title and appearing in theNCAA title game last season, Kan-sas lost All-America power forwardThomas Robinson and all-Big 12guard Tyshawn Taylor. But expecta-tions remain high. So much of theJayhawks’ potential rests with Ellisand the development of KU’s fresh-men — both mentally and physical-ly.

“We have nice kids,” Self says.“Nice kids are great. But we cer-tainly need that aggressiveness.”

So how does one go against theirnature? How does one maintaintheir humility — their desire to be inthe background — and find a way totake charge? How does a freshmanbecome something more?

■ ■ ■Sitting alone in Allen Fieldhouse,

Ellis says he’s working on it. Backhome in Wichita, his family taughthim what it meant to be humbleand disciplined. But they alsoshowed him how to go to workeach day.

They met amidst the energy andlife of a college basketball gym.Will Ellis was a lanky center fromColumbia, S.C., searching for an-other chance to play. Fonda Terp-stra was working a job in her firstyear out of high school. It was1980.

On the night Will arrived at BriarCliff College in Sioux City, Iowa,Fonda was there, too.

“A friend went to all the gamesand asked if I wanted to come withher,” Fonda says. “I just loved bas-ketball.”

She’d grown up with it, a fair-skinned blonde in Rock Valley, alittle town not far from Sioux City.Her father had always made a pointof having his daughter play every-thing. So there was tennis … andsoftball … and basketball … andtrack. Track was her specialty. Butwhen Fonda hurt her knee, shegave up sports and began her ca-reer.

The different paths brought themtogether in Sioux City. For Will, arole in the Briar Cliff program

would never materialize. But hefound something better. One yearlater, Fonda left for a new job inWichita. Will, with a brother sta-tioned at McConnell Air Force Base,followed along.

Will was a quiet soul, humble andcaring. Fonda was the talker, thevoice in the relationship.

Two years later, in 1983, theywere married. And a few more afterthat, their first daughter, Savannah,arrived. By the time Savannah wasa toddler, up and walking around,Fonda was pregnant again withtheir first son. They named himPerry.

■ ■ ■He never seemed to stop compet-

ing, whether it was on the goal inthe driveway or the summer trackcircuit. Fonda Ellis had given herson a Fisher Price basketball setwhen he was a baby, assuming thefamily’s genes would rub off. Butwhen Perry led a group of Wichitaboys to an eighth-place finish at anational tournament in the thirdgrade, the Ellis parents began toknow.

Everything came so natural. Thesize. The fluidity. The way the kidcarried himself.

“We could tell that that was hissport,” Fonda says.

By this time, Fonda had settledinto a job keeping the books at theWichita Children’s Home, and theEllis’ three-bedroom home began tofill up. Two more sons, Brae andCameron; two more bodies for the

Ellis’ new path

Travis Heying/The Wichita EagleKansas’ Perry Ellis enters the court for his first game for the Jayhawks on Tuesday night. Ellis was afour-time Kansas player of the year while at Heights High.

■ The best on, off court atHeights, Perry Ellis nowlearns the college way.

BY RUSTIN DODDThe Wichita Eagle

Please see ELLIS, Page 7DD

For years, Bill Self has used a simple phrase todescribe the pressures of coaching at a tradition-rich program. He calls it “Kansas math” — the ideathat no matter how many stars leave KU early, orhow many seniors exit, Kansas fans will generallyexpect their team to be even better the followingyear.

That’s a pretty good starting point when lookingat this year’s Kansas team. One year after a joy-ous — and somewhat surprising — trip to theNCAA championship game, the Jayhawks moveon without consensus All-America forward Thom-as Robinson and All-Big 12 point guard TyshawnTaylor.

The impact and talent of Robinson and Taylorcan’t be overstated. After two years under theradar, Robinson burst onto the scene like a com-et, putting together one of the best individualseasons in KU history. Taylor, meanwhile, wasamong the best playmaking guards in the country.

But one year later, there’s a growing sentimentthat KU might be better this year. The Jayhawksreturn three starters — guards Elijah Johnson andTravis Releford, and center Jeff Withey — andsenior forward Kevin Young also played importantminutes off the bench last year. And Self adds tothe fold one of his deepest freshman classes inmemory, a mix of strong recruiting and circum-stance.

Redshirt freshman Ben McLemore, a 6-foot-5guard, and Jamari Traylor, a 6-foot-8 power for-ward, were forced to sit out last year after beingdeemed as partial qualifiers. And Wichita nativePerry Ellis, a McDonald’s All-America forward, isthe most high-profile recruit in a group of five newfreshmen.

McLemore, an athletic wing who had drawncomparisons to former KU star Brandon Rush, willstart along side Johnson and Releford in the back-court, while Young, Ellis and Traylor will fight forminutes at power forward. (Freshmen LandenLucas and Zach Peters, who is battling a shoulderinjury, could also be in the mix.)

There are a couple of questions marks thatcould slow this KU team’s ascent. Can ElijahJohnson be the lead guard on a top-10 team?(Not to mention, who else will provide ballhan-

dling support in the backcourt?) Finally, how willKU make up for Robinson and Taylor’s scoring?

In a best-case scenario, McLemore turns into anAll-Big 12 player and Ellis is ready to start andcontribute right away. In the worst case, Kansasgets a rude awakening against Michigan State onNov. 13 and has to spend most of November andDecember waiting for the freshmen to get up tospeed.

But even in that scenario, the Jayhawks havethe talent — and home-court advantage — to winthe Big 12. The bigger question: What’s theirceiling?

Earlier this fall, Johnson was asked how KUwould replace Robinson and Taylor. He answeredby mentioning that KU had lost three contributors,including Conner Teahan, and gained seven fresh-men. So…

“Math,” Johnson said.

Rich Sugg/Kansas City StarKU’s Elijah Johnson fights off Emporia State’sTerrance Moore for a bucket during the secondhalf of Tuesday night’s game at AllenFieldhouse. KU won 88-54.

RUSTIN DODDBREAKS DOWN THE JAYHAWKS

All times p.m.Date Opponent TV TimeMonday Washburn (exh.) KSNW 7Friday SE Missouri St. KSNW 7Nov. 13 x-Michigan St. ESPN 6Nov. 15 Chattanooga KSNW 7Nov. 19 y-Washington St. ESPN2 9Nov. 20 y-Texas A&M 6 or

or Saint Louis ESPNU 8:30Nov. 26 San Jose St. ESPNU 8Nov. 30 y-Oregon St. KSNW 7Dec. 8 Colorado ESPN2 1Dec. 15 Belmont ESPNU 6Dec. 18 Richmond ESPN2 6Dec. 22 at Ohio St. KWCH 3Dec. 29 American KSNW 7Jan. 6 Temple KWCH 12:30

or 3:30Jan. 9 Iowa St. ESPNU 6Jan. 12 at Texas Tech KSAS 3Jan. 14 Baylor ESPN 8Jan. 19 at Texas KWCH 1Jan. 22 at Kansas St. KMTW 7Jan. 26 Oklahoma ESPN 3Jan. 28 at West Virginia ESPN 8Feb. 2 Oklahoma St. KSAS 3Feb. 6 at TCU ESPNU 8Feb. 9 at Oklahoma ESPN/2 3Feb. 11 Kansas St. ESPN 8Feb. 16 Texas ESPN 8Feb. 20 at Oklahoma St. ESPN2 8Feb. 23 TCU KSAS 3Feb. 25 at Iowa St. ESPN 8March 2 West Virginia KWCH 1March 4 Texas Tech ESPNU 6March 9 at Baylor ESPN 5Mar 13-16 Big 12 Tournament

at Kansas City, Mo.x-at Atlantay-at Kansas City, Mo.

SCHEDULE


The first thing Bruce Weber shouldhave done after being named KansasState’s basketball coach in Marchwould have been to ask the previouscoach, Frank Martin, about the but-ton.

You know, the one he pushed to getJordan Henriquez going late duringthe 2011-12 season.

When Martin pushed that button,Henriquez blasted off. After a lacklus-ter 13-game stretch, during which the6-foot-11 giant averaged a meagerthree points and three rebounds andspent one game never getting off thebench at Oklahoma State, Henriquezfound whatever it was he had beenlooking for.

In those final sixgames, includingan NCAA Tourna-ment loss againstSyracuse, Henri-quez averaged 15points, 10.5 re-bounds and 3.5blocks. Suddenly, itseemed as if he waseverywhere, doingeverything.

Henriquez hasinduced headscratching for

much of his K-State career. With thewing span of a 747 and the ability torun the floor like a small forward,more was always expected. But themore that was expected, the moredisappointed K-State fans were withhis performance.

Then came the spurt to finish lastseason, when Henriquez played likeone of the best big men in the coun-try. He turned his passiveness intoaggression and his potential intopayoff.

Now the trick becomes to get himto play as well for an entire season. IfWeber can figure out how to pull thebest out of Henriquez, K-State has agreat chance to exceed 20 wins forthe seventh season in a row.

It’s not all about Henriquez, cer-tainly. There are a bunch of experi-enced players on the Wildcats’ rosterincluding a star, senior guard RodneyMcGruder. Weber inherited a deepteam that includes players with var-ied skills.

But Henriquez is the only athletic6-11 defensive stopper. And there’snot a more important player when itcomes to K-State’s success.

Trust me, Weber is fully aware.Players with Henriquez’s raw abilitiesare rare and often it takes longer thana coach expects or is comfortablewith to find the key that turns theignition.

Henriquez has been a major puzzle.It defies explanation that someonelike could him could go a monthwithout reaching double figures inscoring or rebounding.

Martin left K-State with a more-weathered face than when he started,and Henriquez has been, at times, awalking, talking drought.

Now, the hope is, he’s past all ofthose inconsistencies and frustra-tions. That finally, as a senior, he’sready to become not just one of thebest centers in the Big 12, but in thecountry. It’s not asking too much.

And trust me, Weber will be asking.The new K-State coach needs a

bang-up first season to quiet some ofthe critics – like me – who thoughthis hiring was too knee-jerk.

If you were looking for someonewith the opposite demeanor of theoften-irate Martin, you would needlook no further than the affable We-ber, who coaches a game as if he wascaptaining a cruise ship.

Martin, of course, was forever man-ning a battleship and never hesitatedto fire his missiles. His brusque stylewasn’t for everyone, and it didn’tseem to be working for the laid-backHenriquez, often the subject of Mar-tin’s ire.

But then, like that, it started work-ing. Henriquez exploded.

Were those final six games of the2011-12 season an indicator of thingsto come? Or were they too small of asample size, just more proof thatHenriquez is an inconsistent tease?

The answer to those questions willhelp determine how well Weber’s firstseason at K-State goes.

WHICH HENRIQUEZPLAYS FOR WEBER?

BOB LUTZON THE WILDCATS

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

Jaime Green/MCTJordan Henriquez averaged 35minutes and 17 points in his finalthree games, including two strongNCAA showings.

Kansas State has the talent to qualify for itsfourth straight NCAA Tournament, and, if every-thing falls into place, to make some noise once itgets there. But college basketball is never thatsimple. Potential is only part of the equation.

The Wildcats’ success will likely come down tohow quickly four returning starters and a rosterloaded with experience plays for Bruce Weber’snew coaching staff.

So far, players are saying all the right thingsabout their new coach. They seem to like his mo-tion offense and laid-back sideline demeanor. Afew players who likely would have transferred hadformer coach Frank Martin stayed are undoubted-ly excited about a new start. But the only thingthat will truly earn Weber respect is wins.

History indicates Weber can produce quickly ina new job. Southern Illinois showed improvementin his first year, and he guided Illinois to the Sweet16, the national championship game and two BigTen titles in his first two seasons.

He inherited a roster loaded with future NBAtalent at Illinois, and though this K-State groupisn’t that talented, seniors Rodney McGruder andJordan Henriquez are one of the top inside-out-side duos in the Big 12.

McGruder was one of the top small forwards inthe nation last year, and is capable of leading theWildcats in both points and rebounds. He shouldbenefit from Weber’s up-tempo style. Henriquezhad a fabulous postseason, but was maddeninglyinconsistent before that point. Can he put it alltogether in his final year?

If he does, and guards Angel Rodriguez andWill Spradling also improve, K-State could exceedexpectations. It was picked to finish fifth in theconference.

The biggest question marks: Who will startinside with Henriquez? Who will provide key min-utes off the bench? And who will raise the in-tensity level without Martin around?

Adrian Diaz showed potential inside in K-State’sfirst exhibition game, and his height gives theWildcats an advantage on most teams. ShaneSouthwell, Omari Lawrence and Nino Williamsshould play much larger roles than they have inprevious seasons. And DJ Johnson has shownmore promise than Weber expected. Thomas

Gipson, who started 22 games last year, seemsto have started slowly under Weber, though.

K-State will have plenty of time to figure every-thing out. Its nonconference schedule is soft otherthan a probable trip to the NIT Season Tip-Off inNew York and neutral-court games against Gon-zaga (at Seattle) and Florida (Kansas City, Mo.).The Wildcats shouldn’t have many losses whenBig 12 play begins in January.

That’s when the real test begins. Hopes arehigh that Weber’s coaching will have sunk in bythen, and K-State will be ready to get off to a faststart in the league race.

If they can, it should be a good season. Thetalent is there. If it accepts the new coachingstaff, the wins will be, too.

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita EagleKansas State’s Angel Rodriguez averaged 8.3points and more than three assists as afreshman, starting 17 of 32 games. He’ll be thefloor general this season.

MANHATTAN — Bruce Weber faced a puzzlingquestion last March: What does a man do whenhe has the freedom to do anything?

Weber had just been fired by Illinois followinga nine-year run that featured two Big Ten titlesand a trip to the national championship game —as well as three seasons with no NCAA Tourna-ment.

His former employer was paying him hand-somely not to work, so he was set financially.Weber could do anything — retire, take a job inbroadcasting, spend a year with his family orlook for another coaching job.

But he didn’t need much soul-searching. WhenKansas State athletic director John Currie of-fered him the chance to take over the Wildcatbasketball program, Weber accepted immedi-ately.

“I just love coaching. It’s my life,” Weber said.“I have trouble sitting. I like to do things. I liketo be involved. Coaching is what I enjoy.”

It also keeps him sane.Without his job, he figures he would be in a

hospital right now, nursing an injury sufferedaway from the basketball court. He alwaysseems to get hurt when he’s not coaching. Weberpulled a hamstring the last time he played ten-nis, nearly broke his thumb the last time he triedtable tennis and found a way to injure himselfthe last time he went to the beach. He has alsotwice been hit by a car.

“I go hard just like I expect my players to gohard,” Weber said. “Sometimes I just start run-ning outside to remind myself that I’m alive. Ihave fun. Unfortunately, I have a tendency toget hurt. I don’t know the exact number, but Imade something like 17 trips to the emergencyroom by the age of 14. The cars hurt pretty bad.My mom was always begging me to slow down.”

He wouldn’t listen. More than 40 years later,he still isn’t.

When Weber was looking for a new job lastyear, he did so tenaciously. College of Charles-ton and SMU were also interested. He knew hebelonged around the game, and he made surehe would continue coaching. Somewhere, any-where, at the time it didn’t matter.

“We’re just so fortunate to be walking into asituation that is in pretty good shape,” Webersaid. “We have a new practice facility, football isdoing so great and the fan reception here isunbelievable. We have some really nice pieces.Now it’s our job to make sure they fit together.”

This is Weber’s third head coaching job in thelast 14 years, so he knows a thing or two aboutmaking everything work in a new situation.

The challenge motivates him. So much so thathe doesn’t mind living in a townhouse with hiswife while his future home is being built at Col-bert Hills. It’s not like he spends tons of timethere, anyway. When he first took the job, heworked such long hours that he had to pleadwith local restaurants to stay open late. Someagreed, and K-State’s coaches routinely dined atmidnight.

“We got to know the waitresses really well,” saidK-State associate head coach Chris Lowery, whoworked with Weber at Southern Illinois and Illinois.

Like K-State football coach Bill Snyder, Weberdoesn’t eat lunch. He doesn’t think there isenough time for it, instead opting to survive offfruit and candy during the day.

When he first started at Southern Illinois, heremembers current Purdue coach Matt Painter,then an assistant, couldn’t eat lunch, either.After a month on the job, he came to Weber witha plea.

“We were all fired up about our first chance atSouthern, working till midnight like we dohere,” Weber said. “Finally, Matt came into myoffice and said, ‘I love you, coach. I will do any-thing for you, but I’ve got to eat lunch. I can’t dothis anymore.’ I didn’t care if he went to lunch,but it took him a couple weeks to realize it.”

His current situation reminds him of thosedays. Lowery is back by his side after takingSouthern Illinois to the Sweet 16 and then fall-ing on tough times. Former players Brad Kornand Chester Frazier are his director of basketballoperations and third assistant. They are all eagerto win.

When he left Illinois, Weber thought he stillhad plenty to offer a new team. He says he hasno regrets about his time with the Illini, eventhough it ended with a 17-15 record and headmitted he “coached not to lose” instead ofinstilling toughness in his players.

“You’re trying to please the fans, you’re tryingto please recruits and everybody else,” Webersaid. “Sometimes you don’t do what you need todo and make sure you’re doing the right thingfor yourself and for your team.”

Those who know him best could tell he washurting.

“He lost his identity as a coach,” Lowery said.“To see him not being himself was hard. Hehandled it as well as anyone could being in thespotlight like that, but I think he will look backand realize that he should have pushed a littleharder with this group and then he could havegotten over the hump and done better with thenext group. It wore on him.”

Lowery noticed an instant change in Weberwhen he joined him in Manhattan, though. The

first few months on the job, they were the onlycoaches there, working with new players. It wasfun again.

No one was calling for Weber’s job. No onewas criticizing him for not recruiting Chicagoharder. It was just him and his team.

“K-State recharged him,” Lowery said. “Thisplace makes you feel not only wanted but excit-ed. The fans will you to work harder. That’swhat he’s doing. He’s back to just coaching. Andwhen he’s just coaching, it’s special.”

The special times started at Purdue, where hehelped Gene Keady build a powerhouse as anassistant. Then he guided Southern Illinois tothe Sweet 16 as a head coach. Next, he tookIllinois to within a few points of a nationalchampionship in 2005.

Of course, some think he won big early atIllinois solely because he was coaching Bill Self’splayers. He took over at Illinois the year afterSelf went to Kansas. Weber got the best out ofthose players, but he always had to share credit.

He could never recruit Chicago the way Selfdid, and fans thought less of him because of it.

“Illinois was the easiest place to recruit to I’vebeen,” Self said last month. “Within three hoursyou can sign a Final Four team every year.”

But maybe Weber didn’t want to target Chica-go players all the time. Maybe he wanted torecruit nationally. He certainly has so far atK-State, sending assistants on recruiting trips toCalifornia and the northeast, and getting com-mitments from players in Texas, Missouri, Indi-ana and Illinois.

Another former Illinois coach, Lon Kruger,who is a former K-Stater and currently coachingOklahoma, admits there are advantages to ex-ploring new recruiting ground.

“There are a lot of good players out there,”Kruger said. “At a place like Kansas State, youare free to target the three or four who fit whatyou want to do and want to be there.”

Weber had trouble finding those players latein his tenure at Illinois. It didn’t help that it felt

Winning them over■ His heart in coaching, first-yearcoach Bruce Weber has worked togain Wildcats’ trust.

BY KELLIS ROBINETTThe Wichita Eagle

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita EagleK-State coach Bruce Weber talks to his team during the exhibition win over Washburn. “We’rejust so fortunate to be walking into a situation that is in pretty good shape,” Weber said.

Please see WEBER, Page 7DD

All times p.m.Date Opponent TV TimeSunday Emporia St. (exh.) 1Friday North Dakota FSKC 8Nov. 12 Lamar 7Nov. 13 x-Ala.-Huntsville 6

or North Texas ESPN2 or 9Nov. 18 North Florida FSKC 1Nov. 21 y-TBA ESPN/2 TBANov. 23 y-TBA ESPN/2 TBADec. 2 S.C.-Upstate FSKC 1Dec. 8 at G. Washington CBSSN 1:30Dec. 15 z-Gonzaga ESPN2 8Dec. 18 Texas Southern FSKC 7Dec. 22 a-Florida ESPN2 7Dec. 29 UMKC FSKC 6Dec. 31 South Dakota FSKC 1Jan. 5 Oklahoma St. KSAS 12:30Jan. 12 at West Virginia KSAS 12:30Jan. 16 at TCU ESPNU 8Jan. 19 Oklahoma KSAS 3Jan. 22 Kansas KMTW 7Jan. 26 at Iowa St. KSAS 12:30Jan. 30 Texas ESPN2 8Feb. 2 at Oklahoma ESPN2 5Feb. 5 at Texas Tech KMTW 7Feb. 9 Iowa St. ESPN/2 5Feb. 11 at Kansas ESPN 8Feb. 16 Baylor ESPNU 6Feb. 18 West Virginia ESPN 8Feb. 23 at Texas LONG 7Feb. 25 Texas Tech ESPNU 6March 2 at Baylor ESPN2 6March 5 TCU KMTW 7March 9 at Oklahoma St. KSAS 12:30Mar. 13-16Big 12 Tournament

at Kansas City, Mo.x-NIT Tipoff at Bramlage Coliseumy-NIT Tipoff at New Yorkz-at Seattlea-at Kansas City, Mo.

SCHEDULE

KELLIS ROBINETTBREAKS DOWN THE WILDCATS


COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: BIG 12 CONFERENCE

All times p.m. unless notedNovember

9 — Lehigh at Baylor, 4; Cal Poly at TCU, 6; SE Mis-souri St. at Kansas, 7; Southern at Iowa St., 7; FresnoSt. at Texas, 7; Prairie View at Texas Tech, 8; UC Davisat Oklahoma St., 8; North Dakota at Kansas St., 8.

11 — La.-Monroe at Oklahoma, 2; Jackson St. atBaylor, 4.

12 — Centenary at TCU, 5; Alabama A&M at IowaSt., 7; Coppin St. at Texas, 7; Lamar at Kansas St., 7;West Virginia at Gonzaga, 9.

13 — Michigan St. vs. Kansas at Atlanta, 6; Ala.-Huntsville or North Texas at Kansas St., 9.

14 — Neb.-Omaha at Texas Tech, 7. 15 — Akron vs. Oklahoma St. at San Juan, Puerto

Rico, 9:30 a.m.; Boston College vs. Baylor at Charles-ton, S.C., 2; Chattanooga at Kansas, 7; SMU at TCU, 8.

16 — Oklahoma St. vs. TBA at San Juan, PuertoRico, TBA; Baylor vs. TBA at Charleston, S.C., TBA;Oklahoma at Texas-Arlington, 7.

18 — Oklahoma St. vs. TBA at San Juan, PuertoRico, TBA; Baylor vs. TBA at Charleston, S.C., TBA;North Florida at Kansas St., 1; Prairie View at TCU, 3;Campbell at Iowa St., 6.

19 — Texas vs. Chaminade at Lahaina, Hawaii,8:30; Washington St. vs. Kansas at Kansas City, Mo.,9.

20 — Texas vs. TBA at Lahaina, Hawaii, TBA; SaintLouis or Texas A&M vs. Kansas at Kansas City, Mo., 6or 8:30; Navy at TCU, 6; N.C. A&T at Iowa St., 7;Grambling St. at Texas Tech, 7.

21 — Kansas St. vs. TBA at New York, TBA; Texasvs. TBA at Lahaina, Hawaii, TBA.

22 — West Virginia vs. Marist at Lake Buena Vista,Fla., 11 a.m.; Oklahoma vs. UTEP at Orlando, Fla., 6.

23 — West Virginia vs. TBA at Lake Buena Vista,Fla., TBA; Oklahoma vs. TBA at Orlando, Fla., TBA;Kansas St. vs. TBA at New York, TBA; Iowa St. vs. Cin-cinnati at Las Vegas, 5:30; TCU vs. Northwestern atSouth Padre Island, Texas, 7:30.

24 — Iowa St. vs. TBA at Las Vegas, TBA; College ofCharleston at Baylor, TBA; TCU vs. TBA at South PadreIsland, Texas, TBA.

25 — West Virginia vs. TBA at Lake Buena Vista,Fla., TBA; Oklahoma vs. TBA at Orlando, Fla.; PortlandSt. at Oklahoma St., 1.

26 — Jackson St. at Texas Tech, 7; San Jose St. atKansas, 8.

27 — Sam Houston St. at Texas, 7. 28 — VMI at West Virginia, 6; Oklahoma at Oral

Roberts, 7.29 — Southern Utah at TCU, 7. 30 — Northwestern St. at Oklahoma, 7; Oregon St.

at Kansas, 7.December

1 — Texas-Arlington at Texas, TBA; Baylor at Ken-tucky, 11:30; Oklahoma St. at Virginia Tech, 1; BYU atIowa St., 1; Oklahoma St. at Virginia Tech, 2; Arizonaat Texas Tech, 7.

2 — S.C.-Upstate at Kansas St., 1. 4 — Texas vs. Georgetown at New York, 6; Oklaho-

ma at Arkansas, 6; N. Kentucky at Texas Tech, 7; Flori-da Gulf Coast at Iowa St., 7; Houston at TCU, 8;Northwestern at Baylor, 8.

5 — Marshall at West Virginia, 6:30; South Floridaat Oklahoma St., 8.

7 — Iowa St. at Iowa, 7. 8 — Colorado at Kansas, 1; Kansas St. at George

Washington, 1; Missouri St. at Oklahoma St., 3; Vir-ginia Tech at West Virginia, 3; UCLA vs. Texas atHouston, 4:15.

9 — TCU at Tulsa, 2; Neb.-Omaha at Iowa St., 6.11 — West Virginia at Duquesne, 6. 12 — Lamar at Baylor, 8:30. 15 — Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma at Oklahoma City,

1; Drake at Iowa St., 4; Belmont at Kansas, 6; WestVirginia vs. Michigan at Brooklyn, N.Y., 7; Texas St. atTexas, 7; Kansas St. vs. Gonzaga at Seattle, 8.

16 — Central Arkansas at Oklahoma St., 3; Mc-Neese St. at Texas Tech, 7.

17 — S.C.-Upstate at Baylor, 7. 18 — Richmond at Kansas, 6; Stephen F. Austin at

Oklahoma, 7; Texas Southern at Kansas St., 7; South-ern at TCU, 7.

19 — Iowa St. at UMKC, 7; Alabama at Texas Tech,7; Texas-Arlington at Oklahoma St., 7; North Carolina

at Texas, 8; Oakland at West Virginia, 8. 21 — BYU at Baylor, 8. 22 — Tennessee Tech at Oklahoma St., noon; Ari-

zona St. at Texas Tech, 1; Texas at Michigan St., 1;Radford at West Virginia, 3; Kansas at Ohio St., 3;Florida vs. Kansas St. at Kansas City, Mo., 7; TCU atRice, 7.

28 — N.C. A&T at Texas Tech, 7; Baylor at Gonzaga,7.

29 — Rice at Texas, 1; UMKC at Kansas St., 6;American at Kansas, 7; Ohio at Oklahoma, 7.

30 — E. Kentucky at West Virginia, 3; MississippiValley St. at TCU, 3.

31 — South Dakota at Kansas, 1; Florida A&M atTexas Tech, 2; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Oklaho-ma, 2; Gonzaga at Oklahoma St., 5.

January1 — Yale at Iowa St., noon. 5 — Oklahoma St. at Kansas St., 12:30; Texas at

Baylor, 1; Oklahoma at West Virginia, 3; Texas Tech atTCU, 5.

6 — Temple at Kansas, 12:30 or 3:30.8 — Baylor at Texas Tech, 6. 9 — Iowa St. at Kansas, 6; TCU at Oklahoma St., 7;

West Virginia at Texas, 8. 12 — Kansas St. at West Virginia, 12:30; Texas at

Iowa St., 1; Oklahoma St. at Oklahoma, 2; Kansas atTexas Tech, 3; TCU at Baylor, 5.

14 — Baylor at Kansas, 8. 16 — Texas Tech at Oklahoma, 7; West Virginia at

Iowa St., 8; Kansas St. at TCU, 8. 19 — Iowa St. at TCU, 12:30; Kansas at Texas, 1;

Texas Tech at Oklahoma St., 1; West Virginia at Pur-due, 1; Hardin-Simmons at Baylor, 2; Oklahoma atKansas St., 3.

21 — Oklahoma St. at Baylor, 4:30; Texas at Okla-homa, 8:30.

22 — Kansas at Kansas St., 7. 23 — TCU at West Virginia, 6:30; Iowa St. at Texas

Tech, 8.26 — West Virginia at Oklahoma St., noon; Kansas

St. at Iowa St., 12:30; Baylor at TCU, 3; Oklahoma atKansas, 3; Texas Tech at Texas, 7.

28 — Kansas at West Virginia, 8. 30 — Oklahoma at Baylor, 6; Iowa St. at Oklahoma

St., 7; Texas at Kansas St., 8. February

2 — West Virginia at Texas Tech, 12:30; OklahomaSt. at Kansas, 3; Kansas St. at Oklahoma, 6; Baylor atIowa St., 7; TCU at Texas, 7.

4 — Oklahoma at Oklahoma St., 6; Texas at WestVirginia, 8.

5 — Kansas St. at Texas Tech, 7. 6 — Baylor at Oklahoma St., 6; Kansas at TCU, 8. 9 — Oklahoma St. at Texas, 12:30; West Virginia at

TCU, 3; Kansas at Oklahoma, 3; Texas Tech at Baylor,3; Iowa St. at Kansas St., 5.

11 — TCU at Oklahoma, 6; Kansas St. at Kansas, 8. 13 — Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech, 6; Iowa St. at

Texas, 7; West Virginia at Baylor, 8. 16 — TCU at Iowa St., 12:30; Oklahoma at Oklaho-

ma St., 12:30; Texas Tech at West Virginia, 3; Baylorat Kansas St., 6; Texas at Kansas, 8.

18 — West Virginia at Kansas St., 8. 19 — Texas at TCU, 7. 20 — Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 6; Iowa St. at Bay-

lor, 8; Kansas at Oklahoma St., 8. 23 — Texas Tech at Iowa St., 12:30; Oklahoma St.

at West Virginia, 1; TCU at Kansas, 3; Baylor at Okla-homa, 4; Kansas St. at Texas, 7.

25 — Texas Tech at Kansas St., 6; Kansas at IowaSt., 8.

27 — Oklahoma St. at TCU, 6; Baylor at West Vir-ginia, 7; Oklahoma at Texas, 8.

March2 — Iowa St. at Oklahoma, 12:30; West Virginia at

Kansas, 1; Texas at Oklahoma St., 3; TCU at TexasTech, 3; Kansas St. at Baylor, 6.

4 — Texas Tech at Kansas, 6; Baylor at Texas, 8. 5 — TCU at Kansas St., 7. 6 — Oklahoma St. at Iowa St., 6; West Virginia at

Oklahoma, 8. 9 — Kansas St. at Oklahoma St., 12:30; Iowa St. at

West Virginia, 12:30; Texas at Texas Tech, 3; Oklaho-ma at TCU, 4; Kansas at Baylor, 5.

13-16 — Big 12 Tournament at Kansas City, Mo.

BIG 12 SCHEDULE

1. Kansas

Coach: Bill Self, 269-53 in nine seasons2011-12: 32-7, 16-2 Big 12 (1st), NCAA Tourna-

mentStar power: C Jeff Withey (9.0 points, 6.3

rebounds), G Elijah Johnson (10.2 points, 3.2rebounds), Ben McLemore (newcomer)

Remember this name: F Perry Ellis. The Wich-ita native should contribute immediately as a fresh-man.

On the bright side: The Jayhawks are onceagain the favorites to win the Big 12. Withey is theconference’s best shot-blocker, and McLemoreand a strong freshman class make Kansas toughto beat.

Compelled to mention: Kansas relied so muchon Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson last yearthat it may struggle early while it adjusts to newleadership.

Come mid-March: Expect KU to make anotherdeep run in the NCAA Tournament. It has thetalent, though not the experience, to get back tothe Final Four.

2. Baylor

Coach: Scott Drew, 157-124 in nine seasons2011-12: 30-8, 12-6 Big 12 (3rd), NCAA Tour-

namentStar power: G Pierre Jackson (13.8 points, 5.9

assists), G Brady Heslip (10.2 points, 1.3 re-bounds), C Isaiah Austin (newcomer)

Remember this name: G A.J. Walton. He wasa contributor last year and should be much morenow.

On the bright side: Jackson might be the bestguard in the Big 12, and Austin is one of the topincoming freshmen in the nation. Baylor is onceagain talented.

Compelled to mention: Do you trust Drew tolead Baylor through this transition? The Bearsunderachieved with an experienced group lastseason.

Come mid-March: The Bears will be a Sweet16 contender.

3. Oklahoma State

Coach: Travis Ford, 80-55 in four seasons2011-12: 15-18, 7-11 Big 12 (7th)Star power: G Marcus Smart (newcomer), G/G

Le’Bryan Nash (13.3 points, 5.0 rebounds), GMarkel Brown (10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds)

Remember this name: G Phil Forte. He was apackage recruitment deal with Smart, but he canshoot and might make an impact this year, too.

On the bright side: This is the most talentedteam Ford has had at Oklahoma State. Smart is anational Freshman of the Year candidate and Nashwas one of the Big 12’s best young players lastyear. Brown is underrated.

Compelled to mention: It might be hard for theCowboys to find leadership early. Their best play-ers are all underclassmen. Can Ford convincethem to play together from the get-go?

Come mid-March: Oklahoma State has toomuch talent to miss out on the NCAA Tournamentfor a third straight season. Expect the Cowboys tocompete for a Sweet 16 spot.

4. Kansas State

Coach: Bruce Weber, first season2011-12: 22-11, 10-8 Big 12 (5th), NCAA

TournamentStar power: G-F Rodney McGruder (15.8

points, 5.2 rebounds), F Jordan Henriquez (7.6points, 5.8 rebounds), G Angel Rodriguez (8.3points, 2.0 assists)

Remember this name: F Nino Williams. The

former four-star recruit barely played under FrankMartin, but he should get major minutes underWeber.

On the bright side: You always know what youare going to get from McGruder, and with a famil-iar group of 12 returning players coming back heshould be able to take his game to another level inWeber’s up-tempo offense.

Compelled to mention: Until Henriquez proveshe can play strong inside for a full season, theWildcats will have questions in the paint. Weberwill ask Adrian Diaz to do more than he did a yearago, and freshman DJ Johnson may have to playan important role.

Come mid-March: The Wildcats should make itback to the NCAA Tournament, but they will needto win 11 or 12 conference games to earn a favor-able seed.

5. West Virginia

Coach: Bob Huggins, 105-56 in five seasons2011-12: 19-14, 9-9 Big East (9th), NCAA

TournamentStar power: F Deniz Kilicli (10.7 points, 5.3

rebounds), G Jabarie Hinds (7.4 points, 3.3 as-sists), G Gary Browne (6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds)

Remember this name: G Matt Humphrey. TheBoston College transfer will be a big factor onoffense.

On the bright side: Huggins has had successin the Big East and knows all about the Big 12from his time at Kansas State. West Virginiashould be one of the toughest places to play, andKilicli is one of the toughest big men in the league.That should be enough for the Mountaineers tosucceed.

Compelled to mention: West Virginia hadobvious flaws last year and will have to try to fixthem without Kevin Jones, who averaged a double-double.

Come mid-March: The Mountaineers will beclose to .500 in the Big 12. A difficult nonconfer-ence schedule should help them reach the NCAATournament.

6. TexasCoach: Rick Barnes, 324-137 in 14 seasons2011-12: 20-14, 9-9 Big 12 (6th), NCAA Tour-

namentStar power: G Myck Kabongo (9.6 points, 3.0

rebounds), G Sheldon McClellan (11.3 points, 3.3rebounds), G Julien Lewis (7.8 points, 3.6 re-bounds)

Remember this name: F Cameron Ridley. Thefreshman big man should help improve a frontcourt that needs more size.

On the bright side: If Kabongo plays most ofthe season, Texas should be improved even with-out J’Covan Brown. Kabongo was one of theleague’s best guards last year, and Texas has astrong group of incoming freshmen.

Compelled to mention: If Kabongo missessignificant time because of NCAA sanctions —he’s been tied to an agent — Texas will be in trou-ble.

Come mid-March: The Longhorns should re-semble the team they were last year. Expect themto start slow and start winning big games late inthe year once newcomers adjust to Barnes’ styleof play.

7. OklahomaCoach: Lon Kruger, 15-16 in one season2011-12: 15-16, 5-13 Big 12 (8th)Star power: F Andrew Fitzgerald (12.1 points,

5.0 rebounds), G Steven Pledger (16.2 points, 3.9rebounds), F Romero Osby (12.9 points, 7.3 re-bounds)

Remember this name: F Amath M’Baye, aWyoming transfer, will help Oklahoma inside and

out.On the bright side: Don’t be surprised if the

Sooners challenge for a spot in the NCAA Tourna-ment. Fitzgerald and Pledger are two of the betterplayers in the Big 12, and Kruger proved he couldcoach by sweeping K-State last season with ayoung team.

Compelled to mention: Oklahoma lost plentyof close games last year. Unless it can learn toprotect its home court, it won’t move up in the Big12 standings.

Come mid-March: Expect the Sooners to makethe NIT after falling on the wrong side of theNCAA Tournament bubble.

8. Iowa StateCoach: Fred Hoiberg, 39-27 in two seasons2011-12: 23-11, 12-6 Big 12 (3rd), NCAA

TournamentStar power: F Melvin Ejim (9.3 points, 6.6 re-

bounds), G Chris Babb (7.8 points, 4.1 rebounds),G Tyrus McGee (7.7 points, 3.3 rebounds)

Remember this name: G Korie Lucious. TheMichigan State transfer might be the Cyclones’best player.

On the bright side: Iowa State is hard to beatat home, and its new transfers will allow it to becompetitive on the road even without RoyceWhite.

Compelled to mention: White led Iowa State inpractically every statistical category last year. Hewon’t be easy to replace.

Come mid-March: The Cyclones might chal-lenge for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but theNIT seems more likely.

9. TCU

Coach: Trent Johnson, first season2011-12: 18-15, 7-7 Mountain West (5th), CBIStar power: F Carlon Green (9.9 points, 3.4

rebounds), F Amric Fields (9.6 points, 2.5 re-bounds), G Kyan Anderson (8.3 points, 2.8 as-sists)

Remember this name: F Adrick McKinney. Thesenior will once again be asked to step up thisseason.

On the bright side: The Horned Frogs playedwell near the end of last season, and could keepthat momentum going under Johnson.

Compelled to mention: TCU will struggle in itsfirst year in the Big 12.

Come mid-March: The Horned Frogs mightfinish higher than Texas Tech in the Big 12 stand-ings, but they won’t make the postseason.

10. Texas Tech

Coach: Chris Walker, first season2011-12: 8-23, 1-17 Big 12 (10th)Star power: F Jaye Crockett (8.8 points, 5.7

rebounds), F Jordan Tolbert (11.5 points, 5.7rebounds), G Ty Nurse (8.9 points, 1.8 rebounds)

Remember this name: G Josh Gray. The pointguard might start right away.

On the bright side: The worst is behind themwith Billy Gillispie out as coach. Things can onlygo up when the games start.

Compelled to mention: Texas Tech was by farthe league’s worst team last year, and now it isplaying for an interim coach. Not an ideal recipefor success.

Come mid-March: The Red Raiders’ mostcompetitive games will come against TCU, butnothing beyond the league tournament.

THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE

Six teams have made it tothe Elite Eight in two of thepast three seasons. Care toguess who they are?

You probably don’t havemuch trouble coming up withKansas, Kentucky, North Caro-lina and Florida. Butler madeit to back-to-back nationaltitle games, so that’s obvious,too. But what about the otherteam?

Baylor? Yeah, Baylor. TheBears came within a game ofthe Final Four in 2010 and2012, losing to eventual na-tional champions Duke andKentucky in the regional fi-nals.

Rarely have the Bears beenincluded with college basket-ball’s elite, but their recentaccomplishments are impres-sive. They would be morememorable if they could sus-tain momentum from year toyear, though. In betweenNCAA Tournament runs, theyfailed to qualify for the post-season despite a roster loadedwith talent. Even last year, ittook them until the bitter endof a so-so season to get going.Though Baylor won 30 games,it tied for third in the Big 12.

Senior guard Pierre Jacksonreturns as the conference’spreseason player of the year,hoping for more. It will be upto him to keep Baylor ontrack, and he knows it.

“Defensively I want to be abetter player on the ball andvocally I want to be a betterleader and help, because Iknow what it takes to get outof the big 12 and make a runin the NCAA Tournament,”Jackson said. “We’ve got to dothat again.”

It won’t be easy. Though theBears return three-point spe-cialist Brady Heslip and tal-ented forward along withCory Jefferson and welcome atalented freshman class thatincludes 7-footer Isaiah Aus-tin, they lose one of the na-tion’s most talented frontlines. Baylor hasn’t produceda winning conference recordin back-to-back seasons since1988. Is this the group thatcan end that streak?

“When you lose three play-ers to the NBA and return alot of people in the backcourt,it kind of changes some thingsthat you do,” Baylor coachScott Drew said. “That is thegreat thing five, six years ago,four years ago we had a lot ofguards. This year we’re moresimilar to one of those teams.I think coaches will tell youit’s great to have an experi-enced and talented and depthin the guard position, espe-cially early in the year.”

Everyone will turn to Jack-son. The former junior-collegetransfer took the Big 12 bystorm a year ago, averaging13.8 points and 5.9 rebounds,with his speed and fearlessapproach.

He took shots early in pos-sessions, made no-look passesand raced down the court forlayups on fast breaks. Evenwith Perry Jones, QuincyMiller and Quincy Acy by hisside, some thought he wasBaylor’s best player.

But now teams will be fo-cusing on him.

“They are going to look tostop whatever I have plannedfor them,” Jackson said.“They’ve got film on every-thing now. I’m ready, regard-less.”

At 5-foot-10, that’s part ofhis personality.

“I know what I’m capableof,” Jackson said. “I knowwhat I can do. I have a lot ofconfidence in myself. That’s

something you’ve to go tohave when you’ve been anunderdog your whole life. Mebeing so small, that’s mymindset — and I hate losing.”

History indicates Baylormight lose more than it did ayear ago, even though it ispicked to finish second in theBig 12. It went 7-9 in confer-ence play two years ago and5-11 four years ago. Drewhasn’t been able to stop theup-and-down trend, and Kan-sas is still the overwhelmingfavorite to win the Big 12.

Jackson thinks Baylor canchallenge them, no matter theodds.

“I have been through ad-versity before,” Jackson said.“When I came to Baylor I wasnew and a little out of shape,but the fans greeted me withopen arms and made me feelat home. Coming here was thebest decision I ever made. Weare going to win a lot thisyear.”

Bears try to stay among eliteBY KELLIS ROBINETTThe Wichita Eagle

Tony Gutierrez/Associated PressPierre Jackson won’t have other stars around him at Baylor this season, so defenses mayfocus on him. Still, he’s picked to be the Big 12’s player of the year.

All-Big 12First team School Pos. Ht Yr.Rodney McGruder Kansas St. G-F 6-4 Sr.Jeff Withey Kansas C 7-0 Sr.Pierre Jackson Baylor G 5-10 Sr.Marcus Smart Okla. St. G 6-4 Fr.Elijah Johnson Kansas G 6-4 Sr.Second teamSteven Pledger Oklahoma G 6-4 Sr.Le’Bryan Nash Okla. St. G-F 6-7 So.Jordan Henriquez Kansas St. F 6-11 Sr.Myck Kabongo Texas G 6-1 So.Isaiah Austin Baylor C 7-0 Fr.

Player of the yearRodney McGruder, K-State. With Pierre

Jackson and Jeff Withey taking on addedresponsibility, McGruder has as good achance as anyone to win this honor. K-Statereturns an experienced team and McGrudershould shine as the focal point of the of-fense.

NCAA Tournament teamsBaylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma

State, Texas, West Virginia

Coach on the hot seatTravis Ford. OSU has stockpiled talent in

back-to-back recruiting classes and has theplayers to beat anyone. If Ford can’t guidethem to the NCAA Tournament, he won’thave much job security.

KELLIS ROBINETT’S BIG 12 PREDICTIONS

Sue Ogrocki/Associated PressPoint guard Marcus Smart hasn’t playeda game for Oklahoma State but alreadyexpectations are that he’ll help Le’BryanNash lead the Cowboys this season. Heled Marcus High in Flower Mound, Texas,to two state championships.


door for national rankingsand a program-building runin the 1960s. The hiring ofGene Smithson in 1978 fueledthe talent-rich 1980s andEddie Fogler maintained highstandards until he departed in1989.

In 2003, renovated KochArena opened for coach MarkTurgeon to power two trips tothe NIT and the 2006 Sweet16. Marshall took over in2007-08 and needed only twoseasons to push the Shockersback into MVC contention.

“We’ve invested in people,”athletic director Eric Sextonsaid. “We’ve invested in facil-ities.”

How does Sexton knowthose investments are payingoff? Marshall remains in hisKoch Arena office, one in-creasingly filled with pictures,trophies and souvenirs fromShocker victories, in additionto the ones he brought fromWinthrop. If Marshall didn’tbelieve he could win at WSUfor years to come, he wouldfind a place more attractive.

“Without a doubt,” Marshallsaid. “I like what we’ve gotgoing.”

While WSU still plays in theshadow of the Big 12, peoplenotice its success nationally.ESPN loves showing games atKoch Arena because of theatmosphere. WSU was thefirst MVC member to play inthe Maui Invitational and itregularly lands spots in goodtournaments because of itsfan support and reputation.

“Wichita State has a prod-uct and a brand,” ESPN ana-lyst Jimmy Dykes said. “Theyplay hard. Normal collegebasketball fans take that forgranted or don’t understandthe importance of that. That’swhy I like watching themplay.”

Marshall knows who makesthe program go. When hetalks recruiting, his voice risesand his speech quickens.

That is why Marshall andassistant coach Chris Jansjumped in a car for a recruit-ing trip on their way to theMissouri Basketball CoachesAssociation coaching clinicearly last month in Columbia.

They made four stops alongthe way, a trip reminiscent ofhis young days as an assistantcoach. Marshall did his shareof the driving, something notall head coaches are up for.They stopped for enough fastfood to keep Jans satisfied —Marshall can go longer with-out — and the head coachchanged clothes in the car togo from clinician to recruiter.

“It was old school,” Mar-shall said. “I saw parts ofMissouri that I’ve never seen.We hit four young kids, and itwas great. I don’t do that thatoften anymore.”

Marshall does most of hisrecruiting by airplane thesedays. In population-poorKansas, that’s a necessity. It istougher to go on recruitingtrips as a family man, but hecan’t bear to relax.

“When I was 22 years oldand they gave me a car andsome sunflower seeds and$15 and a credit card for gasand I was good,” he said. “I’ddrive all over the easternseaboard. Now, you missthings, the homecomingdance for your son or daugh-ter.”

Marshall and his staff un-derstand how to mine thesweet spot in the recruitingworld where players are tal-ented enough to play forhigher-profile schools whileavailable to an MVC school.He hires assistant coaches

with roots across the countryand connections to all levelsof feeder institutions. He isn’tafraid to take chances onacademic risks, such as Day-ton’s Teddy Hawkins, andrefuses to get caught short.

Hawkins didn’t meet NCAAeligibility standards and is ata prep school in Iowa. Hisreturn to WSU, once prom-ised, is iffy after he recentlyreopened his recruiting. Cen-ter Henry Uwadiae, anothermember of the last fall’s sign-ing class, is at a junior collegeafter not meeting NCAA stan-dards.

At many schools, losing twomembers of a class is devas-tating. Marshall prepared andfilled those scholarships. Hefinds it funny that fans andthe media are concernedabout his ability to count to13 scholarships allowed bythe NCAA.

“Towards the end (withHawkins), we kind of knewwhere he was and we reactedaccordingly,” Marshall said.“My college coach … used tosay, ‘You’re only as good asyour secondary recruiting list’at some point. That secondaryrecruiting list better be reallygood.”

This season’s roster containstwo transfers from Division Ischools and five from a juniorcollege. WSU has two Canadi-ans, a Nigerian and a playerfrom the Bahamas. Eightcame to WSU from highschool, hailing from as closeas Wichita and as far as Geor-gia and Nevada.

“I said the very first day Iwas hired as head coach thatwe will recruit locally, region-ally, nationally, international-ly, universally,” Marshall said.“We will look at high schools,prep schools, junior collegesand the military. It doesn’tmatter, as long as they wantto work and work together.”

With Marshall satisfied withhis resources, sustained suc-cess seems likely for WSU.The work started by formerathletic director Jim Schausand Turgeon is continued bySexton and Marshall.

Sexton thinks the programchecks all the major boxes forfacilities and amenities. Thatdoesn’t mean work stops.WSU is evaluating its lockerrooms. A recruiting room,where coaches and adminis-trators meet with athletes andfamilies, is the latest upgradein recruiting wars to catchSexton’s attention.

A few years ago, it wascommon to see athletic direc-tors and boosters from otherMVC schools touring KochArena. Bradley opened abasketball practice facility in2010. Evansville is openingone this fall and Creightonrecently announced plans.

“We made investments inour facility way ahead ofmany of our competitors inthe conference and they arestarting to catch up,” Sextonsaid. “We look at those thingsevery year.”

Veteran Shocker fans testifythat success slips away quick-ly. Gary Thompson took the1965 Shockers to the FinalFour and exited in 1971 afterfour losing seasons. Smith-son’s NBA talent dried upunder the weight of NCAAprobation and changing timesin college basketball. Turge-on’s final team plunged fromthe national rankings to sixthplace in the Valley.

Marshall feels confident hecan sustain the momentumfrom three straight 20-winseasons. As he said, there areno excuses.

Check Paul Suellentrop’s Shockerblog atblogs.kansas.com/shockwaves.Reach him at 316-269-6760 [email protected].

SHOCKERSFrom Page 2DD

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW

driveway basketball sessions. Perry was developing into one

of the best young players inWichita. But there was onebattle he couldn’t win: His oldersister claimed the second bed-room for herself, while Perryshared with his brothers, oftensleeping on the couch. Theconfines made the family closer— and there was always some-body to play with or a lesson tobe learned.

Will became a social work-er at the Children’s Home. Hestarted work at 10 p.m., amember of the street out-reach team that looked forrunaways and kids that need-ed help. Sometimes, thestories made their way hometo Savannah and Perry. Willcouldn’t provide specificdetails, but the larger mes-sage washed over the chil-dren. Life is a blessing. Bethankful for what you have.Never let an opportunitypass.

“Just go about your busi-ness and do what you gottado,” Perry says, “And youdon’t really have to speakabout it.”

For Perry, everything couldbecome a competition. WhenSavannah brought home areport card with nearly allAs, Perry bugged his sisterwith questions: How do youget straight As? What classesdo I need?

When Savannah helpedHeights to two state titles inbasketball, Perry thoughtabout winning three.

And when he felt like hestill needed to do more, thathis school practices weren’tenough, he would make hisdad drive him to the NorthYMCA at 6 a.m. on week-days. Perry played pickupbasketball with the morningcrowd, mostly young profes-sionals in their 20s and 30s,until Fonda came and gothim to school on time.

Perry used to tell peoplethat academics were his fall-back plan, that he knew therewould eventually be life afterbasketball. That’s true, Perrysays now, but he also justdidn’t want to imagine whatit would feel like to get a B.

“Why try to achieve some-thing lesser than what youcan,” Perry says, “when youcan work a little harder andget to the top?”

■ ■ ■Ellis stood in a hallway

inside Koch Arena, breathingdeeply. It was Dec. 6, 2008.His first high school game.

More than 6,000 fans packedinto the building as East, thestate’s top-ranked team, wasabout to face Wichita Heights

and its most anticipated fresh-man in years.

Joe Auer, Heights’ coach,saw Perry nearly hyperventi-lating. So moments later, twosenior captains huddled withPerry in the hallway anddelivered the only messagethey could: Relax. Your timewill come. Tonight, we needdouble figures in reboundsand need you to make freethrows late in the game.

Nearly four years later,Auer can still recite Perry’sline from that night: Ninepoints, 12 rebounds.

“And he was perfect from thefree-throw line in the fourthquarter,” Auer says. “I think allof us really started to under-stand how special he was.”

At one point the Ellis fami-ly looked toward the frontrow and spotted a collegecoach. Bill Self’s Jayhawkshad played at Allen Field-house earlier that afternoon.But here he was hours laterwatching their son play hisfirst high school game.

“That meant a lot to me,”Perry says.

Still just a freshman, Perrywas recruited by nearly everybig-time school in the coun-

try. Memphis coach JoshPastner, then an assistant atArizona, recruited Perry inthe eighth grade. When Sa-vannah went to play at Mem-phis the next year, John Cali-pari asked about her brother.But Kansas was always there.Summer camps. Trips to LateNight. A relationship builtover years.

“He always was changingthe order of his list around,”Fonda says, “but I felt like KUwas always No. 1.”

Still, the attention could besuffocating. And if Perry wasan introvert before, he wasnow ducking into the shad-ows at any opportunity. Hespent weekend nights playingvideo games with friends,forgetting about whateverelse was happening in town.

“You go out and they’ll think.‘Oh, he’s cocky,’ ” Ellis says. “Iwasn’t like that. And I reallydidn’t even like going out.”

But on he went, settingmore goals, winning moregames. When he was a fresh-man, Ellis told Auer that hewanted to win four statetitles, earn a 4.0 GPA andbecome a McDonald’s All-American.

“When you talk to him,”Auer says, “you might notexpect him to say somethingthat brash.”

But then last March, sixmonths after he made his com-mitment to KU official, Ellisfinished off his high schoolcareer by scoring 29 points asHeights won its fourth straight6A championship.

“That’s what my mind wasset to,” Ellis says. “And wedid it.”

■ ■ ■The phone rang on Sept.

14. Ellis’ grandfather wantedto talk basketball and wishhis grandson a happy 19thbirthday. Floyd Terpstra saidhe’d be there Nov. 9 whenKansas opened the regularseason against SoutheastMissouri State.

A few hours after theyhung up the phone, Floydsuffered a massive heartattack. He died three dayslater.

“Every time we wouldtalk,” Ellis says, “he was soexcited just to come see meplay here. First game, he’d behere. And life took him away.But he’s in a better place.”

Back in Wichita, Fondaclutches the newspaper clip-ping, trying to explain howmuch basketball has meantto their family. But maybe it’sbetter to see it.

Last Tuesday night, Ellisstepped onto the floor of AllenFieldhouse for an exhibitiongame against Emporia State, hisfirst game since losing hisgrandfather. The rest of thefamily sat in the stands, togeth-er for the next step.

Ellis finished with 15 pointsand seven rebounds. In themoments after the game, Selfsaid it wasn’t enough.

“I just think he’s got somuch more to give in impact-ing the game,” he said.

Moments later, Ellisemerged from the lockerroom and signed autographsfor a line of KU fans. Youlook back at the scene, atEllis’ expression: barely ahalf-smile, shoulders slacked,quiet and focused.

From across the hallway, ata safe distance, Fonda Elliswatches her son.

“He’s got that poker face,”she says.

So now the education con-tinues. The coaches wantmore aggression. And Ellis isthinking about the next goal.

“I’m really working on it,”Perry says. “I just gotta keepgoing; just keep going. I justcan’t have any letdowns. Ijust gotta keep playing.That’s something that I’m stillworking on.”

Check Rustin Dodd’s JayhawkDispatch blog atblogs.kansas.com/jayhawks.Reach him [email protected].

ELLISFrom Page 4DD

like his employers wantedhim to fail.

“We got a new president, anew chancellor and a newathletic director. It was prettyobvious things were going to bedifferent,” Weber said. “I gavemy heart and soul. I do thatevery day no matter where Iwork. I worked my tail off. Iguess it wasn’t enough for thoseparticular people.”

With better administrativesupport he thinks the Illinicould have contended for aBig Ten title in his final sea-son. At the least, it wouldhave made the NCAA Tourna-ment. But once Illinois start-ed losing close games, play-ers realized Weber was gone.They couldn’t bounce back.

Watching them suffer wasthe hardest part. He has longbeen a player’s coach, and itkilled him to see them soupset. Some came to him intears.

He already feels strongersupport from Currie, though.He is confident that lame-duck situation won’t happenagain. He can meet withCurrie anytime. They oftentext late at night.

One of the main reasonsCurrie hired Weber was be-cause he liked the way hehelped build up a program atPurdue while Bob Knight wassetting records at cross-staterival Indiana.

That’s something he wantsWeber to repeat in Kansas,and is always available tohelp. At first, Currie wasconcerned Weber might notwant to compete with Selfafter following him at Illinois.

But that isn’t the case.“He could be doing any-

thing he wants right now, buthe wants that challenge,”Currie said. “We’ve beatenthem three times in 20 years.That’s not good. But he’s notafraid. He’s been there.”

Weber can tell the founda-tion is already in place. Se-nior Rodney McGruder is oneof the best wing players inthe Big 12, Jordan Henriquezis one of the nation’s top shotblockers and all but one start-er returns from last year’steam.

Some of them were upsetwith former coach FrankMartin, and Weber admits“there was turmoil” withinthe program when he tookover. But it didn’t take muchto win them over. One playertransferred.

“These players are tough,”Weber said. “They haven’tbeen pampered at all.”

Still, he decided to showthem he had their support

when they ran into troubleduring the final game of asummer exhibition tour ofBrazil.

The Brazilian pro team theywent up against playedrough, and the officials letthem. Hard fouls dominatedthe game, but it seemed likeonly K-State players werefouling out. At one point,K-State players say Will Spra-dling was stomped on afterfalling to the floor. Later, hewas kicked in the back whiletrying to grab a rebound.

“That game was one of thecraziest experiences of mylife. It was almost scary,”junior guard Shane South-well said. “I wanted to play,but when you see guys get-ting kicked and tripped andpunched, you just want to getout of there.”

Weber, normally mild-mannered on the sideline,argued every non-whistle,even after picking up a tech-nical foul. When he saw a

hard foul late, the ball endedup rolling near him. Hecouldn’t take it anymore, andthrew it in disgust.

He was ejected.“It really surprised me,”

senior guard MartaviousIrving said. “I had heardstories from assistants abouthow he was a fiery guy. But Iwas always like, ‘Who, thislittle guy?’ Sure enough, hewill go to war for you. It wasgood to see that. You knowCoach Weber has your back. Iappreciated it a lot.

“We were in another coun-try, and you probablyshouldn’t react that way,because you don’t know whatis going to happen. But hedidn’t care. He wanted thegame to be played honestly.”

K-State was losing at thetime, but players respondedto Weber’s actions. Theyquickly took the lead andcompeted until the end, fall-ing just short.

“In a tough, adverse gamewe had guys step up andmake plays to give us achance when everything –bad fouls, guys fouled out,coach kicked out – wentwrong,” Weber said. “We stillkept fighting. I loved that.That’s all you can ask for.”

He proved something to hisplayers. Then they provedsomething to him.

When he returned home,his athletic director pattedhim on the back and he re-turned to the office, ready towork through lunch andavoid injuries.

The man with the freedomto do anything is doing exact-ly what he wants to do.

Check Kellis Robinett’s K-Stateblog at blogs.kansas.com/kstated.Reach him [email protected].

WEBERFrom Page 5DD

No. Player Ht. Wt. Pos. Yr. Hometown0 Chadrack Lufile 6-9 251 F Jr. Burlington, Ontario

(Coffeyville CC)1 Derail Green 6-7 199 F Fr. Houston2 Malcolm Armstead 6-0 205 G Sr. Florence, Ala.

(Chipola JC)3 Evan Wessel 6-5 201 G So. Wichita (Heights)5 Demetric Williams 6-2 178 G Sr. Las Vegas11 Cleanthony Early 6-6 215 F Jr. Middletown, N.Y.

(Sullivan JC)15 Nick Wiggins 6-6 187 G Jr. Toronto

(Wabash Valley CC)20 Kadeem Coleby 6-9 251 C Sr. Nassau, Bahamas

(La.-Lafayette)21 Ehimen Orukpe 7-0 250 C Ssr. Lagos, Nigeria

(Three Rivers CC)22 Carl Hall 6-8 238 F Sr. Cochran, Ga.

(NW Fla. St. CC)23 Fred VanVleet 5-11 190 G Fr. Rockford, Ill.31 Ron Baker 6-3 218 G Fr. Scott City33 Zach Bush 6-6 175 F Fr. Wichita (Eisenhower)50 Jake White 6-8 232 F So. Chaska, Minn.

WSU MEN’S ROSTER

No. Player Ht. Wt. Pos Yr. Hometown1 Naadir Tharpe 5-11170 G So. Worcester, Mass.2 Rio Adams 6-3 190 G Fr. Seattle3 Andrew White 6-6 210 G Fr. Richmond, Va.4 Justin Wesley 6-9 220 F Jr. Fort Worth (Lamar)5 Jeff Withey 7-0 235 C Sr. San Diego10 Evan Manning 6-3 170 G Fr. Lawrence

(Free State)11 Tyler Self 6-2 165 G Fr. Lawrence

(Free State)15 Elijah Johnson 6-4 195 G Sr. Las Vegas20 Niko Roberts 5-11175 G Jr. Huntington, N.Y.21 Christian Garrett 6-3 185 G So. Los Angeles23 Ben McLemore 6-5 195 G Fr. St. Louis24 Travis Releford 6-6 210 G Sr. Kansas City, Mo.

(Miege)31 Jamari Traylor 6-8 220 F Fr. Chicago32 Zach Peters 6-9 240 F Fr. Plano, Texas33 Landen Lucas 6-10240 F Fr. Portland, Ore.34 Perry Ellis 6-8 225 F Fr. Wichita (Heights)40 Kevin Young 6-8 190 F Sr. Perris, Calif.

(Loyola Marymount)

KU MEN’S ROSTER

No. Player Ht. Wt. Pos. Yr. Hometown1 Shane Southwell 6-6 210 G Jr. Harlem, N.Y.3 Martavious Irving 6-1 200 G Sr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.11 Nino Williams 6-5 220 F So. St. Louis

(Leavenworth)12 Omari Lawrence 6-3 210 G Jr. Bronx, N.Y.

(St. John’s)13 Angel Rodriguez 5-11180 G So. San Juan, P.R.20 Adrian Diaz 6-10230 F So. Miami21 Jordan Henriquez 6-11250 F Sr. Port Chester, N.Y.22 Rodney McGruder 6-4 205 G Sr. Washington, D.C.24 Ryan Schultz 6-5 200 F Jr. Wichita (Hutch CC)33 Brian Rohleder 6-2 210 G So. Wichita (Carroll)40 Shawn Meyer 6-3 210 G So. Kansas City, Mo.42 Thomas Gipson 6-7 270 F So. Cedar Hill, Texas44 Michael Orris 6-2 190 G Fr. Crete, Ill.50 D.J. Johnson 6-8 250 F Fr. St. Louis55 Will Spradling 6-2 180 G Jr. Overland Park

(SM South)

KSU MEN’S ROSTER

Travis Heying/The Wichita EagleKansas’ Perry Ellis drives the ball upcourt during the firsthalf of their exhibition game against Emporia State.


I didn’t pick Kansas to reach collegebasketball’s national championshipgame last season.

I didn’t pick KU to reach the EliteEight or the Sweet 16, either.

Boy, if I could just get an occasionaldo-over.

But that’s not the way it works in theprediction game. You go with yourhead, your gut or whatever body partyou are most in touch with and let it fly.

Last year, I picked six of the EliteEight teams and three of the four thatmade it to the Final Four: Kentucky,Louisville and Ohio State. Of the 68teams to make it to the NCAA Tourna-ment, I picked 37.

Now for this season’s Sweet 16:

Ohio State

Jared Sullinger and William Bufordhave departed, but three starters from aFinal Four team are back. Guards AaronCraft and Lenzelle Smith Jr., along withforward Deshaun Thomas, provide anice nucleus. And look for some newfaces to emerge, such as sophomoreforward LaQuinton Ross and Sullinger’spotential replacement in the post, 6-11sophomore Amir Williams.

CreightonJunior forward Doug McDermott is

the darling of the mid-majors this sea-son, a sure-fire NBA lottery pick whohappens to play in the Missouri ValleyConference. But you don’t get to theSweet 16 with one great player and theBluejays have center Gregory Eche-nique, shooter Ethan Wragge and high-IQ guard Grant Gibbs, too. A key willbe how Austin Chatman replaces An-toine Young at the point.

KentuckyThe Wildcats lost an NBA team to the

NBA after winning the national champi-onship. But when you’re Kentucky, youreplace one NBA team with another,and that’s what John Calipari has doneagain. North Carolina State transferRyan Harrow will run the point andfreshmen Archie Goodwin, NerlensNoel, Willie Cauley-Stein and AlexPoytheress will run all over the placeduring their brief time in college basket-

ball.Arizona

Sean Miller, the Wildcats’ coach, canreally recruit. The buzz in Tucson is thatyou better look out for Arizona in2013-14 and beyond, when the team’syoung players are likely to gel. I say:Why can’t they gel a season early?Xavier graduate Mark Lyons, a transfer(don’t ask me how that works), shouldhelp fortify the backcourt and Arizonahas plenty up front, plus an outstandingwing player in 6-foot-7 senior SolomonHill.

LouisvilleLet’s see, almost everyone who was

anyone is back from last season’s FinalFour team. The Cardinals have addedprized freshmen Terry Rozier and Mon-trezl Harrell. And George Mason trans-fer Luke Hancock becomes eligible. Oh,Rick Pitino is still the coach, too. Re-turning starters Peyton Siva, GorguiDieng and Chane Behanan do a lot ofthings well. Pitino emphasizes consis-tence and balance and Louisville heedshis preaching.

ButlerAfter reaching the national champi-

onship game in 2010 and 2011, theBulldogs backed off to 22 wins lastseason and didn’t make the NCAATournament. Does that mean BradStevens has forgotten how to coach?Of course not. It just means Butler wasre-loading for its first season in theAtlantic 10, one of the strongest confer-ences in the country. Stevens has foursolid returning players as well as Arkan-sas transfer guard Rotnei Clark. Onceagain, Butler could do it.

MichiganSlowly but surely, John Beilein is

returning the Wolverines to nationalprominence. Last season’s Big Ten titleis proof, but a second-round loss toOhio in the NCAA Tournament was adisappointment. Michigan’s best return-ing player is sophomore guard TreyBurke, who averaged nearly 15 points.There is also an infusion of freshmen,led by guard Nick Stauskas, 6-10 MitchMcGary and 6-7 Glenn Robinson III,son of the Big Dog himself.

San Diego State

It’s becoming easier and easier tocount on the Aztecs to be in the huntyear in and year out. Coming off back-to-back huge seasons, a third appearslikely thanks to returning starters XavierThames, James Rahon, Jamaal Franklinand Chase Tapley, one of the country’sbest shooters. There’s not a true centeron San Diego State’s roster becauseSteve Fisher, starting his 13th seasonas coach, likes up-tempo play andperimeter defensive pressure.

FloridaIt was all about the guards – Bradley

Beal and Erving Walker – in Gainesvillelast season. If the Gators are to make itback to a third consecutive Elite Eight, itprobably will be all about the frontcourt,though senior Kenny Boynton keeps thebackcourt relevant. Up front, 6-9 juniorPatric Young is the biggest differencemaker after averaging 10.2 points and6.4 rebounds. And don’t forget Florida’sbiggest weapon, Billy Donovan.

North Carolina StateMark Gottfried didn’t take his time

turning around the Wolfpack, did he? Inhis first season, N.C. State went fromnowhere to the Sweet 16 and 24 wins.Improvement should continue, just notat the same rate. C.J. Leslie and Loren-zo Brown, both of whom flirted withleaving early for the NBA, decided toreturn. And there are three high schoolAll-Americans in the fold – guard TylerLewis and forwards Rodney Purvis andT.J. Warren.

KansasI’m not sure there is enough experi-

ence here to make the Jayhawks aSweet 16 team. But I’m not going tomake the same mistake of under-esti-mating Bill Self that I did last season.There are three seniors – guard ElijahJohnson, small forward Travis Relefordand center Jeff Withey – to go with atruck load of talented first-year players.If two or three rookies step up, KU is ingreat shape to make another deeppostseason run. Don’t bet against theJayhawks.

Notre DameI’m taking a flyer here. Not many will

pick the Irish to reach the Sweet 16, but

after what the school is doing on thefootball field, why not? Notre Damewon 22 games and returns all five start-ers. Scott Martin is back in the back-court after being given a sixth year ofeligibility by the NCAA. At 6-8, he’s aload. Jack Cooley is the team’s bestinside player; he averaged 12.5 pointsand 8.9 rebounds. There’s a luck of theIrish thing happening here.

DukeOf course, Duke. After a disappoint-

ing finish to the 2011-12 season, andwith the losses of Miles Plumlee andNBA lottery pick Austin Rivers, expectthe Blue Devils to be better. MasonPlumlee, Seth Curry and Ryan Kellyreturn, and Mike Krzyzewski has somefreshmen you might want to watch,including sharpshooter Rasheed Sulal-mon and redshirt frosh Alex Murphy.

UCLAWhat an interesting offseason for the

Bruins and their coach, Ben Howland,who were the subjects of a scathingSports Illustrated article. But Howlandsurvived the hot seat and should have ahot team, thanks to one of the bestfreshmen classes, led by 6-6 forwardShabazz Muhammad and includingJordan Adams, Kyle Anderson and TonyParker. Three starters also return.

IndianaWelcome back, Hoosiers. You have

been missed. Indiana’s Sweet 16 runlast season is a true indication that theHoosiers are back among the nation’selite teams and that Tom Crean, aftermuch consternation, is working out ascoach. Center Cody Zeller is the back-bone of the team and is joined up frontby 6-9 Christian Wofford. Jordan Hulls,one of the best three-point shooters inthe Big Ten, anchors the backcourt.Indiana is a fashionable pick to go allthe way. The Hoosiers are back.

MemphisIt hurts to lose guard Will Barton to

the NBA. But the Tigers, who won 26games last season, have depth andtalent. And they play a helter-skelterstyle that often throws off opponents.This is Memphis’ final season in Confer-ence USA – the Tigers will play in theBig East next season – and a lack ofcompetition could be a factor. They key

player could be 6-8 forward Tarik Black,who needs to crash the boards. Re-bounding was a deficiency last season.

Rest of the fieldAmerican East – Stony BrookACC – Florida State, Miami, North

Carolina, VirginiaAtlantic 10 – St. Joseph’s, Saint

Louis, Temple, VCUAtlantic Sun – MercerBig 12 – Baylor, Kansas State, Texas,

West VirginiaBig East – Georgetown, Pittsburgh,

SyracuseBig Sky – MontanaBig South – Charleston SouthernBig Ten – Michigan State, Minnesota,

WisconsinBig West – Cal State FullertonColonial – DrexelHorizon – DetroitIvy – HarvardMetro Atlantic – IonaMid-American – AkronMid-Eastern – Savannah StateMissouri Valley – Illinois State, Wich-

ita StateMountain West – Colorado State,

UNLV, NevadaNortheast – Long IslandOhio Valley – Murray StatePac-12 – California, Colorado, Stan-

fordPatriot – LehighSEC – Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri,

TennesseeSouthern – DavidsonSouthland – Oral RobertsSWAC – Alcorn StateSummit – South Dakota StateSun Belt – North TexasWest Coast – BYU, Saint Mary’sWAC – Utah State

Elite Eight

Creighton, Duke, Indiana, Kansas,Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, NorthCarolina State

Final FourIndiana, Kentucky, Louisville, North

Carolina State

Championship game

Louisville over Indiana

Here’s 16 to watch — it’s in the CardsBY BOB LUTZThe Wichita Eagle

COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: NATIONAL SCENE

Fred Hoiberg returned toIowa State from the NBA in2010 and inherited a roster indire need of talent.

The rookie coach brushedoff the old axiom that trans-fers were often bad fits, badteammates and bad apples.He embraced guys like RoyceWhite and Chris Allen, tal-ented players that many othercoaches wouldn’t touch be-cause of their supposedlycheckered pasts, and the Cy-clones won 23 games inreaching the NCAA tourna-ment for the first time in sev-en years.

Hoiberg is hardly the onlycoach to jump on the transferbandwagon. It’s gettingcrowded.

Whether it’s to restock athin roster, get an instantboost at a position of need orsimply take advantage of theincreasingly transient natureof college basketball, coachesappear to be competing tosign transfers more than ever.According to NCAA statistics,about 40 percent of men’sbasketball players won’t beplaying for their originalschool by the end of theirsophomore year.

“First of all, you look at thenumber of transfers rightnow. When you get guys that

have had good seasons beforethat leave the program forwhatever reason, there’s a lotof interest in them,” saidHoiberg, who has two moreimpact transfers this season inforward Will Clyburn andguard Korie Lucious and re-cently added former USCteam MVP Maurice Jones for2013-14. “It’s all across thecountry…. anytime a goodplayer comes on the market,

there’s going to be a lot ofcompetition.”

Not everybody is thrilledabout it.

NCAA president Mark Em-mert announced last springthe establishment of a sub-committee designed to workon transfer rules. Suggestedchanges could be announcedas soon as the next week.Spokesman Christopher Rad-ford told the Associated Press

that the NCAA has identifiedpermission to contact rules,the one-time transfer excep-tion and academic concernsas the three main areas toexplore.

Any changes wouldn’t be inplace until next season. So forthis season, newcomers figurehave an immediate impactacross the country.

Missouri is ranked No. 15largely because of three newtransfers from high-majorprograms. Blue bloods likeArizona, Louisville and Ken-tucky figure to lean promi-nently on transfers this sea-son.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzew-ski recently welcomed just hisfourth major-college transferin 32 years – but secondsince 2009 – when RodneyHood joined the programfrom Mississippi State. He willbe eligible next season.

For many schools, it’s moreabout the one-and-done se-nior than the one-and-donefreshman. Most of those play-ers can use their final year ofeligibility somewhere else ifthey find a school that offers agraduate program their oldone didn’t.

Former Connecticut centerAlex Oriakhi is among thenation’s most high-profilesenior transfers. He was eligi-ble to play immediately at theschool of his choosing after

the NCAA ruled UConn wasineligible for this season’stournament.

The 6-foot-9 center pickedMissouri from among a num-ber of suitors, and second-year coach Frank Haith lik-ened him to a “Christmaspresent.” Oriakhi joins fellowtransfers Earnest Ross (Au-burn), Jabari Brown (Oregon)and Keion Bell (Pepperdine).

“The time when we got thejob, we couldn’t sign qualityenough high school kids Ithought could come help uscompete at the level we wereplaying. We were fortunateenough to get a couple oftransfers to help us balanceour classes out,” Haith said.

For many senior transfers, amove gives them one lastchance to impress profession-al scouts. For their newschools, it offers an instanttalent upgrade that’s worthrisking any shakeup in teamchemistry.

Arizona coach Sean Millerlanded perhaps the mostpromising senior transferaround in Xavier’s Mark Ly-ons.

It’s not often that a teamcan instantly add a playerwho’s been in three NCAAtournaments and averaged15.1 points last season, andMiller jumped at the chanceto bring Lyons aboard.

“Adding him to our team is

very unique because he is atalented player. But the expe-rience I described is reallydifficult to put into words,”Miller said. “He gives us com-petitiveness, toughness, andhe’s been in the arena in a biggame, and to me he is some-body who knows to play bothoffense and defense.”

It used to be more commonfor players to transfer tosmaller schools in search ofbigger roles. These days, thereappears to be more lateraland even upward moves thanever.

Iowa State suffered fromthis trend worse than anyonewhen Wesley Johnson jumpedto Syracuse. He was namedthe Big East Player of the Yearin 2010 and got picked fourthin that spring’s NBA Draft.

Aaric Murray turned astrong sophomore season atLaSalle into an opportunity tojoin coach Bob Huggins andWest Virginia.

Guard Ryan Harrow jumpedfrom North Carolina State toKentucky.

Former McDonald’s All-American Trey Zeigler, whoscored more than 1,000points in just two seasonsplaying for his father Ernie atCentral Michigan, was one of15 players to get a waiverfrom the NCAA to play imme-diately at Pittsburgh after hisdad got fired.

Second-chance players can lead to successBY LUKE MEREDITHAssociated Press

Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressMaurice Jones, shooting for USC last season, plans onplaying for Iowa State in 2013-14. He averaged 13 points and3.5 assists last season and was the Trojans’ MVP.

BOB LUTZ’S NCAA TOURNAMENT PICKS


COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: WICHITA STATE WOMEN

The Eagle will publish the following month’s collegebasketball TV schedule on Nov. 25, Dec. 30, Jan. 27 andFeb. 24.

Regular Channel LineupLocal Cox DirecTV DishU-VerseKSNW 3 3 3 3KSAS 4 24 24 24KSCW 5 33 5 5KMTW 6 36 36 6KAKE 10 10 10 10KWCH 12 12 12 12Cox 22 22 — — —NetworksBTN (Big Ten) 273 610 439 650BYU 152 374 9403 567CBSSN 260 613 158 643ESPN 32 206 140 602ESPN2 33 209 144 606ESPNU 244 208 141 605FCSA 264 608 — 647FCSC 265 623 — 648FCSP 266 626 — 649FSKC (FSN) 34 672 418 750FSN+ 76 — — —Longhorn — — — 609NBCSN 257 603 — 640TruTV 51 246 204 164

HD Channel LineupLocal Cox DirecTV DishU-VerseKSNW (NBC) 2003 392 7052 1003KSAS (Fox) 2004 398 7053 1024KSCW 2005 — 7054 1005KMTW 2006 36 36 1036KAKE (ABC) 2010 396 7050 1010KWCH (CBS) 2012 390 7051 1012Cox 22 2022 — — —NetworksBTN (Big Ten) 2273 610 439 1650BYU 2152 374 — 1567CBSSN 2260 613 152 1643ESPN 2032 206 140 1602ESPN2 2033 209 144 1606ESPNU 2244 208 141 1605FSKC (FSN) 2034 672 418 1750FSN+ 2076 — — —Longhorn — — — 1609NBCSN 2257 603 — 640TruTV 2051 246 204 1164

MenFriday, Nov. 9

Lehigh at Baylor, 4 p.m. (FCSC)Michigan St. vs. Connecticut at Ramstein AFB, Ger-

many, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)Georgia St. at Duke, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)Cal Poly at TCU, 6 p.m. (FCSC)Marquette vs. Ohio St. at Charleston, S.C., 6 p.m.

(NBCSN)SE Missouri St. at Kansas, 7 p.m. (KSNW)Bryant at Indiana, 7 p.m. (BTN)Syracuse at San Diego St., 7 p.m. (FCSP)Fresno St. at Texas, 7 p.m. (Longhorn)Maryland vs. Kentucky at Brooklyn, N.Y., 7:30 p.m.

(ESPN)

North Dakota at Kansas St., 8 p.m. (FSKC)South Dakota St. at Alabama, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)Georgetown vs. Florida at Jacksonville, Fla., 8 p.m.

(NBCSN)Prairie View A&M at Texas Tech, 8 p.m. (FCSA)Tennessee St. at BYU, 8 p.m. (BYU)UC Davis at Oklahoma St., 8 p.m. (FCSC)Indiana St. at UCLA, 10 p.m. (FCSP)

Sunday, Nov. 11Florida Atlantic at North Carolina, 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU)La.-Monroe at Oklahoma, 2 p.m. (FCSC)Alabama St. at Florida, 3 p.m. (FCSA)Colgate at Marquette, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Duquesne at Georgetown, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)New Mexico St. at Oregon St., 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Monday, Nov. 12Centenary at TCU, 5 p.m. (FCSA)Youngstown St. at Georgia, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)Central Michigan at Iowa, 6:30 p.m. (BTN)Troy at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. (FCSC)Coppin St. at Texas, 7 p.m. (Longhorn)IUPUI at Michigan, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)West Virginia at Gonzaga, 11 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, Nov. 13Davidson at New Mexico, 1 a.m. (ESPN)Houston Baptist at Hawaii, 3 a.m. (ESPN)Stony Brook at Rider, 5 a.m. (ESPN)N. Illinois at Valparaiso, 7 a.m. (ESPN)Texas Southern at Northwestern, 7 p.m. (BTN)Harvard at Massachusetts, 9 a.m. (ESPN)Temple at Kent St., 11 a.m. (ESPN)Detroit at St. John’s, 1 p.m. (ESPN)Butler at Xavier, 3 p.m. (ESPN)Michigan St. vs. Kansas at Atlanta, 6 p.m. (ESPN)Wichita St. at VCU, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)Bowling Green or Cleveland St. at Michigan, 7 p.m.

(ESPN2)Duke vs. Kentucky at Atlanta, 8 p.m. (ESPN)Lehigh or Robert Morris at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m. (ESP-

NU)Georgia St. at BYU, 8 p.m. (BYU)Ala.-Huntsville or North Texas at Kansas St., 9 p.m.

(ESPN2)Wednesday, Nov. 14

Wisconsin at Florida, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)Santa Clara at Saint Louis, 7 p.m. (FCSA)Neb.-Omaha at Texas Tech, 7 p.m. (FCSP)

Thursday, Nov. 15Akron vs. Oklahoma St. at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 9:30

a.m. (ESPNU)N.C.-Asheville vs. Tennessee at San Juan, Puerto Ri-

co, 11:30 a.m. (ESPNU)Baylor vs. Boston College at Charleston, S.C., 2 p.m.

(ESPNU)N.C. State vs. Penn St. at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 4

p.m. (ESPN2)St. John’s at College of Charleston, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)Alabama vs. Oregon St. at New York, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)Sam Houston St. at Indiana, 6 p.m. (BTN)Providence vs. Massachusetts at San Juan, Puerto Ri-

co, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Chattanooga at Kansas, 7 p.m. (KSNW)SMU at TCU, 7 p.m. (FCSC)Prairie View A&M at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. (FCSP)Purdue vs. Villanova at New York, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)Valparaiso at Nebraska, 8 p.m. (BTN)

UTEP at Arizona, 9 p.m. (FCSP)Friday, Nov. 16

Akron-Oklahoma St. winner vs. N.C.-Asheville-Ten-nessee winner at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 9:30 a.m.(ESPNU)

Colorado-Dayton winner vs. Baylor-Boston Collegewinner at Charleston, S.C., 11:30 a.m. (ESPNU)

Colorado-Dayton loser vs. Baylor-Boston College los-er at Charleston, S.C., 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Ill.-Chicago vs. New Mexico at St. Thomas, U.S. VirginIslands, 3 p.m. (CBSSN)

N.C. State-Penn St. winner vs. Providence-Massachu-setts winner at San Juan, Puerto Rico, 4 p.m. (ESPN2 orESPNU)

Alabama-Oregon St. loser vs. Purdue-Villanova loserat New York, 4 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU)

Connecticut vs. Wake Forest at St. Thomas, U.S. Vir-gin Islands, 5:30 p.m. (CBSSN)

Florida St. vs. BYU at New York, 6 p.m. (TruTV)Alabama-Oregon St. winner vs. Purdue-Villanova

winner at New York, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Oklahoma at Texas-Arlington, 7 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSA)North Carolina at Long Beach St., 10 p.m. (ESPNU)

Saturday, Nov. 17BYU vs. Notre Dame or St. Joseph’s at New York, TBA

(TruTV)Sunday, Nov. 18

Puerto Rico Tip-Off seventh-place game, 12:30 p.m.(ESPNU)

North Florida at Kansas St., 1 p.m. (FSKC or FCSP)Puerto Rico Tip-Off third-place game, 2:30 p.m.

(ESPNU)Prairie View &M at TCU, 3 p.m. (FCSC)Seton Hall or Washington vs. Ohio St. at Uncasville,

Conn., 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Charleston Classic third-place game, 5 p.m. (ESPNU)George Mason-Mercer winner vs. Ill.-Chicago-New

Mexico winner at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, 5p.m. (CBSSN)

Puerto Rico Tip-Off final, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Florida Gulf Coast at Duke, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)Charleston Classic final, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Connecticut-Wake Forest winner vs. Iona-Quinnipiac

winner at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, 8 p.m.(CBSSN)

Monday, Nov. 19Butler vs. Marquette at Lahaina, Hawaii, 2:30 p.m.Georgia vs. Indiana at Brooklyn, N.Y., 4:30 p.m. (ESP-

NU)Mississippi St. vs. North Carolina at Lahaina, Hawaii,

5 p.m. (ESPN2)Richmond at Minnesota, 6 p.m. (BTN)Rider at South Carolina, 6 p.m. (FCSA)Saint Louis vs. Texas A&M at Kansas City, Mo., 6:30

p.m. (ESPNU)Paradise Jam third-place game at St. Thomas, U.S.

Virgin Islands, 6:30 p.m. (CBSSN)Georgetown vs. UCLA at Brooklyn, N.Y., 7 p.m.

(ESPN2)Texas vs. Chaminade at Lahaina, Hawaii, 8:30 p.m.

(ESPNU)Washington St. vs. Kansas at Kansas City, Mo., 9 p.m.

(ESPN2)Paradise Jam final at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands,

9 p.m. (CBSSN)Illinois vs. USC at Lahaina, Hawaii, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)

Tuesday, Nov. 20Butler-Marquette loser vs. Mississippi St.-North Car-

olina loser at Lahaina, Hawaii, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Texas-Chaminade loser vs. Illinois-USC loser at La-

haina, Hawaii, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)DePaul vs. Wichita St. at Cancun, Mexico, 6 p.m.

(CBSSN)Navy at TCU, 6 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSA)Savannah St. at Florida, 6 p.m. (FCSP)Georgia-Indiana loser vs. Georgetown-UCLA loser at

Brooklyn, N.Y., 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Butler-Marquette winner vs. Mississippi St.-North

Carolina winner at Lahaina, Hawaii, 7 p.m. (ESPN)Boise St. at Michigan St., 7 p.m. (BTN)Grambling St. at Texas Tech, 8 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSP)Saint Louis-Texas A&M winner vs. Washington St.-

Kansas winner at Kansas City, Mo., 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)W. Kentucky vs. Iowa at Cancun, Mexico, 8:30 p.m.

(CBSSN)Georgia-Indiana winner vs. Georgetown-UCLA win-

ner at Brooklyn, N.Y., 9 p.m. (ESPN)Texas-Chaminade winner vs. Illinois-USC winner at

Lahaina, Hawaii, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Wednesday, Nov. 21

Maui Invitational seventh-place game, 1:30 p.m.(ESPNU)

Maui Invitational fifth-place game, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)Cancun Challenge third-place game at Cancun, Mex-

ico, 6 p.m. (CBSSN)Morehead St. at Kentucky, 6 p.m. (FCSA)Maui Invitational third-place game, 6:30 p.m.

(ESPN2)N.C.-Wilmington at Purdue, 7 p.m. (BTN)Texas-San Antonio at BYU, 8 p.m. (BYU)NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Cancun Challenge final at Cancun, Mexico, 8:30 p.m.

(CBSSN)Maui Invitational final, 9 p.m. (ESPN)Ark.-Pine Bluff at San Diego St., 9:30 p.m. (FCSP)Belmont at Alaska-Anchorage, 1 a.m. (CBSSN)

Thursday, Nov. 22Marist vs. West Virginia at Orlando, Fla., 11 a.m.

(ESPN2)Davidson vs. Vanderbilt at Orlando, Fla., 1 p.m.

(ESPN2)Pacific vs. Xavier at Anaheim, Calif., 1 p.m. (ESPNU)Drexel vs. Saint Mary’s at Anaheim, Calif., 3:30 p.m.

(ESPN2)Oklahoma vs. UTEP at Orlando, Fla., 6 p.m. (ESPN2)Memphis vs. Vanderbilt at Nassau, Bahamas, 6 p.m.

(NBCSN)Clemson vs. Gonzaga at Orlando, Fla., 8 p.m. (ESPN2)Georgia Tech vs. Rice at Anaheim, Calif., 8 p.m. (ESP-

NU)Loyola-Marymount vs. Oral Roberts at Anchorage,

Alaska, 8 p.m. (CBSSN)Louisville vs. Northern Iowa at Nassau, Bahamas,

8:30 p.m. (NBCSN)California vs. Drake at Anaheim, Calif., 10:30 p.m.

(ESPN2)Charlotte vs. Texas St. at Anchorage, Alaska, 10:30

p.m. (CBSSN)Friday, Nov. 23

Marist-West Virginia winner vs. Davidson-Vanderbiltwinner at Orlando, Fla., 11:30 a.m. (ESPN)

NIT Season Tip-Off third-place game at New York,1:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Marist-West Virginia loser vs. Davidson-Vanderbiltloser at Orlando, Fla., 2 p.m. (ESPNU)

Pacific-Xavier winner vs. Drexel-Saint Mary’s winner,2:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

NIT Season Tip-Off final at New York, 3:30 p.m.(ESPN)

Oklahoma-UTEP loser vs. Clemson-Gonzaga loser atOrlando, Fla., 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Pacific-Xavier loser vs. Drexel-Saint Mary’s loser, 5p.m. (ESPNU)

UMKC at Ohio St., 5 p.m. (BTN)Cincinnati vs. Iowa St. at Las Vegas, 5:30 p.m.

(CBSSN)Duke-Minnesota winner vs. Memphis-Vanderbilt win-

ner at Nassau, Bahamas, 6 p.m. (NBCSN)Long Island at Kentucky, 6 p.m. (FCSP)Oklahoma-UTEP winner vs. Clemson-Gonzaga win-

ner at Orlando, Fla., 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)Oakland at Michigan St., 7:15 p.m. (BTN)Louisville-N. Iowa winner vs. Missouri-Stanford win-

ner, 8:30 p.m. (NBCSN)Oregon at UNLV, 8 p.m. (CBSSN)Georgia Tech-Rice loser vs. California-Drake loser,

8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Creighton vs. Wisconsin at Las Vegas, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)Great Alaska Shootout semifinal, 10 p.m. (CBSSN)Georgia Tech-Rice winner vs. California-Drake win-

ner, 11 p.m. (ESPN2)Great Alaska Shootout semifinal, 12:30 a.m. (CBSSN)

Saturday, Nov. 24South Padre Invitational third-place game, 4 p.m.

(CBSSN)South Padre Invitational final, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)Kent St. at Nebraska, 8 p.m. (BTN)Cal St. Northridge at BYU, 8 p.m. (BYU)Global Sports Classic final at Las Vegas, 9:30 p.m.

(CBSSN)Las Vegas Invitational final, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)Great Alaska Shootout final, 11:30 p.m. (CBSSN)Great Alaska Shootout third-place game, 1:30 a.m.

(CBSSN)Sunday, Nov. 25

Old Spice Classic fifth-place game at Orlando, Fla.,10:30 a.m. (ESPNU)

Villanova at LaSalle, noon (CBSSN)DirecTV Classic fifth-place game at Anaheim, Calif.,

12:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Portland St. at Oklahoma St., 1 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSC)Gardner-Webb at Illinois, 3 p.m. (BTN)Old Spice Classic third-place game at Orlando, Fla.,

3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Ball St. at Indiana, 5 p.m. (BTN)DirecTV Classic third-place game at Anaheim, Calif.,

5:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Old Spice Classic final at Orlando, Fla., 6 p.m. (ESPN2)Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game at Nassau, Baha-

mas, 6 p.m. (NBCSN)DirecTV Classic final at Anaheim, Calif., 8 p.m.

(ESPN2)Battle 4 Atlantis final at Nassau, Bahamas, 8:30 p.m.

(NBCSN)San Diego St. at USC, 9 p.m. (FCSP)

Monday, Nov. 26Chicago St. at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)

Jackson St. at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. (FCSA)San Jose St. at Kansas, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)Northwestern St. at Texas A&M, 8 p.m. (FCSC)

Tuesday, Nov. 27Minnesota at Florida St., 6:15 p.m. (ESPN2)Iowa at Virginia Tech, 6:15 p.m. (ESPNU)N.C. State at Michigan, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)Sam Houston St. at Texas, 7 p.m. (LONG)Maryland at Northwestern, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN2)Nebraska at Wake Forest, 8:15 p.m. (ESPNU)North Carolina at Indiana, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, Nov. 28Virginia at Wisconsin, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)Purdue at Clemson, 6:15 p.m. (ESPNU)Michigan St. at Miami, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)Tulsa at Wichita St., 7 p.m. (Cox 22)George Mason at Rhode Island, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)Georgia Tech at Illinois, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)Montana vs. BYU at Salt Lake City, 8 p.m. (BYU)Boston College at Penn St., 8:15 p.m. (ESPNU)Ohio St. at Duke, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Nov. 29Kentucky at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)South Carolina at St. John’s, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)Southern Utah at TCU, 7 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSP)Marquette at Florida, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)Seton Hall at LSU, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Friday, Nov. 30Tennessee at Georgetown, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)Georgia at South Florida, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)Oregon St. vs. Kansas at Kansas City, Mo., 7 p.m.

(KSNW)Northwestern St. at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. (FSN+ or

FCSC)Syracuse at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)DePaul at Auburn, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)

WomenFriday, Nov. 9

Lamar at Baylor, noon (FCSC)Sunday, Nov. 11

Ark.-Pine Bluff at Kansas St., 2 p.m. (FCSP)Monday, Nov. 12

Cal St. Bakersfield at N. Arizona, 7:30 p.m. (FCSP)Tuesday, Nov. 13

Kentucky at Baylor, 5 p.m. (ESPN2)Wednesday, Nov. 14

Cincinnati at Ohio St., 7 p.m. (BTN)UCLA at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSC)

Sunday, Nov. 18Connecticut at Texas A&M, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Monday, Nov. 19Bowling Green at Purdue, 6:30 p.m. (BTN)

Sunday, Nov. 25S.C.-Upstate at Kentucky, noon (FCSA)

Wednesday, Nov. 28Maryland at Nebraska, 7 p.m. (BTN)SMU at TCU, 7 p.m. (FSN+ or FCSA)

Thursday, Nov. 29Virginia at Minnesota, 7 p.m. (BTN)

Friday, Nov. 30Mississippi Valley St. at Kansas St., 7 p.m. (FSKC)

NOVEMBER COLLEGE BASKETBALL TV SCHEDULE

The obsession of winning is whatdrives many to succeed.

Then there is a whole other breed, ahyper-competitive type that doesn’t runon triumphs.

Jody Adams is part of the latter and toplay basketball for her, you must answerone question.

Do you hate to lose more than youlove to win?

Reading through Adams’ coaching bioand all of her accomplishments, therealways comes a reference to her ten-dency to win wherever she has been.But to listen to Adams tell it, a moreaccurate statement would be she hasescaped losing.

“You’re so invested in your team thatyou do want them to feel what you felt,”Adams said. “To win a championship, toput it all together. You actually forget allthe bad things and you just rememberthat one special moment.”

But five years into her first long-termcoaching job, can Adams lead the Wich-ita State women’s basketball team totheir own special moment?

Built from the best

In talking about becoming a headcoach, Adams likes to say she has takena part of each of her stops along herbasketball career.

She was a high school All-Americanfor legendary coach Jim Smiddy, who isinducted in the Women’s Basketball Hallof Fame, and recruited by legendarycoach Pat Summitt at Tennessee, whereshe won a national championship in1991.

At five stops as an assistant, Adamswon a conference title (2007 MissouriValley at Southern Illinois), advanced tothe Elite 8 (1996 at Auburn), recruitedfuture pro Lindsay Whalen at Minnesotain 2000 and won the 2003 AFLAC na-tional assistant coach of the year awardat UMKC.

Adams got her first crack at headcoaching at Murray State, where shetook over a readymade roster and led itto the NCAA Tournament in her onlyseason before coming to Wichita Statein 2008.

There is a theme and it is no coinci-dence.

“It’s who I am and it’s where I comefrom,” Adams said. “Playing for PatSummitt, you don’t know any other waybut to teach those expectations of win-ning ways. It’s just who I am and it’seasy for me to be me.”

The philosophy

When Adams arrived, Wichita Statewas in the cellar of the Missouri Valley.In her first rebuilding effort, Adamsimmediately went to work on the re-cruiting trail. Not every player was ac-customed to her intensity and somewere lost along the way, but the oneswho stayed swear by her.

“We’ve grown to understand Jody’scompetitiveness and been able to matchit and exceed it,” said senior JessicaDiamond, who was part of Adams’ firstrecruiting class. “We all hate to losemore than we love to win, and that justshows you how fierce of competitors weare. Yeah, it’s great to win, but it sucksto lose and that’s what drives us everysingle day.”

Wichita State has averaged 18 winsthe last three seasons and expectationsare even higher this season after tyingthe school record 20 wins last year.

The culture around the program isrevamped and it has Adams’ attitude allover it.

“She won’t ever let you settle,” sopho-more Alex Harden said. “She won’t letyou do something just because it’s easy.You have to push yourself so it’s hard.”

Adams has been a top recruiter in theValley, but her sustained success hasmore to do with her attention to thedetails. It’s a trait that she believes every

winning program shares.“If you get the smallest detail wrong,

someone is on you,” senior ChynnaTurner said. “She wants you to be per-fect and I think that’s what makes hersuch a great coach and what has keptthis program at that level.”

Seeing it through

When Adams looks at this season’sroster, with six seniors and a wealth ofexperience, she sees similarities thatlink Wichita State to her former win-ners.

“It’s that passion they share,” Adamssaid. “I can finally say that these guyshate to lose more than they love towin.”

But a struggling program in a biggerconference is sure to notice Adams’rebuilding efforts and track record ofsuccess. What will Adams say whenbigger programs come calling?

“I love Wichita State,” said Adams,who is under contract through the2014-15 season. “They have supportedme through building a program. I don’tthink my time here is finished anywheresoon.”

If the Shockers are unable to win theirfirst conference title this season, it won’tbe a lost cause.

They’ll still be in the title race, as longas Adams is coaching.

Or, in the words of Adams, WSU willat least escape losing.

“She would never allow it,” said Hard-en, the centerpiece to the Shockers’future. “She would probably take herselfout completely before she allows us todo less than we’re capable of.”

Desire permeates Shocks

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita EagleJody Adams high-fives her team during Shocker Madness on Oct. 25. WSUbegins the season picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

■ Coach Jody Adams hasWichita State in position ofstrength in her fifth season.

BY TAYLOR ELDRIDGEEagle correspondent

No. Player Ht. Pos. Yr. Hometown1 Jasmine Jones 5-9 G Sr. Douglasville, Ga.

(Ga. Perimeter CC)5 Molly O’Brien 5-9 G So. Spokane, Mo.12 Jessica Diamond 5-7 G Sr. Houston13 Kelsey Jacobs 5-2 F So. Fortuna, Calif.21 Alie Decker 6-0 F Fr. Edmond, Okla.22 Darice Fountaine 5-11 G Sr. Wichita (Kapaun)24 Alex Harden 5-11 G-F So. Springfield, Ill.25 Chynna Turner 6-0 F Sr. Houston31 Nicole Wells 6-2 F Sr. Grovetown, Ga.

(Ga. Perimeter CC)33 Michelle Price 6-1 F Jr. Kingwood, Texas34 Jazimen Gordon 6-2 C Sr. West Memphis, Ark.44 Michaela Dapprich 5-10 G-F Fr. Branson, Mo.

WSU ROSTER

All times p.m.Date Opponent TV TimeSunday C. Oklahoma (exh.) 2:05Nov. 11 at LSU Cox 22 2Nov. 15 at Arkansas St. 7:05Nov. 18 Texas-San Antonio 1:05Nov. 22 x-Missouri 2:30Nov. 23 x-Richmond NoonNov. 24 x-James Madison NoonNov. 27 Grambling 7:05Dec. 4 Kansas St. 7:05Dec. 7 N. Colorado Cox 22 12:05Dec. 15 Ark.-Pine Bluff 2:05Dec. 22 at SMU NoonDec. 30 Wis.-Green Bay 1:05Jan. 3 Missouri St. Cox 22 7:05Jan. 10 at Bradley 6Jan. 12 at N. Iowa 7Jan. 19 Creighton 7:05Jan. 21 Drake 7:05Jan. 25 at S. Illinois 7:05Jan. 27 at Evansville 1:05Feb. 1 Illinois St. 7:05Feb. 3 Indiana St. 2:05Feb. 8 Northern Iowa FSKC 7:05Feb. 10 Bradley 2:05Feb. 14 at Drake 7:05Feb. 16 at Creighton 3:05Feb. 21 Evansville 7:05Feb. 23 S. Illinois TBAFeb. 28 at Illinois St. 7:35March 3 at Indiana St. 1:05March 9 at Missouri St. 2:05March 14-17 MVC Tournament

at St. Charles, Mo.x-at Cancun, Mexico

WSU SCHEDULE

It is absurd to say it is a title-or-bust seasonfor a program yet to win a conference champi-onship, but welcome to this season of WichitaState hoops under Jody Adams.

After tying the school record of 20 wins lastseason, the Shockers return seven players withDivision I starting experience and six seniors.That should make WSU one of the favorites towin the Missouri Valley, along with usual sus-pects Creighton, Illinois State and MissouriState.

The expectations are tied to WSU’s seniortrio of Jessica Diamond, Chynna Turner andJazimen Gordon, who will be the first four-yearplayers recruited by Adams to graduate.

“A title is the next step to take,” Turner said.“That’s why we’re all here. We’re here to win.”

No coach will argue that WSU has the most

talented roster, top to bottom, in the confer-ence. Alex Harden may be the most gifted play-er in the league, and she’s only a sophomore.

But there was a reason why the Shockerssuffered a second-half slide that ended NCAATournament talk.

“We understand what is lacking and what islacking is really hard to get,” Adams said. “Theexperience is there, the athleticism is there, theability is there, but there are some details wehave to get and we call that mental toughness.”

Rebounding has always been an issue forWSU under Adams because of her pressuredefense, but the team improved last season andshould continue with the return of MichellePrice from injury.

Adams went a step further this season totinker with the philosophy of the help-side de-

fense. The Shockers will still apply pressure onthe ballhandler, but off-ball defenders will nowfollow the ball more than their man.

“That’s putting us in better position whenshots go up,” Turner said. “We’re more aware ofwhere the ball is coming off and where it’sbeing shot.”

Adams has never preferred one-on-one of-fense, but Diamond might be the most valuableplayer as she is the only player capable, or atleast willing, to create her own shot when theoffense breaks down.

But the X-factor will be Harden, who joinedthe “20,000-shots-made club” in the offseason.Adams will experiment with Harden’s athletic5-foot-11 frame all over the court, but findingthe right role for the sophomore will be crucial.

After seeing Harden play in the first exhibition

game, Adams said her potential was “All-Amer-ican” status.

Wichita State may need it early on, as thenon-conference schedule is demanding. Butthis is a team that can handle it.

Expectations are for the Shockers to capital-ize on the situation. The rest of the Valley is inreload mode, while the Shockers are the veter-an bunch for the first time.

At the end of the season, WSU expects an-other first, as well.

“Our leadership will be the one thing thatmakes the biggest difference this year,” Dia-mond said. “You won’t find it in a stat line. Youcan’t put a number on how our leadership af-fects how we play and how this team moveswith each other. That’s what makes us specialthis year.”

TAYLOR ELDRIDGE BREAKS DOWN THE SHOCKER WOMEN

Turner GordonDiamond Harden


COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: BIG 12 WOMEN

In the last four years, Kansas women’sbasketball coach Bonnie Henrickson hasbecome an unwitting expert on kneeinjuries. Henrickson will tell you it’s partof the women’s game, but every so of-ten, even she will shake her head at herprogram’s misfortune.

In the last four seasons, Henricksonhas watched three of the best players inher program’s history suffer torn anteri-or cruciate ligaments. The latest onecame last season, when junior forwardCarolyn Davis, the Jayhawks’ leadingscorer, was sidelined with a torn ACL onFeb. 12, just as it looked as if KU might

break a long NCAA Tournamentdrought.

But if Henrickson has learned a fewthings during her time in Lawrence, it’sthis: Ligaments heal. Players recover.And the season always goes on.

Last season, the Jayhawks recoveredwith a surprise trip to the Sweet 16. Oneyear later, Davis is back, and the Jay-hawks might have their most talentedteam in years.

“She’s confident,” Henrickson said.“She’s excited; her teammates couldn’tbe more excited.”

One of those teammates is seniorguard Angel Goodrich, a charter mem-ber of KU’s ACL survivors — and an All-America candidate who led the countryin assists last season. In Davis and Good-rich, the Jayhawks have an inside-out-side combo that could help Kansas equalor surpass its tourney success lastspring.

Kansas was picked to finish fourth inthe Big 12 preseason coaches poll, andHenrickson has seen last season’s suc-cess translate into new expectations andmotivation.

“I feel like we don’t have to do asmuch easing into the process,” Davissaid. “We can just get right out there andpick up where we left off.”

The Jayhawks also return starters insophomore guard Natalie Knight andsenior guard Monica Engelman. Butmore than anything, the Jayhawks arejust glad to have Davis back and healthy.

“I can tell we’re more competitive inpractice,” Henrickson said. “They de-mand more from themselves and eachother. And that started, quite honestly,when the tournament was over. Within24 hours, we had a bunch of those guysback in the gym. There hadn’t beenmuch dust that had settled, and thatwork has continued until we started.”

KU tries to sustain success

Charlie Neibergall/Associated PressKansas coach Bonnie Henrickson talks with players during last year’s NCAA Tournament regional semifinal loss againstTennessee. “Within 24 hours, we had a bunch of those guys back in the gym,” Henrickson said.

■ Carolyn Davis’ return addsto talented team coming offSweet 16 showing.

BY RUSTIN DODDThe Wichita Eagle

MANHATTAN — The next time Britta-ny Chambers applies for a job, sheneeds to list Deb Patterson as a refer-ence.

Whenever the coach talks about Kan-sas State’s star senior guard, she does itwith absolute confidence.

“I think (she) is an All-American-caliber player,” Patterson said, “one ofthe best guards in the country and prob-ably Kansas State’s next next-level play-er, meaning WNBA talent.”

That is high praise for anyone to live

up to, but Chambers thinks she can do itafter averaging 14 points and 6.2 re-bounds and earning a spot on the All-Big 12 team a year ago. She has alwaysbeen one of the best three-point shoot-ers in the league, and helped K-Statereach the second round of the NCAATournament last season.

Expectations are much lower for theWildcats this season. They were pickedto finish ninth in the preseason Big 12poll.

Chambers’ challenge now is to buildoff her past accomplishments, and be-come a more complete player who canhelp a young team transition into a newseason. She is one of two seniors on aroster that features four freshmen andthree sophomores. Improvement won’tbe easy, but she’s been preparing for thisfor several months.

“I’ve had to extend my game as muchas possible this summer,” Chamberssaid. “I think last year I made myselfvery one dimensional, but I don’t thinkthat’s the type of player that I am. Irelied on the three, because that’s acomfort thing for me. But when it comesdown to it, I’m a player who can drive itor pull up and make a three.”

By mixing in more layups and passes,she hopes to fill up the stat sheet inways she hasn’t before. She will need tofor K-State to remain competitive in astrong league.

“This summer I really, really workedon (that) if I’m open for the three notalways taking that first shot, being ableto do other things,” Chambers said. “Iwant to do other things and make my-self more unpredictable and help myteammates do other things.”

Jessica Hill/Associated PressBrittany Chambers averaged 14 points and 6.2 rebounds last season for Kansas State, and she’ll lead the Wildcats againthough expectations aren’t high for a team picked to finish ninth of 10 Big 12 teams.

Wildcat women’s hopesstart off with Chambers ■ Three-point shootingguard is one of two K-Stateseniors on roster.

BY KELLIS ROBINETTThe Wichita Eagle

No. Player Ht. Pos. Yr. Hometown0 Asia Boyd 6-1 G So. Detroit1 Lamaria Cole 5-6 G Fr. Bryan, Texas3 Angel Goodrich 5-4 G Sr. Tahlequah, Okla.5 Catherine Williams 6-1 F So. Duncanville, Texas13 Monica Engelman 5-11 G Sr. San Antonio15 Chelsea Gardner 6-3 F So. DeSoto, Texas21 Carolyn Davis 6-3 F Sr. Houston24 CeCe Harper 5-8 G Jr. San Antonio33 Tania Jackson 6-2 F Jr. Lawrence (Lawrence)42 Natalie Knight 5-7 G So. Olathe (South)54 Markisha Hawkins 5-9 G Jr. Little Rock (Tyler JC)

KU ROSTER

All times p.m.Date Opponent TV TimeMonday Washburn (exh.) FSKC 7Friday Idaho St. 5:30Nov. 11 Ark.-Pine Bluff FCSP 2Nov. 20 at Tennessee St. 7Nov. 24 at Charlotte 6Nov. 30 Miss. Valley St. FSKC 7Dec. 4 at Wichita St. 7:05Dec. 9 South Dakota FSKC 2Dec. 16 UTEP Cox 22 1Dec. 19 x-Texas A&M 2:30Dec. 20 x-TBA TBADec. 21 x-TBA TBADec. 29 at UC Santa Barbara 4Jan. 2 at Kansas 7Jan. 5 TCU 6Jan. 9 at Texas Tech 7Jan. 12 West Virginia FSKC 3Jan. 16 Baylor FSKC 7Jan. 19 at TCU 7Jan. 23 Oklahoma St. FCSC 7Jan. 26 at Texas LONG 1Feb. 2 Kansas Cox 22 2Feb. 6 Oklahoma FSKC 7Feb. 9 at Iowa St. 1Feb. 13 Texas FSKC 7Feb. 16 at Oklahoma St. 4Feb. 20 at Oklahoma 7Feb. 23 Iowa St. FCSC 2Feb. 26 at West Virginia 6March 2 Texas Tech FCSC 12:30March 4 at Baylor FSKC 7March 8-11 Big 12 Tournament

at Dallasx-at Las Vegas

K-STATE SCHEDULE

All times p.m.Date Opponent TV TimeSunday Fort Hays St. (exh.) 2Nov. 11 Idaho St. 2Nov. 14 SE Missouri St. 8Nov. 18 Wake Forest 2Nov. 23 Alabama A&M 7Nov. 25 at Creighton 2Nov. 28 Grambling St. 7Dec. 2 Minnesota 2Dec. 6 at Arkansas Cox 22 7Dec. 9 Newman 2Dec. 16 Prairie View A&M 2Dec. 21 at California 9Jan. 2 Kansas St. 7Jan. 5 at West Virginia 6:30Jan. 8 at Oklahoma St. 7Jan. 13 Baylor FSKC 1:30Jan. 19 at Texas Tech 7Jan. 23 Texas 7Jan. 26 Oklahoma St. 8Jan. 30 Iowa St. 7Feb. 2 at Kansas St. 2Feb. 6 at Baylor 7Feb. 9 West Virginia FSKC 2Feb. 13 at TCU 7Feb. 17 Oklahoma ESPN2 1:30Feb. 20 at Texas LONG 7Feb. 24 Texas Tech FSKC NoonFeb. 27 at Iowa St. 7March 2 at Oklahoma 7March 5 TCU 7March 8-11 Big 12 Tournament

at Dallas

KU SCHEDULE

No. Player Ht. Pos. Yr. Hometown1 Haley Texada 5-7 G So. Frisco, Texas2 Brittany Chambers 5-8 G Sr. Jordan, Minn.4 Katya Leick 6-1 F Jr. Grey Cloud Township,

Minn. (Nebraska)10 Heidi Brown 5-11 G So. Plains (SW Heights)11 Chantay Caron 5-11 G-F Jr. Lawrence (Free State)12 Kelly Thomson 5-10 G Fr. Riley (Riley County)13 Kendra Spresser 5-5 G Jr. Dresden (Seward CC)20 Brianna Craig 5-10 G Fr. Lincoln, Neb.21 Ashlynn Knoll 5-11 F Jr. Canyon, Texas

(Seward CC)22 Mariah White 5-7 G Sr. Midwest City, Okla.23 Ashia Woods 5-11 G So. Wichita (Collegiate)24 Marissa Ellis 5-7 G Fr. Kansas City, Mo.25 Stacey Malone 6-1 F Fr. Tyler, Texas

K-STATE ROSTERChambers Caron White Woods

Goodrich Engelman Gardner Knight


COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: MIAA

There is a conversation going on inMark Potter’s office, no different than somany others in his 15 years as men’sbasketball coach at Newman University.

Potter is telling someone, usually oneof his players, to swallow their pride. Tothink about the bigger picture and what’sat stake.

Progress requires sacrifice, he tellsthem. Sacrifice your pride and work tomake yourself something better thanwhat you are today.

Sometimes they listen, sometimes theydon’t.

Shamar Acuay is listening. And sacri-ficing. And progressing.

“That’s what I want,” Potter said. “Iwant to get past that pride, that majorpride that we all have and struggle withsometimes and tap into something big-ger and better.”

Acuay, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, alreadyhad the sacrifice part down by the timehe showed up on Newman’s campus inthe summer of 2011 after putting hisbasketball career on hold for severalyears to help take care of his ailing moth-er back in Richmond, Va.

Acuay, originally from Queens, N.Y.,moved with his family to Virginia in2005 for his senior year of high school,then played at Hiwassee (Tenn.) Collegehis freshman season.

After the coach who recruited Acuay toHiwassee was fired, he left school andwent back to Virginia, where he workedfor a couple of years before former ColbyCommunity College coach John Woodsnoticed him while scouting a pickupgame in Richmond.

“There’s not a whole lot out there, so itwas a little bit of a culture shock for me,”Acuay said, laughing. “Colby’s a tinytown ... just a Wal-Mart, a few stores andthe highway. But (Woods) told me theJayhawk Conference was one of thetoughest leagues in the whole countryand I really liked that.”

Acuay excelled at Colby, averaging21.9 points and 9.1 rebounds in his oneseason. But as coaches from four-yearschools came calling, Acuay headed backto Virginia, where his mother, AnnetteEsau, had fallen ill. It would take twoyears in hospitals and going throughphysical rehabilitation for Esau, who lostmost of her mobility and half her bodyweight because of a muscular condition/disorder, to be able to live on her own.

“I got a call from my brother and hejust told me, ‘It’s not good, she’s notdoing well,’ ” Acuay said. “I guess sinceshe raised me on her own that I’m a littlemore attached, and that’s why we’re soclose ... but once I heard something waswrong I didn’t even think twice aboutgoing home.”

It was a hard time for everyone, butthe family made it through.

“When I was sick (Acuay) was justalways so supportive of me,” Esau said.“He knows just what to say to get methrough the bad times.”

Acuay re-established contact withformer Newman assistant Chris Popp,who had recruited him while he was atColby, and Potter eventually offeredAcuay a scholarship.

Academic difficulties sidelined Acuayfor the first semester of last season, andwhen his grade reports showed Acuaywas still struggling in school, Pottersuggested a test for dyslexia on the ad-vice of his wife, Nanette, who works as areading specialist.

“Shamar was going to class, we hadhim in study hall and his grades werestill dropping ... something didn’t addup,” Potter said. “I talked to my wife andshe had no doubt it was dyslexia andtold me we needed to get him tested,

now.” Tests showed Acuay had severe dyslex-

ia — something he struggled to accept atfirst.

“He didn’t want people to think he wasstupid, which is what he thought theywould assume if he needed somebody tohelp him read, or if he needed specialaccommodations,” Potter said. “And Itold him, ‘Listen, anybody that talks toyou knows you’re not stupid’ because heis a very intelligent young man. What’sscary to me is things like (dyslexia) goundiagnosed and somebody like Shamarstruggles, then leaves school altogether.That would be tragic.”

With the proper help from his profes-sors and tutors to deal with dyslexia,Acuay blossomed. He became eligible inthe second semester and averaged 14points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 games. Hewas named Heartland Conference new-comer of the year and second-team All-Heartland.

“He’s a fun player to watch and tocoach,” Potter said. “He can do a lot ofthings other kids can’t.”

Newman was picked to finish third inthe Heartland in the league’s preseasonpoll and opens the season Nov. 12 byhosting Tabor.

Acuay will need another year, at least,to get his degree in Criminal Justice.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m here another

year or another two years,” Acuay said.“I just want to make sure my momknows that I got my degree. Everybodycan’t make it to the NBA ... you need tohave a plan. With finding out I had dys-lexia ... I don’t look at it like a disability.It’s kind of done the opposite for me inthat it’s motivated me not to slack off, tomake sure I’m doing things right. ”

Esau, no longer ill, has gone back towork full-time.

“Shamar has always been someonewho has been on my level, who I couldalways sit and talk and relate to,” Esausaid. “I see the man he’s becoming, sincehe went to Newman, and I’m just ...more excited than a mother could everbe for her son. It just makes my heartfeel good.”

Newman women picked fourth —The Newman women were picked fourthin the Heartland Conference preseasonwomen’s poll. Arkansas-Fort Smith waspicked first.

The Jets are coming off back-to-backregular-season titles and their first NCAADivision II Tournament berth. Newmanhas a new coach in Darrin Spence andreturns two players in seniors Anna Son-ka and Kianna Flannagan.

Reach Tony Adame at [email protected] 316-268-6284.

Acuay finds place to excel■ Senior guard takesroundabout path to collegebasketball success.

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita Eagle

Newmanbasketballplayer ShamarAcuay works outunder the eye ofcoach MarkPotter during arecent practice.

Men

Emporia StateCoach: Shaun Vandiver,

9-18 in one season2011-12 record: 9-18, 5-15

MIAAOutlook: Vandiver, a long-

time NCAA Division I assis-tant, struggled in his firstseason as the Hornets lost 12of their last 13 games. Empo-ria State signed two impactplayers from local schools infreshman guard TerrenceMoore (Heights) and 6-foot-5junior Gavin Brown (Cowley),one of the top big men in theJayhawk Conference lastseason.

Fort Hays StateCoach: Mark Johnson,

226-98 in 11 seasons2011-12: 19-9, 12-8Outlook: The Tigers lost all

five starters and their topreturning scorer is WichitaSouth and Cowley productLance Russell, a 6-5 guardwho averaged 6.6 points.Dwayne Brunson, a 6-7 for-ward, averaged 17.4 pointsand 10 rebounds for Bartonand was a second-team All-Jayhawk West selection.Johnson has led the Tigers tofive NCAA Division II Tourna-ment appearances.

Pittsburg StateCoach: Kevin Muff, 30-27

in two seasons2011-12: 17-14, 10-10Outlook: The Gorillas fin-

ished last season playing theirbest basketball as they madea run to the MIAA Tournamentfinal, where they fell to Wash-burn. Javon McGee, a 6-6senior forward, led the Goril-las with 13 points and 6.7rebounds per game on hisway to All-MIAA honors. Fel-low senior and Wichita Southproduct Marky Nolen (6-4)started 14 games and aver-aged 8.2 points.

WashburnCoach: Bob Chipman,

721-296 in 33 seasons2011-12: 25-8, 15-5Outlook: The Ichabods

return 90 percent of theirscoring off a team that madeit the second round of theNCAA Division II Tournament.Senior guard Will McNeill(20.2 points) was a unani-mous All-MIAA selection lastseason, the Most Outstand-ing Player at the MIAA Tour-nament and set the Wash-burn single-season stealsrecord (76).

Women

Emporia StateCoach: Jory Collins, 43-18

in two seasons2011-12: 23-9, 14-6Outlook: Senior guard

Jocelyn Cummings is thereigning MIAA defensiveplayer of the year and was afreshman on the Hornets’2010 NCAA Division II cham-pionship team. SophomoreMerissa Quick, a 6-foot-3forward from Cheney, aver-aged 10.7 points and 6.7rebounds as a freshman, andher 222 rebounds were themost by an Emporia Statefreshman since moving up toNCAA Division II. Five of theHornets’ top eight scorerslast season were either fresh-men or sophomores andEmporia State is ranked No.19 in the NCAA Division IIpreseason poll.

Fort Hays StateCoach: Tony Hobson,

47-36 in three seasons2011-12: 20-9, 9-8Outlook: Fort Hays returns

four starters off of Hobson’sfirst 20-win team, includingtheir top two players in 6-footjunior guard Kate Edwardsand 6-4 sophomore centerKate Lehman, a Newton prod-uct. Edwards led the Tigerswith 14.6 points and 8 re-bounds, while Lehman aver-aged 10.7 points, 7.1 re-bounds and 3.3 blocks. Theother returning starters areTraci Keyser, who hit 45 of143 three-pointers, and Mc-Pherson High product KelsieSorenson.

Pittsburg StateCoach: Lane Lord, 87-37 in

five seasons2011-12: 27-6, 17-3Outlook: Sophomore for-

ward Lizzy Jeronimus (15.8points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8assists) is one of the bestplayers in the country, andwas named the Gorillas’ firstAll-American since 2000 aftershe led the Gorillas to theElite Eight. Pittsburg State,ranked No. 3 in the NCAADivision II preseason poll,was 12-1 at home last sea-son.

WashburnCoach: Ron McHenry,

319-65 in 12 seasons2011-12: 29-5, 18-2Outlook: McHenry won his

seventh MIAA regular-seasonand tournament titles lastseason. The Lady Blues arethe league’s preseason favor-ite in both the coaches andmedia polls. Washburn lost itstop three scorers but seniorforward Sierra Moeller led theteam with 6.7 rebounds andsenior guard Laura Kinderk-necht was second with 2.9assists.

A LOOK AT KANSAS’ MIAA TEAMS

Patience, humility andLizzy Jeronimus.

Those were the threethings, it turned out, that thePittsburg State women’sbasketball team needed totake their place among theNCAA Division II elite.

“There have been humblingtimes,” Pittsburg State coachLane Lord said. “But if youwant to go from the bottomto the top of the league, it’shard and you have to learnas you go.”

There’s the patience andhumility, which Lord got ahealthy dose of in four up-and-down seasons in theMIAA before last year’sbreakthrough.

Jeronimus is a differentmonster. As a freshman, the5-foot-11 guard/forward outof Shawnee Mission West ledthe Gorillas in points (16.8)and assists (2.8) per gamelast season as a freshman,guiding Pittsburg State to a27-6 record and the EliteEight. She was named MIAAfreshman of the year, All-MIAA and honorable men-tion All-American, the Goril-las’ first All-American since2000.

“We feel very fortunate tohave (Jeronimus), we feellike she’s a Division I playerwho fell through the cracks,”Lord said. “She’s an unbeliev-able talent … a player whocan play multiple positions.We’ve built our team aroundher this season.”

Lord said Jeronimus was ather best late in the season,when teams began to focuson double-teaming her. Sheaveraged 23 points in four

NCAA Tournament games. “Not only did she score

more, but she’s so good atfinding the open man,” Lordsaid. “She could adapt towhat they were doing andwe were still able to be suc-cessful.”

The Gorillas are ranked No.3 in the NCAA Division IIpreseason poll, and Jeroni-mus spent the summer inPittsburg working on hergame — particularly her out-side shooting. Lord said hewants her to take 100 three-pointers this season -- quite ajump from the 44 she tooklast year.

“We were all here thissummer, working out togeth-er in the mornings,” Jeroni-mus said. “I definitely feelquicker, faster and strongerthan I was last year.

“I really like being able toset up on the wing because itputs me in a position where Ican drive, shoot or pass

when I get the ball. I feel likeI see the court pretty welland can find the open person... I’m perfectly fine withgetting an assists as long aswe score.”

Also returning is juniorpoint guard Alexa Bordew-ick, a Washburn Rural prod-uct who started 32 of 33games and was honorablemention All-MIAA.

“It was an amazing experi-ence to make it to the EliteEight, but this is a new teamand a new year,” Bordewicksaid. “We’ve put in a lot ofhard work to try and getback to where we were.”

Wichita Independent prod-uct Lauren Brown, a 6-6center, will be counted on toanchor the post.

“When Lauren came here,her game was really raw,”Lord said. “After three yearsas a backup, she’s ready tostep up and be somebody wecan rely on.”

Pitt State makes resurgence■ Gorilla women’steam opens rankedthird nationally.

BY TONY ADAMEThe Wichita Eagle

Schedules for the Kansas teams in the MIAA. For afull conference schedule, go to themiaa.com.

MenAll times p.m.

NovemberSunday — Emporia St. at Kansas St., 1. Monday —Washburn at Kansas, 7. Saturday — McPherson atFort Hays St., 4:30; Emporia St. at Missouri S&T, 7. 13— Baker at Pittsburg St., 7; Bethany at Fort Hays St.,7:30. 14 — Central Christian at Emporia St., 7; PeruSt. at Washburn, 7:30. 16 — Lincoln vs. Pittsburg St.at Joplin, Mo., 1; St. Martin’s vs. Emporia St. at Mon-mouth, Ore., 7:15. 17 — Avila vs. Pittsburg St. atJoplin, Mo., 3; NW Oklahoma St. at Fort Hays St., 4;Emporia St. at W. Oregon, 9:30. 19 — Bethany atWashburn, 7. 20 — Rockhurst at Washburn, 2; Mis-souri S&T at Emporia St., 7; Newman at Pittsburg St.,7. 23 — St. Mary’s at Washburn, 7:30. 24 — South-western at Pittsburg St., 3; Fort Hays St. at Newman,4; Minn.-Duluth at Washburn, 5. 27 — Emporia St. atNewman, 7. 28 — Central Christian at Fort Hays St.,7; William Jewell at Pittsburg St., 7:30.

December1 — Bellevue at Washburn, 2. 5 — Central Missouriat Fort Hays St., 7:30; Emporia St. at NortheasternSt., 7:30. 6 — Central Oklahoma at Pittsburg St.,7:30; SW Baptist at Washburn, 7:30. 8 — PittsburgSt. at Lindenwood, 3; Emporia St. at Central Missouri,3:30; Fort Hays St. at Missouri Western, 3:30. 15 —Washburn at Newman, 4; Fort Hays St. at PanhandleSt., 7; Southwestern at Emporia St., 7. 17 — Sterlingat Fort Hays St., 7. 18 — Ark.-Fort Smith at PittsburgSt., 4:30. 19 — Dixie St. at Pittsburg St., 8:30. 29 —S.D. School of Mines at Fort Hays St., 4.

January3 — Emporia St. at Washburn, 7; Fort Hays St. atNortheastern St., 7:30; Neb.-Kearney at Pittsburg St.,7:30. 5 — NW Missouri at Pittsburg St., 1:30; FortHays St. at Emporia St., 3:30; Washburn at CentralOklahoma, 3:30. 8 — Emporia St. at SW Baptist,7:30. 10 — Pittsburg St. at Lincoln, 7:30; Washburnat Fort Hays St., 7:30. 12 — Emporia St. at Truman,3; Pittsburg St. at Central Missouri, 3:30; Washburnat Neb.-Kearney, 4. 16 — SW Baptist at Fort Hays St.,7:30; Truman at Washburn, 7:30; Pittsburg St. at Mo.Southern, 7:30. 19 — Washburn at Northeastern St.,3:30 p.m.; Fort Hays St. at Pittsburg St., 3:30; Wash-burn at Northeastern St., 3:30. 20 — Mo. Western atEmporia St., 3:30. 23 — Mo. Southern at EmporiaSt., 7:30; Pittsburg St. at Northeastern St., 7:30. 24— Fort Hays St. at Lindenwood, 7:30; Washburn atLincoln, 7:30. 26 — Washburn at Lindenwood, 3;Fort Hays St. at Truman, 3. 27 — Central Oklahomaat Emporia St., 3:30. 30 — Pittsburg St. at Mo. West-ern, 7:30; Central Oklahoma at Fort Hays St., 7:30;Emporia St. at Neb.-Kearney, 7:30.

February2 — Emporia St. at NW Missouri, 3:30; Mo. Southernat Fort Hays St., 4; Pittsburg St. at Washburn, 7. 6 —Mo. Western at Washburn, 7:30; NW Missouri at FortHays St., 7:30. 7 — Lincoln at Emporia St., 7:30; Tru-man at Pittsburg St., 7:30. 9 — Lindenwood at Em-poria St., 3:30; SW Baptist at Pittsburg St., 3:30;Neb.-Kearney at Fort Hays St., 4; NW Missouri atWashburn, 7. 13 — Emporia St. at Central Oklaho-ma, 7:30; Washburn at Mo. Western, 7:30; Fort HaysSt. at NW Missouri, 7:30. 16 — Northeastern St. atPittsburg St., 3:30; Washburn at NW Missouri, 3:30;Fort Hays St. at Neb.-Kearney, 4; Emporia St. at Mo.Southern, 7:30. 20 — Pittsburg St. at Emporia St.,7:30. 21 — Neb.-Kearney at Washburn, 7:30. 23 —Pittsburg St. at Central Oklahoma, 3:30; Northeast-ern St. at Emporia St., 5:30; Fort Hays St. at Wash-burn, 7. 27 — Mo. Southern at Pittsburg St., 7:30;Mo. Western at Fort Hays St., 7:30. 28 — Washburnat Emporia St., 7.

March1 — Lincoln at Fort Hays St., 7:30. 2 — Emporia St.at Pittsburg St., 3:30; Central Missouri at Washburn,

7. 4-10 — MIAA Tournament at Kansas City, Mo.

WomenNovember

Monday — Evangel at Emporia St., 6. Friday —SW Minnesota at Pittsburg St., 3. Saturday — Mc-Pherson at Fort Hays St., 2:30; Mary (N.D.) at Pitts-burg St., 3. 13 — Bethany at Fort Hays St., 5:30;Newman at Emporia St., 7. 14 — Southwestern atWashburn, 5:30. 16 — Western St. at Emporia St., 2.17 — NW Oklahoma at Fort Hays St., 2; Emporia St.at Colo. St.-Pueblo, 6. 20 — Newman at Fort HaysSt., 7; Drury at Washburn, 7. 23 — Arkansas Tech atFort Hays St., 4; Evangel at Pittsburg St., 5:30; Texas-Permian Basin at Washburn, 6. 24 — Avila at Pitts-burg St., 1:30; Texas-Permian Basin at Fort Hays St.,4; Arkansas Tech at Washburn, 6. 26 — Kansas Wes-leyan at Emporia St., 7. 28 — William Jewell at Pitts-burg St., 5:30.

December1 — Quincy at Pittsburg St., 6. 3 — Benedictine atWashburn, 7. 5 — Central Missouri at Fort Hays St.,5:30; Emporia St. at Northeastern St., 5:30. 6 —Central Oklahoma at Pittsburg St., 5:30; SW Baptistat Washburn, 5:30. 8 — Pittsburg St. at Lindenwood,1; Emporia St. at Central Missouri, 1:30; Fort Hays St.at Missouri Western, 1:30. 15 — Fort Hays St. at Pan-handle St., 5. 17 — Emporia St. at West Texas A&M,6. 18 — Pittsburg St. vs. TBA at Las Vegas, 2; AbileneChristian at Emporia St., 4; W. Washington at Wash-burn, 5. 19 — Wis.-Parkside at Washburn, noon; Dix-ie St. at Pittsburg St., 6. 30 — Central Methodist atEmporia St., 7.

January3 — Emporia St. at Washburn, 5 Fort Hays St. atNortheastern St., 530; Neb.-Kearney at Pittsburg St.,5:30. 5 — NW Missouri at Pittsburg St., 11 a.m.; FortHays St. at Emporia St., 1:30; Washburn at CentralOklahoma, 1:30. 8 — Emporia St. at SW Baptist,5:30. 10 — Pittsburg St. at Lincoln, 5:30; Washburnat Fort Hays St., 5:30. 12 — Emporia St. at Truman,1; Pittsburg St. at Central Missouri, 1:30; Washburnat Neb.-Kearney, 2. 16 — SW Baptist at Fort Hays St.,5:30; Truman at Washburn, 5:30; Pittsburg St. at Mo.Southern, 5:30. 19 — Washburn at Northeastern St.,1:30 p.m.; Fort Hays St. at Pittsburg St., 1:30; Wash-burn at Northeastern St., 1:30. 20 — Mo. Western atEmporia St., 1:30. 23 — Mo. Southern at EmporiaSt., 5:30; Pittsburg St. at Northeastern St., 5:30. 24— Fort Hays St. at Lindenwood, 5:30; Washburn atLincoln, 5:30. 26 — Washburn at Lindenwood, 1;Fort Hays St. at Truman, 1.27 — Central Oklahomaat Emporia St., 1:30. 30 — Pittsburg St. at Mo. West-ern, 5:30; Central Oklahoma at Fort Hays St., 5:30;Emporia St. at Neb.-Kearney, 5:30.

February2 — Emporia St. at NW Missouri, 1:30; Mo. Southernat Fort Hays St., 2; Pittsburg St. at Washburn, 5. 6 —Mo. Western at Washburn, 5:30; NW Missouri at FortHays St., 5:30. 7 — Lincoln at Emporia St., 5:30; Tru-man at Pittsburg St., 5:30. 9 — Lindenwood at Em-poria St., 1:30; SW Baptist at Pittsburg St., 1:30;Neb.-Kearney at Fort Hays St., 2; NW Missouri atWashburn, 5. 13 — Emporia St. at Central Oklaho-ma, 530; Washburn at Mo. Western, 5:30; Fort HaysSt. at NW Missouri, 5:30. 16 — Northeastern St. atPittsburg St., 1:30; Washburn at NW Missouri, 1:30;Fort Hays St. at Neb.-Kearney, 2; Emporia St. at Mo.Southern, 5:30. 20 — Pittsburg St. at Emporia St.,5:30. 21 — Neb.-Kearney at Washburn, 5:30. 23 —Pittsburg St. at Central Oklahoma, 1:30; Northeast-ern St. at Emporia St., 3:30; Fort Hays St. at Wash-burn, 3. 27 — Mo. Southern at Pittsburg St., 5:30;Mo. Western at Fort Hays St., 5:30. 28 — Washburnat Emporia St., 5.

March1 — Lincoln at Fort Hays St., 5:30. 2 — Emporia St.at Pittsburg St., 1:30; Central Missouri at Washburn,5. 4-10 — MIAA Tournament at Kansas City, Mo.

MIAA SCHEDULES

MenAll times p.m.

Date Opponent TimeNov. 12 Tabor 7Nov. 14 Manhattan Christian 7Nov. 20 at Pittsburg St. 7Nov. 24 Fort Hays St. 4Nov. 27 Emporia St. 7Nov. 29 McMurry 7:30Dec. 1 St. Edward’s 4Dec. 8 at William Jewell 4Dec. 15 Washburn 4Dec. 17 East Central 7:30Jan. 3 at Okla. Christian 7:30Jan. 5 at Dallas Baptist 2Jan. 10 Texas A&M-Intl. 7:30Jan. 12 St. Mary’s 4Jan. 17 at Panhandle St. 7:30Jan. 19 at Texas-P. Basin 4Jan. 26 at Ark.-Fort Smith 4Jan. 31 Okla. Christian 7:30Feb. 2 Dallas Baptist 2Feb. 7 at Texas A&M-Intl. 7:30Feb. 9 at St. Mary’s 4Feb. 14 Panhandle St. 7:30Feb. 16 Texas-Permian Basin 4Feb. 23 Ark.-Fort Smith 4Feb. 28 at McMurry 7:30March 2 at St. Edward’s 4March 8-9 Heartland Conference

Tournament at TBA

WomenAll times p.m.

Date Opponent TimeNov. 10 at Rockhurst 6Nov. 13 at Emporia St. 7Nov. 15 at Mo. Southern 5:30Nov. 20 at Fort Hays St. 7Nov. 23 at Regis 4Nov. 24 x-Colo. Mines 2Nov. 29 McMurry 5:30Dec. 1 St. Edward’s 2Dec. 5 SW Oklahoma St. 6Dec. 8 at William Jewell 2Dec. 9 at Kansas 2Dec. 15 McPherson 2Dec. 31 Ottawa 5:30Jan. 3 at Okla. Christian 5:30Jan. 10 Texas A&M-Intl. 5:30Jan. 12 St. Mary’s 2Jan. 17 at Panhandle St. 5:30Jan. 19 at Texas-P. Basin 2Jan. 26 at Ark.-Fort Smith 2Jan. 31 Okla. Christian 5:30Feb. 7 at Texas A&M-Intl. 5:30Feb. 9 at St. Mary’s 2Feb. 14 Panhandle St. 5:30Feb. 16 Texas-Permian Basin 2Feb. 23 Ark.-Fort Smith 2Feb. 28 at McMurry 5:30March 2 at St. Edward’s 2March 8-9 Heartland Conference

Tournament at Austin

NEWMAN SCHEDULES



COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW: KCAC, JAYHAWK CONFERENCE

If RaeAnne Booth comes offas a little bit obsessed withher work, please forgive her.

The line between life andwork was blurred a long timeago for Friends’ women’sbasketball coach. Like rightaround the time she was born.

“I grew up a military bratwith my dad in the militaryand my mom came from abasketball-crazed family inIndiana,” Booth said. “I lovethe game of basketball, but Ilove the team aspect muchmore than the game.

“I love what teams canbecome and what takes placeduring a win or a loss.”

Booth turned the Falconsinto KCAC regular-seasonchampions last season, going24-10 and advancing to theround of 16 at the NAIA Divi-

sion II Tournament. Boothcame to Friends in 2010 afterfour years as an assistant atBrenau (Ga.) University.

“This was just the perfect fitfor me, the perfect job,” Boothsaid. “Exactly what I waslooking for.”

Booth’s philosophy is decid-

edly year-round — practices,games and recruiting duringthe season and conditioning,weights, pick-up games andteam-building activities fillingup the offseason.

Even vacations with herfamily are planned aroundrecruiting events.

“Everything is very struc-tured,” said senior guardMinta Whetstone, a returningstarter. “(Booth) puts a lot ofwork into make sure thingsare done the right way.

“She doesn’t get upset whenyou make a mistake, becauseeverybody does that. Shedoesn’t like when you don’tlearn from your mistakes.”

And whatever a player iswilling to invest, Boothmatches it and then some.

“She comes early and stayslate,” junior guard WhitneyBates said. “She’s alwaysthere for us.”

Booth wants her players totake ownership of their sea-son early, a process that be-gins in the recruiting phase.Bates, a Rose Hill product,

just went through it afterspending two seasons at PrattCommunity College.

“(Booth) decides who hasthe right skill level to playhere,” Whetstone said. “Andthen we decide if they’ll begood teammates.”

Bates is one that fit — she’salready been elected a teamcaptain.

“I felt an immediate bondwith the team,” Bates said. “Ireally felt like I found a placewhere I belong and it’s goodgroup of people to bearound.”

The Falcons’ also return oneof the best players in theKCAC in 6-foot forward AbrilMarshall, an All-KCAC selec-tion last year.

Marshall averaged 10.8points and 6.1 rebounds.Junior guard Sarah Munds isthe other returning starter.

“I want them to establishthat trust, that camaraderiewith each other,” Booth said.“We’ve got a lot of new peopleon the team but we’ve alreadycome a long way.”

Focus on winning together■ Friends womenlook to repeat lastseason’s successes.

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita EagleFriends basketball women’scoach Rae Anne Boothdirects her team during apreseason game withLabette.


Men

BethanyCoach: Clair Oleen, 20th

season 2011-12: 9-18 overall, 7-11

KCAC Outlook: Senior guard Trey

Beachum is the Swedes’ topreturning scorer at 13.6 points.The Swedes’ finished seventh inthe KCAC last season afterback-to-back seasons finishingin the top three.

BethelCoach: Alonzo Jamison, 4-23

in one season 2011-12: 4-23, 4-14Outlook: The Threshers have

15 new players. Bethel hasn’tfinished above eighth placesince 2006-07, when theThreshers finished sixth.

FriendsCoach: Dale Faber, 148-127

in nine seasons 2011-12: 13-18, 8-10Outlook: The Falcons need to

replace a pair of All-KCACguards, Reggie Britton and BrettSteven. Friends was picked sixthin both preseason polls.

McPhersonCoach: Tim Swartzendruber,

88-41 in four seasons2011-12: 33-4, 16-2Outlook: The Bulldogs went

to the NAIA Division II semifinalslast season and have qualifiedfor the national tournament thelast three years. Junior guardSamson Shivers is a preseasonAll-KCAC pick and broke single-season school records lastseason for three-pointers at-tempted (246) and made (87).

SouthwesternCoach: Matt O’Brien, 38-40 in

three seasons2011-12: 19-11, 9-9Outlook: Senior forward

Koury Clayton, a Wichita Eastproduct, led the Moundbuilderswith 6.4 rebounds. Southwest-ern’s tallest player is 6-7 fresh-man forward Breno Schmidt.

SterlingCoach: Dean Jaderston,

98-83 in six seasons2011-12: 17-14, 12-6Outlook: Jaderston has won

two KCAC titles in his first sixseasons. Senior forward AdamBrown averaged 13.5 points andis a preseason All-KCAC pick.

TaborCoach: Micah Ratzlaff, 84-92

in six seasons2011-12: 15-16, 10-8Outlook: Goddard product

Ryan Chippeaux led the KCACwith 10 double-doubles lastseason. The 6-7 senior forwardaveraged 11.9 points and wassecond in the KCAC with 7.7rebounds.

Women

BethanyCoach: Jim Campion, 28-79 in

four seasons2011-12: 4-25, 1-17 KCAC Outlook: The Swedes return

all five starters off a team thatwon one league game. Seniorguard-forward Tasha Wagoneraveraged 12.2 points and 5.8rebounds and is a preseasonAll-KCAC selection.

BethelCoach: Mark Fox, 87-111 in

seven seasons2011-12: 11-15, 7-11Outlook: After back-to-back

fourth-place finishes, the Thresh-ers dipped to seventh in theKCAC. Bethel was picked tofinish last in both polls.

FriendsCoach: RaeAnne Booth,

40-23 in two seasons2011-12: 24-10, 16-2Outlook: Booth won a KCAC

title in her second season, butreturns only one starter. TheFalcons are ranked No. 20 inNAIA Division II.

McPhersonCoach: Cy Rolfs, 21-36 in two

seasons2011-12: 14-15, 9-9Outlook: Sophomore Brittany

Pittas was the KCAC freshmanof the year and is one of threereturning starters. Pittas wassecond on the team with 11.7points and hit 46 of 147 three-pointers.

SouthwesternCoach: Dave Denly, 206-122

in 11 seasons2011-12: 23-9, 15-3Outlook: All-KCAC forward

Zefiryn Bryan, a 6-foot junior,averaged 10.6 points and 6.3rebounds. The Moundbuildersare ranked No. 16 in NAIA Divi-sion II.

SterlingCoach: Lonnie Kruse,

682-210 in 31 seasons2011-12: 18-13, 10-8Outlook: Sophomore forward

Lori Dauer was an All-KCACfreshman team selection. TheWarriors’ eight losses in theKCAC last season matched theirtotal losses in league play theprevious five seasons.

TaborCoach: Shawn Reed, 7-21 in

one season2011-12: 7-21, 5-13Outlook: The Bluejays went

1-13 over a two-month stretch,but finished 4-3. Senior guardKatlyn Mary (12.8 points) wasAll-KCAC and a unanimouspreseason pick.

A LOOK AT THE KCAC

The Region VI men’s and women’s tournaments willbe March 2-9. The finals will be held March 8-9 at ParkCity’s Hartman Arena.

ButlerMen

All times p.m.November

6 — Allen, 7:30; 9 — at Coffeyville, 7; 10 — vs. La-bette at Coffeyville, 5; 13 — at N. Oklahoma-Tonka-wa, 8; 15 — Friends JV, 7:30; 17 — at Cowley, 7; 20— at Allen, 8; 27 — Neosho, 7:30.

December1 — Fort Scott, 7; 3 — at Neosho, 7:30; 5 — South-western JV, 7:30; 8 — N. Oklahoma-Tonkawa, 7:30.

January5 — at Garden City, 7:30; 9 — Hutchinson, 7:30; 12— at Barton, 8; 16 — Colby, 7:30; 19 — at Pratt, 8;23 — Cloud, 7:30; 26 — at Seward, 8; 30 — DodgeCity, 7:30.

February2 — Garden City, 7:30; 9 — at Hutchinson, 7:30; 11— Barton, 7:30; 13 — at Colby, 8; 16 — Pratt, 7:30;20 — at Cloud, 8; 23 — Seward, 7:30; 27 — atDodge City, 7:30.

WomenNovember

6 — Allen, 5:30; 9 — at St. Gregory’s, 6. 13 — at N.Oklahoma-Tonkawa, 6; 15 — Redlands, 5:30; 17 —at Cowley, 5; 20 — at Allen, 6; 24 — vs. Iowa West-ern at Concordia, 4. 27 — Neosho, 5:30..

December3 — at Neosho, 5:30; 8 — N. Oklahoma-Tonkawa,5:30. 15 — at Redlands, 2.

January5 — at Garden City, 7:30; 9 — Hutchinson, 7:30; 12— at Barton, 8; 16 — Colby, 7:30; 19 — at Pratt, 8;23 — Cloud, 7:30; 26 — at Seward, 8; 30 — DodgeCity, 7:30.

February2 — Garden City, 5:30; 9 — at Hutchinson, 5:30; 11— Barton, 5:30; 13 — at Colby, 6; 16 — Pratt, 5:30;20 — at Cloud, 6; 23 — Seward, 5:30; 27 — atDodge City, 5:30.

CowleyMen

November5 — N. Oklahoma-Tonkawa, 7; 8 — at N. Oklahoma-Enid, 8; 10 — Seminole St., 7; 13 — at Carl Albert, 8;17 — Butler, 7; 29 — vs. Missouri St.-West Plains atCoffeyville, 2; 30 — vs. TBA at Coffeyville, TBA.

December1 — vs. TBA at Coffeyville, TBA; 4 — Carl Albert, 7; 6— at N. Okla.-Tonkawa, 8; 8 — N. Okla.-Enid, 7.

January5 — at Kansas City, 4; 9 — Coffeyville, 7; 12 — atJohnson County, 4; 16 — at Highland, 7:30; 19 — atIndependence, 8; 21 — at Fort Scott, 7:30; 23 — atNeosho, 7; 26 — at Allen, 4; 30 — Labette, 7.

February2 — Kansas City, 7; 6 — at Coffeyville, 8; 9 — John-

son County, 7; 13 — Highland, 7; 16 — Indepen-dence, 7; 18 — Fort Scott, 7; 20 — Neosho, 7; 23 —Allen, 7; 27 — at Labette, 8.

WomenNovember

5 — N. Oklahoma-Tonkawa, 5; 8 — at N. Oklahoma-Enid, 6; 10 — Seminole St., 5; 13 — at Carl Albert, 6;17 — Butler, 5; 20 — at Barton, 6; 30 — Southwest-ern, 6.

December1 — Barton, 6; 4 — Carl Albert, 5; 6 — at N. Oklaho-ma-Tonkawa, 6; 8 — N. Oklahoma-Enid, 5.

January5 — at Kansas City, 6; 9 — Coffeyville, 5; 12 — atJohnson County, 2; 16 — at Highland, 5:30; 19 — atIndependence, 6; 21 — at Fort Scott, 5:30; 23 — atNeosho, 5; 26 — at Allen, 2; 30 — Labette, 5.

February2 — Kansas City, 5; 6 — at Coffeyville, 6; 9 — John-son County, 5; 13 — Highland, 5; 16 — Indepen-dence, 5; 18 — Fort Scott, 5; 20 — Neosho, 5; 23 —Allen, 5; 27 — at Labette, 6.

HutchinsonMen

November7 — Redlands, 7; 10 — Johnson County, 7:30; 12 —Trinidad St., 7; 14 — Labette, 7; 17 — at Allen, 7; 23— Frank Phillips, 7:30; 24 — Central Nebraska, 7:30;30 — Murray St., 7:30.

December1 — Western Texas, 7:30; 7 — NE Nebraska, 7:30; 8— Hill, 7:30.

January5 — at Dodge City, 8; 7 — Garden City, 7:30; 9 — atButler, 7:30; 16 — Barton, 7:30; 20 — at Colby, 4; 23— Pratt, 7:30; 26 — at Cloud, 8; 30 — Seward, 7:30.

February2 — Dodge City, 7:30; 6 — at Garden City, 7:30; 9 —Butler, 7:30; 13 — at Barton, 7:30; 16 — Colby, 7:30;20 — at Pratt, 8; 23 — Cloud, 7:30; 27 — at SewardCounty, 8.

WomenNovember

9 — Marshalltown, 7:30; 10 — N. Oklahoma-Tonka-wa, 5:30; 16 — vs. Frank Phillips at Liberal, 2; 17 —vs. South Plains at Liberal, 2; 23 — Independence,5:30; 24 — Iowa Lakes, 5:30; 30 — Coffeyville, 5:30.

December1 — Murray St., 5:30; 7 — NE Oklahoma, 5:30; 8 —Bethany JV, 5:30; 14 — vs. Iowa Western at Olathe, 5.

January2 — Neosho, 5; 5 — at Dodge City, 6; 7 — GardenCity, 5:30; 9 — at Butler, 5:30; 16 — Barton, 5:30; 20— at Colby, 2; 23 — Pratt, 5:30; 26 — at Cloud, 6;30 — Seward, 5:30.

February2 — Dodge City, 5:30; 6 — at Garden City, 5:30; 9 —Butler, 5:30; 13 — at Barton, 5:30; 16 — Colby, 5:30;20 — at Pratt, 6; 23 — Cloud, 5:30; 27 — at SewardCounty, 6.

JAYHAWK CONFERENCE SCHEDULES

MenAll times p.m.

NovemberMonday — Ozark Christian at Southwestern, 7.Tuesday — Tabor at Benedictine, 7:30; Saint Mary atHillsdale Free Will Baptist, 7:30; Friends at Avila, 7:30;Ottawa at MidAmerica Nazarene, 7:30. Wednesday— McPherson at Manhattan Christian, 7. Thursday — York vs. Bethel at Concordia, Neb., 3;Saint Mary vs. Baker at Ottawa, 5; Peru St. at Ottawa,7; Morningside at McPherson, 7; Sterling at Langston,7:30; Bethany at Rhema Bible, 8; Kansas Wesleyan atConcordia, 8; Tabor at Doane, 8. Saturday — Peru St. vs. Saint Mary at Ottawa, 1;Morningside at Friends, 2; KWU vs. York at Concordia,Neb., 2; Southwestern at Haskell, 2; Tabor vs. Hastingsat Crete, Neb., 2; Baker at Ottawa, 3; Bethany vs.Ecclesia at Tulsa, 4; McPherson at Fort Hays St., 4;Sterling at SW Christian, 5; Bethel at Concordia, 5. 11— Saint Mary at Neb.-Omaha (exh.), 6. 12 — Baconeat Southwestern, 7; Tabor at Newman (exh.), 7; Man-hattan Christian at Bethel, 8. 13 — York at Tabor, 7;Sterling at Missouri Western, 7; Bethany at Fort HaysSt., 7; KWU at Doane, 7:30; Benedictine at Saint Mary,7:30; Ottawa at Oklahoma Wesleyan, 7:30; McPher-son at Central Christian, 7:30; Baker at Friends, 8. 14— KWU at Rockhurst, 6. 16 — Southwestern at Col-lege of the Ozarks, 4; Tabor vs. SW Assemblies of Godat Sterling, 4; Bacone vs. Bethel at Friends, 5; Bene-dictine at Friends, 7; Ottawa at Columbia, 7; Bethanyat Baker, 7:30; Johnson & Wales at Sterling, 8. 17 —Bethany vs. Haskell at Baldwin City, 1; Southwestern atBaptist Bible, 1; Benedictine vs. Bethel at Friends, 2;Bacone at Friends, 4; Tabor vs. Johnson & Wales atSterling, 4; College of the Ozarks at Saint Mary, 6; SWAssemblies at Sterling, 8. 19 — Bethany at Wash-burn, 7; Haskell at Saint Mary, 7:30. 20 — Ottawa atBaker, 5:30; Grace at Southwestern, 5:30; Bethel atCentral Christian, 7:30; Tabor at William Jewell, 7:45;Oklahoma Wesleyan at Friends, 8. 23 — KWU at Mid-land, 5; Sterling vs. York at Bellevue, Neb.; Bethany vs.Baptist Bible at Denver, 6; Bethel at Hastings, 8. 24 —KWU vs. TBA at Fremont, Neb., 2 p.m.; Doane vs. Beth-el at Hastings, Neb., 2; Southwestern at PittsburgState, 3; Benedictine at Tabor, 3; Sterling at Bellevue,5; Bethany at Colorado Christian, 7. 26 — Saint Maryat Peru St., 7. 27 — Ottawa at Haskell, 7:30. 29 — McPherson atBethany, 8; Sterling at Tabor, 8; Friends at Southwest-ern, 8; Ottawa at KWU, 8; Saint Mary at Bethel, 8.

December1 — Bethel at Bethany, 7; Tabor at McPherson, 7;Saint Mary at Friends, 7; KWU at Southwestern, 7; Ot-tawa at Sterling, 7. 6 — Bethany at Tabor, 8; Friends at

Bethel, 8; KWU at Saint Mary, 8; McPherson at Ottawa,8; Southwestern at Sterling, 8. 8 — Bethany at Otta-wa, 7; Tabor at Bethel, 7; Friends at KWU, 7; Sterling atSaint Mary, 7; McPherson at Southwestern, 7. 15 —Saint Mary at Haskell, 2; Friends at Central Christian,2; McPherson at Rockhurst, 3; Southwestern at Empo-ria St., 7. 17 — Dakota Wesleyan at KWU, 7; Tabor atN. Colorado (exh.), 7; Sterling at Fort Hays St., 7; Beth-el at Panhandle St., 7:30. 18 — Oklahoma Wesleyanat Sterling, 6:30. 20 — Doane at Bethel, 7. 28 —Bethany vs. Midland at Salina, 4; Friends at Morning-side, 4; SW Christian at KWU, 8. 29 — Sterling vs.Mount Marty at Denver, TBA; Bethany vs. SW Christianat Salina, 2; Southwestern at Dallas Baptist, 2; Friendsvs. Briar Cliff at Sioux City, Iowa, 3; Midland at KWU, 6.31 — Sterling at Johnson & Wales, TBA; Southwest-ern at SW Christian, 3; Avila at Tabor, 3 p.m.

January1 — Iowa Wesleyan at Saint Mary, 2. 3 — Southwest-ern at Bethany, 3; Ottawa at Tabor, 8; Sterling atFriends, 8; KWU at Bethel, 8; McPherson at Saint Mary,8. 5 — Bethany at Saint Mary, 7; Southwestern at Ta-bor, 7; Friends at McPherson, 7; KWU at Sterling, 7;Ottawa at Bethel, 7. 10 — Friends at Bethany, 8; Taborat Saint Mary, 8; McPherson at KWU, 8; Bethel at Ster-ling, 8; Southwestern at Ottawa, 8. 12 — Saint Maryat Ottawa, 5; Bethany at KWU, 7; Tabor at Friends, 7;Bethel at Southwestern, 7; Sterling at McPherson, 7.16 — Sterling at Bethany, 7; KWU at Tabor, 8; Ottawaat Friends, 8; McPherson at Bethel, 8; Saint Mary atSouthwestern, 8. 19 — Bethel at Saint Mary, 3; Betha-ny at McPherson, 7; Tabor at Sterling, 7; Southwesternat Friends, 7; KWU at Ottawa, 7. 23 — Bethany atBethel, 8; McPherson at Tabor, 8; Friends at Saint Ma-ry, 8; Southwestern at KWU, 8; Sterling at Ottawa, 8.26 — Saint Mary at KWU, 4; Tabor at Bethany, 7; Beth-el at Friends, 7; Sterling at Southwestern, 7; Ottawa atMcPherson, 7. 28 — Hillsdale Free Will Baptist atSaint Mary, 5:30. 31— Ottawa at Bethany, 8; Bethel atTabor, 8; KWU at Friends, 8; Saint Mary at Sterling, 8;Southwestern at McPherson, 8.

February2 — Tabor at Ottawa, 5; Bethany at Southwestern, 7;Friends at Sterling, 7; Bethel at KWU, 7; McPherson atSaint Mary, 7. 4 — Kansas St.-Salina at Bethany, 8. 7— Saint Mary at Bethany, 8; Tabor at Southwestern, 8;McPherson at Friends, 8; Sterling at KWU, 8; Bethel atOttawa, 8. 9 — Bethany at Friends, 7; Saint Mary atTabor, 7; KWU at McPherson 7; Sterling at Bethel, 7;Ottawa at Southwestern, 7. 14 — KWU at Bethany, 8;Friends at Tabor, 8; Southwestern at Bethel, 8; Ottawaat Saint Mary, 8; McPherson at Sterling, 8. 16 —Friends at Ottawa, 6; Bethany at Sterling, 7; Tabor atKWU, 7; Bethel at McPherson, 7; Southwestern atSaint Mary, 7. 20-25 — KCAC Tournament at campus

sites for two rounds, Hartman Arena for final.

WomenAll times p.m.

NovemberMonday — College of Ozarks at Southwestern, 5.Tuesday — Saint Mary at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist,5:30; Kansas Wesleyan at Oklahoma Christian, 6.Wednesday — Park at Tabor, 7:30. Thursday —Bethel at Central Christian, TBA; Saint Mary at Betha-ny, 6; Hastings at Friends, 7. Friday — John Brown atKWU, 2; Tabor at Midland, 5:30; Central Christian atSaint Mary, 6; Sterling vs. Haskell at Winfield, 6; Otta-wa at Benedictine, 7:30; Mid-American Christian atSouthwestern, 8. Saturday — Tabor vs. Jamestownat Fremont, Neb., 1; Baker vs. Ottawa at Atchison, 1;McPherson at Fort Hays St., 2; College of the Ozarks atKWU, 3; Haskell at Southwestern, 4. 12 — York atBethel, 6. 13 — Bethany at Fort Hays St., 5:30; Taborat Northwest Missouri St. (exh.), 6; Baker at Friends, 6;Oklahoma Wesleyan at Southwestern, 6; McPhersonat Central Christian, 6; Stephens at Saint Mary, 7. 14— Benedictine at Bethel, 7; Southwestern at Wash-burn, 7. 16 — Bethany at Oklahoma Wesleyan, TBA;KWU vs. Rogers St. at Bartlesville, Okla., 2; Tabor vs.Oklahoma Sciences and Arts at Sterling, 2; Friends vs.MidAmerica Nazarene at Atchison, 5:30; Taylor atSterling, 6; Central Methodist vs. Ottawa at Leaven-worth, 6; Haskell at Bethel, 8; Johnson & Wales atSaint Mary, 8. 17 — Johnson & Wales vs. Ottawa atLeavenworth, 1; Tabor vs. Taylor at Sterling, 2; Friendsat Benedictine, 3; Central Methodist at Saint Mary, 3;William Penn at Bethel, 4; KWU at Oklahoma Wesley-an, 6; Oklahoma Sciences and Arts at Sterling, 6. 19— Sterling vs. York at Bellevue, Neb.; Haskell at SaintMary, 5:30. 20 — Tabor at Haskell, 5:30; Bethel atGraceland, 5:30; Ottawa at Avila, 5:30; OklahomaWesleyan at Friends, 6; MidAmerica Nazarene at Mc-Pherson, 6; Baker at Southwestern, 8. 23 — Doane atSouthwestern, 4. 24 — Sterling at Hastings, 6. 26 —Saint Mary at Rockhurst (exh.), 6; York at McPherson,6; Oklahoma Wesleyan at Bethany, 7; KWU at EmporiaSt., 7. 27 — Ottawa at Haskell, 5:30. 29 — McPher-son at Bethany, 6; Sterling at Tabor, 6; Friends atSouthwestern, 6; Ottawa at KWU, 6; Saint Mary atBethel, 6.

December1 — Bethel at Bethany, 5; Tabor at McPherson, 5;Saint Mary at Friends, 5; KWU at Southwestern, 5; Ot-tawa at Sterling, 6. 6 — Bethany at Tabor, 6; Friends atBethel, 6; KWU at Saint Mary, 6; McPherson at Ottawa,6; Southwestern at Sterling, 6. 8 — Bethany at Otta-wa, 5; Tabor at Bethel, 5; Friends at KWU, 5; Sterling atSaint Mary, 5; McPherson at Southwestern, 5. 10 —

Haskell at Ottawa, 6. 11 — Tabor at AIB College ofBusiness, 7. 13 — York at Friends, 4. 15 — Gracelandat Bethel, 1; Tabor at Oklahoma Christian (exh.), 2;Saint Mary at Stephens, 2; Southwestern at WarnerSouthern, 2; McPherson at Newman, 2; Ottawa atRockhurst, 6. 16 — Saint Mary at Central Methodist,2. 17 — Sterling at Warner Southern, TBA; South-western at Florida Tech, 5:30. 18 — Sterling at Web-ber International, TBA; Hastings at KWU, 6. 28 —Bethany at KWU, TBA; Friends at Morningside, 5:30;SW Christian at KWU, 6. 29 — Friends vs. Briar Cliff atSioux City, Iowa, 1; Midland at KWU, 4; Hastings atSouthwestern, 4; McPherson at Baker, 4. 31 — Otta-wa at Newman, 5:30.

January1 — McPherson at York, 5:30. 3 — Southwestern atBethany, 6; Ottawa at Tabor, 6; Sterling at Friends, 6;KWU at Bethel, 6; McPherson at Saint Mary, 6. 5 —Bethany at Saint Mary, 5; Southwestern at Tabor, 5;Friends at McPherson, 5; KWU at Sterling, 5; Ottawa atBethel, 5. 8 — Manhattan Christian at Saint Mary, 6.10 — Friends at Bethany, 6; Tabor at Saint Mary, 6;McPherson at KWU, 6; Bethel at Sterling, 6; South-western at Ottawa, 6. 12 — Saint Mary at Ottawa, 3;Bethany at KWU, 5; Tabor at Friends, 5; Bethel atSouthwestern, 5; Sterling at McPherson, 5. 16 —Sterling at Bethany, 5; KWU at Tabor, 6; Ottawa atFriends, 6; McPherson at Bethel, 6; Saint Mary atSouthwestern, 6. 19 — Bethel at Saint Mary, 5; Betha-ny at McPherson, 5; Tabor at Sterling, 5; Southwesternat Friends, 5; KWU at Ottawa, 5. 23 — Bethany atBethel, 6; McPherson at Tabor, 6; Friends at Saint Ma-ry, 6; Southwestern at KWU, 6. 24 — Sterling at Otta-wa, 6. 26 — Saint Mary at KWU, 2; Tabor at Bethany,5; Bethel at Friends, 5; Sterling at Southwestern, 5;Ottawa at McPherson, 5. 28 — Hillsdale Free WillBaptist at Saint Mary, 3:30. 31 — Ottawa at Bethany,6; Bethel at Tabor, 6; KWU at Friends, 6; Saint Mary atSterling, 6; Southwestern at McPherson, 6.

February2 — Tabor at Ottawa, 3; Bethany at Southwestern, 5;Friends at Sterling, 5; Bethel at KWU, 5; McPherson atSaint Mary, 5. 7 — Saint Mary at Bethany, 6; Tabor atSouthwestern, 6; McPherson at Friends, 6; Sterling atKWU, 6; Bethel at Ottawa, 6. 9 — Bethany at Friends,5; Saint Mary at Tabor, 5; KWU at McPherson 5; Ster-ling at Bethel, 5; Ottawa at Southwestern, 5. 14 —KWU at Bethany, 6; Friends at Tabor, 6; Southwesternat Bethel, 6; Ottawa at Saint Mary, 6; McPherson atSterling, 6. 16 — Friends at Ottawa, 4; Bethany atSterling, 5; Tabor at KWU, 5; Bethel at McPherson, 5;Southwestern at Saint Mary, 5. 20-25 — KCAC Tour-nament at campus sites for two rounds, Hartman Are-na for final.

KCAC SCHEDULES

Men

ButlerCoach: Mike Bargen, 89-61 in

five seasons2011-12: 10-20, 4-12 Jay-

hawk WestOutlook: Last year’s 4-12

mark in the Jayhawk West wasBargen’s worst since his firstseason, and the Grizzlies havefinished below .500 in leagueplay the last two seasons. TheGrizzlies have 12 freshmen andthree sophomores, led by6-foot-6 sophomore guard-forward Sean Osler, a Cheneyproduct. Osler averaged 10.7points, 3.9 rebounds and shot83.8 percent from the free-throwline as a freshman. Fellow soph-omore Ja’ln Williams led Butlerin assists (57) and turnovers(89) as a freshman.

CowleyCoach: Tommy DeSalme,

70-29 in three seasons2011-12: 24-10, 11-7Outlook: Sophomore shoot-

ing guard James Milliken aver-aged 17 points on his way tobeing Jayhawk East freshman ofthe year and second-team All-Jayhawk East. Milliken (6-foot-2)is a dynamic scorer and shouldbenefit from the addition of 6-5point guard Ben Vozzola, whotransferred to Cowley from theUniversity of San Diego in Janu-ary. The Tigers haven’t won theRegion VI title since 1957.

HutchinsonCoach: Steve Eck, 78-20 in

three seasons2011-12: 25-7, 11-5Outlook: The Blue Dragons

return one of the nation’s bestbig men — 6-9 sophomore for-ward Alex Davis, who has al-ready committed to Penn State.Davis averaged 11.1 points, 5.9rebounds and 1.9 blocks eventhough foul trouble was a recur-ring issue. Eck brings in UTEPtransfer D’Von Campbell toshore up the Hutchinson back-court, which already has 6-3sophomore Rozell Nunn (6.3points). The Blue Dragons,

picked second in the JayhawkWest, are No. 13 nationally inthe preseason.

WomenButler

Coach: Mike Helmer, 56-60 infour seasons

2011-12: 8-14, 6-10Outlook: Butler will need

sophomore guard Jamillah Bon-ner, a Wichita Southeast prod-uct, to continue doing the thingsshe does well — 16.6 points, 7.9rebounds, 2.8 steals — and hopeshe’s improved on the bad.Bonner led the Grizzlies with108 turnovers and shot 63percent from the free-throw line,but had almost no scoring helpas Butler’s second-highestscorer averaged 4.8 points.Helmer has managed a winningrecord in the Jayhawk Westonce, when he went 9-7 in2010-11.

CowleyCoach: Todd Clark, 182-75 in

eight seasons2011-12: 22-10, 12-6Outlook: The Tigers are the

preseason favorite in the Jay-hawk East behind the strength ofseven returners, including 6-1forward Brittany Bush, the topreturning scorer (8.1 points) andrebounder (5.7 rebounds).Bush’s frontcourt mate, 6-footsophomore Montia Johnson (7.5points, 5.3 rebounds) also re-turns.

HutchinsonCoach: John Ontjes, 150-22

in five seasons2011-12: 36-1, 16-0Outlook: Hutchinson’s only

loss last season was in theNJCAA Division I championshipgame to Trinity Valley, and theylost all five starters. The BlueDragons are ranked No. 6 in thepreseason despite being pickedthird in the Jayhawk West.Ontjes has a pair of transferswho should help right away, 5-8guard Chrisstasia Walters (Ar-kansas) and 6-foot forwardStacy Mgbike (Missouri West-ern).

A LOOK AT THEJAYHAWK CONFERENCE

ARKANSAS CITY — Insidetiny W.S. Scott Auditorium,there are already epic battlesgoing on when the CowleyCollege men’s basketballteam gathers for practice.

In backcourt drills, 6-foot-5point guard Ben Vozzola, atransfer from the Universityof San Diego, is pushing 6-2sophomore shooting guardJames Milliken, a prolificscorer and last season’s Jay-hawk East freshman of theyear.

Under the basket, the com-petition is fierce between atrio of big men who all haveaspirations to land at a Divi-sion I schools — 6-6 redshirtfreshman Rayshaun McGrew,6-8 sophomore Curtis Evansand 6-8 sophomore Domi-nique McKoy, a transfer fromRhode Island.

None of them deny thingsalready seemed ratcheted upearly in the season, and eachof them cite a 55-year

drought of Region VI titles asthe reason why.

“It’s the thing that drivesme, every day, that drives theplayers,” Cowley coach Tom-my DeSalme said. “We wantto do something for thisschool and this community,for the people that come outand make basketball such animportant part of this town.”

It’s a goal that changesslightly this year with theNJCAA Division I tourna-ment’s new format of allow-ing at-large teams opposed to

one team out of each region,but DeSalme and his coach-ing staff have put together ateam that seems primed tomake an impact on the na-tional level.

Vozzola, a Las Vegas native,redshirted at San Diego twoyears ago and only played inthree games last season be-fore transferring to Cowley inJanuary.

“Coming in January helpedme adjust, comfort-wise, andalso adjust to the juco style ofplay,” said Vozzola, who has

an offer from WashingtonState and is being recruitedby Nevada, Colorado, PennState, Tulsa, Oklahoma Stateand Iowa. “I like to create forothers and get my teammatesinvolved first ... scoring cancome for me later.”

Milliken already has offersfrom Bradley, Southern Illi-nois and Murray State andaveraged 17 points last sea-son .

He and Vozzola were bothtop 100 players this summerat Jerry Mullen’s junior-col-lege camp.

“(Region VI) is somethingwe talk about every day,”Milliken said. “We talk aboutit before practice, after prac-tice and even when we’re justhanging out. It’s alwaysthere.”

Evans averaged 8.5 pointsand 5.5 rebounds last seasonas the Tigers lost to SewardCounty in the Region VI final.

“We have a great opportu-nity here if we all come to-gether, which we’ve beendoing,” Evans said.

Cowley stockpiles the talentBY TONY ADAMEThe Wichita Eagle

Jaime Green/The Wichita EagleCowley County players Dominique McKoy, RayshaunMcGrew, Ben Vozzola, James Milliken and Curtis Evans.

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