February 14: News Headlines Digest
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Also see our Daily Threads, February 14, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 13, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 13 #### ###Please add stories here###
###No Jo Jo vs. TCU###
##**WTF: **house committee rejects KUs request for basketball players apartments##
###**Bedore: **Jayhawks: Embiid definitely ‘beat up’###
Brannen Greene disagrees with those who say some of Kansas University’s first-year players, including center Joel Embiid, have hit the fabled “freshman wall.”
“Joel has had a great freshman year. So has Wiggs (Andrew Wiggins), Wayne (Selden). All of us have had a pretty good freshman year. I’d say he’s just a little beat up. He’s got to get into rehab and get healthy,” Greene, KU’s freshman wing from Juliette, Ga., said Thursday.
###Pollard says of Jayhawkers: I’m a history guy and it made me think###
“This isn’t just a basketball film,” Pollard, the former Kansas and NBA big man-turned-pundit/producer/actor, tells FOXSportsKansasCity.com. “(It’s) mostly a movie about Wilt Chamberlain and (ex-KU coach) Phog Allen. Not just because (Wilt) was the greatest basketball player of all time, not just because he was the greatest prize to have, (but) also because he was black (in the 1950s).”
####Feinkelstein: ESPN insider story: Recruiting needs change for these five####
Original plan: Bill Self came into the 2014 recruiting class expecting to have to replace as many as three one-and-done freshmen in Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Wayne Selden. Wiggins was, of course, widely expected to be the consensus top pick in the draft, while both Embiid and Selden were projected to be in the lottery mix.
Recent developments: Embiid has unexpectedly asserted himself atop the nation’s freshman class, rising to the top of both mock drafts and the big board. He is actually entertaining a return to Kansas, according to Dana O’Neil, and his most recent struggles might only lend more weight to that possibility. While Wiggins is still a virtual lock to be playing in the NBA next season, Selden is less certain now that he projects more towards the late first round than the lottery.
####CBS: Kansas Has Played Toughest NCAA Schedule Of Any School Over Past 20 Years####
###### Also see our Daily Threads, February 14, and the News Digest for Yesterday, February 13, as well as Daily Threads for Yesterday, February 13
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##Self says Jamari Traylor will play Saturday##
By LJW Staff Reports
Kansas University red-shirt sophomore forward Jamari Traylor will play in Saturday’s KU-TCU game, coach Bill Self said on Thursday night.
Traylor, 6-8, 220 from Chicago, was held out of Monday’s loss at Kansas State because of disciplinary reasons.
Self, who met with Traylor before practice on Thursday, had no comment on the matter Thursday night except to say Traylor would play.
Game time for Saturday’s KU-TCU game is 3 p.m.
##THIS AND THAT##
Midseason list: Embiid and Wiggins have been named to the list of 30 candidates for the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. Other Big 12 players on list: Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane, Marcus Smart.
**Tyler has surgery: **KU sophomore Tyler Self had foot surgery Wednesday and will be sidelined four to six months, Bill Self said, noting the surgery was to fuse bones in his son’s foot. Tyler tore ligaments in the top of his foot in October. He will red-shirt this season.
Recruiting: JaQuan Lyle, a 6-5 combo guard from Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, will attend the Feb. 24 KU-Oklahoma game as part of an official recruiting visit, Zagsblog.com reports. He’s considering KU, Providence, Oregon, Oklahoma State, UConn and Memphis. He’s ranked No. 22 in the Class of 2014 by Rivals.com.
NBA players in house: Self said he wasn’t sure which of KU’s players in the NBA would attend the TCU game. It’s believed Nick Collison of the OKC Thunder will be in the stands.
Self on former KU coach Larry Brown’s SMU team being ranked: “I think it’s awesome to see where they’ve been and to see the interest level and the new arena and bringing college basketball excitement back to the metroplex I think is really cool. And to be ranked and everything, that’s quite an accomplishment in a short amount of time. Of course, everybody that knows him knows that it would happen.”
##Get Well Tyler.##
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##TCU Horned Frogs take on their game vs. KU##
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU will hit the road Saturday to face No. 7 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The Horned Frogs’ contest against the Jayhawks will tip at 3:00 p.m. CT and be shown live on the Big 12 Network with Dave Armstrong (Play-By-Play) and Chris Piper (Color) calling the action live.
Fans not able to attend the contest against Kansas can follow it live on FrogVision. The radio broadcast is available by going to the men’s basketball schedule and clicking on the listen live icon located on the right side of the page. Brian Estridge (Play-By-Play) and John Denton (Color) will be on the airwaves.
The Opponent No. 7 Kansas comes into this weekend fresh off an 85-82 overtime loss to Kansas State Monday. Against the Wildcats, the Jayhawks, who are 18-6 overall and 9-2 in the Big 12, used a 10-1 run in the final 1:53 to force overtime, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Individually, guard Andrew Wiggins and center Joel Embiid have been named to the list of top 30 candidates for the 2014 Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year award. Wiggins is averaging 16.0 points per game, while Embiid is also in double-figures with 10.7 points a contest and 7.8 boards a game.
The Series The two conference foes will battle for the eighth time in program history Saturday. Kansas currently leads the all-time series, 6-1, but the Horned Frogs claimed a 62-55 victory over KU at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in 2013.
Johnson’s Number Going into Saturday, TCU head coach Trent Johnson is 2-2 in his head-coaching career against Kansas. Prior to last season’s home victory, his only other win over the Jayhawks came with Nevada on Dec. 21, 2003, which ended in a 75-61 home Wolf Pack decision.
The Dynamic Duo Heading into Saturday, junior’s Kyan Anderson and Amric Fields have formed quite the tandem during conference play on the offensive end. The duo have scored 326 of TCU’s 650 points, which is 50 percent of the Purple and White’s scoring in league play. Anderson and Fields have also dished out 55 percent (68-of-124) of TCU’s assists in conference action.
Staggering Numbers Of the 16 players listed on the 2013-14 roster, only four in Kyan Anderson, Jarvis Ray, Brandon Parrish and Christian Gore have played in every game this season. Nationally, TCU’s depletion is not like any seen as only Georgia Tech, Loyola Marymount and UC Santa Barbara have had four or more student-athletes questionable for games the last couple of weeks.
TCU Headlines • TCU is 15-4 when leading at the half under head coach Trent Johnson. • TCU is 7-3 this season when leading at the half. • TCU is 4-1 this season when Karviar Shepherd grabs double-digit rebounds. • TCU has led at the half in two out of its last four conference games. • TCU has now held 11 opponents to 65 points or less this season. • TCU has now held 14 of its 23 opponents to under 70 points. • TCU has now held six out of the last 15 opponents to 39 percent or below. • TCU will face its eighth ranked opponent in 11 games Saturday. • Kyan Anderson posted a season-high with 29 points Wednesday versus Baylor. • By scoring 27 points at Iowa State, Anderson became only the 32nd TCU player all-time to score 1,000 points for his career. • Anderson now has eight 20-point games this season. He now has 14 20-point games in his three-year career. • Amric Fields led TCU in rebounding for a fifth-straight contest Wednesday. • Fields scored in double-figures for a 13th time in 16 games this season against Baylor.
Making It Count In the four games this month, junior Kyan Anderson is averaging 22.5 points per game, which is over six more points a contest than what he has done for the season. The junior, who has also dished out 5.5 assists per game during the month, has only missed one free throw the entire month, going 24-of-25 (.960). He has posted back-to-back games of 27 and 29 points against Iowa State and Baylor, respectively, while scoring 20 or more points in three out of the four contests.
Anderson’s Production Broken Down Kyan Anderson leads TCU this season, averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game. When breaking it down even further though, Anderson is averaging over a point per possession. Possessions are figured by field goals attempted, free throws attempted and total number of turnovers. The Fort Worth native has also dished out a total of 44 assists in the last nine games.
Playing The Best TCU has faced eight ranked opponents in the last 11 games, which includes three games against an opponent ranked in the top-10 in one of the national polls.
Joining The Club Junior Kyan Anderson became only the 32nd TCU player all-time to score 1,000 points in his career this season. The Fort Worth native, who has tallied 1,001 points during his three-year career, scored 27 points at Iowa State to hit the 1,000-point club. In recent years, only former Frog Ronnie Moss has scored more points after 80-plus games then Anderson. Moss totaled 1,095 in 82 games between 2008-2011.
Common Trends During the last 21 games, the Frogs have posted 10 or more assists in 15 of the 21 games. The only six games in which the Purple and White haven’t shared the rock over 10 times came in their losses to Harvard (8), Oklahoma State (5), Texas Tech (4), Oklahoma (8), Texas Tech (9) and in a victory at Mississippi State (7).
TCU has held all but nine opponents to 71 points or less, including 11 foes to 65 points or fewer. The Horned Frogs have also allowed only Longwood, K-State, Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor to shoot over 50 percent, holding six out of the last 15 opponents to below or at 39 percent.
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Happy Valentines to my true love …Jayhawk basketball. If my other love is reading this, you will be my true love again hopefully sometime in early April. If it happens in March I will be grumpy for a few weeks, just like every year besides 1988 and 2008.
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@approxinfinity here’s a link to a story I found on the KU movie from MSN. Hope it works, Im still trying to figure out how to imbed links in my posts :
Dammit, I don’t know how to make the link clickable. Sorry guys, its a good story though, check it out!
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This post is deleted!
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@wissoxfan83 lol; copy and paste. Sounds exactly like my marriage.
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@wissoxfan83 You know what, I was disappointed in '12 when we lost to UK in the title game. But I was extremely proud of our boys in blue for being the toughest team in the country. In my head we got the moral victory. It was also funny to hear about KU fans in Lawrence pulling down the Kentucky street signs.
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@wissoxfan83
Gutsy call, my friend!
I have to go the political road here… and donate 100% of my Valentine love to my wife!
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Lulu it’s really very simple. Go to “how this site works” and read how to imbed link.
I would just tell you but then you may not know where to find other great and useful information.
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@Lulufulu85 True Lulu, I was thrilled to be able to attend that game. It was my first sighting of Jayhawks in action since I graduated in 88 and frankly, even though we lost, it was a great experience and memory.
@drgnslayr I’m banking on her not ever visiting this site!
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@wissoxfan83
Just play it safe and add a
!
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Of course, on Valentine’s day, thinking about my wife…I think about her birthday, April 7. I then, of course, think back to April 7, 2008…
Maybe this April 7 could be something special for KU again? (If they figure out things on the defensive end, and regarding consistency of effort & intensity…there is still time.)
RCJH
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@RockChalkinTexas What is TCU’s record at the half when they’re trailing by 30 points?
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Hey-- just want to commend all the folks that contributed to the links on this thread… They are from myriad sources and they are terrific! The CBS story about our SOS is especially interesting.
TCU is going to get an angry team that is focused tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it!
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@KUSTEVE Hilarious! Also, a more relevant question!
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@bskeet Thanks for knocking it out day in and day out!
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@bskeet agreed about the diversity of stories people added here. Great stuff!
Also enjoyed the V Day jokes. Even if everyone was completely serious.
