Power shift on the Plains?

It's been an eventful week for the Kansas sports fan. I'll start with the good news and move on from there. Please, no evolution jokes.

Kansas defeats Nebraska
I can't tell you how unfair life is. I've sat through several horrific KU games against Nebraska. The first that I recall was 1993 in Lawrence. That's when I learned two important lessons. First, Nebraska has much better football fans than Kansas. I was shocked that there were so many Cornhusker fans. Second, Kansas hadn't beaten Nebraska since 1968, that seminal year. My hopes for a victory were somewhat dampened by my father's quizical look and my mother's laughter in reaction to my expression of said hope.

Perhaps it was my youthful exuberance that carried the Jayhawks that day, as we led much of the day behind solid defense and the hard-nosed running of June Henley. A touchdown as time wound down put the score at Nebraska 21 KU 20. It those days we didn't need no stinking overtime, so the extra-point would have given us a tie. Regardless, needing the victory to keep any hope of a bowl alive, Glenn Mason went for two, but forgot to have Henley on the field. Allegedly this confused the Huskers, but one of those confused defenders was in perfect position to knock down the pass attempt and perserve the Husker victory. That team was undefeated and went to the Orange Bowl, where they missed a field goal at the end of the game and lost to Florida State 18-16, thus narrowly missing an undefeated championship season.

Then there was the next home game in 1995, with Kansas coming in ranked in the top ten and with one loss. I was hopefull that day, but Nebraska brought a professional team in and murdered us. Of course, that team went on to win their second national championship in a row behind Tommie Frazier (still the best college player I've ever seen).

Halloween 1999 I was a sophomore at KU. There was a keg at 916 Illinois (the official Thompson Lawrence residence) and life was good as Kansas led much of the game. But of course, we lost. I was young and drunk anyway.

Why is life unfair? I fly to Kansas to see a big upset, but which game did I choose? KU-OU. Bad decision.

Still, I'm extremely happy about the victory. It was more appropriate this year, as it was not such an upset as an indication that our program is passing Nebraska's, at least for the moment. It sets up a home game with Iowas State in the final weekend of the season that could give KU its sixth win - making Mangino's team bowl-eligble for the second time in three years (I'm ceding this weekend's game with Texas).

Basketball season starts
We lost to Bucknell. In the first round. JR Giddens got in a brawl, was stabbed, and charged with assault and battery. It's been a bad year for the Kansas basketball team.

When they finally tipped off against Fort Hayes State (the 51st state), it finally gives the good people of Kansas something else to talk about. I'm not going to analyze the game as I didn't see it, and it was an exhibition against a division II team. I'll hold off until after the Maui Invitational, when we'll face Arizona and then either Arkansas or Connecticut, all of which will be broadcast on ESPN. I'll then be able to give a more informed opinion.

Here's what I think we'll need for a successful season:

Jeff Hawkins (Senior)/Russell Robinson (Sophomore)/Mario Chalmers (Freshman) - these will be our primary ball handlers. They'll need to be solid on defense and keep our turnovers down. With such a young team we'll need our guards to be smart and efficient - these guys are the key to keeping our offense somewhat effective. I think they'll need to score about 20 points a game between them and around ten assists and less than five turnovers. Hawkins and Chalmers must also provide us with outside shooting. Hawkins is money from the outside against private Christian schools in Texas (5-7 3-pt fgs @ TCU in 03, 5-5 @ Baylor 04), but has yet to show it consistently elsewhere. And Chalmers is a freshman.

CJ Giles (Sophomore)/Sasha Kaun (Sophomore)/Christian Moody (Senior) - Don't think we'll see Moody as much this year as last with the improvement (hopefully) of the two sophomore big men. I think we're going to need 25 ppg and over 10 rebounds combined from this group to be effective. I also don't know about their passing; turnovers could be a concern here.

Brandon Rush - this freshman will have to be effective for us. He's going to be the third ball-handler when he's on the court and will be key for KU to be able break the press against high-pressure teams like Oklahoma. We're also going to need rebounding from him at the three - maybe around 5 a game. If he can score around 10 as well I'd say he had a succesful season. Ideally, he'll be able to grab boards and start the break himself.

Everyone else -
Freshman Julian Wright needs to give us minutes off the bench as the power forward, or possibly as a starter. I don't think we need his scoring - but we need him to not turn the ball over, pass, and rebound. Micah Downs, also a freshman, will have to give us some outside shooting off the bench. I don't see anyone else playing significant minutes. That gives us a rotation of nine players - somebody may drop off as the year goes on.

Priest Holmes out for the year
For the third time in the past four years, Holmes is shutting it down early. Here's the brightside: it's early and we have time to adjust. Keep repeating: Larry Johnson. Here's where that draft pick pays off. I think he give us enough that I'm not going to change my predictions of a 10-6 record and a wildcard spot. The bigger concern injury-wise is the status of tackle Willie Roaf and corner Patrick Surtain, both listed as questionable for this week's game with the Bills. Roaf is KC's best offensive lineman and perhaps their best offensive player - we can't be successful with Jordan Black protecting Trent Green's backside. Surtain is our best cover man - he simply has to be there for our blitzing defense to have any success.
I have a feeling that the Priest Holmes era is over. We'll see how it goes...