Dedric Lawson easily could have passed for an NBA veteran Tuesday night, stopping by his perennial powerhouse school, giving teenagers the thrill of running with them as he treats them as equals. He knows shortcuts most do not learn until they seek means of compensating for barking knees. He’s never in a hurry, yet always on time. He’s not necessarily as fast getting up and down the court, or as quick ...
The better the long snapper, the less likely anybody is to recognize his name. He is to football what the third-base coach is to baseball. In both jobs, he only merits mention if he screws up. John Wirtel has a realistic shot of having the longest NFL career of any senior on the Kansas football roster, yet is one of the Jayhawks’ most anonymous players. NFL scouts aren’t just watching defensive lineman ...
The day before Kansas played Emporia State at Allen Fieldhouse in the exhibition opener, coach Bill Self spoke in interesting fashion about the contrasting styles of his two tallest starters, Udoka Azubuike and Dedric Lawson. “We’ve got the past and the future,” Self said. Prototypical centers of a bygone era stayed close to the block and powered their way to points and rebounds. Today’s big men are ...
Kansas has the better basketball program, Kansas State the superior football team. It’s been that way nearly every year for more than a quarter of a century. At the moment though, it’s a tough call in both sports. Kansas is No. 1 in the nation in basketball, but with so many new faces and such a young backcourt, it could be a while before the Jayhawks justify that forecast. Meanwhile, Kansas State, ...
1 - Pooka Williams: Has become great weapon in passing game. Caught seven passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 33 yards on 11 carries and had 41 yards on two kick returns. 2 - Peyton Bender: Had a terrific second half, scrambling to extend a play that resulted in a touchdown pass and running for 12 yards on third and 11. Completed 19 of 29 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. 3 - Joe ...
If he had it to do over again, Kansas senior quarterback Peyton Bender would have thrown his intentional-safety pass with his back to the field higher so that time would have elapsed, instead of leaving one long second on the game clock. How long was that last second? Game 3 of the World Series long. One bad kick later, the final second could have cost Kansas the game if a TCU player had fielded it on one knee ...