Jayhawks

by John Boyd All four of the Final Four teams hit the court for "open practice" in San Antonio Friday.  You can watch post-practice news conferences using the link below. Watch the News Conferences (free registration required) To get to the news conference, click on the "Basketball" logo at the top of the pop-up window, then select the news conference you want to watch. Also, don't miss our Jayhawks at the Alamo special report tonight at 6:30 on KWCH, then again at 10:30 on the Kansas CW.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Expect at least a few chants of "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" to bounce off the Statehouse rotunda this week. On Friday, legislators and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will honor the University of Kansas football and basketball teams for their accomplishments. Men's basketball coach Bill Self will bring members of his national championship team to Topeka. The Jayhawks won their first title since 1988, beating Memphis in overtime, 75-68. Kansas finished the season 37-3.

Power forward Zach Peters has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Kansas, head coach Bill Self announced Tuesday. Peters signed his papers at a ceremony with family and friends at his home in Plano, Texas, Monday night, Nov. 14. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Peters verbally committed to KU in April 2010, following his sophomore year at Prestonwood Christian Academy. “Zach's big. He's a legit 6-9, 240-pound high school senior that can really shoot the basketball,” Self said.

Kansas got the best of 'ol Roy and his Tar Heels once again.     Behind the impassioned play of Travis Releford and Jeff Withey, the top-seeded Jayhawks shook themselves out of a first-half slumber and blitzed No. 8 seed North Carolina down the stretch for a 70-58 victory Sunday in the third round of the NCAA tournament.     Withey had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Releford finished with 22 points for the Jayhawks (31-5), who also knocked former coach Roy Williams' team out of the NCAA tournament during their 2008 title run and again last season, when Kansas marched all the way to the Final Four.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Top-seeded Kansas ran off to an 85-61 victory over a Portland State team that was making its first NCAA tournament appearance. Brandon Rush led the Jayhawks with 18. Kansas will play UNLV next. The Rebels got 18 points, including four 3-pointers from Joe Darger in a 71-58 thrashing of Kent State. UNLV tied an NCAA tournament record by holding the Golden Flashes to just 10 points in the first half. Third-seed Wisconsin shook off pesky Cal State Fullerton 71-55.

Kansas football wrapped up its 12th preseason practice with a nearly one and one-half hour scrimmage at Memorial Stadium Saturday night. "I thought there was a little bit of sloppiness on our offense," Gill said afterwards. "We had some unforced errors - jumping offside and not lining up and things of those nature. There were some big hits on defense. There was a mix of good things, which is good for a head coach. There wasn't one side totally dominating the other so I feel like we made some improvement, but we need to continue to work hard.

It seemed like the gap between the KU and K-State programs had closed after the 2009-10 season and with K-State beginning this season as a pre-season top three team in the country. But following a 90-66 Jayhawk drubbing to K-State, it seems like the gap has grown wider. KU (20-1) was good in the first half, great in the second half and the Wildcats (14-8) were simply bad. Shooting only 33 percent from the floor, a dismal 19 percent in the first half. This game was a cathartic release for Kansas and especially Thomas Robinson who endured a terribly tragic three weeks where he lost both his grandparents and his mother, Lisa, and attended her funeral on Thursday.

by Richard Smith DETROIT, MI - Good evening from the Motor City - Detroit Michigan, and from Ford Field in downtown - the home of the Detroit lions and the place the Jayhawks are hoping will remain their home for the next four days. KU of course takes on Villanova here tomorrow night in a Sweet 16 matchup. That game will be preceded by Wisconsin and Davidson. All four teams getting about fifty minutes worth of practice time on this floor today - a floor that is somewhat uniquely designed for basketball.

by Richard Smith 10:55pm Jayhawks win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Final Score: 24-21. No defensive stand necessary. KU successfully runs out the clock, and the Hokies never get the opportunity to make it interesting by driving for the win. Assuming Mark Mangino was starting to sweat it out a little at the end, it's probably not an issue now. He got a nice gatorade bath courtesy of his players. 10:45pm Not so fast! Virginia Tech drives 78 yards for a touchdown with three minutes left.

The top recruit in the nation, and the brother of a Wichita State basketball player has made his choice for college next season, and it's in the state of Kansas, but not where Shocker fans had hoped. Andrew Wiggins announced this morning he will be a Jayhawk next season. Andrew's brother Nick is a senior-to-be for Wichita State, but the Shockers were considered a long-shot at best to get the top-rated younger brother. For the University of Kansas, this is a big win, as the Jayhawks are looking to replace their top five scorers from last season.

Former Kansas Jayhawk quarterback Dayne Crist still has a chance to make an NFL roster.  Crist has signed a free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens.  Here is the school's full release on Crist: Former Kansas quarterback Dayne Crist signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens Wednesday. Crist, who attended mini-camp over the weekend with the Kansas City Chiefs, will join the Super Bowl Champion Ravens immediately for organized team activities (OTAs).

The top recruit in the nation, and the brother of a Wichita State basketball player has made his choice for college next season, and it's in the state of Kansas, but not where Shocker fans had hoped. Andrew Wiggins announced this morning he will be a Jayhawk next season. Andrew's brother Nick is a senior-to-be for Wichita State, but the Shockers were considered a long-shot at best to get the top-rated younger brother. For the University of Kansas, this is a big win, as the Jayhawks are looking to replace their top five scorers from last season.

A Dodge City native is now a part of the coaching staff at the University of Kansas.  Kale Pick was recruited as a quarterback for the Jayhawks but ended up playing wide receiver. Here is the full release from the University Athletic Department: Kale Pick, a recently graduated Kansas wide receiver, has traded in his cleats for a whistle as head coach Charlie Weis announced Monday Pick is joining the Jayhawk staff as a graduate assistant for offense. In his new role Pick will work closely with the KU wide receivers and assistant coach Rob Ianello.

Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis sent out a release Monday afternoon saying that a member of the Jayhawks' football team will be suspended for the first three games of the upcoming season.  Here is the complete release from the Kansas athletics department:   Kansas head football coach Charlie Weis announced Monday morning that senior tight end Nick Sizemore has been suspended for the first three games of the 2013 season for...

Wichita State, The University of Kansas and Kansas State University all ranked in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll. The Shockers ranked Fourth, just behind Louisville, Michigan and Syracuse. The Jayhawks ranked Eighth and the Wildcats ranked 20th in the list of 25. You can check the entire list here: AP Coaches Poll

Bill Self is a very matter of fact coach, very candid.  So when Kansas lost to Michigan, after holding a 12 point lead with just under 4 minutes left in regulation, Self was the one to go to in order to understand just what happened. "Who we are is not how we played," lamented Self.  He's exactly right.  Kansas led the nation in field goal defense going into this game and somehow allowed Michigan to shoot nearly 50% from the field.  Most of that coming late in the second half and in overtime!

As if having the name Kansas across the front of your jersey isn't pressure enough, there are three members of the KU basketball team whose name on the back of the jersey brings with it just as much pressure. Manning, Self and Roberts are all names Jayhawk fans know well. But Evan Manning, Tyler Self and Niko Roberts are the next generation of KU basketball. "He has always kind of been coach, but at home he's more dad then a coach," sayd Tyler Self, who plays for the Jayhawks and whose father is head coach Bill Self.

Traffic in Dallas delayed the arrival of the Jayhawks a bit, but they are now at their team hotel. The team arrived around six Wednesday evening. They're now gearing up for their game Friday against Michigan. The game is in Arlington, but the NCAA is calling the area North Texas.  It's about 20 minutes from the hotel in Dallas. Coach Bill Self says he's glad they were in Kansas City for the first round and had some time to go home.  He says the players got to go to school for a couple of days and relax in their own space before hitting the road again.

Kansas basketball owns North Carolina. Or, you know, Roy Williams. The past three times the two opponents have met, Kansas has won them all. To rub some salt, all three Kansas victories have been in the tournament. Kansas added its third consecutive win over Williams and the Tar Heels Sunday in Kansas City 70-58. It was almost one year ago to the day that Kansas took down the Tar Heels 80-67 in the Edward Jones Dome on the other side of Missouri in St. Louis. In 2008 Kansas beat Roy Williams in the Final Four and went on to win the national championship.

Kansas got the best of 'ol Roy and his Tar Heels once again. Behind the impassioned play of Travis Releford and Jeff Withey, the top-seeded Jayhawks shook themselves out of a first-half slumber and blitzed No. 8 seed North Carolina down the stretch for a 70-58 victory Sunday in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Withey had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Releford finished with 22 points for the Jayhawks (31-5), who also knocked former coach Roy Williams' team out of the NCAA tournament during their 2008 title run and again last season, when Kansas marched all the way to the Final Four.