Wednesday, March 14, 2007
The departure of 2006 All-Big 12 nominees Crystal Kemp and Erica Hallman left Kansas with unanswered questions heading into this season.
As Kansas (11-20, 4-12) played its first few non-conference games, the focus was squarely on the incoming freshmen, one of the program’s best recruiting classes. Guard Kelly Kohn and forward Sade Morris were the freshmen who made the most immediate impact.
Kohn began the season in the starting lineup and asserted herself as a force on the offensive end. Kohn showed the versatility to create opportunities for her teammates as a point guard or to score as the team’s shooting guard. Kohn averaged 10 points per game in nonconference play, tallying a career-high 23 against Northern Illinois.
Morris also started the season in the starting lineup and jumped out to a quick start in the scoring column. Morris scored 14 points at Creighton and notched a career-high 15 against Northern Illinois.
As many freshmen do, Kohn and Morris seemingly hit a wall once conference play began. During a four game stretch in January and February, Kohn averaged six points per game on 7-for-32 shooting. This same period of time saw Morris relegated to the bench because of tentative and erratic offensive play. She averaged four points per game and only played six minutes per game.
The struggles of Kohn and Morris coincided with the low point of the team as a whole. After losing at Texas A&M on Feb. 3, Kansas was 0-9 in conference play and hidden in the cellar of the Big 12 Conference standings. Although many of the team’s losses occurred in close, hard-fought games, the possibility of not winning a single game during the conference season was brought up in almost any conversation about the Jayhawks.
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At the beginning of the season, we were struggling. We knew it was going to be our time sometime.
-freshman forward Danielle McCray
“At the beginning of the season, we were struggling,” freshman forward Danielle McCray said. “We knew it was going to be our time sometime.”
Luckily for Kansas, Henrickson found some secret weapons hidden at the end of the bench. The unlikely contributors were senior guards Shaquina Mosley and Sharita Smith.
Mosley, the former Junior College Player of the Year, transferred to Kansas before her junior season. Through the first season and a half of her tenure as a Jayhawk, Mosley was never able to turn her exceptional talent into consistently strong performances. This winter, something changed.
The 5-foot-6 guard suddenly transformed into a vocal leader and played well enough to earn All-Big 12 Second Team honors. In Big 12 regular season games, Mosley averaged 15 points, six rebounds and four assists.
“A lot of people asked me if I regretted coming here after last season,” Mosley said. “I don’t regret it one bit. It’s only going to make me a better person.”
Smith, the team’s lone holdover from coach Marian Washington’s era, began the season as a seldom-used reserve used to bolster the Jayhawk defense. By mid-January, she had forced her way into the starting lineup where she showcased her airtight defense and leadership skills.
Smith’s contributions rarely showed up on the stat sheet, but she shut down nearly every opponent she guarded and gained notoriety around the conference as a relentless competitor.
When Mosley and Smith sparked the team, it seemed to energize Kohn and the other freshmen. With all of its parts working together in unison, Kansas became a finely tuned defensive machine. The Jayhawks won five of their final nine games and managed to escape the bottom of the standings and upset a NCAA tournament bound Oklahoma State team in the first round of the conference tournament.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Henrickson said. “I think we were able to build some momentum down the stretch.”
With the departure of Mosley and Smith, many questions surround the Jayhawks.
Will freshman forward Danielle McCray fulfill her All-Big 12 potential? Will Henrickson be able to recruit a capable post player? Will Kohn fine-tune her jump shot enough to one day become the Big 12 scoring leader?
More than likely there will be a whole new set of questions with every passing month. If the past is any indication, the answers could be found in some unexpected places.
Kansan sportswriter Asher Fusco can be contacted at afusco@kansan.com.
— Edited by Stacey Couch
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