Wednesday, December 3, 2008
At halftime against New Orleans on Sunday, Kansas’ players jogged toward the locker room holding a lead. Normally in those situations, players and coaches view the first 20 minutes as, at worst, a minor success.
But facing the Lady Privateers — a team coming off a 30-point loss to Oklahoma State — the Jayhawks’ four-point lead left Kansas wondering why it couldn’t put lesser teams away early in games.
“The true test of maturity would have been to come in here and blow someone out of the water right away,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “My definition of this team being mature is we’re not even in that situation.”
The same scenario unfolded in Kansas’ second game of the season against St. Louis. The Jayhawks led the Billikens by just two points at halftime before pulling away for a 75-56 win. That Kansas let St. Louis — a team picked to finish last in the Atlantic 10 Conference — hang around for so long is alarming.
In both games the Jayhawks failed to establish and sustain a healthy lead in the first half. And as much as the Jayhawks insist that the problem needs to be fixed, nobody can quite pinpoint the root.
“We don’t necessarily underestimate teams, but we don’t come out and smell blood,” junior guard LaChelda Jacobs said. “It’s going to affect us in the Big 12 if we don’t have that mentality.”
But Kansas is worrying about its lack of killer instinct early in games sooner rather than later.
Tomorrow Kansas faces San Jose State, who — on paper — is another team the Jayhawks should handle with relative ease. Last year, however, the Spartans nearly knocked off the Jayhawks. San Jose State finished the season 3-28.
“I’ve challenged them and called them out on it, but I don’t know,” Henrickson said. “I don’t see the commitment to sit down and work like that day.”
“That day” was when Kansas pulled off an impressive win against Iowa on Nov. 18, happened more than two weeks ago. Yet it’s fair to wonder whether the Jayhawks became satisfied with that win.
Not only has Kansas’ focus wavered in the two games following Iowa, but so has the Jayhawks’ defense — though statistics don’t appear to solidify that claim.
True, the Jayhawks held St. Louis and New Orleans to lower shooting percentages than against Iowa, but they also allowed more easy baskets.
“It’s been back-to-back games driving one-on-one, playing one-on-one,” Henrickson said. “Now we’re not containing very well… at all.”
With tough road games — Marquette on Dec. 7 and UCLA on Dec. 23 — looming on the schedule, the lack of killer instinct is something the Jayhawks need to correct in hurry. And Henrickson plans to make sure of that.
“They’re probably lucky we don’t have a whole week (of practice),” Henrickson said, a sly smile creeping across her face. “They might want to move the game up to (today).”
— — Edited by Scott R. Toland
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