Who's it going to be?

By Jayson Jenks

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Seated in the media room 30 minutes after Kansas handled Fairfield 80-60 last Wednesday, sophomore center Krysten Boogaard struggled to find the right words to describe point guards Ivana Catic and LaChelda Jacobs.

“Ivana is a great point guard and same with LaChelda,” Boogaard said. “…I guess they’re both really good.”

For the past four games, Catic has started in place of Jacobs, who started the first 10 games of the season. But, maybe in searching for the perfect set of words, Boogaard ended up nailing it.

“They both find me,” she said, laughing.

For Catic and Jacobs, finding their teammates without turning the ball over is key. In nonconference play, the Jayhawks finished last of all Big 12 teams in turnover margin, meaning Kansas had the worst turnover differential compared to opponents.

Along the same line, the Jayhawks ranked ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio despite being fourth with 16.2 assists per game.

“(Teams) are going to take those turnovers and convert them into points,” Boogaard said “Some of the teams we’ve played haven’t converted all of them. In the Big 12, they will.”

Simply put, the Jayhawks are forking over too many scoring opportunities each game. Even more alarming is that Kansas is making 46.6 percent of its shots, including 40.8 percent on three-pointers.

But in the last three games, the Jayhawks have found a reliable, though somewhat less flashy, point guard in Catic. A senior, Catic isn’t a threat in transition, and defenses don’t game plan to limit her scoring. But she brings something just as valuable as points: poise and dependability.

“She has that whole, I want to say, experience level,” junior forward Danielle McCray said. “She knows what the coaches want.”

When trying to describe Catic’s performance since entering the starting lineup, coach Bonnie Henrickson recalled a conversation she had with athletic director Lew Perkins.

“Lew and I were talking the other day — she’s playing like a senior,” Henrickson said. “She’s not making a lot of mistakes and doing what she’s supposed to do.”

Jacobs’ speed and scoring ability contrast with the dependable nature of Catic’s game. But during the first 10 games, Jacobs struggled with consistency, which led to turnovers.

Coming off the bench, though, Jacobs has sliced her turnovers down to 1.3 per game while maintaining her assist totals (four assists per game the last four games, 4.8 the previous 10).

“If someone is starting before you and you used to start, you want to work that much harder to get your spot back,” McCray said. “It’s helping her and it’s helping our team.”

And the Jayhawks need it. Through 14 games, Kansas has had more turnovers than assists in eight games. In comparison, Kansas’ opponent last Saturday, Kansas State, has done that only twice in the same number of games.

Even Kansas’ next opponent, Missouri, who is 9-5 with losses to South Dakota State and Holy Cross, has had more turnovers than assists in only six games.

“It has nothing to do with who we’re playing, because we’ve turned it over against everybody,” Henrickson said. “It’s us; it’s our lack of focus. We have to shore that up to win in this league. You can’t give it back to people.”

At Kansas State on Saturday, Kansas committed 20 turnovers and distributed a season-low four assists. Catic and Jacobs combined for zero assists and six turnovers against the Wildcats.

And facing the game-by-game grind of the Big 12, the Jayhawks need more reliable play from the point guard position, regardless of who it comes from.

“We’ll need both of them all year, no matter who starts,” Henrickson said. “We’re going to need to play two point guards.”

— — Edited by Tara Smith

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