Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Ex-Lion thrilled to be a Jayhawk

Junior guard Brennan Bechard more comfortable the second time around

By William Cross

Advertisement

photo

Photo by Thad Allender

Kansas Guards Brady Morningstar, left, and Brennan Bechard both hail from Lawrence, and each is determined to give the other guy all he can handle during KU's practices.

Ask Brady Morningstar about his biggest rival - besides Kansas State and Missouri - and he'll tell you all about Brennan Bechard.

"Oh, man, I go at him when he's guarding me," Morningstar, a Free State High graduate, said of Bechard, a Lawrence High alumnus. "He's a spot-up shooter, man, but if he catches the ball and I'm guarding him, he can't score."

Bechard, a junior on the Kansas University basketball team, begs to differ.

"You're not talking about me, are you?" he asks overhearing Morningstar's comments.

In his second season at KU after spending his freshman year at Barton County Community College, Bechard has developed a reputation in practice as a dead-on perimeter shooter.

The rivalry between the two Lawrence products can be fierce - "We go at it all the time," Bechard says - but when it comes to the Lions vs. the Firebirds, Bechard says there's no contest. At least not on the Allen Fieldhouse court.

"We definitely have an edge," Bechard said of the Lions. "We got coach Manning."

KU assistant coach Danny Manning attended Lawrence High before his All-American career with the Jayhawks.

Bechard wasn't yet 2 years old when Manning led Kansas to the 1988 NCAA title, but he's been a fan as long as he can remember. He attended KU basketball camps as early as the fifth grade and bragged to his grade-school friends about missing class to attend Big Eight tournaments in Kansas City, Mo.

"That was fun," Bechard said. "But being a part of it is definitely a lot more fun. I like this side of it a lot better."

His ties to KU go deeper than fandom. His father, Ray, recently completed his 10th season coaching the KU volleyball team. His sister, Ashley, played on that team from 2001 to 2005.

"This is the best of both worlds," Brennan Bechard said of being part of his childhood dream team as an invited walk-on. "As a fan, you sit back and take it all in. But it's fun to actually see the whole process and be a part of it."

Last season, Bechard played 26 minutes and took three shots, all three-pointers, making one.

So far this season, Bechard has appeared in seven of the Jayhawks' 12 games. He averages two minutes per contest and already has scored nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor. That mark includes a 2-of-5 showing from three-point land.

Bechard's not sure whether he'll get a chance to contribute more from here on out, but he says the best way to get on the court is to give maximum effort in practice.

It helps, he said, that he's far less intimidated in this, his second season, with the Jayhawks.

"It's nice knowing what's going on this time around," he said. "I'm a little more comfortable, so it's a little better this time around."

Comments

jaybate (anonymous) says...

The NCAA ought to institute a walk-on division of play. It would be good for guys with no scholies to get to play games. It could be called the No Ride Leagues. They only play against other No Ride teams. This would be truly amateur basketball. Local channels would begin to televise it. Fans would begin to love it. Most of the players would tend to stay a full four years, so the fans would get to know them. A No Ride team can play only other No Ride teams, whether D1, D2, or NAIA. No Ride teams could even have a National tournament. It would be awesome fun.

December 26, 2007 at 5:10 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

nicka (anonymous) says...

Great idea jaybate, except for the fact that when walk-ons take the court, that is when everyone changes the channel or leaves the fieldhouse. Trust me, its not because the game is a blowout, its because no one wants to watch the scrubs.

JV programs work at some schools, but this "No Ride League", would be better named "Nobody Cares League", or "No Talent A$$ Clowns League", or simply "intramurals".

December 26, 2007 at 8:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

b_asinbeer (anonymous) says...

nicka...think before you speak. Calling our walk-ons "no talent a$$ clowns"???? Sounds like a mizzou fan to me. You are an idiot.

Yes, a lot of people leave before games are over, that's because they are D-Bags. I LOVE watching them play at the end, they deserve all of our support for practicing so hard and yet not playing very much.

December 26, 2007 at 10:34 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

nicka (anonymous) says...

b_asinbyiatch -

Who do you think is cuter....Brad Witherspoon or Connor Teahen? You must have a crush on one of them to actually watch the game when they are in.

To call someone who speaks the truth an "idiot" or "mizzou fan", is just ignorant.

December 26, 2007 at 11 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

i actually enjoy watching our walk-ons play. despite being a walk-on, there's a reason why they made the team. a walk-on on the ku basketball team is a regular contributor at 99% of all other colleges.

December 26, 2007 at 11:18 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Johann Ross) says...

nicka...

I think you are APD masquerading with an alias.

December 26, 2007 at 11:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

93jayhawk (anonymous) says...

Nah, it's just Keegan rehashing his ignorant column from a few weeks ago. ;)

I'm sure flicka is a reasonable, intelligent well-meaning fan of KU Basketball (since 1988)...and KSU football (at least of the Bill Snyder era)...and WSU Baseball...and still trying to figure out if the KU football bandwagon is worth jumping on...I'll bet he's a great guy.

Michael

December 26, 2007 at 11:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

robot (Robin Smith) says...

I have reservations about your mental capacity, nicka, if you believe yourself to have spoken truth.

Please keep your limited thought output to yourself, or if you find that challenging, then refrain from suggesting that others are as simple as you.

The Jayhawk players deserve your respect whether you grant it or not, you inbred, tiger-loving eunuch.

Clearly you feel that both 'Spoon and Teahan are equally cute and you long to be with them, if only you were not so inadequate.

They would see you walking down the street and think, "There goes a no-talent-a$$-clown and sadly he is an inbred, tiger-loving eunuch to boot", but at least they would be sympathetic to your condition.

It is sad when a person looks stupid on a message board. I hope you do better in real life.

Also, ignorant does not mean stupid. Were you trying to prove that you're an idiot?

December 26, 2007 at 11:49 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

DrPepper (anonymous) says...

It is called Division III athletics (no athletic scholarships).

Here is a link to the top 25: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/

December 26, 2007 at 12:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

nicka (anonymous) says...

93jayhawk -

congratulations...one of the 10 dumbest posts i've ever read.
P.S. nicka is going to the Orange Bowl, so the bandwagon must've been worth jumping on!

December 26, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

nicka (anonymous) says...

robot -

ummm...i didn't mean for ignorant to mean stupid, i meant it to mean ignorant. As in, "it was ignorant to call me an idiot because our views of walk-ons differ." you, on the other hand, are a retard. By "retard" I mean "mentally retarded". understood?

December 26, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

nicka (anonymous) says...

JayViking -

This is KU, not 99% of all other schools. If walk-ons want the love, then I would be more than happy to see them go contribute somewhere else. Remember Crider? He was a non-walkon scrub who transferred and still sucked.

December 26, 2007 at 2:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

cstevenday (anonymous) says...

They have a No Ride League. Its called D3. Full of guys who love the game and want to play and py to do it. 30-40K a year to have 250 people watch. Maybe see 3 dunks a year. Very good technical by the book passing and shooting.

December 26, 2007 at 2:54 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Everyone has voiced a respectable opinion, but boys, boys, boys, its the holidays. I didn't mean to trigger any bad blood. I just thought it would be fun for our walk-ons to get to play some games in KU blue vs. Baker, or something.

Happy New Year and rock chalk.

December 26, 2007 at 4:39 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

On another subject entirely...

Does anyone know the etiology of the spelling of "chalk" in rock chalk? I do not and would like to know.

My hypothesis is that rock chalk was what was used on black boards back in the late 19th or early 20th centuries when our estimable chant must have been born.

I have this notion, however errant that it may be, that rock chalk was a symbol of the brainy life of a college student, and that it rhymed with Jayhawk, and so it some how came to be joined in a chant used at all manner of KU events.

If it were entirely a nonsense phrase meant to rhyme, it could have been "rock chock" Jayhawk.
Someone who really knows please come forward and tell me.

I do not feel prepared to meet my maker sooner or hopefully later without this knowledge.

December 26, 2007 at 4:47 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

it's spelled chalk because of the limestone hills around mt oread.

rock chalk.

rock chalk jayhawk GO KU!

December 26, 2007 at 5:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

One more thing...

Dick Vitale returned to my good graces today.

DVit spoke well of KU. No, let's put it this way: he finally mentioned KU in some regard other than an injury, or a doubt.

Here's my theory why he finally mentioned KU: during his recent throat operation, while under sedation, he had a vision.

A large red and blue bird in yellow boots rose up in front of him in the blackness of his mortality and said, "Dick, be good to my boys. They represent the living link with the origin of basketball, the game that has been so good to you. You are independently wealthy after 29 years on the air. You do not need to suck up to big media markets anymore. You have just had throat surgery, also. A touch from my mythical beak on your throat can heal them and give you another ten years of air time. All you have to do is be fair with my boys. We at KU ask no quarter and give none. We seek no preferred treatment and would refuse it if offered. We are midwesterners after all--from prairie settler stalk. We eat struggle for breakfast and are suspicious if the weather is too good for too long. We ask only that you tell it as it is. We know that most of the time we play the best basketball there is. We know this years team maybe one of our best. We know our backcourt is a little undersized, but otherwise impeccably good and better than everyone else's. We understand that our bigs have the po, but need to learn to beast on opponents, not just serve our stellar backcourt. If you just tell the truth, Dick, all manner of things will be well with you and your vocal chords."

And when DVit awoke from the sedation and thought about what the Jayhawk in the vision had said to him, he decided to write the following.

http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/071226K...

December 26, 2007 at 5:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

eastTXjayhawk (anonymous) says...

Amazing that one can stir up trouble while pontificating aloud...and I, for one, would like to see this walk-on league....

Rock Chalk Chant
The Rock Chalk Chant has been the battle cry of KU fans for over 100 years. This strange, traditional chant, which is among the most famous of all college cheers, was started by E.H.S. Bailey, a professor of chemistry.

Bailey wanted a cheer for his Science Club. Returning from a convention in Wichita, Bailey and some associates patterned the yell after the rhythmic cadence of their train rolling along the tracks. On May 21, 1886, Bailey submitted the cheer to his club. Originally, the chant was "Ray, Rah, Jay Hawk, K.U." repeating the words three times. This yell was used by the science club the next year and there were frequent allusions to "The Science Club Yell" in the student newspapers

An English professor suggested that "Rock Chalk" be substituted for "Rah, Rah" because it rhymed with Jayhawk and because it would be symbolic of the chalky limestone formations found on Mount Oread.

The chant was adopted as the college yell after the state oratorical contest in Topeka in 1886 because KU student yells for the their winners were enthusiatic, but unorganized. By the Fall of 1887 the yell was know as the offical yell of the school as the student newspaper reported on November 4, 1887,

"Every college of importance in this country has a college cry. In every town in which a college is situated, the midnight air resounds with the hideous yells of the student, symbolic of victory, defeat, or devilment. The students of the University of Kansas use their yell but little and it is only admidst great victory that "Rock-chalk-Jay-Hawk, K-U-U-U floats throught the midnight air reminding one of a band of Apache Indians."

By 1889 the form of the cheer had changed to the drawn-out cadence repeated twice, followed by three staccato repetitions.

ETXjayhawk does not take credit for knowing this bit of trivia, as he didn't join the Science Club until 1891....

December 26, 2007 at 6:47 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

kcmostwanted (anonymous) says...

you can't really say these walk ons have no talent... but at the same time you can't blame people for walking out of games once they start coming in...

They're not your typical D1 athlete but they still deserve respect.... they might not be great but these guys are good when you compare them to an average joe....

i've played against walk-ons in the past and they're definately the guys that you would want on your team in pick up games....

So unless if you're more talented than them, you should probably keep it to yourself..

Oh and happy holidays

December 26, 2007 at 6:53 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

eastTXjayhawk,

I want you to write my obit. Nothin' but the facts.

I don't recall any limestone outcroppings around Mt. Oread, but if you say they are (or were) there, I believe you.

Thank you so much for sharing how it happened.

December 26, 2007 at 7:40 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Toto_the_great (anonymous) says...

Eddie Sutton is back coaching... Univ of San Fran... all to get elusive #800.

December 26, 2007 at 7:43 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CaramelMacchMan (anonymous) says...

damm.. Jeff Sagarin loved KU football ranking..

Now Jeff Sagarin loves KU basketball as well....

What a year for a Jayhawk fans....

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagari...

December 26, 2007 at 8:22 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

I for one think it's great to see Eddie back coaching again--I have always had respect for him as a coach, person and fellow Kansan; and I will be glad to see him get #800.

December 26, 2007 at 9:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

husbus (anonymous) says...

i agree with you nicka ...

everyone else ... instead of questioning how "ignorant" nicka is, post something worth reading

December 27, 2007 at 6:58 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JNgohawks (anonymous) says...

thanks for the article Jaybate, that was a nice piece by Vitale

December 27, 2007 at 8:38 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

b_asinbeer (anonymous) says...

Just as I had suspected...nicka is a slaver fan. Pitiful.

December 27, 2007 at 10:04 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

johnballa (anonymous) says...

jaybate i hope to the god above us you are kidding

December 27, 2007 at 5:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

"you can't blame people for walking out of games once they start coming in..."

I most certainly can. I think it's pathetic and those people are not true Jayhawk fans. It's the same thing as the idiots who leave football games at halftime so they can start drinking earlier. (Can you say "alcoholics?" I knew you could.) I for one LOVE to see the walk-ons come in. I love seeing the energy on the KU bench from the starters (who actually support the walk-ons, despite what the ignoramus Keegan said), and I love seeing players who bust their a**es on a regular basis get a chance to show what they can do. And when one of them hits a three-pointer, the TRUE Jayhawk fans go wild. I love jaybate's idea. It's obviously not realistic given logistics, but it would be fun to see.

December 28, 2007 at 2:05 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

APDJayhawk (anonymous) says...

JRoss - glad to know I'm in your thoughts even during my non-posting moments. Those non-posting moments would include articles like this one that deserves no posts at all. What a waste of space.

December 29, 2007 at 4:57 p.m. ( | suggest removal )