Marian Washington wants her young team to get experience, but today’s 7 p.m. exhibition at Allen Fieldhouse against the Houston Jaguars probably isn’t how she wants her players to start the season.
The Jaguars, who lost 83-75 to Minnesota on Saturday and 84-72 against Iowa State Sunday, are a team of former college standouts, some of whom play in the WNBA.
“I didn’t know Houston was made up of pro players,” Washington said. “If I had a chance, I would have gotten a more collegiate-oriented team. It’s fine, though. They’re a good team and we have to play them.
“I’m not worrying about losing because we’re not going to lose.”
That is the kind of thing a coach is supposed to say.
The reality is that Houston likely has better and definitely has more experienced basketball players than Kansas, which finished 12-17 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 Conference last year.
Yes, the Jaguars have lost their first two games, but the Cyclones are a Top-10 team, and the loss to the Golden Gophers, who were 8-20 last year, was the first time Houston played together as a team.
But it really doesn’t matter which team wins tonight’s games, since the exhibition outcome won’t count in the standings.
But Washington is eager to see how the Jayhawks six of whom have never played a major-college game play together.
Senior point guard Selena Scott said the team wanted to win tonight to start the season on a good note, but a victory wasn’t Kansas’ only priority.
“Winning’s important, but not as much as getting experience,” Scott said. “Our younger players are doing well, but they need to get some game experience.”
Washington, who is in her 29th season as Kansas’ coach, said freshman guard Chelsea Thompson would start tonight, but no starting job is locked.
Tonight’s starters probably won’t even take the court to start the second half. Washington said she had a list of players who would start after halftime.
“I get two games to see what they can do,” Washington said. “They need to all feel comfortable in there. They’ve been working hard, but I’m not sure yet who will start when the season begins.”
Probable starters
Houston Jaguars (0-2)
C Denique Graves 6-0
F Jamie Redd 6-0
F Vanessa Nygaard 6-1
G Rasheeda Clark 5-10
G Tasha Porter 5-6
Kansas
C Nikki White, 6-3, Sr.
F Sharonne Spencer, 6-2, Soph.
G KC Hilgenkamp, 5-10, Sr.
G Selena Scott, 5-5, Sr.
G Chelsea Thompson, 5-10, Fr.
Marian Washington wants her young team to get experience, but today’s 7 p.m. exhibition at Allen Fieldhouse against the Houston Jaguars probably isn’t how she wants her players to start the season.
The Jaguars, who lost 83-75 to Minnesota on Saturday and 84-72 against Iowa State Sunday, are a team of former college standouts, some of whom play in the WNBA.
“I didn’t know Houston was made up of pro players,” Washington said. “If I had a chance, I would have gotten a more collegiate-oriented team. It’s fine, though. They’re a good team and we have to play them.
“I’m not worrying about losing because we’re not going to lose.”
That is the kind of thing a coach is supposed to say.
The reality is that Houston likely has better and definitely has more experienced basketball players than Kansas, which finished 12-17 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 Conference last year.
Yes, the Jaguars have lost their first two games, but the Cyclones are a Top-10 team, and the loss to the Golden Gophers, who were 8-20 last year, was the first time Houston played together as a team.
But it really doesn’t matter which team wins tonight’s games, since the exhibition outcome won’t count in the standings.
But Washington is eager to see how the Jayhawks six of whom have never played a major-college game play together.
Senior point guard Selena Scott said the team wanted to win tonight to start the season on a good note, but a victory wasn’t Kansas’ only priority.
“Winning’s important, but not as much as getting experience,” Scott said. “Our younger players are doing well, but they need to get some game experience.”
Washington, who is in her 29th season as Kansas’ coach, said freshman guard Chelsea Thompson would start tonight, but no starting job is locked.
Tonight’s starters probably won’t even take the court to start the second half. Washington said she had a list of players who would start after halftime.
“I get two games to see what they can do,” Washington said. “They need to all feel comfortable in there. They’ve been working hard, but I’m not sure yet who will start when the season begins.”
Probable starters
Houston Jaguars (0-2)
C Denique Graves 6-0
F Jamie Redd 6-0
F Vanessa Nygaard 6-1
G Rasheeda Clark 5-10
G Tasha Porter 5-6
Kansas
C Nikki White, 6-3, Sr.
F Sharonne Spencer, 6-2, Soph.
G KC Hilgenkamp, 5-10, Sr.
G Selena Scott, 5-5, Sr.
G Chelsea Thompson, 5-10, Fr.
Marian Washington wants her young team to get experience, but today’s 7 p.m. exhibition at Allen Fieldhouse against the Houston Jaguars probably isn’t how she wants her players to start the season.
The Jaguars, who lost 83-75 to Minnesota on Saturday and 84-72 against Iowa State Sunday, are a team of former college standouts, some of whom play in the WNBA.
“I didn’t know Houston was made up of pro players,” Washington said. “If I had a chance, I would have gotten a more collegiate-oriented team. It’s fine, though. They’re a good team and we have to play them.
“I’m not worrying about losing because we’re not going to lose.”
That is the kind of thing a coach is supposed to say.
The reality is that Houston likely has better and definitely has more experienced basketball players than Kansas, which finished 12-17 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 Conference last year.
Yes, the Jaguars have lost their first two games, but the Cyclones are a Top-10 team, and the loss to the Golden Gophers, who were 8-20 last year, was the first time Houston played together as a team.
But it really doesn’t matter which team wins tonight’s games, since the exhibition outcome won’t count in the standings.
But Washington is eager to see how the Jayhawks six of whom have never played a major-college game play together.
Senior point guard Selena Scott said the team wanted to win tonight to start the season on a good note, but a victory wasn’t Kansas’ only priority.
“Winning’s important, but not as much as getting experience,” Scott said. “Our younger players are doing well, but they need to get some game experience.”
Washington, who is in her 29th season as Kansas’ coach, said freshman guard Chelsea Thompson would start tonight, but no starting job is locked.
Tonight’s starters probably won’t even take the court to start the second half. Washington said she had a list of players who would start after halftime.
“I get two games to see what they can do,” Washington said. “They need to all feel comfortable in there. They’ve been working hard, but I’m not sure yet who will start when the season begins.”
Probable starters
Houston Jaguars (0-2)
C Denique Graves 6-0
F Jamie Redd 6-0
F Vanessa Nygaard 6-1
G Rasheeda Clark 5-10
G Tasha Porter 5-6
Kansas
C Nikki White, 6-3, Sr.
F Sharonne Spencer, 6-2, Soph.
G KC Hilgenkamp, 5-10, Sr.
G Selena Scott, 5-5, Sr.
G Chelsea Thompson, 5-10, Fr.
Marian Washington wants her young team to get experience, but today’s 7 p.m. exhibition at Allen Fieldhouse against the Houston Jaguars probably isn’t how she wants her players to start the season.
The Jaguars, who lost 83-75 to Minnesota on Saturday and 84-72 against Iowa State Sunday, are a team of former college standouts, some of whom play in the WNBA.
“I didn’t know Houston was made up of pro players,” Washington said. “If I had a chance, I would have gotten a more collegiate-oriented team. It’s fine, though. They’re a good team and we have to play them.
“I’m not worrying about losing because we’re not going to lose.”
That is the kind of thing a coach is supposed to say.
The reality is that Houston likely has better and definitely has more experienced basketball players than Kansas, which finished 12-17 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 Conference last year.
Yes, the Jaguars have lost their first two games, but the Cyclones are a Top-10 team, and the loss to the Golden Gophers, who were 8-20 last year, was the first time Houston played together as a team.
But it really doesn’t matter which team wins tonight’s games, since the exhibition outcome won’t count in the standings.
But Washington is eager to see how the Jayhawks six of whom have never played a major-college game play together.
Senior point guard Selena Scott said the team wanted to win tonight to start the season on a good note, but a victory wasn’t Kansas’ only priority.
“Winning’s important, but not as much as getting experience,” Scott said. “Our younger players are doing well, but they need to get some game experience.”
Washington, who is in her 29th season as Kansas’ coach, said freshman guard Chelsea Thompson would start tonight, but no starting job is locked.
Tonight’s starters probably won’t even take the court to start the second half. Washington said she had a list of players who would start after halftime.
“I get two games to see what they can do,” Washington said. “They need to all feel comfortable in there. They’ve been working hard, but I’m not sure yet who will start when the season begins.”
Probable starters
Houston Jaguars (0-2)
C Denique Graves 6-0
F Jamie Redd 6-0
F Vanessa Nygaard 6-1
G Rasheeda Clark 5-10
G Tasha Porter 5-6
Kansas
C Nikki White, 6-3, Sr.
F Sharonne Spencer, 6-2, Soph.
G KC Hilgenkamp, 5-10, Sr.
G Selena Scott, 5-5, Sr.
G Chelsea Thompson, 5-10, Fr.
