KU women’s basketball notebook

By Gary Bedore     Oct 19, 2006

? Kansas State University’s women’s basketball team had a stormy offseason, losing two players to transfer as well as two assistant coaches.

“If anyone thinks we’re happy about that, they couldn’t be more wrong,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said at Wednesday’s Big 12 Media Day at Cox Convention Center.

KU’s coach refused to pile on Wildcat coach Deb Patterson, who was criticized in a recent newspaper article by ex-KSU great Kendra Wecker.

“That’s not good for anybody. You don’t wish that on anyone. If you sit in the chair we sit in, you feel differently than most people do. We are excited we have a lot of positive things going on in our program. That’s the most important thing for us every day,” Henrickson said.

Negative publicity could hurt the Wildcats in recruiting, which in turn figures to help Henrickson’s Jayhawks.

“I don’t look at her situation and think it might help us. Could it possibly hurt them? Understandably, I’d think if that was happening to me how damaging it could be,” Henrickson said.

“I look at it in sympathetic terms. That’s got to be difficult to be going through that right now. I’ve never looked at that and said, ‘This will really help us.’ It’s hard to understand unless you do this and know how gut-wrenching that has to be.”

Patterson recently netted a contract extension from Wildcat AD Tim Weiser.

“I have no hesitation whatsoever that Kansas State wants me to lead this program, and I’m excited about the opportunity to do it,” she said. “I’m as excited as I’ve every been, and I feel great about who I am, and I feel great about the program. I feel great about the young people in it. I’m excited about the basketball team we’re bringing in for the ’06-07 season. I think we’ve got a group of young people that are hungry, competitive, intense. They’re coming off a WNIT championship and yet we started three freshmen.”

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No more rules breaking: Henrickson said she was confident there would be no more NCAA violations in any sports at KU. The NCAA recently put the Jayhawk athletic department on three years probation, hitting football and men’s basketball with sanctions.

“Compliance is important for our department. We had a two-hour compliance meeting just for basketball yesterday,” Henrickson said. “I have faith we have coaches who will do the right thing. We got the lecture from Chancellor (Robert) Hemenway. That is the sternest I’ve ever seen that man.”

Hemenway spoke to all athletic-department personnel early in the semester following a trip to Baltimore to respond to the NCAA infractions committee.

“He gave the department the business, that this will not be tolerated,” Henrickson said. “(He said), ‘We don’t want you here if that’s how you are going to act.’ He was fed up. He was stern, direct. He had every right to be. He laid down the law.”

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Early flight: Henrickson and players Taylor McIntosh and Ivana Catic boarded the university plane at 6:45 a.m. for Oklahoma City and Media Day.

“I’m used to it. This summer we worked out every morning. Even now we practice two to three times a week at 6 a.m.,” McIntosh said of early wake-up calls.

“We’re used to getting up early. I’ll take a nap on the plane (ride back),” Catic said, actually looking forward to afternoon practice.

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Excitement in Manhattan: KSU coach Patterson on Bob Huggins taking over the men’s program:

“When you bring someone in your gym and your arena that is one of the top-10 winning coaches in men’s basketball history in terms of active coaches, it is bound to generate a great deal of excitement. It is great to see the men are close to selling out. A big, big change in their season tickets. So for us, it’s all good.”

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Powerful Sooners: Missouri coach Cindy Stein on Oklahoma, a team that went 19-0 last season in the Big 12, playing the postseason tourney in OKC this year:

“I don’t look at it as something that’s intimidating at all. I think Oklahoma has the potential to be in the Final Four. If you are a good team it doesn’t matter where you play.”

MU returns seven seniors from last year’s NCAA team, which lost in the first round to Virginia Tech.

“We want to make sure we return to the NCAA Tournament and that we are a lot more competitive, advancing and playing a lot better.”

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No more complaining: Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly on the tourney being held in OKC. “You can put this on the record, too. Sherri Coale (OU coach) can never complain again because she complained all the time I had too many fans in Kansas City. They went 3 1/2 hours. Her fans have to go 10 minutes. So I don’t want her complaining about that one. But she has earned it.”

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Strong Sooners: OU returns all five starters from last year’s squad. “It is a lot better deal to have high expectations. We know that coming in. You go 19-0 in league and you return five starters, you know what expectations would be and yet our kids understand you have to play the games,” Coale said.

KU women’s basketball notebook

By Chuck Woodling     Oct 13, 2006

Coach Bonnie Henrickson called Shaquina Mosley into her office not too long ago and asked the senior guard to write down all of last year’s mistakes on a erasable board.

After Mosley had written a few items, Henrickson handed her a wet towel.

“Now wipe it off,” Henrickson said. “What you did you did. It’s time to move on.”

Two years ago, Mosley was national junior college player of the year. Last year, she was named Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year. But the 5-6 guard struggled until late in the season, averaging only 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds a game.

From what she’s seen so far, Henrickson expects more out of Mosley this season.

“She’s been good, consistent,” the KU coach said. “That Shaq every day can help us win.”

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KU men’s basketball team finished 25-8 last year with six sophomores and four freshmen, and this year’s women’s squad is even more youthful with seven freshmen and three sophomores.

A reporter asked Henrickson if she saw a similarity.

“I wish,” she said. “That would be nice.”

Henrickson plans to use the efficient practice regimen Self employed last year. She will devote the same amount of time to practice, but have an hour and 15-minute morning session and a two-hour afternoon session instead of one three-hour session.

“With freshmen – to have their attention and the focus you need for three hours,” Henrickson said. “I’m not sure we have that right now.”

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Sophomores Ivana Catic and Marija Zinic no longer list their home country as Serbia & Montenegro because Montenegro became an independent country last spring. Catic and Zinic both hail from cities in Serbia.

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Two dozen televised games are on the Jayhawks’ schedule, including the two exhibition games on Nov. 1 against Fort Hays State and Nov. 5 against Washburn. Both will be on Sunflower Broadband channel 6.

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Asked if her youthful team had a shot at the postseason, Henrickson replied: “I think so. We have enough talent. I do think it’s a possibility.”

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