The University of Kansas Friday granted Brock Berglund permission to contact other schools per his intent to transfer.

Quote from KU head football coach Charlie Weis:

“Today, Brock Berglund is released from his scholarship at KU to pursue other opportunities. Brock and his representatives have publicly stated their case without any public response from me to this point. Brock spent the majority of the past calendar year in Colorado taking online courses at KU’s expense, which was nearly $40,000. At no time was Brock an active participant of the football team. Once competition was recruited at the quarterback position, Brock decided he no longer wanted to be a part of the team. He was expected to show up for a mandatory team meeting on Sunday, Jan. 15, but he sent an email less than two hours before the meeting to inform us that he had decided to transfer and would not be attending the meeting. He was dismissed after following through on that promise.

Although Brock has been granted his release, I only wish that he had showed the same courtesy that other players showed and came to talk to me. He decided that he did not have to follow the same protocol as the other departing members of the football team. I believe no individual should be more important than the team. Brock did not see it that way.”

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas coach Bill Self called his team “selfish” and “soft.” Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor bemoaned an “ugly” performance.

Just imagine what they would have said if Kansas lost.

Thomas Robinson bailed out the fifth-ranked Jayhawks by scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half Monday night, leading them to a 64-54 win over scrappy Texas A&M.

“We didn’t play well in the first half,” said Self, whose team trailed by two at the break. “We did some better things in the second half, but still, that wasn’t very good playing.”

Could have fooled Aggies coach Billy Kennedy.

“Kansas is very aggressive and very good defensively,” he said. “We have to do a better job of being a little more physical.”

Tyshawn Taylor added 17 points in another solid performance, and Kansas (17-3, 7-0 Big 12) used a big surge through the middle of the second half to wrap up its 10th consecutive victory and extend its winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse to 17 in a row.

Kansas is 18-1 against Texas A&M (11-8, 2-5), the lone loss coming in February 2007.

“I feel like a win in conference — a win like this is ugly, but all the wins in conference count,” Taylor said. “It wasn’t pretty.”

Elston Turner had a career-high 24 points and David Loubeau added 15 for the Aggies, who played without starting forward Khris Middleton, their second-leading scorer. He missed the game after tweaking his right knee over the weekend, the same one he had surgery on in November.

Senior guard Dash Harris also was hobbled but played the entire game.

“You look at how limited we are, you lose Khris Middleton, that puts a lot of pressure on our team,” Kennedy said. “We really struggle offensively.”

They struggled to contain Robinson, too.

One of the leading candidates for national player of the year, the junior forward was held to two points in the first half on 1-for-6 shooting, as Texas A&M collapsed two or three defenders on him whenever he got the ball in the post.

He started bulling his way to the basket more effectively in the second half, going to the foul line 10 times — and making all of them. He also finished with 10 rebounds.

“The defense was trying not to let me touch it, so I had to knock my free throws down,” Robinson said. “I just kept posting up. I just got the whistle more in the second half.”

The Jayhawks threatened to turn the Big Monday matchup into a big snooze early on.

Taylor picked up right where he left off the past three games, hitting his first basket and then adding a 3-pointer as Kansas raced to an 11-0 lead. Texas A&M turned it over on four of its first five possessions and missed its first four shots along with two free throws.

The teams traded baskets before the Aggies went on a 16-2 run that gobbled up nearly 5 minutes, gave them the lead and silenced another packed house at Allen Fieldhouse.

Naji Hibbert started it with a 3-pointer and Turner added another of his own. Even freshman backup Daniel Alexander got into the act, hitting a pair of 3-pointers after coming into the game having made two all season.

“The whole team had to step up,” Turner said. “We showed glimpses.”

Kansas pulled even at 28 when Jeff Withey converted a three-point play with 3:44 left, but that was the final basket until Dash Harris’ layup at the buzzer gave Texas A&M the halftime lead.

The game remained close until Robinson converted a three-point play with 6:55 left that gave Kansas a 47-42 lead. Robinson added two free throws on the next trip — at that point he’d scored 11 of the Jayhawks’ 13 second-half points — and Elijah Johnson’s jumper made it 51-42.

The lead reached 55-53 when Withey scored in the post and made a couple of free throws, and then Robinson answered two foul shots by Turner by tracking down a rebound, putting it back on the glass and getting fouled in the process. The free throw made it 58-47.

Kansas managed to coast the rest of the way against the team that was picked by the league’s coaches as the co-favorite to win the Big 12 along with the Jayhawks.

While Kansas remains the lone unbeaten team in conference play, Texas A&M has lost seven of its last 10 and is already in danger of playing itself out of the NCAA tournament.

“I’m proud of the way our guys competed. I thought we gave ourselves an opportunity to win. Thomas Robinson and their length, and their free throw shooting, was a big key in them getting the win,” Kennedy said. “I thought we executed our game plan about as well as we could tonight.”

It just wasn’t good enough.

— Associated Press —

What looked like a rout soon turned into another Kansas-Texas classic.

And in the end, the Jayhawks walked away with another hard-fought win over the Longhorns.

Jeff Withey made a layup and free throw with 37 seconds to play and Thomas Robinson added a free throw with 8 seconds left, giving No. 7 Kansas a 69-66 win Saturday after Texas rallied from a big early deficit.

Texas had a last chance to force overtime, but J’Covan Brown’s 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play bounced off the rim. Brown led Texas with 24 points.

“To win on the road shows a lot of toughness,” said Tyshawn Taylor, who scored 22 points for the Jayhawks in their first game since handing Baylor its first loss of the season. Robinson finished with 17 points and nine rebounds and Withey scored 12.

While the win over Baylor came at home, this one was on the road in a tough environment and required a late rally after the Jayhawks blew a big lead against a Texas team that counts six freshmen in its nine recruited scholarship players.

Kansas coach Bill Self liked how his team pulled it out.

“We needed that,” he said. “This is the best win we have had all year. … I thought we were fortunate.”

After the game, Taylor was already looking ahead to the rematch at Kansas on March 3. Last season, Texas beat Kansas in Lawrence to end the Jayhawks’ 69-game home winning streak.

“I’m sure it’s going to be another dogfight,” Taylor said.

So many Kansas-Texas games are.

Kansas (16-3, 6-0) is the only Big 12 team still undefeated in conference play and came in confident against a young Texas lineup. Taylor was sharp early and the Jayhawks quickly built a 15-point lead.

Texas came in desperate for a big win this season and things got chippy in the first half when Robinson and Texas’ Alexis Wangmene were whistled for technical fouls after they tangled at midcourt.

The Jayhawks still led by 14 early in the second half before Brown slowly started reeling them in.

Clint Chapman scored 15 and gave Texas its first lead at 59-58 with just over 5 minutes to play. Brown, who scored just four points in the first half, kept firing up shots in the second. His 3-pointer with 3:20 to play put Texas up 64-60.

Brown, who had two 3-pointers reviewed by game officials earlier, turned and shook three fingers in the air after making it. Brown has averaged 26 points in Texas’ three straight losses but was just 7-of-26 shooting against Kansas.

Kansas retook the lead on a three-point play by Taylor before Brown made two free throws. Kansas looked to be in trouble when Taylor then missed two from the line and Robinson missed a layup before Withey’s three-point play.

Brown had a chance to tie it before he missed with 15 seconds left. Kansas’ Travis Releford grabbed the rebound before Robinson’s final trip to the line.

Taylor said Kansas was determined to keep Brown from getting a good shot on the last play.

“He still got a good look. That scared me,” Taylor said. “He made his best plays late in the game.”

Texas has now lost five games by six points or less. The Longhorns had to replace all five starters this season and the youthful lineup has struggled to finish games.

Brown has shouldered much of the burden, often taking over the offense late in games.

“There’s no pressure,” Brown said. “I want to be a big-time player and big-time players need to make big-time shots.”

— Associated Press —

DeMontie Cross was hired by Kansas football head coach Charlie Weis Thursday to coach the Jayhawk linebackers, as Weis completed his coaching staff at KU. Cross, who recently finished his first season as special teams coordinator and safeties coach at Wisconsin, arrives at Kansas with experience on both the collegiate and NFL level.

Prior to his year at Wisconsin, Cross spent the previous five seasons in various positions with the Buffalo Bills. He joined the Bills as a defensive/special teams assistant in 2006 and was then promoted to assistant linebackers coach/special teams for three seasons. In 2010 Cross was promoted again, coaching the Bills’ inside linebackers.

Cross made the jump to the NFL after spending the 2001-05 seasons as Iowa State’s outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. Cross’ unit made major contributions to the Cyclones’ record-setting defenses during his stint. He helped develop Jeremy Loyd into an All-Big 12 performer, who went on to play for the St. Louis Rams.

Cross spent the 2000 season coaching a defensive backfield at Sam Houston State that ranked second nationally (FCS). Cross’ Sam Houston State pass defense was led by free safety Keith Davis, who was the Southland Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year and started the 2005 season for the Dallas Cowboys at safety.

Cross, a St. Louis native, began his coaching career as the outside linebackers coach at his alma mater, Missouri (1998-99).

A 1997 Missouri graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business management, Cross made 415 career tackles at free safety for the Tigers from 1994-96. He led Missouri in tackles as a junior and senior and earned second-team all-conference honors from the Big Eight in 1995 and the Big 12 in 1996.

Cross has two daughters, Jadyn and Sheridan.

With the hiring of Cross, Weis’ Kansas football coaching staff is complete and includes the following: Jeff Blasko (assistant special teams coordinator/tight ends), Clint Bowen (special teams coordinator/defensive backs), Dave Campo (defensive coordinator/defensive backs), Tim Grunhard (offensive line), Rob Ianello (recruiting coordinator/wide receivers), Reggie Mitchell (running backs), Ron Powlus (quarterbacks) and Buddy Wyatt (defensive line).

— KU Sports Information —

Kansas junior Thomas Robinson has been named a John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 candidate it was announced Tuesday by The Los Angeles Athletic Club on ESPNU’s The Experts sports talk show.

Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is made up of 25 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November, December, and the beginning of January, are the frontrunners for college basketball’s most prestigious honor.

Robinson leads the Big 12 with 13 double-doubles on the season and is the only Big 12 player averaging a double-double with 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. His 17.8 points per game are tied for second in the conference with Missouri’s Marcus Denmon. Robinson’s 12.3 rebounds are first in the conference and second nationally. He is shooting 54 percent from the field, which ranks third in the conference. The Washington, D.C., native also sits in 10th place among conference leaders with just over a block per game. For his career, he continues to climb the career double-double list with 18, which is good for a tie for ninth place with Paul Mokeski.

Last season, Kansas’ Marcus Morris was a Wooden Award All-American. In the Bill Self era at Kansas, 2003-04 to present, Wooden All-Americans have included Wayne Simien (2005), Brandon Rush (2007, 2008), Sherron Collins (2010) and Morris (2011). Former KU great and current assistant coach Danny Manning was the 1988 Wooden Award winner.

Transfers, freshmen and medical redshirts are eligible for this midseason list but did not appear on the preseason Top 50. All players nationally who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for the official voting ballot released in March. The National Ballot consists of approximately 20 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.  The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the Elite Eight round during the NCAA Tournament, making it unique among college postseason awards.

The 36th annual Wooden Award Gala will take place on Friday, April 6, 2012, and will honor winners, All Americans and the Legends of Coaching winner Geno Auriemma of Connecticut. The John R. Wooden Award winner will be announced the weekend of the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Robinson and No. 7 Kansas will continue conference play at Texas on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m., on CBS. The Jayhawks then return to home for a second-straight ESPN Big Monday appearance when they host Texas A&M on Jan. 23 at 8 p.m.

— KU Sports Information —

Thomas Robinson had 27 points and 14 rebounds, Tyshawn Taylor matched a career-high with 28 points and No. 7 Kansas rolled to a 92-74 victory over No. 3 Baylor on Monday night, ending the Bears’ perfect start.

Travis Releford and Elijah Johnson added 11 points each for the Jayhawks (15-3, 5-0 Big 12), who won their 16th straight game at Allen Fieldhouse and 10th in a row at home over the Bears. Kansas is 17-2 against them all-time.

A trendy pick to end the Jayhawks’ seven-year stranglehold on the conference, Baylor (17-1, 4-1) had been riding the longest winning streak in school history to its best start ever.

Perry Jones III scored 18 points, Quincy Miller had 17 and Quincy Acy added 14, but the long and lean Bears were dominated in the paint and had no answer for the combination of Robinson and Taylor, one of the best inside-outside tandems in the nation.

— Associated Press —

Kansas senior Tyshawn Taylor has been named Phillips 66 co-Big 12 Player of the Week, along with Baylor sophomore Perry Jones III, for games of Jan. 9-15 in voting by a panel of media covering the conference. Taylor captures his first player award after winning rookie honors four times during the 2008-09 season.

Taylor opened the week with 15 points and five assists as Kansas recorded an 81-46 win at Texas Tech. The Hoboken, N.J., guard followed that performance with a career-high 28 points, including 22 in the second half, as the Jayhawks’ came back from a 12-point deficit to record an 82-73 victory over Iowa State on Jan. 14. Taylor finished the week with 21.5 points and 5.5 assists per game, to go along with two rebounds and four steals for the week.

Taylor leads Kansas in assists with 88 on the year, while ranking second with 15.5 points per game. He is shooting 42.3 percent from three-point range.

Taylor is the third different Jayhawk to win Big 12 Player of the Week honors in 2011-12. Junior All-American candidate Thomas Robinson has earned the accolade three times this season, while junior Travis Releford once.

— KU Sports Information —

Tyshawn Taylor has been a lightning rod during his career at Kansas. He makes big shots and is beloved; he makes careless turnovers and is loathed.

He was feeling nothing but love on Saturday.

The senior guard scored 22 of his career-high 28 points after halftime, leading the No. 10 Jayhawks on a game-changing run that resulted in an 82-73 victory over Iowa State.

“Tyshawn is a little different. When you guys tell him he’s really good, that’s when I probably tell him he’s taking too many shots,” coach Bill Self said. “He is a scrutinized player, but he’s also the point guard at Kansas, and that goes with the territory.”

Too often Taylor hasn’t lived up to those who came before him, guys like Kirk Hinrich and Mario Chalmers, and that’s drawn the ire of one of the most passionate fan bases in college basketball.

They were squarely on his side against the Cyclones, though.

Taylor hit three 3-pointers and dished out six assists, leading the Jayhawks (14-3, 4-0 Big 12) on a 17-2 run midway through the second half. It was part of a larger 30-9 burst by the defending conference champions that carried them to their seventh consecutive victory.

“I felt the love, man. I felt the love. The Fieldhouse was going crazy, the bench was going crazy. It was a good feeling,” Taylor said. “I made some shots that counted.”

Jeff Withey added 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Thomas Robinson 11 points and 14 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. Elijah Johnson also had 12 points.

The Jayhawks, who haven’t lost to Iowa State since February 2005, will carry plenty of momentum into a marquee showdown Monday night with undefeated and fourth-ranked Baylor, which romped to a 106-65 win over Oklahoma State earlier Saturday.

“It’s going to be a good game,” Taylor said with a smile.

Royce White had 18 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Cyclones (12-5, 2-2), who played ninth-ranked Missouri down to the wire earlier in the week and gave the Jayhawks similar fits.

At least, for most of the game.

Chris Allen added 17 points, Melvin Ejim had 12 and Scott Christopherson 10 for the Cyclones, who shot 9 of 28 (32 percent) from the 3-point line and just 16 of 25 (64 percent) from the foul line.

“It’s frustrating, but you look at the positives and say: If Missouri is No. 9 and Kansas is No. 10, then we might be 11, 12,” White said. “That’s the positive that we’re going to take from it.”

The Cyclones stuck to their scouting report at the start.

White hit his first 3-point attempt of the season, and Ejim added another 3 moments later as a team known for the long ball built a 17-7 lead over the first 5 minutes.

Kansas went on a run of its own to close within 18-16, but the Cyclones extended the lead back to 27-18. They took their largest lead of the half at 39-28 when Christopherson hit a 3-pointer and Allen a pair of free throws with 4:43 remaining, quieting the crowd inside Allen Fieldhouse.

The Jayhawks went on a late run to get within 43-40 at the break, but Iowa State scored the first nine points of the second half as Kansas missed four consecutive free throws.

“My halftime talk was good,” Self said drily. “We went in down three and came out down 12.”

That’s when Taylor and the Jayhawks went on their game-turning run.

Withey started it with a basket that got the crowd stirring, and Johnson added another basket to trim the lead to 52-45 with 14:43 left. Taylor got in the act with a basket of his own, the first of three consecutive field goals that he scored for the Jayhawks.

“He was amazing,” Robinson said. “He put the team on his back and he did what we expected. He played great during that stretch of us coming back. He hit some big shots for us.”

The Cyclones still led 59-53 with 11:50 remaining when Withey converted a three-point play, the start of the 17-2 run. Taylor added a 3-pointer to draw the Jayhawks even, and back-to-back baskets by Kevin Young and Withey gave them their first lead since it was 7-6 with 17:29 left in the first half.

By the time Withey scored off a feed from Johnson and Taylor knocked down another basket, the Kansas lead had swelled to 70-61 and Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg was begging for a timeout.

It managed to settle the Cyclones a bit. They closed within 72-70 with 6:35 remaining on consecutive baskets by Ejim, but Young and Taylor answered and Iowa State never threatened again.

“We talked a lot about that the last two days. If you come into this building and have that kind of drought, and you let it bother you and effect you, it’s hard to win,” said Hoiberg, who had some of his best — and worst — games as a player at Iowa State against the Jayhawks.

“I’ve been seeing those runs in here for years,” he said. “It’s a very tough place to play.”

— Associated Press —

Dave Campo, a veteran coach who has experienced major success at every level of the game, was named defensive coordinator at the University of Kansas Friday. Campo will also coach the defensive backs as a member of first-year KU head coach Charlie Weis’ staff.

Campo, who spent the first 18 years of his coaching career in the collegiate ranks, was the secondary coach on Jimmy Johnson’s University of Miami staff for two seasons (1987-88). During his two seasons in Miami, the Hurricanes posted a 23-1 overall record and won the 1987 National Championship. Additionally, safety Bennie Blades was the 1987 Jim Thorpe Award winner before being selected with the third pick in the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

A standout defensive backs coach, Campo then began his NFL coaching career as he was hired by Dallas as an original member of Johnson’s first Cowboys staff in 1989. He has 23 years of coaching experience in the NFL with 18 of those coming with the Cowboys. He has also held assistant coaching positions with the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Campo played a key role in the development of Dallas teams that made eight playoff trips, won six division titles and claimed three Super Bowl titles. He began his career in Dallas coaching the secondary (1989-94) and then was promoted to defensive coordinator (1995-99) before working his way up to the head coaching position for the Cowboys, a post he held for three seasons from 2000 to 2002.

During his tenure in Dallas, he helped the team win consecutive Super Bowl championships in 1992 and 1993 and again in 1995.

In four of the five years that Campo directed the Dallas defense as coordinator, the Cowboys finished the year among the NFL’s top-10 units, including a pair of top-three finishes. As the coordinator of the Cowboys defense, Campo helped guide the careers of some of the 1990s most dynamic defensive players – including Pro Bowlers Charles Haley, Darren Woodson, Deion Sanders, Tony Tolbert, Leon Lett, Russell Maryland and Dexter Coakley.

Prior to becoming defensive coordinator in 1995, Campo directed a secondary that had grown into one of the team’s most productive units. His 1994 squad led the NFL in pass defense and coached strong safety Darren Woodson to All-Pro honors in 1995.

Most recently, Campo returned to the Cowboys where he spent the past four seasons (2008-11) working with the secondary. During that time he coached two players, Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins, to Pro Bowl appearances.

Prior to moving back to Dallas, Campo spent three seasons as the secondary coach and assistant head coach for Jack Del Rio’s defense in Jacksonville. In each of his three years in Jacksonville, Campo’s secondary either set – or exceeded – club records for interceptions.

In his final season with the Jags, Campo helped guide the club to an 11-5 record and a wildcard berth in the playoffs. Jacksonville defeated Pittsburgh in an opening round road win before bowing out to the eventual undefeated AFC Champion Patriots in Foxborough. Under Campo, Rashean Mathis became the first Jaguars cornerback to be voted to the Pro Bowl as he tied for third in the NFL with a team-record eight interceptions in 2006.

Prior to joining the Jaguars, Campo served as the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns for two seasons (2003-2004). Under his guidance the 2003 Browns defense finished with the club’s best overall performance in 10 seasons.

Campo began his coaching career at his alma mater, Central Connecticut State, where he spent the 1971-72 seasons. He then moved to the University of Albany (1973), Bridgeport (1974), the University of Pittsburgh (1975), Washington State (1976), Boise State (1977-79), Oregon State (1980), Weber State (1981-82), Iowa State (1983) and Syracuse (1984-86). In addition to starring at defensive back in college, Campo twice earned All-East honors at shortstop at Central Connecticut State.

— KU Sports Information —

Thomas Robinson had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 10 Kansas over Texas Tech 81-46 on Wednesday night.

Tyshawn Taylor scored 15 for the Jayhawks (13-3), who improved to 3-0 in Big 12 play for the sixth consecutive season. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders (7-8, 0-3) have dropped their first three conference games for the third straight year.

Kansas’ man-to-man defense shut down the passing lanes and the Jayhawks hammered the ball inside in the second half. The overmatched Red Raiders couldn’t keep pace.

Robinson, the only Big 12 player averaging a double-double, got his team’s first points outside the lane in the second half. The Jayhawks made their first eight field goals after halftime inside and then Robinson sank a 3-pointer to put the Jayhawks ahead 56-26 with 12:32 remaining.

Javarez Willis scored 12 to lead the Red Raiders. Their previous low this season was 49 points in a November loss to Indiana State.

Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie dropped to 1/3 against his former boss. Gillispie, who beat Kansas coach Bill Self only once when he coached at Texas A&M, was an assistant under Self from 1997-2000 at Tulsa and 2000-2002 at Illinois.

Red Raiders freshman Jordan Tolbert, ranked 10th nationally in field goal percentage (62.4 percent) and the team’s leading scorer, had just four points.

The Jayhawks fell behind early but found their form as the first half wore on. Kansas finished with 38 points in the paint to 18 for Texas Tech.

Tech led 16-15, but Kansas ended the half on a 20-4 run to lead 35-20 going into the break.

Texas Tech’s Terran Petteway was ejected in the first half after he was called for a flagrant foul on Conner Teahan. Petteway elbowed Teahan and was escorted off the floor.

About 3 minutes earlier, Petteway got hit with a technical foul as Travis Releford tried to inbound the ball.

Texas Tech has the worst overall record in the Big 12 and hasn’t won a game over a ranked opponent in 17 tries since December 2009, when the Red Raiders beat then-No. 12 Washington 99-92 in overtime under Pat Knight.

Unlike their previous two Big 12 games, the Red Raiders could not mount a comeback. Last week they cut a 13-point lead to two in the closing minutes of a 67-59 loss at Oklahoma State and pulled within four late in the second half against No. 4 Baylor, which won 73-60 on Saturday.

— Associated Press —