2005
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
r/KANSAN
--the team scored 83, even with a sluggish performance by Kemp, who scored four points in 25 minutes of play.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
PAGE 1B
'Hawks ready to hustle
Leaders, high scores contribute to better offense
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
mphillips SPORTWRITER
Fans who attended last year's preseason women's basketball games might have thought Kansas was running the 3-2-1 offense throughout the games.
"That was the shot clock," Kansas women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson explained. "That's all I yelled most of the preseason last year."
This year, Henrickson has spent less time yelling shot clock warnings and more time calling offensive plays for her team to execute.
The team scored 90 points to defeat Pittsburgh State on Nov. 6 and 83 points in its other exhibition victory against Emporia State on Sunday.
The offense that sputtered last year has taken off at full speed this season.
In the previous four years, the Jayhawks have scored 90 points in a game only twice and never under Henrickson.
The key to the success of this year's team has been variety. Last year's team relied almost exclusively on senior guard Erica Hallman and senior forward Crystal Kemp to score points.
On Sunday against Emporia State
"We don't want her to struggle like that ever again," Henrickson said. "But it's good to know that we have some kids with confidence that can come up and take shots and make shots."
Eight players finished Sunday's game with double-digit minutes on the court, down from 10 in the first preseason game.
Women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson motions to her players to hustle up the court during their first exhibition game against Pittsburg State on Nov. 6 in Allen Fieldhouse. The team went 2-0 in exhibition play and opens regular season play against Binghamton Sunday at noon in Allen Fieldhouse.
With the regular season starting Sunday at noon against Binghamton, Henrickson will have her first opportunity of the season to put an established rotation of players in place.
Kansas' guards will especially benefit from the increased depth because it will allow more of them on the court at a time.
Kansan file photo
"With having multiple guards out on the floor at one time, Erica and I feel like we are a lot harder to defend this year." Brown said.
Brown has had a hot hand in preseason play, going 12-of-19 on field goals and scoring 28 points for the Jayhawks.
Freshman guard Ivana Catic and junior guard Shaquina Mosley will continue to lead the offense. Catic assumed a more dominant role in the offense on Sunday, earning a spot in the starting lineup and playing for a team-high 31 minutes.
Kansan file photo
SEE HUSTLE ON PAGE 2B
VOLLEYBALL
Texas A&M match critical to season
Head coach Ray Bechard provides instruction to his players against Kansas State earlier this season. The volleyball team takes on Texas A&M at 7:30 tonight in College Station, Texas, and hopes to keep its late-season surge and NCAA tournament hopes alive.
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Kansas looks to continue its winning ways in College Station, Texas, tonight when it faces Texas A&M in a critical match for both teams.
The Jayhawks and Aggies have had similar seasons. Both have had their struggles and are now peaking. Along with Iowa State, they are battling for sixth place in the Big 12 standings and a possible trip to the NCAA tournament.
The three teams are separated by only one match in the standings, making tonight's match-up that much more important. With three matches left, the Jayhawks have guaranteed themselves a winning record overall at 15-11.
They need at least two more victories to improve their 7-10 conference record enough to make themselves attractive to the NCAA tournament's selection committee.
Kansas volleyball coach
"There's five teams from our conference that are in comfortable shape for the NCAA tournament, and as good as our conference is, we think they'll go deeper than that if someone steps up and gives them a reason to do it," he said.
Ray Bechard stressed that his team must continue playing with a sense of urgency to make its postseason dream a reality.
The Jayhawks face a true test tonight at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Aggies are 12-12 this season with a 5-10 conference record, but they are notoriously tough at home. From 2002 to 2004, the Aggies compiled a 38-7 record at home.
Jayhawk sophomore opposite hitter Emily Brown spoke highly of the raucous crowds that support the Aggies.
Kansas has not defeated Texas A&M in College Station in 10 tries.
SEE MATCH ON PAGE 2B
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Snyder to leave Wildcats after 17 years
KELLIS ROBINETT
KROBINETT@KANSAN.COM
Kansas State has long road to dominance
When Bill Snyder announced his retirement Tuesday afternoon, it was official.
Kansas State's run as an upper-tier football program was finished.
Not without the football coach who single-handedly changed Kansas State from the losingest football team in Division I history into a yearly contender for BCS bowl games.
He meant too much to Kansas State, and it will never be able to replace him.
The Wildcats will never again be dominant.
Consistently leading Kansas State to bowl games was a Hall-of-Fame-type accomplishment. He could have gone anywhere once he made the Wildcats contenders, but he ignored every offer.
Jeff Tuttle/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
When Kansas State hired him, he was simply bound and determined to make the Wildcats winners and stay in Manhattan for the rest of his life.
Snyder was an anomaly. He was one of those coaches who athletic directors dreamed about.
Snyder, however, guided Kansas State to 11 straight bowl games — his best being the Fiesta Bowls of 1997 and 2004.
Before the Snyder era, the Wildcats went to a bowl game once. That's all. One measly trip to the Independence Bowl in 1982.
Not only was he one of the best coaches the Big 12 Conference has ever seen, but he was also loval.
Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder holds back tears as he announces Tuesday that he will step down and retire after Saturday's game against Missouri. Snyder has coached the Wildcats for the past 17 seasons.
SEE DOMINANCE ON PAGE 3B
Coach wants to spend more time with family
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTWRITTER
MANHATTAN — With his family near his side and his voice cracking, Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder announced his retirement effective after Saturday's season finale against Missouri.
Snyder will call it quits after 17 years and 135 victories. He has won more games than any Kansas State coach and is seventh among active coaches in games won. Snyder said he was retiring so he could spend more time with his family and because he felt the timing was right for him to exit.
"I have not been the father or the husband I should have been," Snyder said. "I don't know if I can correct that, but I am going to try."
There are currently six head coaches in college football that have previously served under Snyder at Kansas State, including Kansas football coach Mark Mangino, who worked under Snyder from 1991 to 1998.
Snyder attributed a lot of different factors to his decision but said health was not one of them. He said he was completely healthy.
Snyder said a factor other than his family was that the program has had two down years in a row, so expectations for the next coach will not be as high.
Mangino said Snyder had had a big impact on his coaching career.
In front of a packed room of reporters and Kansas State supporters, Snyder had to step back from the lectern on a couple different occasions to collect himself and his emotions.
"Coach Snyder has set a standard of excellence in college coaching that serves as a model for all of us," Mangino said. "He has impacted the lives of many people, including mine. I'm proud to have served on his staff for eight memorable seasons."
He also said because the Wildcats were so young this season, a new coach would have a lot to work to do in the
next couple of years.
Kansas State will formally change the name of its stadium on Saturday from KSU Stadium to Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Snyder said Kansas State Athletic Director Tim Weiser asked him what he wanted the name of the stadium to be, and Snyder chose that name.
"I think the time is right because, first and foremost, it's best for the university," Snyder said. "I believe that sincerely. I think it's a little easier now for someone to say the expectations are not going to be quite as great, and this can be a good program because there is a foundation."
Snyder will be mostly remembered for engineering one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history. Before Snyder arrived at Kansas State, the program took 52 seasons to win 134 games. In Snyder's 17 years, the program has won 135 games.
SEE COACH ON PAGE 3B