Monday, April 24, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Leavenworth high school player gives Kansas oral commitment
By Shawn Hutchinson sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
The Jayhawks got an early start on their 2001-2002 recruiting class Thursday, when Leavenworth High School's Wayne Simien gave an oral commitment to Kansas.
Simlen, a 6-foot-8. 225-pound forward, averaged 16.9 points and 9.7 rebounds last season as a junior. He helped lead Leavenworth to a 23-2 record and the Class 6A state championship while hitting 63.5 percent of his shots from the floor and 73 percent of his free throws.
NCAA rules prohibit high school juniors from signing letters of intent, so Simien will have to wait until next November to do so.
Simien said last night that he saw himself as a power forward at Kansas and that choosing to play for the Jayhawks was easy. He said that he made a recent visit to camp and that when was Kansas coach Roy Williams offered him a scholarship.
"It was the greatest feeling in the world because when I walked into Coach Williams' office I wasn't expecting him to offer me a scholarship," Simien said. "Then when he did, it was almost too good to be true."
Simien said he had been going for several years to Allen Fieldhouse to watch the Jayhawks play.
"The first time I walked into Allen Fieldhouse, I knew that's where I wanted to play," Simien said. "There's no atmosphere in the country like that."
Two other high school juniors from Kansas — Dennis Latimore, a 6-foot-9 forward from Halstead, and Jamar Howard, a 6-foot-6 guard from Shawnee — have also shown interest in Kansas.
The Jayhawks have signed only one player for the 2000 recruiting class so far.
DeShawn Stevenson, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Fresno, Calif., signed a letter of intent last fall but has vet to qualify academically.
The Jayhawks have also expressed interest in Bryant Nash, a 6-foot-6 forward from Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas, but have reportedly cooled in the pursuit of Travon Bryant, a 6-foot-8 forward from Long Beach, Calif.
'Hawks' tourney hopes dwindling
By Amanda Kaschube
By Amanda Kashube sports@kansan.konsu
Kansan sportswriter
Untimely batting and wild pitching cost Kansas two conference wins last weekend and might have washed away the Jayhawks' Big 12 Conference tournament hopes.
A 9-4 loss on Friday and a 12-4 shellacking yesterday to Texas Tech put more distance between ninth-place Kansas and eighth-place Texas A&M. The Big 12's top eight teams make the tournament.
With only two conference series left, coach Bobby Randall is starting to feel the pressure.
"It's not the fact that we aren't ready to play, because they know how important it is to win," he said. "But to win, we've got to play better — all the time."
The weekend's only bright spot — Saturday's 4-0 win in which pitchers Rusty Philbrick and Sam Gish combined for a shutout — showed signs of improvements from the defensive and offensive ends.
But yesterday's game was a different story.
Starter Brandon O'Neal (1-4) allowed seven runs and 11 hits in six innings pitched.
"Brandon wasn't the best pitcher out there. He ran out of gas," he said. "His breaking ball had no snap and his pitches were flat."
The lack of runs hurt Kansas all weekend, but especially yesterday when they trailed 12-2 in the ninth.
With first baseman Shane Wedd on third base with no outs, the middle of the lineup failed to score him. Red Raider pitcher Cory Metzler got Jesse Gremminger to ground out, and Kevin Wheeler and Casey Spanish to strike out.
But when the Red Raiders had the same opportunity, they capitalized. Texas Tech jumped out to a 4-10 lead after four innings and stranded only one base runner.
That difference cost Kansas the game.
"They took advantage of the situation
early, where we didn't cash in." Wedd said. "We need to sustain our level of play for a long time. That's our season in a nutshell. And then it got out of hand at the end."
A three-run home run in the seventh inning followed by a bases-empty homer boosted the Red Raiders' lead to 8-2. Another four-run inning and four Kansas relievers later, the 'Hawks trailed by 10 going into the bottom of the ninth.
The 'Hawks didn't get their usual consistency boost from their hurlers — Kansas pitches hit seven batters with pitches in the three-game series. Although their bats weren't on fire, second baseman Casey Spanish said the 'Hawks could do little to compensate for the wild activity on the mound.
"Not-great pitching makes it tough for the bats to come alive," Spanish said.
Rasehall Notes
Ryan Klocksien had seven hits in the first two games but he failed to record a hit yesterday, which snapped his nine-game hitting streak. But he has still hit safely in 32 of his last 36 games played.
Rusty Philbrick's 43rd career start on Saturday tied him for first place on Kansas' career games started list. He also moved into third place for career strike-outs with 225.
BOX SCORES
FRIDAY
Texas Tech 220 002 021 — 4 13 10 0
Kansas 221 010 000 — 9 12 0
Kansas IP 5 H R ER BF BO
Kansas H 7 6 3 4 8
Jeff Davis 4 6 3 3 1
Teneshaech 000 000 000 000 — 0 6 1
Kansas 000 010 12x — 4 12
Kansas 000 010 12x H R EF BBO
Philbrick 7 ½¹ H 0 R 0 5
Sam Gish 1 ½¹ H 0 R 0 6
SUNDAY
Texas Tech 001 300 440 — 12 16 0
Kansas 000 020 002 — 4 12 0
Kansas 00P 11 11 R ER BB SO
Brandon O'Neal 6.1 11 7 R 7 3 0
Sam Gish 1 2 3 3 3 0
Ryan Schmidt 0 3 2 3 0
Dan Olson 2/3 0 0 0 1 0
Grant Williams 1 0 0 0 0 1
Jesse Gremminger throws to the infield during Kansas' 4-0 win against Texas Tech on Saturday. The Red Raiders won two of three games last weekend. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Men's golf seeks repeat of conference title
By Michael Terry
sports@kansas.com
Kansas sportswriter
For the No. 24 Kansas men's golf team, the drive toward a second consecutive Big 12 Conference championship goes through one of the most demanding golf courses in the country.
In its 63-year history, the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson has been the backdrop for numerous prestigious tournaments, including the United States Golf Association Ladies' National Amateur and the Big 12 championships.
Today the Hawks will attempt to maneuver through a course that has delivered heartbreak and anguish to even the best golfers.
Coach Ross Randall said Prairie Dunes was one of the most mentally and physically demanding golf courses in the country.
“It's a second-shot golf course where the greens are not severe. If you hit the ball above the pin, you're not going to be able to stop it,” Randall said. “It’s going to be a difficult test, but if we play smart and avoid simple mistakes, we'll be better off.”
This season, the 'Hawks have been able to avoid those mistakes, finishing in the top five in their last three tournaments and winning a
team title four weeks ago at the Stevenson Ranch Invitational in California.
"We're just trying to perceive it as just another tournament," Randall said. "This is the 13th tournament of the year, and this is something we've been working towards all season. It's time for us to put it all together, and hopefully once again win the Big 12 championships."
For the Hawks to repeat as champions, Randall said it would take three
Vermeer: Says Jay hawks can repeat as Big 12 champs.
solid rounds of golf by the entire team
Seven of the top 40 teams in the country will be competing, including No.3 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Texas and No.25 Baylor.
With the loss of two golfers - All-American
Chris Thompson because of graduation and senior Brad Davis because of injury — from last year's team, the 'Hawks will need the leadership of senior All-American Ryan Vermeer if they hope to have success against such a strong field.
Vermeer enters the tournament with the third best stroke average in the Big 12 at 71.06, and along with juniors Andy Stewart at 73.72 and Conrad Roberts at 74.13, the 'Hawks seem prepared for the golf course's challenges.
"All our games seem to be starting to come around," Vermeer said. "It's important to remember that a bogey is not that bad or even on every hole. This course is so difficult to play and the weather usually being unpredictable, whoever makes the fewest mistakes will win."
Vermeer, who wants to improve on last year's ninth-place finish, said there would be no surprises, emphasizing that Prairie Dunes was a golf course where the best golfers rose to the top.
"There are three teams that have a real shot to win it," Vermeer said. "If we play to our potential, I don't have any doubts we can do it again."
Women finish last at Big 12 tournament
By Michael Terry
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
The 'Hawks had hoped to rebound after a disappointing ninth-place finish in their last tournament, but after the first round it became apparent it wasn't going to happen. The 'Hawks shot 327 in the first round of the tournament this weekend in Lubbock, Texas, en route to a three-round score of 978 — and a last-place finish.
Coach Nicole Hollingsworth said the team didn't take advantage of its opportunities this weekend.
"We just played awful." Hollingsworth said. "It was tough out there, but everyone out there had to deal with the conditions."
After a promising start to the season, the Kansas women's golf team's hopes of concluding with a top-half finish at the Big 12 Conference championship quickly faded away.
One Jayhawk who didn't seem to have much trouble this weekend was junior Sarah
was junior Sarah Mahoney.
Mahoney fired a three-round total of 236, finishing in a tie for 35th place.
"It was a tough tournament with
great competition," Mahoney said. "We just didn't take advantage of the good weather on the first day, and we were never able to recover."
Kansas' last-place finish not only marked the end of the season, but the collegiate golfing careers of seniors Sue Tessary and Carrie Padden.
Hollingsworth said that the team would miss Tessary and Padden next year, and that it was too bad that the team could not finish better.
Tessary shared Padden's sentiments and also said that the team's experiences should position it for success in the future.
The 'Hawks signed Jennifer Bawanan and Chrystal Thayer, both from California, to help solidify the team for next season, Hollingsworth said. She hopes they will make an immediate impact.
"We've been in a process of developing this team over the course of this season," Tessary said. "There are still a lot of changes people have to get used to, but with the addition of two new golfers next year, hopefully the team can take it to the next level."
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