Volume 126 Issue 102
kansan.com
Monday, April 7, 2014
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COMMENTARY Manning goes to Wake Forest
There will be a day when Bill Self is no longer the head coach at the
University of Kansas
If this is news to you, please
take a moment to gather
yourself.
We just had to get that out of the way because this is not a Bill Self story.
No, this is a story about what happens to Kansas after Self. This is a story about continuing a tradition of basketball excellence long after Self's time here is over. This is a story about the Jayhawks' ninth head coach.
More importantly, this is a story about Danny Manning, a Kansas legend whose move out east has brought him closer to home than ever.
Last Friday, Manning accepted the head coaching position at Wake Forest University after two years at the helm of the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes.
In those two years, Manning compiled a 38-29 record, won a Conference USA Championship — Tulsa's first in more than a decade — appeared in the NCAA Tournament and was named C-USA Coach of the Year.
And all of that earned him the opportunity to coach against the likes of Roy Williams, Mike Krzyezewski, Jim Boeheim, Buzz Williams, Jamie Dixon and Tony Bennett.
For Wake Forest, it's a pretty significant bet on a guy with just a couple years of head coaching experience. For Kansas, it was a monumental leap.
Manning's name has always been quietly mentioned among Jayhawk fans as a potential successor to Self. Despite the fact that he's one of the most storied players to suit up for Kansas, Manning was instrumental in recruiting and developing guys like Thomas Robinson, Jeff Withey, Cole Aldrich, the Morris twins and Wayne Simien during his time as an assistant under Self.
"He's been around basketball his whole life, played for so many coaches, been able to steal from everybody and has developed a vast knowledge that will certainly play a huge role in his success as a head coach," Self told the media in 2012 when Manning left for Tulsa.
So now Manning gets his chance to show off that knowledge on one of — if not the biggest — stage in college basketball. The one-time North Carolina native will have his opportunity to march into Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Dean Dome and prove that not only was he one of the game's top players, he's one of the top coaches, too.
That's not to say that he'll succeed though. There are numerous reasons why Manning could fail. In the past 10 years the Demon Deacons have placed higher than fifth in the ACC just twice (2005, 2009) and given the current state of the conference, there's no guarantee they'll be there again anytime soon.
But if Manning does transform Wake Forest, if he does prove himself capable of winning on college basketball's highest platform and starts knocking off the blue bloods, then there'll likely be a North Carolina coach leaving for his home in Kansas.
And how perfect would that be.
— Edited by Amber Kasselman
BASEBALL
PARKER ROBB/COLLEGIAN
Junior outfielder Michael Suiter slides back into first base safe after nearly being caught leading off the base. Jayhawks defeated the Wildcats 2-1 in Manhattan
Jayhawks go 2-1 in series against Wildcats
BEN FELDERSTEIN sports@kansan.com
It all came down to Sunday. The series was tied at one game apiece. Kansas and its in-state rival Kansas State had split the first two games of their weekend series in Manhattan but the Jayhawks ended the series with a win.
"We have an expression in our clubhouse," coach Ritch Price said. "It's all about Sundays."
Duncan toed the rubber for
And for the Jayhawks this season, Sundays have been all about senior pitcher Frank Duncan. Duncan has been the stopper for Kansas this season. The Jayhawks dropped the first two games of their series against Oklahoma last weekend.
the finale of that game and threw eight innings, allowing only one earned run. Sunday, Duncan finished what he started, throwing a complete game, allowing one earned run on seven hits.
"We have three guys on our staff that can go out there and get the job done on Sundays," Duncan said. "I got slotted for Sundays this year and I'm taking advantage of it. [Robert] Kahana, Wes [Benjamin] and myself are all capable of doing the job."
The Jayhawks offense was led by senior outfielder Tucker Tharp. Tharp crushed a homerun to left field on the first pitch of his at bat in the second inning of Sunday's game. Tharp went 2-3 and helped lead Kansas to a 2-1 victory.
Junior shortstop Justin Protocio stayed hot at the top of the order as he went 3-4 in the series finale. His on-base streak was snapped on Friday in the Jayhawks' 10-0 loss to the Wildcats.
Senior Jordan Piché got his first start of the season on Friday night, filling in for the injured Benjamin. Piché had recently been relieved of his closer role because of ongoing struggles.
Piché struggled his way through Friday night, giving up seven earned runs in five innings of work. The senior right-handed pitcher gave up eight hits and walked three, as well.
Wildcats sophomore pitcher Levi MaVorhis dominated on Friday and threw a complete game, three-hit shutout, striking out four and walking only two. The Wildcats got off to a strong start Friday, putting five runs up on the Jayhawks in the first.
Junior pitcher Kahana lead Kansas to a 6-3 win over K-State in the second game on Saturday. Kahana went six strong innings, allowing three runs on three hits. Freshman Stephen Villines came on with two out in the eighth inning to close out the game. Villines succeeded; allowing the Wildcats only two hits to earn his third save of the season.
"It's a mental thing," Price said. "I switched up his role to give him a bit of a mental rest from the closer role."
Kansas got on the board early this time, scoring two runs on four straight hits in the fourth. Senior catcher Ka'iana
Eldredge, junior left fielder Michael Suiter and sophomore second baseman Colby Wright each had multi-hit games, driving in and scoring a run each.
"Everyone knows their roles." Price said. "One through nine, we get the job done."
Kansas came out of rivalry week with three wins in four games against its inter-state rivalries. The team went 4-2 against Wichita State on Tuesday.
"I needed to do a better job of preparing the guys against K-State, like I used to for a Missouri game," Price said. "We came in wanting to prove we're the best team in the state."
Edited by Callan Reilly
TRACK AND FIELD
Kansas succeeds nationwide, breaks records
BEN BURCH sports@kansan.com
Over the weekend the Jayhawks saw multiple performances that stacked up with some of the best in the school's track and field history.
One of these historic outings came from senior Natalie Becker, who traveled with the rest of the Jayhawk distance runners to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational. Becker completed the 5,000 meter race in 16:20.80, which not only earned her a 19th place finish in a stacked field of competition, but it etched her name into the Kansas record books as the fastest 5,000-meter runner in school history. Becker's record-breaking performance also moved her into the top 25 in the NCAA rankings.
Meanwhile in Baton Rouge, La., the rest of the Jayhawk track and field team was competing at the Battle on the Bayou, also producing performances that stacked up with the best in school history, Sophomore Rhaveen King turned in one of these performances in the 800 meters. The Memphis, Tenn., native crossed the finish line in
2:08.82, giving her the victory and placing her as the fourth fastest female in the event in school history.
The female 4x100 meter relay team of Tianna Valentine, Sydney Conley, Zainab Sanni and Diamond Dixon also turned in a time to remember, finishing the race in 44.67. The time gave the quartet a third place finish in the event and also made them the sixth-fastest in school history.
There were a total of 15 performances in Louisiana that cracked the NCAA West Region top 25, which ultimately gave the Jayhawk women's team a second place team finish, and the men a third place team finish. According to junior multi-event specialist Lindsay Vollmer, the slew of good performances over the weekend show the potential the team has this outdoor season.
"We didn't get everybody we wanted to nationals [for the indoor season], but I think we're a better outdoor team," Vollmer said. "If we can just continue to build, I think we have a shot to do some good things."
Edited by Callan Reilly
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
Senior runners Natalie Becker and Maddy Rich break from the starting line at last year's Bob Timmons Classic. Becker set the Kansas track record with the fastest 5,000-meter run at the Stanford Invitational this year.
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