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Volume 126 Issue 73
kansan.com
Thursday, February 6, 2014
COMMENTARY
Weis recruits new talent
If you thought football season ended after the Super Bowl, think again. Yesterday was National Signing Day in college football, and for many coaches it's a day that can make or break a good recruiting class.
While many high school players have already committed to a college program, some wait until the last minute to announce their decision. Using platforms such as live TV or Twitter, these young men in a couple words or a few keystrokes can either crush or elate the spirits of coaches around the country.
For Charlie Weis and the Jayhawks football staff, it was a day of triumph... sort of. Although the football program didn't produce a top-10 class like basketball does every year, it was by far the best of Weis' tenure and the program's best since Mark Mangino was coaching.
On the recruiting trail Weis found success with high school players as well as JUCO players, which are recruits from junior colleges. In all there are 25 new recruits, with 15 of those players coming from high school and eight from junior colleges. The other two recruits are transfers.
Four of the Kansas commits are ranked four stars out of five on ESPN.com, surpassing the total number of four-star recruits the University has gotten since 2010. One of those four-star recruits is Corey Avery of Carter High School in Dallas. Avery is the most recent recruit to commit, announcing Monday on Fox 4 news that he would play for the Jayhawks instead of Nebraska or Texas. In his press conference Avery said, "Kansas is a program that needs to be turned around, and I think I'm going to personally turn it around."
Next fall the Kansas football team is set to return seven starters on offense and nine on defense, with redshirted players and upperclassmen set to refill and battle for the remaining starting spots. Because of this, there's a chance recruits won't see the field during their freshman year, but then again when a team wins three games, talent may beat seniority on the depth chart.
Is Charlie Weis using the "you can be the savior of the program" pitch? If so, bravo Charlie. Whatever routine Weis is using, it seems to be working. Nineteen of the recruits are labeled three-star players according to ESPN, and two of the recruits are ranked inside the top 300 players of the nation, marking the first time Weis was able to secure a player of that caliber.
If Weis' first two recruiting classes are any indication of what the future will look like, then the next couple of years should be very bright for KU football. Look for the talent that Weis brings in to only increase, and expect freshmen to take over the upperclassman's starting jobs as Charlie hauls in higher ranked recruits.
Edited by Alec Weaver
TRACK AND FIELD
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Junior Lindsay Vollmer jumps over a hurdle on Jan. 27 during the Jayhawk Classic. Vollmer won the NCAA hentathon last year.
Track to show talent in New York City
BEN BURCH sports@kansan.com
Coming off of a break from meets last week, the Kansas track and field teams will be back in action this Friday and Saturday for the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City. The field will feature 45 Division 1 teams from across the country, including a number of ranked men's and women's teams, which will give the Jayhawks some of their stiffest competition so far this season.
The No.11 ranked women's
squad is looking for its top athletes to continue some early season success. Senior Diamond Dixon is one such athlete, who will enter the meet with the fifth best 400-meter time in the NCAA (52.38), a mark that she set at the Jayhawks' last meet on Jan. 24. Her performances in the 400-meter and the 4x400-meter relay at her last meet earned her the honor of Big 12 Female Athlete of the Week.
Also entering the New York meet on a hot streak is senior Natalia Bartnovskaya. The
defending NCAA pole vault champion participated in the Varsity Apartment Invitational in Wichita last Friday. It was at this meet that Bartnovskaya vaulted over a top bar of 4.32 meters (14'2") to not only give her the victory in the event, but also put her at number one in the latest women's pole vault rankings.
Junior Lindsay Vollmer is attempting to bounce back from an injury she suffered at the Jayhawk Classic two weeks ago. The NCAA champion multievent specialist was on pace to
set a new personal record in the pentathlon when she injured her groin, taking her out of the competition before her last event. According to team sources, Vollmer is expected to compete at the upcoming meet, but will ultimately be a "gametime" decision.
On the men's side, the pole vault squad is looking to show off its superior depth at this week's meet. According to the latest NCAA rankings, the Jayhawks have three athletes in the top 30 for men's pole vault, including senior Alex Bishop and
juniors Greg Lupton and Casey Bowen. With so many top-level athletes in the event, the men's pole vault team is expecting a lot of success in the upcoming meet and the rest of the season.
Action will get underway from the Armory in New York City at 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 7 and will wrap up on Saturday, Feb. 8.
WOMENS BAKSETBALL
— Edited by Katie Gilbaugh
Jayhawks come close to upsetting Cowgirls
KYLE PAPPAS
sports@kansan.com
After already proving themselves capable giant-killers in their defeat of then-No. 8 Baylor earlier in the season, the Kansas women's basketball team (11-12, 4-7 Big 12) didn't count themselves out heading into Wednesday night's matchup against No. 11 Oklahoma State (19-3, 8-3 Big 12).
Kansas gave the Cowgirls all that they could handle, but ultimately fell just short of pulling off the upset in their 76-74 loss at Oklahoma State's Gallagher-Iba Arena.
There were signs that Jayhawks were primed to give the Cowgirls more than they bargained for on this snowy night in Stillwater, Okla. The last time the two met on Jan. 22 in Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas commanded a six-point lead at intermission before suffering an offensive meltdown in the second half on their way to a definitive loss. The Jayhawks would show up for both halves this time around.
In a competitive first half that saw five lead changes, Kansas held their own while receiving quality production from several players. Kansas shot 45 percent from the floor while four players registered more than five points
Junior guard Asia Boyd and senior guard CeCe Harper were major contributors as well, complementing Gardner's performance. Harper created plays off the ball as she's done for much of the year, but was a bit careless with the rock, turning it over three times prior to half. Boyd was on the receiving end of a couple Harper assists, adding eight points in the first half.
in the first. Though she led the way with 11 first-half points, it was a far cry from the Chelsea Gardner show that it has been at times this season for the Jayhawks.
The Cowgirls extended their lead to their largest of the game behind sophomore guard Brittney Martin's six points over the first half's final two minutes. Oklahoma State shot over 51 percent and hit two of their four attempts from behind the arc to head into halftime with a 37-32 lead.
Despite the Cowgirls ranking eighth in the nation in opponent PPG (55.5) and fifth in opponent FG percentage (34.3), they were surprisingly unable to stifle Kansas at all on Wednesday night. Gardner scored six points in the first five minutes of the second half to bring the Jayhawks even with 15 minutes to go. But just as the junior forward began to
But Kansas was never able to regain the lead following Gardner's foul trouble. Even when they did get an offensive run going, the Cowgirls always seemed able to match it. Though it was a more evenly-matched game than many anticipated, the Jayhawks were simply unable to keep up with Oklahoma State's offensive attack in the end.
hit stride, she was forced to the bench with three personal fouls.
During Gardner's nearly seven-minute absence, the team committed three turnovers while converting only two field goal attempts as their deficit again grew to five. Responsible for both made shots over the team's Gardner-less stretch, junior guard Natalie Knight kept the Jayhaws in the game with her impressive defensive play as well.
Kansas finished with four players recording 12-plus points, while Gardner scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her Big 12-leading ninth double-double of the season. The Jayhawks will look to move on from Wednesday's defeat as the team returns from their two-game road trip to take on Oklahoma this Sunday at the Allen Fieldhouse.
Edited by Blair Sheade
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma State's Brittany Atkins jumps by Kansas defender CeCe Harper as she lays the ball in for a basket during Wednesday's game. Kansas lost 76-74.
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