SPORTS
PAGE 1B
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
▼ MEN'S BASKETBALL
Self adjusts minutes
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
SENIOR SPORTS WRITER
Kansan file photo
Kansas coach Bill Self wants to be able to count all of the players in his rotation on two hands.
That's why in Kansas' last four games, Self has delegated most of Kansas' playing time to nine or 10 guys.
Sophomore guard Nick Bahe, freshman forward Darnell Jackson, and junior guard Stephen Vinson crouch near the sidelines before entering the game against Texas on Jan. 29. The Jayhawks finished with a 90-65 blowout victory.
With a starting rotation that includes Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, J.R. Giddens and Wayne Simien, bench minutes are going to be less abundant than on most teams that rely heavily on reserve players.
But in the jayhawks' last four games, Self has clearly delegated
roles to his reserve players. In turn, Self said, his team has played more consistently.
"The positive is that we are playing better," Self said. "The negative is that guys could get frustrated because they are not playing. I haven't sensed the frustration yet."
He doesn't, however, ignore the fact that some players are bothered by a decrease in playing time.
Early in the season, Self handed out minutes to the bench players based on how they performed during practice the week before a game, and also game-time performances.
Freshmen Darnell Jackson and Russell Robinson are two players who haven't seen much court time
SEE SELF ON PAGE 6B
SWIMMING
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
Sophomore swimmer Lia Pogioli takes a breath during the 100-yard butterfly Saturday afternoon in Robinson Natatorium. Pogioli also swam the 1,000-yard freestyle during the dual meet against Iowa State and finished second with a season-best time of 10:27.87.
Cool and confident
Student athlete hits her stride
BY KELLY REYNOLDS
kreynolds@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITHER
Lia Pogioli is a sophomore from Peoria, Ill., where she broke eight varsity records at Woodruff High School. Pogioli specializes in long-distance.
Lia Pogioli, a Peoria, Ill., sophomore, exemplifies how tough it is to be student athlete.
lne sophomore swimmer with the KU swimming and diving team said her high school highs and lows and training from a Purdue University swimming coach helped her compete at the university level.
When Pogioli came to the University of Kansas last year, she not only had to adjust to being away from her family, but to a more
intense training regimen than she was use to.
Poglioli attended Woodruff High School and was an outstanding swimmer under coach Tricia McDaniel.
During her career at Woodruff, Pogioli broke eight varsity records, was an eight-time state qualifier, gained All-American status in the 500 freestyle and was also a fourtime letter-winner in swimming.
To top off her list of high school accomplishments, Pogoli captured the Peoria Area Swimmer of the Year Award two times. A local Peoria newspaper, The Journal Star,
Rvlan Howe/KANSAN
named Pogioli the Athlete of the Year in both 2001 and 2002.
She was struck with mononucleosis her sophomore year of high school, and her dedication for the sport waned her junior year. After her junior season, however, Pogioli's passion for swimming returned. She put in double time during the summer in
SEE CONFIDENT ON PAGE 6B
EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
BILL CROSS bcross@kansan.com
Freshmen not living up to hype
In October, some fans heralded the five freshmen as the next coming of Michigan's famous Fab Five of the early '90s. Those freshmen led the Wolverines to two national title games in their first two seasons.
The freshmen on the Kansas men's basketball team began the season with high expectations.
Perhaps they were too high.
Now two freshmen are injured, two ride the bench and the other averages less than 10 minutes and less than three points a game. That will have to change in the next six weeks.
Other fans had a more realistic outlook for the 2005 Jayhawk freshmen: that the frosh quintet would add depth to a senior-heavy title contender.
This team needs depth. The Jayhawks fielded talented but shallow - teams in the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Tournaments, and both teams wore down in the Final Four. If the Jayhawks win a championship this year, the difference will be their depth.
Imagine if freshman forward Alex Galindo and sophomore guard J.R. Giddens had been Jayhawks two years ago. Even Syracuse's high-flying Hakim Warrick, who rejected senior guard Mike Lee's desperation three-point attempt in the final seconds of the 2003 national championship game, couldn't block a Galindo or Giddens shot. They're too tall, and their ball-release is too high. Lee are too tall, and their ball-release is too high. Kirk Hinrich were that team's only three-point threats and that shallow backcourt sealed the team's fate.
If the freshmen don't step up in the next few weeks (selection Sunday is 33 days away), the Jayhawks will be eliminated again. The front-court lacks a dominant rebounding presence. The team is again struggling to find a backup for senior guard Aaron Miles, who runs the point so well, but must do so for more than 31 minutes a game.
Things will get better when Galindo and freshman forward C.J. Giles return from injury. They are fine role-players, something a championship team needs.
If Robinson becomes the ball handler and defensive monster we saw early in the season when he had 13 points and three steals against Nevada, he will be the ideal substitution when Miles needs a rest. If Jackson could use his wide body to its full potential, it would do wonders to erase the Jayhawks' rebounding deficiency.
Freshman guard Russell Robinson and freshman forward Darnell Jackson, however, impressed early in the season but have faded to obscurity in recent weeks.
In any case, the emergence or continued disappointment of the drab five will determine whether this team finally gets it done in the Final Four.
Maybe they'll bounce back. Maybe they're just getting their sophomore slumps out of their systems before they have to replace one of the most talented senior classes in the 107 years of Kansas basketball.
GOLF
- Cross is a Kansas City, Mo., senior in journalism. He is the Kansan sports editor.
BY TIM HALL
tallk@hansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
"The new driving range is going to be our 'wow' factor when people come driving in down Crossgate," said Alvamar superintendent Kent Morgison.
The KU golf teams, as well as visitors and veterans, will benefit from the improvements, he said.
Though excavated dirt and a few buldozers are all that are visible of the Alvamar Golf Club by the time April rolls around the view will be of a new driving range and golf course.
Renovated greens for teams, public to open soon
In early October, the club ended its golfing season early to begin massive renovations to
The new driving range will have larger grass tee hitting areas, target greens, bunkers and accurate yardage markings. The additions to the driving range will make it better to look at and practice on, Morgison said.
the golf course and driving range. Construction is under way, and the course is expected to have its grand re-opening in mid-April.
Landscapes Unlimited Inc., out of Lincoln, Neb., will construct the range project. The company specializes in golf course renovations and construction.
The golf course will be improved as well. When the course re-opens in April, all 18
greens will be brand new. The new greens will be Crenshaw Bent 962. Around the golf business, this type of Crenshaw grass is referred to as 'the new generation.' Morgison said.
The new greens will be similar to the greens on the private course of Alvamar and will be faster and more true than the regular old grass. This new grass also benefits the greenskeepers because it does not need as much water as most types of grass. The changes on the public course will benefit players of all ages and abilities.
Brad Demo, head golf professional at Alvamar, 1800 Crossgate Dr., said that the changes to the public course would be more amazing to the
newcomers than to the regulars of the course. But the changes that have been made will give those newcomers an opportunity to play and practice at a state-of-the-art facility from the start, he said.
"The new golf course is going to be attractive to a wide variety of people from small children to movie stars." Demo said.
The changes will especially benefit the men's golf team, which will move back into its home when the course re-opens. While the Jayhawks have been playing at the private course in the meantime, players are excited to move back to the public course.
SEE RENOVATED ON PAGE 6B
Erin Droste/KANSAN
Renovations to a new driving range are underway at Alvamar Golf Club on Feb.3. The public course was closed in October 2004 to begin renovations and will be re-opened in mid-April. The KU men's golf team will practice at the private course at Alvamar until renovations are finished.
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