Volume 128 Issue 115
kansan.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
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COMMENTARY
New basketball apartments will draw in recruits
Kansas basketball already has Allen Fieldhouse,but now Bill Self and company have something else to be excited about — a new housing facility.
Established with the $17.5 million donated to Kansas Athletics from various donors, as well as bonds, Marie S. McCarthy Hall will offer private bedrooms and bathrooms, an indoor basketball court, pool tables, a theatre room, meeting rooms and a dining room.
Those donations will make all of that possible, and it'll give the Kansas basketball program another advantage: a recruiting boost. The exclusive, basketball-only apartments should be a massive addition to a program that is already one of the best in the nation in recruiting.
According to a Student Housing release, construction on the building will be finished this July.
The University of Kentucky was the first to revolutionize the luxury apartment incentive in 2012. But Calipari's player mansion isn't quite as luxurious as the one Self will open up this summer.
Though locations are similar for both the Kentucky and Kansas facilities — both just a jaunt away from the practice facilities — there are a few amenities Kansas offers that Kentucky doesn't.
Kansas' facilities will include a full-court basketball facility, whereas Kentucky doesn't have one at all. McCarthy Hall will also house a full-fledged theatre, unlike Kentucky. The Jayhawk players will live in individual rooms and private bathrooms, while players share a room and bathroom at Kentucky.
In all, the apartments will house 66 students, but more than half of those of those spots (38) will go to regular students, adding up to about $265,000 per tenant. The cost might sound outlandish, but, once it's built, compounding the apartments with Allen Fieldhouse will make Kansas seemingly irresistible for recruits.
If Kansas basketball fans expect the team to pull in some of the top recruits in the nation, they're just going to have to get over the dollar figure. With practice and workouts nearly every single day, no student-athlete has the ability to work, study and buy these amenities for themselves. It's not as if they aren't paying the University back, either: they're the people who put fans in the 16,300 seats in Allen Fieldhouse for every single game, and bring in thousands of dollars in jersey sales each and every season.
Before you criticize the dollars being thrown around, don't forget what the student athletes, current and future, represent and all they embody for the University's student body.
Edited by Chandler Boese
Kansas QB Cummings to have knee surgery
SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3
More than 6,200 fans held their breath, as they watched junior quarterback Michael Cummings being walked back to the locker room. Despite wearing a red jersey, a symbol meaning no contact, Cummings took a hit to his left knee in the Spring Game on Saturday.
Monday morning, Beaty announced in a news release that the quarterback would require surgery on his injured knee. He did not provide any specifics about the injury or a timetable for Cummings' return.
"Following his surgery he will work diligently, alongside our medical staff, to get back to the field as quickly as possible," Beaty said.
Cummings, a 5-foot-10 Texas native, played in 12 games his junior season, starting in the final seven contests under center. Cummins threw for 332 yards against TCU, the most passing yards by a Kansas quarterback since 2009. He also threw for more than 235 yards in five straight games, another feat that hadn't been accomplished by a Kansas quarterback since 2009.
"Following his surgery he will work diligently, along-side our medical staff, to get back to the field as quickly as possible."
DAVID BEATY Kansas football coach
Like every position on the roster, Beaty expects the starting quarterback to earn the title. Cummings had been competing with sophomore Montell Cozart, who began the 2014 season as the starter before Cummings replaced him.
The two quarterbacks were splitting time leading the blue offense on Saturday to give the coaching staff a chance to evaluate them.
In the second quarter, Cummings broke downfield for a quarterback scramble, showing he had the ability to run. Cummings was not expecting to get hit.
However, junior walk-on safety Michael Glatczak attempted to pull himself away from a downfield block, and the force caused him to drift toward Cummings. His helmet hit the quarterback's left knee.
On Saturday, Beaty said Glatczak was not at fault. Monday morning, Beaty reiterated it was an accident
"I have reviewed the film from Saturday and Michael Glatczak was being blocked down the field and had his back to the action for almost the entire play," Beaty said. "At the last second he turned to make the tackle without having any idea who was carrying the ball."
Without Cummings, Kansas will have to move forward with Cozart and sophomore T.J. Millweard sharing reps under center in practice.
- Edited by Emma LeGault
Junior Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings rears back for a pass against TCU on Nov. 15,2014. Cummings will have surgery on his injured knee.
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
FACE OF THE STREAK
MARIO CHALMERS
PPG: 12.2
RPG: 2.8
APG: 3.8
READ MORE ABOUT THIS MATCHUP ON PAGE 8 AND VISIT KANSAN. COM TO VOTE
THOMAS ROBINSON
PPG: 9.8
RPG: 7.3
APG: 1.0
Krauth earns Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week
Kansas baseball junior pitcher Ben Krauth was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week on Monday for his performance in the Jayhawks' weekend series against West Virginia.
KYLAN WHITMER
@KRWhitmer
On Friday, Krauth pitched 6.1 innings and sent a third of the batters he faced back to the dugout with eight strikeouts. He also kept the Mountainees offense to a minimum, allowing one run and three hits.
Junior pitcher Ben Krauth throws against Utah on March 6. Krauth was named the Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week Monday after Kansas' weekend series against West Virginia.
"I am really proud of him," coach Ritch Price said in a press release. "He has made as much progress in his first year on campus as any junior college player we have ever had."
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
"The confidence level he brings in our dugout is that we can win every time he walks onto the field."
RITCH PRICE Kansas baseball coach
Since transferring to Kansas from Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif., Krauth has developed into a major asset in the Jayhawks' pitching rotation. He has started 11 games this season and cemented himself as the Jayhawks' Friday starter.
"He sets the tone for the weekend and gives us a legitimate chance to win on Friday night," Price said. "The confidence level he brings in our dugout is that we can win every time he walks onto the field. He is that special."
Krauth has a 6-3 record throughout his starts and leads layhawk pitchers in multiple statistics. Krauth has recorded the most strikeouts in the rotation with 68 on the year — 23 more than any other pitcher on the team. Krauth
also leads starting pitchers with a 3.73 ERA, while tying teammate Drew Morovick for least earned runs allowed among the starters at 30 this season.
Krauth has established himself as one of the league's best pitchers in his first year playing in the Big 12. He is ranked fifth among Big 12 pitchers in ERA, throwing a 2.00 since conference play started. He
also has the second-most strikeouts with 38 against league opponents.
Krauth is the second jayhawk to earn the honor this season. Freshman indefier
"At this level everything is heightened." Krauth said earlier this season. "You got to take advantage of the things you can control and if you do that, everything else takes care of itself."
Matt McLaughlin was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for his performance in the Jayhawks' series against Oklahoma in early April.
The Jayhawks will face Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home on April 29. Krauth is set to start for the Jayhawks on May 1 as they host the Baylor Bears at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence for a weekend series.
- Edited by Emma LeGault
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