4
Volume 128 Issue 105
kansan.com
Thursday, April 9, 2015
+
COMMENTARY KU doesn't have press conferences for NBA, NFL draft announcements
Edited by Andrew Collins
It's definitely not answering any of their questions.
Press releases don't convey emotion, and they don't answer the tough questions. Press releases are just curated words on a page, and curated words on a page don't cut it.
One week, two NBA draft announcements. two press releases, no press conferences.
What does it say to the fans who spend thousands of dollars on tickets to watch them play? What about to the fans who spend entire paychecks at the KU Bookstore? What about to the kids who idolize these athletes?
Let's take a trip to Tucson, Ariz., the city where the University of Arizona is located. On the same day Alexander declared for the draft, another college basketball player was doing the same, 1,200 miles away.
When Cliff Alexander declared for the NBA draft on April 7, no such statement in regards to wanting to keep his decision private was made. On the other hand, it's obvious KU Athletics didn't want Alexander addressing the media, due to the NCAA's investigation into improper benefits.
When Kelly Oubre Jr. declared for the NBA draft on April 1, there was a just a press release. Granted, it did say, "in lieu of a press conference, Oubre chose to keep his decision between himself, his dad (Kelly Oubre, Sr.) and head coach Bill Self." Good luck dealing with the media every day for the rest of your life, Oubre. The NBA scrum is much worse and much more critical.
It's not just basketball, either. Nigel King declared for the NFL draft back in January. Was there a press conference? No. Just a 138-word press release.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, a sophomore forward, sat down in front of the media with coach Sean Miller to make his announcement.
At Murray State, located in Murray, Ky., Cameron Payne, a sophomore guard, made his announcement the day before Alexander — in a press conference.
So why is Kansas one of the few remaining blue blood schools not scheduling press conferences? Declaring for the NBA should be an exciting time for the players, and they should want to share that excitement publicly.
MISSY MINEAR/KANSAN
How about at Nebraska? Terran Petteway, a junior forward, had his press conference scheduled for April 8, but it had to be postponed because his mother passed away the night before.
You can expect the same thing to happen at Duke.
What about at Kentucky? John Calipari said he expects five to seven of his players to declare for the NBA. And when that happens, you can bet Calipari will be right there in front of the media with his players.
Freshman first baseman Owen Taylor reaches for a ball Wednesday afternoon. The Jayhawks defeated the New Mexico Lobos 10-5 at Hoglund Ballpark. In the game the day before, Kansas won 10-9.
KYLAN WHITMER
@KRWhitmer
Kansas baseball sent the New Mexico Lobos home winless Wednesday after a 10-5 victory.
Wednesday's win gives the Jayhawks their first sweep of the season as they won both games in the two-game midweek series.
"When you get into midweek games, you're playing Tuesday, Wednesday and everybody in the country is showing up on the mound." coach Ritch Price said. "They set the table for us and our guys were disciplined enough to take advantage of it."
The Jayhawks took the lead early in the first two innings, getting ahead of the Lobos by five runs on only one hit. The lone hit came off freshman Matt McLaughlin's bat and extended his current
After McLaughlin's hit, the runs poured in, starting with a balk from New Mexico's Mike Gould, which brought in Steve Goldstein to give the Jayhawks a 1-0 lead. No time was wasted putting the second run on the board as sophomore Michael Tinsley hit a sacrifice fly into left field to bring McLaughlin home.
hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.
Gould walked three layhawks to load the bases before being replaced by right-hander Victor Sanchez. There was no improvement, however, as two walks and a throwing error put the layhawks up 5-0 after two innings.
The Lobos produced the only hit of the following inning. However, the second inning belonged to the Jayhawks.
The scoring settled for just
an inning until the bottom of the fourth when the Jayhawks put three more runs on the' board, except this time by means of the Jayhawks' bats. After starting the inning with two outs, the Jayhawks produced four hits in a row, including an RBI double by McLaughlin.
"Momentum is really important in baseball. Hopefully it rides the ship a little bit."
RITCH PRICE Baseball coach
New Mexico finally found home plate against Jayhawks starter Sean Rackoski in the top of the fifth after a double by Jared Holley to lead things off. Aaron Siple then followed suit with an RBI single to drive in Holley.
Kansas freshman Ryan Ralston entered the game in place of Rackoski after a three-strikeout performance through five innings while only giving up one earned run.
Both teams managed a run in the eighth inning while Moroney found home plate yet again, this time at the hands of Kansas' Joven Afenir.
The Jayhawks' Joe Moroney started the bottom of the sixth with a double to left field, which set up McLaughlin to earn his third RBI of the game and gave the Jayhawks a 9-1 lead.
Down eight runs in the top of the final inning, the Lobos fought hard to forge a comeback. Four straight hits, including two doubles, brought the Lobos within six and a sacrifice fly put one more on the board, but it wasn't enough. The Jayhawks walked away victorious.
Kansas' McLaughlin was awarded last week's Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and continued his success on the field and in the batter's box against New Mexico Wednesday with three hits and three RBIs.
"When we recruited [McLaughlin], we thought he was going to be an impact player as a freshman," Price said. "He has quality professional at-bats and a high baseball IQ."
The Jayhawks will try to carry their momentum back to conference play as they welcome Oklahoma State to Hoglund Ballpark for a weekend series.
"Momentum is really important in baseball," Price said. " Hopefully it rides the ship a little bit."
Edited by Callie Byrnes
FACE OF THE STREAK
Darnell Jackson vs. Markieff Morris
PPG: 6.8
RPG: 4.9
APG: 0.5
DARNELL JACKSON
Although he wasn't the most popular player on the 2008 championship team, Jackson was pivotal to the squad's success. He led the Jayhawks in both rebounding (6.7) and shooting percentage (63 percent), often guarding the opposing team's most skilled big man as well. Jackson didn't become a starter until his senior year, but proved worthy as he averaged 11.2 PPG after only averaging 5.5 his junior year.
- Led Kansas in rebounds in 2007-08
- Led Kansas in field goal percentage in 2007-08
MARKIEFF MORRIS
VOTE FOR THE WINNER OF THIS MATCHUP AT KANSAN.COM BEGINNING AT NOON
Markieff Morris provided a strong post presence while at Kansas from both an offensive and defensive standpoint. While he wasn't quite the same scorer that Marcus was, Markieff's shot blocking and defensive presence made him just as vital, in addition to the fact that he finished his career shooting 40.4 percent from three. In his final year at Kansas, Markieff shot 65.2 percent on two-pointers, which ranked first on the team (minimum 500 minutes played).
PPG: 8.5
RPG: 6.1
FG: 55.2%
- Second Team All-Big 12 in 2010-11
- Led Kansas in field goal percentage and three-point percentage (minimum 10 attempts) in 2010-11
+