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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
QUOTE OF THE DAY
MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012
former Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson at the NBA draft
combine in Chicago after being asked about projected first overall pick Anthony Davis's shirt that read "Check my stats."
Source: The Detroit News
CONDITIONING
FACT OF THE DAY
Thomas Robinson is projected to go as high as second in June's NBA draft. Before Robinson, former KU center Cole Aldrich was the highest draft pick head coach Bill Self has ever recruited to Kansas. Aldrich was drafted to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 11 pick of the 2010 NBA
draft.
Source: Scout.com
Q: How many University of Kansas all-time records did members of the women's track team break this season?
A: 12 out of 47 all-time records
Source: KUAthletics.com
ATHLETES GET READY
DYLAN DERRYBERRY
dderryberry@kansan.com
From athletes who have chosen to take time away from the University, to athletes still living in Jayhawker Towers and taking courses, Howard Graham, Learning Services Coordinator for KU Athletics, said that a lot is still expected from the student athletes during the off-season, wherever they are.
Whether an athlete is here,
home, working or traveling, their
teams expect them to maintain their education obligations and stay in shape.
Michael Reynolds, a sophomore from Wichita who is an outside linebacker for the football team, says that he and his teammates take advantage of the summer semester to stay in shape, keep ahead in classes and create deeper bonds with one another.
"We have summer conditioning and summer courses right now," Reynolds said. "It's not actually a requirement, but most of everyone
[on the football team] is here to get ready for the fall. Mostly we're just spending time with the new guys, getting to know them and bringing them in and making sure they feel comfortable."
Associate Director of Athletics Jim Marchiony says that it is imperative for teammates to spend time with each other, especially over summer when everyone has more time to do so. Marchiony says this is the key to the success of any of the University's teams.
"Summer is a great time for athletes to acclimate themselves to college life in a much less stressful atmosphere and it's also a time for team members to bond, socially, academically and athletically." Marchiony said. "National championships are won in the off-season; part of the summer experience is the bonding experience with each other."
Edited by Megan Hinman
TRACK
Women's track team shines
ROYA IBRAHIMI
ribrahimi@kansan.com
University of Kansas Men and Women's track and field team finished strong at the annual NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa.
Kansas Jayhawks Women's Track and Field team tied for fourth place with Clemson University
with 28 points and Kansas Men's team placed 23rd with a total of 12 points. The women's finish was the highest in the program's history at this meet.
400-meter dash. Junior Francine Simpson placed fourth in women's long jump. Junior Heather Bergmann placed sixth in women's javelin throw. Senior Rebeka Stowe placed eighth in women's 3000-meter steeplechase. Junior Andrea Geubelle placed third in women's triple jump and junior Paris Daniels placed eighth in the women's 200-meter dash.
Women juniors Denesa Morris, Paris Daniels, Taylor Washington and sophomore Diamond Dixon placed second in the women's 1600-meter relay. Dixon also placed third in the women's
Kansas Jayhawks Men's freshman Michael Stigler placed sixth in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Junior Mason Finley placed eighth in men's shot put and second in the discus throw.
The annual track and field championships held 21 events this year in duration of four days.
—Edited by Megan Hinman
COMMENTARY
Price is out of excuses for performance
There is no denying the charisma of Kansas baseball coach Ritch
I charisma of Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price. A native of California, Price is as low-key as any true Midwesterner and as approachable as Bill Self. Athletic directors drool over the persona he embodies.
There is also no denying what Price has accomplished since taking over KU baseball in 2003: seven 30-win seasons, more than 300 wins, 38 players drafted and the Jayhawks' first conference title since 1949 in 2006.
But recently, Kansas has struggled to be anything but the Big 12's doormat, and the Skipper has yet to right the ship.
The Jayhawks finished below .500 the last two seasons. They knocked off number two seed, Texas A&M, in the Big 12 Championship last week — before getting ousted by Missouri — in a tournament that they almost didn't qualify for.
"When you've got 13 freshmen on your roster in this league, you've got a tough task ahead of you," Price said after Kansas' season ending loss to Missouri. "I knew it was going to be a long season with growing pains."
Even though Price is a top recruiter, (move before Even though, as a sentence) the same justification for losing year after year just isn't enough.
E itchoes what he said about his youngsters at the conclusion of the 2010 season when the Jayhawks finished in 6th.
"We've got to get older and more experienced in order to finish games," Price said after failing to make the Big 12 tournament last season. "It just goes back to the fact that we need to continue to develop our guys."
"They have had their ups and downs like a lot of freshmen do during the course of the season. They are a big part of our future."
The 2010 Jayhawks had seven players get drafted. As for the freshmen that Price excitedly alluded to in his postseason remarks
— pitchers Tanner Poppe and Thomas Taylor — Poppe ended up in the bullpen as an unreliable closer, while Taylor has consistently kept her ERA around 4.50.
In a sport that goes hand-inhand with numbers, here are a few to ponder: two, one and zero.
In the Rich Price era, the team has two NCAA tournament appearances, one Big 12 tournament championship, zero finishes higher than 5th in the conference.
Perhaps consistently raising banners in the building next door to Hoglund Ballpark casts an inferiority complex over Kansas baseball. There is no denying that in the shadows of Allen Fieldhouse lurks a second-rate baseball team, but at least they're young.
Edited by Kelsey Cipolla
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