Volume 124 Issue 146
kansan.com
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
COMMENTARY
Leaving the KU family
I remember the first time I stepped foot in Lawrence: Feb. 16, 2008. Man, it was cold, but it was the visit that changed my life. For a kid coming from Atlanta, the notion of attending the University of Kansas isn't just rare, it is absolutely unheard of. With almost all my friends going to schools in the Southeast like Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Auburn, I was the one who ventured over to the Midwest.
I'm sure most out-of-state students share this experience, but when someone asks us where we go to school, and we proudly tell them "Kansas," some variation of the same response always ensues:
"Oh, really. Why'd you choose Kansas?"
I want to roll my eyes every time I hear that question, and I cringe as a "Wizard of Ox" reference often serves as a complement to the inquiry. But at the same time, I love to answer that question:
Why did I choose Kansas?
Most college students across the country love their school, but they don't know what they're missing here. For me, it only took a few minutes on campus to know that Kansas was where I wanted to be.
Despite an enrollment of around 27,000 students, the University of Kansas is as much of a family as it is a university.
When Thomas Robinson tragically lost his mother and grandparents in a four-week span, the entire KU community rallied around Robinson and his sister, Jayla. Even with the loss and heartbreak Kansas let Robinson know that he was not alone.
The phrase "Family Over Everything" embodies the basketball program, but there are no three better words to describe this University. It only takes watching one game at Allen Fieldhouse to see how much the students and alumni care about their school.
When Robinson's eardrum-rattling block against Missouri sent Allen Fieldhouse into a frenzy, it didn't matter whether we knew the people around us or not. Everyone hugged as if they'd known each other their whole lives.
Kansas extends beyond athletics and winning and losing. It is a home.
As I walk on Jayhawk Boulevard each day and gaze at the Memorial Campanile, I know I made the right choice.
Being a laj Hawk is much more than a school mascot. It's a part of every student's identity here at Kansas and something that I will always cherish.
As I finish my last column for The University Daily Kansan, I grow excited for the next stage in my life. But, at the same time, I'm grateful for the last four years.
"Oh, really. Why'd you choose Kansas?"
I know I'll get the question again, and when I do, I will simply respond:
"It's the only place I'd ever want to go to school."
— Edited by Bre Roach
Rock Chalk.
Check out the baseball power rankings
PERFECTING THE PITCH
PAGE 3B
STOPPING THE TREND
With Taylor on the mound, the team hopes to improve its away record
ANDREW JOSEPH
ajoseph@kansan.com
The Kansas baseball team (17-27, 4-13 Big 12), begins a week with no conference games, starting with a one-game visit to Arkansas-Little Rock this afternoon.
The Jayhawks lost two weekend games against Oklahoma, but Sunday's series finale was cancelled due to rain.
The normal Sunday starter, junior pitcher Thomas Taylor (4-5, 4.08 ERA), will start today against the Trojans. Despite not pitching in mid-week games, Taylor's approach will stay the same
"Mymindset doesn't change at all," Taylor said. "It's still a baseball game, and just because it isn't necessarily a Big 12 game, you still have to go out there."
"I actually think he's been throwing the ball really well and that's one of the reasons why we are going to start him," Price said. "We want to keep him with the same routine and have that same rhythm, so we don't have him go a whole week without throwing."
The Kansas offense took a blow amid the news that senior third baseman Zac Elgie will miss two weeks with a broken finger on his catching hand. Elgie injured his finger sliding into third base Friday night.
"I actually think he's been throwing the ball really well and that's one of the reasons why we are going to start him."
Despite losing a senior player, Price said he is optimistic Elgie will be back before the regular season ends.
The Jayhawks have struggled in road games throughout the season and will need a strong performance from Taylor to stop the trend. Coach Ritch Price said he gave Taylor the starting position because of Taylor's recent improvement.
and compete to put the team in a position to win."
RITCH PRICE Coach
"If he could play through the pain, and if the swelling is gone, he could possibly be back in time for the Missouri series", Price said. "We lost Zac at the
worst possible time in the season, so it's devastating timing for him to be out as hot as he's been."
— Edited by Gabrielle Schock
Thomas Taylor, the Jayhawk's junior pitcher from Overland Park, attempts to pick off a Texas Tech base runner at first base during their game at Hoglund Ballpark on Sunday afternoon. Thomas gave up only one run against the Aggies at the top of the first inning.
CLAIRE HOWARD/KANSAN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
After surgery Davis rehabilitates knee
RYAN MCCARTHY amccarthy@kansan.com
On Feb. 12, junior forward Carolyn Davis went up for what appeared to be a routine jumper just outside the lane at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. It's a play Davis has shot a thousand times in practice and in games.
As she planted her left side, her knee buckled causing her to collapse onto the court.
Junior guard Angel Goodrich whipped her face around and put both hands on her head. It's something that happened to her twice before.
Davis lay motionless for more than 10 minutes; team doctors
and coaches surrounded her as she sat on the hardwood floor.
"When you hear the scream you know what it is," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
In Henrickson's time at Kansas, there have been six anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, but the team is also doing everything in their power to prevent
these injuries, whether it's the training staff, orthopedic surgeons or the players themselves.
With surgery now passed, Davis is focused on recovery so she can have as strong of a senior season as possible. Davis has begun the process by participating in exercises with the team while also attempting to get as much movement possible back in her knee.
Having so multiple ACL tears on the women's basketball team allows Davis to rely on the expertise of not only the trainers and physicians on hand in the Kansas athletic department, but also her teammates.
Her roommate and close friend Goodrich tore the ligament twice while at Kansas. Sophomore forward Tania Jackson tore hers in high school and missed time as a Jayhawk.
"It kind of helped that I've been around a few of them," Davis said. "So I kind of knew what to expect in a way. I think what helped me was there were so many people around me that weren't going to allow me to isolate myself."
There's plenty of evidence that shows why women are more susceptible to ACL injuries than men.
According to an article published in American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) by Dr. Timothy E. Hewett in November 2010, women are two to 10 times more likely to sustain a knee ligament injury, such as an ACL injury, than male athletes participating in the same sports.
Dr. Hewett went onto say that most ACL injuries—whether in male or female athletes—occur by noncontact mechanisms, often during landing from a jump or making a lateral pivot while running.
There are several factors to go into why women are more susceptible to these injuries.
WHAT THE DOCTORS SAY
Dr. Larry McGee, the Kansas head team physician, and Dr. Douglass Stull and Dr. Jeff Randall, orthopedic surgeons at OrthoKansas on 1112 West 6th St, have all worked with ACL patients for the Jayhawks and provide similar theories on the issue.
- General muscle strength of males over females, in particular in their quadriceps and hamstrings.
- Some of the factors include the following;
- The female's anatomy is different from males, wider pelvises, creating different position for the knee, which results in valgus Knee. Women also tend to have a narrower notch in the knee where the ACL is placed.
- Another theory that Dr. McGee, Stull and Randall talked about, but has not been proven, hormonal differences with women and if the menstrual cycle has any factor. According to the doctors there are estrogen receptors on the ACL, which makes for increased laxatives during the menstrual cycle.
- They all concluded that there's not an exact answer for
SEE ACL PAGE 5B