Volume 124 Issue 134
kansan.com
Friday, April 13, 2012
COMMENTARY
There's a different premium
Women, not men, occupy the most entertaining, fastest-paced sport in all of Kansas athletics, and it isn't even close.
The following proclamation is sure to cause a lot of scoffing and eye-rolling, but after two years of covering Kansas sports, this is a statement I feel very comfortable making.
For those of you who end most of your jokes with punchlines like "WNBA" or "Title IX," that statement will likely come across as ludicrous. At a school that features Naimith Drive and Phog Allen Fieldhouse, it may even be sacrilegeous. And a few short months ago, I would have joined in on that line of thinking.
But, after covering the Kansas volleyball team for a year, I can come to no other conclusion. Faster than the baseball team and more harder-hitting than the football team's defense, coach Ray Beard's squad made me a fan of the sport very quickly.
Unfortunately, I probably wouldn't have given volleyball a chance, if I hadn't unexpectedly been assigned to the volleyball beat last fall.
This seems to be the sad reality of Kansas women's sports. Outside of a dedicated group of hardcore fans, the sports don't seem to get too much traction with students.
The attendance gap is more surprising, because when it comes to the primary objective of sports - winning - the women's teams have the men's teams outclassed; and this academic year is only magnifying that fact.
Track has another weekend meet before competing in the Relays.
Yes, men's basketball is clearly king, and deservedly so. But this season has shown that when it comes to winning, the often-ignored women's programs could teach the men's programs a thing or two.
Kansas City-area sports fans deal with enough losing from their professional teams already. So, go see some winning teams a few times this spring, right here in Lawrence.
Losing is one thing, but most of these defeats are not even competitive. The football team lost its games by 27.8 points on average. Since conference play began on March 23, the baseball team has lost its games by an average of 4.45 runs.
Edited by Corinne Westeman
Meanwhile, on the women's side, softball just recently railed off a school-record 20-game winning streak. Women's basketball defied the odds and made the Sweet 16, after losing star junior Carolyn Davis. Volleyball stumbled down the stretch, but recorded a win over the highest-ranking opponent in program history, No. 6 Minnesota, on Sept. 10.
And the women's track team, which is perhaps the best-kept secret on campus, boasts several individual champions and an overall second-place finish at the NCAA indoor championship last month.
Former football coach Turner Gill was canned following a miserable 2-10 season. Baseball coach Rich Price could be next if his team doesn't recover from a downward spiral that has left them at 12-21.
Despite very poor on-field results, football and baseball still tend to occupy the two primary spots in Jayhawk random behind men's basketball, of course. Need an indication on how "well" those sports are going?
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RUNNING THE SHOW
NO REAL BREAKS
Athletic director Sheahon Zenger has no time to take days off
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
When Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger moved into his new house in Lawrence with his family last June, he put most of his belongings in the garage. To this day, he still hasn't touched them.
There has been no time for Zenger to organize. From the very beginning, his new job at Kansas required his full attention and that hasn't changed.
"My wife tells me it was hard," Zenger said. "I kind of got lost in it."
Zenger was lost in his first year on the nonstop job at Kansas. He came to Kansas having to clean up the leftovers from a ticket scandal within the athletic department, handle a conference realignment situation that had Kansas fans sweating, fire and hire a football coach, and finally ride along as the women's and men's basketball teams had surprising NCAA Tournament runs.
"Your first year, an athletic director's job is always busy, and you kind of sellout your family and everybody else," Zenger said. "There are certain things you anticipate you're going to be doing, but there's no way I could've anticipated two or three of things that came our direction."
On Jan. 3, 2011, Zenger was officially introduced as Kansas'
athletic director. Zenger came at a time when the ticket scandal was something he didn't have to deal with much. In fact, the scandal is something Zenger doesn't talk about, even with his own employees in the Athletics Department.
However, conference realignment directly affected Zenger. As the Big 12 began to teeter, Zenger moved to the basement in his house. He didn't want to bother his family and he had to have his iPhone, iPad and blackberry charged, or charging at all times. His first phone call would come in around 6:30 a.m., and they wouldn't stop until around midnight every day.
"I never thought the Big 12 was going to go away." Zenger said. "In my heart of hearts I believed that the Big 12 would stand, and it did."
Once conference realignment came to its conclusion, football season did the same. And once again, the workload never stopped for Zenger. On Nov. 27, 2011, Zenger fired football coach Turr Gill. Three days later, Zenger took to the air, as he flew across the country for two weeks, looking to find the next football coach for Kansas.
"I did sleep from two to six every night and that was literally it," Zenger said. "When you're in that moment, you're willing to sacrifice whatever. That's what you get paid to do."
Dr. Sheahon Zenger, Kansas' athletic director, sits down for a conversation with the Kansan in his office. Zenger has been busy with the conference realignment and a run to the national championship.
SEE ZENGER PAGE 10
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Getting ready for the 2012 NBA Draft
nfordyce@kansan.com
NATHAN FORDYCE
With only a handful of days removed from the NCAA tournament, Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor have their eyes on the NBA. While signing autographs for fans, the two discussed what their plans for the upcoming NBA Draft that'll take place in June.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson take a moment to talk about their next move during the second half of the game against Kentucky in the National Championship in New Orleans April 2. Both players will enter the NBA draft this summer.
After an up and down four years at the University, Taylor is projected to be a late-first or early-second round pick, depending on what mock drafts you look at and respect. Chad Ford, of ESPN Insider, has Taylor ranked as the 33rd overall prospect in this year's draft.
When asked about Ford's projected outcome for him, Taylor laughed and said, "Thirty-three? Really?"
In order to improve on that draft grade, Taylor acknowledges he there areparts of his game that he needs to elevate.
"I'm just have to keep working hard, work on my jump shot and work on things they say I can't do well," Taylor said. "Can't worry about what the mock drafts say and just continue to get better."
Robinson, though, after averaging 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game during his junior campaign, is almost guaranteed to be a top-five pick in the draft. Ford has him as the fourth-ranked prospect and going third overall to the New Orleans Hornets. But the knock by scouts and evaluators is that he is too short to play power forward in the NBA. Robinson
isn't bothered by what has been said about his height.
"It only matters if I play like I'm too short," Robinson said, "Then we have a problem."
The two haven't started to prepare extensively for the draft yet — at least, not when it comes to workouts — especially since their season ended 11 days ago.
Both players have different things to offer whichever teams decide to take the Jayhawks' star players. Taylor and Robinson said they are both willing to do whatever they have to for their
Taylor said he was just relaxing and being lazy. Robinson said he was just trying to get his body back from the long season.
respective teams to succeed.
Each has an ideal team in mind, when considering the draft.
Robinson, when asked the same question, laughed and smiled, and then said "New Jersey. I want to go to Jersey."
Taylor simply said, "The Lakers,
let's go Lakers."
4
Robinson and Taylor both realize
that they are about to capitalize on their childhood dreams -dreams that are only growing brighter and will continue to in the coming months.
"Just to be in this position is a blessing," Taylor said. "I'm going to take full advantage of it."
— Edited by Corinne Westeman