Volume 124 Issue 97
kansan.com
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
COMMENTARY
Ballpark hidden treasure
Nestled between the trees on Naismith Drive, Hoglund Ballpark never had a chance. Sitting in the shadow of Allen Fieldhouse, the home of the Kansas baseball team is arguably located in the worst spot on campus.
"We understand where it comes from, because, obviously, when you think of Kansas, you don't think of a baseball school, you don't think of a football school," senior third baseman Zac Elgie said. "You think of, obviously, a basketball school."
While Elgie did put some of the blame on the team's subpar performance last season, he does have a point. The season starts this Friday for the Jayhawks, and odds are, only a handful are aware of it.
And there's nothing wrong with Hoglund Park. The stadium recently had a $1.2 million turf upgrade. It holds 2,500 people, and every fan in the stadium feels like a part of the action with the close proximity of the seating to the field.
But it's like scheduling a T-Pain concert next to a Jay-Z and Kanye West extravaganza. Who wouldn't choose the latter?
In 2011, Kansas did not finish in the top 44 in average attendance, and that's as far as schools are ranked. The Jayhawks averaged 1,105 people for home games last season, leaving them just below the last school that made the rankings, South Alabama, which averaged 1,214 people per game.
"It's more along the lines of 'Well, our parents are here and that's about it," Elgie said.
Except, for Kansas baseball, people will not come. And those silver bleachers will sit uncovered far too often, as long as the program sits below the legendary building and program that engulfs this campus.
But baseball is a sport that has deep roots in this country's history, often symbolizing hope or change. It's Like in "Field of Dreams" when James Earl Jones boasts, "People will come."
Instead, on a Thursday game at 6 p.m., 904 people showed up to cheer on the Jayhawks. And that number is inflated, as season ticket holders are automatically counted into the attendance figures.
In the middle of the season, Kansas played No.4 Texas, in Hoglund Ballpark. The team had been playing well of late, sitting one game over .500 on the season and in conference play. Heck, if the series had gone well, the team would have been in a position to make the NCAA Tournament.
Edited by Katie James
"At Texas A&M last year, there were five or six thousand fans and it's crazy," Elgie said. "There are people who heckle you left and right, but it's fun and that's the way the game is supposed to be played, that's what you live for, and it'd be nice if we had fans come give the other teams crap every once in a while."
And while the young team strug-
gled last season, there was never
a true feeling of support from the
University's students and alumni.
Texas moves up, Kansas State drops in Big 12 standings as March closes in
PAGE 6
Freshman forward Bunny Williams tries to pass the ball to her teammates over her opponent's hands during Sunday afternoon's game against Kansas State. With Carolyn Davis out for the season, players such as Williams will need to step up
A DWINDLING ROSTER
FILLING IN FOR DAVIS
KATHLEEN GIER
kgier@kansan.com
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
The Kansas women's basketball team needs answers, and it needs them quickly. In the loss to Kansas State on Sunday, the team saw its All-American candidate, Carolyn Davis, fall and tragically end he season with a torn ACL and dislocated left knee.
Just when it looked like the Jayhawks were going to break their 12-year NCAA Tournament drought, they are left with a depleted roster of only nine athletes after transfers and Davis' injury.
Besides Davis, junior guard Angel Goodrich and senior forward Aishah Sutherland are the only other players consistently scoring in double figures. On most nights, this trio serves as the soul of the team — scoring the points, making plays and leading the Jayhawks to their 17-7, 6-6 record.
"We have talented people on this team," Sutherland said. "It was her that was in the spotlight at that moment; now, we have other people who can come into the spotlight."
Coach Bonnie Henrickson is looking for more production from a contingent of the team that she said is under-performing. She wants freshman guard Natalie Knight to be more aggressive, junior guard Monica Engelman to contribute more, Sutherland to be more consistent and freshman guard Asia Bovd to make a noticeable effect.
The team has come to rely on the consistency and strength of Goodrich, but that could be considered a weakness.
"We just throw it back to her," Henrickson said. "She is our pacifier; we ask her to do a lot."
In stretches, this team has run with some of the best in the conference and country, defeating No. 23 Texas in Austin and No. 22 Texas Tech in Lawrence earlier this season. But it stalled in conference play, dropping games to Kansas State and Oklahoma at home.
This is a new chapter for Kansas as it looks to regroup after the loss of Davis and searches for three more victories to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The team's
first opportunity to show the resolve and resilience it need come at 7 tonight in Ames, Iowa. Earlier in the season, the Jayhawks defeated the Cyclones in double overtime in Allen Fieldhouse, where Davis scored 21 points, 12 of them during the two overtimes. It took last-second shots from Goodrich and Engelman to continue the game at the end of each period.
Without Davis, freshman forward Chelsea Gardner steps into the spotlight. Gardner is soft-spoken and still plays timidly, but she realizes that this team needs her to blossom now.
"She's got a big shoe that I've got to fit in, but I just feel that I've got to practice harder and come out and work hard in the games," Gardner said.
She has been playing increasing minutes with varied success. Gardner is 6 feet 3 inches and plays in a way that reminds Henrickson of Davis but has yet to show the consistency and aggressiveness that the Jayahaws need off the bench. Tonight, she will debut in a starting spot at the five position against a quick and powerful Iowa State frontcourt.
Henrickson said from past experience, she is wary of the toll the Cyclones forwards take on her younger players.
"Every freshman post player I have taken up there, Bill Fennelly has flare screened the fool out of them," Henrickson said.
Henrickson remembered watching Davis get pulled out to the three-point line her freshman year while trying to guard versatile post players such as center Anna Prins, who scored 19 points in the first outing.
"Prins is a beast lately," Henrickson said. "That is what worries me, because we know who will be guarding her: Chelsea."
Forward Chelsea Poppens of Iowa State also gave Kansas trouble, scoring a game-high 24 points and pulling down 15 rebounds.
But in the game against Kansas State, Gardner showed glimpses of the player the team needs her to become, scoring seven points, three rebounds and only one turnover in 23 minutes. The ball came to her on one of the final plays with a chance to tie the game, and although she did not make the basket, Henrickson said there was a bigger takeaway.
"She can't think, 'I can't believe I missed it,' Henrickson said. "She's got to walk away thinking. My teammates have confidence in me and my coaches do too."
Edited by Taylor Lewis
GAME INFO
WHO: Iowa State WHERE: Ames, Iowa WHEN: 7 p.m.
Big East and WVU reach settlement
CONFERENCE RE-ALIGNMENT
ANDREW JOSEPH
aijoseph@kansan.com
The Big East Conference announced Tuesday that it will terminate the membership of West Virginia University on June 30, allowing the school to join the Big 12 Conference in July.
West Virginia and the Big East reached the settlement after three months of deliberations.
"The Big 12 is a strong and vibrant conference academically and athletically," said Oliver Luck, athletic director for West Virginia, in a statement Tuesday. "We look forward to the potential academic and athletic partnerships and financial opportunities that membership in the Big 12 offers."
The agreement prevents either party from discussing the financial details of the settlement, but, according to the Associated Press, West Virginia and the Big 12 will pay the Big East a total of $20 million.
The settlement is conditional on West Virginia following Big East bylaws until it leaves on June 30, according to a statement from the Big East board of directors.
"This vote is conditioned on
The dispute between West Virginia and the Big East originated when conference commissioner John Marinatto ruled that he would hold all three Big East defectors — the universities of Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia — to the mandated 27-month waiting period.
WVU fulfilling its obligations under a settlement agreement with the Conference that resolves the litigation between the parties" the statement read in part.
Three days following the Big 12's announcement aboug adding West Virginia, the school filed a suit against the Big East to waive the waiting period.
With the additions of West Virginia and Texas Christian University made official, the Big 12 released its 2012 conference football schedule on Tuesday.
The Big East countered with a suit of its own less than a week later.
Kansas will open Big 12 play hosting TCU on Sept. 15 and play at West Virginia in Morgantown on Dec. 1.
— Edited by Ian Cummings
FOOTBALL
Big 12 football schedule set
Football's 2012 journey
Sept. 1: vs. South Dakota State
Sept. 8: vs. Rice
Nov. 3: at Baylor
Sept. 15: vs. TCU
Nov. 10: at Texas Tech
Sept. 22: at Northern Illinois
Nov. 17: vs. Iowa State
1
Nov. 24: Open
Sept. 29: Open
Dec. 1: at West Virginia
Oct. 6: at Kansas State
Oct. 13: vs. Oklahoma State
Oct. 27: vs. Texas
Oct. 20: at Oklahoma
Following non-conference games against South Dakota State and Rice, Kansas will host Texas Christian in the school's first game as a member of the Big 12 conference. Kansas then goes on the road to play Northern Illinois before conference play kicks in for the remainder of the season.
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
The Big 12 released its football schedule Tuesday morning, leaving the Jayhawks with a tough 2012 road.
The final game for Kansas will be in Morgantown, W.V., as Kansas takes on the Mountaineers of West Virginia — another Big 12 newcomer.
Edited by Taylor Lewis
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