BASEBALL: Drops another one against Oral Roberts. SEE PAGE 3B. TENNIS: Courtney Steinbock named Big 12 Player of the Week. SEE PAGE 2B.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Chris Wristen
cwristen@kansan.com
"This is the Final Four trophy right here," Gooden said as he rested his right hand on the trophy. "And like coach said, on Oct. 15, we have something good to look forward to."
Those words never came, but a cryptic statement did that provided some food for thought.
Now that a few days have passed and the initial shock of losing to Maryland and having basketball season end two days too early is over, it's a good time to reflect on some of the fallout from Final Four weekend.
As loss lingers don't overlook victories
It wouldn't seem right to begin post-season basketball discussions without talking about Drew Gooden's future, and sure enough, he gave us something to talk about yesterday at the welcome back rally at Memorial Stadium. It seemed almost eerie listening to Gooden speak of the 33-4 season and Final Four journey.
Everyone on hand seemed to cling to the edge of their seats as Gooden spoke. They anxiously wanted to hear him utter the words his coach made famous a year and a half ago in the same stadium — "I'm staving."
No.
Is that a hint? Was he trying to tell us something? Does that mean he IS staying?
No.
Gooden knows he has nothing left to prove statistically at the college level, although the Maryland game showed that he could use another year in the weight room to get a lot stronger.
We?
He's got two great options. He can go to the NBA now and get immediate money and glamour, or he can chase an NCAA title one more time, have even more fun than this year, get even more hype on the preseason No. 1 team in America — and then go to the NBA and make the big bucks. It's like choosing between a juicy steak and a lobster dinner; both are grand options. Regardless, he deserves time to think about it.
It's nice to know we don't have lots of hooligans and unruly slobs like the Maryland and Indiana students who looted and set fires on their campuses Monday night. We only have one because some reject shattered the glass in the display cases in front of Watson Library after Kansas lost to Maryland on Saturday night. Everyone else managed to show some class in defeat. Apparently Roy Williams' TV commercials and Jeff Boschee's e-mail were effective.
Think of the excitement of the 16-0 season in the Big 12. Remember the pride you felt in having a Final Four team. Never forget the fun you had along the way. It was one heck of a ride.
Now it's over and it's time to start dreaming again. Sure, Saturday's loss brought on sadness, but a few weeks from now the pain will be gone.
Wristen is a Leawood senior in journalism.
Despite the Final Four loss, the basketball team's success proved to be beneficial for other Kansas teams on Saturday. A combination of nice weather and Final Four excitement sparked hundreds of fans to flock to other sporting events on Saturday. Fans packed the shore of the Kansas River to cheer on the rowing team on Saturday morning. A season-high 549 fans attended the softball team's doubleheader against Texas. Between games fans walked across the street and saw the tennis team's twin-tandem of Courtney and Kristen Steinbock dominate Iowa in doubles play and helped the team remain undefeated at home this season.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2002
AARON LERNER/KANSAN
Drew Gooden responds to cheering fans at yesterday's pep rally at Memorial Stadium. Chants of "one more year" echoed through the stadium in reference to Gooden returning for his senior season.
Gooden speech raises questions
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
Just when speculation about Drew Gooden's decision was all but answered, the junior forward left Kansas fans a little more confused.
Oct. 15 marks the first day of practice for next season. But hints that Gooden has given all year long has indicated that he won't even be here.
In front of about 6.000 Jayhawk faithful at chilly Memorial Stadium yesterday, Gooden spoke of next year's Jayhawk squad at a rally paying tribute to the Kansas men's basketball team that made this year's Final Four.
"On October 15, we have something to look forward to," Gooden said, pointing to the Final Four plaque he was holding. "Instead of saying 'semi-final' on this trophy, hopefully it can say 'national championship.'"
He said on The Jim Rome Show during the season that he was likely
But following Kansas' 97-88 loss to Maryland, a loss that included a sub-par 15-point effort by Gooden, who averaged 20 points for the season, talks surfaced of the 6-foot-10 forward having unfinished business.
to turn pro, and speculation about him being a high lottery pick seemed to add certainty to his decision.
"It will be a tough decision," he said after Saturday's game, "No one wants to end their career like this."
Yesterday's rally included two flyovers by a B-1 bomber and a video of highlights from the Jayhawks' 33-4 season. Along with Gooden, senior guard Jeff Boschee, chancellor Robert Hemenway, athletics director Al Bohl and coach Roy Williams also spoke. Williams received perhaps the largest ovation of them all, as thousands chanted "Roy!" and the cheers for the veteran coach pierced through the cold air at Memorial Stadium.
"Coach, I've only been here for a
coach.
"It was a fantastic
It was a fantastic ride, a fantastic season. I hope you enjoyed it. It was the most fun I've ever had as a college basketball
Roy Williams Kansas coach
few months," Bohl said to Williams,
"but it didn't take me long to realize that these people love you."
Jayhawk radio announcers Bob Davis and Max Falkenstien served as hosts of the rally, which lasted about an hour.
"It was a fantastic ride, a fantastic season," Williams said. "I hope you enjoyed it. It was the most fun I've ever had as a college basketball coach.
Contact Wood atrwood@kansan.com.This story was edited by Sarah Smarsh.
Women's rugby shuts out Kansas State
By Stephanie Goettsch Kansan sportswriter
After a three-week break, the women's rugby team routed Kansas State 44-0 Saturday at Gilham Park in Kansas City, Mo.
"It was a little shaky at first," said team captain Sarah Ratzlaff, Buhler, graduate student. "We played well and didn't let up, but it wasn't intense by any means."
Coach Jim Bartle said that unlike last year, this year the team was off for spring break.
"Our performance wasn't going to be our very best," Bartle said. "As the game went on, we got our timing back and looked pretty sharp."
Ratzlaff said it was a big victory. She said that the team continued to score repeatedly because of forced turnovers and physical endurance.
"Even if they got the ball, we'd have it back in 50 seconds," Ratzlaff said. "Our biggest strength is our running. We have some really strong backs that can run the ball up the field."
Bartle said he was satisfied with the performance of the backs, who supplied seven of the eight tries. A try is worth five points.
Bartle also attributed the victory to the supreme offensive effort of Melissa McKibben, Overland Park senior. The inside center scored four times.
"She's talented and has always been a big try scorer for us," Bartle said.
The women's rugby team is undefeated this season and has faced three Big 12 Conference teams — Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas State. Bartle admitted that they had coasted through thus far.
"The competition we have gotten is about what we expected," he said. "We went 11-2 last season and 8-2 the season before that, so we're just going through a stretch where we're winning a lot of games."
The KU women will play Saturday and Sunday at the Ruggerfest Tournament in St. Louis. Bartle anticipated a higher level of all-around play.
"Next weekend is big. We'll be playing experienced teams with older, more mature players." Bartle said. "It will be refreshing to be pushed and find out what we can do against better teams. We'll find out exactly how good we are."
Contact Goettsch at sgoettsch@kansan.com. This story was edited by Kristi Henderson.
Softball plans to end its losing streak
AARON LERNER/KANSAN
Lindsey Wienstein hustles down the first-base line after hitting a ground ball in the second inning of Saturday's game against Texas.
Three losses in a row loom in players' minds as they face Washburn
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
After three tough losses last weekend, the Kansas softball team hopes to regroup today at 4 p.m. at Jayhawk Field against Washburn University. The Jayhawks lost two Big 12 Conference games to Texas on Saturday and one to Missouri on Sunday, dropping their record to 19-15 and 2-5 in the Big 12.
"Obviously there's an element of frustration with several close losses," coach Tracy Bunge said. "We're disappointed that we didn't get at least one game from Texas and very disappointed with the outcome in Missouri."
Washburn University brings a 26-6 record to Lawrence and is coming off a doubleheader sweep
of its first Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association conference games last Wednesday. The Lady Blues are led offensively by senior outfielder Kristen Cheney who has a .447 batting average and was named the MIAA Player of the Week last week.
Bunge said there would be a sense of urgency for the coaching staff in this week's games and hoped her team would play with that same sense of urgency.
"She adjusted after the first inning," senior centerfielder Shelly Musser said about Texas's
"This week's games are important to us getting back on track," Bunge said. "I think the team's ready to bounce back."
Kansas also needs to score more runs in order to take the pressure off the pitching staff. All three losses last weekend were by the score of 2-1 and the problems against the Longhorns stemmed from the Kansas batters not adjusting to the Texas pitcher.
"I think the team's ready to bounce back."
Tracy Bunge
Kansas Coach
Cat Osterman. "But we didn't adjust with her."
Kansas knows it will be facing good competition with Washburn today, Creighton tomorrow and Texas A&M this weekend, and the Jayhawks will have to play well if they hope gain confidence and pick up some wins.
"We've had good pitching and our defensive has been good lately, but our offensive has kind of tailed off." Bunge said. "We need to get our hitter back to being relaxed at the plate and being more aggressive. It's a matter of getting all aspects of our game clicking at once."
Contact Brox at abrox@kansan.com. This story was edited by Justin Henning.
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