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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Basketball moves past Williams to a new Self
Roy Williams has never seemed so far away.
A week ago, he had Lawrence in shambles. His leaving town caused great pain to many—a pain much greater than losing the national championship or any game for that matter.
We can only wonder what Williams is thinking in his Tar Heel office now that Bill Self has been hired.
Self is young, energetic and willing to stay at Kansas. He has Jayhawk fans once again talking about basketball and next year, something we never could have foreseen.
The new coach has also already changed fans' view of you, Roy.
If you can forget about us, then we certainly have the right to forget about you.
In the span of a week, you might have gone from hero to villain to forgotten.
Kansas has finally gotten what it deserves: a respected coach who appreciates the job and wants to be here, having no thoughts of going elsewhere.
Kansas is an outstanding school. With players such as Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning and coaches such as Phog Allen and James Naismith, its tradition is second to none.
Now, it has a coach who believes it
It was disrespectful to Kansas basketball in general for Williams to remain on the fence between Kansas and North Carolina. It was a slap in the face to the players, honor and tradition of Kansas basketball to even consider a job as more prestigious than Kansas.
Self was quoted as saying that this was a "career-ending job," showing the commitment the Jayhawk fans desperately desire.
We don't need a coach too good for Kansas. We need one thankful to be at Kansas.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2003
It appears that man is Bill Self
So where does this leave you, Roy?
The only place I can see is out.
The only place I can see is out.
You said you came back to the Kansas banquet for the players, yet you never mentioned one of the team members in your speech. You never talked about Jeff Graves' huge improvement, never about Keith Langford's development as a player and never about Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich, possibly the best senior tandem to ever play at Kansas.
No, you talked about yourself. And how much you hurt. And the pain you felt.
Maybe you came back for sympathy. Or maybe just to get people to react.
Those days might be over.
We are finished mourning. We are finished caring. In fact, we might also be finished wanting you back.
With the hiring of Self, we have officially moved on, as we have found a coach who is as committed to Kansas as we are to him.
Self might have said it best in the press conference announcing his hiring, referring to talks with former North Carolina, UCLA and Kansas coach Larry Brown.
"He used to tell me that those places are great," Self said. "But there is no place like Kansas."
True, but only when you can consider it home.
Here's hoping the grass in North Carolina is as green as you think it is.
It's too bad, Roy. You might just figure this out too late.
Newell is an Emporia freshman in journalism.
Andy Samuelson/Kansan
Dan Nelson/Kansan
Junior first baseman Ryan Baty will return to his hometown of Wichita to take on the Wichita State Shockers tonight. Baty has hit 9 home runs so far this season.
Ready for the'Roos
Kansas will take on the University of Missouri-Kansas City in a doubleheader at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. today at Jayhawk Field. The Kangaroos, 13-27, are making their first trip to Lawrence this season. They are meeting the 23-20 Jayhawks.
Jayhawks to battle Shockers
Ry Daniel Berk
By Daniel Berk
dberk@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas baseball team will play its biggest nonconference game tonight. The Jayhawks will travel to Wichita will battle Wichita State at 7 p.m.
The Shockers are 29-15 this season. With a 13-3 home record, Wichita State has proven it is tough to beat on its home field.
Wichita State is led offensively by Nick McCoola, who is batting .355, and Drew Moffitt, who has 13 home runs on the season and 52 RBI. Moffitt leads the team in both categories.
The Jayhawks will send senior left-hander Pat Holmes to the mound. Holmes is 3-1 on the season with an earned run average of 5.26. Kansas coach Ritch Price said he expected to use five or six pitches during the game to break it up and confuse the Shocker hitters.
"The strength of our club is hitting," Price said. "We have to depend on that to give us the best opportunity to win. Holmes will start, but we will
give their team a lot of different looks."
The game against the Shockers will be a homecoming for two Kansas players. Junior first baseman Ryan Baty and his freshman brother, second baseman Matt Baty, both grew up in Wichita and played high school baseball at Maize High School just outside of Wichita.
Both of the Baty brothers are having strong seasons so far. Ryan is batting .385, second on the team and has 9 home runs, which is a tie for the team lead. Matt is batting .325 and has 10 stolen bases.
he has started one game at catcher, three games in center field, 15 games at second base and one game in right field. He has also batted lead off, second, seventh and ninth.
Matt Baty did not start this season as an everyday player and was expected to be used as a utility player. So far this season,
When senior shortstop Brandon Shepard got into an early season slump, an opportunity knocked for the younger Baty. He became a starter at second base, and freshman Ritchie Price moved to shortstop from second base.
"It should be a real exciting time for them," Price said. "They will have a lot of friends and family there to watch them, and it should be a special day. I am sure they are really looking forward to it."
Kansas will to look to this game as a momentum gainer. The Jayhawks will face a nationally ranked Baylor team this weekend at Hoglund Ballpark.
By winning its last two conference series, Price believes his team has put itself right back in the hunt for two postseason tournaments.
"By playing well lately, we have not only an opportunity to play at the Big 12 Conference tournament, but also a chance to make the NCAA Tournament," Price said. "So, obviously this is a big one for us, and it would only boost our RPI rating."
- Edited by Erin Chapman
JAYHAWKS IN THE PROS
By Ryan Greene
rgreee@kansan.com
rganes sportswriter
The NBA playoffs are now underway, and every former Jayhawk playing in the NBA is on a playoff squad. Each week, The University Daily Kansan updates you on what your favorite former Jayhawks are up to in the pros. If there are any former Jayhawks you would like an update on, please e-mail your requests to rgreene@kansan.com.
Paul Pierce — Boston Celtics
Pierce saw limited time in Boston's regular season finale against Detroit but made sure he showed up come playoff time. On
Saturday, in game one of the Celtics' series with Indiana, Pierce dropped in 40 points and had 11 rebounds, including a clutch three-pointer down the stretch that put Boston up for good. In Monday's game two, Pierce was fighting a severe head cold and scored 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting as Indiana evened the series at 1-1.
Drew Gooden — Orlando Magic
Gooden put up
Gooden put up solid numbers in Orlando's final two regular season contests, combining for 28 points and 17 re bounds.
Against Detroit in the team's first playoff game, Gooden went toe-to-toe with the Pistons' Ben Wallace, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in an upset victory for the eighth-seeded Magic.
Jacque Vaughn — Orlando Magic
In the same three games that Gooden starred in, Vaughn merely fizzled. In the regular season's final game, Vaughn had 6 points and nine assists but was ineffective in the first game against Detroit with just 4 points and six assists.
Raef LaFrentz — Dallas Mavericke
LaFrentz provided 36 solid minutes in a huge comeback victory against Portland Saturday night. He finished with 7 points, seven
rebounds and two blocks, but more importantly, the Mavericks lead their first round series 1-0.
Greg Ostertag — Utah Jazz
The Jazz has fallen into an early 0-2 hole in its first-round match-up with the Sacramento Kings. Ostertag was impressive in
game one with 18 points and 11 rebounds but responded with only 4 points and four rebounds in game two.
Scot Pollard — Sacramento Kings
Pollard did not play in game one against Utah but was important off the bench in the Kings' game two victory with 8 points, six rehounds and
ebounds and two blocked shots.
Danny Manning — Detroit Pistons
Manning did not make the Pistons' playoff roster, but in the last game of the regular season, Manning saw extended minutes. He finished in the loss to Boston with 18 points, six rebounds, five steals and hit two three-pointers.
Reader's Request — Mark Randall— Kansas Forward 1987-91
Randall was a senior on the Kansas team that made the national champi-
SEE PROS ON PAGE 10B
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