Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ROYALS ON AN EIGHT GAME LOSING STREAK
WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2009
Kansas City loses 10-2 to the L.A. Angles PAGE 26
PAGE 23
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HOOPING FOR GOLD
Top honor awarded to KU athletes
Two Kansas basketball players made Team USA and went for the gold
BY JASON BAKER
jbaker@kansan.com
It hasn't yet been a full week since coming back to the states, but senior forward Danielle McCray spent her Monday afternoon working out at the Anderson Family Strength and Conditioning Center, even after her coach gave her two weeks off.
"I can't stay still," McCray said.
"But I guess that's a good thing."
McCray and sophomore guard Ty-
shawn Taylor were the lone Jayhawks representing Kansas basketball for Team USA. Both athletes won gold medals, McCray in the World University Games and Taylor in the U-19 division.
Both the World
University Games and U-19 World Championships are held every two years. According to Team USAs Web site, the World University Games are for current or recently graduated student athletes and the U-19 are for athletes age 19 or younger. Taylor turned 19 April 12.
After Kansas' heartbreaking loss at home in the Women's National Invitational Tournament finals, McCray
"I knew I could play well like that. I just think other people didn't really know how much I can do."
TYSHAWN TAYLOR Sophomore guard
focused on the next best thing; the upcoming season. But in between that and the end of the season, McCray had been preparing for the Team USA tryouts for the World University games. Playing for Team USA was something McCray said she had always dreamed of.
From the end of May through th
"I remember asking like my high school coach, 'How do you get on Team USA?'" McCray said.
middle of June, both McCray and Taylor spent time in Colorado Springs, Colo., going through the process of tryouts and cuts to make the roster for their teams.
McCray said it was cool for both of them to be there representing Kansas basketball.
We would just talk about normal stuff," McCray said. "We were doing two-a-day practices and we wouldn't want to talk about basketball."
"We would just talk
McCray said the selection process for Team USA's World University Games was "scary." The athletes sat in a room waiting to hear their
McCray said she and Taylor would catch up after practices.
names would be called.
"The first cut was out of 30 girls," Mcray said. "I had figured I did the best that I could."
Once she was officially on the team, McCray traveled to Belgrade, Serbia while Taylor headed out to Auckland, New Zealand.
After making it through the first cut, she had confidence in making the final cut.
"We played against guys my age, so it wasn't the best of the best, but for
Both Jayhawks played against players from around the world.
"New Zealand is an interesting place. We didn't really do much except play basketball." Taylor said at a press conference July 15.
against some guys that play professionally over there, so there was a lot of great talent."
While abroad, McCray played for Charli Turner Thorne of Arizona State and Taylor played for Jamie Dixon of the University of Pittsburgh.
McCray said Thorne was similar to coach Bonnie Henrickson.
COMMENTARY
SEE GOLD ON PAGE 25
"She said to always focus on the little things," McCray said. "If you weren't, then you were coming out of the game."
McCray said Thorne repeatedly told the girls to stay focused and to not let up on competition no matter how far they were. She said one dif-
Tips to make most of short summer
Chances are if you're reading this, you're either a student or a faculty member taking or teaching summer classes.
If you're like me, those "Arby's" ads with Alice Cooper's "School's Out For Summer" depress you. You think summer school should be deemed unconstitutional. You want justice. Most of all, you want summer to start.
The finish line is in sight. Our cruelly short summer is set to begin. So, how shall we spend it?
Maybe you already have something lined up. If not, here are a few thoughts to consider before we go back to the daily grind and sunny days and swimsuits become another Kansas afterthought.
Get outside: This should be a no-brainer. We're about to wrap up eight weeks of sitting in front of a projector for hours and will only repeat the cycle too soon.
Go fishing; First, grab any gear you need at Wal-Mart for a price that won't set you back too far. Add a fishing license, available there or at Clinton Lake State Park, and scour Clinton Lake for walleye.
SEE MONTEMAYOR ON PAGE 24
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