AW
09
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2009
SPORTS
3B
BEECHER (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
trivial concerns, and that they shouldn't receive any attention — especially not in early May. They're correct about the nature of these matters, but their conclusion is backward.
Now, more than ever, the power of sports to distract is a saving grace.
Up until recently, Jayhawk fans could temporarily ignore their real-life drama — instead immersing themselves in the "will they or won't they" Henry brothers' saga. When the tale reached its happy ending, fears of footnotes could be replaced by fantasies of basketball greatness.
While Kansas basketball's future looks bright, two members of its
past played starring roles in the near-perfect basketball drama that was Bulls-Celtics, Kirk Hinrich, relegated to the bench in favor of rookie Derrick Rose, provided a starter's minutes and production
— not to mention the tenacity it takes for an undersized and undertaled underdog to nearly upset the defending champs. Opposite Hinrich, reigning NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce teamed with Ray Allen to kill off Chicago's playoff dreams. The series was basketball stranger than fiction, and a welcome respite from less-Hollywood realities.
In sports, even real concerns are displaced — or at least accented — by hope. Fears that Kansas' defense may be lacerated by Big 12 spread
attacks exist but are dismissed by envisioning consistent 40-point outbursts orchestrated by Todd Reesing.
Still, stresses sometimes mount to the point when quitting seems an attractive option. For those who feel that way, know that pitching prodigy turned virtuoso and Sports Illustrated cover boy Zack Greinke had similar feelings about baseball not so long ago.
All of this is to say that, although May brings a feeling of dread along with its blooming flowers, sports can provide temporary salvation. As for motivation — keep looking at the bottom of that coffee cup.
- Edited by Brandy Entsminger
KANSAS (33-16) PITCHING
The pitching wasn't as sharp against Oklahoma as it's been all season, but two of the starters
did enough to keep Kansas in the game to win. The other starter was freshman Lee Ridenhour, who didn't even make it past the first inning
Ridenhour
before being pulled. Ridenhour has the opportunity to bounce back tonight against a team he dominated in March.
OFFENSE
Just when it looked as though the bottom of the order was ready to contribute, the No.6 through
Lytle
9 hitters went a combined 1-for-16 during Sunday's loss. But the offense still hasn't had trouble scoring runs, averaging 7.7 runs per game in
the Oklahoma series, more than enough considering the quality of Kansas' pitching. Sophomore outfielder Casey Lyle has been struggling since becoming the No. 6 hitter, perhaps contributing to sophomore Tony Thompson's mini slump. Lytle needs to become more consistent to allow Thompson to see more pitches.
MOMENTUM
Kansas just had its best road series of the season, taking two of three from Oklahoma last weekend. Kansas has reached its highest ranking in the polls all season, climbing to No.23.The quality of the Big 12, kept Kansas from moving anywhere in the conference standings, though. This isn't a Big 12 game, but the atmosphere will certainly feel like it.
TONIGHT
No. 23 Kansas vs.
Wichita State
7 p.m.
Eck Stadium, Wichita
Radio: KLWN (1320 AM)
BASEBALL
(CONTINUED FROM 1B)
would snap Ridenhour back into form after he had a rough week.
"I'll run him out there Wednesday night — give him a chance to redeem himself," Price said.
Sophomore third baseman Tony Thompson isn't worried about Ridenhour's performance. Thompson said Ridenhour had worked wonders all season.
"He's been great for us. We have the utmost confidence in him," Thompson said. "He's going to have good starts, and everyone has bad starts, so you can't be too disappointed with him."
Ridenhour has been able to work most of this season using primarily two pitches: his fastball and his slider.
He has been working on perfecting his changeup, but against Oklahoma the changeup wasn't working and the Sooners' lineup, which is stacked with left-handers, took advantage.
"It's still part of his development," Price said. "Until he develops that changeup he still doesn't have a pitch to attack left-handed hitters with."
Ridenhour will have to perform well in front of about 7,000 fans for Kansas to have a chance to win tonight.
"They'll want to beat us pretty good, but we need to go in there and it's going to be a great game," Thompson said. "It's going to be a tough place to play — we need to find a way to pull it out."
-Josh Bowe
"It'll be a hostile environment. There will be over 7,000 people there, rooting for Wichita State." Price said. "We just have to continue to play like we've played these last two weeks."
The nonconference game will be huge for Kansas' NCAA tournament resume.
Edited by Jesse Trimble
WICHITA STATE (24-22) PITCHING
PITCHING
The Shockers' bats went dead last time they played the Jayhawks. They mustered only three
hits in Lee Ridenour's eight innings of work, and senior Paul Smyth threw a perfect ninth. Only five runners reached base. Don't
expect that to happen again, as the Shockers have been held scoreless only once since then. First baseman Clinton McKeever is the biggest threat, with a .351 average and five homers.
McKeever
OFFENSE
Wichita State will throw Brian Flynn, a 6-foot-8 lefty who played
hiring school ball with Kansas' James Stanford. Flynn started against the Jayhawks in their first meeting and threw three perfect innings
before surrendering two runs on only one out in the fourth and picking up the loss. Flynn is 1-4 with a hefty 5.93 ERA.
Flynn
MOMENTUM
The Shockers desperately want this one. Not only are they trying to avoid a series sweep by their in-state rival, but they want to prove KU freshman Lee Ridenhour wrong, Ridenhour, who chose to attend Kansas instead of Wichita State, said he made his choice because Wichita State was a program on the decline. It added insult to serious injury, as he made the comments just after shutting out the Shockers 8-0.
BASEBALL
Lawrence native gives hometown a sports star
Tim Dwyer
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH kbreckunitch@kansan.com
Wichita has former NFL running back Barry Sanders. Halstead has former college basketball coach Adolph Rupp. Even small town Sedgwick has Brian Moorman, one of the top punters in the NFL.
Kevin Hooper played for the Detroit Tigers for a stint. During a Triple-A game in 2005, he played an inning in every position, including pitcher.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Lawrence has no star player it can claim as a native product. Yes, Lawrence takes pride in the stars KU turns out, but the city has no one it can truly claim as its own. If Kevin Hooper, a Lawrence native who played baseball for Wichita State from 1996 to 1999, has anything to say about it, though, he will change that.
Hooper rotated between second base and shortstop through his baseball career. One knock on him throughout his career has been his size. He stands only 5-foot-10. His Lawrence High School baseball coach, Lynn Harrod, realized Hooper had the skill set to be a good player, but Hooper's size made him cautious. Harrod said that back then, freshmen and sophomores were not allowed on the varsity team.
Hooper's first opportunity to prove himself came in his junior year in high school. Harrod still wasn't sold on Hooper's strength and was wrestling with the idea of using him as a leadoff hitter. Harrod placed Hooper at the bottom of the order instead and Hooper instantly began to prove his worth.
"He proceeded to go 6-for-8 in a doubleheader and drove in about eight runs with a couple triples and a couple doubles," Harrod said. "That pretty much showed us what he could do."
It hurt Hooper not to go to KU. He said that he would have liked
Harrod said Hooper proved during the next two years at Lawrence that he had the ability to play Division-I baseball. The choice came down to Kansas or Wichita State. Harrod said Wichita State had about six mid-level infielder recruits at the time, as well as the same questions about Hooper's size and ability. Harrod passed on this advice on Hooper to Wichita State's hitting instructor, Jim Thomas: "You're going to find every way that he can't play for you, but he'll prove you wrong."
Hooper earned a starting spot about a month into his freshman season.
to stay in Lawrence but that the situation at Wichita State worked out better for him.
"I just couldn't pass up the opportunity because I knew I wanted to play in the major leagues." Hooper said. "Since I was as young as I can even remember that's what my dream was and I thought the best opportunity for me for that was to go to Wichita State."
Hooper said he loved playing at Wichita State and making the College World Series his freshman year. Hooper also was named an All-American in 1996.
He spent last year playing shortstop for the Wichita Winguts in the American Association, an independent baseball league. He was named manager of the Winguts last November.
Hooper spent most of his time in professional baseball in the minor leagues but said he didn't regret a minute of it — he was happy just to get the opportunity.
"I've overcome a lot of odds and obstacles to reach the peak of my profession," Hooper said.
He even ended up getting a hit with the Detroit Tigers in 2005.
"All that hard work ended up
paying off," Hooper said.
Though his size has always seemed to throw people off, Hooper's character has never been in question. In fact, that's what sticks out to Steve Schuster, Wingnuts' director of broadcasting.
"He defines the word 'professionalism,' Schuster said.
Schuster said Hooper's character was what would help him be a good manager, because it rubs off on people.
"He plays hard. He works hard. He sets an example for everyone." Schuster said, adding that Hooper would transition well because, in his opinion, shortstops make some of the best managers.
Hooper knows how tough it is to make it the majors from his time as a player, but he is willing to challenge himself again to make it as a manager in the Major League.
CAREERTIMELINE
1992 to 1996 — Stars at Lawrence High
1996 Starts college career at Wichita State
1996 — Named to freshman All-American team
1999 — Named first-team All-American
"You think it's hard to get there as a player — it's even harder to do it as a manager," Hooper said. "You've got 30-what-odd teams and there's 25 guys on a roster, but there's only one manager for each team."
1999 — Drafted by Florida Marlins (8th round, 236th pick)
July 9, 2005 — Makes MLB debut with Detroit Tigers
September 5, 2005 — Plays every position in one game (AAA Toledo)
November 6, 2008 — Named manager of Wichita Wingnuts
He is willing to work his way up again and is confident he can fulfill another dream.
"It's an elite group, but I'm going to give it all that I've got, just as I did play." Hooper said.
All through his career Hooper has never forgotten his roots and recognizes Lawrence as a big part of his life.
"It's a place that will always be in my heart and I'll never forget the experiences I had there," Hooper said.
Hooper just may become Lawrence's native star.
Edited by Chris Hickerson
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