NSAN
2009
Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MORE CHANCES FOR UPSET VICTORIES
Kansas to play high-ranked opponents in the UCF Invite. SOFTBALL1 5B
OFFENSIVE COACHES EARN PROMOTIONS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
Ed Warriner and Brandon Blaney move up the ladder. FOOTBALL 1 2B
en big-
avage.
PAGE 1B
SOME RIVALRIES JUST WON'T DIE
A tale of two Minnesotans
Aldrich to play against high school opponent
BY CASE KEEFER
ckeefer@kansan.com
Cole Aldrich noticed two things when he found his seat on an airplane headed to Kansas City from Minneapolis after winter break.
First, he realized it was on an exit row. Then, he saw an unlikely companion sitting in the seat next to his. It was Kansas State forward Darren Kent.
"Oh, jeez," Aldrich, a sophomore center, said. "I've got to sit next to another K-State guy?"
Kent laughed before offering a retort. "Oh." Kent said, "I've got to sit next to a Kansas guy?"
Aldrich said they spent the flight joking with each other and occasionally trash talking. It was all in good fun, of course. Aldrich and Kent's rivalry always has been.
The two competed in the same conference in high school. Aldrich played for Jefferson in Bloomington, Minn., and Kent for Eastview in Apple Valley, Minn.
Aldrich said their schools played against each other four times when they both were in high school, and he thought they each won twice. Since coming to Kansas, Aldrich and Kent have faced each other three times. Aldrich's layhawks have won twice. Kent's Wildcats have won once.
Aldrich and Kent will square off again during Saturday's game between Kansas and Kansas State at 2:30 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum.
- both cities are southern suburbs of Minneapolis.
"I've played against him since my freshman year of high school so it's just a fun way to see another Minnesota guy I played with," Aldrich said. "It's good to see him doing well at another school."
Kent and Aldrich have both excelled this season and played major roles in their teams' successes.
Aldrich has started in every game for the Jayhawks (19-5, 8-1). He's one of only two players in the Big 12 Conference — the other is Oklahoma's Blake Griffin — averaging a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Kansas coach Bill Self's only complaint with Aldrich is that he doesn't get the ball enough. And that's not even Aldrich's fault. Self blames it on the guards for not passing
NO. 16 KANSAS VS KANSAS STATE
WHERE:
WHERE:
Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan
WHEN: 2:30 p.m.
TV: ABC (Channel 9, 12)
Check Kansan.com for live commentary
into the post.
A key to the game Saturday will be the Javahawks' ability to find Aldrich — who will wear a new facemask Saturday to protect his broken nose — posting up on Wildcats like Kent.
"I think our big guys can certainly do a better job of making themselves available." Self said. "But Cole, for the most part, does a good job of that. He's a big target and he's hard to guard."
Kent's emergence has coincided with Kansas State's five-game winning streak. The 6 foot-10 junior struggled when the Wildcats (17-7, 6-4) lost 87-71 at Allen Fieldhouse a month ago with only three points and two rebounds in nine minutes.
Since then, Kent has scored at least 10 points in all but two games. He's also averaging six rebounds.
Kent's turnaround does not surprise Aldrich.
"Not at all." Aldrich said. "I knew from last year's season when he played well at the end of the stretch, when we played them and going into this year, I knew he was going to play well."
Aldrich will likely be forced to guard Kent at times during Saturday's game. Aldrich said that presented a challenge because Kent is smaller and has three-point range.
"He's one of those where you have to get back in transition to find where he is." Aldrich said. "And on pick-and-pops, you have to know where he is."
If not, Aldrich might hear about it on the next flight back from Minnesota.
— Edited by Liz Schubauer
BASEBALL
Freshmen keep amateur statuses to refine skills
BY JOSH BOWE
bowe@kansan.com
For countless nights, Zac Elgie stayed up with his mom and dad, discussing where he would start his future after high school.
Either take the offer to start a major league career, or take some more time to refine his game in the college ranks.
more experience under your belt," Elgie said. "I don't necessarily think I was quite ready yet for Major League Baseball."
"I finally came to the decision to go to college and get some
Elgie was taken in the 12th round by the Oakland Athletics, but the freshman catcher wasn't the only one faced with that decision. Freshman pitcher Lee Ridenhour was drafted in the 31st round by
Elgie
"Zac Eligie is a tremendous talent," Price said. "He had a really bad fall, but he's made great
the Minnesota Twins. Both share similar reasons for choosing college first, and coach Ritch Price
Ridenhour
is ecstatic by both of their decisions.
strides in the last month. The ball jumps off his barrel."
Ridenhour shared similar reasons as Elgie for choosing to keep his amateur status. The huge transition from high school to living on his own and proving himself in
"Ridenhour probably has the best arm of any freshman that's ever walked on this campus since I've been here," Price said.
Price was quick to mention the potential of Ridenhour as well.
SEE FRESHMEN ON PAGE 3B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Consistency needed to win
COMMENTARY
Morris must step up when McCray is out
jjenks@kansan.com
BY JAYSON JENKS
On the eve of Kansas' 74-66 loss at Texas on Wednesday, coach Bonnie Henrickson looked at junior guard Sade Morris during a team meeting and, with every intention of stirring a reaction, "called out" Morris' less-than-imPRESSIVE performance on Saturday.
"I said 'listen, when Danielle (McCray) went out, you never took a shot,'" Henrickson said. "You passed up shots and you weren't aggressive. I looked at her and said 'you've got to go.'"
Go she did.
In response to Henrickson's prying, Morris scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and added five assists against Texas. And she did so mostly without the contributions of junior forward Danielle
SEE MORRIS ON PAGE 3B
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Junior guard Sade Morris drives past a Missouri defender during a Feb. 7 game in Columbia, Mo.
Collegiate team golf improves its players
There is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in iron and golfers carry at least five of them around in their baes.
Is that why golf is such an individual sport? Most likely no, but it makes me question why, at the college level, golf is a team sport. You don't see Tiger Woods out on the course on Sundays, bending down next to Phil Mickelson, telling him the green breaks left to right.
Professional level golf is all about the individual, but in college it's about the team.
Where does the team dynamic come from, though? College golfers still compete as individuals during tournaments.
Men's golf coach Kit Grove said that a lot of the team members spend their downtime together and that they all live fairly close to one another. Grove also said the team chemistry is at the best level he's seen since he's been at Kansas.
Senior Walt Koelbel said team practices help to build the team mentality because the golfers will be out on the course for four or five hours just talking and trying to help each other improve.
"If I see someone doing something that's maybe not technically right with their chip, I try to help them out," Koelbel said.
In that respect, maybe the golf team is better off. Grove said his practices were unlike most sports teams' practices and that could be a good thing. When teammates have the time to stop and help each other improve the fundamentals of their game, it can only benefit the group's results. In football, there are designated coaches for each position to tell players what to do, but on the golf team players can take that role on whenever needed to help their teammates.
Koelbel mirrored Grove's statement about the team bond and said the team does hang out on the weekend and watch golf. Now they even have a former teammate to cheer on in former Jayhawk Gary Woodland.
Grove said the tournaments also help the guys who travel grow together. He said that they have a lot of downtime, unlike other athletic teams, and that helps the team bond.
Still, no matter how great the team chemistry is, the success depends on individual performance.
"If you play well, everything takes care of itself." Grove said.
Maybe I'm making much ado about nothing on the issue of team chemistry. You play to win the game? Either way, the golf team makes itself better every day in practice. With a month off before their next tournament, the competition between teammates out at practice should boost the performance of the players when they make their way down to LaFayette, La., for the Louisiana Classics.
Edited by Chris Hickerson
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