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University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, April 14, 1992
SPORTS
Assistant coach leaves 'Hawks' nest
By Lyle Niedens
Kansas sportwriter
Another Kansas men's assistant basketball coach is hitting the Oregon trail.
Assistant coach Mark Turgeon confirmed yesterday that he would become a full-time assistant coach at Oregon under former Kansas assistant Jerry Green, who was named coach of Oregon two weeks ago. Bobby Braswell, 29, an assistant from Long Beach State, also was hired by Green as a full-time assistant.
Braswell coached Kansas guard Adonis Jordan at Cleveland High School in Los Angeles before coaching
at Long Beach State.
"Bobby and Mark are two quality young men, and I look working with them," Greensaid.
The announcement ended a week of speculation that. Tur-
Mark Turgeon
geon was leaving his part-time position with the Jayhawks.
"It was a very difficult decision."
"meant it didn't work to lose."
But Turgeon, 27, said he made that
decision because of the challenge that lay ahead at Oregon, which went 6-21 and finished last in the Pacific-10 Conference this past season.
He said that he had a feeling before he visited Oregon last week that he would take the job but that he was not 100 percent sure until Thursday.
"I felt like it was time to make a move," he said. "I want to be a Division I coach before I'm 50. This will give me a chance to recruit and do some other things at a young age."
Turgeon also said he liked the city of Eugene where the Oregon campus is.
"It's not Lawrence, but I liked it," he said.
Green said Turgeon would fit in well at Oregon.
"Turg has paid his dues," Green said. "He's anxious and ready for his expanded recruiting duties.
"Mark did everything we did in recruiting on campus at Kansas. He has great rapport with the players."
Turgeon and Braswell each signed a one-year contract at salaries of $55,000 a year. As the restricted-earnings assistant at Kansas the past four seasons, Turgeon's annual salary was $16,000.
However, Turgeon said, money was not part of the reason he accepted the Oregon job.
"Money had absolutely nothing to do with it at all," he said. "The money will be there in the future for me. I just have to work hard to get it."
Turgeon, who is from Topeka and played at Kansas from 1984-87, said leaving Kansas coach Roy Williams was the toughest part of the decision.
"He's happy for me. He's a very understanding person," Turgeon said. "He made me a better coach and a better person."
Williams, who lost his second assistant coach in two weeks, said accepting the job was a great move for Turgeon because it was a full-time position that would allow him to gain
valuable recruiting experience.
"I personally feel a great loss because Mark played such a bigpartin my first four years as a head coach," Williams said.
Williams said he would fill the position left by Turgeon's departure but did not speculate on who the replacement would be.
"Mark Turgeon is the epitome of Kansas basketball to me." Williams said. "He is a young man who grew up wanting to be a Jayhawk and worked extremely hard and contributed a great deal as a player and a coach.
Hapless Royals are 0-7 but don't panic just yet
"He is and always will be a Jay hawk."
One week into spring training, I predicted the Kansas City Royals were in for a mediocre season. Loyal Royal would play and lose the game of treasure and a lack of patience.
I admitit. It was wrong. The first week of the Royals' season was far from mediocre. It was pathetic. After dropping their home opener yesterday, Kansas City was 0-7, the worst record in the major leagues.
I did not expect Kansas City to jump off to a good start with seven of their first 10 games against Oakland. But after just one week, it is not time to hit the panic button — yet. The team did show signs of life against the always-tough A'. S two of the games were one-run contests, including an extra-inning nail-biter. But the Royals found ways to blow all three games.
Before the weekend series with Seattle, Kansas City fans still had reasons to be optimistic. The Mariners were 0-4, and they had not swept the Royals since 1986. Again the Royals made most of the games interesting, but spotty pitching, bizarre base running, fielding misadventures and a lack of timely hitting dropped the Royals to the bottom of the American League West.
David Mitchell staff columnist
Believe it or not, this team is much better than its record indicates.
The offense has sparked at times, but the outbursts of scoring have coincided.
There have been moments of good pitching. Kevin Appier has delivered two quality starts, but he was also a third starter. Mike Boddicker suffered a similar fate in his lone start.
Sunday's loss was a classic example of the team's haulsness:
Kansas City trailed 2-0 in the ninth. Wally Joyner and K-2 McReynolds reached base with no outs. George Brett came to the plate with a chance to win the game and to end a string of 23 consecutive scoreless innings.
Brett slapped an apparent doubleplay ball to second, but as Harold Reynolds' throw sailed into the outfield, Joyner scored. Garry Thurman bunted the runners into scoring position, and Keith Miller came to bat with just one out. However, Miller lined out without moving the runners.
That left things up to Curtis Wilkerson — a 125 hitter. With the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, Wilkinson fled out.
Despite the criticism, the Royals are better than the last-piece losers they appear to be. They have lost seven games in the season and were been close. When this team has had
time to play together — three of the starters are new to the AL — some of those close losses will turn into victories.
The one common criticism of the team that does not seem to be holding water is the trade of Bret Saberhagen. The Royals dealt the two-time CY Young Award winner to the New York Mets in exchange for Gregg Jefferies, Miller and McReynolds. Thus far, the trade looks like a stand-off. All four players have performed equally badly.
Sabes has been shellied in both of his starts, although that could be attributed to the difficulty pitchers sometimes encounter after changing leagues. Meanwhile, the former Mets have had similar difficulties with American League pitchers. Jefferies was batting .192 and McReynolds was mired at .182 after the first week. As a team, the Royals were batting a minuscule .218, and they had been outscored 26-12.
Of course, one week does not make a season. And it also will be argued that the success of the trade will not be measurable for a few seasons. If the bats of the Mets trio come to life and Saberhagen has his typical even-year problems, the deal could go down in team history with the likes of the Amos Otisor-Joe Foy trade.
On the other hand, if Saberhagen and former-Royal David Cone have big years for the Mets while the Royal's staff continues to get shelled, fans will be quick to remember the trade with previous bungles like Lou Piniella for Lindy McDaniel, Ceci Fielder for Leon Roberts or Cone for Ed Hearn.
Manager Hal McRae has urged fans to be patient. This is a rebuilding year. But Royals fans, who have been spoiled by 15 winning seasons, might not stand by the team if it lingers in the cellar. Kansas City has never finished last in the team's 22-year existence.
One thing is certain. After its miserable road trip, Kansas City must take advantage of playing 19 of its next 29 games at Royals Stadium.
■ David Mitchell is a DeSoto senior majoring in journalism.
Christine McFarland/KANSAN
Above: KU sophomore center fielder, Darryl Monroe, to avoid the tag of Gorilla second baseman Phil Cook, but was called out on the play. Right: Kansas first baseman John Wuycheck tosses to first base for a putout during the Jayhawk victory.
Jayhawk pitcher shuts out Gorillas
BvJerry Schmidt
By Jerry Schmidt
Kansan sportswriter
For seven and a half innings the Pittsburgh State Gorillas did not look like a second-year baseball program. The eighth inning showed their immaturity.
The Gorillas scrapped and clawed for seven innings before finally losing to the Kansas Jayhawks 5-0 last night at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
The Jayhawks could muster only one run through the first seven innings but exploded for four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Pittsburgh State right-hander Travis Shaffer used his 85-mph fastball to hold Kansas to just six hits through the first seven innings.
Kansas was able to take a 1-0 lead in the third inning when freshman Dan Rude hit an RBI single.
Rude said Shaffer kept the Jayhawk hitters off-stride throughout the game.
"He threw pretty hard," Rudesaid. "We just weren't in sync with him."
With a one-run lead going into the eighth inning, the Jayhawks scored four runs on four hits. With freshman Brent Wilhelm on third base and freshman Josh Iogh on second base, Rude hit a single, which scored Wilhelm for Rude's second RBI of the game.
Junior catcher Jeff Niemeier hit a two-run single to cap the four-run eight inning. Niemeier's two RBI sylly shy of the all-time Kansas record.
Senior right-hander Curtis Schmidt pitched his third complete game of the year and his fifth victory of the season. He has 10 complete games in his one and a half-year career at Kansas.
Schmid, now 5-4, said a rejuvenated fastball made the difference for him on the mound.
"Iwas finally getting my fastball to sink," he said. "I'm going to give up some hits, but if my fastball sinks, they're going to hit into some double plaus."
With the sinking fastball, 15 of the Gorilla's outs were by ground balls and the 'Hawks turned three double plays.
Kansas coach Dave Bingham said Schmidt's ability to get ground-ball outs made a significant impact in the game.
"He had more ground balls and pitched more of a Curtis Schmidt type of game," Bingham said. "I thought Curtis threw more quality pitches tonight than he all year."
Christine McFartand/KANSAN
"I'm looking for 40 someday."
Bingham said. "But I guess 20 is bet-
The victory raised the Jayhawks record to 20-17 overall. The 20 victories marks the fifth consecutive year Bingham has won at least 20 games at Kansas.
Kansas will get rematches with Southwest Missouri State at 1:09am and 3 p.m. tomorrow at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium. The Bears beat the Jayhawks 3-2 on April 7 and 5-1 on April 8.
St. John's coach retires after 24 years
The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Lou Carnecchea,
known for his sweaters, success and
sideline schick, titler of coach of
St. John's yesterday, a month before
his enshrinement in the Basketball
Hall of Fame.
The 67-year-old Carneseeca stepped down after 24 seasons at St. John's, a school he took to postseason play each of those years and the only college he ever worked at.
"It's going to be very difficult to put the ball down, but the time has come," he said at a packed news conference on campus. "There are two reasons, really. I still have half of my marbles and I still have a wonderful taste in my mouth about basketball. It's a difficult decision, but it's all mine."
His teams led by Chris Mullin and Walter Berry may not have earned him as much notice as did his penchant for sweaters, some rather gaudy, and his ability to run and jump on the sidelines like a man 20 years younger.
Like most Eastern basketball powers, Carnesee jumped into the national spotlight with the creation of the Big East Conference.
Carnessee, barely able to stand tall enough to look his point guards in the eye, retreated with a career record of 526-200. His teams produced 20 win seasons 18 times. St. John's reached the Final Four in 1985, when
three Big East teams advanced to the national semifinals at Lexington, Ky.
"I thought hard about it the last couple of weeks. I had to give it serious consideration," he said. "Hey, I'll still be here. I'm just going across the street."
He really hadn't given much public notice on the retirement, and first word for many was yesterday morning when the news conference was announced.
"We hope Lou will serve as our ambassador to New York City," said Rev. Donald J. Harrington, the school's president.
"Things can't last forever," Carnesseca said. "The league will go on and prosper. Why? Because of the players and the special relationship the schools have with each other."
Carneseecca will stay on as an assistant to the President for community relations.
Carneseele becomes the second longtime Big East coach to leave in the last two weeks. Rollie Massimio left Villanova for UNLV.
"This is his day and we don't want to detract from it in any way," Harrington said. "We will have something to say tomorrow."
One of the leading contenders is Brian Mahoney, Carnesseca's assistant since 1973 except for a
Harrington said the topic of a successor would be dealt with today.
three-year stint as coach at Manhattan College. Carnesee gave Mahoney his support to follow him just as he had followed Joe Lapchick in 1965 after eight years as his assistant.
Carnesseca, who coached in the ABA from 1970-73, was elected to the Hall of Fame earlier this year, and he will be inducted along with eight others on May 11. One of his sweaters, the first and maybe the ugliest with three different color chevrots on a brown base, is already in Springfield, Mass.
"I hope my able assistant will get the bestest selection," Carneseca said. "Everyone knows how I feel and who I want there next year."
"The games, the kids, the practices, that's something I'll miss, and I don't know how much," he said. "I'll coach a all-fall star teams and still watch every game, but it won't be easy. It's been so good and it's the players who have made it."
Carnesecca, a 1949 graduate of St. John's who never played above the junior varsity level, didn't want to field questions about certain players or games and instead talked of what he was calling the big picture.
"You know what the greatest thing was? he asked. "To be able to coach at St. John's right in the city. I never had to change locales and it's a wonderful advantage to have been able to always be with your own."
Golfers to test playing surface competition at Texas tourney
By Cody Holt Kansan sportswriter
Instead of scouting other teams today and tomorrow at the All-American Intercollegiate Golf Tournament in Houston, Texas, the Kansas men's golf team will be scouting the grass.
The courses at the Old Orchard Golf Club are made of Bermuda grass, unlike Kansas's practice courses at Alvamar Golf and Country Club in Lawrence, which are mainly blue-grass and zoysia.
Coach Ross Randall said he was excited when the Jayhawks were invited to the All-American because it would give them a chance to play on the same turf that they would compete on in five weeks at the NCAA Regional Championship, the qualifying tournament for the NCAA Championships.
"I just feel that if your most important tournament is on Bermuda grass, it's nice to get out on the same type of grass a few weeks beforehand," he said.
Sophomore Casey Brozek said the Bermuda grass of the All-American and regionalists is curler and stickier than Kansas grass. He said the ball tends to settle in the grass sometimes, creating a bad lie.
"We're not playing as good as we can right now but we're finishing better than any team we've ever
"It's like going from artificial turf to natural grass in football," he said. "It's quite a change."
had before."
Ross Randall Kansas men's golf coach
Although the grass may be a change for the Jayhawks, they will be getting back to a familiar line-up.
Kansas took only three of the usual traveling five golfers to the Wichita State Shocker Classic last week in Wichita. Randall said two of the golfers were unable to miss classes the days of the tournament.
However, he said he was pleased with Kansas's performance. The Jayhawks finished second and defeated the four other competing teams from the Big Eight Conference and all other teams competing from District V, which consists of the teams the Jayhawks will battle for a regional berth.
With last week's second place showing, Kansas has placed in the top three in each of its last three tournaments after finishing 17th in its first tournament of the spring semester.
Randall said he had seen steady improvement in his team.
"We're not playing as good as we can right now but we're finishing better than any team we've ever had before," he said. "Five years ago we'd have been delighted to finish as well as we are now."
Sophomore Jeff Moeller said one reason for the Jayhawks success this year was the addition of freshman Tom Sims. Sims, who redshirted last year, led Kansas with a 71.67 stroke average during the fall semester.
"We've added a fifth man," Moeller said. "We have a full team this year, everybody contributes."
Brozek said the addition of Sims took some of the pressure off the other golfers. He said the Jayhawks were now able to throw out a round of 76 or 77 instead of an 80 or 81 in the past.
In collegiate golf, only the top four scores of the five golfers count towards the team score.
After the All-American this week, Kansas will not compete again until the Big Eight Championships, April 27-28, at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson.