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SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, April 6, 1994
11
No.1 quarterback adjusts to spotlight
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Kansas junior quarterback Asheiki Preston will be the No. 1 quarterback for the Jayhawks this fall. His ability to scrum out of the pocket, as he did against Uttah, will be a plus for Kansas.
By Matt Siegel
Kansan sportswriter
Junior quarterback Asheikh Preston started the 1993-94 season on the bench. But by midseason he found himself thrust into the starting role. This season he is listed at a spot unfamiliar to him: He's the Jayhawks' No. 1 quarterback on the depth chart.
"I feel comfortable," Preston said. "It's my team. I always saw myself as starting. I have worked hard my whole career to be where I am now. This is what I have always wanted. I've always prepared myself to be that No. 1 guy."
preston said he thought that he would be the No. 1 quarterback a few seasons ago. He came to Kansas at a time when the Jayhawks had one quarterback, Chip Hilleary. But the same year Preston came to Kansas so did Fred Thomas and Van Davis. The coaching staff thought that Thomas was the quarterback of the future.
"I was upset because I knew in my heart that I was better than Fred," Preston said. "Ever since I've been here, I've been on the low end of the tomt pole — the low end of the stick. But I didn't have a bad attitude, and I accepted anything that was thrown at me.
It's been a long road."
The road could have been easier for Preston. He was recruited by schools that included Florida, Georgia, and Boston College. Preston said that if he had gone to one of those schools, he could have played earlier. The other schools recruiting Preston wanted him to play a different position, but he was set on playing quarterback. So he chose Kansas, where he started No. 4 on the depth chart. But Preston never doubted his abilities as a player, and that is what has allowed him to keep a positive outlook.
And Preston has not forgotten what he went through to get to this point.
"I developed a lot of confidence when I was on the scout team," Preston said. "I knew I wouldn't be playing, so that was my game. As I progressed as a player, I gradually brought the confidence I gained on the scout team to another level and then to another level. When I got my chance last season, I took it and ran with it."
To help him get ready for a starting role, Preston worked on his passing game during the summer. He strengthened his throwing shoulder in order to get more zip on his passes. He changed his throwing motion, releasing the ball from a higher point than in past
seasons. Preston has impressed Kansas coach Glen Mason with his performance.
"I think Asheki came on last season as a thrower," Mason said. "He had a great completion rate. He's an improved passer, and he's throwing better. Last season, we came out running the ball, and most of the time, teams stacked eight or nine guys on the line. People didn't respect our passing game."
But the Jayhawks are counting on Preston to change that, and all he asks is that the coaching staff has confidence in the Jayhawks' passing.
"When we do have calls that are pass plays, we need to hit on those so the offensive coordinator and the coaching staff won't be hesitant to call them," he said. "We should have a good passing game."
One of the reasons he was successful last season, Preston said, was because teams did not know about him. Now, he said, he would have to step his play up a notch. It is another challenge Preston is looking to overcome.
"I've had to fight for everything," he said. "It hurt being put down all those years. But I'm starting this season, and that was my dream. I'm ready for the challenge. I not worried about individual stats at all. All I'm concerned about is going to the Orange Bowl."
Club looks to gain more members, top ranking
Racquetball team trying to overcome injuries, youth
By Matt Irwin
Special to the Kansan
Stephanie Munger did not compete in the national racquetball championships last year because she could not afford to attend the event.
But this year, Munger, a junior, is hoping to repeat her freshman-year performance of winning at the championships despite an injury.
Although Munger likely will play, she will be one of the few women from Kansas to do so. Overcoming the struggle to attract women to the Kansas raucquet club is one of the keys to building a nationally competitive program, club leaders say.
The club left for the national championships in Phoenix yesterday. The Jayhawks hope to break back into the top 25 during the championships. After finishing 12th in the nation two years ago, the club is trying to overcome its youth and injuries and use its developing depth to forget about its dismal performance at the championships last year.
"It's going to totally depend on the draw," said senior Jonathan Munger, the team's top men's singles player and Stephanie's brother.
J Jonathan Munger said the team's chances would diminish if it had to play its first matches against defending national champion Southwest Missouri State. But he said the team was much more committed to practicing than in past years and that dedication would help at the national championships.
major Brannon Hertel, the club's student, agreed that being ranked in top 25 was an attainable goal.
e've got a lot of young people," he
said. "We've played in a lot of club tournaments. I think it's a reasonable goal for us to shoot for. It's pretty hard not to do better than last year. We didn't have any women."
Three women will compete for the club this year.
--fans were great, and this is real great to see them here today."
Stephanie Munger's experience is one example of the club's struggle to gain points from the women's team. She won the No. 2 women's singles title her freshman year with a shoulder injury. But because she was not able to compete last year, Munger is hoping to compete with the top players in the nation again.
She said that this year's team was supportive and that she would need that support in Phoenix after missing about four months of the season because of a serious car accident.
Munger said she had begun the season with high expectations to compete with the top college players. Now her expectations have changed.
"I actually expect to do better at doubles than I will at singles," Munger said.
She said that her confidence had grown after she and doubles partner Aubree Eaton, a freshman, finished first at their regional, defeating the top doubles team in the nation from Southwest Missouri State. Munger started playing again after her accident only two weeks before the regional.
Munger is now in a situation similar to when she was a freshman entering the national championships. She said she had won the No. 2 women's singles title wearing three bandages on her shoulder.
"When I had my shoulder injury, no one expected me to do anything," Munger said. "I ended up playing the best tournament I ever had."
Munger said placing the ball and using less power had helped her win the title.
--fans were great, and this is real great to see them here today."
Hertel, the club's president, said that the best way for Kansas to build a nationally ranked program was to increase membership in the club.
"We know there are good players at the University who just don't know about the club," Hertel said. "We're always looking to make our team better. I'm sure there are people that have significant talent who for some reason aren't coming out."
The need for women players is especially strong, he said. Only three of about 25 club members are women.
"We've done a lot of different things to recruit women," Stephanie Munger said. "Many of them get intimidated."
Hertel said that he had pledged to get five women to join next year.
"I'd be elated if we got any more than that," he said.
In tournaments, the men's and women's team's top six singles players compete against each other. Many schools do not have women's teams and do not receive any points from women. This hurts Kansas' overall team score.
For example, Kansas finished third at the conference's regional competition this year. Southwest Missouri State had six women competing and finished first, and Missouri had four women playing and finished second, Hertel said.
The Kansas club will need these points if it is going to compete nationally with teams such as Southwest Missouri State. These teams also have the advantage of sponsors and scholarships.
"We're at a real disadvantage," Hertel said. "We don't have that amount of money. We're concerned about getting sponsors."
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Jonathan Munger, Kansas racquetball clubs top men's singles player, will be competing along with the rest of the team in the national championships in Phoenix. The championships starts today and continue through Sunday
Arkansas team loses sleep, gains respect
The Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As the leeward coach left the airport yesterday, the chant rose from the crowd: "No LAN. No LAN. No LAN."
About 3,000 fans welcomed the Arkansas Razorbacks home the day after Nolan Richardson's team won the NCAA basketball championship by beating Duke 76-72.
"It's a great feeling to finally win it, but I go back to work tomorrow," Richardson said on the tarmac at Drake Field. "I've not been to sleep yet. I can hardly wait to get home."
Scotty Thurman, whose arching3-pointer with 50 seconds left put Arkansas ahead for good, also was ready for bed after making the rounds of the morning news shows. "I just got a little time to sleep on the plaque," Thurman said.
Teammate Clinton McDaniel smiled and waved his arms at the crowd.
"This is what Arkanas basketball is all about," he said of the fans.
Added Corey Beck: "I haven't had much time to talk about it. But the
The players waded through the crowd, smiling and shaking hands.
Arkansas student Toby McCarter's head was shorn clean except for the back of his head, where the barber had spelled out "hogs."
"I'm just showing support for my Hogs," Carter said. "I couldn't go to Charlotte, so I thought it was the best thing I could do."
A special ceremony was planned at 6 p.m. today in Bud Walton Arena, when the team will receive the CNN-USA Today championship trophy.
Fans waved signs that said "Razorback Hogs Are Tough, Talented and Intelligent" and "Duke Who?"
"We don't have to talk about respect anymore," said Arkansas athletic Director Frank Broyles. Winning the tournament "gives you a different level of acceptance, and the respect will be there," he said.
an irregular heartbeat, was told by doctors not to watch the game.
Andy Stoglin, a good friend of Richardson's, is the coach at Jackson State and Richardson's assistant at Western Texas College when the team won the junior college championship in 1980.
"Last night at 10 o'clock, Nolan called and said, "Go to bed and get some sleep. I'm going to bring the national championship back to you."
Broyles, who is being treated for
"I'm proud for Nolan because I've been with him every step of the way," he said.
"No one gave him credit, not even when he was 37-0 and won the junior college championship," Stogilin said at the airport. "He got credit for having good players. But Monday he showed he could coach, and by beating Mike Krzewzwski in North Carolina, he showed a lot of people that he can make good coaching decisions."
Stoglin also was an assistant at Tulsa, where Richardson's Golden Hurricane won the NIT in 1981.
Kansas baseball off to good start
By Andrew Gliman
Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks stand at 9-3 in conference play, just half a game behind Oklahoma State, which is at 9-2.
Kansas has lived off its pitching. Excluding two games against Iowa State, Kansas has had consistent efforts.
The Jayhawks have registered seven complete games in their 12 conference contests. Three of them were by sophomore Jamie Splitteroff, two by senior Chris Corn and one each by senior David Meyer and sophomore Clay Baird. Meyer also threw eight innings in a 15-5 victory against Kansas State.
Those four pitchers have a combined record of 20-2 and 8-0 in conference play.
Although pitching has been the catalyst for the Jayhawks, the offense also has shown it can win games.
Against Missouri, Kansas pitching was dominant. The Jayhawks swept the Tigers in the three-game series and received three complete games,
including a shutout effort from Mever.
Kansas is batting. 292 as a team in the conference and has scored more than 10 runs in a game five times. Kansas has scored nine runs in a game twice and eight one time.
Senior right fielder Ron Oelschlager is having his most successful season since his freshman year at Arizona.
Oelschlager is batting .339 with four home runs and 30 RBIs, and senior Darryl Monroe has nine home runs
Igou shares the outfield with two other Jayhawks who are having their best seasons at Kansas.
And more help may be on the way. Junior left fielder Josh Igou has raised his average nearly 100 points to a respectable .268 during the course of the season. He went seven for 12 with seven RBIs during the series with the Tigers and has gained confidence in his game.
"It's all in the attitude," Igou said. "I've stopped worrying so much, and I always seem to play better against Missouri."
league overall
Oklahoma State 9-2 22-9
Kansas 9-3 23-7
Oklahoma 5-4 21-9
Missouri 3-5 20-10
Iowa State 3-6 9-15
Nebraska 2-6 14-15
Kansas State 2-7 11-21
Big Eight standings
The Kansas baseball team's game against Missouri yesterday in Columbia, Mo., was canceled because of bad weather. The Jayhawks and Tigers will play a doubleheader at 2 p.m.today. Kansas senior Chris Corn will start.
and 39 RBIs, already as many as he had in all of last season.
Along with junior third baseman Brent Wilhelm, who is batting .387, the Javhawks have a potent lineup.
But Kansas coach Dave Bingham said that there were still a lot of games left.
"The season is a marathon, not a sprint," he said.