kansan.com
Volume 126 Issue 3
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAS
COMMENTARY
Need to win motivates players
Head coach Charlie Weis is in a unique situation this year. He can win three games, and many Kansas fans would still consider the year a success.
A three-win season would have a coach at Alabama, Florida or Ohio State perusing the want ads looking for high school waterboy positions.
At Kansas, however, a three-win season would triple Weis' win total in the 2012 season. Grounded fans would remain unimpressed, but many who are thirsty for Kansas football to achieve lasting success would focus on the positives
It's certainly nice for the head coach and athletic director to have fans with low expectations. Nevertheless, the Kansas football program cannot afford for its fans to be complacent.
I know that when you are a C student it is easier to shoot for a C plus than to strive for an A. High expectations dramatically increase the chances of disappointment while tempered expectations are met more often than not.
However, Weis and his staff need the pressure to succeed. His performance in recruiting talent over the last year indicates his acknowledgment of the pressure. Weis brought in top defensive tackle Marquel Combs to anchor his defensive line, and two highly touted transfers and former four-star recruits in Jake Heaps and Justin McCay will join his offense at quarterback and wide receiver, respectively. They will attempt to jolt an offense that operated like it was on two percent battery life.
Unfortunately, the news hasn't been all good on the recruiting front. Talented defensive end Chris Martin, a former Florida recruit, was kicked off the team for armed robbery. Graduate transfer Nick Harwell was slated to start opposite McCay, but was deemed ineligible for failure to complete his summer credits. Despite these setbacks, it is clear that Weis responded to the pressure to recruit talent to Lawrence. With regard to the team's record, last year was a freebie of sorts. He now needs to respond to the pressure to win.
Two more wins would be an improvement, statistically speaking, and five years down the road it could be seen as a stepping stone to a competent, consistent team. But for right now, Kansas fans must demand more and see the team as a more competitive squad.
There is especially no excuse for the defense to perform as poorly as it did last year. Cornerbacks gave cushion to the wide receivers as though the wideouts had a run-in with a skunk. With so little pressure exerted by the pass rush, the opposing quarterbacks could have had time to complete a New York Times crossword before targeting a receiver. Weis specializes in offense, but is still responsible for the overall performance of the team, including its defense.
At the end of the year, the jayhawks may win six or seven games. They may win three. It's certainly possible that they only win one. But right now, potential wins are pure speculation. Increased pressure helped lead to Wei's recruiting success. That same increased pressure could cause the Jayhawks to do more than just improve. They could contend.
Edited by Duncan McHenry
YOU DIG?
Kansas volleyball hopes to grab first Big 12 championship
FIGHT FOR THE TITLE
IBRIAN HILLIX
bhillix@kansan.com
While last season would be deemed an accomplishment by many, the Kansas women's volley ball team knows it can do more.
With classes starting later than usual this year, the team had more time to prepare for a season that is shaping up to be an exciting one. After tasting success last year, Coach Bechard knows this team is capable of leaving its mark on Kansas volleyball history.
"We talked about how you go from successful to significant," Bechard said. "That's one of the
themes that we've used this year."
According to Bechard, that means winning against quality opponents on the road and winning close games.
"When you want to become
significant in the collegiate world of volleyball you have to take it to a new level in a lot of different ways," Bechard said.
To prepare for the tough conference schedule, the Jayhawks will open the season with difficult non-conference matches—nine out of 10 being on the road. The slate of games includes teams from the Pac 12, Big 10 and SEC. It also features a matchup against No. 25 Creighton from the Missouri Valley Conference. Bechard also he hopes these early season matches against unfamiliar opponents will help the Jayhawks prepare for a style of play they might encounter in the postseason.
"It can be intimidating at first, but with the experience and veterans we have I think we walk around with the same swagger, too."
on the road.
Moving into the Big 12 portion of the schedule, the Jayhawks will look to make noise in a conference that features the No. 1 (Texas) and No. 15 ( Iowa State) teams in the country. Texas won the NCAA National Championship last year, while Iowa State advanced to the Sweet 16. Kansas will play each team at home and
The team was a few close matches away from coming out on top of the Big 12 last season. The Jayhawks finished 12-4 in conference, including a five-set home loss to Texas and four-set losses to Iowa State and Baylor on the road. Bechard said winning matches like those would be crucial in order to compete in the conference.
"Volleyball can come down to one or two close plays, and experience allows you to win these close games and jump over that line." Bechard said.
Texas and Iowa State both ben-
BRIANNE RILEY
Senior libero
eift from a "serious home court advantage," said senior setter Erin McNorton. Texas has won 40 consecutive Big 12 matches at home—a streak that dates back to 2009. Iowa State went 14-1 at home in 2012, which included a five-
set win over Texas.
"It can be intimidating at first, but with the experience and veterans we have I think we walk around with that same swagger, too." Riley said.
Senior libero Brianne Riley said each team has a swagger about them when they walk in a gym.
Kansas enjoys a home court advantage of its own, as the Jayhawks went 17-1 in the regular season at Horeksi Family Athletics Center last year. To gain experience in other settings, the team practiced at a high school in the preseason. McNorton said it was good to get a feel for other courts because the team feels so comfortable at Horeksi.
When it starts competition on Aug. 30, the Kansas squad will look to claim its first Big 12 championship since the conference began competition in 1996-97, and advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's history.
—Edited by Duncan McHenry
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior setter Erin McNorton passes the ball to her teammate in the second set of a game against Kansas State on August 19, 2011. McNorton now plans to lead her team to a Big 12 title.
Kansas benefits from early bye week
Coach Charlie Weis speaks to members of the media in 2012 about the upcoming season. Weis was hopeful this year at media day after an extra week of practice
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
Charlie Weis spoke to the media for about ten minutes on Monday for the weekly Big 12 teleconference, giving some interesting information in his first session of the season.
The first nugget of information he provided is one that most would probably have already assumed, but may be reassuring nonetheless. The Kansas depth chart is about 90 percent resolved, with very few position battles left in the first and second string. That depth chart will be released next week.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
The second point was the team's schedule for the first bye week, which comes unusually during the opening weekend of college football. Really, it's not much of a bye week at all for the team, at least that's the idea.
The team will go through this week the same as they would as if there were a game, and on Saturday they will practice at 7 a.m. and spend the rest of the day watching college football, while coaches attempt to get a head start on
The intended purpose of simulating a game week is to practice time management. "That way, everyone can say 'here's how it goes'," Weis said, "so now when you get to the practice field and get to game day, they've already gone through it once, which I think should definitely help us next week when we're actually getting ready to play."
watching him of opposing teams they face early in the season. In most years, Weis said he would rather play the first week, but this year with so many junior college transfers, having the first week off will serve as even more time for preparation.
Weis said that if there was a game on Saturday, junior quarterback Jake Heaps, who redshirted last season due to transfer rules would be ready to play. But for the first week of camp, Heaps was over- anxious and throwing the ball too hard.
At a mid-camp press conference Weis announced that he would have his defense practice against two separate offenses, which would be continually rotating to simulate the way Big 12 offenses snap the
the ball really hard and didn't have a lot of touch. After he got through the first week he settled down to just Jake being Jake."
He was wired for sound to start with, he's a wired up dude," Weis said. "One of his greatest strengths is accuracy, and he was throwing
The plan is beginning to work well for its purpose, but didn't get off to the smoothest of starts.
ball every 10 to 12 seconds
to the smoothest of starts.
"It was like a fire drill when we first started," Weis said through laughter. "It was almost comical to watch the first day when we were doing it, but after about a couple days I think the offense had it
down. I think we're gonna have to carry that through the season, because if we don't practice it, you're just not gonna be ready."
That's what this week is all about for the Jayhawks: extra time for preparation.
Edited by Ashleigh Tidwell
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