KANSAS SOCCER: Two players garner national honors. NCAA FOOTBALL: Indiana fires its head coach.
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SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TALK TO US: Contact Jay Krall or Sarah Warren at (785) 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2001
Commentary
Michael Rigg Columnist sportsakansan.com
Style change might help team win
Kansas football needs a vision.
New coach Mark Mangino truly believes that he can provide that vision. He doesn't know what changes he will make (or if he does, he's not telling), but he will put into place a plan that could turn the Jayhawks into winners. I'm not sure whether Mangino will succeed — only time will tell — but he will be coaching football at this school long after I've stopped writing columns (of course, that's not saying much. My last column will be next week).
I imagine Mangino already has a broad plan in place, but here are some small changes that the new coach should implement immediately:
1. Can The Uniforms. The lavyhawks' current duds are mid-90s rejects, right down to the raised numbers (a la the 1994 San Francisco 49ers), the hideous blue pants they wear on the road and the drab helmets.
Does anybody think these uniforms look good? Plus, there has been a lot of losing done in these threads the past couple of years, and a bold new uniform would signal a change in attitude.
2. Ditch the Track, Too. The track that circumnavigates the football field is as outdated as the uniforms.
Nearly every football program in America has booted the running oval out of their stadiums. Kansas could remove the track, lower the field, add a few rows of seats and actually have a nice football stadium.
The only problem is that the track was recently overhauled in 1999 for the Kansas Relays. But trust me, I've seen the fan support for the Kansas Relays (or lack thereof), and the day they need a 50,000-seat stadium will be the same day Keanu Reeves wins an Oscar for Best Actor.
3. Schedule As Many Night Games as Possible. Hey, we're all for television revenue and exposure, but scheduling early games doesn't do the fans a lot of good. Part of the attendance problem in the past — particularly with the students — was caused by bad scheduling.
The students have problems waking up on Saturdays much before 1 p.m., so scheduling any game before 2:30 means a very empty and/or hung-over student section.
4. Close the Practices. Way back in the Terry Allen days (Kleenex, please — I'm getting nostalgic already) Allen would let anybody watch practice. But no winning program lets people, including members of the media, walk off the streets and watch practice. Of course, this also goes along with my theory that winning percentage is directly proportionate to how big of a pain in the butt you are to the media.
It's true — if you're hacking us off, you are also probably winning I'm looking at you, Bill Snyder). Look it up.
Granted, these wouldn't be the most ground breaking changes for Kansas football. But they would be enough to show the world that Jayhawk football has a definite vision.
Rigg is a Greenwood Village, Colo., senior in broadcast news.
Bohl known for hiring aces
After success at Toledo and Fresno State, Bohl makes first Kansas hire
By Brent Briggeman Kansan sportswriter
When Al Bohl took the job of Kansas athletics director, he inherited a wounded program.
Last spring, Bob Frederick, former athletics director, eliminated the men's tennis and swimming and diving teams, citing financial limitations. The football team, which had suffered five consecutive losing seasons and struggled to bring in fans and money, was singled out as the problem.
The football program struggles undoubtedly played a role in Bohl's hiring, given his successful track record with the sport at Toledo and Fresno State.
Bohl addressed the problem on Nov. 4 when he fired football coach Terry Allen during his fifth straight losing season. On
Tuesday, he made his best effort to rectify the problem when he announced the hiring of Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mark Mangino, a hire Bohl said was among the most important of his career.
"This is a big hire, yes," Bohl said. "That's why I spent time on it and didn't veer from it. I wanted to find the right person for Kansas so I could tell all of you, our alumni, everybody, that this was a guy I want to go to war with."
a guy I want to go to in athletics director, Bohl has built a reputation for finding
Mangino
At Toledo, Bohl hired Nick Saban and Gary Pinkel. Both had winning records before moving to ___ lower schools
coaching talent.
Saban is now the coach at Louisiana State and Pinkel is at Missouri.
Bohl brought Pat Hill to Fresno State. Hill is now regarded as one of the hottest
coaches in the country after the Bulldogs broke into the Top 10 this year at one point and are still in the Top 25.
Bohl
Three of the finalists for jobs under Bohl have included Brian Billick, the Super Bowl-winning coach of the Baltimore Ravens; Mike Riley, coach of the San Diego Chargers and Joe Tiller, who
has turned Purdue into one of the top teams in the Big Ten Conference.
"Your background of hiring coaches is known nationwide," Mangino told Bohl during Tuesday's press conference."I'm flattered that you would consider me to be the head coach at the University of Kansas."
Bohl ensured Mangino that he would have top-down support from the administration as he built his program. Mangino's compensation package could exceed $1 million with incentives, and he will have another million dollars to spread among his nine assistant coaches.
"We've been at the bottom of the Big 12, but we're not going to stay there anymore." Bohl said. "I'm putting in the incentives to help motivate someone to get us where we want to go."
■ Contact Briggeman at 864-4858
Boschee backs up leadership on the court
By Ryan Malashock Kansan sportswriter
his hushed voice. Boschee's bashful, yet confident, play on the court this season has mimicked his post-game demeanor. One of two contributing seniors on the Kansas men's basketball team, Boschee has reluctantly grasped the role of team leader. But Boschee's leadership is not of the typical variety. The 6-foot-1 guard's hustle, defense and three-point shooting speaks louder than his verbal leadership.
Jeff Boschee calmly and quietly spoke to reporters following Kansas' defeat of Wake Forest Tuesday night. Members of the media snugged up close to the Valley City, N.D., native, just hoping that their tape recorders would catch a whimper of his hushed voice.
Boschee said his leadership was exemplified through his on-court presence.
"I've gotten more vocal in practice this year, but my play in games speaks for itself," Boschee said. "I just trv to go out every game and play as hard as I can."
His teammates, especially this year's freshmen, have quickly caught on to his act.
"Sitting on the sidelines, you learn from watching him," freshman Keith Langford said. "He's just a senior leader, and the freshman guards look up to him."
A career 38-percent shooter from three-point range, Bosche has continued his long-range success this year by making 46.2 percent of his early-season three-pointers. He is averaging 12 points per game but, more importantly, has earned the reputation of hitting shots at important stages in games.
Boschee needs 15 more from behind the arc to jump former Jayhawk Billy Thomas for the all-time record in three-pointers. He said the key to knocking down outside shots was staying within the flow of the game.
"I've just been letting the game come to me," Bosche said. "I don't get rushed or excited, I just let the shots come to me, and they've been falling."
Kansas coach Roy Williams complimented an his defense and said Boschee's worth to the team stretched beyond his long-distance shooting
"He's won the overall defensive player of the year award for our team before so I think that's a part of his game that nobody thinks about." Williams said. Contact Malashock at 864-4858
Women's team flounders after strong first half
Kansas senior guard Jeff Boschee looks for a teammate to complete an outlet pass while Fort Hays State guard Jim Thodes defends him. Teamsmates say Boschee, who needs only 15 more three-pointers to top former Jayhawk Billy Thomas's record, leads by example.
By Jessica Scott
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team played some of its best basketball of the season in the first half last night against Arizona State. After the break, though, the Jayhawks (3-5) ran into serious foul trouble and dropped the game 73-52.
After a backdoor cut on Kansas' first possession, Kansas senior KC Hilgenkamp nailed a 17-foot three-pointer, ending an impressive first half with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. That was all Hilgenkamp would contribute as she lost her shooting touch after halftime
and spent time on the bench in foul trouble. The Sun Devils (7-2) rallied in the second half after leading 35-33 at halftime.
Arizona State guard Amanda Levens led the Sun Devils with 28 points, hitting 6 of 9 three-pointers.
"So many things broke down," said Kansas coach Marian Washington. "Once we had to put KC on the bench, we just couldn't seem to find a way to score."
didn't score either for the Jayhawks, as they shot 20 percent in the second half and went 7 for 22 from the free-throw line.
Kansas saw no offensive production from its centers, as Nikki White was held scoreless before fouling out with 6:36 left to play. Fellow senior Kristin Geoffroy
"We work on them and it's just a matter of everybody taking their time, stepping up and knocking them down," Washington said.
Freshman Blair Waltz took control of the offense in the second half as Hilgenkamp sat out. Waltz hit a fadeaway with 9:30 left in the second. She finished with 13 points and tied her career high, set on Saturday against Oregon.
Waltz said she was stowty gaining confidence.
"As the games are going along I'm getting to be more and more comfortable in our offense," she said.
Kansas senior standout Selena Scott scored 13 points.
scores 15 points.
"We played a very fine ball club," said Washington. "I was really proud of our performance in the first half. We just didn't bring another half."
Kansas will play Weber State at 1 p.m.
Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Contact Scott at 864-4858
MEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL
No.1 Duke 82
Temple 57
MEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL
No.4 Florida 74
No.16 Michigan St.
70
MEN'S NCAA BASKETBALL
No.18 UCLA 65
UC-Riverside
C-Riverside 50
Boston 95
Denver 80
NBA
San Antonio 120
Atlanta 112
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