Sports
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sports commentary
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, October 17, 2003
Kevin Flaherty kflaherty@kansan.com
Women's basketball to improve
While the men's basketball team has enjoyed success for the past few years, the women's team has struggled of late, coming off multiple losing seasons.
coming on multiple times This year, just two years removed from an 0-16 record in Big 12 Conference play. the women are ready to make a move in a tough conference thanks to talent and position depth.
It all starts at point guard, where the super-talented Erica Hallman and Leila Menguc will compete for the starting job. Menguc is the leader and an excellent shooter, while Hallman possesses dazzling ballhandling and passing skills. Hallman, named Ms. Kentucky basketball in high school, has a good outside shot and showed glimpses of her potential at times as a freshman last year. She led the team in assists for the year and scored 17 points at Oklahoma State. Both players are coming off injuries but are 100 percent right now.
At shooting guard, Aquanita Burras is a slasher, scorer and tough defender.
nasher, scorer and tougher She brings aggressiveness and toughness to the Jayhawks team. Blair Waltz returns at the three position. Waltz is a sweet shooter who struggled last season and needs to have a larger impact for this team to be successful.
be successful.
"Blair is a much stronger player this year," coach Marian Washington said. "She is in better shape and I think she if she stays healthy she will be a big help to us."
stays neatly she will be a big Inside, Tamara Ransburg and Crystal Kemp are two players that show potential to dominate. The 6-foot-4 Ransburg is a rebounding and shotblocking demon with scoring potential, while Kemp has a sweet turnaround jumper in the paint.
sweet tuna marinade Michelle Roberts adds solid depth to the front line, backing up both Kemp and Ransburg.
While the team returns every starter from last year, it is the added depth the newcomers bring that makes this team most impressive.
Lauren Ervin was a McDonald's All-American in high school, and she brings great versatility to the team. At 6-foot-4, Ervin is a tough matchup, especially when she can move out on the perimeter. She showed great rebounding potential in all four games. Right now, she looks like she will play the power forward position, but eventually she may shift to small forward
Sharita Smith is recovering from an injury, but she was one of the top guards in high school. Smith can score in bunches and adds quickness and athleticism to the team. The sooner she can recover, the better the layhawks will be with guard depth and scoring ability.
with guard depth and scoring three junior college transfers should help out the team this year. Kaylee Brown is quick and adds great three point shooting, while Kandice Brown provides size and power in the paint. Larisha Graves should help at the point guard position.
Last year's team struggled at times without a single senior, but showed flashes of talent. They averaged fewer than 54 points per loss last season. This year's team is bigger, has better depth and is much more athletic. They will be able to put up a lot of points, while still playing the lockdown defense that Marian Washington covets.
It's amazing what two years change can bring to a team. This year's bunch looks much improved and has the full support of the Athletics Department. Lew Perkins helped the development of the UConn women's program, which now has four national championships, and should have a similar effect here. If they start to win, people will show up at the games and could witness something truly special.
Look for these 'Hawks to shock some people and finish in the top half of the Big 12 and make the NCAA tournament. And we all know that in March Madness, baby, it's anybody's game.
Flaherty is a Lenexa senior in journalism
'Hawks ready for revenge
Bill Whittemore ran for 45 yards Saturday against Colorado and threw for 422 more. Baylor will look to stop Whittemore and the rest of the Jayhawks when the teams square off in Lawrence tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Eric Braem/Kansan
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
For a team coming off a 50-47 loss at Colorado, there may be no better cure for the blues than a homecoming meeting with Baylor.
with Baylor.
The Kansas football team is looking to rebound after last Saturday's road loss that ended a four-game winning streak. The Bears pulled off a 42-30 upset against Colorado two weeks ago, but were blasted by Texas A&M 73-10 last weekend.
Texas A&M's final four touchdowns against Baylor were from 40 or more yards out, an area where the Jayhawks have also been dangerous.
Six of Kansas' 27 touchdowns this season have been from 40 yards out or farther.
"They've given up some big plays," Whittimore said. "Even though it doesn't make me salivate, we're planning on making some big plays. We've had our share this year, and we don't plan on stopping anytime soon."
The prospects of Kansas having another huge offensive output are good, but the Jayhawk defense must improve on last weekend's performance. Along with penalties, coach Mark Mangino said missed tackles and poor fundamentals led to his team's defeat.
"You can't coach every fundamental everyday in practice," Mangino said.
"You can try but there are so many fundamentals and so many parts of this game need attention. We had some problems with the ball — so we made it a high priority in practice."
The defense's reaction to Saturday's loss was immediately evident on the practice field. After a day off Sunday, Mangino said Monday's practice, usually a semi-light workout, became a heated battle on the defensive side.
battle on the defensive side The defense was unleashed on the offensive scout team and a week of elevated practice tempo should equal a different defensive image tomorrow.
"I believe we should have won that Colorado game," junior safety Tony Stubbs said. "We just feel we let the offense down. It's going to be real intense come Saturday."
The revenge factor should give the Jayhawks an added incentive.
hawks an all-but defeat
Last season Kansas lost a fourth-quarter lead, falling to Baylor 35-32. The Baylor victory not only ended the program's 28-game conference losing streak, but the ensuing post-game pandemonium resembled the party in Lawrence after the Sept. 27 Missouri game. Baylor's tearing down the goalposts a year ago was motivation for some team members, just as it was three weeks ago against the Tigers.
Seating plan finds opposition
"I didn't understand why they tore down the goalposts on us," Stubbs said. "I believe we owe them too, just like we
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 8A
By John Domoney jdomoney@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Lew Perkins' new dilemma as athleties director is deciding how to accommodate faculty and staff member seating at Kansas basketball games.
The issue is part of the priority seating plan set to go in to effect for the 2004-05 season.
season. "I want to make people happy," Perkins said. "But at the end of the day I know we're going to make some people uncomfortable with our decisions."
One of those decisions by Perkins and the Athletics Department is to give the Senate Executive Committee the responsibility of allocating faculty and staff tickets.
As part of the priority seating plan, season ticket holders with seats on the lower level of Allen Fieldhouse will be asked to donate money to the Williams
Fund for athletic scholarships to retain their seats. Faculty and staff members who have season tickets on the lower level will be asked to do the same, which has some angry.
has some angry.
"It itse what they're trying to tell us is that the only thing you can contribute is money," said Ted Frederickson, professor of journalism and University Council representative. "The contribution of the education of young men and women who we call student athletes is an enormous contribution."
While Perkins said there were other contributions that could be made such as longevity, he saw the proposed plan for faculty and staff to be a positive change.
Allen Fieldhouse faculty and staff seating proposal
change. The proposed plan gives faculty and staff 162 more seats than the 1,427 seats under the current plan. Also, more seats in the corners of the lower and middle levels of Allen Fieldhouse will belong to
faculty and staff. Perkins said the plan would ultimately bring more faculty to the games.
"We realize they have made contributions so we want to get more faculty to the games and that's why we're doing this," Perkins said.
1. C
That is not good enough for some on the University Council who see Perkins' moves as a way to sidestep criticism of the Athletics Department.
academic of the Athletics department.
Frederickson said he viewed the pro-
SEE SEATING ON PAGE 8A
Self's first 'Phog'
By Chris Wintering
cvintering@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
Kansas fans will pack Allen Fieldhouse tonight for the premiere of "Late Night in the Phog," the University of Kansas' celebration of the start of basketball practices.
Admission is free, and doors open at 7 p.m. The men's and women's basketball teams will perform skits at about 10 p.m., and the men's team will hold a brief scrimmage at midnight.
The event marks coach Bill Self's first experience at Late Night as the team's coach.
The event placed ninth in Sports Illustrated on Campus' "100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate." Langford said it ranked so high because of the deep tradition and history of the University.
"It's weird because I was a part of Roy's last one and Bill's first," said Kansas junior Keith Lankford.
"Many schools have tried it, but you can't top the original," Langford said.
"We thought Late Night would be the perfect time. Not only do we get to showcase the team to help tip off this basketball season, but it's also the only time a lot of those guys can make it back." Self said
This spring marks the 15th anniversary of the title.
To add to the tradition of the event, the 1988 men's basketball national championship team will be honored at the event.
"With all the great tradition and history of this program, the 1988 team accomplished what only one other team in KU history did—win an NCAA title," Self said. "I couldn't be more excited to have them come back and be recognized by KU and all our great fans.
Fans thumbling through the Oct. 13 edition of Sports Illustrated might have been surprised to see Kansas basketball's newest verbal commitments in the magazine. New York guard Russell Robinson appears in an ad for Starter.
Kansas Basketball Notes
The black and white ad, which appears on page 43 of the magazine, features Robinson decked out in Starter sweats with the slogan "Earn Your Spot."
with the slogan, "Zuri Kansas"
Don't worry Kansas fans; the ad does not jeopardize Robinson's eligibility.
According to NCAA, the rule is under bylaw 12.5.1.3, Continuation of Modeling and Other Nonathletically Related Promotional Activities after Enrollment.
The rule states that a player can endorse or model while not enrolled at the University. Once enrolled, the player can model if the modeling does not demonstrate the player's ability.
obstruct "It doesn't happen a lot because people don't think it can," said Kay Hawes, associate director of public relations for the NCAA. "It's a frequently misunderstood rule."
Christina Kessler contributed to this story
—Edited by Erin Riffey
Conference clash
The Big 12 Conference is becoming a soccer powerhouse, and the Jayhawks are playing the two best teams in the conference this weekend.
The Jayhawks face No. 12 Colorado at 4:30 p.m. today before traveling to Lincoln, Neb., to play the No.16 Cornhuskers at 1 p.m Sunday.
Kansas to face Big 12 Conference's best soccer teams
By Nikki Nugent
nnuget@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
Kensan file photo
With two goals and two assists, junior forward Monica Brothers is one of the soccer team's top scorers. Kansas plays Colorado today in Boulder.
The Jayhawks are 11-3-1 on the season and 3-2-1 in the Big 12.
Nebraska is 9-3-1 on the season and second in the Big 12 at 4-1-0.
in first place in the Big Ten. The Buffalooes had an 11-game winning streak broken with a 0-0 tie against No. 18 Oklahoma last weekend. The team's only loss came in the first week of play against then-No.2 Portland.
Nebraska is continuing a tradition of a strong women's soccer team. Kansas has never beaten Nebraska, with the most recent loss coming in the Big 12 Tournament last season.
second in the Big Ten. Two Nebraska players participated in the 2003 World Cup last month. Freshmen Tanya Dennis and Brittany Timko played on the Canadian National Team.
Kansas coach Mark Francis said playing two ranked teams would be challenging for the Jayhawks, and staying healthy would be important for the team to finish well.
Colorado is 11-1-1 on the season and in first place in the Big 12 at 4-0-1.
be important for the team's success. "Playing Colorado and Nebraska on the road is about as tough as it gets," he said.
Kansas senior defender Maggie Mason said the team was on the upswing after two victories last weekend.
inter we will get positive results "Hopefully we'll get positive results this weekend and position ourselves well in the Big 12," she said.
The lajahawks are going into the week
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact JJ Hensley and Shane Mettlen at 3PORTS@KANSAN.COM
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SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 8A