Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THURSDAY,OCTOBER 1,2009
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ALWAYS A JAYHAWK
Former Kansas coach Don Fambrough led the Jayhawks for eight seasons, from 1971 to 1982, and is the only coach to have been fired twice. Fambrough is still considered a staple part of the team and regularly attends practices and games. "He is Kansas football," former offensive lineman Ryan Cantrell said of the former coach.
Weston White/KANSAN
Still standing on the sidelines
Despite being fired twice, former coach sticks with the team
BY JAYSON JENKS
Don Fambrough stands between Kansas' two practice fields on a typically muggy morning in mid-August. Shading him from the sun are black sunglasses, the only non-Kansas related items in Fambrough's wardrobe today.
jjenks@kansan.com
"Hey coach," sophomore tight end Tim Biere says, patting Fambrough on the shoulder. "How are you doing today?"
He walks around the outskirts of the field on the way to a tent-covered training table. On the way, he is stopped by packs of players sipping water during a break.
So goes a typical practice for Fambrough, the twice-former coach who now spends his days strolling the sidelines as a spectator. He doesn't say much during practices, only offering a few words here and there before the start of drills.
Follow Kansas football writer Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/jjens.
But Fambrough stands as a living symbol connecting the Jayhawks' past and present — and, really, the distinction between Kansas' football program and Fambrough has increasingly narrowed through the years.
--around Kansas.
"He's just one of those people that as soon as you hear his name you associate him with Kansas football," former offensive lineman Ryan Cantrell said. "He is Kansas football."
Fambrough, at heart, is a story teller — and his most appetizing stories always seem to revolve
At 85, Fambrough is the ultimate historian of Kansas football, his qualifications spanning seven decades as a Jayhawk.
His late wife, Del, was a teacher in the Lawrence community. His sonsgraduatedfromtheUniversity. So, too, did Fambrough. Plus, in some capacity, Fambrough spent
"His life-blood is at Kansas," former Kansas Coach Terry Allen said. "There's nobody I'm more pleased for with the success of Kansas football than Don Fambrough."
30 years as a coach, including eight years as a head coach.
PAGE 10A
Yet Fambrough's ties with Kansas football are complicated, filled with equal parts passion and, at times, pure frustration.
After serving as an assistant,
Fambrough was named Kansas'
The next season Kansas finished last in the Big Eight with a 4-7 record. Fambrough was fired.
head coach in 1971. In his third season Fambroub won seven games, finished tied for second in the Big Eight and led Kansas to the Liberty Bowl.
“There have been disappointments.” Fambrough said. “I don’t
"There's nobody I'm more pleased for with the success of Kansas football than Don Fambrough."
TERRY ALLEN Former coach
want to try and make you think everything is perfect. There are problems. Today, they probably have fewer problems than, any time I've ever been here. Coach Mangino has been given the tools to work with.
some coaches — and I experienced that — where we didn't have the tools to work with. Yet we were expected to compete with Oklahoma and Nebraska teams that had so much more than us. That really hurt."
Four seasons later, in 1979, Fambrough was rehired as Kansas' head coach. Again, in his third season, he led the Jayhawks to a bowl game, finishing the season 8-4.
But, again, Kansas struggled the following season, posting a 2-7-2 record. Fambrough was fired for a second time.
Even now, more than 25 years since his final season, there's a hint of frustration behind Fambrough's words. He talks about a lack of support from the higher-ups, how he was expected to defeat the same schools whose facilities and operations continued improving while Kansas stood still.
It was a hard realization to fully swallow.
"A lot of times, if you don't have the same tools as they,have, then it's almost impossible," Fambrough said. "But the head coach is always in charge. If you win, he's the one who is responsible for that. If you lose, he's the one that's responsible."
SEE COACH ON PAGE 4A
BASKETBALL
Boot camp provides more than just exercise
BY COREY THIBODEAUX cthibodeaux@kansan.com
Bootcamp began Monday and will continue until Oct. 9. Every player has to be in the gym at 6 a.m. to endure a rigorous workout most say is the toughest they will ever have to face.
Monday marked the beginning of the most grueling part of the men's basketball season — boot camp.
The workouts include jumping rope with sprinting penalties, defensive drills and sprinting back and forth across the court dozens of times. And as the camp progresses, coaches will concoct whatever workouts they deem necessary. The result includes a loss of fluids, whether it's sweat
"If I had to paint a picture," freshman guard Elijah Johnson said, "I would say it should have a sign up that says 'Welcome to Hell' as you walk in."
Follow Kansan basketball writer Corey
Thibodeaux at twitter.com/
c_thibodeaux.
"It's tough, don't get me wrong," Morningstar said. "But I've been here for four years and I feel like I'm in pretty good shape right now. It's tough on me as well, but I'm not trying to hit the trash cans like some other guys."
Veteran players such junior guards Tyrel Reed and Brady Morningstar who have already survived the camp — said they were not as intimidated.
or vomit, and better conditioned team.
Johnson, on the other hand, did not know what to expect as a freshman. But three weeks ago, he received a warning from a strang-
"Obviously, every KU player
"If I had to paint a picture I would say it should have a sign up that says 'Welcome to Hell.'"
is still here and we all get through it eventually". Reed said. "You know, it's tough but our freshman guys are doing good so far"
ELIJAH JOHNSON Freshman guard
said. "The did."
er. Some one in an electric wheel chair, he said, passed him and without slowing down or looking back said simply, "Good luck with boot camp." This was Johnson's wake-up call.
"They didn't have to hype it up," he people around me
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior guard Sherron Collins yells during last year's Michigan State game. The entire team has 6 a.m. workouts Monday through Friday, consisting of running and defensive drills.
SEECAMP ON PAGE 4A
COMMENTARY
Video game prediction says Kansas will win
Kansas football is 4-0 heading in to a bye week, and I'm not quite sure what to make of that fact. Sure, being undefended is a good thing. And it's not that a 4-0 start and a comfortable top 20 ranking are bad things. It's just that, unblemished record and all, predicting how the rest of the season might go is every bit as tricky as it was a couple of months ago.
Which, for drama's sake, is a perfectly good thing. But it's not so great for sports writers. By this time, we're supposed to have a reasonable grasp of what our team is capable of. Without that knowledge, we can't make the bold predictions that maintain our carefully constructed veil of expertise.
Faced with that dilemma, I did the only thing a respectable journalist could do.
Before dismissing the idea offhand, let me explain. The video game in question is NCAA Football 2010. And I didn't so much play the game as I simulated it. After all, computers are smarter than humans — it's science — and we trust them to predict plenty of other things already. Why not football as well?
Oh sure, plenty of old-timers will swear up and down that football is inherently unpredictable, that there's a human element no computer could ever account for. But do you really want to trust Lou Holtz's demographic on football matters? That's what I thought.
So now that we've established my Xbox 360 as a viable predictor of college football results, the question moves to what it sees in Kansas' football future.
Predictably enough, it says Kansas will handle Iowa State and Colorado without any trouble. No one need worry about Jake Sharp's health. He plays, and scores two touchdowns in both games. The rest of Kansas' offense performs just as well, and the defense tightens up. Two more easy wins, and the Jayhawks are 6-0 heading into a top 10 showdown against Oklahoma.
Despite the painful defeat, Kansas recovers with back-to-back road wins, setting up a decisive battle for the Big 12 North against Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers keep it close for a half, but Briscoe and Reesing light up the scoreboard late, leading Kansas to a surprisingly lopsided victory.
Which doesn't go so well. Let's just say that Todd Reesing should start stocking up on Advil now, and that Kale Pick should get ready.
Kansas, once again ranked in the top 10. travels to Austin, Texas, to face off against the Colt McCoy-less Longhorns. Without their stud signal caller, Texas turns it over five times, gift-wrapping a marquee win for Kansas.
Now guaranteed a spot in the Big 12 title game, Kansas still faces Missouri. True to form, Blaine Gabbert puts up impressive numbers, and the Tigers provide a scare. But ultimately Kansas has too much firepower, and wins. Kansas then gets a shot at revenge against Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the only thing Kansas gets is another vicious beating.
Despite the loss, Kansas earns yet another BCS berth — a Fiesta Bowl matchup against Georgia Tech. Perhaps aided by the additional practice time, Kansas easily stifles Tech's option offense, on its way to a comfortable win.
And there you have it, the results for the rest of Kansas' season. Don't try and argue either. This is science, after all.
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Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
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