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Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Soccer squad makes changes Team will rely on underclassmen at many key positions for success SOCCER | 5B
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009
Mixed martial artist Randy Couture still has fighting skills at age 46 BREW | 2B
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COMMENTARY
FOOTBALL
Beecher: repicture the 2008 victory
In light of academic fraudulence, the NCAA stripped Memphis of wins, a trip to the Final Four — and of course, the national championship game berth. But, in doing so, the NCAA has unintentionally disturbed the very fabric of space-time, while simultaneously obliterating a memory treasured by Jiahawk nation.
Oh sure, you think you remember something about a comeback. Maybe Darrell Arthur hit a jump shot or something. Perhaps some guys for the other team — who was that, again? — missed some free throws. Sherron Collins maybe barreled down the co curt, and fumbled the ball to Mario Chalmers. I think Chalmers made the shot he proceeded to take. I seem to recall seeing a picture of it somewhere. Now if that shot went in, the game would have gone to overtime. Kansas would likely go on to dominate the extra period, and cut down the nets. It all sounds so real, almost like it actually happened.
But that's impossible, clearly. How could any of that have taken place if Kansas didn't actually play anyone in the national championship game? Suddenly, a comeback for the ages looks downright pitiful. After all, what kind of championship squad needs overtime to beat nobody? Although, now that I think about it, the lack of opponent does explain why no one fouled Collins while he careened down the court ...
Regardless, action must be taken. Kansas' 2008 national championship cannot go down as having been a literally one-sided affair. That's just embarrassing. No, Kansas needs to have played someone in that game. But if not Memphis, then who?
North Carolina, in a rematch for the ages? No, I don't think so. If Roy's choice of tie the first time around was that atrocious, I'd hate to see what else he had in his wardrobe. And really, don't you think that Cole Aldrich scarred Tyler Hansbrough's psyche enough in one game? Poor "Psycho T" would have to live up to his nickname in a more literal sense if he had to endure that kind of thrashing a second time. No, North Carolina's out.
UCLA, the team Memphis defeated in the false reality we all think we remember, probably makes the most sense. After all, if Memphis didn't even advance to the Final Four, they couldn't very well have beaten anyone. UCLA/Kansas would have provided some interesting storylines too. The Bruins did oust the Jayhawks in the Elite Eight the previous year, and both programs surely belong among college basketball's elite.
But if the NCAA is wiping the slate clean, I see no reason to settle for such an unambitious choice.
How about the 1996/97 Chicago Bulls? But they're the most winning team in NBA history, you say. How could any college team stand a chance against a prime Michael Jordan? Trivial questions, really. We already know that, no matter who Kansas played or didn't play, they won. That hasn't changed, nor will it. So sorry M.J., looks like you're about to come up on the wrong end of an iconic top of the key jumper. And hey, Mario didn't even need to push off.
Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
Jake Sharp is A step faster
BY JAYSON JENKS jjenks@kansan.com
It's a story about the doors it can open and the places it can bring you. It's that simple, but ...
... it's far more complex than that.
Speed is one thing — a natural trait
many are blessed with. But how do you
harness that speed? How do you
learn to run when for so long
you've simply been able to blow
past everyone?
Really, this is a story about a small running back from Kansas who learned how to mold his greatest gift, a process that has taken him from schoolboy legend to Big 12 starter. Marvin Diener was Sharp's coach at Salina Central High.
"His explosive step on Friday night is still an explosive step on Saturday afternoon." Diener said. "When he can break loose and when he has small seams, he still has one of the greatest bursts that you'll see on any college field."
--ing his prep days.
There's never been a secret as to what makes Sharp a successful player. Not even a second guess really. Ask Diener or Salina Central assistant coach Rick O'Neill, both of whom witnessed Sharp's cultivation during his youth.
Ask former offensive linemen Ryan Cantrell and Adrian Mayes, two guys who not only blocked for Sharp, but also witnessed his growth while at Kansas.
Ask current teammates Todd Reeing and Kerry Meier, fellow playmakers who arrived on campus the same season Sharp did.
The key is — and always has been — very simple.
"He was a step faster than everyone then and he has always remained that way," Diener said. "His work ethic has always kept him that way. He drove go-carts fast. He drove four-wheelers fast as a little guy. There's no question that's been his key element from the very first."
It's important to understand where lake Sharp comes from, and what, exactly, he accomplished during his prep days.
Sharp developed into the name to know in Kansas high school sports his senior season at Salina Central. He set a state record with 63 touchdowns. He rushed for more than 6,000 career yards. And generally, he did so without much difficulty.
"Hed be able to run from sideline to sideline, reverse fields and be able to get out of situations where he was completely surrounded just because he had that extra gear," O'Neill said.
Sharp's speed simply led him past and around most defenders.
Quickly Sharp's name spread throughout Kansas. And with that success came added attention. Rivals.com ranked Sharp as the best prospect in the state.
"I've seen film on him," Cantrell said. "They threw him the ball or got him the ball and he just took off. He outran everybody."
People from all over took notice of the little running back that could flat out fly.
“There’s a mix of opinion on how he handled that,” O'Neill said. “I think that the gifted athletes have a certain swagger about them. Those that can back it up have a confidence about them that they expel to other people. He certainly had that.
"Not to raise any controversy but I think there are two Jake Sharps:
The person that can back up what ever he says he's going to do, and then there is really a fine young man that always has time to talk to people on the street or for people back home."
There's another part of Sharp the average fan doesn't get to see, a part that says as much about the running back as any clocked time.
Those who know him say Sharp has always lived to a slightly different tune. Heck, teammate Brandon McAnderson once jokingly called Sharp a "weirdo". It's all part of his persona and it all carries over to the football field.
"He'd show up on Fridays in his
Follow Kansan football writer Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/jienks
lizard skin cowboy boots and a silk button-down shirt with a belt buckle that some guy made for him with his last name on it," Cantrell said. "But you gotta be a little crazy to play this game. And he's just crazy enough to want to line up back there and try to run into a 250-pound linebacker."
And Sharp's just crazy enough to think he can do so as a featured back in the Big 12.
--season providing the motivation needed for each other to keep going.
"He's really the epitome of what KU football is. He's a blue-collar worker."
Back in Salina, when Sharp was in high school, the diminutive running back could often be found running sprints on the track, lifting weights or stretching. Anything to go the extra mile — sometimes literally.
RYAN CANTRELL former Kansas center
There were times last season when Cantrell would sit at his locker, ready to leave after practice, only to be stopped by questions from Sharp.
And it wasn't a one time occurrence. In the offseason, Sharp lifted with Meier during the redundancy of the offseason providing the motivation needed for each other to keep going.
If Sharp's speed allowed him to reach this level, his excessive work ethic has allowed him to progress.
SEE SHARP ON PAGE 6B
"He's really the epitome of what KU football is," Cantrell said. "He's a blue-collar worker. He works his ass off."
"He was always working out, always doing the little things to make himself that much better," O'Neill said. "Obviously he was a gifted athlete but we've all seen a lot
KU CREW
BY JORDAN WILLIAMS
Boathouse and past success excite team for new season
jwilliams@kansan.com
Inquiries and e-mails from interested students, which usually number approximately 150 this time of year, have tripled. The boathouse allows for students a place to regularly practice rowing techniques.
With a new boathouse, the KU crew has seen a spike in interest in the program.
The boathouse's existence in a region fairly unfamiliar to the sport of rowing may be peculiar to some, but the spectacular facility will act as a boon for the club sport for years to come.
Follow Kansan sports writer Jordan Williams at twitter.com/salvio_hexia
"The boathouse works as a great allure," coach Jeremy Struemph said. "It's phenomenal."
The KU crew is not the same team as rowing, which operates within the Kansas Athletics Department and NCAA.
Since its recognition by the
University in 1977, crew has worked diligently to set the standard for club sports excellence and determination. One way of doing this is to strongly encourage club members to create and adhere to an effective schedule.
For varsity members, the 5:30 morning practice should be enough to coax out a bit of responsibility and discipline. This practice is necessary because it takes skilled technique to correctly generate power from the legs, the trunk and the upper body and arms in tandem.
Meticulous attention must be
SEE CREW ON PAGE 6B
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Struemph
KU crew team members train. The new boathouse has the team receiving more inquiries about joining.