PAGE 88
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
2011 RECORD:
10-3 (6-3 in Big 12) 13th
AP
KEY RETURNERS:
WR Terrance Williams, S Ahmad Dixon, S Mike Hicks, OL Cyril Richardson, WR Tevin Reele
KEY LOSSES
OB Robert Griffin III, WR Kendall Wright, BR Terrance Ganaway, OL Philip Blake, LB Elliot Coffey, DT Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, DL Tracy Robertson
TOP NEWCOMERS:
In 2012 Baylor welcomes three four-star recruits, all from Texas; wide receiver Corey Coleman, defensive end Javonte Magee and linebacker Brian Nance. Magee comes in as the number seven defensive end in the nation, with a chance to make an impact on the Bear's defense early in the year, according to Rivals.com. Baylor did the majority of its
recruiting in-state with only two of 28 freshman coming from outside of Texas.
OVERVIEW:
the bears are riding high on last season's success and exposure. Sighting Baylor's comeback against Kansas as the launching point for his campaign, quarterback Robert Griffin III won the 2012 Heisman Trophy and was selected second overall in the NFL draft. But Griffin wasn't the only Bear to move on to the next level. Baylor had five players from 2011 taken in draft, and the team will look to rebuild without slowing down the progress made last season.
STORY TO WATCH:
With the losses of their starting quarterback, running back and number one receiver, the Bears will have many spots to fill on offense. Senior quarterback Nick Florence only made 12 pass attempts last season, and
running back Jarred Salubi averaged just 5.7 yards on his 18 attempts. How will head coach Art Briles continue the success of the high-powered offense — which ranked fourth in the nation both in passing yards and points scored — without the men that got him there? And how smoothly will the transition be?
THEY SAID IT:
"How do you adjust not having the best player of football in the United States of America last year at the collegiate level? That's inspiration, okay? That's the thing that inspires us. That's the thing that makes our guys come together and fight for each other and work to prove themselves, because we're in the proving business."
- Art Briles on replacing Robert Griffin III
BASEBALL
Edited by Sarah McCabe
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oakland Athletics' Coco Crisp (4) celebrates with teammates after a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins during the seventh inning of a baseball game.
Milone ends streak with a one-run gem
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OAKLAND, Calif. — Liam Hendriks was left to wait for his first major victory yet again.
He had had 13 tries spanning two seasons as a starter.
A day after being recalled from Triple-A Rochester, for his third big league stint of the year with Minnesota, the 23-year-old Aussie struggled along with the Twins offense in a 5-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
It was another stumble on this tough road trip.
"I felt like Cal Ripken over there with so many batting
"It was just a bad day for us," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's too bad we lost the series."
stances." Crisp said.
Coco Crisp homered, hit an RBI double, and scored three runs for the As, tinkering a bit with his batting stance.
Yoenis Cespedes hit a go-ahead two-run single in the third inning that held up for Tommy Milone, and Crisp also singled and stole his 28th base to give the As a much-needed boost only a couple of hours after right-hander Bartolo Colon received a 50-game suspension for a positive testosterone test. The ban came one day before he had been scheduled to start the opener of a series at Tampa Bay.
Milone (10-9) allowed one run and two hits, struck out five and walked one in eight impressive innings to end a five-start winless stretch in which he had gone 0-3 since his last victory, a 9-3 decision at Minnesota on July 14. He lowered his ERA to 3.87 from 4.03 and became Oakland's second 10-game winner after Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner while with
the Angels.
The As won despite four errors behind Milone.
“Typically, you don't win games making four errors," manager Bob Melvin said. "The reason we did come back is Milone."
Josh Reddick added an RBI single for the As (67-56), who moved a season-high 11 games over 500 — their best since finishing the 2006 season at 93-69. That's the last year Oakland reached the playoffs, getting swept in four games of the AL championship series by the Detroit Tigers.
Oakland began the day a half-game out in the AL wild-card race.
"When Coco plays well, we win." Melvin said.
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GOLF
New coach is a proven winner
In his previous stops at Drake, Iowa State and Colorado State, he won two Mountain West Conference titles, one Missouri Valley Conference title and qualified for 15 NCAA tournaments, including two trips to the NCAA finals.
Bermel's Colorado State teams won 18 tournament and finished in the top five more than 35 times. He coached Masters winner Zach Johnson while at Drake and PGA Tour pro Martin Laird while at Fort Collins.
Jamie Bermel, the newly hired men's golf coach, knows what it takes to be a champion at the NCAA level.
Bermel is looking to change the golf culture in his first season in Lawrence. By focusing on toughness; the Jayhawks' new staff is attempting to make adjustments with the current players and future recruits.
TREVOR GRAFF
teraff@kansan.com
A focus on toughness paired Bermel with Johnson at Drake in 1994.
"We were the only Division 1 school to recruit him," Bermel said. "He came to Drake and immediately showed he was an overachiever, a huge competitor, but a little undersized."
Bermel said Johnson was an average prospect coming out of high school, but his toughness and overachieving nature led to his development and eventually his professional career. This is the kind of toughness that Bermel wants to instill in his new team.
At the time, Johnson was second on most of the area's recruiting lists.
"When you walk down the range,
you think, 'All right, all these guys look about the same,' Bermel said. "As a coach, you have to ask, 'Who has that extra heart beat? Who can excel under the most extreme conditions?' Because I take kids that probably don't have the best swing or best record. To me it's about who has the most upside."
"I think these kids need to feel like somebody believes in them," Bermel said. "I've told them from day one, I'm all in. I believe in all of you guys. You didn't pick me, and I didn't pick you, we have to get better here." In everything I've asked of them so far they've been great."
One of the toughest tasks for any incoming collegiate head coach is to get the returning players to buy into a new system. With two weeks under their belt, the team is starting to work through the process.
At this point, the focus is shifting from forming a strong coaching relationship to getting better in every aspect on and off the course.
The program as a whole should receive a boost in recruiting as Bermel takes over. When looking for recruits, the staff's focus lies in three major points. Good recruits hit the ball hard, are mentally tough and show great upside.
"I can't teach speed in a golf swing." Bermel said. "You get what you get, but if you can hit it hard, I can teach you to chip, putt and manage the game. We want guys that are tough as nails. You can't come in here soft, thinking you have all the answers and thinking that it isn't hard work."
The staff's recruiting plan emphasizes in-state recruiting as well as international recruiting, where Bermel has found some success in the past.
Bermel and assistant coach Zach Zaremba have one goal in mind for their program's progression.
"We want to win a championship," Bermel said. "We're going to start with the Big 12. We need everybody, and at the end of the day every practice we have to get better."
Edited by Ryan McCarthy