TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 23. 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 9A
SPORTS
Wildcats sit out of bowl shebang
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANHATTAN — Kansas State's season began with promise and ended in November, for the first time in a dozen years.
The Wildcats took the field for their season opener with a No. 12 ranking, a serious Heisman Trophy contender in senior running back Darren Sproles and hopes of playing for a second straight Big 12 championship.
After two games, the national ranking was gone. Sproles finished with 1,318 yards rushing but only broke 100 yards in a game five times. And for the first time in 12 years, Kansas State isn't headed to a bowl game.
Late collapses in their final two games dropped the Wildcats to 4-7 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play, their first losing season since 1992.
"Coming in as seniors, we came in thinking we were on top of the world," defensive tackle Jermaine Berry said. "And the
next thing you know, you're down there at the bottom of the rankings."
Coach Bill Snyder has posted too many successful seasons in Manhattan for one bad year to place his job in jeopardy. But turning the Wildcats around next year — especially after the departure of Sproles, the school's career leader with 4,979 yards rushing and 48 touchdowns — might not be easy.
Sproles' backup, Thomas Clayton, had only 15 carries for 71 yards this season. With the graduation of Mike Johnson, the Wildcats will have a new center for the third time in as many years.
Kansas State also loses Berry, who was third on the team with 55 tackles, and its best defensive back. Cedrick Williams.
Also graduating: kicker Joe Rheem, who hit 13 of 15 field goals as a senior and didn't miss an extra point until having one blocked in the final game of the season.
VICTORIES: Shooters needed
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happens we give up a turnover and an easy basket."
In its last two games, Kansas has committed a combined 43 turnovers, which have led to 39 points for its opponents.
"It was a lack of focus on our part," said junior guard Erica Hallam. "We just didn't execute when it came to the game."
Shooting was another weakness that cursed Kansas against Texas-Arlington, and something that it will have to improve on to produce a solid effort against Sacred Heart.
While junior forward Crysta Kemp produced a solid 11-19 shooting performance on Sunday, the rest of the Jayhawks shot only 9-32.
"We were off balance,"
Henrickson said. "We need to be disciplined in shooting the right way every time.
Saturday's showdown with UMKC will present another interesting matchup for Kansas. The Kangaroos shot a sizzling 58 percent in their season opener, a 74-70 home defeat to Drake. Kansas will try to counter UMKC's hot shooting with a defense that held Texas-Arlington to 35 percent shooting. The Kangaroos could also present the Jayhawks with an opportunity to break out of their rebounding woes. UMKC was out-rebounded 40-23 against Drake.
Following the holiday break, Kansas will host Denver at 7:50 p.m. next Tuesday.
— Edited by Steve Vockrodt
A muddy, slippery course posed a potential threat of falling down in the middle of the tight pack.
better than last year, when Chesang placed 48th despite 20-degree temperatures and reported 20 mph winds. This time the temperature was in the lower 50s.
RUNNER: All-American now
"I didn't even expect something like that," he said. "That's great. I just thought I'd finish in the top 15 and that's it."
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But the conditions were much
Chesang was the second sophomore to cross the line, behind Colorado runner Brent Vaughn, who finished fourth. Chesang edged out Vaughn at
By finishing in the top 25, Chesang became the first Kansas runner to earn All-America honors in cross country since 1994, when Michael Cox and David Johnston received the honor in the last year Kansas qualified for nationals as a team.
the finish at the Big 12 Championships.
Coach Stanley Redwine said he was proud of Chesang.
"His mindset is one of success," he said. "He goes out there and competes well."
"Maybe next year I'll try to move up," he said. "Maybe sixth place, if all goes well."
Chesang has a good shot at contending for the national title next year. But he's not thinking about a national championship quite yet.
Edited by Johanna M. Maska
DAVIDSON: Still helping team
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"If they need some advice, I can talk to them," she said. "Not even on volleyball. It can just be school or boys."
Brown, a freshman opposite hitter, said Davidson helped her adjust to college volleyball and college life.
"She's been there before and
had things land on her," Brown said. "She's just a great person to talk to."
"She helps us know what's happening on the court," Brown said.
Davidson stops short of taking credit for the recent successes of Kansas' perimeter hitters, but Brown said Davidson helped her adjust more quickly during matches.
When Kansas fans see Davidson at home matches, she's usually retrieving stray balls on the court during warmups or recording stats on the bench.
Fans at Saturday's match against Texas A&M saw her sing the alma mater with the Jayhawks' 15 active players, as well.
"She's part of the team just like anyone else," Brown said.
Davidson said she wanted to sing the alma mater one more time after the team defeats Colorado. The senior night match begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
The team travels to Lubbock, Texas, today. The Jayhawks will face the Texas Tech Red Raiders at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
- Edited by Steve Vockrodt
PROBLEMS:
Wayne Simien
Player of Week
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"We did a terrible job with that," Self said. "We were kind of open, and when we were kind of open we shot it every time. We can't play that way."
Kansas basketball notes
After his 25-point, 14- rebound performance against Vermont last Friday, Kansas senior forward Wayne Simien was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week.
Simien earned his 23rd double-double of his career in the first half, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
The senior finished 8 of 15 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
COACHES: Team on the rise
Simien has earned the honor three times in his career,the last time coming the week of March 8 last season.
- Edited by Johanna M. Maska
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Mangino and his offensive coaching staff should be held responsible for not taking this program to the next level.
These were my sentiments less than a week ago, and the victory against Missouri at Faurot Field didn't change my mind.
I was ready to call Mangino out. This season has been a complete disaster. Someone should be held accountable for the ineptitude of the Kansas football team, whether it be Mangino, offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro or any of the other offensive coaches.
With the surprisingly good play of the defense this year, Kansas could be 10-1 and coasting into the Big 12 Championship game. Instead, the Jayhawks ended 4-7, winning one game on the road and two in the conference.
While it is easy to blame them, Kansas' problem isn't the coaches. The problem this season was a lack of on-field leadership, namely from the quarterback position. For some reason,
Adam Barmann was not able to build on his performance from last season, and the backups were not able to provide any spark coming off the bench, with the exception of Brian Luke's performance at Missouri.
Had Bill Whittemore been around this season, Kansas would have had one of its best seasons ever. The Jayhawks could have attained a shot at a major bowl game and a top-15 national ranking had there been adequate on-field leadership for this team. The defense shined every single weekend, but the offense was only up to the task four times.
We can't write off Mangino or his staff just yet. Before his arrival in Lawrence three years ago, this football team was consistently getting blown out, at home and on the road. Gone are the days K-State would win 42-6, 64-0, 40-6, 52-14, 50-9 and 54-6, scores put up by the Wildcats against the Jayhawks in their last six meetings. Those beatings were not part of this year's team.
After a successful 2003 campaign, Mangino's program faltered in what should have been a banner year for the Jayhawks. It's not his fault. Kansas was competitive in every single game this season. It had a opportunity to win all but one game, against the Sooners, and the Jayhawks even hung in with them for the first half.
The performance this team put on this season should be applauded. It left everything on the field every single game. It's apparent that it gave its complete effort each and every weekend. This team may not have finished many games on top, but it never quit.
Kansas teams of the past would have given up. Mangino didn't let his players do that this season. Kansas won't be playing in a bowl game this winter, but it did serve notice to the rest of the conference that this is a program on the rise. Gone are the days when Kansas was a guaranteed victory for most teams. Mangino has turned this team around. Next year, we'll see if it will translate into some victories.
- Weinstein is an Overland Park senior in English.