CAMPUS The department of health, sport and exercise science offers classes in several sports and exercises PAGE 3B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8,2004
'Hawks await Toledo's tough QB
www.kansan.com
BY RYAN COLAIANNI
colaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The Toledo Rockets may have been destroyed by the Minnesota Gophers last weekend, losing 63-21, but by no stretch was their offense unproductive.
The Rockets racked up more than 400 yards in total offense — in part thanks to the efforts of quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.
Against Minnesota,
Gradkowski was 19-30 for 202 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
GRADKOWSKI
"The score of their game against Minnesota does not indicate the type of football team that they are," said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. "They have an outstanding quarterback."
Gradkowski was named in the preseason as one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. After completing 72 percent of his passes last year, he's getting his share of attention from this year's post-season award watch lists. ESPN.com lists him as a potential Heisman candidate, and he's also expected to compete for the Davey O'Brien award that goes to the nation's top quarterback.
"I'm not sure in the warm-ups we complete 72 percent of our passes, so that's pretty impressive." Mangino said.
Last season, Gradkowski was nearly perfect as he passed for 29 touchdowns with just seven interceptions in only his first season as the Rockets' starting quarterback.
"I'm focusing on being a leader more this year since I have one season under my belt," Gradkowski said. "I'm trying to do anything to make our team better as a whole."
Once again, the Jayhawks will face a quarterback who is his team's primary offensive weapon. However,
Gradkowski is a different kind of quarterback than Tulsa's James Kilian, as Gradkowski is more of a pocket passer.
"When you get in the situation when it's a shojiun snap, he gets rid of the ball like a second baseman turning a double play. I mean, it's gone," Mangino said.
Gradkowski is also dangerous on the ground. Last season, he was the team's second leading rusher. He totaled more than 500 yards rushing and ran for one touchdown.
"He's a guy who is a pretty good athlete, and he has good feet," Mangino said. "They are not going to run him a lot, but they run him enough to keep you honest."
The Kansas defense will have to play like it did last week if it wishes to stop Gradkowski. That means getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback. In the season-opener against Tulsa, the defense totaled six sacks and held Kilian to just 91 vars passing.
"We do all kinds of different things." Gradkowski said. "We'll line up sometimes with three or four tight ends and that's what makes this offense so fun. It's great to have the chance to switch to different formations so our opponents don't know what's coming."
ership qualities." Mangino said. "You can tell that he is in charge of the offense out there."
Toledo's offense is modeled after Gradkowski's strenghts. The Rockets run a spread offense, which gives Gradkowski a variety of options from the pocket.
It.
Gradkowski said Toledo liked to range formations often, a tactic signed to make it more difficult for defense to react.
"His throwing ability is unbelievable," said junior Kansas linebacker Gabriel Toomey. "It's going to be a big challenge, but I think we will be ready for it."
Langford schools Greene
- Edited by Rupal Gor
IEAN SHORT MADNESS
RYAN GREENE
rgreene@kansan.com
Jared Soares/KANSAN
Senior guard Keith Langford and Kansan Sports columnist Ryan Greene faced off in a best of five game of H-O-R-S-E. Despite coming directly from weight training, Langford beat Greene in four straight games.
Reality television is addictive. This is a proven fact.
I don't consider myself an addict, but it's hard to deny the sheer joy of watching others have their feelings spit on. It makes you feel better about yourself, and no one can deny this. Whether it's The Real World or, my personal favorite, Growing Up Gotti, it's all the same.
All this talk about reality television in my Principles of Broadcasting class got me thinking: Why not incorporate some reality into the Jean Short Madness?
This week's episode involves me, Keith Langford, and an epic battle in a driveway classic for any American mouth.
Believe it or not, Keith and I do share some similarities.
We are both journalism majors, we both idolized Michigan point guard Jalen Rose growing up, and, well, yeah that's about it.
When comparing us in basketball terms, he's Goliath and I'm David's afro-cladded stepchild. He is one of the top players on a perennial National Championship contender and has played in two Final Fours. Shoot, this guy dropped 19 points and guarded Carmelo Anthony in the title game, while I rarely even play anymore.
Off the court, he's also a hell of a guy. With that said, I was not surprised when he accepted my challenge two weeks ago. The contest: A best-of-five series of H-O-R-S-E, with the only rule being no dunking, for obvious reasons.
I'll admit, for a guy who hadn't played basketball in more than a
month, I was pretty confident when I showed up to play Keith last Wednesday. About a week earlier I came to the conclusion that there was no shot I could make that Keith was not capable of. But on this day, there were a few factors swinging in my favor.
Keith had just arrived from a weight-lifting session, so he could have had some lingering fatigue. Also, we were playing in the Horejsi Family Athletics Center because the women's basketball team was practicing in Allen
Fieldhouse. This eliminated the problem of the depth perception that occurs with thousands of empty seats staring at you through the backboard. Plus, though I'm a good five inches shorter than Langford, I'm a damn good shooter. I've won many a neighborhood three-point contest in my day.
For Keith, he had the intimidation part down. Earlier in the day he passed me in Stauffer-Flint Hall and shot me the "your ass is mine, Greene" line. Plus, to be blunt, it's freakin' Keith
Langford. What the hell was I thinking?
Langford. We waited.
After we entered the court and had a couple warm-up shots and some small talk, we shot three-pointers from the top of the key to decide who would shoot first. After we each missed our first attempt, I swished one. But, as it would become a growing theme over the next 40 minutes, Keith did just the same. Keith ultimately won the honors for first shot.
SEE LANGFORD ON 8B
Henrickson optimistic for new season
BY PAUL BRAND
pbrand@kansan.com
KANAN SPORTWRITER
For women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson, the message and focus of the off-season is clear.
Kansas compiled a 9-19 record last year, including a 2-14 mark in the Big 12, and has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2000. In February 2004, former coach Marian Washington announced her retirement after 31 years
The expectations set forth by the former Virginia Tech coach promise to bring change to a program desperately in need of jt.
"We all came here to win at the highest level," Henrickson said of the entire coaching staff.
In her first year as head coach at Virginia Tech in 1997-98, she engineered a miraculous turnaround. A team that ended the previous season with a 10-21 record became a 22-10 team that won the Atlantic 10 conference title. During her seven years as head coach, Virginia Tech was 158-62, averaging 23 victories per season. During her tenure, the Hokies made five NCAA and two WNIT tournament appearances.
With a record of success preceding her arrival in Lawrence, the community has openly embraced the new coach and the possibility for rebritt in the women's basketball program.
and left a vacancy on the Jayhawk bench.
Enter Bonnie Henrickson
In a show of encouragement, more than 225 people attended the annual welcome back picnic held at the Douglas County fairgrounds on Aug. 29. The Athletics Department is in the process of putting together a TV schedule for the Jayhawks to satisfy increasing demand.
"People have been very warm and very vocal in their support," Henrickson said.
Since arriving at Kansas, Henrickson and her staff have been working to change the direction and attitude of the program to return enthusiasm to Kansas women's basketball.
"I wanted to make sure I communicated clearly our vision," Henrickson said of her arrival in Lawrence. "I just wanted to move forward and get back
--on campus."
Assistant coaches Karen Lange and Katie O'Connor also left Virginia Tech to come to Kansas with Henrickson.
"We're all going to go or we're not going to go." Henrickson said of the verbal pact she made with Lanue and O'Connor before accepting the Kansas job. "They've been instrumental in the growth of our program there, and I wouldn't build this by myself."
Once the coaching staff signed on as Jayhawks, Henrickson immediately started to mold the program in a style seen previously at Virginia Tech.
"We were successful at Virginia Tech initially with not as much athleticism
SEE HENBICKSON ON 3B
Athletes deserve 'credit'
SEVENTH INNING STRETCH
ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
As much as I would like to disagree with anything coming from K-State. In this case I can't — give letter grades and/or class credit for varsity sport participation is a fair and smart practice.
In last Monday's University Daily Kansan, columnist Ryan Greene explored the reasoning behind giving actual classroom credit, or letter grades, for varsity team participation.
In some ways I agree strongly with him; in other ways I don't. He suggested that giving out credit for varsity sport participation as it is done at Kansas is fair, while giving letter grades for the same thing is not.
K-State is one of the schools who give out letter grades for student-atheletes enrolled in their sport.
My response to this: That's it? Not even half the Division I-A football schools give any sort of academic credit to athletes who bust their butts and hit the books day after day.
I'm not just talking about letter grades, because it's pretty rare to receive an actual A, B or C, but that policy should become more common.
Of the 117 Division I-A football schools that The Washington Post evaluated, almost three dozen schools award academic credit in the same manner as K-State.
Other schools may just give credit that will count toward the number of hours a player must take per semester to be eligible to play.
That's the policy K-State uses. Institutions such as Brigham Young University, Florida State University, University of Georgia, University of Nebraska, Ohio State University and Penn State University follow the same type of procedure.
Kansas uses the "pass-fail" method. Student-athletes enroll in a one-hour course where they are granted a pass or fail grade. The grade is based on their participation in HSES 104: Strength and Conditioning.
Any way you look at it, I not only think it is fair, but well-deserved for athletes to receive this credit.
According to The Post, NCAA President Myles Brand said he would be surprised and worried to learn that student-athletes weren't earning credit for their efforts.
Surprised? Are you serious? Eleven of the top 25 preseason-ranked football teams' schools have such situations, and officials are surprised by what's going on?
What really gets to me is that no one seems to know about this.
Teams such as Nebraska and Ohio State, both football powerhouses, award credit like this, yet it seems to only be surfacing now.
Yes, a traditional classroom setting is where tests are taken and grades handed out. But aren't these athletes learning in practice?
I wonder why they are being secreteive. These athletes easily work double the time in their sports than in the classroom, but they are expected to excel in both.
Of course a letter grade should be awarded or, at the very least, some sort of credit.
This isn't just a "benefit" system available only to football players. At schools with similar policies to that of K-State, all varsity sports and activities such as athletic training, band, theater and ROTC programs, are eligible.
Above all else, it's the education these student-athletes receive on the field or court that is incomparable to that of a typical classroom, but is how these students show their A+ work.
Bauer is a Winfield junior in journalism.
---