GOLF Former Kansas golfer Tyler Hall tries his swing at a professional career. PAGE 6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2004
Schedule does no favors
www.kansan.com
Second-toughest schedule ranking among Division IA schools
BY JONATHAN KEALING
jkealing@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITTER
Playing football in the Big 12 Conference is never easy.
Conference is never easy When you add non-conference foes who all played in bowl games, your schedule becomes even more challenging.
If coach Mark Mangino were to have his choice, his developing team would not face opponents from major conferences. He didn't have that luxury this year.
year "Tulsa and Northwestern were scheduled before I got here," Mangino said.
said:
He was a part to the selection of Toledo, although that was more of both teams being in need of an opponent.
Last season, Kansas needed to use its victory over Division-IAA opponent Jacksonville State to qualify for a bowl. NCAA rules state that a Division-IA program can only use a victory over a D-IAA school in its record once every four years.
NCAA rules also state that a team needs six victories in order to qualify for a bowl. With only 11 games this season, compared to 12 last year, Kansas had no choice but to take any D-IA school they could. The change from 12 games to 11 is a consequence of another NCAA rule, which states that 12 games can only be played in certain years.
years.
According to a foxsports.com ranking of the schedule strength of all 117 D-I schools, Big 12 strengths of schedule range from as high as No. 2 for Kansas to as low as No. 65 for Missouri.
"It's our hope that our non-conference schedule will give us the opportunity to gain experience and develop experience for the future," Kansas State coach Billy Snyder said.
Missouri Both Kansas State and Missouri fell in the bottom half, even though they play in a top football conference.
Kansas State's low ranking for its schedule strength helps it develop its less experienced players against weak non-conference opponents.
National and Big 12 schedule rankings
Foxsports.com ranked the strength of schedule of all 117 D-I football schools. They used a format in which they averaged the rankings of four news services together, and then attributed points from that score. The score was halved if the game is to be played on the road. Therefore, teams with lower aggregate totals have tougher schedules. Below is the strength of schedule of all Big 12 schools, as well as that of the teams with the toughest and easiest schedules, as well as their point total.
"Sometimes we can play younger people, people lower on the depth chart, so they have experience if someone is injured in bigger games," Snyder said.
Kansas won't have that opportunity. In addition to tough non-conference foes, the Jayhawks face a slate of Big 12 teams that include No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Texas, No. 12 Kansas State and No. 18 Missouri, as well as Nebraska who just missed the AP Top 25 by 30 votes, coming in at 27.
Because of the Big 12 scheduling format, the Jayhawks do not have the lux
1. Oregon State 27.01
2. Kansas 28.18
3. Texas A&M 30.12
5. Texas Tech 31.62
10. Colorado 33.92
24. Oklahoma 36.49
34. Baylor 38.46
46. Iowa State 41.34
49. Texas 42.64
56. Oklahoma State 43.92
58. Nebraska 44.63
61. Kansas State 46.76
65. Missouri 48.70
117. Louisiana-Lafayette 76.55
Source: www.foxsports.com
ury of playing Baylor.
Next year, they will face the same slate of Big 12 opponents, however NCAA legislation has been proposed which would allow 12 games in the future. Kansas also will have the opportunity to select non-conference opponents that are not as arduous.
Mangino, however, chooses to take a light-hearted approach to the difficulties his team will face.
"It's not like they're going to come out with guns," he said.
Edited by Steve Vockrodt
Freshman Sasha Kaun hugs teammate sophomore Nick Bahe after scoring a point during Saturday's scrimmage. Kaun is originally from Tomsk, Russia, and went to military school in Florida.
From Russia to Florida, Sasha Kaun leaves family
'Hawk forward a quick learner
BY JESSE NEWELL
jnewell@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITTER
Editor's Note: Bill Self's first recruiting class at Kansas has been highly touted. Kansan sportswriter Jesse Newell will profile this year's freshmen as they prepare for their first game as Jayhawks on Sept. 4 in Vancouver, Canada.
For most, wearing the Kansas basketball uniform carries a certain burden of expectations and pressure.
However, for freshman Alexander "Sasha" Kaun, the uniform will carry a little lighter weight than he is used to.
little right here." "Coming here is a little bit of a relief from military school," Kaun said. The basketball uniform is no comparison to the uniform regimen that Kaun was used to in Florida, he said.
used to in Florida. Kaun attended the Florida Air Academy military school in Melbourne, Fla., and is accustomed to a structured learning environment, wearing a uniform to class every day and waking up before dawn. The challenge of winning
"Coming here is a little bit of a relief from
military school." Sasha Kaun
ary school. Sasha Kaun
Jayhawk men's basketball forward
the final forward position in the Jayhawk starting lineup is just the latest in a string of challenges for Kaun.
Originally from Tomsk, Russia, Kaun chose to leave his family behind and attend high school in the United States three years ago. It was his cousin Max who first graduated from the Florida Air Academy in 2001 and suggested he do the same.
"When he graduated, he asked me if I wanted to come over here, because it's a great school," Kaun said. "I just followed his footsteps."
Kaun arrived in the United States knowing no English and found out early on he had to become a quick learner
"Coming over here was kind of scary and hard at the beginning," Kaun said. "But as I went on it became a little easier."
SEE KAUN ON PAGE 6P
Soccer defeats BYU in shutout victory
BY KELLI ROBINETT krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The only score of the game came in the 29th minute when sophomore defender Holly Gault charged from the defensive end of the field, took a pass from sophomore mid-fielder Nicole Cauzillo, and sneaked the ball past the goalkeeper.
Edited by Jon Ralston
The Kansas women's soccer team improved to 2-0 on the season, with a 1-0 victory over Brigham Young University yesterday in Provo, Utah.
Gault's score was the only one of the Jayhawks' 10 shot attempts to find the net, but the team had no problem holding on for the victory. The Jayhawk defense allowed eight shots on goal and cruised to their second-straight shut-out
Senior goalie Meghan Miller had three saves, and still has not allowed an opponent to score this year. The only goal KU has allowed was in an exhibition game against Creighton when Miller was on the bench.
degree idea and a high "BYU had an extra day of rest and we had to make that adjustment, as well as to the altitude, so it took a total team effort to pull out the win today," coach Mark Francis said. "We had to use a lot of people off the bench in the second half, so our depth really helped us. This has been a great road trip, with us being able to go on the road and beat two quality teams."
The low scoring was partly caused by the adverse conditions of near 90 degree heat and a high altitude.
soccer team has started the season 2-0.
Next for the Jayhawks is the first home game of the season as they host Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 5 pm Friday in the KUStore.com Crimson & Blue Invitational Tournament at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
This is only the fourth time that the soccer team has started the season 2-0.
Kansas 1 — BYU0
University of Kansas
Pos No Player Sh SOG G A
GK 1 Meghan Miller 0 0 0 0
MF 2 Nicole Cauzillo 1 1 0 1
D 3 Afton Sauer 0 0 0 0
D 6 Danika Erickson 0 0 0 0
F 7 Rachel Gilfillan 3 0 0 0
D 8 Holly Gault 2 2 1 0
F 10 Jessica Smith 1 1 0 0
MF 16 Amy Geha 1 1 0 0
D 18 Stacy Leeper 0 0 0 0
MF 19 Lauren Williams 1 0 0 0
F 21 Caroline Smith 0 0 0 0
MF 5 Gabriela Quiggle 1 0 0 0
Brigham Young University
Legion Young University
Pos No Player Sh SOG G A
MF 29 Amanda Draeger 0 0 0 0
MF 2 Amberlea Anderson 1 0 0 0
D 3 Haylee Cuthbert 0 0 0 0
F 6 Annie Zwahlen 0 0 0 0
MF 9 Krissa Campbell-Reinbold 3 1 0 0
MF 11 Jamie Rendich 0 0 0 0
MF 12 Natalie Nate 3 2 0 0
D 13 Rachelle Dixon 1 0 0 0
MF 16 Charlene Lui 0 0 0 0
MF 20 Bobbi Tillotson 0 0 0 0
D 25 Claire Thomas 0 0 0 0
Source: BYU Athletics Department
JACK WEINSTEIN
jweinstein@kansan.com
Basketball scrimmage shows team's potential
If you were not fortunate enough to attend the Kansas men's basketball scrimmage on Saturday at the Horeisi Family Athletics Center, you missed out on one hell of a show.
late Amner Bickert.
Ask yourself what the biggest weakness of last year's Elite Eight team was. If you're thinking David Padgett, you have a valid point. Padgett and the sparingly-effective Jeff Graves provided little assistance for Simien, but that was not the biggest problem. The problem was perimeter shooting.
Bill Self's squad, led by the senior class of Aaron Miles, Wayne Simien, Keith Langford and Mike Lee, battled along side and against freshmen Sasha Kaun, C.J. Giles, Russell Robinson, Darnell Jackson and Alex Galindo. Self's boys did not disappoint, as a crowd of 1,300 did everything to emulate Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks shot 33.5 percent from beyond the arc last season, ninth in the Big 12. But look for vastly-improved long-distance shooting from the entire team. Before you get excited about the long-range ability of sophomore J.R. Giddens, you may want to know that the best three-point shooter at Saturday's scrimmage was none other than Mike "All-World Sixth Man" Lee. Lee lit up the entire gym with his three-point magic. Not only does Lee have the potential to be the Jayhawk's best Sixth Man, but he could be a leading scorer and one of the key players for a run at the NCAA title.
When talking long range, don't count out the seniors. Langford has improved his shot every year, and Miles looked markedly better in all aspects of his game, especially in his shooting.
shooting.
I've mentioned five guys without a word about the freshmen and returning underclassmen. Robinson, Miles' expected backup at guard, will make his share of threes. Alex Galindo, a combo guard/forward, has one of the sweetest strokes I've ever seen. And at 6-foot-7, Galindo should shoot over almost anyone who tries to throw a hand in his face.
the freshmen were great, but after Lee and Giddens, the best shooter on the floor was sophomore Nick Bahe. Bahe opened the scrimmage by draining a three over sophomore Jeremy Case, and he continued to drain shots throughout the contest. As mentioned last week in The University Daily Kansan, Bahe may be a redshirt candidate for this season. I hope he's not.
Let's not forget about the backcourt play for Kansas. Simien returns healthy as a preseason candidate for almost every college basketball award out there. An injury-free Simien could mean huge things for the Jawhaws.
mean huge things to do.
The Hawks also have an interesting trio of freshmen post players in Kaun, Jackson and Giles. Each of these players is completely different from one anther. Kaun is a center with excellent touch and has the ability to use both hands around the basket. Jackson is a bruiser who should have no trouble fighting for position inside. Giles reminds me of Syracuse's Hakim Warrick with his wiry frame and long arms that should get him rebounds and blocked shots. I can't leave out last year's super substitute forward junior Christian Moody. Toss in much-improved junior Moulaye Niang, and the Jayhawk big men look as deep as the guards.
I'll tell you this much: Self's boys will be scary good this season. They looked faster, more athletic, more physical and a hell of a lot deeper than they did a season ago. This could be a very special season if all goes well in the heart of Jayhawk nation.
Weinstein is an Overland Park senior in English.
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