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UHART BACK ON THE COURT PAGE 9A
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2007
COMMENTARY
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Overlooked KU olympian dies Monday
STAND OUT
If I said the most decorated athlete in Kansas history passed away yesterday, would you be able to name him?
Al Oerter was just that. Oerter passed away early Monday morning at the age of 71.
I would guess most KU students have never heard of Al Oerter. That's not surprising. It's been nearly 50 years since Oerter left his Kansas track-and-field career behind in 1958. And Oerter was a discus thrower, not exactly the most glamorous of track events.
But Oerter is more than just a name in the record books or a face in old, grainy photographs. He is one of the most dominating athletes in the history of the Olympics.
Four different times at four different Olympics, Oerter showed the world that a Jayhawk could do something that nobody had done in the history of the Olympics. Oerter became the first person in history to win gold medals in four straight Olympics in the same event.
To this date, only fellow American track-and-field legend Carl Lewis has equaled the feat. But Oerter did something Carl Lewis couldn't do. Each time Oerter won the gold — from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics through the 1968 Mexico City games — Oerter set a new Olympic discus record.
If Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning, Gale Sayers and Lynette Woodard are the faces on the Mount Rushmore of Kansas athletes, then Al Oerter deserves to be chiseled in stone right next to them.
There's a story told by former Kansas broadcaster Tom Hedrick about Al Oerter. Hedrick was Oerter's chapter advisor when Oerter was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at Kansas. It was a cool fall day in 1957, and Hedrick was hanging around the football practice field where Oerter was practicing the discus that day.
"I turn around," Hedrick said, "And I don't know how to put this, other than to say I saw a young man and a young women necking in the bleachers."
Hedrick figured he ought to put a stop to the young love birds.
"Hey," he yelled to the couple. "You better stop that or Oerter is bound to put one right in your lap."
"What are you talking about," the young man responded angrily. "Who does he think he think he is, the Olympic champ?"
When I found out about Oersters passing, I felt compelled to make a journey to the Bootee Family Hall of Athletics at Allen Fieldhouse and take an Oerter history lesson. The statistics on this larger-than-life athlete are jaw dropping. Oerter was a two-time national champion in the discus and a two-time All-American. Oerter was a seven-time conference champion and more importantly, during Oerter's four years at Kansas, the track team won every indoor and outdoor track event.
"Well," Hedrick said smiling, "As a matter of fact he is."
Standing in the silence of the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, I began to look around. Here is a nearly new facility, oozing with KU sports history. Yet, except for basketball games, I hardly ever see students take a few moments to journey into this oasis of KU tradition.
So, if you find yourself walking by Allen Fieldhouse, and you have a few minutes to spare, go inside the Booth Family Hall of Athletics and immerse your history in history. You can learn about Oerter. You can learn about the other great KU Olympians. You can learn about the story of former basketball player Charlie Black, who went off to fight in World War II and then came back to Kansas and was named All-American.
There are thousands of stories in this place. And Al Oerter's Story is too good to miss.
Edited by Jeff Briscoe
Sarah Leonard/XANSAN
Both Katie Martinick and volleyball coach Ray Bechard knew Martinick was right for KU before she graduated from high school. Martinick has proved her worth by closing on Kansas volleyball records and inspiring her teammates with tremendous effort.
Holding nothing back
Go get 'em player inspires teammates with effort
BY RUSTIN DODD
rdodd@kansan.com
Sometimes one play can define a player. For Kansas sophomore setter Katie Martincich that play came earlier this year against Kansas State.
With Kansas trailing in its conference opener, a Kansas State player tipped a ball over the net toward the line referee's platform chair. Within a moment, Martincich was diving face-first into the metal chair, sacrificing her body to save the point for Kansas. Fighting off a grimace, Martincich popped to her feet, re-strapped the bulky back-brace that she has worn all season and went back to work.
That's just how Martinicch plays: all out, all the time. And because all she wanted to do since she first picked up a volleyball was play at Kansas, a little pain was no problem.
"I've been a Jayhawk fan since I was four years old," Martincich said.
"I told him I'd take it right there," Martinicin said. "Then he said, 'Don't you want to talk to anybody about it,' and I was like, 'Nope, I want it.'"
When Kansas coach Ray Bechard offered Martinicich a scholarship before her junior year at Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park, Martinicich thought about it for about two seconds.
family is serious about its love for Kansas. The family's answering machine belts out the Kansas fight song, and Martincich's father, Eric, is quick to point out that his wife and three daughters all have attended Kansas. And just like for all jayhawk families, the winter is dedicated to Kansas basketball.
If you call the Martincín household in Shawnee, you'll start to understand that the
"I think Katie and I have gone to maybe two movies together, but we've been to more than a hundred basketball games," Eric Martinicch said.
Martinicich's journey to Kansas sounds like a familiar story. It began with Martinicich sitting on the sideline practicing while her older
SEE MARTINCICH ON PAGE 9A
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Boot camp challenges players, unifies team
BY MARK DENT mdent@kansan.com
Chase Buford has only heard stories about the end of boot camp. Horror stories.
"I think that's been on everyone's mind for the last month or so." Buford said. "It's
The freshman guard experienced tough conditioning drills throughout his high school career, but judging by what other players have told him, none of them will prepare him for the last few days of boot camp.
going to be rough, but everyone gets through it. I'm sure there will be times when I think I won't, but I try not to think about it too much."
The last days of boot camp, which could be anytime from
Buford
Wednesday to Friday depending on how Kansas coach Bill Self thinks the team has performed, include timed sprinting drills that practically induce leg cramps just by the sound of their names. Players must complete 20 "22s" and 30 suicides in a certain amount of time.
A 22 is when players run the length of the court and back twice in a row in under 20 seconds. They do it 20 times and get about a 19-second rest in between each one.
Yikes.
Suicides, as the name implies, arent much easier. Players start at the base line, then sprint to the free throw line and back. Then to the half-court line and back. Then to the opposite free throw line and back. Finally to the opposite base line and back. Renew 30 times.
"Definitely the last two days are the hardest things to do," senior center Sasha Kaun said. "Twenty 22s and 30 suicides - it not just the physical, but things are mentally tough. When you hear 30 suicides, you just think 'wow, that's not even possible."
This is especially true considering the amount of running the Jayhawks have already done. Boot camp started eight days ago, and Self has put them through conditioning drills every weekday morning since.
FOOTBALL
"By the last two days we've already been through hell," senior guard Jeremy Case said. "Your legs just tighten up and your sides start hurting. That's when it becomes mental. You have to tell your body you can do it, and you're not hurting."
As hard as the drills are, the players know Self isn't just torturing them. Case said the last days of boot camp make the team feel more complete.
"We all have to rely on each other," he said. "If somebody doesn't make their time, we all have to run again. If somebody misses a block-out during a game, we all lose. So it helps everybody understand that each individual has to carry their own weight or the whole team loses."
— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
Pieces fall into place for new high-scoring, pass-first offense
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
BY ASHER FUSCO
anticipated movie live up to its hype or an eagerly-awaited album completely satisfy listeners. Offensive coordinator Ed Warinner's return to Kansas could have easily fallen short of the expectations of lavwhawk fans
Great expectations tend to carry quite a bit of weight. Rarely does a much-
Warinner
Fortunately for those fans, the offensive scheme Warinner introduced has lived
THE PLAN
Kansas' offensive philosophy this season has taken a turn from that of years past. Last season, the Jayhawk offense relied on running back Jon Cornish to carry much of the load. He answered the call admirably, rushing for a school record 1,457 yards and scoring five touchdowns. With Cornish departing for the Canadian Football League, Kansas was left with no feature back.
Warinner, who came to Kansas from Illinois, and the coaching staff devised a plan for 2007: Kansas would use the pass to set up
Category 2006 2007
Points per game 29 53.5
Yards per rush 4.8 5.5
Yards per pass 6.5 9.4
Total yards per game 374 553
offensive comparison
its running game.
"Our offense is one that provides an opportunity to run the ball because we throw the ball well — that's going to be our philosophy," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said several weeks before the season.
The idea has worked precisely as planned so far. Though Kansas has run the ball on 54 percent of its offensive plays, the team is averaging nearly 10 yards per pass attempt. Kansas has been able to establish its passing game early, grab a large lead and run all it wants in the second half.
The Jayhawks challenge opposing defenses by lining up in a variety of different formations, including four-wide receiver sets and creative three-wide receiver sets such as "triplets" or "diamond," in which three or four receivers bunch together on one side of the field and burst in all directions at the snap of the ball.
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SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 8A
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