KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011 / SPORTS
9A
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The teams that do the best job of putting personal agendas aside are the successful teams. It's not easy. That's why it's hard being a good teammate, but everyone has that choice."
Ray Allen
FACT OF THE DAY
Kevin Durant had a 3.0 GPA as a college freshman. He attends classes at UT in the summers and is working toward his degree.
—jockbio.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: What other notable players were in the 2001 Michigan State basketball team with Zach Randolph that made it all the way to the NCAA Final Four?
A: Jason Richardson and Charlie Bell.
— espn.com
Last season's lessons to learn
MORNING BREW
It's just about that time of the year, when college sports fans will soon
when college sports tans will soon be resigned to watching nothing but professional baseball and soccer highlights every night and counting down to college football's first kickoff.
BY JOEL PETTERSON jpetterson@kansan.com
Aside from a handful of track meets, baseball games and golf tournaments, the sports year at the University is history. But instead of immediately looking forward to next fall, it's important to take time to reflect on the lessons that can be gleaned from the past nine months. As the saying goes, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and I doubt many sports fans would like to live through the disappointments from last year again.
This really shouldn't be a lesson that Kansas fans needed to learn; it should have been common sense. After all, the great Mark Mangino had even fewer wins his first season, going 2-10 five years before winning a BCS championship. However, the immediate calls for Turner Gill's firing from incensed fans suggest that this is a lesson that needs to be learned once again.
Lesson No. 1: It takes more than seven months to build a good football team.
Lesson No. 2: Sometimes September football makes about as much sense as March basketball.
For all the effort that goes into breaking down matchups, stat lines and x-factors, sports make extremely little sense sometimes. We're used to seeing nonsensical results in March, like
Kansas' loss to VCU two days after an absolute dismantling of Richmond. But Kansas football experienced a similar week in the fall - call it September Madness - when it followed up a less-than-inspiring opening loss to South Dakota State by upsetting Georgia Tech. That result against Tech made even less sense as the disappointing season continued.
Lesson No. 3: Never trust a Bubba.
Actually, he definitely won't, it was decided on Thursday.
You remember Bubba Cunningham, right? Last fall, almost no one at the University of Kansas had heard of him. Then, on Dec. 14, a Tuesday, several major news outlets reported Cunningham had all but signed a contract to be Kansas' next athletics director.
Or maybe he won't, they reported the next day.
ly decided to go with the candidate with the second-best name they could find: Sheahon Zenger.
Who knows why he ultimately decided to turn down Kansas and return to Tulsa, but surely Kansas learned its lesson in messing around with Bubbas and ultimate
Lesson No. 4: If you want to be a professional basketball player, make sure you average 8.7 points per game and maintain a .382 field goal percentage.
Take note, young basketball players. If you want to make it to the NBA draft, all it takes is two-thirds of a collegiate season playing in a limited role and earning mediocre stats. You might also sit out three games in the middle of the season with a stress reaction in your foot, just so you don't gain too much momentum throughout the season. It worked for Josh Selby, so who says it can't work for everyone?
Well, sure, there was the whole "No. 1 high-school recruit" thing, but don't get caught up in details.
-Edited by Dave Boyd
THIS WEEK IN KANSAS ATHLETICS
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
invitation to the tryouts. Former Jayhawk Danielle McCray was a member of the 2009 USA World University Games team that took gold.
Davis will join the other athletes at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado and the
tryouts will run from May 22-25. The group of 34 athletes will be narrowed to a 12-member team which will train from July 31 to Aug.8 in Colorado Springs and compete Aug.14-21 in Shenzhen, China, at the 2011 World University Games.
TODAY
No events are scheduled for today.
THURSDAY
Davis gets to work out with team USA
Sophomore forward Carolyn Davis led the Jayhawks this season, averaging 19 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Now Davis will try to lead
Baseball
vs. Alabama A&M
6 p.m.
Lawrence
"I feel so honored to be categorized as one of the best in the country" Davis said. "To possibly represent my country at the University Games would be a huge accomplishment."
No events are scheduled for today ERIDAY
Davis is the second Jayhawk in three years to receive an
Track
Big 12 Outdoor
Championships
All day
Norman, Okla.
SATURDAY
Baseball
vs. Alabama A&M
2 p.m.
Lawrence
vs. Alabama A&M
5 p.m.
Lawrence
Track
Big 12 Outdoor
Championships
All day
Norman, Okla.
Davis will join 34 of the nation's top players, including five athletes from the Big 12 Conference. Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly has been named head coach for the team.
the USA Basketball Women's World University Games Team
Women's Rowing Conference USA Championship All Day Oak Ridge, Tenn.
USA Basketball women's teams have brought home seven gold medals, six silvers and one bronze in 15 years of competition.
—By Kathleen Gier
SOFTBALL
BY HANNAH WISE hwise@kansan.com
Softball ends without final games, but with anticipation
The softball team was counting on three final games against Drake and UMKC to round out its season and bolster its way into post season play. That was not the case, though. The Drake doubleheader was scheduled for May 5, but was rained out. Yesterday's scheduled game against UMKC was cancelled because of scheduling conflicts between the universities.
"Honestly, we were all really disappointed with how it ended," said sophomore outfielder Maggie Hull.
The team finished the regular season with a 31-22 overall record. The team still hopes that its 26-3 pre-season non-conference record will bolster its RPI enough for the team to advance to post season play.
the tournament, and being ranked No. 49 gives Kansas a good chance of entering the tournament.
The team has the potential to make regionals for the first time since 2006.
As of May 1, the team is ranked No.49 in the nation, according to RPI, as calculated by strength of schedule and win-loss record. The RPI is a main selection factor that determines the field of 64 teams for
"That's on everyone's mind that we are making it," Hull said.
"No matter what the score of the game was we were going to just keep fighting no matter what. It was an incredible feeling and I wish I could live in that moment forever."
LIZ KOCON
Junior outfielder
The team will continue practice this week as it waits for the Sunday selection show on ESPNU at 10 p.m.
ers and coaches will bid farewell to senior pitcher Allie Clark and senior catcher Brittany Hile as they reflect upon the season. The team broke the record for home runs in a single season with a total of 60. It won six of the seven pre-conference tournaments, beginning the season
"We are trying to give them some reps, so that they stay sharp in case we make regionals," coach Megan Smith said.
If the team is not accepted into the field of 64 teams, the play-
10-0. It defeated two top-25 ranked teams: Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
"The feeling of how happy we were and how in sync we all felt; it felt like we were on this kind of high almost," said junior outfielder Liz Kocon. "No matter what the score of the game was, we were going to just keep fighting no matter what. It was an incredible feeling and I wish that I could live in that moment forever."
It will be that kind of mentality that the team will need if it makes the NCAA tournament. Although who it will face, where it will play and even if it will play has yet to be determined, the team is locked in, focused and ready to continue the season if given the opportunity.
- Edited by Caroline Bledowski
The softball team is waiting to see if its pre-season record of 26-3 combined with its RPI ranking of No. 49 will send it to NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.
Chris Neal/KANSAN file photo
read it to NCAA
MAY $ 1 6^{\text{TH}}-2 0^{\text{TH}} $
- ENTER TO WIN KU
BOOKSTORE & ITUNES
GIFT CARDS
- FREE BUYBACK TEE IF YOU SELL $150+
- 50% OFF ONE ITEM IF YOU SELL $100+
KU Bookstore
(Burge Union)
7:30am-10:00pm
KU Bookstore
(Union Main Store)
8:30am-6:00pm
Wescoe Hall 8:30am-5:00pm
Oliver Hall
9:00am-5:00pm
Naismith Hall
4.00pm 8.00pm
Mrs E's
9.00am-2.00pm &
5.00pm-7.30pm