THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
BCS bowl under scrutiny
BREW|8A
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011
The Fiesta Bowl fired its CEO because of various violations and should be held to the same standards as NCAA athletes.
WWW.KANSAN.COM
ONE AND DONE
SELBY HEADS TO DRAFT
BY TIM DWYER
tdwver@kansan.com
Although most experts had speculated for days that freshman Josh Selby would not return to the Jayhawks, the announcement was made official Thursday afternoon, when Selby (@joshselby32) tweeted that held be leaving Kansas to enter the NBA draft.
"I want to thank all the ku fans
who supported me through everything and all the fans who doubting me. I will miss the the fieldhouse," he wrote. "But it's a new journey.
Selby
in my life now. I will not return to Kansas next year. Making my
dream a reality. NBA baby."
Selby was the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2010, but he was suspended for the first nine games of the season and had a disappointing freshman campaign plagued by injury and inconsistency. He averaged 8.7 points for the season, but failed to score in double figures once after missing three games in early-to-mid February.
"I never coached a kid that went
through as much stuff his freshman year as Josh has," coach Bill Self said, "everything from a broken hand to a nine-game suspension to missing 20 practices and a stress reaction in his foot later in the season that limited his movement for the remainder of the season."
PAGE 8A
Self said reports have been that Selby has played at a very high level during workouts in Las Vegas throughout the last week.
"For him to deal with the injury was tough on him but he feels good now and should be 100 percent and back to the explosive guy that he is as he works out for NBA teams." Self said.
Experts project Selby as a late first round pick.
Edited by Helen Mubarak
BASEBALL
Senior pitcher T.J. Walz fires the ball into home in the first inning Friday. Walz pitched six innings with four runs against him with only one being earned.
Team could place in top half
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
BY MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
The baseball team's three-game series against Missouri this weekend will give the Jayhawks an opportunity to finally push their overall record above .500 and place the Jayhawks in the top half of the Big 12 standings.
"It's a chance to go on the road and win our fourth Big 12 series out of five to start the year," coach Ritch Price said. "To me it's like the season is on the line."
Even though Kansas has the second worst overall record in the conference at 16-17, Missouri is last at 13-20. The Jayhawks' Big 12 record is good for fifth in the conference at 6-6. Winning the series would most likely put them in fourth overall in Big 12 play.
However, losing the series could be disastrous to the rest of the Jayhawks' season because they could be buried in the bottom half of the conference standings.
"It could be a devastating weekend if we don't take care of business," Price said.
Price said the key for the Jayhawks would be how their pitching staff performs because most of Missouri's losses have come from low-scoring games.
Senior pitcher T.J. Walz will start for Kansas on Friday at 6 p.m. Walz has been on a tear since he corrected a leaning issue in his windup earlier in the season. In his last five starts, Walz has an ERA of 2.31
with 43 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched.
Walz will be facing a Missouri lineup that has been struggling all year. The Tigers average 4.5 runs a game off a batting average of .257. The Tigers' senior outfielder Jonah Schmidt leads Missouri at the plate with four home runs, 19 RBIs, and a .314 batting average.
"You've got to treat them like you're throwing against Oklahoma or one of the top hitting teams in the conference," Walz said. "We'll try to pitch to contact like we would with any other team."
Missouri leads the Big 12 in stolen bases with 66 and stolen base attempts with 92.
"We can't afford to walk anybody. The one thing they have is good team speed." Price said. "We've got to make them swing the bat by pitching to contact."
Saturday's starter for Kansas will be sophomore pitcher Tanner Poppe, who has a 3.20 record on the year for Kansas. Closing out the series on the mound for Kansas will be freshman starter Alex Cox. Cox is 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA for the Jayhawks.
The pitching staff has been consistent all year, which has helped with the layhawks' success in the Big 12 conference season.
last nine games.
In April, the layhawks are hitting .292 with 16 doubles, 8 home runs, and 52 scored runs. In the season's first 24 games, Kansas had a modest slugging percentage of .308, compared with .430 in their
"The last couple of weeks we've made really good improvement laying off the ball outside of the zone." Price said. "We need to continue to get the ball elevated and
take the fastball away."
Price said he had very little concern about getting the guys fired up to play.
"This is one of those games as a head coach you don't have a sim-
gle word about," Price said. "They know it's rivalry week and they're looking forward to the challenge."
Edited by San;antha Collins
SOFTBALL
Special series gives team extra momentum
Left feiler Maggie Hull throws a ball back into the infield after an OSU ball sneaks past the foul line Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. Hull hit a double in the sixth inning, which broke OSU's no hitter, and made her tied for the eighth most doubles in a single season with 13.
Chris Neal/KANSAN
BY HANNAH WISE hwise@kansan.com
For Saturday's Military Day, the players will wear camouflage warm-ups before they take the field. Thanks to the encouragement of senior pitcher Allie Clark, the team has adopted a military unit through HeroBox, an organization that provides American service members with resources and moral support.
At Sunday's Pink in the Park game, fans are encouraged to wear pink. All donations support Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the KU Cancer Center. Breast cancer survivor Carrie Rangel, who was diagnosed at the age of 31, will toss the first pitch.
This weekend's series against Baylor holds special significance for the softball team, which is hosting a Military Day on Saturday to accept donations for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a Pink in the Park game on Sunday to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer.
"This weekend is huge," junior outfielder Liz Kocon said. "We have Clarkie's Military Day and the Pink Game. It is going to be a really fun series this weekend and we are just so excited that we have this momentum going into it."
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The team is hoping for a second conference win in its home series. Baylor is ranked No. 15 nationally
and fourth in the Big 12 with a 5-3 conference record.
The Kansas offense will focus on fundamentals, such as adjusting to pitching style. In an extremely productive inning in the game against Texas Tech, the offensive players scored seven runs off five hits after a three-run deficit.
"They are going to be one of the toughest Big 12 teams we have played all year," coach Megan Smith said.
The Baylor pitching staff is ranked third in the conference with a 1.56 ERA. Sophomore Whitney Canion leads the team. She has a 17-5 pitching record and has struck out 189 batters on the season.
"I am just so glad that the whole team came together and was able to fight back after we were down," freshman infielder Laura Vickers said.
Despite the victory, the Jayhawks suffered a run-rule loss in the second game against Texas Tech.
"They just kept hitting and we didn't make the plays that we needed to make in certain situations," Kocon said.
"We are going to take it just like we have taken all of the other games," Smith said. "We are going to fight. We are going to work hard and that is all we can really do."
The players plan to focus on maintaining their mental intensity for the entire weekend.
Saturday's game begins at 2
1
MILITARY DAY
Fans are welcome to donate the following items to the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan that the softball team is sponsoring.
Personal Items
- Razors
- Mouthwash (please seal in Ziploc bag)
- Baby Wipes
Non-Perishable Food
Casnews, peanuts,
almonds
- Tea bags, any kind
- Tea bags, any kind
- Coffee
- Fiber granola bars
- Candy (sugar free and regular)
- Rice Krispy Squares
Entertainment Novelties
- Protein powder
- Entertainment topics
• Health and fitness magazines
- Newly-released DVD movies
COMMENTARY
Edited by Helen Mubarak
p. m. and Sunday's first pitch will be thrown at noon. Both will be played in Arrocha Ballpark.
Twitter is not a good way to say goodbye
BY MIKE LAVIERI
mlavieri@kansan.com
twitter.com/kansnball
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Josh Selby is taking his talents to the NBA draft. It was somewhat expected after he skipped out on the team's banquet on Monday and then returned to Baltimore instead of Lawrence after finishing workouts in Las Vegas.
I'm not disappointed in Selby leaving. What I am disappointed in is how he left in a similar manner as Marcus and Markieff Morris. Selby announced his decision via Twitter, tweeting, "I want to thank all the ku fans who supported me through everything and all the fans who doubting me. I will miss the fieldhouse. #KU."
The Morris twins announced their decision by a news release that wasn't sent out by Kansas Athletics, but by their new agent, Tony Dutt of Rival Sports Group. I had no idea who Dutt was until the Morris twins hired him. He represents Orlando's Rashard Lewis, Denver's Raymond Felton and Portland's Marcus Camby, but nobody who jumps up and screams "superstar." His one notable client was Shawn Kemp, a prominent player for the Seattle Super Sonics in the '90s.
If it were me, I would have had all three at the podium at Allen Fieldhouse taking questions from the media and speaking personally and formally, instead of from behind a computer screen or an unknown agent. The three should have announced their departures like Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry did last year; with a press conference.
Marcus said in a news release, "It was a difficult decision, but I feel it's the right time for me to realize my dream to play in the National Basketball Association."
Markieff said, "Playing here has prepared me for the opportunity to have a successful career in the NBA."
The Morris twins made the right decision, in my opinion. I think they have reached their ceiling and need to move on. Coach Danny Manning did an excellent job with them during their three years, but Markieff could have possibly gone to the next level like Marcus did this year. But in a year that has the looks of being a weak draft, it made all the more sense to go despite the potential for a lockout.
Don't those sound awfully similar? And sure, the words from Selby are his, but where's the emotion? We don't know if these players are crying, as they will never suit up again for the Jayhawks. Going to Kansas for one year was probably the plan for Selby, using the program as a stepping stone since the NBA requires players to be a year removed from high school.
I think Selby is making a mistake, but what do I know? I think he could improve if he stayed one more year, but he didn't do anything this season. Selby didn't fit into Self's system. Selby likes to drive the ball, but we didn't see much of that when he had the ball in his hands.
Thomas Robinson could have gone, but I think one more year with Manning will make him even more dominant. The money will be there next year and there might be even more than what was projected
I wish the best of luck to Setby and hope he makes it.
Edited by Sarah Gregor