THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
BASEBALL | 8A Jayhawks to face Cornhuskers The three-game series will be important for Kansas to win because of recent struggles.
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011
WWW.KANSAN.COM
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
PAGE 10A
The KU football team practices for the first time this spring. Coach Turner Gill is trying to decide who will start as quarterback in the fall.
Jeff Jacobsen/KAl
ONE SPOT, FOUR PLAYERS
BY KORY CARPENTER kcarpenter@kansan.com
After swapping his red practice jersey for the more common blue or white, former quarterback Katie Pick stands against the fence surrounding the Kansas football practice fields. As media members talk with coaches and select play-
Pick
team's first spring practice, Pick
practices catching balls from a machine, getting in extra reps as he tries to crack the wide receiver rotation in the fall.
Pick's Kerry Meier-esque move to receiver helps clear up some of the quarterback confusion as the team heads into training camp, but questions stil
Webb
Mecham
but questions still remain
With four quarterbacks on the roster, one a red-shirt freshman and two — Jordan Webb and Quinn Mecham — having experience from last year, nothing is certain, which is something the coach prefers.
"We'll take it into consideration," coach Turner Gill said of last year's individual performances. "But it doesn't mean it's etched in stone."
Statistically, sophomore Jordan Webb has the edge over Mecham. Webb started seven games in 2010, throwing for 1,119 yards and seven touchdowns while leading Kansas to victories over Georgia Tech and New Mexico
State. Mecham started four games and appeared in six, throwing for 554 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He also led the team in the 28-point comeback win over Colorado on Nov. 6.
After a staggering nine quarterbacks were on the roster last spring, Mecham took notice of the shortened depth chart this spring and thinks it will help the potential starters get more reps in practice. But neither Mecham nor Webb has separated himself from the other. While Pick's roster change cleans up some of the confusion, the addition of freshman quarterback Brock Berglund adds another dimension to the
possible starting line-up for fall. Berglund, a three-star recruit from Highlands Ranch, Colo., initially arrived in Lawrence in January prepared to participate in spring drills. That plan was altered when he decided to return home for the spring, opting to reconvene with his teammates in the summer. However, last week, it was announced that Berglund will return for spring practices as an observer. "There's still an opportunity for him to be here in the summer," coach Gill said before news of Berglund's return was announced last week. "He'll have an opportunity to compete at that particular time."
Watching practice in Lawrence is better than nothing, and Berglund's opportunity to familiarize himself with the offense this spring could create a four-way battle for the starting quarterback spot this fall.
As of now though, anything could happen.
"We're going to evaluate it every day, and at the end of spring practice we'll see where we're at," Gill said of the quarterback battle. "If we need to make a decision, we'll make it. If not, we'll continue to evaluate as we go into the fall."
Edited by Marla Daniels
SOFTBALL
Kansas works to strengthen its defense after recent loss
Jerry Wang/KANSAI
Sophomore outfielder Maggie Hull winds up to throw toward first base. Hull finished with a run and two RBIs in the 12-6 loss at Arrocha Ballpark.
BY HANNAH WISE hwise@kansan.com
"Obviously we have some problems in the circle. I think that is evident," coach Megan Smith said after the Jayhawks' eighth consecutive conference defeat to the No. 14/15 ranked Sooners. The team fell to 0-8 in conference and 27-12 overall. The Jayhawks are on a four-game losing streak after Wednesday's losses to Oklahoma (12-6 and 13-5) and last week's losses to Nebraska (4-0 and 7-1).
The Kansas softball offense had its best conference performance against Oklahoma Wednesday evening,but it was not enough to carry the team through their defensive innings.
The offense made 13 hits against Oklahoma. This is a strong increase in hitting percentage compared with the previous six Big 12 games where the Jayhawks' averaged 3.8 hits a game.
"I am incredibly proud of our offense," Smith said. "They attacked and they continued to attack regardless of the score."
The offense pulled the team out of potential run-rule situations in both Oklahoma games. Junior third baseman Marissa Ingle hit a double to start the Jayhawks off in the bottom of the fifth inning of the first
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 9A
COMMENTARY
Stars of Kansas basketball come back to lead team next season
It's not all that bad.
What with the loss to
What with the loss to Virginia Commonwealth, the twins signing with an agent in Los Angeles, and a circus of rumors circling Josh Selby, April has begun on a good note.
Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson will be back at Kansas for another year. Whew. The variables in Robinson's decision couldn't have made for a tougher few weeks for anybody around Kansas basketball than Thomas himself.
Everybody knows the emotional responsibilities he had to weigh. The well-being of his younger sister, the well-being of himself, and the economic future of his whole family tipped the scales this way and that, but it never landed on one side or the other.
The eventual decision to stay couldn't be a better choice for him personally and for Kansas. Yes, he was projected as a mid-to-late first round projection for the NBA draft and could potentially be making a triple figure income next year, but that's not what he needs right now.
He's discussed this year how the Kansas community supported him and made him happy in his time here. Halfway through the season he spoke to reporters with a wide smile about how he talks with his
BY NICO ROESLER
noreloserkansan.com
www.twitter.com/#1/
NicoRoesler
sister every day and about how she seems happy.
His extended stay in Lawrence will simply strengthen his feeling of comfort while playing for Kansas. Playing in the NBA, on the other hand, while offering economic stability, would give him geographic instability. NBA teams travel to different parts of the country weekly. How was that supposed to help him in dealing with the ever painful losses in his family?
His decision, surprising to some, provides a breath of fresh air to the NCAA system that produces one-and-done players on an increasing basis. It shows that playing for a university is more than just a stepping stone to something better. It shows how it can be the best time of an athlete's career. And both Robinson's and Taylor's next seasons look to be
nothing but explosive.
It is as good as guaranteed that the Allen Fieldhouse crowd will cheer the loudest during the introduction for Thomas Robinson when he makes his first start next season. It is clear, like the glass backboards that will be feeling his wrath, that Robinson will be the highlight machine of next year.
Together with Taylor, Kansas has another chance of winning the Big 12. If Robinson averaged 7.6 points in 14.6 minutes, then he will, if mathematics parallel real-life predictions, score more than fifteen points for 30 minutes of play.
Taylor would add another 9.3 points-per-game if he follows up his junior season with a comparable senior effort. That is at least 25 points of offense combined between the returning stars that Kansas would miss without them
Their decisions to stay have balanced the off-season concerns with confidence. Their decisions have personally benefited both of them in their future endeavors in the NBA and in their current need to improve and enjoy the college experience, one that so many across the country downplay for those lucky enough to be future NBA players.
Edited by Marla Daniels