05
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
'HORN BORN,
'HAWK BRED
PAGE 1B
trobinett@kansan.com
Kicker puts team in good place
Kansas will make a bowl game this year, but not because the offense or defense has changed. The difference will be the kicking game.
The 2004 Jayhawks' 4-7 record could have been 7-4 if they had this year's improved version of sophomore kicker Scott Webb.
This year, missed field goals won't come back to hurt the Jayhawks, because Webb will make most of them. So far in 2005, he is perfect on five field-goal attempts, including one from 47 vards.
The difference is leg strength. Webb has always been accurate, but last season he struggled from more than 40 yards, and former place-kicker Johnny Beck handled the kick-offs because he could kick the ball farther.
It's apparent that Webb's leg strength has improved. This year on 20 kick-offs, he is averaging 63.7 yards with 11 touchbacks. Beck had similar numbers in his first three games last season. On 19 kick-offs, Beck averaged 63.9 yards with 11 touchbacks.
Beck was great at kicking off, but his and Webb's inconsistencies with field goals contributed to losses against Northwestern, Texas Tech and Nebraska last season.
It's almost too easy to blame Beck for Kansas' 20-17 loss at Northwestern. He cost Kansas six points in a three-point game, missing two field goals — one from 48 yards at the end of the first half and the other from 43 yards with about a minute to go in the second.
When Texas Tech came to Lawrence, the Red Raiders scored 26 unanswered points to win by one. Fans usually blame Kansas' offense for that loss, but it set up Webb, who briefly replaced Beck as place-kicker, for six possible points in the fourth quarter. He missed both field goals, one from 45 yards and one from 43. Making either attempt would have sealed the victory for Kansas.
During Kansas' loss at Nebraska, Webb missed a 37-yard field goal less than three minutes into the game, the only missed attempt for Kansas. Nebraska ended up winning 14-8, but let's put the simple math aside. Those three points affected the outcome.
Kansas lost confidence in its kicking game with that miss. That was proven at the 9:14 mark in the fourth quarter. Kansas was on the Nebraska 24-yard line, and Kansas football coach Mark Mangino decided to go for a long fourth down instead of trying a 41-yard goal field that would have cut Nebraska's lead to three points.
Mangino probably made the right decision. Beck and Webb had both been inconsistent from more than 40 yards up to that point in the season, and Kansas needed a touchdown thanks to Webb's early miss. Hypothetically, in a three-point game with a solid place-kicker, Kansas could have tied it.
Even if the Nebraska game was thrown out of the victories blown by kickers, the other two can't be ignored. Kansas was three field goals away from six wins and back-to-back bowl games.
This year, look for Kansas to win two close games, or maybe even a few more, thanks to a solid kicking game.
- Robinett is an Austin, Texas,
junior in journalism.
VOLLEYBALL
Jayhawks set to spike Longhorns
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Kansas volleyball will take its six-match winning streak on the road tonight to face Texas.
Ranked No. 24 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 coaches' poll, the Jayhawks (10-1, 2-0 conference) will seek revenge after being swept last season by the Longhorns. Texas defeated Kansas in four games last season in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns, ranked No. 23, lead the all-time series between the two clubs, 17-4.
When: 6:30 p.m.
Senior middle blocker Josi Lima attempts to tap the ball past Oklahoma defenders during the match last Saturday at Horeisi Family Athletics Center. Lima, named Big 12 Player of the Week for her last two performances against Texas A&M and Oklahoma, will help the No. 24 Jayhawks continue their winning streak against No. 23 Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas, at 6:30 tonight
MATCH INFO
Kansas is off to a successful start in conference play after beating Texas A&M and Oklahoma last week. The match starts at 6:30 p.m. at Texas' Gregory Gym. It is the Longhorns' second home match at home this year.
Where: Gregory Gym,
Austin, Texas
Texas (6-2, 1-1 conference) is coming off a loss at Iowa State on Saturday. The Cyclones' victory snapped a five-match winning streak for the Longhorns.
Texas will be led by fifth-year coach Jerritt Elliott. He has compiled an 81-42 record and led teams to the NCAA tournament in three of his four seasons in Austin.
On the court, Texas has two preseason all-conference players in sophomore setter Michelle Moriarty and junior middle blocker Brandy Magee. Moriarty will anchor the Longhorns' attack. She averages 13.29 assists per game this season. Magee leads the team with 3.77 kills per game. This duo will present tough match-ups for Kansas' veteran counterparts, senior setter Andi Rozum and senior middle blocker Josi Lima.
◆ Cost: Adult general admission:$6 Senior citizen and youth general admission:$4
Source: www.texassports.com
Justin O'Neal/KANSAN
Lima was named Big 12 Player of the Week and Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week for her performance against Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
Rozum got her 4,000th assist Saturday against Oklahoma. She is third on KU's all-time list in that category.
After Oklahoma nearly upset Kansas on Saturday, Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard said his team was more focused for the rest of the season.
"It gets easier this week," he said in jest. "We get to go down and play another top 20 team
SEE SPIKE ON PAGE 5B
MEN'S GOLF
Kansan file photo
Junior golfer Gary Woodland prepares for a shot during the first round of the Kansas Invitational Monday at Alvamar Golf Club. When play concluded yesterday, the Jayhawks took first place as a team and Woodland finished third, the highest on the team.
Kansas golfers hold on for Invitational victory Final round 70 for freshman helps team win overall "7
BY JONATHON ANDERSON
janderson@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Going into the final round of the Kansas Invitational, the Kansas men's golf team was locked in a battle with Tulsa and Western Kentucky for the trophy at Alvamar Golf and Country Club.
Carrying a two stroke lead into yesterday's final round, the team defended its lead and escaped with a final-round team total of 289.
Kansas men's golf coach Ross Randall was proud of his team and its victory, but said there was room for improvement.
"We put up a decent score," Randall said. "We certainly didn't play our best golf, but it's not easy to play well at home, because there is that feeling of pressure you put on yourself. We overcame that."
Kansas freshman Zach Pederson led the Jayhawks with a fourth-place round of 70, which helped capture the title. Randall was impressed with Pederson's demeanor and overall performance.
junior Gary Woodland went into yesterday's final round with a two stroke lead, but that was not enough for the team captain to capture the individual trophy.
"Zach Pederson really helped the effort — shooting two under par for us," Randall said. "Whenever you have a freshman finish in the top 10, you know that he played solid golf. This is not an easy place to play for visiting teams coming in."
"It was a rough day for me," Woodland said. "It was very frustrating considering that I got off to a slow start. I felt I was a little anxious at the beginning, but I settled down
Zach Pederson really helped the effort — shooting two under par for us."
Ross Randall
Kansas men's golf coach
and hit the ball as well as I have hit it all year down the stretch. I just didn't hit any putts."
Woodland shot a final round 74, finishing third for the tournament.
Although Woodland was disappointed with his play, he was excited by the production of his teammates and the way they picked up a lot of the slack.
"It was a big win for us," Woodland said. "We kind of struggled last week a little bit, but we came out and beat some tough teams this week."
— Edited by Jonathan Kealing
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Chalmers has moves on court, not off it
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
On an occasional weekend night, somewhere on a dance floor in Lawrence, all eyes are on Mario Chalmers. The music is loud, and Chalmers and his teammates are dancing. Just a few feet away, their teammate Julian Wright is laughing at Chalmers.
"He cannot dance," Wright said adamantly. "Mario has no moves. He can dance on the court but not off it."
That could be the truth, or just typical bante
Chalmers
between Wright and his roommate, Chalmers. But luckily for Chalmers, he will be judged more on his talents on the hardwood than on the dance floor.
So far, the judges who matter the most think highly of the young point guard.
"We feel Mario is probably as talented as any freshman point guard out there," said Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self.
Chalmers is different from most of Kansas' recent point guards. Unlike Aaron Miles, who owns the Big 12 Conference and Kansas all-time assist records, Chalmers is a scorer. He can take defenders off the dribble and spot up behind the three-point arc. As a senior at Bartlett High School in Anchorage, Alaska, he average 25 points and four assists a game, and led the state in three-point shooting. Even as a junior, Chalmers averaged 23 points a game.
"My mentality is just a little different now, because in high school I had to do a lot of scoring," Chalmers said. "But now I
With the abundance of young talent on the Jayhawks' roster, Chalmers knows he won't have to take as many shots as he did in high school.
can pass the ball to my teammates and get them involved more."
That change in mentality will benefit all the Jayhawks on the court, including Chalmers. Talk to players and coaches and they will tell you Kansas is going to be a running team this year — the style of play that fits Chalmers' game best. His quickness and passing ability will create scoring opportunities for his teammates, but he can remain a scoring threat.
"I don't have to shoot it a lot, I just have to keep the defense honest," Chalmers said.
"My personal opinion is that I don't want our point guard to be our biggest scorer. But if our point guard is our best scorer, we have to find a way to take advantage of that, and he is going to be involved in a very competitive position to see who plays the most minutes."
The competition for minutes at point guard will be intense. Senior Jeff Hawkins, sophomore Russell Robinson and Chalmers will all battle for that position, but Self thinks that will make each of them better.
"I could see him being one of our leading scorers," Self said. "And he needs to become a great assist man, but that doesn't need to take away from his creativity on his ability to create his own shot.
Self wants Chalmerst to play as the game comes to him, whether it's as a scorer or passer.
"Just because guys have been here before, they are not going to have the upper hand," Self said. "If a fifth-year guy like Jeff allows a freshman to come in and take his minutes when he is physically stronger, more mature and he is experienced, then so be it. But I would think that our experienced guys would say 'Hey, the advantages I have on the young guys are: I've been in the trenches before, I know what coach wants, I know what to expect, and these guys don't know it.'
SEE CHALMERS ON PAGE 5B