UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, April 8, 1997
3B
MAGNER
Continued from Page 1B
the academic integrity intact. I was also most impressed with the Hale Academic Achievement Center. They've made a commitment to the student-athletes. They know they're asking the student-athletes for 20 some odd hours a week of training and playing, and that's a demand that not all students can meet.
Q: With Kansas being just a third-year program, what will your goals be in your first season here?
A: We really want to build the program. Our most immediate goal will be to get into the Big 12 Conference Tournament, which means finishing in the top six. I don't think finishing in the top four is out of the question, but I believe that's our most immediate goal — to be successful in the Big 12.
Q: From what you've seen so far, how would you evaluate last season's team, and what types of changes and adjustments do you plan to make?
A: It's still a little early, but I've been very, very impressed with the work ethic of the women on the team and their overall commitment to the team itself, the physical conditioning and the weight training. It will take just a little bit of time to see how we'll play. You don't want to tinker too much, because they experienced some success. But we will look to fine-tune some things.
Q. When you recruit new players, what are some of the qualities you look for?
A: No. 1, without any question, we want good people involved in our program. We want people who are committed to earning a degree, that are willing to focus on the academic side and, at the same time, strong athleticism. I think if someone has the desire to succeed in the classroom and they're willing to put the time and the energy and make that commitment to excelling in the classroom, generally that spills over onto the playing field.
Q: What are some of the things that led you to be successful in the past that you feel can be carried over to
A: I think a commitment to succeed in all areas. That includes the way you live your life personally. The student-athletes know when you're snowing them or trying to pull the wool over their eyes. I'm a very honest person, and they understand that and relate very well to. In a sense, if you take care of yourself physically and take care of yourself mentally, success will follow that.
your position here?
Q: What was your playing career like, and what aspects of it have you carried over to coaching?
A: I started playing soccer when I was 13. The way I was successful in soccer was through my work rate and my work ethic on the field. I was able to play collegiate soccer, and I was able to play at the semi-professional level. I wasn't the most skillful player. In fact, I asked the coach of one, of the semi-professional teams I played on, 'Why am I on this team?' because there were a lot of people with a lot more skill than me. He said, 'Dan, every team needs a player like you to be successful.' Every team needs a player that is unselfish, that is willing to do kind of the grunt work and the dirty work so that everyone else can be successful. That has carried over into my coaching. I'm not afraid to put in the long hours in the office, hit the recruiting trail hard, make the phone calls that need to be made. That has served me well in coaching.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish, not just next season, but in a career at Kansas?
A: We have a great example in Roy Williams. I'm not looking to be a Roy Williams, yet the way he has built his program over a period of time and taking the steps necessary to play at the national level, we would like to mirror that as closely as possible. One of my goals here is to develop soccer in the state of Kansas. That means community outreach, maybe campes and clinics. We will, in the fall of 1998, take some of our home games out on the road and reach into the Kansas City area, maybe down into the Wichita area, and out into the Topeka area to show people we are the state university and we have women's soccer and we're competing at the national level.
passed the Earl case to Joe Dean, LSU athletic director.
Continued from Page 1B
A: Dougherty, a Kansas assistant since 1995, is a finalist to become the head coach at New Orleans.
Question No. 3: Is assistant coach Neil Dougherty leaving?
SPENCER
Look for Dean to grant the release. He and Williams are friends, and Williams helped Dean in his search for a new head coach at LSU. The release may be a small thank you from Dean to Williams. If Earl is granted his release, he will be on the court in December.
Dougherty interviewed for the job last week and is waiting to hear from New Orleans.
It would be hard for Dougherty to pass up the chance to be a head coach, but he may choose to stay anyway.
two years but has shunned them
Assistant coach Matt Doherty has been offered other jobs in the last
Question No. 4: Is it true that former Kansas guard Mark Turgeon will become the head coach at Oregon?
Dougherty may decide to stay a few more years under head coach Roy Williams, just as his partner has done.
A: Turgeon, a guard at Kansas from 1984 to 1987, has spent the past few seasons as an assistant at Oregon. When the season ended, Oregon coach Jerry Green left for Tennessee.
"Obviously, I would like to be the head coach at the University of Oregon," Turgeon said on the University of Oregon web site. "But now it will take some meetings between Bill Moos (Oregon athletic director) and I to see what can happen."
Focus on spring drills best for Vann, Kansas
This has put Turgeon in the driver's seat, and he's telling everyone that he wants the job.
Comments? E-mail Spencer at sports@kansan.com
By Tommy Gallagher
Kansan sportswriter
Running back hopes to make adjustment to new coach system
For Kansas running back Eric Vann, this spring has been unlike any other.
This semester, Vann, who will be a senior, can be found on the football field rather than on the baseball diamond. He decided to skip Kansas baseball this season and concentrate on becoming the Jayhawks' starting tailback this fall.
"I do miss baseball," Vann said.
"But I thought it would be important for me to be (at spring football practice) because we have a new offense and new coaches."
Vann made the decision after a discussion with Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall during winter break.
Kansas football coach Terry Allen said he appreciated Vann's decision to make football a priority.
"It's obvious that he's the heir
apparent — he's the senior," Allen said. "He has been blessed with an awful lot of ability. Eric has the feet, and he did a real good job in our off-season drills from a testing standpoint. I think he's ready to play."
Last year, Vann ranked third in all purpose yardage on the team behind
running back June Henley and wide receiver Isaac Byrd. He averaged 82.8 yards per game.
Vann also led the Big 12 Conference in kickoff returns last season. He averaged 25.1 yards per return,
including a 100-yard return for a touchdown against Oklahoma.
Allen said he would be hesitant to use Vann on kickoff returns next season, especially if he ran the ball 20 to 25 times a game.
Last year, Vann played in 35 games and started 16. He hit .234, scored 16 runs, had one RBI and stole seven
bases in 10 attempts.
Vann played for the Jayhawks the past two seasons.
Randall said Vann would have competed for a starting position in the outfield this season.
Vann will exhaust his eligibility for football next season but still has two years of eligibility for baseball. He had thought about playing baseball after spring football practice concluded on April 26 but decided against it.
"For me to play baseball, I'd have to lose 15 to 20 pounds," Vann said. "That would just tear down what I've been trying to do for football during the off-season. Besides, that wouldn't be fair to myself or the players on the (baseball) team."
Randall said Vann had made the correct decision for the long-run.
"He was having a hard time establishing himself in either sport because he split time between the two," Randall said. "It's hard to be a part-time baseball player and a part-time football player. It's going to be easier for him to win a starting position when he can concentrate just on football in the fall and just on baseball in the spring."
Teamwork and consistency help softball team succeed
Jayhawks go to Iowa for Drake matchup
The Kansas softball team will take its nine-game winning streak on the road today against Drake (17-10-1) in a doubleheader in Des Moines, Iowa.
Geoff Krieger / KANSAN
"Drake finished second in the Florida State Tournament, which is a major national tournament," Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said. "They're playing well right now, and it's going to be a tough ball game."
Shortstop Michelle Hubler misses the ball during a steal attempt by Texas A&M. Kansas swept the Aggies on Sunday and will try to continue its streak tonight against Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.
The No. 25 Jayhawks have a 26-12 record overall and are undefeated in eight Big 12 Conference games.
Kansas has been winning with strong pitching and a steady offense that averages nearly five runs a game.
Bunge said one of the keys to the team's success was that the team plaved consistently.
"We looked back at the team last year, and they could never seem to win a double-header." Bunge said. "They would play well one game and wouldn't the next, so we tried to concentrate and focus on playing consistently and having the same attitude, game in and game out. I think we've done that pretty well so far."
Pitcher Sara Workman, who has a 10-10 record with a 1.87 ERA, said the team also had one important intangible that last year's team didn't — chemistry.
"I think this year we are playing more as a team," Workman said,
"Last year there were too many individuals out on the field, and this year we don't have that problem."
Kansas will take the following lineup on the road:
LF Sara Holland (403) — Lead off hitter leads team in eight offensive categories, has seven home runs, and is 10 for 10 in steals.
2B Heather Richins (268) — Tied for team lead in runs with 26 and is second with 20 RBI.
C Kristina Johnson (.287) — Leads the team in batting in conference games with a 462 average.
1B Shannon Stanwix (330) — Kansas cleanup hitter has driven in a team-high 22 runs and is second to Holland with five home runs.
SS Michelle Hubler (.304) — Leads aggressive offense in steals
with 13 and stolen base attempts with 18.
3B Sarah McCann (.333) — Hit .372 during spring break and has a .961 fielding percentage at third
RF Jennifer Funkhouser (.217)
-- Returns to the lineup after missing time because of a bruised thumb.
CF Julie True (.281) — Has drawn a team-high 12 walks and committed just one error in 38 games.
DP Katie Malone (1.89) — Has scored seven runs and driven in 14.
P Sarah Workman — Has a 157-62 strike-to-walk ratio this season and a 0.81 ERA in conference matchups.
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