Sports THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Senior day approaches Jayhawks prepare for last home match this weekend. TENNIS | 5B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2010
Nebraska holds off Kansas
Despite loss, Jayhawks' offensive shows improvements. SOFTBALL | 1B
COMMENTARY
TIME TO SHINE
PAGE 1B
Ligament tear is not the end of the road
BY TIM DWYER
tduywer@kansan.com
twitter.com/T_ Dwyler
There are generally two schools of thought when approaching a young pitcher with serious ligament damage in his elbow. One is to avoid them completely as far too high a risk.
The other is to be Ritch Price.
The other is to be Ritch Price. Price is a big believer in Tommy John surgery, a reconstructive elbow surgery that allows a pitcher to recover 100 percent from a torn ligament, but takes at least a year to completely rehab from.
The recovery rate for Tommy John is truly amazing. It's not uncommon for a pitcher to come back throwing three or four miles an hour harder than he was before getting hurt, but oftentimes the year away from pitching screws with the player's development or mechanics or velocity to such a degree that he can't produce at the same level as he did pre-injury.
Price's pitching staff features three regulars who have undergone Tommy John surgery to repair torn ligaments in their throwing elbows and a fourth in closer Brett Bochy who had to have the procedure done recently after sustaining the injury this season.
Cameron Selik is the highest-profile of the three. Selik originally committed to UNLV but tore a ligament in his elbow his senior year of high school. The Runnin Rebels took away the scholarship and Selik was shunted to two years of junior college work. Price liked what he saw and recruited Selik, who is now the Jayhawks No. 2 starter behind staff ace and former Team USA member T.J. Walz.
Wally Marceli has been with the program the longest, but after excelling his freshman year, Marcel missed the last seven weeks of his sophomore campaign and took a medical redshirt his junior year with the same injury. Marcel came back this year as a junior to become one of the Jayhawks' top options out of the bullpen. He's posted a 2.66 ERA in 17 appearances on the season.
Price's latest reclamation project, redshift freshman starter Thomas Taylor, showed off his considerable potential in shutting down the Missouri Tigers Wednesday in a 1-0 Kansas victory at Kaufman Stadium
Taylor, as a junior in high school, pitched Blue Valley West to a state championship, but suffered - guess what - a torn ligament in his throwing elbow in his senior year. He tried to rehabilitate the injury without surgery before coming to Kansas, but eventually decided to get the procedure done and take a medical redshirt in his first season with the Jawhays.
Since the year started, Taylor has been one of the best options Kansas has on the hill. Over his last 14 innings, Taylor has allowed just seven baserunners and zero runs while striking out 19. With senior Brett Bollman working his way out of the weekend rotation, Taylor could quickly find himself as the lajahwks consistent third option (although it looks like freshman Tanner Poppe will likely get that nod).
Edited by Kelly Gibson
With Price's success with bringing pitchers back from the surgery, don't call it a comeback.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Sophomore quarterback Kale Pick smiles at an assistant coach during a set of stretch routines Monday afternoon. Pick and the rest of Kansas' quarterbacks will make their first public appearance tomorrow during the spring game at Memorial Stadium.
Spring game raises uncertainties
Quarterback battle remains the focus of Saturday's game
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
There's a chance Saturday will ease the swirling questions about Kansas' depth chart and quarterback position. Then again, there's a chance the annual spring game may only stir more uncertainty.
Such is the nature of spring football, when questions are common but answers are few.
For the first time under coach Turner Gill, Kansas will publicly showcase next year's team. And perhaps no position enters with as much outside interest as
quarterback. Thing is, none of the guys involved in the highly publicized battle knew what to expect after Monday's practice.
"They haven't mentioned anything to me," freshman Kale Pick said.
"I'm really not sure what the format is going to be," freshman Jordan Webb said.
Uncertainty is an expected part of spring football any year. But this season the layhawks are filled with more question marks than proven players.
Part of that is because of the graduations and early departures of established producers.
But the real story of this year's spring practices deals with a pledge Gill made upon first arriving at Kansas: Every player will have an equal opportunity to compete for a starting job.
It's a message shared by coaches throughout the country, but Gill and his staff carried no attachments or preconceived notions. Each player truly started on level ground this spring.
"I want to really give these guys an opportunity to see what they can do," Gill said early in the spring.
Webb is touted as more of a true pocket passer, and he has drawn comparisons to Todd Reesing for his ability to create plays. He also has the stronger arm.
Pick, Webb and the remaining four quarterbacks entered under
Pick is the better runner -
"I want to really give these guys an opportunity to see what they can do."
similar circumstances.
TURNER GILL Coach
At this point, though, the battle appears to be a two-way competition between Webb and Pick, the favorites heading into practices.
a point that could help him in Gill's versatile offense — but he insists that he's not just a running quarterback.
ence.
He's also the only quarterback on the roster with game experi-
"There is great competition," Gill said. "It puts a smile on my face when you have some guys who can make some plays."
Since the first practice, Gill and quarterbacks coach Chuck Long have talked about the importance of demeanor while also stressing the need for a quarterback who makes his teammates better.
Those are two aspects to keep an eye on Saturday.
"No matter what offense you run, you definitely want a guy that takes care of the football." Gill said. "You definitely want a guy that will be able to make plays, whether with his legs or with his arms.
"But the main thing is trying to raise the level of play of the guys that are around him. If he's able to do all three or four of those things, then you'll have an outstanding quarterback."
SEE QUARTERBACK ON PAGE 4B
BASEBALL
Kansas pitchers must control Texas Tech bats
Senior pitcher Travis Blankenship closed Wednesday night's 1-Ovince against Missouri with two innings pitched and one strikeout. The Jayhawk pitching staff will be the key to this weekend's three-game series against Texas Tech.
Weston White/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Jayhawks' hurlers face a prolific offense
BY BEN WARD
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
twitter.com/bm_dub
When the Red Raiders enter Hoglund Ballpark for a three-game series this weekend, the Jayhawks aren't expecting any 1-0 finishes.
Kansas (24-14-1, 5-6-1) will host a heavy-hitting Texas Tech team that promises to feature a bunch of offense.
"They have a really good plan at the plate," coach Ritch Price said. "They put the ball in play and they battle with two strikes."
Texas Tech boasts one of the top offenses in the Big 12, ranking fourth with a .310 team batting average and first with 193 walks, 439 hits, 109 doubles and 305 runs scored.
The Red Raiders took two of three from the Jayhawks last season in Lubbock, where they used that high-powered attack
to strike for 22 runs in their two victories.
Because of Texas Tech's offensive prowess, Price said the burden would fall on Kansas' pitching staff, which starts with junior T.J. Walz tonight.
Walz struggled in his last outing on April 17 against Nebraska, where he lasted only four and 1/3 innings and got pounded for seven runs on nine hits.
But the week before against Texas on April 9, Walz had one of the best outings of his career. The junior pitched eight and 1/3 innings, allowing only two runs while striking out seven.
"I think he's going to have to pitch as good as he did against Texas to give us an opportunity to win," Price said.
(
Price said he was confident that if Walz set the tone
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 3B