THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
BIG 12 MEN'S BASKETBALL
Coaches merry going 'round
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTWRITER
Illustration by Seth Bundv/KANSAN
It didn't take long for new Kansas State basketball coach Bob Huggins to have an effect in the Big 12 Conference.
Kansas State hired Huggins officially on March 23 and landed two big-time recruits less than a month later.
Huggins signed a five-star recruit in Jason Bennett, a 7-foot2 center from Florida. According to rivals.com, Bennett is the 30th ranked player in the 2006 recruiting class. Huggins also landed a four-star guard from Florida, Blake Young. Young was one of the top junior college recruits in the country and is expected to have an immediate effect in Manhattan.
With the hiring of Huggins, some things will change for Kansas coach Bill Self, but not the way he talks about the Kansas program.
"I'm sure there will be a time when we go head-to-head on a recruit," Self said. "That hasn't happened since I have been here. But, we're not going to change the way we recruit just because Kansas State hired a new head coach."
Before coming to K-State, Huggins coached at the University of Cincinnati for 16 years. The university let Huggins go last fall for issues he was having off the court. However, on the court, he was one of the most successful coaches in the past decade. Huggins has a current streak of 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments and said he hoped to continue that tradition at K-State.
Some of Huggins' off-the-court problems included being pulled over for speeding and being issued a DUI and having low graduation rates for his players at Cincinnati. Huggins said he wasn't worried about people being concerned with his reputation.
"I would venture to say that the people who are my critics have never met me, they have never met my players, and they haven't spent 10 seconds on the
campus with our guys," Huggins said at the press conference the day he was hired.
Huggins won't be the only coach in the conference trying to make a good first impression. There will be new head coaches at Oklahoma, Iowa State and Missouri as well.
Self said coaching against the new coaches won't be that different than when he first came to Kansas in 2003.
Mike Anderson will take over the coaching duties at Missouri. Anderson comes from the University of Alabama Birmingham. He coached just four seasons in Birmingham and compiled an 89-41 record. Anderson's team qualified for the NCAA tournament for the last three consecutive seasons
"Some teams will play a different style, but for the most part
it will be similar to what we have seen in the past," Self said. "It won't affect Kansas that much. We want our league to get better, and it's happening."
and in his first season as head coach. Included in his three consecutive tournament appearances was a loss to Kansas in the 2004 Tournament. In Self's first year as coach, Kansas prevailed in the Sweet 16 and defeated Anderson's Alabama-Birmingham team.
Missouri hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 2002 and Anderson said that was clearly the first goal for the program.
Anderson will bring a new style of basketball to Missouri. At
Alabama-Birmingham, Anderson became famous for coaching teams that often ran the fast break and played in transition. Anderson's style of basketball became known as the "fastest 40 minutes in basketball."
"Some folks call it Run-and-Gun, but it's actually Run-and-Execute," Anderson said. "Our style is attack basketball with an emphasis on the defensive end of the floor."
Joining Anderson as new head coaches in the conference will
be Jeff Capel at Oklahoma and Greg McDermott at Iowa State. Capel is a graduate of Duke University and has coached the last few seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University. Capel will be the youngest head coach in the conference at just 31 years old.
Self said he thought it would be hard on Capel at first, but that he brought a good resume and should fit in well in the conference.
— Edited by Meghan Miller
PROFILE
By SHAWN SHROYER
sshroyer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Coming out of high school, the only Kansas roster John Allman appeared destined for was the Kansas football team's.
If he were to pursue a career in baseball, the junior college route seemed most likely. But through chance
Allman
faith and hard work, Allman is now the starting left fielder for the Kansas baseball team.
Chance came into play while Allman was on a recruiting visit with the football team. The baseball team was playing a weekend series against Nebraska at Hoglund Ballpark at the time, so Allman decided to take in a game. He fell in love with Kansas baseball on the spot. However, only by faith did Allman actually get his foot in the door.
The faith came from Allman's high school baseball coach, Kyle Reid, believing that he could play at the collegiate level. Kansas coach Ritch Price believed Allman could produce at the collegiate level. Allman has had faith in himself, too, knowing that if he put forth the effort, he would succeed.
"He was a late bloomer in high school and his high school coach called me and asked me if I would give him a chance to walk on and go through the tryout periods and, if he wasn't ready, send him back to junior college to play." Price said.
No Guarantees
Price put Allman on the roster, but didn't give him any guarantees. He told Allman he would have to work hard to prove he deserved a spot on the team.
Early on, Price couldn't help but notice this attitude in Allman, who was named first team all-conference twice in football and baseball while at Rockwood-Summit High School in Fenton, Mo.
"I just had that football mentality, where I just come in and work my butt off every day." Allman said.
Price said Allman was raw when he came to Kansas, but he kept him on the team because he could see Allman was on the brink of transforming from an athlete to a baseball player.
That was all he needed to hear.
SEE ALLMAN ON PAGE 3B
SOFTBALL
Lightning, bats strike
Randall Sanders/KANSAN
Senior designated player Serena Settlemier makes contact in the third inning against Wichita State on Wednesday. Settlemier would hit a go-ahead two-run home run, her 21st of the season, in the sixth inning to help the Jayhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Shockers.
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
Before a two-hour rain delay, the Kansas softball team was being no-hit and appeared headed for a third straight loss.
Then, Serena Settlemier struck again.
Settlemier smashed the second pitch over the left-field fence for a two-run home run after the game was restarted in the bottom sixth inning. The home run gave Kansas the 2-1 victory against Wichita State Wednesday afternoon at Arrocha Ballnall
"The amazing Serena comes through again," Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said. "She was looking for a pitch and I think she got that pitch. There was no doubt."
The game was delayed because of lightning near the ballpark while Settlemier stood at the plate and freshman center fielder Stevie Crisosto was on first base with two outs in the sixth inning. Kansas trailed 1-0 before the delay.
Settlemier said she felt more mental pressure as she waited at Anschutz Pavilion during the rain delay knowing she would be at the plate when the game resumed.
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SEE LIGHTNING ON PAGE 3B
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