THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15. 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
BASEBALL
New pitcher vital
PAGE 1B
BY SHAWN SHROYER
shsroyer@kansan.com
KANSAN SWITWRITEER
Few college baseball players get the opportunity to travel to Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium wearing a freshly-sewn patch that reads "College World Series."
Senior pitcher Ricky Fairchild was one of those fortunate few, reaching the College World Series last season as a member of the Tulane Green Wave. Now he is working toward doing the same for the Kansas Iavhawks.
"It's something that's every college baseball player's dream, and I think everybody deserves to experience it at some point, either as a fan or as a player." Fairchild said. "I'd like to get back."
The chances of Fairchild making back-to-back College World Series appearances might seem unrealistic, but the odds were against him last year as well.
As Baseball America's No. 1 prospect in the National Baseball Congress World Series in the summer of 2003, Fairchild had the potential for a professional contract.
That was until the end of that
year. Fairchild underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the rest of the 2004 season.
Despite the setback, Fairchild was determined to return to the mound. With a positive outlook, faith in his doctors and physical therapists and dedication to his therapy regimen, he finally returned in 2005.
"The first time out there was a little nerve-racking, just because there's that fear in the back of your mind that, 'What if it happens again?' " Fairchild said. "I didn't want to try to go 100 percent for fear that it might hurt, but then after I got in the rhythm for a little while and my arm was feeling good, I didn't really have any problems."
That season, as a senior by academic standards, he fulfilled his dream of reaching the College World Series. Although the No. 1 seeded Green Wave failed to win the championship, Fairchild said he cherished the experience.
Fairchild graduated from Tulane that spring, but decided not to let his baseball career end. With an extra year of eligibility because of the medical redshirt he took in 2004, he began searching for a school closer to
his native Dallas.
There was only one problem: Fairchild's coach at Tulane, Rick Jones, denied his request to release him to play at a Texas school because of Tulane's proximity.
"The fact that he pitched at Tulane in a Top 25 program and he's been to the College World Series, 1 thought he could really bring some experience to our staff that could be a great addition." Price said.
Fairchild only pitched as a reliever at Tulane last season. This season, Fairchild is a regular KU starter.
As a result, Fairchild looked for up- and coming programs
Kansas fit that criteria.
expect him to come in here and contribute as much as he did, but he's already had two great starts and he's defining his role as the Saturday starter on this team and that's something that we definitely needed."
"I go to Ricky mostly because he has the most experience," freshman pitcher Andy Marks said. "He's been everywhere."
Being a native of Texas, Fairchild said he looked forward to playing against the Longhorns the most but tries to keep from looking too far into the future. He will face No. 9 San Diego, who swept then-No. 1 Texas two weeks ago, on Saturday in the Public Storage Classic.
Fairchild said Hurricane Katrina did not play a factor in his decision to transfer to Kansas. He committed to Kansas a week before Katrina struck Louisiana.
In 10 1/3 innings of work this season, Fairchild is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA and five strikeouts. He has allowed only three earned runs for No. 30 Kansas.
"In the near term, I can't wait for this weekend," he said. "Whoever I'm pitching against, I'm ready for that challenge."
Even before Fairchild threw a pitch in Lawrence, Kansas coach Ritch Price said Fairchild's presence on the roster could only improve the team's chances of going deep into the postseason.
"He's done great," senior closer Don Czyz said. "I really didn't
Fairchild has also proven to be a valuable source of knowledge for younger pitchers on the team.
Edited by Matt Wilson
Senior pitcher Ricky Fairchild transferred to KU from Tulane this season. Fairchild went with Tulane to the College World Series last season.
Lisa Linovac/KANSAN
BUNT 'EM OVER
Sutton deserves salute
MATT WILSON
MWILSON@KANSAN.COM
I hope we haven't seen the last of legendary Oklahoma State basketball coach Eddie Sutton on the Cowboys' sideline.
It would be a shame to see a true college basketball legend go out this way. He didn't coach Oklahoma State against Kansas on Monday, and will miss the rest of the season after a car accident last Friday sent him to the hospital. Sutton had been suffering from back and neck pain all season and was considering leaving the team even before the accident.
Only the best coach in basketball history, Dean Smith, posted more wins in his first 35 years of coaching than Sutton. Sutton has taken his teams to the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 26 of 35 seasons at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State.
Sutton doesn't receive the credit he deserves on the national level, and he barely receives such credit around the Midwest. Just look at the man's credentials. His 794 career coaching victories place him eighth among the all-time Division I leaders, ahead of revered coaches like Phog Allen, John Wooden and Lou Henson. Even one of the men the Gallagher-Iba Arena at Oklahoma State is named after, Henry Iba, had fewer victories than Sutton.
In 15 seasons with the Cowboys before this year, his program reached the tournament 13 times. To put that into perspective, Oklahoma State had only made it to the Big Dance once in the 25 years before Sutton took over in 1990.
Sutton lacks a national championship, but that should not deter from his legacy or his Hall of Fame status. Two Final Four appearances at Oklahoma State and one at Arkansas solidify his place among the game's elite.
SEE SUTTON ON PAGE 6B
▼ ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
The Booth Family Hall of Athletics was designed to blend in with Allen Fieldhouse. The same Manhattan White Limestone from the original Kansas quarry used for the fieldhouse was used for the hall.
Hall, fieldhouse a perfect fit
BY ERIC JORGENSEN
ejorgensen@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
One month after its opening, fans are still flocking to Krohn's complement to Allen Fieldhouse.
When architect Bob Krohn and his team sat down to design the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, they had a daunting task ahead. They had to create a state-of-the-art facility and attach it to a building more than 50 years old.
"The best part is we haven't
When they designed the Hall, designers tried to make it blend with the fieldhouse. To maintain the fieldhouse's traditional atmosphere, the team used Manhattan White Limestone from the same quarry the original rocks were taken from, Krohn said. The doors at the entrance of the Hall are the same blue doors that were at the old entrance
heard anything bad," said Krohn, an architect at HOK Sport, + Venue + Event in Kansas City, Mo. "People seem to really like go through there."
"We said that we had every intention of constructing the Hall of Athletics so that it would blend with the exterior of the fieldhouse," Marchiony said.
Krohn and company took those guidelines and created
of the fieldhouse.
The intent was for the new addition not to stand out from the original structure. A natural feel was something the Athletics Department made clear it wanted from HOK's design, said Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletics Director.
HOK kept the height of the building as low as possible. This allows the metallic words "Allen Fieldhouse" to be visible on the building from Naismith Drive. It also allows the original windows below the words to be visible, which still creates natural light in the arena while preserving its original look.
a similar looking structure.
"We didn't want the building to be completely different," Krohn said. "I think here, the idea was respectful of the building."
Gina Leo, an HOK spokeswoman, said her firm knew the importance of preserving the feel of an original building.
"If you can imagine being an alumni, a lot of your college experience is based on game day," Leo said.
Although a natural feel was important during the planning stages, uniqueness was also important. Krohn said the building still needed to convey the history of Kansas athletics on the inside.
- Edited by Lindsey St. Clair
MEN'S BASKETBALL
BY RYAN COLIAMNI
colatanni@kansan.com
KANSAN SENOR SPORTSWITHER
Jayhawks receive respite from games
After rattling off eight straight victories, including four within the past nine days, the Kansas Jayhawks will now have four full days of rest before facing the Missouri Tigers on Saturday.
For some players, the layoff will be welcomed with open arms. The break will give them a chance to rest injuries and time to prepare for Missouri, who shocked the team earlier in the season in an overtime thriller.
"It feels good to have a couple
of days off," freshman guard Mario Chalmers said. "We have a lot to work on though to get ready for Missouri."
Chalmers has been a big part of Kansas' winning streak, scoring in double figures in four straight games and being named Big 12 Player of the Week for his play against Nebraska and Iowa State.
With the past four games being played in such a small time frame, freshman guard Brandon Rush said he wanted to keep playing.
"I think it is pretty good that we have played this many games in a row." Rush said.
Rush said he thought that Kansas was in better shape than most of the teams that they had played this season because of the treadmill work the team has done at practice.
"We are going to take a quick break and come back Saturday and be ready for Missouri."
Kansas has won 15 of its past 17 games, but this week was the first time it's been ranked in the national polls. The Jajhawks were No.22 in both the coaches' poll and the Associated Press poll, which were released Monday.
During the past eight games,
Self's layhawks have averaged
Self has also seen his team struggle at times during the streak, including the first 30 minutes of Monday's victory against Oklahoma State.
"It has been a gradual process, and the reason people think we are playing so better now is because we are scoring the ball well, but we have guarded and rebounded for the most part during that stretch," Self said.
"We have become a decent
80 points per game. Self said he thought that the way the team had been scoring was a reason why the national coaches and media had begun to take notice.
spurt team. We said all along that we could be good at that," Self said. "We are not going to play well for 40 minutes because we are going to play young through a period of time, but when we play good, we are pretty good."
Kansas now starts three freshmen whose minutes per game have increased, giving more experience for his young players.
"The confidence is just growing. Those are some young kids out there playing fairly fearless," Self said.
Edited by Matt Wilson
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