THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2006
BASEBALL
Passion to Play Unites Pairs BY SHAWN SHROYER sshroyer@kansan.com KANSAN SPORTSWRITER
PAGE 1B
EASTON 710
When Ritch Price came into his first season as Kansas baseball coach in 2003, the team had one set of brothers — Matt and Ryan Baty.
Last season, Price kept the family theme going by adding two of his sons to the team, now-senior shortstop Ritchie Price and sophomore second baseman Rye Price.
This season, they have even more company.
The team now features two other sets of brothers: senior pitcher Don Czyz and freshman pitcher Nick Czyz, and junior pitcher Sean Land and freshman infielder Preston Land.
Coaching brothers is nothing new to Price. He said having brothers on the same team was an ideal situation.
"Usually when you get brothers like that, you
get guys that grow up in baseball families," Price said. "And the little brother has a huge advantage. He goes and watches his brother play all those games and plays catch with him and takes 'BP' with him and usually the younger brother has a chance to be further advanced because of having older brothers that play."
In 2003, the Land brothers led their high school team to a third-place finish in the 2003 Missouri State Championship. Now that they're together again, Sean said he couldn't be more excited to play with his brother.
“It's really nice,” Sean said. "I get to keep him in line, make sure he's going to class, make sure he's working hard."
As for the Czyz brothers, this season is especially
important to them, as it will be the first time they've ever played together. They went to different high schools in Overland Park.
"It's been a unique experience, I'll put it that way." Don said. "You know, being able to help him, whereas if he was at a different program now, I wouldn't be able to do that. I'm just glad that he came to KU and wanted to be a Jayhawk, and wanted to be a part of what we're doing here and play with me."
Coming out of high school, both younger brothers had the talent to have their pick of several schools in the Midwest. Nevertheless, their older siblings both refused to pressure their brothers into choosing Kansas.
As far as Price was concerned, even with Sean
and Don already on the team, he knew there was no guarantee that Preston and Nick would follow suit.
"We recruited both those guys really hard," Price said. "Our big thing was, we wanted them to come to school at KU because it was the perfect fit for them, not just because their brother was here."
Of course, had Preston or Nick decided Kansas wasn't the place for them, both older brothers said they wouldn't have remained as supportive.
"If he would've gone to Missouri, I don't know if there would've been a family get-together," Sean said.
The elder Czvz agreed.
SEE PAIRS ON PAGE 3B
▼ BUNT 'EM OVER
'Hawks deserve some respect
Maybe Rodney Dangerfield could have best summarized how the Kansas men's basketball team has been feeling lately.
No respect.
Monday, when this week's Top 25 rankings were released, Kansas was absent once again despite its exhilarating victory over then No. 18 Oklahoma on Sunday. Fans were outraged, noting that Colorado checked in at No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, despite a double-digit defeat at the hands of Iowa State Sunday.
Even the Sooners only dropped two spots to No. 20, leaving Jayhawk fans to wonder what everyone had against their team. The Jayhawks are the hottest team in the Big 12, after winning five in a row and 12 of their last 14 games. It seems that nothing short of beating No. 7 Texas in a few weeks will earn Kansas the respect of the voters.
With that said, I wouldn't want to be Nebraska tonight.
A lack of respect, however, is not a big deal, especially at this point in the season. Several teams from the past have displayed similarities to this Kansas team and have been overlooked on the national scene.
In 1987-88, the Jayhawks' last national championship season, they were out of the Associated Press poll midway through the season. They didn't re-enter the poll before Danny Manning led them to the NCAA Tournament title.
Adding to the fun, in this week's version of "Bracketology," a mock NCAA Tournament bracket created by ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi, the Jayhawks are plugged into the Atlanta Region as a No. 6 seed. The 88 championship team was a six as well — interesting.
Kansas' record on this date in 1988 was 15-8. This year's Jayhawks are two games better, 15-6. Can you say "Brandon and the Miracles?"
For an even better comparison, look back to the 2002-03 season. Syracuse, the eventual national champions, had a starting lineup that featured two freshmen and a sophomore, much like this year's Jayhawks. Syracuse rode guard Gerry McNamara and forward Carmelo Anthony to victory over a much more experienced Kansas team in the championship game. Anthony scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards. Sophomore forward Halim Warrick blocked a three-point attempt by Michael Lee in the waning moments that would have tied the game.
SPE WILSON ON PAGE 2B
▼ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tough test awaits
Jayhawks hit the road to take on first-place Sooners
KU Tip-off
Kansas Jayhawks (14- 6,3-6 Big 12 Conference)
Last time out:
After a demoralizing home loss to Colorado, Kansas rebounded and defeated Iowa State 65-64. The Jayhawks led by as many as 19 points, but the Cyclones staged a late comeback and tied the game in the final seconds. The Cyclones made their comeback by switching from a zone defense to man-to-man. Most teams play Kansas with a zone.
Season in review:
It's crunch time for Kansas. With seven games left to play, the Jayhawks likely need to win five to make the NCAA tournament. Topping the Sooners would probably be the biggest upset of the season in the Big 12 Conference and would help the Jayhawks' tournament cause intensely.
Senior forward Crystv1 Kemp. Kemp has indisputably been the team's best player this season. She averages more than 19 points and eight rebounds per game. Now she will face one of the best players in America, freshman center Courtney Paris. If either player gets in foul trouble, it would give the other the upper hand in this match-up.
Player to watch:
The last time Kansas played an opponent of this caliber on the road, the team lost to Baylor, 90-40. The Jayhawks will have to hit their open shots and hope the Sooners are looking past them.
Key to victory:
Michael Phillips
Kaylee Brown
OU Tip-off
Last time out:
Oklahoma Sooners (19- 4.9-0 Big 12 Conference)
Freshman center Courtney Paris recorded her 15th straight double-double Saturday at Mizzou Arena, when the Sooners defeated the Tigers 88-73. She scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in just 26 minutes. Courtney's twin sister, forward Ashley Paris, scored 14 points. Missouri decided against double-teaming Courtney Paris, and the other Oklahoma forwards also blew the game open.
Season in review:
Oklahoma is rolling through the Big 12 and holds a three-game lead over secondplace Baylor. The Sooners lead the conference in scoring and field goal percentage, scoring over 77 points a game. The team's last loss came more than a month ago by four to then-No. 10 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.
Player to watch:
Courtney Paris might be the best freshman player in the country. She has 20 double-doubles this season. Last week against Oklahoma State and Missouri, Paris averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks per game. If she can get Kansas senior forward Crystal Kemp in early foul trouble, look for Paris to establish her presence in the paint.
Key to victory:
The Sooners cannot get caught looking ahead to their chance to sweep the season series with Baylor on Sunday. Oklahoma must look to the Paris sisters early and often to counter Kemp, one of the conference's best post players. If Oklahoma takes Kansas lightly, Kansas has a chance to pull off the upset.
Ryan Schneider