THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
FOOTBALL | 4B
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2010
Running back picture jumbled
Senior Angus Quigley had the job at first, but others have shined in non-conference games
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TRAINING DAY
Players start Self's 'Boot Camp'
Infamous preseason training tests the newest additions to the team
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Marcus Morris has been getting preseason hype from pretty much every sports media outlet you can think of. He's been named a preseason All-American by Dick Vitale, Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook and The Sporting News. DraftExpress.com called him the best NBA prospect in the Big 12.
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDKbasketball
Reclining in a chair in the media relations office Tuesday afternoon, though, Morris just looked wiped out.
Junior forward Marcus Morris leaps over Alcorn State forward Michael Starks for a jumper. The team started preseason training on Monday.
He and his teammates were a day-and-a-half into Bill Self's infamous "boot camp," but Morris, a junior, said it was exhaustion like he didn't know before he came to Kansas.
Saturday, Oct. 16 Practice officially begins
Tuesday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m.
Jayhawk open the preseason against Washburn
"It's a different kind of tired. you know what I mean?" Morris said. "Your body's tired. You really can't sleep that much. Then you're just running around and doing drills and getting yelled at. It just draining."
Friday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m. The regular season begins as Kansas plays host to Longwood
Morris did say, though, that boot camp has gotten easier over the years for him.
LOOKING AHEAD TO BASKETBALL SEASON
Friday, Oct. 15
Late Night in the Phog
"When I got here as a freshman, some of the guys said that was the easiest boot camp," he said, "and I thought it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. This year is not as hard as it was when I was a freshman, I'll tell you that much."
A typical boot camp day starts
until about 6 p.m., then the players have study hours with their tutors from 7 to 9 p.m. By that time they're spent, so they sleep and they get up to do it again the next day.
Morris said the worst part was doing "all basketball stuff with no basketballs. You know what I'm talking about? That's just not
"Your body's tired. You really can't sleep that much... It's just draining."
with a 5:30 a.m. alarm. Stretching at the Fieldhouse starts at 6 and then drills with no basketballs run until about 7:15. The lucky ones get a nap then. Others start their classes. After the school day, weights start up at 3:30 p.m. Lifting and pickup games run
interesting at all."
MARCUS MORRIS Junior forward
He and the other upperclassmen have been impressed by this year's bunch of new guys. Freshmen Josh Selby, Royce Woolridge and Niko Roberts and sophomore walkon Justin Wesley all ming
through their first boot camp.
said the young guys were handling it well, but that they weren't totally prepared for how difficult the next week-and-a-half will be.
"I think it's a little harder on the younger guys," Taylor said. "They don't really know what to expect, even though we told them.
"They're doing well right now," senior guard Tyrel Reed said. "We haven't had any crazy things happen, I guess you could say. Everyone's been in pretty good shape so far."
Junior guard Tyshawn Taylor
I mean, you can talk about it, but going through it yourself..."
— Edited by Lisa Curran
SOFTBALL
Kansas opens season by trouncing Baker, 10-0
Reigning seniors embrace leadership role for eight young players this season
BY HANNAH WISE hwise@kansan.com
Before the first pitch was thrown during Wednesday night's game against Baker, the Jayhawks warm-up session was telling for what was soon to come. Senior catcher Brittany Hile pumped up each of her fellow players during pre-game infield drills.
Coach Megan Smith said the close-knit nature of the team was demonstrated directly on the field in their 10-0 victory over the Wildcats, even though fall games are considered more as practice.
Although eight young players are now apart of the fall roster, they bring much more depth to this season compared to the spring. Smith said.
"We really look at the intensity level and how they are communicating out on the field," Smith said. "It gives us an idea of what we need to work on for the rest of the fall. Overall, I am really pleased with it [the team's performance]."
"We have a lot of good young players that wore their jerseys for the first time tonight," Smith said.
Freshman pitcher Kristin Martinez pitched her first game beginning in the fourth inning. Her first few pitches were rough, but she quickly settled into a rhythm and ended the fifth inning with two consecutive strikeouts.
Last season Megan Hull played as a slapper, but this season she has made the transition to full hitting. By the end of the sixth inning. Hull had swung for a single, double, triple and a home run.
"I was really nervous coming into the fourth inning," Martinez said. "But after that, I was really excited because this is what I have been working for practically my whole life."
"So, this was an exciting game for them and they all performed extremely well."
"I have been working on my swing all fall," Hull said. "It was nice to just come into a live situation and perform."
Senior Liz Kocon, senior Brittany Hile, and junior Ashley Spencer have played leading roles for the young team so far this season. Kocon managed four at bats and her solid line drive in the
KANSAS VS.
BAKER
10 - 0
NEXT GAME:
WHO: Kansas vs.
Johnson County CC
WHEN: 6 p.m.
WHERE: Lawrence
fifth inning brought in two more runs for the Jayhawks.
"I want the whole team to keep hitting like we did, just being aggressive at the plate," Kocon said. "If we can just keep that, we will be winning a lot more games this year."
Wednesday night's win illustrated the team's hard work in the off-season. Overall, the Jayhawks had a strong first showing against the Baker Wildcats.
The Jayhawks will face Johnson County Community College at home on Oct. 6.
COMMENTARY
Chris Neal/KANSAN
- Edited by Leslie Kinsman
Infielder Mariah Montgomery picks up a ground ball and throws it to infielder Ashley Newman for an out during the second inning of Wednesday night's season opener against Baker University. Kansas shut out Baker 10-0.
Embrace KU athletics tradition and elders
BY KATHLEEN GIER
kqier@kansan.com
This weekend I watched my brother, a high school senior, run cross country at
senior, run cross country at Rim Rock Farm. For high school runners, it's a major goal to participate in a meet at Rim Rock, first because the course hosts the state tournament for Kansas high schools, and secondly because of the rich history found there. Metal life-sized silhouettes of famous former KU runners are placed alongside the trail, acting as their own personal, on-shot hall of fame.
Former football greats John Hadl and Gale Sayers are working with the Williams Fund as associate athletics director for major gifts and director of funding for special events respectively. And Max Falkenstien can still be seen at Kansas athletic events, even after 60 years of announcing games for the school.
All of these names will forever be remembered in some capacity, whether it be on a jersey hanging in their honor, their names adorned on stadium walls, or a even a silhouette in their likeness standing at Rim Rock Farm.
A KU running legend and Olympic silver medalist, Jim Ryun, returned to Lawrence Saturday to sign autographs and pass out individual and team awards after each race. The top 25 runners from each race and the winning teams also had the opportunity to shake Ryun's hand and pose for pictures after the race. While this did not necessarily mean a lot to some of the high school athletes, there were starstruck parents to make up for them. One parent, a family friend of mine, asked, "Do these kids even comprehend who this is and how cool it is?" Of course Ryun competed within his own generation, and Steve Prefontaine more or less replaced the inspirational role for today's young runner, but my friend had an interesting point
The most obvious example is probably Danny Manning, who led the basketball team to their 1988 championship and has since returned to coach for his alma mater, even sitting on the bench in support when the basketball team won the National championship in 2008.
I think one of the best things about being a fan is looking into the history of a program and learning about the former players and teams. Familiarizing yourself with this background brings a deeper sense of pride and understanding when you cheer for your team. Especially here at Kansas, I think students are lucky because they're not only surrounded on campus by talented players their own age, but students also have former athletes involved around the University.
Part of my message is to honor your elders, but really, at Kansas, students are lucky to have such important and nationally recognized former athletes and alumni sticking around in support of the University, far after their eligibility has expired. So read up on them if you don't recognize the names. And if you do, make it a goal to try and meet any of these great men and women while you are here.
— Edited by Leslie Kinsman