New year, same result? Florida and UCLA will meet in the Final Four for the second straight year Saturday. Changes in the Bruins line up could mean a different result this time around.
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THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 1B
》 SOFTBALL
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Kansas softball shut out Missouri State on Wednesday in Springfield, Mo. The Jayhawks scored seven total runs in the doubleheader.
Strong defense key to victory
BY EVAN KAFARAKIS
The Kansas softball team struck fast and hard in its doubleheader Wednesday against Missouri State in Springfield, Mo.
The Layhawks won the first game 4-0 and the second game 3-0.
In the second game of the day, the defense was strong, keeping the offense relaxed.
Freshman pitcher Sarah Vertelkai threw a complete game one-hitter, striking out two and walking only one in the 23 batters she faced. She recorded 16 ground ball outs.
Missouri State pitcher Melissa Porche threw for a complete game and struck out 13 lavahk batters,
but it was the Jawhays she didn't strike out who made her pay.
Freshman Amanda Jobe got Kansas' offense rolling in the second inning with a two-run home run.
An inning later, sophomore short-stop Stevie Crisisto hit a double off the right field fence to bring in senior firt baseman Nicole Washburn.
The hit was Crisosto's team-leading eighth double of the year and extended her hitting streak to 13 consecutive games. Crisosto had four hits in Wednesday's game.
With the score 3-0, the team held strong defensively to close out the game and give the jayhawks their 25th victory of the season.
Game One:
Sophomore pitcher Val George threw a complete game three-hitter in the Jayhaws first victory of the day against Missouri State.
George struck out nine and walked none to win her eight game in a row. The win put her at an 8-2 record for the season.
Kansas didn't waste any time taking it to the home team.
Sophomore center fielder Dougie McCaullley doubled to left center to start the game. One out later Crisosto doubled in McCaullley.
Cristoo went 2-for-3 in the game and had a stolen base.
Sophomore catcher Elle Pottof
hit a home run and started the game with a score of 3-0.
Pottert leads the team with seven home runs on the season.
Freshman left fielder Ally Stanton hit her first career home run in the top of the fifth innning to set the score to 4-0.
The layhaws have a five-game home stand coming up. Kansas will play Baylor this weekend at Arrocha Ballpark.
Kansan sportswriter Evan Kafarakis can be contacted at ekafarakis@kansan.com.
—Edited by Jyl Unruh
》 ONE LOVE
Draft offers chances, temptations for players
BY MARK DENT
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
MDENT@KANSAN.COM
We are in the big Pumpin video! It's easy, sign with me.
P ssssst. Hey Brandon, listen up. You want enough money to make it rain like PacMan Jones? You want more girls than there are in the Big Pimpin' video?
I can guarantee you'll go in the lottery, just give me your signature, and everything — I mean everything — is yours.
The agent, NBA prospect conversation might not go exactly like that, but it's close. Sophomore guard Brandon Rush is going to be hearing promises like that from agents and runners during the next month. Kansas students and fans all want Rush to come back for his junior season and ignore the agents' winning and dining.
But Rush would be smart to listen to the whispers closely. If Rush is going to be a first round pick, as he is currently projected on NBAdraft.net and Collegehoops.net, he should enter the draft.
Rush will need to listen to more than just agents and mock drafts to get a true read on where he could go in June.
Kansas coach Bill Self plans to investigate and figure out draft scenarios.
Ah, let's think about what it would be like for Rush in the pros. The NBA is the life. It's Mardi Gras. Las Vegas and Lake of the Ozarks Party Cove all rolled into one.
"If they're a top 20 pick, then they'll have something to think about." Self said.
It's definitely a step up from the life of a student. Here's an average day for a college basketball player. Wake up before 9 a.m., go back to sleep during calculus, dream about the NBA, eat the same sandwich at Chick-Fil-A you've had everyday for the past six months, dream about the NBA, crank up your iPod in psychology, sleep during the history of jazz, dream about the NBA, play "Splinter Cell" all night instead of doing homework.
Of course, there's basketball too.
Sounds exciting, huh?
SEE DENT ON PAGE 3B
》FOOTBALL
Mangino tackles past defense problems
BY ASHER FUSCO
The 2007 season is still five months away, but the Kansas football team is already hard at work trying to cure some of the ills that it suffered last season.
"Anytime you can put pressure on the quarterback, it's your number one pass defense," Mangino said after Wednesday's practice. "We want to force him to throw the ball before hed like to"
First and foremost, coach Mark Mangino is focused on improving his team's pass defense. However, the changes are not taking place exclusively in the defensive secondary. The coaching staff is hoping to add speed to a defensive line that had trouble pressuring the quarterback.
With the loss of defensive end
tice, sophomore Max Onyegbule, junior Russell Brorsen, and sophomore Jeff Wheeler have established themselves as the competitors for the two defensive end jobs.
Paul Como and defensive tackle Wayne Wilder to graduation, several spots on the line are up for grabs. Two weeks into spring prac
Last season. Brorsen started
"Kendrick [Harper] is doing well, getting a lot of reps, and learning on the run. I like his attitude. He is a feisty guy who is very focused on his work."
Senior James McClinton is the incumbent at defensive tackle and the leader of the defense. Caleb Blakesley could be the front-run-
eight games and led the team with three forced fumbles. Two of those fumbles came in the victory against Kansas State.
MARK MANGINO Football coach
ner at the other defensive tackle spot.
Among the group of moderately enforced defensive ends, Onyegbule stands out as the wild card. After being converted from linebacker to defensive end late in the 2006 season, the
Arlington, Texas, native has shown an ideal combination of strength and speed.
"It's important to have some
speed off of the edge," Mangino said. "It squeezes the pocket and puts pressure on the quarterback and running back."
"He's young, so he's still learning what to do," McClinton said of Onygebule. "He's going to be a good player, a good athlete. He's having an impact out there."
Onygebule, at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, will add a dimension the Kansas defense sorely lacked for much of last season: a consistent pass rush. A quick defensive end like Onygebule will also take pressure off McClinton, allowing him to focus his energy on stopping the run.
The defensive secondary will also look a bit different from last year's version. Junior college transfers Patrick Resby and Kendrick Harper have already made their presence felt. Resby, a junior, who Mangino
said is still learning the ropes, will compete for playing time at strong safety. Harper, also a junior, is in the mix to receive playing time opposite All-Big 12 First Team junior Aqib Talib at cornerback.
"Kendrick is doing well, getting a lot of reps, and learning on the run," Mangino said. "I like his attitude. He is a teisty guy who is very focused on his work."
Between the infusion of fresh blood from Harper and Onygebule and senior leadership from McClinton, the layhawk defense may be equipped to piece together the pass defense puzzle.
Kansan sportswriter Asher Fusco can be contacted at afusco@kansan.com.
Edited by Lisa Tilson