TIME OFF TO HELP AILING GUARD
Freshman guard Sherron Collins has patellar tendonitis and surgery is not necessary. Extended rest is all that he'll need to help his ailing knee.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 1B
will they jump?
Kansas' top student may leave to join NBA team in college to improve skills, earn degree
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
Now that Kansas' season is over, attention turns to which of the players. if any, are headed to the NBA draft.
Several Jayhawks have the credentials to make it in the pros, but they have to balance the benefits of getting paid with the opportunity to improve their game even more with another year in college.
After the Kansas loss to UCLA, he said that he hadn't thought extensively about the decision, but that he would begin exploring his options. Coach Bill Self said he would advise Rush based on how NBA scouts rated him.
At the top of the list of players who could jump is sophomore guard Brandon Rush. Initially projected to leave after his freshman season, Rush decided to stay for his second season to tweak some aspects of his game, including ball-handling and defense.
"If he projects out to be a high pick, then I think there's a great chance that he may want to test it. If he does not, I think there's a great chance hed be back." Self said. "I'm not keeping my fingers crossed for him to return, because that's a selfish thing."
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 6B
Having won six of its last seven games, the Kansas softball team will play Missouri State this afternoon in Springfield, Mo. First pitch in the first game is set for 3 p.m.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Surging Jayhawks hit the road
SOFTBALL
BY EVAN KAFARAKIS
After a weekend sweep of Oklahoma State, Kansas is the winner of six of its last seven. The Jayhawks are 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference and 23-9-1 on the season. Kansas received four votes in the latest ESPN/USA Softball poll.
The Kansas softball team travels to Springfield, Mo., today for a nonconference double header against Missouri State.
In the past seven games the layhawks have held teams to total of 13 runs and have put up 24 bats themselves led by the hot bats of sophomore catcher Elle Pottrif and sophomore shortstop Stevie Crisosto.
The first game is set for 3 p.m.
and the second will be at 5 p.
Pottorf leads the team with six home runs on the season and
Kansas (23-9-1) vs.
Missouri State (12-16)
3 p.m./5 p.m. today
Missouri State Softball Field, Springfield, Mo.
Live Stats available on missouristatebears.com
Crisisto has an 11-game hitting streak. Crisisto also is second on the team with a .356 batting average.
The team defense has been stellar as of late, as well. Kansas hasn't committed an error in three straight games.
Kansas' pitching has also helped the Jayhawks during their current stretch.
Senior pitcher Kassie Humphreys (12-3) has had an impressive season so far and is four strikeouts away from passing coach Tracy Bunge for fourth place on the softball program's all time strikeout list. Humphreys ranks fifth with 638 career strikeouts. She also leads the team with three saves on the season.
The Jayhawks have won six in a row against Missouri State and own the all-time record 58-14. The Bears are 12-16 overall and 1-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Sophomore Val George (7-2) and freshman Sarah Vertelka (4-4) have also had success on the mound.
Edited by Ryan Schneider
Kansan sportswriter Evan Kafarakis can be contacted at ekafarakis@kansan.com.
》 BASEBALL
Stagnant offense results in latest loss
BY ALISSA BAUER
Buckets of rainfall, a long bus ride and a 7-2 defeat met the Jayhawks in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday night.
"It itse like every time we take pregare inside, we have trouble with the bats," Price said. "It shouldn't be that way, but it seems to be"
The nearly half an inch in half an hour that coach Ritch Price described described both Missouri State (14-9, 2-1) and Kansas (15-15, 2-4) to take gamebait practice inside the Bears' hitting facility instead of on the field.
Trouble is right.
Or, he would have, if the offense would have followed him.
Still in the hunt with two outs and only down by two in the top of the third, Kyle Murphy cut the Missouri State state in half when he belted a solo shot to left field.
The jayhawk senior center fielder was red hot Tuesday night. His 2 for-4 performance at the plate with one RBI and pair of runs scored led the offense against the Bears.
Kansas dropped its fourth game of its last five Tuesday night. Murphy's two hits accounted for half of the Jayhawks' base knocks as they put up just four in the defeat.
Going down in order on three different occasions while allowing a leadoff hit to the Bears in the following inning three times did nothing but damage the layhawks' search for weekend momentum.
Missouri State continued to rack it up. After pitching a solid 5/2 3 innings and keeping his team in the, then 2-1, ballgame, right-handed starter Andres Esquibel (4-2) made a bad move. Woodbury took full advantage as he tagged a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.
Kansas didn't stay off the board long, Murphy's homer saw to that in the top of the third. But once on the scoreboard, the Jayhawks did little to repeat the occurrence.
"It was tough to watch," Price said of his team's lack of offense. "We were trying to build momentum going in to a huge series this weekend against Missouri, and we laid an egg with the bats."
The Bears climbed on the scoreboard first when center fielder Ben Woodbury singled to lead off the bottom of the first. Fellow outfielder Nolan Keane followed that up with a double to left center, and just two batters into the game Missouri State took a 1-0 lead. A groundout RBI scored another first-inning run for Missouri State.
"Andres pitched great," Price said. "He has the first and third on with two outs. He just made a really bad pitch, and he knew it when he threw it."
Woodbury owned the Jayhawks on Tuesday with a 2-for-4, three-RBI performance, and his home run practically sealed the deal for the Bears. With a 5-1 lead, Missouri State
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 6B
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