Sports
Homerun coverage
Look for coverage of the Kansas baseball team's second game against Oakland in tomorrow's Kansan.
The University Daily Kansan
1B
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Kansan file photo
Freshman forward Lauren Ervin put up a shot during a game earlier this season. The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics might propose an idea to the NCAA that could limit the participation of freshman athletes.
Freshman athletes might get benched
By Joe Bant jbant@kansan.com kansan staff writer
The notion of freshman ineligibility is not unheard of in the NCAA.
not unmatched in the McDonald's All-American culture of today, but until 1968, no student-athlete could compete at the varsity level as a freshman. Freshman football and basketball players couldn't compete until 1972.
Today at the University of Kansas, more than 100 true freshman players are listed on athletics rosters. Football and men's basketball list 28 and five, respectively.
But those bans have been history for 32 years. Voices of opposition have arisen periodically, but freshmen have continued playing.
But the opposition to freshman eligibility is arising again. The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics has heard a proposal to once again bring the issue before the NCAA.
Spurring potential reform is testimony given by former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith and former Virginia basketball coach Terry Holland. Both spoke in favor of limiting freshman eligibility at a meeting of the Knight Commission earlier this month.
Rooted in their testimony was the concern that athletes should prove themselves academically before they could represent their universities athletically. Their arguments sited low graduation rates among athletes, especially football and basketball players, as reason to consider change.
University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway said he appreciated the goal behind the proposal - to integrate athletes into the academic side of universities - but he wasn't sure if freshman ineligibility was the best way to go about doing that.
"The problem with these kinds of measures is it's really hard to create a system that applies to everybody," Menenway said.
SEE ELIGIBILITY ON PAGE 5B
DIAPER DANDIES
Number of true freshman varsity athletes at the University of Kansas during the 2003-2004 academic years
Baseball 7
Men's basketball 5
Women's basketball 3
Men's cross country 10
Women's cross country 6
Football 28
Men's golf 5
Women's golf 6
Rowing 1
Soccer 7
Swimming 13
Tennis 2
Women's track 15
Men's track 18
Women's volleyball 5
kuathletics.com
Longhorns gore'Hawks
Technical foul puts Kansas behind
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns have been an interesting team all season. They have no star players, but a lot of "nice" players. They are not flashy. They lead the Big 12 in scoring, but do it quietly.
Couple those attributes with a six-minute Kansas field goal drought in the second half, and it spelled disaster for the Jayhawks. The 82-67 loss to the Longhorns marked the Jayhawks' fourth consecutive road loss, Kansas' longest streak since 1987. It also means Kansas will need a miracle to win the Big 12 Conference regular season title.
"I expected it to be tough," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "If we made layups and free throws in the guts of the game, we would have been in the game. We've labored to score in stretches all season long."
Freshman center David Padgett's shot is blocked by Texas' P.J. Tucker during the first half. The Longhorns downed the Jayhawks for their third straight conference road loss this season. Last night's game was played in Austin, Texas.
long.
The first half gave signs of things to come later on. The Longhorns (20-4 overall, 11-2 Big 12) used the Jayhawks' cold spell from the field to put together a 10-0 run with less than five minutes to go before halftime. Texas took a 41-32 lead into the locker room, but Kansas (17-7, 9-4) played solid in the first 20 minutes, out-rebounding the Longhorns 22-16
SEE LONGHORNS ON PAGE 6P
Big hit caps Jayhawk victory
Jared Soares/Kansan
Sophomore indeflier Matt Baty received instruction from assistant coach Reggie Christiansen during the sixth inning against Oakland University yesterday. Cold temperatures creeped into Monday afternoon's game at Hoglund Park.
Homerun, strong pitching help Kansas defeat Oakland
By Ryan Colaiani
rcolaiani@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Senior Ryan Baty drilled a two-run homerun in the fifth innning, giving the Kansas baseball team the lead for good in a 6-3 victory over Oakland University at Hoglund Ballpark yesterday.
The victory moved the Jayhawks to 9-71 on the year and is the team's second in as many days.
"We have to get a streak going," Baty said. "What a streak does for us is build confidence and that is what this team needs now."
The Jayhawks drew first blood in the game as junior Sean Richardson doubled to score sophomore Matt Baty in the first inning. Oakland then took the lead briefly in the fourth after back-to-back RBI doubles.
The runs were unearned for starting pitcher Scott Sharpe since Travis Metcalf committed a throwing error with two outs
The Jayhawks countered in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 2 on a Kvle Kilko RBI single.
In the bottom of the next inning, Baty took a fastball deep over the left-centerfield wall for his first homerun of the season.
"I worked the count a little bit and got the pitch I was looking for," Baty said.
The Grizzlies starting pitcher, Dominic Carmosino, was pulled after the fifth. Carmosino received the loss and gave up four runs in five innings.
Sharpe went five and two-thirds innings with four strike outs, and received the win to move to 2-0 on the season. He got into some trouble in the sixth inning as he gave up his only earned run of the game. He was pulled with two outs and sophomore Don Czyz was brought on to hold the lead. He struck out Oakland's Josh Patton, to end the threat.
Czyz went two and one-third innings, did not allow a hit, and had seven strike outs.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 5B
Women will face Colorado tonight
Defending Buffs' 3-pointers key for Jayhawks
By Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team will look to play the role of streak-buster in its game tonight at Colorado.
The Jayhawks have lost six straight games overall and seven straight to the Buffaloes.
This game should be as tough as any. Colorado enters the game ranked 13th in country and Kansas has lost 24 consecutive games against ranked opponents. The Jayhawks will also attempt to respond from a disappointing home loss
to last-place Texas A&M Saturday
"This is not the first one we felt like we could have had," interim coach Lynette Woodard said. "They really know it slipped through their hands."
Kansas led for much of the second half but could not maintain its scoring, faltering in the final 12 minutes.
"You just can't lay back on the lead," Woodard said. "That's probably what we did."
The Jayhawks also failed to convert on their offensive opportunities. Kansas could not connect on many of its open
SEE WOMEN ON PAGE 6B
Kansan file photo
Junior forward Larisha Graves attempted to drive past Ingrid Goslin, University of Texas El Paso center, during a recent home game. The Jayhawks play the Colorado Buffaloes tonight at Boulder, Colo.
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C. Jackson or Maggie Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
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