Sports
Tomorrow
The Kansan previews Wednesday's sunflower showdown as the Kansas Men's basketball team takes on Kansas State in Manhattan.
12A
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Student-athletes succeed in class
By Joe Bant
jbant@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Laura Lavole typically loses three hours every day to track practice and her weekends to meets, but the Springfield, Mo., senior still managed to pull straight As last semester.
A member of the women's track and cross country teams, she was one of the 32 student-athletes who earned a perfect GPA last semester.
Two hundred and nine others with above a 3.0 GPA made the Athletics Director's Honor Roll, in what Athletics Department officials are calling another successful academic semester.
"The outstanding academic performance of so many of our student-athletes is a credit to many people at KU," said Lew Perkins, Kansas athletics director.
Lavie's women's cross country team had the highest GPA with an average
"The outstanding academic performance of so many of our student-athletes is a credit to many people at KU."
Lew Perkins
Lew Perkins
Kansas athletics director
3. 41. Her track team was second highest at a 3.22. Four other teams also earned average GPAs that were above a 3.0.
The football team had the lowest average with a 2.26, down from last spring's 2.53.
For Lavoie to enjoy the same success she did last semester, she'll have to balance her academic priorities with her rigorous practice schedule.
She said the support of her coaches was instrumental in helping her achieve academic success.
"If I have a test, if I have to meet with a
professor, my coach really tries hard to work around it., Lavio said.
The Athletics Department says students like her are what make it possible to have a successful student support program in Kansas athletics.
"It's the students who have to get the job done," said Paul Buskirk, associate athletics director for student support services. "If the students weren't committed in the first place, we could throw our resources left and right, and it wouldn't do any good."
Buskirk credits these students along with support programs for high GPAs.
Buskirk said there were three main components to the student-athlete support program at the University: an academic council that helped integrate new athletes into the University, a comprehensive tutoring program and a life skills program. He said all of these were important in facilitating the off-the-field success of Kansas' athletes.
Matt Carazo, Salina junior, is a tutor for the Athletics Department and said he appreciated the pressure athletes were under to perform well athletically and academically.
"They have to juggle practice and class and homework and other outside commitments." Carazo said.
Carazo said he tutored in chemistry and math, but he also tried to help with more general skills like time management and studying.
Buskirk said it was important for academics to remain the central focus of Kansas athletics.
"If we ever get to a point where academics is a less or even equal priority as athletics, we may as well professionalize and go home," Buskirk said.
- Edited by Ashley Arnold
The average GPA for all Kansas sports teams was 2.8, a decrease from last spring's 2.87.
ATHLETICS GPA'S FALL 2003
Cross Country Women 3.41
Women's Track 3.22
Swimming/Diving 3.18
Golf Women 3.16
Rowing 3.10
Soccer 3.00
Softball 2.93
Volleyball 2.92
Golf Men 2.89
Cross Country Men 2.74
Track Men 2.71
Baseball 2.71
Basketball Men 2.70
Tennis 2.62
Basketball Women 2.59
Football 2.26
Source: KU Athletics Department
Players make time for studying
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Kansas basketball players make millions of dollars for the University, they are adored by fans of all ages and they patiently sign what seems like endless autographs for kids after home games.
However, it's sometimes forgotten that they are still students, stressing from the same anxieties that come with hefty class schedules.
Add late nights and piles of homework on top of daily practices, conditioning and traveling, the workload they shoulder is enough to make most crumble.
But ask the players, and they'll tell you it's really no sweat.
"Right now everything's good, because you get a syllabus and you go home," junior guard Michael Lee said. "When you start getting papers and tests, I wouldn't say it it gets stressful, but it's nothing nobody's not used to by now."
Eric Braeny/Kansan
During the five week holiday, the players' only chance to go home was Dec. 22-26. For the rest of these five weeks, the team played eight games, finishing with a mark of 6-2. The remainder of the Jayhawks' games in the regular season will be Big 12 Conference foes, and will entail playing 12 games in six weeks. That means instead of having practice at 10 or 11 in the morning and stress-free evenings, classes will fill their morning hours, followed by late afternoon practices and hitting the books into the late hours the night.
While studying can be mentally taxing, the physical price the players pay each day on the court makes focusing on school work even more difficult. Even after a game, there are tutoring sessions and near all-nighters. In the minds of the veteran players, the key to keeping their composure stems back to one of the
most natural and necessary human functions.
Junior forward Michael Lee attempted to drive past a Colorado defender during Sunday's Jayhawk victory at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks will face in-state rival Kansas State in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Also returning to form on Sunday was freshman forward David Padgett, who played his second game since returning from a stress fracture in his left foot. Padgett had six points in 11 minutes, playing early once senior forward Jeff Graves got into foul trouble.
"This is the most healthy we have been all year, since the Michigan State game." Self said. "This is about as whole as we have been this year."
"You've got a game, and you get back at three in the morning, then still have to get up for class in the morning, and then still have practice that day," junior guard Aaron Miles said. "You've got to find time to rest. Sleeping's important to anybody, not just athletes."
Awards Outlook — A watchlist of the top 30 midseason candidates for the
The process the players use to maintain a level head on and off the court is no secret. They follow the same mantra given to thousands of college students by their worried mothers when heading off to school each fall.
Forwards Feelin' Fine — Junior forward Wayne Simien said Monday he felt 100 percent during Sunday's game against Colorado. It was the best he has felt in a long time, he said, and it showed with his 20 points and 15 rebounds. However, Simien still gets nagged by a minor groin injury from time-to-time, and coach Bill Self is taking precaution, playing him in practice only two out of every three series.
John R. Wooden Award, given annually to the nation's top men's college basketball player, was released Monday afternoon. The only Kansas name to appear on the list was Simien. The junior has averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in 14 contests this season.
Other notable names on the list include Connecticut's Emeka Okafar and Ben Gordon, Duke's Chris Duhon, St. Josephs' Jameer Nelson and Texas Tech's Andre Emmett.
"Time management," Lee said. "You know you have practice and you know you have other things to do. Most of the time, and I've tried it in the past, we just try to get through our day without preparation, but it just doesn't work like that." Kansas Basketball Notebook
— Edited by Kevin Flaherty
Heard on the Hill Compiled by Ryan Greene
"I kind of lost interest after seeing the ridiculous performance. I mean, that's not Kansas basketball. But it's good to see them come back a little bit and hopefully they will turn the corner. But I wouldn't be betting on them."
What did you think of the men's basketball team's 78-57 victory over Colorado Sunday? Was Richmond just a fluke?
"I think the huge victory really helped pick up the spirit of the team. Hopefully it'll make their mentality better so we can win all the rest of them."
Pete Krsnich, Wichita sophomore
—Doug Bonebrake, Olathe freshman
"It was kind of a fluke,but hopefully they can get better.It's frustrating."
Bridget Hardy, Manhattan freshman
"I didn't watch the Richmond game, but I heard about it. It was a big improvement. They worked together as a team."
Jennifer Lawrence, Independence freshman
Price is right for Kansas
sports commentary
Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com
For every Wayne Simien or Keith Langford on this campus, there's an Andrew Price.
Price, a junior on the University of Kansas men's golf team, emerged from his cocoon last summer. The highlight came when he shot a 64 at the U.S. Open qualifier held near his hometown of Lake Forest, Ill.
The round — probably the best one he's ever played — landed him on the pages of the Chicago Sun-Times. But the lanky up-and-comer took it all in stride.
Everyone knows who Simien and Langford are. However, far fewer have ever heard of Price. If you don't know yet, you will probably know soon.
Price exudes a quiet confidence. Though he looks sleepy-eyed and perhaps overly relaxed, he is primed to be the team's driving force this spring.
Price and the team started the season unsuccessfully, finishing 12th at The Ridges Intercollegiate in Tennessee. But the Jayhawks never looked back after that, finishing no lower than seventh in their next four tournaments heading into the winter. The surprising fall semester also included a win at the Kansas Invitational in September.
Though five of the Jayhawks who participated placed in the top-30, Price was the highlight of the tournament. He shot a nine-under-par, 207 over three days, including a five-under, 67 in the opening round.
SEE GREENE ON PAGE 10A
Golfer Andrew Price, Lake Forest, Ill., junior,
won the Texas Invitational last September at
Alvamar Golf Course. Price emerged last summer
as an important member of the team.
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C. Jackson or Maggie Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM