THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
Team goes 1-2 over the weekend in Nashville
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2011
Although the Jayhawks beat Memphis later in the tournament. The team next
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FRESH START
Turning over
Added players bring hope for 2011 season
BY MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.edu
The snow has been cleared, revealing the new plush $1.2 million turf. The weather starts to heat back up and the frequent pop of a baseball meeting a bat can be heard now at Hoglund Ballpark. This can only mean one thing: It's baseball season at Kansas.
or question.
"I think to lose three first-team all-conference players in one season is pretty unique," Price said.
at Kansas.
Coach Ritch Price, now in his ninth season at Kansas, leads the Jayhawk squad, whose roster is full of question marks.
is pretty unique. For last season, the Jayhawks came into the year with high expectations and were picked by the league's coaches to finish second in the Big 12. The Jayhawks' season ended up being anything but successful, as the team finished 7th in the conference.
New to the lineup this year will be freshman Ka'iana Eldredge. Eldregest will open the year starting at second base. The young man from Honolulu has made quite an impression on his team-
SEE BASEBALL ON
It's going to be tough for Kansas to replace their three top hitters: Brian Heere, Robby Price and Tony Thompson. Leading the Jayhawk lineup this year is senior Jimmy Waters, the top returning hitter from last year's squad, who batted .309 while belting nine home runs and driving in 63 runs.
CENTER FIELD-Jason Brunansky
"It's going to be a lot different for me not hitting behind Heere, Robby and Tony," Waters said. "We have to have guys step up and fill those shoes. I think they're very capable of it, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes."
Coming off an injury last season, the Poway, Calif. product provides the Jayhawks with range in centerfield. Although he only played in 23 games in 2010, Brunansky posted a .466 OBP. He batted .280 in his freshman season and provided flashy moments with his glove. Freshman lefty Jordan Brown may plateau with Brunansky depending on the pitching matchup, according to coach Rich Price.
goes.
But what the Jayhawks lost in star power, they might gain in talent from top to bottom. First basemant Zac Elgie, right fielder Casey Lytle, and shortstop Brandon Macias could all prove to be big bats for Kansas this year.
LEFT FIELD - Jimmy Waters
"I don't think we are capable individually of replacing those three guys in our lineup; what I'm hopeful for is that we will be more solid No. 1-9 in the batting order," coach Price said.
Beginning his third year as a starter, Walters, a senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa, returns some much needed pop to the lineup. He led the Jayhawks last year with nine homers and 63 RBI. The left-handed slugger will likely bat cleanup and looks to lower his team-high 46 strikeouts from a year ago. He was also second on the team with 16 doubles. He led the outfield with 98 putouts and recorded only three errors.
SHORT STOP
ErinCarter
International Media and Marketing Argentina
mer 2010
Winner of the Year Award
After a ten-hour flight I stepped off the airplane in Ezeiza International Airport, not knowing what to expect from the study abroad program in Argentina. My first experience of the portenos, or people of Buenos Aires, was at the meeting point in the airport. A young man welcomed his girlfriend home with a large bouquet of flowers and an engagement ring. When she said yes, the couple embraced affectionately among the hundreds of travelers. The romantic scene was a wonderful way to begin our visit to the beautiful city of Buenos Aires.
Last summer, I participated in the International Media and Marketing program, led by Prof. Linda Lee. The J-School sponsored program granted our group of 15 students three hours of journalism credit while we spent two weeks in Argentina learning about the dynamics of international business and cultural diversity. Professional visits to various media companies in Buenos Aires and Mendoza allowed us to discover the Argentine business culture and gain experience in international communications.
Our professional visits included tours of media news companies,media agencies and wineries. We also spoke with professors from the Universidad del Cine and the Universidad Catolica Argentina. A group favorite was a meeting with MEC Argentina,an international media agency.The professionals talked to us about their work in media planning and buying, which fueled a group discussion on the functions of media and marketing industries worldwide.MEC Argentina's clients included Citi and Pico Dulce,a popular lollipop candy.
in addition to the professional visits, we witnessed the country's infatuation with soccer during the World Cup. The Argentines were devoted and united in their fanaticism for their team. We cheered them on as they defeated three teams during our stay, and we were disappointed when they lost a few days after we returned to the United States.
Between professional visits and World Cup matches, we found time to schedule cultural learning activities. The group signed on with a tour company to take guided bus tours of the many districts of the capital city and of the mountains in the quieter city of Mendoza. In Buenos Aires, we went to an elaborate tango show and dinner, and the next week we took group tango lessons. We also visited art and cultural museums, the famous Recoleta Cemetery and the Casa Rosada, where the president of Argentina works. In addition to the wine tours in Mendoza, the group took a day excursion to the Andes Mountains and went sledding.
Two weeks seemed short, but it was an ideal amount of time for our group to discover the media and marketing operations of another country while we opened our eyes and minds to a different culture. The completion of the program was dependent on final individual projects in an area of personal interest to the student.
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the year Award will be given to be back in a big way for the Jayhawks this year. The transfer from South Mountain Community College hit .290 for the Jayhawks in 55 starts last year.
Maclas tore up conference opponents batting .345 in conference play last year.
Maclas will be a key component for the Jayhawks baseball team this year.
3RD BASE - Jake Marasco
Jake Marasco, a redshirt sophomore, started in 28 games for the Jayhawks last season, hitting 273 with 12 doubles and 19 runs scored. The All-Big 12 Academic First Teamer finished with a perfect fielding percentage for the Jayhawks last year. The 6-3 third baseman has got to be big for Kansas this year.
Wally Marcel
Tanner Poppe
Alex Cox
Colton Murray
CATCHER-James Stanfield
This will likely be a platoon at least for the early part of the season. Stanfield struggled to hit well for the Jayhawks last season.
Stanfield hit .238 while starting 43 games at catcher last year and eight at third base. He hit .305 in Jayhawk home games last year and will have, to be more consistent at the plate for Kansas this season.
GOLF
Women's golf places second in tournament
BY LAUREN DRUMMOND
ldrummond@kansan.com
The Jayhawk women's golf team placed second in the Claude Jacobs Intercollegiate in Victoria, Texas this past weekend. With a total team round score of 920 for the weekend, they only trailed Texas State for first place by eight strokes. The Jayhawks entered the final round in fourth place and moved
Meghna Bal, a senior from New Delhi, India, tied for third place overall in the tournament.
up two spots in the final round to take second overall.
tournament.
Her first stroke count of 227 for the entire tournament was the second best score of her career. Five other jayhawks placed in the top sixty this weekend. Meghan Potee, a freshman from Noblesville, Ind.,
Bal
SEEGOLF ON PAGE 6A
Jayhawks not lost, but a long way from title contention
Twins and others showed weaknesses that could cost victory
A few weeks ago — I don't remember the exact date, but it was while Kansas State was bearing straight for the NIT — freshman guard Will Spreadling offered up his thoughts on why the Wildcats were struggling so much. There is a leadership void, he said, with senior point guard Jacob Pullen sitting next to him. No one on the team was stepping up to right the ship.
snip:
Monday night, that problem wasn't the Wildcats'. It was the Jayhawks'.
jayawacks. "I'm leaving out of here not really recognizing the team that played tonight," coach Bill Self said. "We've got to get some things straight."
Starting with figuring out who, among the trio of juniors that the team calls its leaders, will actually step up and lead.
win accidentally. Markieff Morris are both brilliant talents. No one will argue that. Marcus could be an All-American, Markieff has a shot at all-league. But both have critical mental lapses that wind up in technicals (Marcus against Texas, for example) or inten-
BY TIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
tionals (Markieff against Kansas State). Now they have a reputation, fair or not, for being dirty players.
it's go, so gosh we got Tyshawn Taylor has been off in both losses as well, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Texas backup point J'Covan Brown scored 23 and Jacob Pullen put up a career-high 38. Taylor spent time on both of them.
It's no coincidence that in both of Kansas' losses, the twins have been off their game, whether because of foul trouble or suffocating defense. As the twins go, so goes Kansas.
with them.
Monday night was filled with mental errors for Taylor as well. He let one turnover snowball into six and let his frustration show on the court.
He kept his cool off the court
this year, which is a big step in the right direction, but he still lets the outcome of the play before dictate what happens next when he's out there. Point guards, like pitchers and quarterbacks, need short memories. Taylor needed to forget that he turned the ball over and stopped Jacob Pullen. He didn't do that.
It cost Kansas Monday, and it could continue to do so down the road.
have lost to the fool who doesn't acknowledge the fact that Kansas, especially the team that played Monday night, has a long road to walk before that discussion becomes reality.
Here's the good news: It's a fool who counts Kansas out of the national title race this early on. The Jayhawks have arguably the best defense in the country and, statistically, they have the defense to match. The talent is there to win a national championship, and four of Kansas' title-winning teams have lost to Kansas State.
Edited by Caroline Bledowski
TWEETING WITH THE KANSAN
@UDKbasketball
"How will the Jayhawks fare in the NCAA Tournament this year?"
@KyleScottRoss
"The team will at least make the Final Four. When we won in '08 we had a close group but no standout leader. This team is like that."
@xDYLx
"At least Sweet Sixteen. Anything after is up in the air.
Depends on T-Rob's health and if our defense can step up."
@MelanieRR
"I like to think that they'll pull together and do well, but I could also see it being a Bradley or Bucknell year."
@Jays_Fan2
!
"If healthy, I don't see why they can't make a strong push for a National Championship."
@tomfehr
"Cant tell yet, if I had to bet? Elite Eight. But I can easily see a second round flop or a title run (if Selby and Tyshawn play well)."