KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010 / SPORTS
5B
MEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
shooting.
"We played well," he said. "I wish we would have held them to a better percentage. That would have helped us quite a bit. They shot a good percentage, but we also got 15 steals."
Weston White/KANSAN
Those 15 steals were the most by Kansas in a Big 12 game since the 15 they had against Kansas State on March 1, 2008.
Freshman guard Xavier Henry had seven steals himself, the most by a Jayhawk all season. Not since Russell Robinson's eight against Yale on Dec. 29, 2007, has a Jayhawk stolen so many passes.
Now the Jayhawks are going on the road to face 12-6 Iowa State on Saturday where dual forwards Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap await. The Cyclones' two best players have Collins hoping his team will be ready to tackle the defensive mismatches they will face.
"They have solid guards and a good four-man that can shoot the ball and stretch the defense," he said. "It'll be another tough adjustment, tough game. You know, it's the Big 12. Every game's going to be tough."
Edited by Kelly Gibson
Freshman guard Xavier Henry picks up a ball after poking it loose from a Bavlor player. Henrv led Kansas on Wednedav with seven steals
K-State plans to keep focus after win
MEN'S BASKETBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Bob Huggins quoted John F. Kennedy at his introductory news conference at Kansas State, telling anyone who listen there was no reason to shoot for second when first was available. You know, the kind of statement fans and supporters expect to hear from a new coach.
Frank Martin bought into it. Still does.
A former assistant to Huggins, Martin has the Wildcats reaching for No. 1 four years later, raising excitement and expectations to unprecedented levels in the Little Apple.
That approach led to one of the biggest wins in the program's history.
"That thought process never changed because he left," Martin said. "That's who we are. I'm not telling you we're better than the next guy, but that's how we prepare. We come in here every day and compete real hard, practice real hard and study real hard."
Fighting past a slew of personal issues and the type of pressure they've come to embrace, the Wildcats manhandled Texas on Monday night, riding their smothering defense and the energy of
a raucous crowd to knock the Longhorns from the unbeaten ranks.
How they did it is a sign of how far Kansas State has come.
A year ago, an off night by guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente would have been disastrous for the Wildcats. Those two went a combined 4-for-24 against the Longhorns, but the front line.
led by Jamar Samuels' double-double, made up for it by scoring 46 of the team's 71 points against one of the best front lines in college basketball.
been in the league for 12 years, been here when it wasn't so good. You've got to feel good if you know Frank Martin. He's worked hard. I think a guy that has had to do it the hard way. He's done a great job here."
And Kansas
"We have to stay the course and keep the focus like we did for this game."
Even the Longhorns were impressed.
Martin has instilled his chip-on-the-shoulder mentality since the day he took over for Huggins in
State did it on a night three of its players could have had their minds elsewhere: Freshman Martavious Irving had a death in the family a few days before, Jamar Samuel's mother had undergone surgery and Luis Colon's cousin was shot and killed in his native Puerto Rico the day of the game.
He's not finished.
"Let's feel good for K-State," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "I've
JACOB PULLEN Kansas State guard
2007, relentlessly riding the Wildcats, screaming at them, pushing them to never accept failure or lack of effort.
Two years ago, the Wild cats
Next game, Kansas State fell flat and lost to Missouri on the road.
pulled off a monumental victory against eventual national champion Kansas, ending a 24-game losing streak against their biggest rival. The fans rushed the court, the players danced on the scorer's tables and the party lasted well into the night.
This time, the Wildcats took what may have been an even bigger victory more in stride. The fans,
some of whom had waited overnight to get tickets, roared from their seats instead of stampeding to the court. The players ran over to high-five the fans in the front row, but didn't linger too long.
Once inside the locker room, Martin didn't have to remind his players victory was only one step in the journey. Pullen beat his coach to it, telling his teammates to not lose focus, to be just as ready for Oklahoma State on Saturday as they were for the Longhorns.
"So many teams beat a No. 1 team and lose their focus and lose the next game," said Pullen, a freshman on the team that beat KU in 2008. "We can't let anything sidetrack us; new rankings, new interviews, whatever the case may be. We have to stay the course and keep the focus like we did for this game."
In case the Wildcats didn't get the message, Martin will be there to remind them.
"It's not about celebrating this win. It's about being proud of what you did, but continue to grow," he said. "Obviously, you gain confidence beating a great team like Texas, but come (practice), if they don't come in and compete, I'm going to destroy them."
Minor league pitcher wins award
BASEBALL
Former Kansas pitcher Paul Smyth was recently named Minor League Baseball's Short-Season Reliever of the Year as part of the league's annual MiLBY Awards.
Smyth, a right-handed pitcher from Attascadero, Calif., graduated this past spring after a standout career as a Jayhawk. In his time at the University, Smyth appeared in a school-record 129 games and notched 27 career saves, good for second all-time in school history.
After graduation, Smyth was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 35th round of last season's amateur draft and spent time playing in both Vancouver (Rookie League) and Kane County (Short-Season Single-A). Smyth impressed in his first professional season, as he did not allow an earned run, a streak that spanned 36 1/3 innings in 25 games with both clubs. He also allowed just 16 base runners, while notching 37 strikeouts.
Ben Ward
TRACK (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
difference. In the last three meets she was the top female pole-vaulter for the team.
"We expect her to be an impact person at conference." Hays said.
While Perryman was moving farther away from her family, Culvin, of Monument, Colo., was moving closer to home. Culvin's transfer from San Diego State University brought her closer to her family and also allowed her to join her sister, Kate, on Kansas' pole vaulting team.
"I saw how much she loved Kansas and just loved competing here and loved everything about Lawrence. It made the decision a lot easier," said Culvin.
both the meets she competed in as a jav Hawk.
The newest
Each of these girls, all with different backgrounds and reasons for coming to Kansas, all met many of the same difficulties.
One big difference is the practices.
"They are pretty much entirely different from the way that we warm up to the way that we do our mechanical workouts," Turnbull said.
"I wanted to go somewhere with a good coach."
The newest transfer, Turnbull, originally from Chesterfield, Mo., transferred from Purdue after her coach left the school.
The changes, while difficult at
"I wanted to go somewhere with a good coach and I did a little research and Coach Hays had quite good credentials so I went here," said Turnbull.
Coach Hays has experience with transfers and his coaching style gives them time to learn the way they learn best.
"What I do is the first four weeks of the fall I'm trying to learn how that athlete learns and then I'm trying to adapt my coaching style to what they need." Hays said.
Hays doesn't cater to the athlete, but he looks at what is the most effective method in getting an athlete to improve, whether it be watching films or learning hands-on. This could be one of the reasons his transfer athletes are making an impact already. Turnbull finished in third place in
TARA TURNBULL Junior pole vaulter
first, can make the girls better.
"I'm kind of starting from the beginning again being with a new coach," said Perrryman. "So there's a lot of things that I
have been improving that may not show immediately and if I can keep building on that I feel like I've had a great start to my improvements"
Transfer athletes don't just have to worry about practice. They also must adapt to a whole new campus away from the school that had become their home in the previous years.
Many transter athletes don't know anyone on campus and it can be hard to initially branch out.
"At first it was a little difficult to meet a lot of people and go out, so you just have to be outgoing and be open to meeting people," Colvin said.
With time, however, most athletes discover that jayhawk spirit.
"As time goes on, you know you just grow," said Colvin. "You bleed crimson and blue."
- Edited by Cory Bunting
MLB
Cardinal overcomes arrest
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUISE — David Freese's drunk driving arrest in December has not dislodged him as the top contender for the St. Louis Cardinals' third base job.
But the 26-year-old Freese knows he has to grow up and earn the team's trust. During the team's Winter Warm-Up last weekend, he said he hadn't taken a drink since his DUI arrest for a blood alcohol content of .232 — nearly three times the legal limit.
Freese said he had a long discussion with general manager John Mozeliak not long after the arrest. He has entered a treatment program, although he said he was not an alcoholic, and said he had lost 16 pounds during offseason conditioning.
David Freese, of the St. Louis Cardinals, reacts to striking out in April 2009. Freese's drunk driving arrest in December has not dislodged him as the top contender for the Cardinals' third base job. But Freese, 26, said he knows he has to learn from the experience.
"It is an embarrassing and humiliating experience for me, my family and the organization," Freese said. "They obviously have high demands on you as a person on and off the field.
"As of right now I'm not drinking," Freese said. "The future is going to tell you what the future holds, but I'm just kind of taking it one day at a time."
"I've just got to learn from it, which I have."
Freese has had previous missteps; the arrest report from December listed him as a prior offender. At first, he worried the Cardinals might release him.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Obviously, right out of the gate that's the first thing you think about, your career." Freese said.
"They're making sure and I'm making sure I'm taking the necessary steps."
The gravity of the situation hit him after the December arrest.
"The Cardinals acquired Freese from the Padres in a deal for Jim
Edmonds after the 2007 season and he made the opening day roster last season before being sidelined by injuries. Third base is open after the departures of free agents Troy Glaus and Khalil Greene.
SUA Presents the Annual Student Lecture Series with
Blake Mycoskie
Tuesday,
January 26, 2010
7:30 PM
Lied Center
University of Kansas
Admission:
FREE with ticket
Available SUA Box Office, Kansas Union Level 4 For additional information call 785.864.7469.
or at Lied Center Box Office '785.864.2787
Online Ticket orders available at www.lied.ku.edu
($5 service charge for phone and online orders)
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