Roy William’s is not going to North Carolina. I believe he read the
Manhattan Free Press last week and decided he would give Wooldridge a
chance to show what he’s got.
The Jayhawk fans can relax now, after a long 7-day wait for Coach
William’s to make his decision between Kansas and North Carolina.
Coach William’s gained a lot of respect from me last week. He chose to
stay with the school that gave him the opportunity to coach. He decided
he wanted to be faithful to his players and their parents. He also wanted
to keep his commitment to his fans. Those reasons aren’t what made me
respect him more. It wasn’t because he took a walk at the university to
think things over. Nor was it because he washed the Desenex off his feet in
the universities landmark fountain during his walk. The thing that
grabbed my attention the most was that he did not want to make the
decision alone or announce it without his wife and daughter present.
Roy William’s met Thursday morning with athletic director Bob
Frederick and Chancellor Robert Hemenway at Hemenway’s home.
William’s stood up after a couple of hours and said, “If I decide to stay,
could we get a plane to North Carolina in time to pick up Wanda and
(daughter) Kim and get them here for the news conference?” with a
quick response Why, yes they could. They most certainly could. And did.
He made his announcement in a small room underneath the KU football
stadium. His wife and daughter were standing in the back of the room
and 16,000 fans watching the big screen in the stadium. He answered
their prayer and announced that he would stay with the University of
Kansas and not go to North Carolina to coach.
Believe it or not, this is good news for Wooldridge and K-State fans.
Wooldridge and his team will get to face one of the best coaches in NCAA
basketball history. They will be able to see how far off they are from their
goals and what they need to do to accomplish them. If K-State should
actually win a game against KU next season, we will know the team did it
against a great team and a great coach. There wont be any excuses, just
the fact that K-State is on the right track and can look forward to better
times and better games.
I don’t expect Coach Wooldridge to beat KU right off the bat or finish in
the top half of the Big 12. It would be nice if he did, but would be unfair
to expect it. What I want to see is improvement. I want to see the team
playing as a team and a coach that will expect nothing less than the
player’s best effort. It will take time for the team to get familiar with the
new coaching style and the new system. I am guessing that the win/loss
record will be similar to last year or a little better. I don’t want to have
too high of expectations during his first year, but I will have higher
expectations the second year and so on.
I think that Coach Wooldridge can turn this team around, but it will take
a lot of support from the fans. The fans will need to show up at the games
and cheer the team on. The coach and the team need to know that the
fans are there for them, even if they lose. The fans will keep their spirits
up and keep them on track when they slip.
Baseball
RALEIGH, N.C. - Kansas State senior first baseman Mark English
(Roeland Park, Kan.) was selected to play in the Second Annual Coastal
Plain League (CPL) All-Star Game in Wilson, N.C., late yesterday by the
league office. The all-star game is slated for July 11 at 8:35 p.m. CST at
Fleming Stadium.
English was named a starter at first base for the Northern Division squad
after ranking among the league leaders in a number of offensive
categories, including batting average (.330 - 5th), RBI (22 - 1st), hits (32 -
1st), doubles (nine - 2nd), on-base percentage (.417 - 5th), slugging
percentage (.515 - 2nd) and extra-base hits (12 - 1st). He is a member of
the Wilson (N.C.) Tobs.
The Coastal Plain League is a collegiate summer baseball league, with
rosters comprised of outstanding college players from across the country
seeking to sharpen their skills while showcasing their talents for pro
scouts. The league uses wood bats exclusively, giving hitters a head start
on their professional careers, while also providing fans with a more
traditional sounding game.
English was Kansas State’s most consistent player in 2000 as he led the
team in seven offensive categories, including batting average (.365), hits
(66), RBI (58), doubles (14), home runs (13), total bases (125) and
slugging percentage (.691). He also paced the team with 19 multiple-hit
games and 17 multiple-RBI contests, while he ranked second in runs
scored (39), triples (three) and on-base percentage (.432). English moved
into K-State’s single-season record book in three categories with his
stellar season, including finishing fourth in home runs in a season and
tying for seventh in RBI and total bases. One of the best defensive first
basemen in the nation, English concluded the season with a .986 fielding
percentage with 394 putouts and just six errors. In 101 starts at first base
over the past two seasons, he has posted just eight errors in 942 total
chances.
English was a bright spot on a Kansas State team beleaguered by injuries
as the Wildcats finished the 2000 season with a 19-32 overall record and
5-24 mark in Big 12 play.
Did You Know?
One of the most recognizable athletic logos in the nation is the K-State
Powercat. The logo was introduced by Bill Snyder shortly after his
arrival in Manhattan as the attitude of the entire athletics department
and University was changing.
Manhattan native Tom Bookwalter, in cooperation with head coach Bill
Snyder, created the powerful logo that is a prominent feature on the
K-State football helmet, at Wagner Field, on the back of the Dev Nelson
Pressbox, clothing, flags, bottled water, vanity plates for cars and just
about anywhere there can be one.
Previous logos used by the athletics department included a line drawing
of a wildcat head and the cartoonish “Willie the Wildcat” that is used
only by the Alumni Association.
Rivalry Humor :
A Kansas University Football player went into a local bank and started
jotting down information on the back of a withdraw slip. He walks up to
the teller window and hands the slip to the teller. When the teller read it
she looked up at the Jayhawk and asked if this note was correct. She read
the note back to the football player, with a puzzled look on her face, “This
is a goof -up!” The player said, “yeah, I forgot my gun.”
Track
Kansas State sophomore Amy Mortimer (Riley, Kan./Riley County HS),
a four time NCAA All-American, is part of the United States Junior
National Track and Field Team that will compete against the Canadian
Junior National Team in Canada during the month of July.
Mortimer, the 3000 meter gold medalist and the 1500 meter silver
medalist at the U.S. Junior Nationals, will travel with the rest of the
junior national team to Montreal, Canada, July 18-19, for a dual meet
with the Canadian National Team. The team will then travel to
Sherbrooke, Canada, July 21-22, for another meet that will again include
the Canadian team as well as other open athletes. Mortimer, who
qualified in both the 1500 and 3000 meters, will concentrate solely on the
3000 meters in both meets and could be added to a distance medley relay
team.
The first and second place finishers in each event at the U.S. Junior
Nationals in Denton, Texas, June 23-24, qualified for the U.S. Junior
team.
With her performance at the U.S. meet, Mortimer also qualified for the
World Junior National Championships held in Chile during the month of
October but because of Kansas State’s cross country schedule and her
class schedule she will not compete.