PAGE 7 | THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011
SPORTS
THE TIMES-DELPHIC
MEN’S BASKETBALL COLUMN
Next step for Drake: No excuses, just start winning by Eduardo Zamarripa
Staff Writer eduardo.tamezzamarripa@drake.edu
The Drake Bulldogs were not supposed to lose against the Bradley Braves last Thursday. They were the seventh seed playing against the worst team in the conference (record-wise, anyhow). Yes, Bradley had been playing a lot better and they had just pounded Drake a week earlier, but there were no excuses for what happened last Thursday night. This was a game that Drake should have won. It did not have anything to do with our youth, or the referees or the Braves playing out of this world. Bradley was better. They played harder, they hit shots and they got in the lane as much as they wanted. They overwhelmed Drake. It was a defining moment in the future of a basketball program that has lost its course ever since the departure of head coach Keno Davis. Make no mistake, Drake has consistently worsened its winning totals each of the last three years (from 28 wins to 17 to 14 and now to 13). It’s hard to believe this program is moving in the right direction. Yes, Drake beat Northern Iowa and Creighton at home. The Bulldogs played their hearts out in those games. Can they do that on a regular basis? I simply do not know. The biggest problems plaguing Drake, from my point of view, is not hustle or effort. I do believe this team plays hard for head coach Mark Phelps. But it lacks size, it lacks rebounding and it lacks interior scoring. It lacks guards that can get in the lane and create opportunities to open up 3-point attempts. This is what Drake struggles to do on a consistent basis. We can’t keep throwing around the “youth” excuse much longer. Most of these guys are going to be juniors and seniors next year. Look, Drake has had stellar recruiting classes each of the last two years and I will honestly come out and say that they have improved substantially. But improvement only takes you so far. If you don’t put it in the win column, then it doesn’t mean anything. That’s the cold reality of sports. As former NFL coach Bill Parcells said, “You are what your record says you are.” And the Bulldogs are 44-53 overall in the last three seasons and 21-34 in conference play. Only Southern Illinois and Evansville have
worse records than Drake in the last three years. But let’s take a step back from how this season ended and try to look at what we should expect in the next couple of years. We are going to lose fifth-year senior Ryan Wedel. He was our best shooter and one of our most consistent performers. Other than that, we have our same guys; there’s only one recruit coming in this fall. There are some bright spots in this squad, but it’s up to Phelps and the players to live up to their potential. We have freshman Rayvonte Rice, who one day will be good enough to win MVC Player of the Year. We don’t need to worry about his production. This guy competes on offense and on defense. Sophomore Ben Simons continued to improve his offensive game and shot a terrific percentage this year. He needs to continue to be aggressive on offense and improve his defense and rebounding. I hope sophomore Seth VanDeest does not struggle with injuries anymore and he can produce like he did his freshman season. We need his size and inside scoring. But either way, I’m intrigued to see how much junior transfer Kraidon Woods improves his game next year; he has filled in nicely for VanDeest. Redshirt sophomore Jordan Clarke will be healthy and that will help him improve his offensive game. His elbow has not allowed him to finish or to step out and hit the mid-range jumper like he can. We’ll have junior Frank Wiseler back next year, who’s been out most of the season. He’s a true point guard who is an intelligent player. Junior transfer Kurt Alexander really started to show his offensive prowess late in the year, and we need his penetration and playmaking ability. And lastly, we need freshman Karl Madison to show next year that he’s as good as advertised. There are a lot of good guys on this team and not just talent-wise. There are players who legitimately care about improving this program, and I respect that. I hope they can put that desire together with the talent they have, because I know this team is talented and I know we can be better. But if we do not start winning the games we should win, and we do not stop trying to blame our problems on youth or inexperience, then this program will not be able to move forward. I wish for nothing more than to see Phelps and his guys show that we can play ball at Drake.
CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor
FRESHMAN RAYVONTE RICE emerged as one of the top talents in the Missouri Valley this season. He will face high expectations next year as Drake hopes to crawl back into the top-tier of the MVC after the Bulldogs’ second-straight losing season.
>>FINAL DRAKE STATS Scoring 1. Rayvonte Rice, 13.8 points per game 2. Ryan Wedel, 10.9 3. Seth VanDeest, 8.8
Passing 1. Wedel, 2.0 assists per game 2. Kurt Alexander, 1.7 3. Rice, 1.6
Rebounding 1. Rice, 4.8 rebounds per game 2. Jordan Clarke, 4.7 3. VanDeest, 4.4
Steals 1. Rice, 1.4 steals per game 2. Clarke, 1.3 3. Aaron Hawley, 0.6
compiled by Matt Moran | Sports Editor | sports@timesdelphic.com
TENNIS
Men sweep WIU, women come back to edge Air Force Bulldog teams take different routes, but both end victorious by Dominic Johnson
Staff Writer dominic.johnson@drake.edu
CONNOR MCCOURTNEY | photo editor
SOPHOMORE MANCA KRIZMAN returns a backhand shot. Krizman won her No. 1 singles match against Air Force in straight sets, one of three victories that helped Drake rally for a 4-3 triumph.
MEN Drake extended its home winning streak to eight games this past Sunday with a 7-0 victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The Bulldogs are now 8-2 on the season, and the team looks to have completely rebounded from its two losses against Big Ten foes late last month. The match against the Leathernecks was never in jeopardy for the Bulldogs, as they started the match by sweeping the doubles point. Each doubles team won 8-4 over Western Illinois. Senior Mauricio Ballivian and sophomore Anis Ghorbel teamed up at the top slot, with sophomores James McKie and Jean Erasmus at the second position, and sophomore Ryan Drake and freshman Robin Goodman at the third spot. The singles matches played out just like the doubles, with complete Bulldog domination. Drake clinched the match in under an hour, as Goodman, McKie, Ghorbel and junior Jonathan Hadash were able to make quick work of their opponents. Goodman was the first off the court with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the fourth position. McKie soon followed with an equally impressive 6-1, 6-2 triumph at second singles. Hadash granted the Bulldogs the victory with a 6-0, 6-2 win at the fifth position. Ghorbel followed Hadash soon after with a 6-0, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles. Ghorbel’s play
over the past weekend garnered him Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week accolades on Tuesday. The closest matches for the team came at first and sixth singles, but both resulted in straightset victories for the Bulldogs. At sixth singles, junior Sean O’Grady encountered a three-game deficit in the first set before fighting back to take the match 6-4, 6-1. Ballivian encountered some resistance from the 2010 Summit League Newcomer of the Year, Jeff Cote. After taking the first set 6-2, Ballivian was taken to a tiebreaker by Cote, but once again, Ballivian prevailed in the tiebreaker 7-3. The Bulldogs will take on the Saint Louis Billikens tomorrow in the first match of their four-game Spring Break road trip. Drake will also go up against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Memphis and Murray State, and The Times-Delphic will have a full report on the results after the break. WOMEN Drake bounced back from a tough loss against Iowa State last Friday with an impressive come-from-behind win over Air Force on Sunday. Air Force entered into the matchup with an 11-3 record, with one of its three losses also delivered by Iowa State. The opening doubles matches echoed the match against the Cyclones, in which the Bulldogs were unable to find a way to victory at any of the positions. Junior Jess Aguilera and sophomore Manca Krizman lost 8-2 at the top slot, and junior
Amanda Aragon and senior Jessica Labarte lost 8-5 at third doubles. Once again, junior Earlynn Lauer and freshman Klavdija Rebol came the closest to victory for the Bulldogs, as the second doubles team clawed its way to six wins, but Air Force would not let them finish the job, as the Drake duo lost 8-6. Determined not to see a repeat of last Friday’s outcome, the Bulldogs played tremendously at singles. Krizman was able to quickly even the score for the Bulldogs with a 6-1, 6-0 dismantling of her opponent at the top slot. The Bulldogs then took the lead as Rebol registered a 6-2, 7-5 win at second singles. Air Force landed the next two hits though, as Labarte and Aragon lost in straight sets at fourth and fifth singles, respectively. Down by one, the Bulldogs were just a set away from their second straight loss, but Aguilera was determined to keep the team alive. With a decisive third set victory, Aguilera won her match at third singles 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 to even the score at three points apiece. The outcome hung in the balance at the sixth singles position, as sophomore Ali Patterson was taken to a second set tiebreaker by her opponent. Patterson was the player who raised her game in the end, as she won 7-3 to give the Bulldogs one of their best results of the season. Drake will be busy over the next week, as the squad is scheduled for six matches over spring break. The first match is against Minnesota tomorrow morning. The Times-Delphic will have the results of the Bulldogs’ Spring Break trip in the next issue.
INTRAMURALS
Basketball champions crowned in intramurals by Monica Worsley
Staff Writer monica.worsley@drake.edu
LAW AND ORDER VS. PI KAPPA ALPHA Law and Order prevailed 57-55 over Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) on Monday night during the all-university basketball championship game at 10 p.m. in the Knapp Center. The law students and fraternity brothers battled to the last second to determine this year’s intramural champions
for men’s basketball. Both teams were in first place of their respective leagues, with Pike capturing the fraternity title and Law and Order winning the men’s A championship. Initially, Law and Order maintained a noticeable lead over Pike. After regrouping, Pike managed to put points on the board to make the halftime score 39-29 in favor of the law students. In a very competitive second half, Pike closed the gap with strong shooting from the field. The teams were tied with less than two minutes left
to play until Law and Order added two points. With one second left in the game, Pike called a time-out. After a successful inbound a Pike player got off a shot before the buzzer. The shot did not go in. As Law and Order enjoys its new title, the men of Pike are left pondering whether they really thought they could win when messing with the law. DELTA GAMMA VS. KOBE The Drake women’s soccer team demon-
strated its basketball skills in the women’s intramural basketball championship game at 9 p.m. on Monday night in the Knapp Center. Kobe, a team composed of Drake soccer players, defeated Delta Gamma’s basketball team. Kobe maintained a significant lead the whole game and was named the 2011 champion with a final score of 36-15. Guess it just goes to show that team Kobe can hoop it up like Kobe Bryant, who now has inspire soccer players to win on the basketball court.