With Apologies

Clyde Lovellette, Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Wesley, Dave Robisch, Paul Mokesi, Greg Drelling, Danny Manning, Mark Randall, Greg Ostertag, Eric Chenowith, Scott Pollard, Raef LaFrentz, Nick Collison, Darrel Arthur, Cole Aldrich, Wayne Simien, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Jeff Withey, Thomas Robinson, Perry Ellis, Udoka Azubuike, the list of great Kansas big men is pretty staggering when you look back over the last 70 years. Kansas fans have been spoiled by incredible post play.  That's especially been true since Bill Self took over the program but the last couple of seasons, not so much.

I've been one of David McCormack's harshest critics.  He followed in the massive shoes of Dok Azubuike who may have been the best post player five feet and in since Wilt Chamberlain roamed the floors of Allen Field House.  McCormack is a solid shooter from 15 feet in.  But he never developed the incredible post footwork or strength of a Simien or Robinson.  He's not even been a great rebounder.

He's nine points away from making it to 1,000 points.  He will finish behind other good Kansas bigs like Kelly Knight and Rick Suttle.  McCormack lacks the explosive dunking ability of Robinson, LaFrentz or Aldrich.  He doesn't have the consistently smooth turnaround jump shot of Robisch.  The big man sometimes plays at a frustratingly, frenzied, out of control rhythm that makes him ineffective.  But what I've come to realize over this last month, McCormack plays with heart.

He's finally become a really effective rebounder.  That being said he won't finish anywhere close to the top ten all time rebounding list in Jayhawk history.  He never developed the footwork that made the Morris twins and Withey so effective.  But he's still serviceable around the basket.  It's a good night when big Dave gets 15 pounds and 10 boards.

The thing that I've noticed over these past four weeks is McCormack has become more vocal.  He's showing the kind of leadership that you would hope to see from a four year senior.  Watching he these last few games talking to his teammates, owning his mistakes and his relentless hustle on the boards made me realize that he's become a pretty good player.

Kansas has Final 4 talent this year save for their post play.  If McCormack can find a way to take his good game up just another notch a deep tournament run isn't out of the question because lets face it, there aren't many great post players in college basketball anymore.  

I felt like I needed to write this because I have bashed McCormack in most of my Jayhawk threads.  I just want to say that I'm happy that we've had four years of David McCormack.  He's represented the program well... unlike other heralded recruits like Cliff Alexander and Silvio DeSousa.  Being a good guy should count for something.

Pre-season three things #1

The track and field season kicked off unofficially in Southwest Florida at Gateway High School on a cement track.  How in the hell does the Lee County School District spend millions on a new high school and not install a new rubberized track when the district says it's going to install new tracks at every high school that needs one.  Oh... so far they've installed four tracks by our count in three years by our count.  

1.  Kolton Pickard made his season debut at Gateway.  The Wildcat senior ran anywhere from 1:55 to 1:57 since there was no timing system no one seems to know for sure.  Everything was hand timed.  What year is this?!?  Pickard also blasted 50 low in the 4 x 400 relay.  This is a nice start to what could be an impressive senior campaign.

The big meet was Saturday at Dunbar High School... proud home of one of those four new tracks in Lee County.  Kudos to the meet organizers to having the 3200 races go off in the morning and avoid the later day heat.  It made for some good racing which leads to this.

2.  Mackenzie De Lisle is a beast.  The Bishop Verot freshman pulled off a quadruple with a win at 3,200, a second at 1,600, a hand in the winning 4 x 800 team and a she handled a leg of the Vikings' third place 4 x 400 team.  De Lisle's 3200 was an impressive 11:40.86 and her 5:34.71 after running the 4 x 800 is equally impressive.  

3.  Craig Allard, Jr. could be the next big deal on the boy's side of Lee County distance running.  In his first varsity track meet he finished second in the 3,200 running 10:06.57.  He came back later in the day in the boy's JV 1,600 with a 4:48.15 for the win.  You never know how a season is going to go but if Junior doesn't run sub 9:50 and sub 4:35 before the end of the season... I'll be shocked.

Tis the Season for Track and Field

High school track and field gets underway on Saturday as Dunbar hosts the pre-season opener at its fine facility.  Some of the most talented athletes to ever compete for Lee County high schools last spring headed off to college to begin the next stage of their careers.  But the cupboard is hardly bare.

Because of what I cover cross country for the News-Press and the fact that I sell running shoes by and large to distance runners,  I want to focus on the three distance aces as we head into the spring. I'm sure as the season progresses I will have a chance to write about some of the outstanding sprinters, jumpers and throwers.  

First there is Estero senior standout, Kolton Pickard.  I'm sure Kolton has one goal in mind.  He would like to break 4:10 in the 1,600.  If he can do so he would firmly cement his place as one of the distance greats in Lee County history.  Kolton has the range and ability to run sub 9:10 for 3,200 as well.  Assuming he has a chance to run at the FSU Invite and at the Florida Relays, Pickard will face the kind of competition needed to achieve those goals.

The top girl in Lee County is ECS junior Ava Povich.  Following her gutty performance at last year's State outdoor track and field championships, Povich looks to be ready to run a sub 11 minute 3,200.  The longer distances seem to suit Povich but breaking 5:10 in the 1,600 should be well within her wheelhouse as well.

The final one to watch is Lehigh senior Evan Meyer.  He's got a wonderful coach in Ben Pignatone and the youngster isn't afraid of work.  With someone to chase like Pickard, Meyer could run 4:15 in the 1,600 and has a fair shot at 1:55 in the 800.

There are a half dozen or so young men and women who deserve a mention but their time will come as our blog gears up for an exciting season of high school track and field.

Braun and Agbaji

Braun and Agbaji, it doesn't roll off the tongue like Ernie and Bernie.  Google the Ernie and Bernie Show, it was quite the thing 45 years ago.  Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King were two forwards who ruled the SEC for the University of Tennessee.  Unfortunately, the rest of the team stunk.  That's not the case for Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji at he University of Kansas.

Normally I would have written an early season blog about my beloved Jayhawks basketball team.  But this team is puzzling.  They are good, extraordinarily good.  In fact, this is the best, deepest Kansas team since the squad that won it all in 2008.  This team doesn't have the unbelievable depth along the front line that the 2008 Jayhawks possessed but the game has changed and having bigs like Sasha Kaun, Darrel Arthur, Darnell Jackson and Cole Aldrich isn't quite as important.

This Kansas team has Braun and Agbaji, two forwards who can fill it up on any given night.  It's like Brandon Rush rolled into one.  Then you have Remy Martin, a transfer point guard who can shoot lights out, sort of like Mario Chalmers.  Oh, and then there's sophomore guard Dujuan Harris who likes to distribute the ball and play defense, kind of like Russell Robinson.  The mystery man is center David McCormack, who played like a hot mess the first five games of the season but has suddenly settled down.  He's a poor man's Darrel Arthur on offense and a poorer man's Sasha Kaun on defense.

The good thing about McCormack is for the first time in a couple of years Kansas has some front line depth which takes some pressure off of him.  Mitch Lightfoot is turning 30 (just kidding) and will end up playing more games than any player in K.U. history thanks to COVID.  He's a capable back up.  The real sauce will be from two freshmen, the unbelievably athletic K.J. Adams and the silky smooth Zach Clemence.  Adams is going to be a force, but that lies in the future.  Clemence can shoot and has decent hops.  Both can give the Jayhawks minutes if there are foul issues.

The toughest thing about this team is that it is way too deep.  Jalen Wilson was a freshman star.  Now he's struggling to find minutes and with his size and defensive ability, the Jayhawks will need him.  I don't understand Jalen Coleman-Lands or Joseph Yesufu.  These two transfer can be instant offense but Kansas only needed one of them, not both.  I smell some transfers at the semester.

The hidden jewel in this depth of talent is freshman point guard Bobby Pettiford.  He could be the next Frank Mason or Sherron Collins.  He's a human bowling ball who can drive without fear through the lane and he's the kind of physical guard that Bill Self loves.  An injury has temporarily sidelined Pettiford and he will be needed when conference play starts.

Kansas is so deep that it's best freshman recruit, Kyle Cuffe, is redshirting this year.  The Kansas roster of 18 players has 12 players that can start on any team in the Big 12 Conference.  The 2008 team had a similar amount of depth.  So I'm saying that this team is a lock to make it to the Final 4.  The team can stand to lose any one of its five starters save for McCormack and still make a deep tournament run.  It's going to be a fun run to March Madness.

Well, Just WOW!

If anyone had offered me a bet on which team would be bringing home a trophy from the Florida State High School Cross Country Championships I would have said maybe, just maybe the girls of Fort Myers could pull it off.  Injuries to two key runners, Amy Meng and Elizabeth McHugh put an end to those hopes.  The 15th place finish by the girls of Fort Myers is nothing to hang their heads about considering the bad breaks.  And on a personal note, I really feel for Amy.  It's tough to suffer an injury during your senior campaign.  I can relate because a serious illness killed my senior year and it's a tough pill to swallow.

The Green Wave had another card to play.  The boys team caught fire the last two weeks of the season to bring home the second place trophy Class 3A.  Colsen Palmer had the kind of senior season any runner would be grateful for.  He took first at Regions after an awful District meet and finished seventh at the State Championship.  The key to the second place finish for Fort Myers was super frosh Craig Allard, Jr.  He ran a season best to take 37th and raised the bar in terms of expectations for himself and the Green Wave that returns plenty of talent next season.

The best girls team from Southwest Florida hails from Bishop Verot.  Another super freshman, Mackenzie De Lisle, burst upon the scene and helped lead the Vikings to a fifth place finish in Class 2A.  With junior star Julia Reitz and another junior standout Kylie Thomas returning next season for Verot, Coach Jorge Fleitas has a team that could claim a trophy next season.

Fleitas best coaching job may have been with his inexperienced boys squad.  Once junior middle distance standout Cooper Banks gave up cross country for soccer, the Vikings chances of heading to Tallahassee looked slim.  But the boys of Verot pulled it together to finish 19th Class 2A with a squad made up mainly of freshmen.

The other girl's team that deserves a nod is the Wolfpack squad from South Fort Myers.  Coach John Halley did a masterful job in putting together a team that slipped into States behind senior standout Allyson Bratton and junior Sophia Torres. If Torres can continue to improve she could find herself with some serious hardware next year.

The surprise trophy by Fort Myers overshadowed what we expected to be a sensational season for individual athletes from Lee County.  A trio of runners delivered big.  Despite an early season injury scare Estero senior star Kolton Pickard showed his stuff with a strong fourth place finish in the Class 3A Championships.  The track season ahead should be something special for Pickard.

ECS junior Ava Povich was the dominate female runner in Southwest Florida.  She scored her second straight seventh place finish at the Class 1A Championship will improving her time by 14 seconds.  Povich has an excellent chance to break 11 minutes this spring in the 3200.

Another junior also made dramatic strides this fall, Canterbury junior Gabrielle Santucci.  She finished 50th at State as a sophomore and improved all the way to 11th Class 1A.  Santucci is better known as a middle distance ace and her improvement in cross country should pay big dividends this spring on the track.

A final word on the 2021 must include a salute to the boys and girls of SFCA who both qualified for State, Class 1A.  Junior Hayden Tank made tremendous progress from his sophomore year and should a force to reckon with this spring in track in both the 1600 and 3200.  

2022 should be a great one with returnees like Tank, Povich, Santucci, Allard and Torres. 

Championship Season

Three meets to go.  That's the goal for the lucky few teams and individuals as the Florida high school cross country draws to a close.  District meets will be scattered across Southwest Florida beginning on Thursday with Class 3A teams meeting at Estero Park and Class 1A teams running at SFCA.  On Saturday Lehigh will travel to North Port for their District meet while Bishop Verot heads to Englewood for its 2A showdown.

Lehigh has two outstanding runners competing at Class 4A.  Sophomore Gianna Del Pizzo has enjoyed a solid season and should be able to advance through the District and Region meet on to Tallahassee.  The same can be said of Lightning senior distance ace Evan Meyer.  He was forced to miss last week's LCAC meet due to a scheduling conflict with the SAT's which is a big whiff on the part of the athletic leaders of the Lee County School District.  Athletes shouldn't have to make a choice between competition and tests  This would have never happened if it involved football.  Lehigh competes Saturday in North Port.

The girls of Bishop Verot can lay claim to being the top team in Lee County.  Coach Jorge Fleitas has done a great job of building the Viking program.  Verot will compete at Class 2A on Saturday in Englewood and the girls lead by Julia Reitz, Mackenzie De Lisle and Kylie Thomas are on a path to Tallahassee.  If the squad can peak in three weeks they could land a top ten finish at State.  The boys squad is in a tougher spot and will be fortunate to qualify to Region with the hope of moving an individual or two on to State.  Freshman Andrew Marino and Zielke are peaking at the right time.

Hayden Tank of SFCA is the most improved boy in Lee County.  Winning Thursday on his home course at the Class 1A District would mean a major upset as he faces one of the top runners in Florida, Tristan McWilliam from Out of Door Academy.  Tank's SFCA squad should advance to Region and appear in form to go to State.  Charlie Meagher from Canterbury should advance as well.  On the girl's side at the same meet is Lee County's top star Ava Povich.  She has no peers.  She will advance to Tallahassee where she will face the toughest field in the state of Florida.  A top five finish for Povich will be nothing to be ashamed of.  Canterbury's Gabriella Santucci figures to advance to Tallahassee as well.

The biggest clash of area schools happens Thursday at Estero Park when the slew of Class 3A schools from Lee and Collier County will face off for the handful of spots to advance to Region.  When it comes to individuals, Estero's senior distance star Kolton Pickard looks impossible to beat.  Bernardo Barnhart from Palmetto Ridge and Colsen Palmer from Fort Myers will do their best to chase Pickard down. 

When it comes to a boys time title Fort Myers is finally getting healthy and looks to be in the drivers seat.  Naples will give the Green Wave everything it can handle.  When it comes to other potential qualifiers from that District Dunbar, Cape Coral, Palmetto Ridge and Ida Baker should be in the mix.

The girl's individual race looks to be a bit more muddled.  Naples freshman find Tara Watkins appears to be the favorite but Olivia Olney a junior from Fort Myers showed what smart racing looks like in taking the LCAC crown last Saturday.  And the team title will boil down between Naples and Fort Myers.  Given the injuries that have crippled the Green Wave this season it would appear that Naples would have the upper hand.  Both teams are almost sure bets to advance to Tallahassee.

Pickard's Back

We've hit the midway point of the Florida high school cross country season.  Things haven't unfolded as one would have suspected among the Lee County squads, mainly due to injuries.  That could shake things up, especially on the girl's side.

Estero senior star Kolton Pickard is back.  A freak injury thanks to the stupid a coach and his girl's team deciding to cross the Fort Myers Invitational course in front of the lead pack of boys led to Pickard tweaking his hamstring.  Pickard now has back to back wins at Lely and at the Hoka FlRunners meets to show that his form is just fine.

The surprise of the season on the boy's side is Hayden Tank of SFCA.  He's picked up right where big brother Ethan left off. Tank finished a respectable 5th in Lakeland, just 30 seconds behind Pickard.  With Cooper Banks ditching cross country for soccer, Tank, just a junior, appears to be the top small school harrier in Lee County.

When it comes to which Lee County boy's team will lay claim to the number one spot, standby.  Fort Myers and Dunbar aren't exactly shining right now.  Both teams appear ready to make a run to State but neither has raced particularly well.  Fort Myers made a decent showing at North Port two weeks ago with Dunbar notably in need of a stronger number five runner.  Neither team raced particularly well this weekend at Hoka FlRunners.

The biggest surprise among the Lee County ranks is a diminutive freshman from Bishop Verot.  Mackenzie De Lisle gave up gymnastics to take up running.  She's helped turn the Vikings into the top girl's cross country squad in Lee County.  De Lisle has shown progress week to week and Verot's depth has helped them leap frog past Fort Myers and Estero.

If Fort Myers can be healthy they could top Bishop Verot.  Senior Amy Meng, a top five finisher at State last year, has been dealing with nagging injuries.  One of the Green Wave's other top runners, sophomore Elizabeth McHugh, is on the comeback trail from a stress fracture.  Fort Myers can still make a run to State without two of its top runners as could the Estero girls.

A lot of inter-county bragging rights will be on the line this weekend at the Bishop Verot Invitational on Saturday.  Assuming all of the top runners in Lee County participate, the meet will mark the last time schools both large and small will face off against each other.