Ian Handshy expected to spend this summer in the weight room, working on becoming bigger, faster and stronger for the sake of Lawrence High football.
Now Handshy has something else in mind while pumping iron and doing wind sprints — NCAA Division I-A football.
Handshy has joined a list of who’s who among top football recruits in Kansas. Among universities interested in the LHS senior are Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska. He has attended each of their football camps this summer.
“I think I impressed,” Handshy said. “I think I did a good job of getting myself noticed by the coaches.”
With his solid showing at those three camps, as well as the Nike Camp in Iowa City, Iowa, Handshy has popped up on the national recruiting radar. Among other things, he was listed as one of the top linebacking prospects in the nation by fab50recruiting.com. He was the only Kansan to make the list, which consists of about 70 prep linebackers.
Although Big 12 Conference coaches, including KU coach Mark Mangino, are waiting to see more of him this fall before making a scholarship offer, they have let Handshy know that they’re interested.
“Coach Mangino pulled me aside at the KU camp,” Handshy said. “He told me they’ll be watching me my senior year.”
Handshy certainly has the physical attributes to play big-time college football. At 6-foot-1 and a muscular 210 pounds, Handshy runs a 4.56 40-yard dash, has an impressive vertical leap and — should he gain 10-15 pounds of muscle his senior year — will have the body of a college linebacker, usually the best athletes on the field.
He also has a 3.6 grade-point average, and it never hurts to have the ability to boost team GPA, often a sore spot among Division I-A football programs.
As a junior, Handshy was a linebacker and running back for Lawrence High, which finished 7-3 and advanced to the Class 6A state playoffs under coach Dirk Wedd. On defense, Handshy made many pad-crushing hits at linebacker. As a running back, he averaged 8.4 yards per carry and scored eight touchdowns. He also added a TD reception off a fake field goal.
Handshy was one of the Lions’ top rebounders in basketball as well as the fastest man on the track team. His 100-meter dash time was consistently around 11 seconds.
“He could grow into an outside linebacker,” said Jon Kirby of rivals.com, “but with his speed and ability, the very least you can do is get him on the field with special teams. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t end up a Division I football player.”
Handshy is one of a handful of Sunflower League football players receiving heavy interest from top-rung NCAA schools.
Shawnee Mission North quarterback Mack Brown, an exceptional pocket passer, has received an offer from Colorado, according to rivals.com. Olathe East running back Andre Jones, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards as a junior, also is receiving lots of love from Big 12 coaches, mostly as a wide receiver.
Another area player, Ottawa lineman Caleb Blakesley, already has offers from KU and Wyoming.
Now, it appears the word is out on Handshy.
“Coach Wedd came to me and said, ‘This is a kid you’re going to have to keep your eye on,'” Kirby said. “Wedd’s been around football a long time. He knows what a Division I prospect is supposed to look like.”
Giving college athletes a small percentage of the millions of dollars they generate is a “pipe dream,” Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said.
Baylor coach Dave Bliss called the whole idea “a Pandora’s Box.”
But judging from an informal survey, most Big 12 Conference basketball coaches would like to see players in revenue-producing sports get a stipend or a monthly salary.
“I think it’s unrealistic to think these kids only need their education paid for and nothing else,” Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said Monday during the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference.
“Most of these kids are far away from home. A great deal of them don’t have parents who can send them money on a regular basis, if at all,” Patton said. “I’ve coached kids whose parents are unable to send them anything other than a box of food. The people who are making these decisions are all capable of sending their kids money when they go off to school.”
Kansas University senior Nick Collison says players should be paid something.
“I think every college athlete either had guys on the team or themselves really hurting for money,” Collison said. “I’ve had teammates here who could have definitely used something. So many kids we recruit to come to big campuses come from areas they don’t have any money, and we expect them to give everything to the team and university that wins a lot of games and makes a lot of money. These kids are still struggling, and their families at home are struggling and can’t give them money, either. There are a lot of kids like that.”
The biggest argument against paying players always has been the value of the education and other benefits they derive as scholarship athletes.
Full scholarships include tuition, room and board, books and fees. Athletes also get other considerations, such as free tutoring.
“I still am one of the ‘old school’ guys who feel the education and the opportunity to learn life skills … is what really enhances their college experience,” Bliss said. “But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow, the way college athletics has gone. College athletics has a guilt complex because of all the money involved with football and basketball.”
The issue has heated up in the Big 12 because there is a bill working its way through the Nebraska legislature that would mandate payments for football players.
Gov. Mike Johanns has said he would sign the bill into law, which would not take effect unless three other Big 12 states adopt the same measure. Former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr vetoed similar legislation in 1988.
“I’ve not seen and don’t know enough about the bill to comment particularly on that,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “The best academic scholarship at your school will say, ‘room, board, tuition and fees,’ and also say, ‘miscellaneous expense.’ I think the athletic scholarship should do that, particularly for football and men’s basketball that make so much money for our universities.
“I’ve always been in favor of the scholarship being a true full scholarship, as good as the best academic scholarship at your school.”
Oklahoma coach Sampson wondered if the Nebraska lawmakers were prepared “for the lawsuit that’s coming from Title IX.”
Title IX, the federal law requiring equal treatment for male and female athletes, certainly would be a complicating factor if schools attempted to pay football and men’s basketball players, but not female athletes. Sampson said he would join those who demand all athletes get paid.
“It bothers me that a university is going to write a check for a stipend for a student-athlete without writing a check for every student-athlete,” Sampson said. “Just because her sport doesn’t make money, that doesn’t mean she should be excluded.”
Older coaches remember fondly the $15 stipend they received as college players. The NCAA outlawed the stipend — called “laundry money” — in a cost-cutting move in 1973.
“We lined up and couldn’t wait to get that check,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. “I would have no problem with (paying athletes) at all. I know they say we’ve got a valuable scholarship, but they’re putting in a lot of time.”
Collison said it was frustrating to see his likeness on equipment being sold for profit, with Collison receiving no money from sale of the items.
“They are selling basketballs with me and Kirk’s picture on it,” Collison said of teammate Kirk Hinrich. “They’re talking of selling bobbleheads. People are making money off us. TV deals … there’s huge money for schools. Coaching contracts make huge money, and they (coaches) are not the ones wearing the shoes. It’s hard to see the athletes not making a little bit more.”
AP PhotoRoy Williams thinks his Kansas University basketball team might be overrated this preseason.
His peers disagree.
“He (Williams) is always surprised by that, you know that,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said of the Big 12 coaches once again picking KU to win the league.
“Every year we do it to him anyway. I’d like to have that problem, so if he doesn’t want it any more, pass it on. He just reloads every year.
“Deep inside he feels pretty good about that, trust me,” Watkins added with a grin.
Veteran Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said KU, which returns five standouts from a Final Four team, is the team to beat in the league.
“When they sent out the ballot, we pegged ’em No. 1,” Sutton said. “This could be the best team Roy’s had in a while. They have excellent talent and great coaching, so their ranking does not surprise me.”
Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson agrees with KU’s Williams that his Sooners are tough and Texas is tough, but …
“I’d pick Kansas,” Sampson said. “They have two first-round draft choices last year, they had three. If Nick Collison came out he’d have been a first-rounder, same with Kirk Hinrich.
“In all honesty they should be picked to win the conference.”
Missouri coach Quin Snyder took the diplomatic route, saying, “I’ve learned not to comment on other people’s teams. Last year, I tried to talk people out of liking us as much as they did. We let too much external stuff come into our locker room last year. You have to work to shut that out. Maybe that’s what coach Williams is doing.”
Long drive: Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who despises flying, drove to Dallas from Ames, Iowa, in his new motorhome.
“I got me an RV,” he said. “The best part of the RV is it’s in my driveway, saving my marriage. My wife just kicks me out of the house. I go in there and put on the Sopranos.
“Jackson Vroman (junior center) came by the house and said it’s bigger than his dorm room. It’s like having your own condo. You can pretend you are in Hawaii, but you are in frickin’ Ames where it’s snowing. Close your eyes, you can be where you want to be Margaritaville.”
Eustachy jokingly asked writers to take the ‘frickin’ out of his quote about Ames.
“I’ll get letters over that one,” he said.
Jeans in style: Texas Tech coach Bob Knight wasn’t crazy about the costume senior standout Andre Emmett chose to wear on Halloween.
“I get him out of the jeans he wore today and that’ll be another step toward maturity,” Knight said of his 6-foot-5, 229-pound junior guard, who wore a Tech sweatshirt and jeans while many players wore coats and ties.
Knight’s comment on Emmett’s attire was just about the only negative thing uttered by the veteran coach, now in his second year at Tech.
The volatile Hall of Fame coach was asked if it’s easier communicating with Emmett and the other returning Red Raiders this season.
“I think it’s helped us with those kids who were here and played last year, but it’s added another phrase to my vocabulary: ‘Where the hell were you last year? Why the hell are you making the same mistakes this year?'” Knight said.
Gooden’s debut dandy: Williams attended Drew Gooden’s first NBA game on Wednesday night in Memphis. Gooden scored 16 points in Memphis’ 119-108 loss to Dallas. Fellow former Jayhawk Raef LaFrentz had 14 points for Dallas.
“I went to see both Drew and Raef. It was a good game. Drew had 16 points, four rebounds. He really did well,” Williams said.
Harrison in good shape: Once-puffy Colorado center David Harrison has shaved his head and gotten in shape. He’s now 7-foot, 260 pounds.
“I lost 30 pounds of weight and put on 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season,” the sophomore said. “I’m at 260, 265. I was 295 last year. I cut some fried foods out of my diet. It’s mainly conditioning. I’ve not started eating earth root or something.”
Praising KU duo: Williams ended his Media Day podium stint by praising Hinrich and Collison:
“They are special players and special young people. They will graduate in four years. They will both graduate in May, not taking summer school. They played their butts off for four years. They could have taken the money and run (to NBA). Their families would have choked ’em,” he quipped.
“Don’t forget to enjoy these kids when you watch ’em and talk to ’em. Don’t forget to enjoy the student-athletes in this league and I think they are two of the best.”
AP PhotoRoy Williams thinks his Kansas University basketball team might be overrated this preseason.
His peers disagree.
“He (Williams) is always surprised by that, you know that,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said of the Big 12 coaches once again picking KU to win the league.
“Every year we do it to him anyway. I’d like to have that problem, so if he doesn’t want it any more, pass it on. He just reloads every year.
“Deep inside he feels pretty good about that, trust me,” Watkins added with a grin.
Veteran Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said KU, which returns five standouts from a Final Four team, is the team to beat in the league.
“When they sent out the ballot, we pegged ’em No. 1,” Sutton said. “This could be the best team Roy’s had in a while. They have excellent talent and great coaching, so their ranking does not surprise me.”
Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson agrees with KU’s Williams that his Sooners are tough and Texas is tough, but …
“I’d pick Kansas,” Sampson said. “They have two first-round draft choices last year, they had three. If Nick Collison came out he’d have been a first-rounder, same with Kirk Hinrich.
“In all honesty they should be picked to win the conference.”
Missouri coach Quin Snyder took the diplomatic route, saying, “I’ve learned not to comment on other people’s teams. Last year, I tried to talk people out of liking us as much as they did. We let too much external stuff come into our locker room last year. You have to work to shut that out. Maybe that’s what coach Williams is doing.”
Long drive: Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who despises flying, drove to Dallas from Ames, Iowa, in his new motorhome.
“I got me an RV,” he said. “The best part of the RV is it’s in my driveway, saving my marriage. My wife just kicks me out of the house. I go in there and put on the Sopranos.
“Jackson Vroman (junior center) came by the house and said it’s bigger than his dorm room. It’s like having your own condo. You can pretend you are in Hawaii, but you are in frickin’ Ames where it’s snowing. Close your eyes, you can be where you want to be Margaritaville.”
Eustachy jokingly asked writers to take the ‘frickin’ out of his quote about Ames.
“I’ll get letters over that one,” he said.
Jeans in style: Texas Tech coach Bob Knight wasn’t crazy about the costume senior standout Andre Emmett chose to wear on Halloween.
“I get him out of the jeans he wore today and that’ll be another step toward maturity,” Knight said of his 6-foot-5, 229-pound junior guard, who wore a Tech sweatshirt and jeans while many players wore coats and ties.
Knight’s comment on Emmett’s attire was just about the only negative thing uttered by the veteran coach, now in his second year at Tech.
The volatile Hall of Fame coach was asked if it’s easier communicating with Emmett and the other returning Red Raiders this season.
“I think it’s helped us with those kids who were here and played last year, but it’s added another phrase to my vocabulary: ‘Where the hell were you last year? Why the hell are you making the same mistakes this year?'” Knight said.
Gooden’s debut dandy: Williams attended Drew Gooden’s first NBA game on Wednesday night in Memphis. Gooden scored 16 points in Memphis’ 119-108 loss to Dallas. Fellow former Jayhawk Raef LaFrentz had 14 points for Dallas.
“I went to see both Drew and Raef. It was a good game. Drew had 16 points, four rebounds. He really did well,” Williams said.
Harrison in good shape: Once-puffy Colorado center David Harrison has shaved his head and gotten in shape. He’s now 7-foot, 260 pounds.
“I lost 30 pounds of weight and put on 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season,” the sophomore said. “I’m at 260, 265. I was 295 last year. I cut some fried foods out of my diet. It’s mainly conditioning. I’ve not started eating earth root or something.”
Praising KU duo: Williams ended his Media Day podium stint by praising Hinrich and Collison:
“They are special players and special young people. They will graduate in four years. They will both graduate in May, not taking summer school. They played their butts off for four years. They could have taken the money and run (to NBA). Their families would have choked ’em,” he quipped.
“Don’t forget to enjoy these kids when you watch ’em and talk to ’em. Don’t forget to enjoy the student-athletes in this league and I think they are two of the best.”
AP PhotoRoy Williams thinks his Kansas University basketball team might be overrated this preseason.
His peers disagree.
“He (Williams) is always surprised by that, you know that,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said of the Big 12 coaches once again picking KU to win the league.
“Every year we do it to him anyway. I’d like to have that problem, so if he doesn’t want it any more, pass it on. He just reloads every year.
“Deep inside he feels pretty good about that, trust me,” Watkins added with a grin.
Veteran Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said KU, which returns five standouts from a Final Four team, is the team to beat in the league.
“When they sent out the ballot, we pegged ’em No. 1,” Sutton said. “This could be the best team Roy’s had in a while. They have excellent talent and great coaching, so their ranking does not surprise me.”
Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson agrees with KU’s Williams that his Sooners are tough and Texas is tough, but …
“I’d pick Kansas,” Sampson said. “They have two first-round draft choices last year, they had three. If Nick Collison came out he’d have been a first-rounder, same with Kirk Hinrich.
“In all honesty they should be picked to win the conference.”
Missouri coach Quin Snyder took the diplomatic route, saying, “I’ve learned not to comment on other people’s teams. Last year, I tried to talk people out of liking us as much as they did. We let too much external stuff come into our locker room last year. You have to work to shut that out. Maybe that’s what coach Williams is doing.”
Long drive: Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who despises flying, drove to Dallas from Ames, Iowa, in his new motorhome.
“I got me an RV,” he said. “The best part of the RV is it’s in my driveway, saving my marriage. My wife just kicks me out of the house. I go in there and put on the Sopranos.
“Jackson Vroman (junior center) came by the house and said it’s bigger than his dorm room. It’s like having your own condo. You can pretend you are in Hawaii, but you are in frickin’ Ames where it’s snowing. Close your eyes, you can be where you want to be Margaritaville.”
Eustachy jokingly asked writers to take the ‘frickin’ out of his quote about Ames.
“I’ll get letters over that one,” he said.
Jeans in style: Texas Tech coach Bob Knight wasn’t crazy about the costume senior standout Andre Emmett chose to wear on Halloween.
“I get him out of the jeans he wore today and that’ll be another step toward maturity,” Knight said of his 6-foot-5, 229-pound junior guard, who wore a Tech sweatshirt and jeans while many players wore coats and ties.
Knight’s comment on Emmett’s attire was just about the only negative thing uttered by the veteran coach, now in his second year at Tech.
The volatile Hall of Fame coach was asked if it’s easier communicating with Emmett and the other returning Red Raiders this season.
“I think it’s helped us with those kids who were here and played last year, but it’s added another phrase to my vocabulary: ‘Where the hell were you last year? Why the hell are you making the same mistakes this year?'” Knight said.
Gooden’s debut dandy: Williams attended Drew Gooden’s first NBA game on Wednesday night in Memphis. Gooden scored 16 points in Memphis’ 119-108 loss to Dallas. Fellow former Jayhawk Raef LaFrentz had 14 points for Dallas.
“I went to see both Drew and Raef. It was a good game. Drew had 16 points, four rebounds. He really did well,” Williams said.
Harrison in good shape: Once-puffy Colorado center David Harrison has shaved his head and gotten in shape. He’s now 7-foot, 260 pounds.
“I lost 30 pounds of weight and put on 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season,” the sophomore said. “I’m at 260, 265. I was 295 last year. I cut some fried foods out of my diet. It’s mainly conditioning. I’ve not started eating earth root or something.”
Praising KU duo: Williams ended his Media Day podium stint by praising Hinrich and Collison:
“They are special players and special young people. They will graduate in four years. They will both graduate in May, not taking summer school. They played their butts off for four years. They could have taken the money and run (to NBA). Their families would have choked ’em,” he quipped.
“Don’t forget to enjoy these kids when you watch ’em and talk to ’em. Don’t forget to enjoy the student-athletes in this league and I think they are two of the best.”
AP PhotoRoy Williams thinks his Kansas University basketball team might be overrated this preseason.
His peers disagree.
“He (Williams) is always surprised by that, you know that,” Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said of the Big 12 coaches once again picking KU to win the league.
“Every year we do it to him anyway. I’d like to have that problem, so if he doesn’t want it any more, pass it on. He just reloads every year.
“Deep inside he feels pretty good about that, trust me,” Watkins added with a grin.
Veteran Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said KU, which returns five standouts from a Final Four team, is the team to beat in the league.
“When they sent out the ballot, we pegged ’em No. 1,” Sutton said. “This could be the best team Roy’s had in a while. They have excellent talent and great coaching, so their ranking does not surprise me.”
Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson agrees with KU’s Williams that his Sooners are tough and Texas is tough, but …
“I’d pick Kansas,” Sampson said. “They have two first-round draft choices last year, they had three. If Nick Collison came out he’d have been a first-rounder, same with Kirk Hinrich.
“In all honesty they should be picked to win the conference.”
Missouri coach Quin Snyder took the diplomatic route, saying, “I’ve learned not to comment on other people’s teams. Last year, I tried to talk people out of liking us as much as they did. We let too much external stuff come into our locker room last year. You have to work to shut that out. Maybe that’s what coach Williams is doing.”
Long drive: Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, who despises flying, drove to Dallas from Ames, Iowa, in his new motorhome.
“I got me an RV,” he said. “The best part of the RV is it’s in my driveway, saving my marriage. My wife just kicks me out of the house. I go in there and put on the Sopranos.
“Jackson Vroman (junior center) came by the house and said it’s bigger than his dorm room. It’s like having your own condo. You can pretend you are in Hawaii, but you are in frickin’ Ames where it’s snowing. Close your eyes, you can be where you want to be Margaritaville.”
Eustachy jokingly asked writers to take the ‘frickin’ out of his quote about Ames.
“I’ll get letters over that one,” he said.
Jeans in style: Texas Tech coach Bob Knight wasn’t crazy about the costume senior standout Andre Emmett chose to wear on Halloween.
“I get him out of the jeans he wore today and that’ll be another step toward maturity,” Knight said of his 6-foot-5, 229-pound junior guard, who wore a Tech sweatshirt and jeans while many players wore coats and ties.
Knight’s comment on Emmett’s attire was just about the only negative thing uttered by the veteran coach, now in his second year at Tech.
The volatile Hall of Fame coach was asked if it’s easier communicating with Emmett and the other returning Red Raiders this season.
“I think it’s helped us with those kids who were here and played last year, but it’s added another phrase to my vocabulary: ‘Where the hell were you last year? Why the hell are you making the same mistakes this year?'” Knight said.
Gooden’s debut dandy: Williams attended Drew Gooden’s first NBA game on Wednesday night in Memphis. Gooden scored 16 points in Memphis’ 119-108 loss to Dallas. Fellow former Jayhawk Raef LaFrentz had 14 points for Dallas.
“I went to see both Drew and Raef. It was a good game. Drew had 16 points, four rebounds. He really did well,” Williams said.
Harrison in good shape: Once-puffy Colorado center David Harrison has shaved his head and gotten in shape. He’s now 7-foot, 260 pounds.
“I lost 30 pounds of weight and put on 10 pounds of muscle since the end of last season,” the sophomore said. “I’m at 260, 265. I was 295 last year. I cut some fried foods out of my diet. It’s mainly conditioning. I’ve not started eating earth root or something.”
Praising KU duo: Williams ended his Media Day podium stint by praising Hinrich and Collison:
“They are special players and special young people. They will graduate in four years. They will both graduate in May, not taking summer school. They played their butts off for four years. They could have taken the money and run (to NBA). Their families would have choked ’em,” he quipped.
“Don’t forget to enjoy these kids when you watch ’em and talk to ’em. Don’t forget to enjoy the student-athletes in this league and I think they are two of the best.”
