SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1995
SECTION B
Athletics prime for protests
Major intercollegiate sports are in the national spotlight whether we like it or not, which means that athletics and politics can never be separated.
Never was it more apparent than at this week's Massachusetts-Rutgers men's basketball game when student protesters started a sit-in in half the court.
SPORTS
EDITOR
Comments that were made Nov. 11 by Rutgers University president Francis Lawrence
fueled the protest. Lawrence's quotes were released last week on tape. He said that "disadvantaged" students do not have the "genetic hereditary background to have a higher average in standardized tests."
First of all, Lawrence was downstream stupid for thinking that, and he was even stuinder for saving it.
The protest was a dramatic one, which started with 20-year-old student Jacqueline Williams, and ended with 150 students, mostly Black, sitting and holding up signs asking for Lawrence's resignation.
The protesters made a statement, and that statement was seen across the nation. Whether or not college basketball should be an arena for political expression is not the question — it is and always will be because of the attention it receives.
Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams said that he agreed with protesters reasons, but he didn't think the protest should have halted the game.
"It's something I hope we don't see much of," Williams said. "Again, this is athletics. Let's not use athletics to make other statements."
In no way am I chastising Roy for his feelings on the issue. I wish that basketball could be taken for what it is—a game. But as long as college basketball is a money-making organization with a lot of interest, it will be a prime place for political expression.
Take last season when the Black Coaches Association threatened to boycott college basketball games because the NCAA denied their request for another scholarship. Although the boycott didn't run its course, Williams was behind the association 100 percent and was ready to boycott himself.
As far as the media coverage and the platform for expression, college basketball is no different than the Olympics or the Super Bowl.
There is still no image more powerful than seeing Black athletes at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics standing at the medal podium with their right hands clenched and raised to symbolize Black power.
Black activists used last year's Super Bowl in Atlanta as a platform to express their hatred of the Confederate symbol on the Georgia State flag. Some African nations are considering boycotting this year's summer Olympics in Atlanta if the same flag is not changed.
Maybe the biggest injustice coming out of this mess is the way Rutgers players were treated. According to an anonymous Rutgers football player, some basketball players didn't want to play the game at all.
The Rutgers situation is exactly the same. The comments were aimed at all minority students — including student-athletes — at Rutgers and at all United States universities.
"When I got to the gym that night, I was shocked when I saw them on the court," he said to the New York Times. "I was angry. But then I realized that the Athletic Department came down on them hard. They broke them down. They threatened their scholarship."
This is the lowest of the low. Expression is a right that all college students have the minute they step on campus. In fact, forming political opinion is encouraged at the college level.
College basketball sits within college campuses, and these campuses are hotbeds for political activism.
Student-athletes are humans with opinions, not just robots who win games and bring money into the university. Leaving them out of protests is just as ludicrous as trying to take politics out of college basketball.
It can't be done.
Kansas teams have first place in sight
Men to face Oklahoma, standout forward Minor
By Christoph Fuhrmans Kansan sportswriter
The No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks will attempt to start another winning streak tomorrow against the Oklahoma Sooners in Allen Field House.
The Jayhawks had winning streaks of five and six games interrupted by losses against Indiana and Iowa State earlier in the season. On Monday, Kansas had another six-game winning streak broken by No. 24 Oklahoma State.
But trying to cause the Jayhawks first losing streak of the season will be Oklahoma junior forward Ryan Minor, who is averaging 22.8 points and 8.6 rebounds a game.
Kansas enters the game with a 17-3 overall record and a 6-2 record in the Big Eight Conference, while Oklahoma is 17-5 and 4-3.
"Ryan does create some problems for you because he's big enough that he'll post you up if your smaller, and he takes you outside if you're bigger," Kansas coach Roy Williams said.
Minor's ability to score does present a problem for Kansas considering that the Jayhawks two conference losses have come from teams with a dominant scorer.
Both Iowa State senior guard Fred Hoiberg and Oklahoma State senior center Bryant Reeves scored career highs of 32 and 33 points respectively when their teams defeated Kansas.
"Of having that one defensive stopper, the one guy that I could put on somebody and know that opposing offensive player was really going to have to work for his shots."
"We have a problem that I think we're improving on,"
And except for the games at OklahomaState and Iowa State, the Jayhawks have been successful in stopping other teams' leading scorers William
"We've had a lot ofguys in the past that have lit us up, but we've still won a lot of those games."
scorers, Williams said.
Roy Williams Kansas men's basketball coach
"We've had a lot of guys in the past that have lit us up, but we've still won a lot of those games," he said. "Ray Allen was averaging 20-something a game and we held him down and Freddy Hoiberg comes in here, and we held him down."
Instead of having one defensive stopper, Williams said he would rely on several players to slow down Minor.
"We'll play a lot of different people and try to give him a lot of different looks," he said. "My guess is that we'll start Sean on him. But also my guess is that Jerod and B.J. will get their opportunities to guard him as well."
Part of Minor's scoring success can be attributed to Oklahoma senior guard John Ontjes, who averages seven assists a game.
"He's a guy who doesn't care about scoring but knows who to get the ball for that to happen," Williams said of Ontjes. "He's a lot like Jacque in that I think his assist ratio is close to 3-1, also."
“If we had not gotten Jacque in that early signing period, he was definitely on my list to really look at,” he said. “He would have been one that we really would have studied and tried to recruit.”
In fact, Williams said that seeing Ontjes in a crimson and blue uniform instead of a red and white one could have been possible.
Ontjes assist to turnover ratio is 2.6-1.
Kansas junior forward Sean Pearson goes up for a layup against Iowa State. Pearson will be one of the Jayhawks who must guard Oklahoma standout Ryan Minor on Saturday when the Sooners come to Allen Field House.
Road games have been a high point for 'Hawks
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team is no stranger to airport terminals and charter bus rides.
And after an undefeated seven-game road swing that spanned from November to January, the No. 15 Jayhawks are back on the road again this weekend. They will take their 16-5 overall record and 6-2 Big Eight Conference record to Boulder, Colo., tonight to face No. 3 Colorado. Then on Sunday, Kansas will square off against Kansas State in Manhattan. The Jayhawks must play at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State next weekend before they return home on Feb. 24.
"It's definitely going to be another challenging series of basketball games, starting out with Colorado, a team that's now ranked third in the nation," Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said.
Neither the road nor the idea of ranked teams should intimidate the Jayhawks. While losing three games in Allen Field House, the Jayhawks are 7-0 on opponents' courts and 2-2 at neutral sites.
Included in Kansas' 16 wins are three victories against nationally ranked teams: Virginia, DePaul and Southern Mississippi. The Jayhawks played two other national powers, dropping a two-point decision to Florida and nearly upsetting No. 1 Connecticut.
The strength of the Jayhawks' schedule should be an advantage when the NCAA hands out national tournament invitations in March, Washington said.
"We've had the most competitive schedule we've had here at Kansas," she said. "And I'm certainly delighted
with the way this young club has responded."
The Jayhawks must respond well this weekend against conference-leading Colorado. The Buffaloes, 8-0 in the Big Eight, have the conference's top team defense, allowing their opponents only 57.1 points a game.
They will come up against the conference's leading offense in the Jayhawks. Kansas, two games behind Colorado in the
Big Eight, is averaging 82.0 points a game.
"The way we're looking now, we've got to beat them twice," Kansas sophomore guard Angie Halbleib said. "We put ourselves in a hole, but we're capable of getting out of it."
Tenight's game will feature two of the Big Eight's top players. Kansas senior forward Amy Aycock, the leading scorer in the Big Eight with a 23.4-point scoring average, will face Colorado senior guard Shelley Sheetz. As the Buffaloes' floor leader, Sheetz averages 12.4 points and 4.4 assists a game.
However, Washington said the play of Colorado's post players, not Sheetz, has made the Buffaloes one of the nation's elite teams. With 6-foot-5 senior center Isabelle Fljalkowski and 6-3 sophomore forward Erin Scholz, Kansas must attack Colorado with a four perimeter, uptempo offense, much like it did against Connecticut.
"The difference will be in the environment," Washington said. "In Kemper Arena, we had a friendly group of people cheering us on and at Colorado, they probably won't be too nice."
Kansas will face a hostile crowd on Sunday in Manhattan as well. K-State will attempt to avenge a 62-73 loss to the Jayhawks earlier this season. But the Wildcats must complete that task without the aid of senior guard Shawnda DeCamp. DeCamp, one of the Big Eight's top scorers, left the team for personal reasons last month. Despite that, Washington said K-State still was able to score.
Tennis teams to be tested by nationally ranked opponents
Richard Devinki / KAN$AN
Kansas Junior Victor Fimbrés works on his forehand during team practice. The men's team will fiftie Iowa tonight and Fresno State tomorrow.
By Robert Moczydlowsky Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas tennis coaches said that this weekend marked the beginning of put-up or shut-up time for their teams.
One glance at their schedules shows that they are right.
"We're about to enter the part of our season where we find out what we are made of," women's coach Chuck Merzbacher said. "From this weekend on, we only play teams that are nationally ranked or near the top of their region. We're entering the meat of our schedule."
Men's coach Michael Center agreed, saying that his team would need to be at the top of its game to continue its success.
The men's team will open weekend play at 6:30 tonight against Iowa at Alvamar Racquet Club. The Hawkeyes boast a strong team, led by
"This weekend is huge for us," Center said. "We've got two huge matches in two days. Both teams have great programs and great players. These matches won't be easy."
senior Bryan Crowley, the No. 35-ranked singles player in the nation.
Kansas senior Manny Ortiz said that the match against Fresno State would be emotional for the Jayhawks.
"Last year, we played them at their place," Ortiz said. "They used their facility to their favor, matching up our fastest players on their bestest courts. We just barely lost, and since then we've really wanted to see them again. This time, it's at our place."
"This will be a match where we need everybody to really play well," Center said. "The week off has given us a chance to be healthy and rested. We're ready."
Fresno State's power is in their singles lineup, where the team is led by No. 9-ranked Frederick Bergh and No. 15-ranked Ivan Keskijn. The highest ranked Jayhawk is senior Martin Eriksson, who is ranked No. 83.
For the No. 10-ranked women, this weekend will be the first of many on the road. Today they travel to Williamsburg, Va., where they will
play No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 26 William and Mary and unranked Marvland.
"All of these teams are very good." Merzbacher said. "We will have to be very intense and very focused. Mistakes against these teams will cost us."
Last week's Rolex National Indoor Tournament gave all but one of the Jayhawks an extra week to prepare. Merzbacher and senior Nora Koves traveled to Dallas for the tournament, leaving the rest of the team a week to practice.
"I told the team to get a lot of rest and really study hard." Mierzbach said. "We're going to be non-stop from here on."
The women's team will be on the road four of the next five weekends. The team will play Syracuse on March 3 in Lawrence.
"These next few weeks will be a real challenge," Merzbacher said. "This is showtime for us."
The men's matches will be 6:30 p.m. today and tomorrow at Alvamar Racquet Club, 4120 Clinton Parkway. Both events are free.