SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8,1995
SECTION B
When the tough get tougher
Two responses exist in describing what transpired Monday night in Stillwater, Okla. The Kansas men's basketball team and fans can either whine about the 79-68 loss to Oklahoma State or learn from the defeat.
ready for the physical — some would say too physical — nature of the game.
The bottom line was that the Cowboys set the tone early, and the Jay
Here is the whining approach.
When Kansas sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn comes out of the game early in the first half with a cut on his forehead, and Oklahoma State center
SPORTS EDITOR
bryant "Big Country" Reeves must get his leg wrapped because of a cut, it is a good guess that many major fouls were not called.
This is not "Fight Night" on the USA network, it is a basketball game. You know — finesse, controlled, sometimes graceful.
At times, this game looked like a rumble under the basket. Obviously, the physical play came from both teams, but the Cowboys started it (sounds like a kid explaining why he threw mud at his neighbor, doesn't it?)
But what are the Jayhawks to do? If Kansas had any hope of winning the game, it had to retaliate and battle at that same physical level. And the Jayhawks did, as Cowboy guard Andre Owens would attest. He sustained a cut under his left eye.
One hates to think it, but it is possible that teams are keying in on Vaughn to the point of playing too physical against him.
This isn't the first instance that Vaughn has been injured due to overly physical play. Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams said he was worried about that possibility after the Colorado game in Allen Field House.
It was the second game this season against the Buffalooes, and in both instances, Vaughn sustained injuries. During the game on Jan. 31, Vaughn twisted his ankle after a Colorado player ran into him in a scuffle for the ball.
"I don't think that they were intentionally going after Jacque," Williams said after the game. "I never thought that tonight. But teams have done that in the past to try and cut down on his efficiency."
Colorado probably isn't a guilty party, but consider this:
Steve Woodberry was obviously Kansas' most important offensive player last season. In a game at Stillwater, Woodberry sustained a cut below his left eye.
Vaughn is the spark plug of this season's offense, and he got roughed up Monday. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Kansas must decide where to go from Monday's battle in Big Countryland. Pouting and bitching is not the answer.
The Jayhawks can learn from this. And they did in the second half, dishing out some of their own punishment and fighting through sometimes illegal screens.
The Cowboys were able to hold off Kansas, but at least the Jayhawks can take positive aspects from the game. It just seemed during Kansas' comeback that something always would stop a Jayhawk spurt.
Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton did a masterful job of calling time-outs and using his bench to quell any momentum that Kansas had built up.
Having Reeves or guard Randy Rutherford hitting key spurt-stopping shots in the end also was to Sutton's advantage.
Whine about it or deal with it, those are the choices.
Many other teams this year will use the same physical philosophy as Oklahoma State. But next time, Kansas will have the experience of Monday's battle.
How well Kansas does in the Big Eight race and ultimately the NCAA tournament will have a lot to do with the Jayhawks' ability to change their style of play.
Either way, the game goes in the "L" column of the conference standings.
Strike affects former Kansas players
Several debate crossing the line
By Tom Erickson Kansan sportswriter
As labor leaders worked with President Clinton yesterday to reach a settlement in the baseball strike, many former Kansas players had a close eye on the developments.
Both outfielder Darryl Monroe, now in the minor leagues with the Detroit Tigers, and second baseman Jeff Berlinger, a member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, may be asked to cross the picket lines and play in the majors as replacement players.
Monroe was drafted by Detroit in June 1994 and played for the
Jamestown (Md.) Jammers, a shortseason, A-level team in the Tigers system. If asked to become a replacement player, he would most likely say no.
"I just plan on going to spring training right now," he said. "That's all I have planned. I want to see and talk to guys in the minor leagues."
Earning a job in the big leagues the regular way is important to Monroe, who played with the Jayhawks from 1991-94.
"Playing in the majors sounds very appealing, but I'm trying to compete for that job legitimately," he said.
Berblinger, who played for Kansas from 1990 to 1993, was taken in the 1993 amateur baseball draft by St. Louis. He then spent the season with their A-level team in Savannah, Ga. He said he thought being a replacement player might hurt his career in the future.
STRIKE: Players and owners met with President Clinton yesterday to continue negotiations. Page 4B
STRIKE: Players and owners met
continue negotiations. Page 4B
"I can't say that I would not do it," he said. "I would like to play baseball for a long time. There is no way you could play later with guys on strike right now."
Berblinger said he most likely would move up in the Cardinals' farm system this spring to the Arkansas Travelers, an AA affiliate in Little Rock, Ark.
Jim Walker, who pitched for Kansas from 1990 to 1993 and now is playing in the Baltimore Orioles system, is in a different situation.
field a team of replacement players if the labor dispute is not resolved. Walker is confident that the strike will end soon.
The Orioles have said they will not
"I really did anticipate something getting done this week," he said. "I kind of think the players will feel the heat and tend to work harder. The same goes for the owners, because the game's status will change with different players."
Because Walker will not have to worry about breaking the picket line, he plans to concentrate on his game. He hopes to be moved up to the AA Bowie (Md.) Baysox this year.
ham said minor league players such as Monroe, Berblinger and Walker are under a lot of pressure.
"I will go to Bowie if they turn me into a reliever," he said. "I kind of want to start so I would have to go back to Frederick, Md. to do that. Either way I've got to do a good job." Kansas baseball coach Dave Bing-
"The minor leaguers have probably been put in the most vulnerable position," he said. "There isn't very much support for the minor league players, if any, from the union. Most of our guys have felt pressure from both sides and not much support from either side."
Bingham said he had been visiting with many of his former players about the strike.
"We spent about three weeks talking about it, and I think they all have a pretty good idea of what they are going to do," he said. "On one side, they don't want to leave the union because they might be there some day. And on the other side, they really want to play. It's sort of a catch-22."
Competition heats up in Big Eight
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase breaks through a crowd of Oklahoma State Cowboys on his way to finishing a layup. Despite Haase's team-high 15 points Monday, the Cowboys won the game 79-69 in Stillwater, OKa.
ANALYSIS
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
Oklahoma State made the Big Eight Conference a little more interesting Monday.
By defeating the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks 79-69 Monday evening at Gallagher-Iba Area in Stillwater, Okla., the No. 2 Cowboys appear to have created a three-way race for the conference title.
Halfway through the 14-game conference schedule, Oklahoma State leads the Big Eight with a 6-1 record, followed by Kansas and No. 13 Missouri with 6-2 and 5-2 records, respectively.
Those three teams appear to be on pace to finish No. 1, 2 and 3 in the conference. But each team could win the title because only one game separates the three.
Since 1990, either the Cowboys, Jayhawks or Tigers have won or shared the regular season conference title.
Oklahoma, at 3-3 in the conference and two, one-half games out of first, still has a chance but would have to go undefeated the remainder of the season.
If the Jayhawks had defeated the Cowbirds on Monday, then Kansas would have had a two-game lead over the rest of the league.
Although Oklahoma State leads Kansas by one-half game, the Jayhawks would appear to have the upper hand because of their remaining schedule. Kansas has three road games and three home games left and is undefeated this season at Allen Field House. Considering that the Jayhawks never have lost at Kansas State's Bramalea Coliseum, Kansas' toughest games would be at Nebraska and Oklahoma.
ed at home this season, but the Cowboys still have road games at Missouri, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and they will finish the conference season at Kansas.
Missouri has lost two games at home and has three road games left, at Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.
Oklahoma State also is undefeat.
But all this speculation could change on any given day or weekend. Missouri will play host tonight to Iowa State and on Saturday to Oklahoma State. And Kansas will play Oklahoma on Saturday in the field house.
If the Tigers and Jayhawks win all of their games, then Kansas would regain first place with the tiebreaker against Missouri because the Jayhawks defeated the Tigers 102-89 on Jan. 9. And so on Monday, the conference standings could be switched completely or remain the same.
Kansas coach Roy Williams, along with most Big Eight coaches, tries to avoid fan and media speculation and concentrate on the game at hand.
The road to a championship
Here are the remaining schedules for the Big Eight's top three teams:
No.24 Oklahoma State
at Missouri
at Iowa state
NEBRASKA
KANSAS STATE
at Oklahoma
IOWA STATE
at Kansas
No.2 Kansas
No. 2 Kansas
OKLAHOMA
at Nebraska
at Kansas State
at Oklahoma
MISSOURI
OKLAHOMA STATE
NO. 12 Missouri
IOWA STATE
OKLAHOMA STATE
at Oklahoma
NEBRASKA
at Kansas
at Colorado
OKLAHOMA
No.13 Missouri
"I've never put a lot of stock in first game, second game, third game or anything like that," he said. "A lot of other people get really caught up in this at home on the road stuff, and I think we ought to play well wherever we are."
- Home games in ALL CAPS Conference Standings
Big 8 Overall
Oklahoma State 6-1 16-6
Kansas 6-2 17-3
Missouri 5-2 16-3
Oklaima 3-3 16-5
Iowa State 3-4 17-5
Nebraska 2-4 15-6
Kansas State 2-6 11-9
Colorado 1-6 10-8
Hopeful Hurdler
Kansals senor
Chad Johnson
warms up for
the
the Kenyan
Kansas senior Chad Johnson
if he Kansas Invitalian.
The track team
is preparing for
this weekend's
Husker invitational
meet in
Lincoln, Neb.
Valerie Crow /
MAMAN
UMass-Rutgers game suspended
President's remarks fuel halftime protest
The Associated Press
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Students protesting racially inflammatory comments by Rutgers president Francis Lawrence staged a halfcourt sit-in last night, causing the suspension of a basketball game between No. 4 Massachusetts and Rutgers.
The protest started with a black female student sitting at the jump-ball circle just before the second half was to begin. Security guards came out to talk to her, but the protest escalated after two minutes. More than 150 students, nearly all black, eventually sat on the floor.
Police and university officials negotiated briefly with the students while the sellout crowd of mostly whites shouted "Get off the court" and "We want hoops" to those on the court.
Atlantic-10 commissioner Linda Bruno, citing safety concerns, ordered
the game suspended 24 minutes later.
Rutgers was leading 31-29.
Attempts to reach Lawrence were not immediately successful last night.
As students sat on the basketball court, several others circled them, carrying banners assailing Lawrence.
"How do we deal with an intellectually disadvantaged president? We fire him," read one.
Lawrence, who was not at the game, has been sharply criticized by many university students and faculty, as well as state legislators, for his comments last fall that minorities don't have the genetic background to do well on college entrance exams.
"The students are not satisfied with the answers they got from president Lawrence," Roselle Wilson, Rutgers' vice president of student affairs, told a television interviewer: "They do want to make this statement in a public way."
Wilson said school officials Monday night heard rumors of a protest and prepared for it by adding extra security. A university policy prohibits removing the protesters as long as they are peaceful.
Wilson said the students had requested a microphone to address the crowd, but were denied because they would not promise to leave if they made the statement.
The contest was declared an "interrupted game," which means it can be continued. Bruno said both coaches wanted to complete the game. How that could be done, or whether Rutgers might have to forfeit, is to be discussed today.
Lawrence's speech in Camden on Nov. 11 was made public last week by members of Rutgers' faculty union.
Lawrence did not question the accuracy of a tape of his speech, but said he didn't mean what he had said and regretted the comment.
On Monday, about a dozen Rutgers administrators, students and the son of Paul Robeson — the actor, singer, civil rights activist and Rutgers graduate held a campus news conference to express their support for Lawrence.
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