SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1995
SECTION B
A COACH'S DILEMMA
Williams says Jayhawks still can improve
By Christoph Fuhrmans Kansan sportswriter
Halfway through the Big Eight Conference season, the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks have a 16-2 overall record and are 5-1 in the conference with a two-game lead over Iowa State.
"I'm not satisfied because I
Although Kansas coach Roy Williams said he was pleased with his team's success, he wanted more.
want us to get better," he said. "I want us to be on a journey. I want us to be better next week than we are this week."
Since conference play began on Jan. 7, the Jayhawks have improved each week to lead the Big Eight in scoring offense, scoring margin and rebounding margin.
"I'd give ourselves a solid B because I think there still is room for improvement," said Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase. "But I also think we've come a long way."
Williams said he already knew which areas the Jayhawks needed to improve in.
"I'd like for us to become more aggressive in our movement of our big guys inside," he said. "I'd like us to be a little more conscientious shooting the ball in the basket."
Kansas has been consistent in holding conference teams to a low field goal percentage. The Jayhawks have held conference foes to 40 percent shooting and trail only Oklahoma State, with 39 percent, in field goal percentage defense.
Besides the team's success, Williams said he also was pleased with the improvement of junior forward Sean Pearson and freshman forward Raef LaFrentz.
"Sean has gotten to the point now that I think that he could miss two or three shots and it would not bother him as much as it did early in the season," Williams said. "I'm more and more pleased each week with Raef on the defensive end of the floor and his rebounding. He's got to become a little more confident and aggressive at the same time on the offensive end."
With eight conference games remaining, the Jayhawks are confidently in the driver's seat for the conference regular season championship. However, injuries and road games at Nebraska, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could knock Kansas out of first place.
Although Kansas still has to play at Kansas State, the Jayhawks never have lost in Bramage Coliseum.
So far Kansas has been lucky with injuries. LaFrentz, Haase and sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn all have had minor injuries. LaFrentz and Haase both have been kicked in the shin and sustained deep bruises. Vaughn's injuries are more recent, spraining his right ankle on Tuesday against Colorado.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Williams said LaFrentz had recovered from his bruise, and Haase would sit out practice today and yesterday. Haase will return to practice tomorrow.
Vaughn's ankle was x-rayed yesterday and preliminary reports showed it was OK, Williams said.
Conference dominance
The Kansas men's basketball team leads the conference with a 5-1 record.Here are the Jayhawks' rankings in major Big Eight Conference categories:
Category rank stat
Scoring offense First 84
Margin of victory First +8.8
Field-goal percentage Second 50 percent
Three-point percentage Second 38 percent
Scoring defense Third 75.2
Field-goal percentage defense Second 40 percent
Rebound margin First +6.8
The Kansas women's basketball team has had seven players start at any given time this season. Sophomore guard Tamecka Dixon, No. 33 above, has started three games, and senior guard/forward Angela Aycock, No. 12 below, has started every game this season.
Kansas coach Marian Washington has the pleasant problem this season of picking starters from a team of high scorers
And the Jayhawk lineup is...
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Necessity is the mother of invention for Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington.
On Saturday when No.1 Connecticut downed the Jayhawks 97-87, the Huskies' height advantage forced Washington to change her starting lineup. Connecticut lists seven players 6-foot tall or taller, including a 6-7 center.
Washington said she decided to start four players with perimeter shooting capabilities after watching film of Connecticut's victory against then-No.1 Tennessee. Tennessee has one of the best inside games Washington has seen, and it was contained by the Huskies.
"I thought to myself, we've got players with the heart of a lion, but they're just not that big or experienced," she said. "I had to take on the offensive."
Washington did just that. In addition to sophomore forward Jennifer Trapp, Kansas started four outside shooters: senior forward Angela Aycock, junior guard Charlie Sampson and sophomore guards Tamecka Dixon and Xion Halbleib.
Combined, the four players scored 85 of the Jayhawks' 87 points against the Huskies and nearly upset the nation's top team.
"If that's what works, Coach may stay with it," Sampson said of Saturday's starting lineup. "She is going to do whatever it takes to win."
Although Aycock and Sampson have started all of the Jayhawks' games this season, the Connecticut game marked only Dixon's third start this year. After starting a game early in the season, Washington said Dixon was not handling the starting position well. Junior guard Brenda Moffit became the starting point guard.
"She was not the quarterback I needed." Washington said of Dixon.
After her slow start, Dixon reentered the Jahayhaws' starting lineup at Missouri with a vengeance. She had 16 points against the Tigers before exploding for a game-high and career-high 30 points against the Huskies. Aycock and Sampson followed Dixon on Saturday with 29 and 19 points respectively.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Another Jayhawk gaining momentum is Halbleib, who started her first game of the year Saturday. Washington said she never questioned Halbleib's offensive power but had not started her in the past because of her defensive skills.
"She'sstarting toget herconfidence back."Sampson said of Dixon.
You can't score 20 points and then give up 24," Washington said. "I look for five players that will establish a tempo for us."
Halbleib said she has been working to improve her defense in practice and games. Playing better defense comes with confidence, which Halbleib said she got by starting Saturday's game.
"it really doesn't matter to me, though," she said of starting.
Despite Washington's confidence
Kansas junior guard Charisse Sampson drives in the lane for a layup against Connecticut. Sampson scored 19 points against the Huskies on Saturday.
Decisions decisions
The Kansas women's basketball team's top five scorers and the number of the 1.9 total games they've started:
| player | games | pts/g |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Angela Aycock | 19 | 23.2 |
| Charisse Sampson | 19 | 16.2 |
| Angle Halbleib | 1 | 10.8 |
| Tamecka Dixon | 3 | 10.5 |
| Shelly Canada | 18 | 6.1 |
in Halbleib's offense, she scored only seven points against Connecticut, her lowest point production in eight games.
Habbleib had scored in double figures for seven consecutive games, including 20 points against Oklahoma and 21 against Oklahoma State.
Washington said the Huskies were lucky Halbleib did not produce like that on Saturday.
"Had Angie Hallebib been on, it would have been a whole different ball game," Washington said.
Seeing different faces, such as Halleib's, in Kansas' starting line-up is not anything new. Seven players have graced Washington's lineup card throughout the season. Washington said she not only looks for players that are performing well, but also for team chemistry.
"I'm looking for people that play well together, but they may not always be your best five players," she said. "But because they work so well as a unit, they're the best team you can put out there."
Texas, Texas A&M set to make waves in Big 12
The addition of Southwest Conference teams to the Big Eight Conference in 1996 will make Kansas a more attractive school for recruiting purposes.
By Tom Erickson
Kansan sportswriter
When the Big Eight Conference expands into the Big 12 in the fall of 1996, only six schools will be competing in men's and women's swimming.
Nationally ranked Texas and Texas A&M are set to join current Big Eight swimming teams from Missouri, Iowa State, Nebraska and Kansas.
The teams may be small in number, but the competition will be great.
Kansas coach Gary Kempf said he is pleased about the upcoming merger.
"I like it," he said. "Anytime you bring in Texas and Texas A&M in, it can do nothing but help your conference."
Don Fearon, Kansas diving coach, agreed.
SWIMMING
"The addition of Texas and Texas A&M will strengthen the field of diving in the conference," he said.
The Jayhawks hope to include the Longhoms and Aggies as a part of their non-conference schedule in the 1995-96 season. Kempf said that next year's schedule still was not determined at this time.
The Kansas diving teams have seen both schools already this season. The Jayhawks competed against divers from Texas and Texas &AM at the Austin Cup in January and faced the Aggies at the Nebraska Invitational last November.
Fearon said Kansas had done a good job matching up with the soon-to-be conference foes.
"We did well against them at the Austin Cup," he said. "Both Kris Hoffman and Michelle Rojohn compete with their guys and girls, and we will see them again at the NCAA zone meet."
Unlike football and basketball, which
plan to have two divisions in the big 12, there will be only one for swimming, Kempf said. The conference championships, which are held each year in Oklahoma City, Okla., will rotate between Austin, Texas, College Station, Texas and Oklahoma City.
Another adjustment will have to be made in diving competition. Fearon said.
made in diving competition, Fearon said.
"The Southwest Conference has platform diving as an event," he said. "No decisions have been made, but it looks like it will be only an exhibition event."
Kansas currently does not compete in platform diving and has no plans to change its program to do so, Fearonsaid.
"We don't have the facilities here," he said. "The nearest platform is about 40 miles away."
Putting the championships in two of the teams' home pools does not bother or intimidate either coach.
4
"I want to go wherever there is fast
water," Kempf said. "If Lone Star Lake was fast, I would want to swim it there."
Fearon is confident that the sites will not favor either Texas or Texas A&M.
Kempf said his program's recruiting strategy will not change with the new conference.
"We recruit nationwide anyway," he said. "It gives us one of the most powerful conferences in the country and will only make Kansas more attractive."
Both the Longhorns and Aggies are currently ranked in the College Swimming Coaches Association Top 25 poll. The Texas men are No.4 and the women are No.6. The Texas A&M women hold the No.24 spot and the men are at No.25.
"Their facilities are both grade A," he said. "Texas A&M is having a new facility built that will be ready in 1996. We usually get to places early enough to get ready to compete so it will not be too much of an advantage."
Change is good ...
With the addition of four Texas schools to the Big Eight Conference, all Kansas sports will be affected. Here is a summary of the changes for swimming when the Big 12 Conference begins competition in fall 1996:
.
Texas and Texas A&M will Join Big Eight Conference programs Missouri, Iowa State, Nebraska and Kansas in swimming competition.
The conference championships, cur rently held in Oklahoma City, will rotate between Austin, Texas, College Station, Texas, and Oklahoma City.
With only six schools participating in varsity swimming, the Big 12 will have one division rather than the two, which will be used for football and bas ketball.