SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1995
Acoustic tiles bad for image
SECTION B
A quiet but unsettling change was made to Allen Field House during its renovation in the summer and last fall. Acoustic tiles have been placed in the field house.
in the field house.
Can you believe it, acoustic tiles? For goodness sake, of all the things to put in the historic field house, acoustic tiles could be one of the downright worse things to install.
The tiles were used to cover exposed pipes that were constructed for the
SPORTS EDITOR
new sprinkler system. The system was built in order to comply with new fire code regulations.
But, before anyone gets completely unglued about the tiles, I talked to Darren Cook, Kansas director of facilities, who informed me that the drop-in acoustic ceilings were only used in the east and west lobby of the field house, nowhere near the actual court or seating area.
Now, I know that Kansas athletic department officials would never do anything to hurt our home court advantage, but even putting tiles in the lobby hurts the Jayhawks' intimidating home court image.
Aren't there such things as noncaustical tiles? If not, maybe someone in the Kansas science or engineering departments should invent it. For that matter, maybe someone should invent amplification tiles to make a crowd sound louder.
We shouldn't have anything with the word acoustic in our house. I want Kansas fans to be heard from Manhattan to Paris, France. I want the sound of the crowd to flood out of the doors and spill onto the streets of Lawrence.
If this was to get around to the other Big Eight Conference schools, we would probably be called sisssy fans.
"Oh, what's wrong with those wimpy Kansas fans?" they will say. "They actually put something with the word 'acoustic' in their precious house field. I guess their wimpy ears just can't handle the noise."
We would be branded for life. If wind of this got to Manhattan or Columbia, Mo., the conference might have a vote for Kansas to change its nickname to the Gentle Jayhawks or something wimpy like that. We might actually have to add ear muffs to our Jayhawk mascot.
Just having something, no matter how meaningless and insignificant, that absorbs noise in the field house hurts its mystique and harshness to opposing teams when they are exposed to the raucous Kansas crowd noise.
And as for esthetics, I couldn't give a hoot if I can see exposed water pipes. If I wanted to look at something that was pleasing to the eye, I would have gone to the Lied Center.
When I go to the field house I want loud, harsh, deafening noise. In fact, I've accomplished something if I leave a game feeling nauseated from yelling so much.
I wasn't able to go to the Kansas-Nebraska game Monday night, but it was obvious that our house was rocking. It was great to hear the ESPN commentator say that he could barely hear himself think, let alone talk. He also said that our little Lawrence treasure had an eerie feel to it.
And before the game Dick Vitale, the excitable and sometimes obnoxious color announcer for ESPN, said the field house was one of the two toughest places to play for an opposing team. The other was Cameron Indoor Stadium, home of the Duke Blue Devils. He wasn't even at the game in Lawrence — now that is something special.
I don't care what the building looks like, or sounds like for that matter, as long as nothing is done to hurt its atmosphere or its mystique. Renovations are great, but sometimes those "improvements" can be a negative instead of a positive.
But let's think about what changes we make to the historic building now while it still lives and breathes college basketball.
It is sad but true that we may not have our field house for very long. It's getting old, 40 years old to be exact. And like everything else, old things must be replaced eventually.
&
'Hawks warn Tigers: watch out
Women's team looks to recover
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
After two weekend losses, the Kansas women's basketball team has issued a warning to the Missouri Tigers.
"I think that they better watch out," sophomore guard Tamecka Dixon said of the team's next opponent.
Kansas faces off against Missouri at 7 p.m. tonight in Columbia, Mo., and the Jayhawks enter the game looking to recover and get back on the winning track after setbacks to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
The losses ended the Jayhawk's seven-game winning streak and pushed their record to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in the Big Eight Conference. The Tigers will bring an 11-5 overall record and a 2-3 Big Eight record into the game.
After a lackluster team effort against the Sooners on Friday, Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said she was pleased with her team's intensity and enthusiasm in its loss to the Cowboys.
The Jayhawks, who dropped to No. 17 in this week's Associated Press women's basketball poll, played intense defense the entire game and stepped up their offense in the second half.
souri." Washington said. "It's the kind of effort that's going to help us win more ball games than what we will lose."
"I think we'll take this effort to Mis-
The Missouri game is Kansas' final warm-up before the Jayhawks face the No.1 Connecticut Huskies on Saturday. The game is the first half of the PowerBar Shootout at Kemper Arena in kansas City, Mo. The women's nationally televised game will precede a game pitting the men's basketball teams from Kansas and UConn against one another.
Despite the advance billing surrounding the PowerBar Shootout, the Jayhawks are keeping tonight's game in perspective, Kansas sophomore forward Shelly Canada said.
"I think the main thing we need to focus on is the Big Eight race," she
Missouri is led this year by junior forward Erika Martin. Martin has the conference's second highest scoring average with 19.9 points a game. Martin's average is second only to Kansas senior forward Angela Aycock's 22.9.
Kansas also should be motivated by memories of last year. The Jayhawks managed only one win last season in their three meetings against the Tigers. Missouri defeated the Jayhawks 78-77 in Columbia and 72-66 in the first round of the Big Eight Tournament in Salina.
"Our veteran players are definitely thinking about last year and the losses to Missouri in Salina as well as their place," Dickson said. "It won't take much for us to get up for the game."
said. "That's a lot more important than one game against UConn."
This year, the Jayhawks are large in the paint:
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Kansas freshman forward Raef LaFrentz, above, has joined an already tall Jayhawk frontcourt, including senior Greg Oortstag, below, a 7-foot-2 center.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
The Jahawks' collection of big men is one of the reasons why Kansas is ranked No. 7 in the country and has an overall record of 14-2 and 4-1 in the Big Eight Conference.
— the heads of senior center Greg Ostertag, sophomore forward Scott Pollard and freshman forward Raef LaFrentz, who stand 7-foot-2, 6-11 and 6-10 respectively.
By Christoph Fuhrmans Kansan sportswriter
Ostertag, Pollard and LaFrentz account for 38 percent of Kansas' offense, 46 percent of its rebounds and 77 percent of its blocked shots. And Pollard said that he knew how the stats broke down among the three players.
"We all know Greg is going to get the most blocks and Raef the most points," he said. "I just try to pick up somewhere."
When fans and opponents watch the Kansas,Jawhaws play, three things stick out
Usually, one player has picked up his play each game for the Jayhawks, which is why Kansas is so formidable.
"If one guy has a bad game then the other two will just step it up," LaFrentz said. "Any one of us could step up in a game and carry the load. That's the great thing about having three big men."
Kansas BIG MEN
Not only do the three big men help each other out, but their menacing presence on the defensive end of the floor also has helped the rest of the Jawhaws.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said that having a shot blocker in Ostertag and two other post players 6-10 and higher allowed other players to overplay the passing lanes more for steals.
Another benefit of having the three big men has been the friendships that have developed. LaFrentz said that despite the competition between the three during practice, they had become good friends.
If Ostertag blocks seven shots Saturday against Connecticut at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo., he will pass former Oklahoma star Stacey King to become the all-time best shot blocker in the Big Eight.
"Greg Gurley named us 'The Fun Bunch' because we get a long so well off the court," he said.
"Off the court we have a great time together," he said.
Ostertag, Pollard and LaFrentz will need to continue their great play Saturday when Kansas takes on undefended No. 2 Connecticut. Although the Huskies front line is not as imposing as the Jayhawks, Connecticut does have junior center Travis Knight. Knight, at 7-0 and 220 pounds, is the team's leading rebounder at 8.5 a game and averages 8.6 points.
But even with the bunch's ability to dominate a game, Ostertag, Pollard and LaFrentz are still friends having a good time together.
In fact, the three have such a great time that other players have teased the large trio about their behavior. Ostertag said.
"Coach Williams called us the three goofs," LaFrenz said.
As the senior member of "The Fun Bunch." Ostertag said he did not need to teach the younger Pollard and LaFrentz anything about college basketball.
"I haven't had to because they are such great players" he said.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore center Scot Pollard finishes a slam dunk against the Iowa State Cyclones. Pollard is the shortest of the Jayhawks' three bigmen at 6-foot-10.
Noah Musser/KANSAN
Men's swimmer may compete for Greece in Olympics
Kansan sportswriter
By Tom Erickson
Kansas freshman swimmer Konstantinos "Kostaki" Chilligiris arrived at college a semester late.
He was not sitting at home watching television or taking it easy, however. Instead, Chiligris was in Greece swimming with the national team.
The team took a world championship in September.
"So I was waiting to swim there, but we didn't swim, so I just went to the islands." he said.
Now, as a member of the Kansas swimming team, Chiligiris' skills already have been put to work.
At a dual against Minnesota on Jan. 14, his first meet as a Jayhawk, Chilligiris placed third in the 200-meter freestyle, fourth in the 200-meter backstroke and was on the tandem that finished first in the 400-meter freestyle relay.
Chiligris said his races in Minnesota went well and he felt ready for Friday's meet with Iowa State and Arkansas.
"It was good for my first meet," he said. "I think that this weekend I'll go a lot faster. I was kind of scared because it was my first college dual meet ever."
.
Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf said Chilgris had fit in well.
"Kostaki has been a really good addition to us this year," Kempf said. "He came into us in good shape, and therefore he has been able to have a real positive impact on our program right away."
Kempf said he was not upset about getting Chiligiris in mid-season.
"We didn't really know he was coming here until November," he said. "He didn't commit until then. It was just that we stayed with him and believed in him and felt a change would be good for him."
Although Chiligiris was born and raised in Decatur, III, he has spent the past three summers with his father's family in Greece, where he has dual
Soccer also is a favorite pastime for Chiligiris. He earned four letters in the sport in high school and still plays
"My mom said I could play hockey or swim," he said. "I thought diving boards and stuff would be fun, but I've just been swimming, so there's no diving."
"Next summer I will swim in the European Championships for Greece, he said. "If I make the cut there, I will go to the Olympics."
Chiligris first set foot in the pool at age 5.
citizenship. He plans to return this summer to swim on the Greece national team and try to make the 1996 Olympic team.
for fun and exercise.
"When he was little his father was killed by the Nazis," he said. "His mom had to raise seven kids and he was the youngest, so it was kind of hard for him. When he got here he was working three jobs and just doing anything he could to make some money."
"it's more a hobby, he said. "When I
was home last fall I played a lot."
Chiligrish said his father, George,
was the person he most admired.
With such a busy schedule, Chilidris has not chosen a major yet.
"I don't have any other interests right now but swimming and going to the Olympics," Chiligris said.
1