SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY. DECEMBER 2. 1994
SECTION B
'Hawks looking to gun down Minutemen
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn attempts a shot in the lane against the Victorian All-Stars. Despite suffering an abdominal injury earlier this week, Vaughn is expected to start this Saturday.
Kansas will use height against No.1 UMass
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas hopes to give the No. 1-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen a nightmare.
And the Jayhawks are praying for anything but a rude awakening.
Tip-off time will be 12:10 p.m. in Anaheim, Calif. The game will be televised on NBC. Channel 41.
The Jayhawks will be ready to play despite the early game time, said sophomore guard Jerod Haase.
"I'll be OK," he said. "I'll make sure I get my sleep. I enjoy that—get up, and get going."
And Kansas definitely will have to get up and go going to compete with Massachusetts, a team with few weaknesses. From Massachusetts coach John Calipari to the men on the roster, The Minutemen are experienced and have a style of basketball that is just as intense on the defensive end of the court as it is on the offensive end.
"They have some marquee players in Louis Roe, Marcus Camby, Michael Williams and Danta Bright," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "They've really got some big-time players. John does a good job in his style of play that fits to team very well."
The No. 7 Jayhawks will play a team that even Williams ranked as the top team in the country.
But to Williams, a No. 1-ranking means little. Kansas will treat Massachusetts just like any other team, he said.
"We've been No. 1 a couple of times, and last year we were No. 1 for about 24 hours," he said. "From a coaching standpoint, I'm not looking at Massachusetts any different this year than I looked at Massachusetts last year."
Then again, Kansas cann't but look at the Minutenen a little differently this year. It's Massachusetts' turn to be healthy.
Sophomore center Camby, who injured his knee in a semifinal victory over North Carolina in the preseason National Invitational Tournament, will be on the court to battle the Jayhawks. Camby didn't play last season when Kansas defeated the Minutemen 86-75 in the tournament's championship game.
And Kansas isn't exactly healthy now. Sophomore point guard Jacque Vaughn is recovering from an abdominal strain, and senior guard Greg Gurley is getting over a case of laryngitis.
That has made this week's basketball practices difficult to get through, Haase said.
"There aren't as many substitutes in practice, and that takes a toll on you," he said. "But the main difference about Jacque not practicing the past couple days is the intensity level. He brings a lot of emotion to practice, not just for the guards but for the whole team."
The Jayhawks didn't begin working on a game strategy until practice Wednesday. A defensive plan was in the making, though. The idea is to shut down players such as Massachusetts senior forward Roe, who led his team with 34 points and 13 rebounds against Arkansas, Williams said.
"In the Arkansas game, he played with the intensity and energy that guys on a mission play with," he said. "He was phenomenal. He's probably about 6-foot-6, but he played about 7-6 in that game. He was vicious."
The Jayhawks are youngsters compared to the Minutemen. Other than Camby, Massachusetts features a team of seniors and juniors with the desire to make it further than their NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 finish last season.
Kansas might be younger than Massachusetts, but its advantage is a frontcourt taller than 6-foot-9, and the unselfish players handing out assists in the backcourt.
Kansas will put up a fight, Williams said.
"We don't match up with them athletically at all." Williams said.
"And they probably don't match up with us size-wise. If the athleticism decides anything, we're in trouble. If size decides the game, we're in better shape."
Kansas vs. No.1: The History
The Jayhawks are 2-1 against No. 1-ranked teams in the Roy Williams era.
March 27, 1993 — at St. Louis, Mo.
Kansas 83. Indiana 77
Alist of those games:
March 10, 1990—at Kansas City, Mo.
Oklahoma 95. Maeana 77
Nov. 22, 1989—at New York City Kansas 91. UNLV 77
Kansas Sports Information
Kansas could beat Minutemen with team unity as ammunition
KANSAN
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Massachusetts' major weakness might be one of Kansas' greatest strengths.
Kansas will face the Minutemen at 12:10 p.m. CST tomorrow in Anaheim, Calif.
No. 1-ranked Massachusetts arguably has some of the best, most experienced talent in the nation.
But before that talent can flower, the Minuteum need to develop some form of team unity, Massachusetts coach Jim Caliari said earlier this season.
"The biggest thing is that every player has to buy into the chemistry we need as a team," Calipari said. "We didn't buy into it all the time last year. The guys wanted to do their own thing."
Rumors foretell another season of a team lacking cohesion.
Last Friday, Massachusetts came out and took the No. 1 ranking away from Arkansas with little problem in a 104-80 win. In that game, Massachusetts senior Lou Roe turned in a 34-point, 13-rebound game. Roe said that outplaying Razorback senior Corliss Williamson
had been his motivation for the game.
Williamson was the leading vote-getter in the preseason for the All-American team. However, against Massachusetts, Williamson turned in only a 15-point performance hitting four of 11 from the floor.
"I wanted to go out and prove I am one of the premier players in the country also." Roe said.
At Amherst, Mass., it's every Minute-man for himself.
But not at Kansas.
There is exceptional unity on this year's Jayhawk team, Kansas sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn said. The different personnel with youth, height and depth has created a different attitude.
"We're very close knit. We already have a close family bond," Vaughn said. "Everyone knows they're a vital part of the team. Everyone knows they have to contribute and do their part for this to be a successful season."
Instead of taking the outside shot, Kansas sophomore guards Jerod Haase and Jacque Vaughn are smart enough and unselfish enough to look inside for the easy two in the middle. Those points
come from the Kansas big men, senior center Greg Ostertag, sophomore forward Scot Pollard and freshman forward RaefLAFrentz.
"Jacque really did a good job of distributing the ball," Williams said of Vaughn's 11 assists in Saturday's game against San Diego University.
"Jacque's an intelligent young man, and if you are intelligent, you play to your strengths. His strength is finding the open man and getting the ball inside to the guys."
Starting Lineups
Kansas(1-0)
no. player pos. ht. wt. class
21 Sean Pearson F 6-5 210 Jr.
Raef LaFrentz C-F 6-11 270 Fr.
Greg Oestaget T 6-2 270 Fr.
11 Jacque Vaughn G 6-1 195 So.
13 Joer Haase G 6-1 185 So.
4 Donta Bright F 6-6 205 Jr.
15 Lou Roe F 6-7 210 Jr.
2 Marcus Camby C 6-11 215 So.
12 Edgar Padilla C 6-11 165 So.
Massachusetts (1-0)
Senior center Greg Ostertago goes up to block a shot by a Victorian All-Star. In Kansas's most recent game, defeated San Diego 83-65 last Saturday in Allen Field
Sean R. Crosier / KANSAN
Freshman guard Jennifer Dietierich defends sophomore guard Tamecka Dixon as Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington looks on.
'Hawks' goal: To clean up at the Dial Classic
'Hawks' go Kansas to tip off at 8 tonight in Allen
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
The teams in this weekend's Dial Soap Basketball Classic might not be Virginia or Florida, but the Kansas women's basketball team is not taking its competition lightly.
The Jayhawks are coming off last weekend's 2-1 performance in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. They defeated unranked Hawaii and No. 8-ranked Virginia, and lost by two points to No. 15 Florida.
Tonight and Saturday Kansas will play host to the Dial Classic. Howard and Illinois State will tip off the tournament at 6 p.m. tonight in Allen Field House. Kansas will face the Eastern Washington Eagles at 8 p.m.
Even though No. 16 Kansas is the only ranked team in the Dial Classic,
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said it had been tough getting back into a normal routine after the tournament in Hawaii. However, she did not expect a let-down.
"They're going to be a very fine opener," Washington said of Eastern Washington.
"People are going to be really looking to heat us." Canada said.
sophomore forward Shelly Canada said the Jayhawks could not underestimate the other teams.
The Eagles already have played in two tough games this season, Washington said. They played a close game with the Washington Huskies, who are ranked No. 8 nationally.
This week's light practice schedule has allowed the team to rest for this weekend, said senior forward Angela Avcock.
Canada and fellow sophomore forward Jennifer Trapp had the task of guarding players from Virginia and Florida who were several inches taller than them.
Washington said that facing a team of Kansas' caliber would not be unusual for the Eagles.
Canada said she played physical defense against those players. Besides trying to keep them out of the lane, she also utilized her speed to defend taller opponents.
Playing physically is a strain, Canada said. By spending time in the weight room throughout the season, Canada hoped to build up her endurance.
Physically, the Jayhawks should
match up well with the Eagles' post players, who measure around 6-feet tall. That was not the case in the Rainbow Wahine Classic.
All of the Jayhawks' hard work paid off against Virginia in their first round game last weekend.
Kansas defeated the Cavaliers, 86-84.
"I if I get to where I'm not going to get tired doing that, they're going to be tired at the end of the game," she said.
"You would've thought we'd won the national championship," Canada said. "That was the biggest confidence booster in the world."
Even though Aycock led Kansas with a career-high 30 points in the Virginia game, junior guard Charisse Sampson said the entire team contributed during the tournament.
Playing as a team will help take some of the burden off Aycock and will be a key throughout the season, Sampson said.
"That tournament let us know what we really can do," she said.
The winners of tonight's games will play in the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday, following the 4 p.m. consolation game.