SPORTS VERSITY DAILY KANS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1. 1994
COLUMNIST
The chase for number one KU vs U Mass #1 Skipout at the progn
SECTION I
This game against Massachusetts will result in the first of many upsets that I see in Kansas' future... Kansas 86, UMass 83.
GERRY FEY
Minutemen jackrabbits with guns
Am I worried? Nay.
Let's talk about what Minutemen are.
Are they missiles? Are they a new kind of instant rice?
After Kansas plays the Minutemen, it faces Coppin State, an NCAA tournament team; Florida, a Final Four team; Indiana at Bloomington, Ind. (need I say more?); and Connecticut, a team that upset Duke Tuesday.
Stop guessing. It is the name of the nation's No. 1 men's basketball team
— the Massachusetts Minutemen — loaded with as much firepower as any cruise missile and scoring faster than you can say Uncle Ben's.
This team didn't just defeat Arkansas to gain the nation's top ranking, it dominated the Razorbacks 104-80. Trust me, this score doesn't even begin to describe the beating Arkansas took.
And the Kansas Jayhawks play this powerhouse on Saturday. Oh boy.
It's amazing what Massachusetts has done in such a short time. Under Coach John Calipari this team has gone from a laughing stock in a questionable Atlantic-10 conference to a dominant national power.
Were the Minutemen overrated, beginning the season at No. 3? Some said yes.
When I mentioned Massachusetts to some of my friends and coworkers at Kansas, I got snickers and jokes. I didn't believe the ranking myself.
This is not the same team that the Jayhawks beat convincingly 86-75 in last year's preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden in New York City. That victory gave Kansas the NIT title.
The Minutenete are a tough team. Beware Jiahawk backers.
Massachusetts has a senior named Lou Roe, an unbelievable power forward at 6-foot-7. He will act as a force defensively. He will pull down offensive and defensive rebounds, not to mention the fact that he can run the floor.
Speaking of running, the Minute-men are quick.
Imagine jackrabbits with shot guns — they may be inaccurate occasionally, but when those rabbits get hot, the score will multiply past the century mark.
But don't fret yet, my fellow Jayhawk fans.
If there is any team in the country that can cool down a hot fast-break opponent, it is Kansas.
Kansas coach Roy Williams has seen and beaten teams like this before. Remember high-powered UNLV in 1989, Williams' second year as coach? The Running Rebels were no match for the Jayhawks' half-court, precision game, and Kansas controlled the contest 91-77.
That is exactly the kind of game Kansas will have to play against the Minutemen — a controlled half-court tempo. Very few teams in the nation can match up physically with forward Raef LaFrentz, center Scot Pollard and center Greg Ostertag.
All three players are taller than 6-foot-10 and all of them play above the rim.
As long as the court general, sophomore point guard Jacque Vaughn, can stay cool, calm and collected, Kansas has a chance to win Saturday.
But once the game's tempo turns into a track meet, I need someone to tap me when the game is over...because I will have my eyes shut. If a team with Arkansas' athletic ability can't keep up with Massachusetts, I know for a fact that we can't.
Jayhawk fans, keep your fingers crossed because December will be a nonconference schedule full of turbulence and hard landings.
'Hawks prepare to face nation's best
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase is guarded by former Kansas player Eric Pauley, Haase, a transfer from California, has already played against San Diego and will play Saturday in Anahiem, Calif.
Kansas motivated by playing No.1
By Chesiey Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Roy Williams knows that a victory this weekend against the No. 1 team in the nation will take a little something extra.
"A lot of practicing and praying — that's all we can do," Williams said. "Practicing to get better, praying for Jacout to get better and praying for Saturday morning.
That's all we're doing."
Williams said Massachusetts was a team that deserved its top ranking. Massachusetts is one of the most athletic teams in the country with some of the most experienced talent and one of the nation's best young coaches. They play with intensity on
both ends of the court, and that's hard to match. Williams said.
"They play with a frenzy. They have the athleticism, and they have the depth. They have a philosophy or style that fits their players. They guard you, they block shots, they're aggressive on the offensive boards," Williams said.
Roy Williams Kansas men's basketball coach
point guard Jacque Vaughn is out with an abdominal strain.
Kansas defeated the Minutesmen last year in the Preseason NIT Tournament championship by 11 points. However, the circumstances are a little different this year.
Kansas was No.1 for a short time last year. The Jayhawks have experienced the hype and the media coverage when there is a No. 1 team playing and a top
wanns said it was almost scary thinking about playing the Minutemen, considering what it did to Arkansas.
"What they did to Arkansas — it was a shock the way they did it," he said. "I don't know that I was shocked that they won the game, because I thought both teams were going to be very good. But it was the margin and really how easy it seemed for them."
And Kansas isn't 100-percent healthy. Senior guard Greg Murley is recovering from a form of laryngitis, and sophomore
Nearly all of the Minutemen have returned, and Marcus Camby, who contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds in last week's 104-80 trouncing of Arkansas, will be on the court for the Minutemen this time.
But that won't affect the way Kansas will compete against No. 1 this time. It might even help the Jayhawks intensity playing in front of 18,000 fans in The Pond in Anaheim, Calif.
"UMass is one; we're seven," Williams said. "If we can go and compete our tail off and
do the kind of things I think we can do. I think we can gain from it. Hopefully, we can learn something, not only from our game but also the whole big-time atmosphere of the Classic."
The Kansas basketball team knows the season is young, but the players said they weren't intimidated by the fact they will play the country's top team. Kansas is treating it as more of an honor, sophomore guard Jerod Haase said.
Freshman point guard C.B. McGrath, who played at Topeka West High School last season, was a little more in awe the matchup with the Minutemen. He said he never imagined he would ever compete against a team of this caliber.
"They're great athletes," McGrath said. "There's no comparison. The intensity, they're speed, athletic ability, it's just amazing. I never thought about playing anybody like that last year."
Weekend foe doesn't worry Haase
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Despite a successful freshman season starting in California's backcourt with Jason Kidd two years ago, Haase said he wasn't happy as a Golden Bear.
Jerod Haase is quick enough to outmaneuver the best of them — but he can't seem to shake the state of California.
But, he said, since his transfer to Kansas, he had been impressed with the Jayhawk basketball "team" philosophy.
"I feel like everyone's on the same page here," Haase said. "It's a different system at Kansas — I feel like I fit in here."
The sophomore guard from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., certainly does fit in at Kansas — so well that he's starting at the off-guard position this season.
Under NCAA eligibility guidelines, Haase sat out all of last year. He practiced with the Jayhawks, but then he took his seat on the bench for games.
"It's going to be exciting. I have a lot of friends that go to school there in L.A., and my mom's going to the game again. It's neat to be back there in California. It's a long ways away, and it's still a long way from Tahoe, but it'll be good to be back and see the beach."
Sitting out a year to switch basketball programs would seem to create restlessness and dissatisfaction in many players, but Haase said he held no hard feelings against California.
That's good for Hase because this year, California is back to haunt him.
Hasee said that nearly his entire family was in Kansas for Thanksgiving and in
Haase's first game at Kansas came against San Diego last Saturday. In a game against a homestate team, he scored 12 points and had three assists and three rebounds.
"It (the trip home) makes it that much easier to get pumped up for a game," he said. "There's no hesitation on my part. I love a challenge like that. It doesn't intimidate me, and I don't think it intimidates any of the players."
With sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn suffering from a strained shoulder and listed as questionable for the Massachusetts game, Haase said the Kansas backcourt would have to pull together.
Haase said there would be some distractions going back home, but he said it would be easy to stay focused on the game.
Tonight he and the Jayhawks are flying west to California to play the No.1-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen at the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif.
"C.B. (McGrath) will step in and do a good job for us. The great thing about this team is that if one player gets hurt it isn't going to destroy everything. I think that's one of our strong suits."
Allen Field House for his first official game as a Javhawk.
"They had a great time, and they loved every minute of it. I don't think they'd ever seen anything like it," he said.
VAUGHN UPDATE
Kansanstaffreport
Guard temporarily out of commission
Sophomore point guard Jacque Vaughn is known for his twisting and turning in finding the open man for the assist. But he may have done a little too much of that against San Diego.
Vaughn hasn't practiced since the San Diego game, when he suffered an abdominal strain late in the second half. His recovery will be somewhat slow. Kansas coach Roy Williams said.
"The recklessness he plays with and the contortions he puts his body through—that's his game," he said.
Kansas trainer Mark Cairns told Williams that Vaughn's injury wouldn't heal if he continued to practice with his usual level of intensity and activity. The best thing for Vaughn to do in order to heal, Cairns told Williams, was to sit out three weeks. But it's the kind of injury that could heal and be aggrated again.
Kansas swimmers make special preparations for meet
Sean Crosier / KANSAN
Marc Bontrager practices at Robinson Center. Beginning today, the Kansas Swimming and diving team will participate in the Speedo Cup East at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
When it comes to training and hair, less is better for the Kansas swimming and diving team.
The Jayhawks begin competition today in the Speedo cup East at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. As the last meet of the fall season, this is a taper and shave meet for the swimmers.
"The way I feel in the water pretty much determines how I swim," he said. "The tapering and shaving makes me feel 100 percent better in the water."
Sophomore freestyle and back-stroker Eric Burton said shaving benefited him mentally and physically.
To taper, the swimmers have gradually reduced their bulk yardage in practice. Before they began tapering, team members trained hard right up to each meet, which left them physically exhausted. Tapering should leave the jayhawks rested for this weekend's meet.
The Jayhawks have been working throughout the fall season for this weekend's meet, which concludes on Saturday. Burton said that several members of the team hoped to record
Kansas should also benefit from shaving. Before the meet starts, the swimmers will shave off their body hair, something most have not done since the beginning of the season.
Davis said shaving was a mental boost for her. However, Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf said shaving actually gives the swimmers a smoother feeling in the water.
Besides swimming against the clock, Kansas will race against several of the nation's top teams. The men, who are ranked 20th nationally, will face No.18 North Carolina and No.21 South Carolina.
The women's team, ranked 24th nationally, will get stiff competition from No. 4 Michigan, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 18 South Carolina and No. 21 Wisconsin.
"Everybody loves taper time because you have so much more energy, newfound energy you never knew you had," said junior freestyler and breaststroke Jennifer Davis. "You know you're getting ready to swim fast."
times that would qualify them for the NCAA Championships.
"It's just a great field," Kempf said.
"It must have to go in and attack it."
"If we can live up to our expectations, we should do really, really well," he said.