Section: B The University Daily Kansan Making our world safer Making our world safer Tonya Harding was banned from drinking alcohol and using weapons after she pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges she threw a hubcap at her boyfriend and bloodied his face by punching him. Sports Inside: After two weeks off, the Kansas women's tennis team is healthy and ready for action in this weekend's Jayhawk Classic. SEE PAGE 10B FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2000 Inside: The ACLU says Colorado basketball coach Ricardo Patton is violating the Constitution by having voluntary team prayers. SEE PAGE 8P WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS Sports Columnist Derek Prater sports@kansan.com Forward Ashante Johnson fights for position in Wednesday night's 83-58 victory against Nebraska Despite starting, Johnson played just 10 minutes. He had two rebounds and four points. Photo by Matt J. Daugherty/KANSAN 'Huskers coach fails to meet expectations of team's fans Expectations have dogged Roy Williams and his team this season. An unprecedented amount of criticism has been leveled at the Kansas coach for the inability of his team to win as much as fans expected. But don't expect Nebraska coach Danny Nee to feel sorry for Williams. Wednesday night, Nee could have broken the Nebraska all-time victory mark with his 254th in his 14th season. Strange then, that he continues to lose favor among Nebraska fans. But then again, the Jayhawks did hand Nee's squad its sixth straight loss. he needs to go." Nebraska student Lee File said before Wednesday night's game. File's sentiment was echoed by many Nebraska fans in more colorful, albeit unprintable, terms. The criticism and calls for a replacement that have dogged Nee the last several seasons may be reaching the critical point this year. Nee's situation illustrates the delicate balance between adoration and vilification that coaches face. Qualities that endear coaches to fans and contribute to success also can alienate players and fans. Simply put, pride can lead to the appearance of hubris. The bottom line — winning — is the lens through which coaches are viewed. Nee is colorful, demanding and brimming with pride — all qualities that a coach needs. But many Huskers fans also view him as tyrannical and overbearing, and they have called for him to be replaced. Nee is the most successful coach in Nebraska men's basketball history. He reached the 253 victory mark in 16 fewer games than Joe Cipriano, with whom Nee is tied. He has coached Nebraska to seven of its 11 all-time 20-win seasons. Eleven of Nee's 13 'Husker teams have made postseason play, and the only two postseason titles in Nebraska history — the 1994 Big Eight Tournament and the 1996 NIT — came under Nee's direction. Nee has had more than his share of conflicts with players, such as in 1996 when all but two players boycotted a practice. That, however, is not the real reason that many fans want Nee replaced. Though Nee is the most successful basketball coach in school history, his success doesn't live up to that of Nebraska programs in general. Nebraska's athletic department rivals that of any in the nation. Everyone knows about the football tradition, but Nebraska also has distinguished traditions in women's volleyball, track, men's and women's gymnastics and bowling, just to name a few. This year, Nee's team is 10-16 and on a six-game losing streak, its longest in four years. That just doesn't cut it at Nebraska. The losing also creates a vicious cycle - losses bring criticism, and the criticism distracts the team. Nee and his players downplay the effect of Nee's critics on the team, but Nee admitted after Wednesday's defeat. "It certainly doesn't help it." The perception among fans is that Nee may be leading his team into a rut. "It items like they're playing worse and worse every game, and the more criticism Nee gets, the worse we're playing," Nebraska junior Nick Emanuel said. The perception is that Nee has too much pride — he's a control freak. The same could be said for almost any college coach. And when a coach fails to live up to expectations, that allegation will be made with exclamation points. Prater is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism. Taking on the Bears Kansas rides wave of success into Baylor game By Shawn Hutchinson sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter Beat Nebraska, Check Tie Missouri and Oklahoma for fourth-place in the Big 12 Conference standings. Check. Beat Baylor -- that's the next task on the Jayhawk's season-long to-do list as they prepare to play host the Baylor Bears tomorrow night at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks enter the game having won three of their last four, and it's safe to say they are satisfied with the recent successes. "I think we're coming together and just going out and playing," said Kansas guard Kenny Gregory. And as simple as that, the No. 23 Jayhawks have upped their record to 20-7 overall and 9-4 in the Big 12, putting them in a good position to finish in the top four in the conference and snatch a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament next month. "We've talked about it, and we can only control our games," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "Using that old cliché, we're going to take it one game at a time. We'll do our best each game and see what happens." What happened on Wednesday night was a 83-58 Kansas win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb. Nick Bradford, who was bounced from the starting lineup four games ago, came off the bench and went on a streak. Bradford scored 19 points, came up with six steals, and hit two 17-foot jump shots in a 30-second span in the second half. Four other Kansas players scored in double figures in the 25-point rout. "Kansas beat the heck out of us," said Nebraska coach Danny Nee, after watching the Jayhawks outscore his team 49-24 in the second half. "Their defense and pressure is what gets it done for them." The Jayhawks hope that Baylor coach Dave Bliss will be voicing the same sentiments come tomorrow night. The Jayhawks held Nebraska to 29 percent shooting from the floor in the second half. And, at least on paper, they should have a good chance of shutting down The Bears are next to last in the league in scoring offense, have lost four of their last five games, and come into the Fieldhouse fresh off a 95-75 defeat at Colorado on Wednesday night. Ravlor as well. The loss dropped the Bears to 12-12 overall and 3-10 in the Big 12. But one interesting stat from that game — Baylor made more three-pointers than any Big 12 team this season, hitting 16 of them on 36 attempts. Against Nebraska on Wednesday night, Nick Collison became the first freshman in the Williams era to block six shots in one game. His six blocks are the most by any Jayhawk since Eric Chenowith blocked seven last season. Kansas notes Kenny Gregory scored his 1.000th career point against nepraska, becoming the 39th player in Kansas history to do so. Gregory, after scoring 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting, now has 1,017 points for his career. TOMORROW'S GAME Who: Baylor at No. 23 Kansas Who: Oklahoma at No. 19 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse Probable Starters **Baylor (12-12, 3-10 Big 12)** F 21 Jamie Kendrick 6-8 Sr. PPG 8.6 RPG F 24 Terry Black 6-7 Jr. 11.9 8.3 C 54 Ben Echols 6-11 Sr. 6.6 6.5 G 23 DeMarcus Minor 6-5 Jr. 11.3 4.6 G 3 Tevis Stokes 6-11 Sr. 17.3 2.5 No. 23 Kansas (20.7, 9-4 Big 12) No. 1 Nick Carter 6-9 Fr. 10.3 6.9 No. 2 Jason Heyward 6-9 Sr. 3.9 1.9 G 20 Kenny Gregory 6-5 Jr. 3.9 1.4 G 13 Jee Bochace 6-1 Jr. 10.1 4.5 G 14 Kirk Hinrich 6-1 Fr. 4.7 1.1 Women hold onto Big 12 title hopes By Chris Fickett Kansan sportswriter The Jayhawks had wanted to avoid a late-season letdown. But even after final-second defeats at Nebraska last week and Missouri Wednesday night, the No. 25 Kansas women, 19-7 and 10-4 in league play, can still — with a lot of help — win the Big 12 regular-season tomorrow's 3 p.m. game at Norman, Okla., the 'Hawks would at least move into third place in the Big 12 Conference and remain one game behind No. 13 Iowa State and No. 7 Texas Tech with one game to play. "We've got two quality opponents left. Oklahoma's a big matchup for us. We've really got to go down and take care of our business," Jackson said. "We've still got a lot to play for," said junior guard Jennifer Jackson. "We just have to come out and keep playing hard. With a win against No.24 Oklahoma in Jackson: Says team just needs to keep playing hard But even though the Jayhawks' chances of securing one of the top four seeds in the Big 12 tournament are high, there's also a chance they could fall. "We really have to stay focused," coach Marian Washington said. "We certainly don't want to go to Kansas City and worry about playing three games in a row." And that game is against 3-11 Texas A&M on Wednesday night — Senior Night — at Allen Fieldhouse. For Kansas to win the league title alone and get the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament, it must first win its final two games. Then Texas Tech must lose its final two games — at Oklahoma State and against Baylor — and Iowa State must lose to either Baylor at home or Texas on the road. And certainly the Jayhawks can't worry about tie-breakers and conference title scenarios. After Wednesday's downer in Columbia, the Jayhawks' mission is to regain their composition before tomorrow's game against the Sooners. But there is something Kansas has control of in its regular-season stretch — itself. "It's very disappointing, and these kids work very hard — and I feel for them — but we have to find a way to put this behind us and get to Oklahoma and do a better job," Washington said. Some of Kansas' problems against the Tigers stemmed from offensive turnovers in the game's critical moments. Others, surprisingly, stemmed from the Jayhawks' defense. "We were just a step behind in every way," Washington said. "They drove on us, we couldn't be as aggressive as we normally are. It was one of those games you hate to see." Normally, Kansas' defense bails out its offense when it struggles. But even 16 steals against Missouri wasn't enough — and it might not be enough at Oklahoma if Kansas' offense can't get back in sync. "We got some good defensive steals and capitalized on some of them, but when you're struggling as bad as we were on offense, then we have to do a better job on defense than we did," Jackson said. TOMORROW'S GAME Probable Starters. Kansas (19-7: 10-4 Big 12) Who: No. 25 Kansas women at No. 24 Oklahoma Who: No. 25 Kansas women tomorrow at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oka Oklahoma (21-6; 11-3 Big 12) Kansas (19-7) 10-4 Big 12) Pos. Player Ht. Yr. PPG RPG F Lynn Pride 8t 17.5 17.7 8.2 F Jacey Johnson 6.1 Jr. 10.9 8.1 F Joyce Reves 6.0 Jr. 12.0 6.1 G Sui Raymont 5-11 Sr. 14.2 5.1 G Jennifer Jackson 5-11 Jr. 8.8 3.2 Okahama (21-6; 11-3 Big 12) Pos. Player Yr. PPG RPG F. Phylehasa Hill 5-10 Sr. 20.4 8.2 G. Fremont Hill 6-1 Fr. 9.9 7.4 G. LaNeshea Caulfield 5-9 So. 14.4 4.7 G. Sunny Hardeman 5-7 Jr. 4.6 1.9 G. Stacy Dales 6-7 So. 12.8 5.2 'Hawks ready to take field for homestand sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter By Amanda Kaschube sports@kansan.com The boys are back in town. The Jayhawks, 8-1, are fresh off a fourgame winning streak, including a double-header sweep Wednesday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Coach Bobby Randall said he was happy to finally be home. After two treks to Texas and one to Missouri, the Kansas baseball team will kick off an eight-game homestand at 3 p.m. today when it plays Creighton at Hoold Ballpark. "We're back home exactly when our schedule starts to heat up," he said. "We're playing a lot tougher and competing a lot harder. It's been good to see a couple of guys break out this past week." Kansas has improved its offensive efforts since the start of the season—in Wednesday's windy doubleheader, the "Hawks knocked Dreher: Scored 3 runs against Texas A&M&C Christi the Hawks Amount in 34 runs and rinked 26 hits. In the first game, junior Doug Dreher went 3 for 3 and tied a career high with three runs scored, while juniors John Nelson, Brian Hoefer and Brenton Del Chiara all had two hits. "We knew when we started it would be an offensive day," Randall said. "Everyone had a good day. It was exactly what we needed." in the second game, senior Shane Wedd went 2 for 4 with two home runs and seven RBI, including one grand slam. Junior Jesse Gremminger and sophomores Matt Oakes and Ryan Klocksien also collected three hits apice. "I got a chance to drive people in — the ball just hit off the bat right," Wedd said. "It's tough to play anytime the wind is blowing on. We worked on hitting the See JAYHAWKS on page 2B Break out the pink. By Sarah Warren sports@kansas.com Kansas sportswriter Break out the pink. At 8 a.m. today, baby blue singlets and hot-pink shorts will be all across Iowa State as the Kansas track and field team begins competition at the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships in Ames, Iowa. Track to color Iowa with talent, shorts in Championships And, as the championship uniforms make their appearances, so does a completely revamped team. lost year's. Jayhawks finished seventh in Last year's Jayne the men's competition and twelfth in the women's, with many injuries and few athletes. This season, the injuries are few and the wins are many. The men have 29 first-place awards, and the women have 17 wins on the season. This includes 11 first-place finishes at last week's Pre-Conference Invitational. Gruber: Is the defending champion in the 1,000-meter run "This year, it feels more like a team." said Greg Steele, junior pole vaulter. "We have more team unity. We got a lot of peo people into the 'Husker (Invitational), which is a pretty stiff meet to get into, so that says something." Not that Kansas didn't have any talent to speak of last year. In fact, the Jayhawks return three Big 12 champions in junior All-Americans Andrea Branson, pole vault, and Charlie Gruber, 1,000-meter run, as well as senior Kevin McGinn in the mule. However, the team will be without junior Scott Russell, who won the 35 pound weight competition last year Russell is sitting out this season as a red shirt to train for the Olympics. See TRACK on page 2B 4