Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Kenny Gregory has been providing the spark for the Jayhawks whenever they need it especially with his 70 percent shooting.
Sports
Wednesday December 1, 1999
Section:
Baseball
Major league umpires voted yesterday to form their own union without Richie Phillips.
SEE PAGE 10A
SEE PAGE 9A
Big 12 football
Page 8
New Mexico State coach Tony Samuel interviewed yesterday for the coaching job left vacant by Spike Dykes at Texas Tech.
SEE PAGE 11A
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Kansas bench loaded with depth, talent
Players see fewer minutes for the good of the team
By Shawn Hutchinson
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
The scorer's table has resembled a revolving door for Coach Roy Williams' Jayhawks this season.
Through four contests, nine Jayhawks are averaging more than 10 minutes played per game, and No.6 Kansas regularly is going 11 players deep.
However, Kansas coach Roy Williams said this wasn't the first time in history that the Jayhawks have had depth.
"I said that one of our strengths was going to be our depth, then everybody's just gone crazy about all this fantastic depth," Williams said. "One of our strengths is our depth, but I was just comparing it to last
year. I've had teams with depth in the past."
Unranked in the preseason poll, the team eventually found its way to the No.1 ranking before getting upended by the UCLA Bruins in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Atlanta.
Case in point — the 1989-90 Jayhawks. That team went 30-5 and won 19 straight games to open the season, including consecutive wins against No. 2 Louisiana State, No. 1 Nevada-Las Vegas and No. 25 St. John's in the Preseason NIT.
"Seriously, you go back to 1900 and we won 30 games and had four guys that couldn't start who ended up starting in the national championship game the following year," Williams said.
Those four guys were Adonis Jordan, Alonzo Jamison, Terry Brown and Mike Maddox, who found plenty of bench time playing behind starters Mark Randall, Jeff Gueldnner, Pekka Markkanen, Rick Calloway and Kevin Pritchard.
The next season, with Jordan, Jamison, Brown and Maddox in the starting lineup, the Jayhawks made an improbable run
through the NCAA Tournament. The team eventually lost to No. 6 Duke in the NCAA Championship game in Indianapolis.
So history shows that Kansas used depth in the past with plenty of success. This season, that depth has led to diminishing minutes for individuals.
Center Eric Chenowith leads the Jayhawks in minutes
Williams: says he's his had teams with depth before
played with an average of 25 per contest. He is followed by forward Nick Bradford (24.5) and guard Kenny Gregory (22.0).
Last season, the trio averaged 28.7, 27.1.
Williams said that he was comfortable with how he had handled playing time so far this season, and the players didn't seem to object.
and 25.3 minutes, respectively.
"I have confidence in Coach," said Kansas forward Nick Collison. "He plays who he thinks is going to help us win. Everyone would like to play the whole game, but that's not possible with all the talent that we have."
That talent has produced a 40 record, including the Great Alaska Shootout championship last weekend. The Jayhawks will be in action next at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow, when they take on Pepperdine in Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think everyone is going to want to play as much as they possibly can," Gregory said. "I think winning eases the pain a little bit. When we're winning games, I don't think that people focus on it as much."
Edited by Jamie Knodel
As the millennium draws to a close, the Kansan will feature the lives and achievements of the 10 greatest athletes at the University of Kansas, as selected by former and current players, coaches, administrators and fans.
Top athletes from the University of Kansas:
10. Lynette Woodard women's basketball, '78-'81
9. Jim Ryun track,'66-'69
8. Danny Manning men's basketball,'85-'88
7. Ralph Miller men's basketball, football,'38-'40,'41
6. Jim Bausch track, football and basketball,'20-'23
5. Al Oerter track and field, 56-'58
4. Nolan Cromwell football, track and field, 73-77
3. Ray Evans football and basketball, '41-'43,
'46-'48
2. Gale Sayers football, '62-'64
kansas millennium athlete No. 2 Gale Sayers
1. Coming tomorrow
Story by Sam Mellinger Despite a career cut short by knee injuries, Sayers ran into the record books
Sixty-four Sundays. That's all it took Gale Sayers to be named the NFL's all-time halfback.
In slightly more than four full seasons worth of games, Sayers created a legend that's still talked about today. He is arguably the best football player Kansas ever has had. A 1963 and 1964 consensus All-American, Sayers led Kansas in rushing, touchdowns and kickoff returns in all three years he played. He also led in receiving and punt-return yards as a junior and senior. He finished with 2,675 yards rushing, fourth best in school history, and 3,917 all-purpose yards, third at Kans
His legacy isn't limited to Lawrence. Go to Chicago, where the "Kansas Comet" put together a Hall of Fame career in parts of just seven seasons. Ask the people who have
"He's one of the greatest running backs of all-time, college or pro, and the best I've ever been around," said Don Fambrough, former Jayhawk football coach and the team's offensive line coach during Sayers' three seasons. "He had that little something different. Gale had more determination than anyone I've ever seen; he would absolutely refuse to go down. When ordinary backs would be tackled, Gale would just keep going."
seen Jim Brown play against their Chicago Bears. Go there, where they watched Walter Payton play for so many years, in the same division as Barry Sanders. Ask them who's the greatest running back of all-time.
"I think I would come out on top, and I hope that doesn't sound arrogant," Sayers said. "I had the God-given talent to play the game. It was easy for me."
So easy that he set all-time rookie records with 22 touchdowns and 132 points in 1965, marks that still stand today. He led the NFL in rushing the next season and broke or tied eight league records in his first three seasons before a series of knee injuries robbed him of a full career.
see HALL-OF-FAMER page 11A
Volleyball team to prepare for next season minus key players
By Shawn Hutchinson
Kansan sportswriter
The task confronting Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard during this off season is a big one.
Not only must Bechard replace three starters from a team that finished 17-14 overall—the first time since 1983 that the Jayhawks have had a winning record and the first they have won eight conference matches in a season—but he must also replace the two biggest hitters in Kansas history.
Gone from the team are five seniors, including middle blocker Amanda Reves and outside hitter Mary Beth Albrecht, who
rank first and second in Kansas history in kills. Also gone is starting middle blocker Anné Kreimer, and two reserves — defensive specialist Kristi Kiyabu and outside hitter Tori Holtmeier.
"They'll be hard to replace in a lot of ways," Bechard said. "With some of the physical abilities they brought, their character runs much deeper. Their work ethic and their character are two things that really are pretty amazing."
With the loss of Reves and Kreimer, Bechard knows that there will be a gaping hole to fill at the middle blocker position.
"Obviously we need to address that (in recruiting)." Bechard said. "But we also feel
there are players on our team now who can help us out in that area."
The Jayhawks currently have two players on their roster who are listed as both a middle blocker and an outside hitter — junior Danielle Geronymo, who was fourth on the team this season in kills, and sophomore Crystal Walker, Freshman Kylie Thomas and Elizabeth Herbek, a sophomore redshirt, also are options.
In Bechard's first two recruiting classes, he used the junior college pipeline to bring in players such as Holtmeier and Gerontyon, whom he coached at Barton County Community College in Great Bend.
Even though Bechard has had success
recruiting junior college players, he said he doesn't plan on going that route this season.
"We've looked at that area a little bit," Bechard said. "It's always an option. But we'd rather have people in our program for four years who we can spend a little more time working with."
Kreimer, who was in the program for five years after taking a medical redshirt her freshman season, said that she saw a lot of potential in next year's team. During her speech at senior night last Saturday, Kreimer wished the team good luck and said they had a lot of talent.
"I'm going to miss them a lot," Kreimer said. "It's been a blessing getting to know these people."
Now presenting this semester's Jonesey Awards
In case they are new to the Jonesey Awards, they are awards of merit given to those involved in local college athletics. While not as coveted as an ESPY, the Jonesey Award winners do win a SpiderMan comic book.
I have good news and bad news about this year's awards. First, the bad news:
In my attempt to get guest-star to co-host with me, I have failed. Chris Rock called in sick at the last minute, and Britney Spears has not yet returned my phone calls.
Even though I call her 30 times a day.
The good news. For the first time, The Joneseys coincide with a giant keg party. RSVP at the sports desk.
Jones sports columnist spots@kansan.com
Anyway. On with the Jonesesvs.
The Waterboy-like tackles Jonesey goes to Carl "The Butcher" Nesmith. Carl released some anger on the opposition this season and readjusted some spines while making hits that made the crowd go "oooho." Nice to see a Jayhawk dealing pain rather than taking it.
The Purple Heart Jonesey goes to Michael Chandler. Anyone who takes a bullet to the groin and goes on to play a great season of Division-I football deserves much more than a Jonesey Award, but that's all I have to offer.
The Right-Arm Flex Jonesey goes to Drew Gooden. Named after former Jayhawk Ryan Robertson's patented form of celebration, this award goes to the basketball player that is getting things done. Gooden dominated in Alaska. He collects rebounds like I collect parking tickets. If he's this good as a freshman, I wonder what he'll offer two and three years down the road.
The Guru of Replay Jonesey goes to the person operating the MegaVision this season. While the season started off a little shaky, the instant slow-motion replays of my man Nesmith decapitating opponents were in full effect by midseason. I'm still hoping that next season we get more Crimson Girl shots, though.
The Momma Said Knock You Out Jonesey goes to Bridget Goyen, midfielder for the women's soccer team. Bridget not only is a knockout, but she also did a little knocking out of her own when a misplaced header struck a Wyoming soccer player in the back of the head and left her unconscious on the field. Not only does Bridget turn heads, but she also cracks them.
The Keeping America and Collegian Sports Columnists Safe Jonesey goes to Staff Sgt. Korey Haukom and the Kansas Air National Guard located at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita. SSgT. Haukom one of my columns at kansan.com and saw that I was complaining that I needed a bodyguard because of nasty Kansas State students. SSgT. Haukom sent the Kansan online editor an e-mail and volunteered his services and the rest of the KANG's services, in my honest opinion the finest military unit in the Midwest to watch my back. He also said that if all I had to worry about was K-State students, that his grandma could take care of the job. Still, it'd be cool to get a B-1 Bomber to fly above the keeg party. Talk about tax dollars well spent.
The "I got my picture in Playboy unaided by silicone breasts" Jonesey goes to Eric Chenowith. Eric was a Playboy All-American selection this season, and got his smiling face in Playboy's college basketball edition. Nice job, Eric, but now I'm going to ask a favor. Stop playing like a 36-24-36 playboy bunny who enjoys long moon-lit walks on the beach and start playing more like a nasty 7-foot future NBA player who enjoys dunking on the competition and getting fitted for Final Four rings, OK? Do that, and next semester I'll make you the first-ever three-time Jonesey award winner. With a goal like that, how can you fail?
- Edited by Brad Hollier Jones is a Mulvane senior in journalism.
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