Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday November 23,1999
Sports
Section:
Kansas Basketball
The Kansas men's basketball team will play in the Great Alaska Shootout tomorrow in Anchorage, Alaska.
The Kansas men's and women's teams moved up in The Associated Press Top 25 polls to No.10 and No.19, respectively.
SEE PAGE 3B
B
Page 1
Big 12 football
SEE PAGE 2B
Colorado will stand in the way of Nebraska's national championship hopes, when the teams play in Boulder, Colo.
SEE PAGE 4B
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Coach Allen to start recruiting trips
By Mike Miller sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
It's been three days since Kansas' season ended with a 31-28 win against Iowa State, and Kansas coach Terry Allen isn't ready to speculate on a bowl game next year. But he is ready to concentrate on next year's roster.
He has 10 recruiting trips scheduled before winter break and plans to spend time searching junior colleges for seven to nine players who could contribute right away.
Then, before national signing day on Feb.2, he wants to have 15 high school players ready to come to Kansas next fall.
Allen was mum as to whether those recruits and returning starters will carry the Jayhawks to a bowl game.
"Let's not start that already," Allen said.
Speculation could have been what got the Jayhawks into trouble this year. Before the season, Allen said this was the year the 'Hawks needed to have success in the football program.
Thev needed to go to a bowl game.
But the bar was in fact too high for the Jayhawks, who at 5-7, needed two more wins to qualify for a bowl game. Playing an extra game against Notre Dame didn't help matters, but it was the 41-13 loss to San Diego State that put a damper on the Jayhawks' season.
"We can all point to San Diego State as easily the low point of the season," Allen said.
"But the highlight was how the players reacted to that."
Kansas would play its best football of
the season against Big 12 Conference opponents, leading against ranked teams Texas A&m and Nebraska, and finishing with three times as many Big 12 victories as last year.
Against Big 12 opponents, Kansas ended the season ranked second in team rushing and fifth in rushing defense — drastic improvements from last season when Kansas was dead last in the NCAA in rushing defense and near the bottom in rushing
See ALLEN on page 2B
Allen: will scour junior colleges looking for players ready to contribute
Jayhawks' Chandler respected by team, press
Kansas senior wide receiver Michael Chandler dives for a catch as Iowa State defensive back Doug Densmore follows close behind. The Jayhawks defeated Iowa State 31-28 on Saturday. Photo by Chad Cummings/KANSAN
Rv Mike Miller
By Mike Miller
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
If all walk-ons were like Michael Chandler, college football would be filled with respectful, hard-working football players.
But they'd be slow, too.
"He's not the fastest guy in the world, but he's a leader and plays as hard as anybody," wide receiver Harrison Hill said.
Chandler, a senior wide receiver who played his last game as a Jayhawk on Saturday, is a former walk-on who went from the scout team to tie for 10th all time on the Kansas career reception list. His teammates respect him perhaps more than any other person on the team. He has been a senior co-captain, someone who Coach Terrie Allen could rely on for leadership and a big catch.
"Mike's been through a lot," Allen said. "But he's the type of guy that you depend on in your program."
A lot has been made of Chandler and what he has been through the last year, but with good reason.
He was shot in the groin in February at his apartment by one of three assailants, who still are unidentified. His mother died a few days after he caught a touchdown pass against Notre Dame on Aug. 28, making that time both sweet and difficult.
If the personal tribulations weren't enough, he has played with an assortment of injuries this year and had to deal with playing out of position most of the year because three Jayhawk receivers were
injured during the season. He has handled all of it with grace.
It's those attributes that endear Chandler to not only his teammates but to the media, too. He's articulate and well-spoken. Hardly aspects of a typical football player, but that's the point — he's really not.
Beat writers from The Kansas City Star and the Topeka Capital-Journal thanked him after Saturday's 31-28 win against Iowa State for the time he's given them the last four years. He has been the subject of numerous articles in local and regional newspapers, praising his perseverance and dedication. It's almost as though sportswriters — who some might say often are both cynical and overly critical of the teams they cover — enjoyed talking to him for not only the insights he provided, but also because he's a good guy.
Chandler — regularly requested for interviews by writers after games and at news conferences — sat at a news conference last week before the Iowa State game and was asked if he would miss all the attention from football and what he would do without it.
"It's kind of bittersweet, you know," he said. "It'll be nice having some freedom in my off time, but I'll miss all of this."
But he'll miss playing football more.
"I don't know what the future holds, but this is probably my last game," he said.
Chandler, an economics major, has dreams of playing professional football. Whether it's the NFL, Canadian Football League or NFL Europe — but he doesn't want to think about that
See CHANDLER on page 2B
Women's basketball team to head to Alaska
By Melinda Weaver
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team will spend its Thanksgiving in Anchorage, Alaska, for the Cars/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout. The No. 19 Jayhawks will open the tournament at 11 p.m. against Northern Arizona, a team that finished 14-14 last season and lost both of its exhibition games this season.
Assistant coach Pam DeCosta said that the key to defeating Northern Arizona was playing tough defense.
"They are a very fundamental team," DeCosta said. "We need to play well defensively because they run their offense very well. We just need to take our time and run our offense and run a disciplined defense that will put a lot of pressure on them."
"Kansas possesses great athleticism and perimeter shooting," Sanders said. "It is a very, very strong team that will challenge us in many different ways — on the break, in the post, on the perimeter, in the half court. Playing a top-20 team can only help us; we have nothing to lose. Our team is very much looking forward to playing such a high-caliber team because Kansas is at the level we want to be down the road. We may as well measure ourselves to see where we stand."
Northern Arizona returns three starters from that team, junior guard Kristi Forman, sophomore guard Kara Kleinhenz and sophomore center Anna Sturing. Sophomore forward Bridjette Wickham also started half of the games.
Kansas is coming off a 70-56 season-opening victory Saturday against Houston at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Despite the team's troubles, Northern Arizona coach Meg Sanders said they were excited to play against a top team such as Kansas.
last season.
The Lumberjacks will be playing without Sturing, however, who led the team in scoring, minutes and steals last season. Sturing fractured the thumb in her shooting hand at practice Wednesday and is projected to be out four to six weeks.
Both senior forward Lynn Pride and junior forward Jaclyn Johnson fouled out in the last five minutes of the game, but four players scored in double figures.
Senior guard Suzi Raymant led the team with 16 points and both junior forward Brooke Reves and junior point guard Jennifer Jackson added 13 points.
Reves and Johnson both put together their third career double-doubles. Reves grabbed 11 rebounds, and Johnson recorded 10 points and 13 rebounds.
"It was a very physical game," Washington said. "It is not our fault how the game is called, but we have to try to find a way to work through it. I think we did a good job."
"We did a great job on the offensive boards, which means we are being
The Starting Lineup
Fifty-eight total fouls kept either team from establishing any kind of flow, but Kansas coach Marian Washington said that she was pleased with the way the Jayhawks handled themselves.
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
0-0 Big 12, 1-0 overall
G JENNIFER JACKSON 5-10 JR.
G SUZI RAYMANT 5-11 SR.
F LYNN PRIDE 6-2 SR.
F BOOKE REVES 6-0 JR.
F ACJLYN JOHNSON 6-1 SR.
Seth Jones sports columnist sports@kansan.com
Turkey Awards for fall semester presented today
aggressive," Washington said. "In the tournament, we need to continue to try to stay in our offense and be patient. We have to play our game."
If Kansas wins, it will play either Louisville or Alaska-Anchorage at 5:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving. The losers of the first two games will play in the consolation match at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
For all seven students who still haven't left for the Thanksgiving holiday, I present the 1999 Turkey Awards.
Last year, I gave out the Wojo Awards, awards of shame for all things I deemed bad in college athletics, named after all-time annoying former Duke point guard Steve Wojciechowski. This year, we're leaving Wojo alone and giving turkeys away instead, in honor of the holiday.
The "We pick on flag people" Turkey Award goes to Missouri's punting squad. We know that as punters, you take hits but never get to deal them. That doesn't mean you can take out your frustration by stepping on our flag team's flags. Go step
-Edited by Ronnie Wachter
So let's pull some of these bad boys out of the oven.
on your own flag team's flags or on each other if you have so much angst to deal with.
The "You call them opponents, we call them turkeys" Turkey Award goes to Bill Snyder and the Kansas State Wildcats. Consistent scheduling of weak opponents gets them snubbed by the Bowl Championship Series every week. Consistent losses in big games show that they're only hurting themselves. A 66-0 score is impressive only when the opponents have actually scored in previous games this season.
The "We're not in Manhattan anymore" Turkey Award goes to Johnno Lazetich, K-State fullback, for writing names of towns on the medical tape he'd wrap around his wrist during football games. He wasn't looking for inspiration; he was looking for an answer. After a few too many concussions, Johnno began having trouble remembering what town he was playing in. With the name on his wrist, he could take another hit to the head, come out of the game, and when the team trainers asked him the age-old question "Where are you?" he could cheat and read the answer.
The "Sinking turkey" Turkey Award goes to Gary Kempf, coach of the swimming team. A recent Kansan story revealed that some former swimmers like his coaching methods about as much as they like swimming while wearing concrete shoes.
The "Dressing isn't free for any turkey" Turkey Award goes to Florida State receiver Peter Warrick, who went from having a Heisman Trophy winning season to having a Heist-Man winning season after he and a teammate stole hundreds of dollars in clothing from a department store. Maybe he wanted to make sure he looked good for the photo opportunity of him and the trophy.
The "Tell Dan Marino to hold the laces out" Turkey Award goes to Joe Garcia, place-kicker for the Kansas Jayhawks. Joe had a rough season, connecting on only 7 of 18 field goal attempts. This gave Coach Terry Allen new enthusiasm to recruit place-kickers. Maybe we could ask Ace Ventura to contact Ray Finkle, who still has a year of eligibility left.
The "That annoying Chihuahua finally pushed me over the edge"
Turkey Award goes to Dion Rayford. While going for another sack, Dion tried to force himself through the Taco Bell drive-through window. The media attention this story drew makes Dion the most well-known Taco Bell customer to date. Pity that he's forbidden to visit his favorite restaurant now.
Congrats to all the winners.
Everyone have a happy turkey day.
Jones is a Mulvane senior in journalism.
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