Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
The Kansas volleyball team is hoping for a win against Oklahoma tonight, which would help it get in the NCAA tournament.
Wednesday
November 10, 1999
Section:
A
Page 9
SEE PAGE 11A
Men's Basketball
The Kansas men's basketball team is ranked 11th in the preseason Associated Press Poll.
Big 12 Basketball
SEE PAGE 10A
The Kansan rounds out its preseason conference basketball previews with a look into Texas' and Texas A&M's teams.
PAGE 13A
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'Hawks grab win despite sluggish play
By Melinda Weaver
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Although the Kansas women's basketball team walked away from its first exhibition game with an 80-67 victory against Club Gija Marijampole from Lithuania, the team did not perform to the level it expected.
The defense was sluggish in the post, allowing center Zane Rozite to score 24 points.
"We just didn't move," Coach Marian Washington said. "We spent so much time reaching that the post never contained their inside player. No one did a good job on defense. We seemed to just stand straight up."
Kansas was called for 24 fouls, which led
LAST NIGHT'S GAME
Kansas 80, Club Gija Marijampole 67
to 27 Club Gija points at the free throw line. Forward Lynn Pride said the defense would come together with practice as the players became more accustomed to one another.
"We just need to communicate with each other and stick to the game plan," Pride said. "There were a lot of breakdowns. We just need to practice the defense and get better for next time. We definitely learned from this."
Club Gja kept the game close in the opening minutes of the first half before the Jayhawks started to pull away with 12:15 left in the half, scoring nine unanswered points that put them ahead 22-11.
Kansas maintained at least a 10-point lead throughout the rest of the first half, and Club Gija never was able to pull closer. At the half, Kansas led 39-28.
In the second half, Kansas' new triplepost offense showed signs of being a potent attack as the Jayhawks' ball-movement opened up holes in the defense.
Pride led Kansas in scoring with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and four others added double figures. Forward Brooke Reves had 15, guard Jennifer Jackson added 13 and forward Jaclyn Johnson scored 14 coming off the bench.
Guard Suzi Raymant scored 16 points, including shooting 2-of-5 behind the three-point line, in her first game after sitting out most of last season with a torn anterior orculate ligament in her left knee.
"When I first came out, I felt good, and my knee felt good, but as the game went on, it began to ache," Rayman said. "I just need to get used to playing a certain amount of minutes. I was nervous because I hadn't played in so long, but the game helped me get over that."
Despite the balanced scoring attack by the Jayhawks, Club Gija was able to remain close throughout the game behind the scoring of Rozite and guards Jolanta Prekisiene and Egle Sanajavaite, who scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"This just shows how much harder we need to work before we are ready to begin our conference schedule," Reves said. "It's going to happen. Everything is going to come together, but we just have to work hard."
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 '29-'32
story by sam mellinger
kansas millennium athlete No.6 jim bausch Gold-medal decathlete intimidated Olympians, dominated opponents in three sports as a Jayhawk
You've probably never heard of "Jarring Jim."
You look at this story, these pictures, and say to yourself, "Jim Bausch? No. 6?"
Ask your parents if they've heard of Bausch. If they haven't, ask your grandparents. Still no luck? Read on. From 1929-32, Bausch lettered in track, football and basketball at the University of Kansas, where he transferred from Wichita University after his freshman year. You've probably never heard of him because his collegiate feats were accomplished just after the Depression. He was named All-Big 6 in football in 1929 and 1930, and he played in the 1930 Shrine Game in San Francisco.
Because Bausch played before individual statistics were widely recorded, it's hard to illustrate in numbers how good he was on the football field. But he was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in 1934 and inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He's also in the Kansas Athletic Hall of Fame.
After leaving the 1929 Kansas State game because of injury, Bausch was labeled the "All-Star Yellow-Belly" by
Bausch's football prowess is perhaps best told with this story:
Manhattan, Kan., sportswriters. The next year, in Manhattan, Bausch scored all of Kansas' points in a 14-0 win. He returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and, playing defense, took a second-half interception 68 yards for another score. Also the team's kicker, Bausch converted both extra points.
His football career was cut short after some conference schools accused Bausch of taking money on the pretext of selling insurance. Kansas and Bausch argued that he was actually selling insurance, but University of Missouri professor W.A. Tarr won the case. Kansas State abstained, and the other four Big 6 schools voted to ban Bausch.
Despite the vote, Bausch maintained amateur status in basketball and track. Though he lettered in basketball and led the Jayhawks to their first Big 6 football title in
see BAUSCH'S page 12A
Early signing period looks promising for Kansas
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Guard Stevenson plans to commit today; Bryant narrowing his choices
By Matt Tait
Today begins the early signing period for high school seniors looking to commit to the school where they will play basketball.
After nearly a semester of waiting, their day has finally come.
For Kansas, the wait is two-fold. First the Jayhawks will wait to receive the national letter of intent from 6-foot-5 guard DeShawn Stevenson, from Fresno,
Calif, who verbally committed to Kansas more than a month ago.
Stevenson said that he planned to sign today and that he would mail his letter of intent immediately.
The second part of the wait is not so easy. The Jayhawks will be waiting for 6-foot-8 forward Travon Bryant to make a final decision. As of last night Bryant, from Long Beach, Calif., said that he was still deciding among four schools — Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and California.
He also said that he planned to sign during the early period, which gives him until Nov. 17 to make a decision.
"I'm signing Wednesday." Stevenson said. "I'll send it in the mail, and it will be done. I think everything about it is great."
He said his decision would come after he sat down with his mother and weighed all
of the pros and cons at each university.
“It’s kind of the same as Kansas,” Bryant said. “There’s a great environment, great fans and great coaching staffs on both sides, but I've looked at Kansas since I was in eight grade — it'll be a tough decision.”
Last weekend, he traveled to Lexington, Ky, for his final campus visit. He said he enjoyed seeing the University of Kentucky and liked the school a lot.
Numerous recruiting analysts have said in the past that they believed Bryant would choose Kansas. Bryant, however, has made no indication that he has eliminated any of the four schools.
Both Stevenson and Bryant said they had decided to sign early to get it out of the way and to better focus on their final high school seasons.
men's BASKETBALL
"We're a young team of sophomores and juniors, but there's a lot of talent, too," he said. "I think we are a lot of real good."
"We're going to be pretty good." Stevenson said.
Bryant's season will begin Monday and he too thinks that his team will be good.
Kansas officials will not comment on any player before they receive an official letter of intent.
Stevenson started practice Oct. 20 and said that everything was going well.
Edited by Matt James
'Free Lester' poster retired, not forgotten
It's hard work being a Lester Earl fan. It seems that if he's not pump-faking a free throw, bricking a dunk, or shooting the ball into the underside of the rim, he's getting in trouble with the law.
The first time I saw Lester play was during
It's even harder work being the original Lester Earl fan. Therein lies the story.
my senior year in high school while watching the McDonald's All-American game. He reminded me of a young Shawn Kemp. At the time, he was deciding between Kansas and Louisiana State. I was on my way to Kansas; I figured Lester was, too.
Later, he signed with Louisiana State. I was disappointed but stayed loyal to the letter of intent I signed with Kansas.
Jones sports columnist
sports@kansan.com
I'll spare you the part of the story where Lester came to Kansas and Dale Brown, the former Louisiana State coach, refused to let him out of his commitment.
But as a fan of Kansas and Lester Earl, I felt bad for Lester. I knew that if I were in Earl's position, I'd only be wanting to play basketball, something Brown didn't want him to do.
This was before my career at the Kansan began, so I didn't have a sports column to voice my opinion to a large number of people. But wanting to help out anyway I could, I took a different course of action.
I went to Dillons, bought some poster board and a couple of Sharpie markers. In bold print, I wrote two words on my sign: "Free Lester."
The first time I took it to a game, the response was tremendous. The students shouted in support. The alumni golf-clapped to show their support. And even the team acknowledged me in support of my sign.
I still remember holding the sign up while Scot Pollard tapped Lester on the shoulder, pointed to me, and then they both laughed and gave me a thumbs-up. Pollard then got coach Roy Williams' attention, and Coach liked it as well. Every time I brought the sign, Lester was sure to point at me and give me a wave.
I felt like a celebrity that day. A cameraman from Kansas City came up to the stands, took a shot of me and the sign, then told me. "You're going to be all over the country tonight."
A couple of days later, I saw Lester on campus. I figured I should introduce myself as the maker of the "Free Lester" sign.
Lester had a big smile on his face when he said, "You made that sign? I loved it!" We chatted briefly, but most of the conversation was Lester making sure I would bring the sign to the rest of the games that season. As I walked off to class, he shouted back to me. "Hey Seth! Think you can get some of your friends to also bring 'Free Lester' signs?" I told him I'd see what I could do.
Before I knew it, I was spotted on SportsCenter. My line was being used in newspapers from here to Louisiana.Williams told the press that he thought it was the sign of the year. In 1997 at Late Night with Roy Williams, I made C.B. McGrath's Top 10 ways to make SportsCenter.
Eventually, Lester was released by Louisiana State. His first game was to be Dec. 20, 1997, against Texas Christian at Kemper Arena.
I was a little concerned that even after being Lester's biggest proponent I wouldn't score good seats to his first game in a Kansas jersey. I hadn't talked with Lester in a while, so before one game I walked down during warm-ups and told Lester about my predicament.
"Don't sweat the tickets," Lester told me.
"Write down your full name and a couple of your friends' names, and I'll get you all in the game as my guests."
Lester scored me and two friends seats three rows behind the Kansas bench. That night, I retired the "Free Lester" sign and unveiled the new "Lester B. Free" sim.
Regardless of what Lester does at the freethrow line, regardless of what trouble he gets into around town, I'll always root for him. Lester, this is Jonesey wishing you best of luck in your senior season.
Jones is a Mulvane senior in journalism.