Friday, February 26, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section C · Page 9
Kansas recruit Collison shoots for his dream
By Matt Tait
Kansan sportswriter
It possibly is the most fabled tale in American sports history. A young boy in a Midwestern town shooting baskets until the sun goes down, dreaming of the day when he would be a basketball star.
For Nick Collison, one of Kansas' newest star recruits, that dream is becoming a reality.
Collison, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Iowa Falls, Iowa, was tasted as one of the top high school recruits in the nation. He was recruited by such universities as Arizona, Kentucky, Iowa and Notre Dame, before bringing his decision to a two-school race. The two finalists were Duke and Kansas.
"I really liked both of those school's styles of play. They just go out and play basketball." Collison said. "Of course they have plays, but their styles seem to suit my skills best."
Collison said while both schools had many of the same advantages, Kansas had more advantages in what Collison considered important areas.
"I think between the two schools I liked Kansas better because it's closer to home, and I felt like I got to know the players and coaches a lot better there," Collison said.
Proximity, style, and reputation all had an influence on Collison's final decision, but he said that it was coach Roy Williams who was important in finalizing Collison's choice.
"I liked Coach Williams right away," Collison said. "He was very honest and straightforward, and he tells it how it is. I like that about him. There was nothing he told me that wasn't true."
Collison is unique regarding where he went for recruiting advice. Like most recruits, Col-
lison talked with his teammates and friends. However, unlike most recruits, Collison and his father, Dave, also talked to former Kansas All-American and Iowa native, RaeLaFrentz.
"We visited with Raef about recruiting and asked his advice, not only about KU, but about the process in general," Dave Collison said. "We were really impressed by how much Raef enjoyed his entire experience at KU."
Dave Collison, who was his son's high school basketball coach, said that he tried to separate his role as a coach and father and let Nick make his own decision.
"As parents, his mother and I were there to answer questions and talk about it if he wanted to," Dave Collison said. "As a coach, I tried to get Nick to look at how they play and how he would like to be coached along with getting a feel for the people and personalities there."
Collison's parents also stressed the importance of picking a school that he would enjoy even if he could not play basketball.
"With the Midwest atmosphere I think Nick will feel more comfortable, because there are a lot of kids like Nick there," Dave Collison said. "I think he liked Kansas all along, and it probably would have been his first choice."
Joining Collison at Kansas next year will be fellow Iowan and former Amatuer Athletic Union teammate Kirk Hinrich, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Sioux City, Iowa, and Andrew Gooden, a 6-foot-10 forward from El Cerrito, Calif. According to many recruiting experts, these three recruits will make up one of the best incoming classes in the nation.
Edited by Liz Wristen
Allen Fieldhouse is a central feature in the tradition of Kansas basketball. The fieldhouse opened in 1955 to a crowd of 17,228. Photo by Michael Kelly/KANSAN
Years of basketball greats made fieldhouse tradition
Players, coaches, fans impressed with atmosphere
By Michael T. Rigg Kansan sportswriter
The sign has warned many who have entered Allen Fieldhouse, but few teams have listened.
"Pay heed all ye who enter," the sign screams down from the top of the rafters. "Beware of the Phog."
No one was listening from February 1994 to December 1998 when the Kansas men's basketball team did not lose a single home game, an amazing 62 straight home victories.
Kentucky certainly was made a believer on Dec. 9, 1989, when the team members limped away from Lawrence as 150-95 losers.
Allen Fieldhouse also has seen track meets, football practices, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, 37 NCAA tournament games and more than five million screaming Jawhawk fans since the 1964-65 season.
The fieldhouse has seen its share of glory dating back to its beginning on March 1, 1955, when an overflow crowd of 17,228 — still the largest home crowd in Jayhawk history — poured into the sparkling new arena and watched Kansas defeat Kansas State, 77-66.
The fieldhouse, which was named after Kansas basketball's winning coach, Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, was built in 1955 at a cost of $2.5 million, a paltry sum compared
to the $3.5 million paid just to renovate the building before this season.
Men's basketball season tickets have been sold out for the past 14 years, and nearly 1,900 people have put their names on the season-ticket waiting list.
"It's a very special place," men's basketball coach Roy Williams said. "I've said this many times, and I truly believe this, that Allen Fieldhouse, is the best place to coach and play college basketball."
Kansas alumna and member of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks Tamecka Dixon agrees.
"My favorite memory of playing basketball at Kansas is definitely Allen Fieldhouse," Dixon said. "The tradition there is great. The one thing I take away from Kansas is the home games at Allen Fieldhouse."
Many Jayhawk fans see the tradition of the fieldhouse as its main draw. On top of all the championship banners, the retired jerseys of players including Danny Manning, Lynette Woodard and Wilt Chamberlain stare down onto the playing floor.
"I'ts truly the Yankee Stadium of college basketball." David Leigh, Fort Scott freshman, said. "You can't top the atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse."
Williams shared Leigh's sentiments.
"To this day, I still get chills when I walk through that tunnel and out onto the court," Williams said. "In fact, the day I don't get those chills is the day it's time to walk away from basketball."
23rd & Louisiana (next to Godfather's) 842-1547
865-1618
1618 w. 23rd
next to Taco Johns
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Carry on the tradition of Kansas Basketball and great barbeque at Pat's.