Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
A New York man has identified himself as the bidder who paid $3 million for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball.
SEE PAGE 6B
Boxing
Mike Tyson's lawyers are deciding whether to appeal the boxer's one-year prison sentence.
Tuesday
February 9, 1999
Section:
B
Page 1
SEE PAGE 2B
College Basketball
Nebraska men's basketball coach Danny Nee has surprised some critics. His Cornhuskers are in the hunt for a Big 12 Conference title.
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
SEE PAGE 4B
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Kansas center, Nakia Sanford, greets her teammates with high-fives at the end of the game on Sunday. Sunday's victory moved the Jayhawks up in The Associated Press rankings to No. 21. Photo by Jay Sheperd/KANSAN
Winning streak moves women to No.21 in poll
ay Matt James
Kansan Sportswriter
With only three weeks left in the regular season, the treacherous Big 12 Conference road schedule has finally benefited the Kansas women's basketball team.
The nationally ranked Texas Tech Raiders and Iowa State Cyclones each lost conference road games this weekend and fell into a first-place tie in the 12 standings at B-2.
Texas Tech lost to Texas Saturday in Austin 74-70. The Longhorns jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and held off a late Tech comeback with the strength of guard Edwina Brown's 23-point, 10-assist performance.
"We didn't have an answer for Edwina Brown," said Tech coach Marsha Sharpe. "She was the difference in the game with the things she made happen."
The Cyclones were upset a day later in Lincoln as Nebraska guard Brooke Schwartz paced the Cornhuskers with 20 points.
After last week's home win against Colorado and Sunday's victory at Missouri, the Jayhawks are now 8-3 in conference play, only a half-game behind first place.
Kansas appears in good position to win the Big 12 title as it plays three of its final five games at home. The Raiders
See WOMEN on page 3B
Robertson's Perspective
Robertson recounts weekend in Colorado
A day after scoring a career-high 23 points in the Jayhawks 86-80 win against Colorado Sunday, senior guard Ryan Robertson sat down with the Kansan's Mike Harryt to provide a behind-the-scenes look at Kansas men's basketball. The following is from the interview:
We got to Boulder around eight o'clock (Saturday night) and after about 30 minutes at the hotel, we just put our stuff down and immediately went to dinner at the hotel. We had cheeseburgers, chicken or spaghetti and watched the OSU - OU game on ESPN while we ate. At halftime, we were done eating and Coach Williams had a short meeting going over personnel, and we watched a few clips of Colorado. Then we went back to our rooms.
Normally my roommate is T.J. (Pugh), but as seniors you rotate getting your own room so this trip I was by myself. I got back to the room about 9:30, and I watched the rest of the OU game. I was going to get a movie, but Gwyneth Paltrow was on Saturday Night Live, so I watched that instead. It was a little weak. I liked Gwyneth, but the skirts weren't that funny.
Nobody comes around when it's lights out. we're pretty much on our own everywhere we go. The coaches trust us and expect us to be in our rooms and have the lights
It was lights out at mid night, and I don't ever go to bed before 12:30. But Saturday night I turned the TV off at 11:30, and I don't why. I just went to sleep. It was 11:30 their time, so really it was 12:30 our time — but still, I go by the clock.
out and start getting ready for the game.
Senior guard Ryan Robertson dribbles up court Sunday against Colorado on his way to a career-high 23 points. Kansas has won 20 straight games against Colorado. The Jay- takes on the Nebraska.
Cormushers tomorrow night at Allen Field house. Photo by Dian Elavsky/KANSAN
See ROBERTSON on page 3B
Bench boosts 'Hawks back into top 25
By Kevin C. Wilson
Kanson sportswriter
They're back.
The Jayhawks are riding a three game winning streak after defeating Colorado 86-80 on Sunday and are now the only Big 12 team ranked in the top 25.
One week after being omitted from The Associated Press top 25 for first time in eight years, the Kansas men's basketball team reentered the poll at No. 24 yesterday.
One reason the Jayhawks have moved back into the rankings is the recent resurgence of its bench, especially in the last two games.
"I've felt pretty good about our
dive all season long," Kansas
coach Roy Williams said. "But
the last two games, it's really
been significant because of the
way they've scored."
The Kansas reserves scored a season-high 31 points in the Jayhawks 69-46 win on Feb. 1 and tallied 21 points in Sunday's victory against Colorado.
Despite being limited to seven points in the game in Boulder, Kansas guard Kenny Gregory has excelled since being removed from the starting
But it has been the resurgence of freshman Marlon London and the emergence of red-shirt freshman Jeff Carey that has given the Jayhawks such a boost.
lineup four games ago. In his 18 games as a starter, Gregory averaged 12 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, but he has upped those totals to 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in the last four games.
Carey: Has seen time on the court since Earl's injury.
lives in two out of his first three Big 12 games, London went into a mini-slump. In the next five games, the freshman guard averaged a meager 2.2 points, two rebounds and 2.4
assists per game and connected on only 5-of-19 field goals, including 0-of-5 from three-point range.
After scoring in double-fig
But in the last two games the 6-
3 guard has averaged eight points, three rebounds and five assists per game while connecting on 6-of-13 field goals and two-of-three from beyond the goal.
In addition to his contribution on the offensive end, London provided the Jayhawks with some exceptional on the ball defense on Sunday. London helped limit Colorado guard Jaquay Walls to 3-of-9 shooting in the second half and blocked his three-point attempt with 24.3 seconds remaining in the game.
"I've always been a big fan of Marlon's," Kansas guard Ryan Robertson said Sunday. "He was just sensational today."
Although London has produced for the Jayhawks all season, Carey's ascension has been more of a surprise. With Lester Earl missing the last two games because of an ankle injury, Carey has seen his minutes and production increase.
"I just tried to stay close to him and use my size and quickness to my advantage. That time I was able to block." London said.
"With our foul problems and Lester out, somebody had to
"Sometimes the ball just comes to you," Carey said. "I just concentrated on boxing my man out. There's really no magic to it."
The 6-9 center grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in 12 minutes and said that it was a result of being in the right position and a little luck.
step up," Williams said. "I went with Ashante and Jeff in the first half and tried to see which one gave me the most confident feeling. At that point, it was Jeff Carey, and he did some nice things for us."
Carey also has improved his scoring in the last two games, totaling 11 points, including five against Colorado.
Carey said that he would continue to concentrate on doing anything to help the Jayhawks win.
"I looked to score a little bit more today because I felt a little more comfortable," Carey said. "But still my rule is to do the little things, like rebound."
MEN'S AP TOP 25
"When I get in, I just try to work my hardest," Carey said. "My thought is to leave everything out on the floor."
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press men's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 7, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
1. Duke (59) 23-1 1,763 2
2. Connecticut (12) 20-1 1,712 1
3. Auburn 22-1 1,602 6
4. Cincinnati 21-2 1,528 3
5. Michigan St. 20-4 1,514 8
6. Stanford 19-4 1,415 4
7. Maryland 20-4 1,378 7
8. Kentucky 19-6 1,141 5
9. UCLA 17-5 1,110 13
10. Arizona 16-4 1,082 10
11. St. John's 18-6 1,065 9
12. North Carolina 19-6 979 12
13. Ohio St. 17-6 975 15
14. Utah 18-4 839 20
15. Wisconsin 19-5 733 11
16. Miami 15-5 581 25
17. Indiana 18-7 475 21
18. Syracuse 16-7 470 16
19. Iowa 15-6 392 14
20. Charleston College 21-2 381 22
21. Purdue 16-7 313 18
22. Minnesota 14-6 252 18
23. Florida 16-5 238 —
**24. Kansas** **16-6** **205** —
25. New Mexico 17-6 149 17
Receiving responses: Washington 11, Villanova 105, Miss- soiri 90, Temple 81, Miami 61, Ohio 71, Tate 47, NC A 39, Oklahoma 44, Oklahoma St. 43, Arkansas 38, Mississippi 38, Northwestern 29, Gonze 24, Murray 17, Oklahoma 9, Tulsa 7, Ruggers 5, Baylor 7, Nebraska 4, Creston 7, Rutgers 2, Tennessee 2, Bose St. 1, Cleveland 1, Dominican 1.
Commentary
No.500 means almost nothing if not supported by KU students
If a Kansas women's basketball coach gets 500 wins and nobody is around to see it, does the victory really count?
Within the next week and a half that question could be answered.
Marian Washington, Kansas women's basketball coach for 26 years, will likely get career win No.500 within the next three home games. She is only two wins away from the feat, and the Jayhawks are riding a 20-game home court winning streak, the fourth longest in the country.
Two victories are extremely likely.
But will anyone be there to watch?
Judging from this and past years'
attendance numbers, it is unlikely.
And it is a shame that more people, specifically students, don't attend more women's games.
Washington, and the team, deserve the respect. And students should at least attend the next three home games so Washington can get win No. 500 in front of a roaring Allen Fieldhouse crowd instead of a whimpering one.
Washington deserves that from students.
After all, this was a woman who once
drove her players to Minnesota late at night in a snowstorm so the team could make a game.
Spencer Duncan
sports @ kansas.com
Washington is the only Women's Athletics Director in the history of the University of Kansas, a position created in the 1970s that was later abandoned. She is also the only Black woman to ever serve as an athletics director.
sports@kansan.com
director at the University
The 51-year-old coach started the Kansas women's track team, helped coach the 1996 Women's U.S. Olympic Team to a gold medal, has served as president of the Black Coaches Association and led Kansas to two conference titles in the last three years.
Washington was also the first Black woman to ever coach a United States team in international competition, when in 1983 she headed the U.S. Select Team in Taiwan.
And when Washington's team wins No. 500, the coach will become one of a select few who has done so, solidifying herself as one of the winningest coaches in women's basketball history. "We don't come to care."
Kansas fans and students have puffed themselves up into thinking they are the best basketball fans in the country. But while students might wait days to get into a men's game, hardly any show for a women's game. That makes Kansas fans solid men's basketball fans, not all-around basketball fans.
I understand the attraction to men's games over women's games, but for at least the next three women's games, students should put an emphasis on the women.
Attendance at men's game averages more than 16,000. The women average 2,300 people per game.
That is shameful, especially since both teams are ranked, are in contention for Big 12 Conference titles and will make the NCAA Tournament.
Washington's milestone is a testament to her abilities as a coach and it serves as a good time to reflect on how much she has given to the University.
The best way to show Washington how much she is appreciated is to show up and cheer on her accomplishment. The rest of her home accomplishment.
The next three home games:
Saturday, 2:05 p.m. vs. Nebraska Feb. 13, Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. vs. Iowa State
Feb. 20, Saturday, 7:05 p.m. vs. Oklahoma
Students admitted free with a KUID.
Duncan is a Topeka senior in journalism and English.
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