8B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2005
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Self's mentor seeks first Fieldhouse victory
BY KELLIE ROBINETT
krobinett@hansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
With all the achievements Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton has racked up during his time in Stillwater, Okla., it's hard to believe he has never won in Allen Fieldhouse.
Though Sutton mentored Bill Self early in his career, the Kansas coach doesn't want to let his old teacher get his first victory at Kansas.
"I have all the respect in the world for Coach Sutton," Self
said. "He has done remarkable things, but certainly we do not want to be the team that allows that to take place."
When the Cowboys (20-4, 10-3 Big 12) take the court at 3 p.m. Sunday, they will have two of the conference's best players.
One is senior guard John Lucas. He has emerged as one of the top point guards in the Big 12 Conference since transferring from Baylor two years ago.
The 5-foot-11 guard from Houston, Texas, pushes the ball
Sutton
up court quickly and spreads the ball around to his teammates well. He averages nearly five assists per game.
He is also a good perimeter shooter
and leads the team in scoring,
with 18 points a contest.
"John is very fast and is a great shooter and has a knack for making big shots in key possessions." Self said.
Senior forward Joey Graham is the other all-conference candidate. He spends most of his time at the low post, but also has the ability to knock down shots and pull defenders to the outside.
He averages 17.8 points and almost seven rebounds a game. He also makes more than half his three-point attempts.
"I think Joey Graham is about as talented as a player as you will find in America." Self said. "When you talk about quickness, speed, ability to slide his
feet, stretch a defense, post up and driving, he is a complete basketball player. I think he is a tough match-up for any team, not just Kansas."
Oklahoma State is hardly a two-man show, though. Senior forward Ivan McFarlin and freshman guard JamesOn Curry also offer difficult match-ups for defenses.
McFarlin averages 12 points and seven and a half rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder also leads the team in blocks with 28 on the season. The next closest player has
only eight.
Curry has come on lately. He averages eight points a game, and since the start of conference play, he has increased his playing time to more than 31 minutes a game.
Sutton said Curry's emergence had helped the Cowboy offense.
"He takes a lot of pressure off of Joey and John on the perimeter," he said. "He's very good offensively and he's got a chance to be a great player."
— Edited by Kendall Dix
NBA
Nuggets trade receive draft pick
DENVER — The Denver Nuggets finally made a move that didn't have to do with their coaching staff yesterday, trading Nikoloz Tskitvili and Rodney White to Golden State for Eduardo Najera, Luis Flores and a first-round draft pick.
The deal was far short of the blockbuster many thought the Nuggats needed to make a serious run at the postseason, although it should give them more depth. Tskitishvill, the fifth overall pick of the 2002 draft, turned out to be little more than a fan favorite and 12th man. White's playing time has diminished as the season progressed.
Young team needs leaders to step up
TENNIS
Najera is a fourth-year veteran who averages 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. Karl called him "a hustle guy, a physical guy" who gives the Nuggets a dimension they don't have.
Flores, a rookie secondround draft pick who made a name for himself last season at tiny Manhattan, rarely played for the Warriors, averaging 2.1 points over 15 games.
BY RAHUL SHARMA
rsharma@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Eddie Pells/The Associated Press
The Kansas women's tennis team (1-6 overall, 0-1 Big 12) has lost six straight matches, dating back to Jan. 29.
Sophomore Brittany Brown faced a similar situation until last weekend in University Park, Pa.
The Evansville, Ind., native, who began the season 0-6 in singles, snapped the losing streak last Saturday, posting her first win of the season in singles.
"I'm starting to feel more confident." Brown said.
Brown, who missed most of the fall season because of injury, felt obligated to make up for lost time on the courts so she can compete at the collegiate level.
"Watching practice every day was really hard," Brown said. "I knew all the girls were working hard and I feel like I'm trying to work extra hard because I feel like I owe it to them to do really well."
A total of five players, including Brown, tallied victories for the first time this season in Pennsylvania.
"Everybody is starting to feel more confident because everyone on the team has had one good win," Brown said.
Brown
both 4-3. But the youth of the team has been apparent all season, highlighted by three defeats in which Kansas failed to register a single point.
T h e
T h a w
Jayhawes are
coming off two
close losses.
Brown keeps a positive attitude about youth, believing it has advantages, as well as disadvantages.
"I think the advantages of being a young team is that we feel we have nothing to lose." Brown said. "This year is all a learning process. It's hard playing young because a lot of it is inexperience. But we are getting it."
A young team that includes four freshman — Elizaveta Avdeeva, Lauren Hommell, Anna Jackson and Stephanie Smith — continues to mature, even in the intense competition
of the Big 12 Conference.
Brown experienced a tough freshman campaign last fall. A four-time first team all-state selection in high school, Brown had to adjust to the competition at the collegiate level.
"Every match you play in college is a hard match," Brown said. "It was nothing like compared to high school. It was a huge change for me."
Having spent a season under coach Amy Hall-Holt, Brown admitted to becoming a more mature player. She feels more in shape and emotionally stable than she had in a while.
"I feel more physically fit this year." Brown said.
One of the hardest hitters on the team, Brown is a typical baseliner with a powerful forehand, a shot she claims gives her more opportunities to win.
"Playing aggressive," she says. "I'm starting to get to the net more."
Brown is still working on closing out matches, however. In fact, Brown leads the team in tie-breakers played, having lost three out of four. Only juniors Christine Skoda, Luiza
Loureiro and freshman Stephanie Smith, have competed in at least one tie-breaker all year. Kansas is a combined (1-7) in tie-breakers this season.
Three opponents for the Jayhawks this season appear in the nation's Top 25: Texas, BYU and Baylor.
Ultimately, leadership will prove to be vital for a team which lost three of last year's seniors.
Skoda, considered this season's leader, has helped guide the team. Brown said.
"She's actually stepped it up from last year," Brown said. "She's been working on it and I'm trying to help be a leader, too."
Brown credits her positive mental framework as a way she can help the team.
"Her game is getting more competitive." Hall-Holt said. "We look for good things out of her."
The Jayhawks, seeking an end to a six-match losing streak, will face Utah at 2 p.m. on Sunday, in Topeka's Wood Valley Racquet Club.
"I hope to win," Brown said.
"We need to come out with a lot
QUOTABLI
Coach Amy Hall-Holt on practice
- We felt it was pretty productive. Hopefully, we can start achieving on those goals that we have set and start stepping up, winning these tight matches. It all starts in practice.*
"We are really stressing the symptoms in dou
Assistant coach Frank Polito on the match versus Utah this Sunday
- "We are really stressing the emphasis in doubles. I'm looking at this week, we'll get the doubles point and hopefully we can get the three singles; get a nice win for this weekend. I believe this is the weekend we can get it done."
more energy, right from the start. If we show that we are confident, we can definitely do well."
Edited by Lori Bettes
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