6
Wednesday, February 9.1972
University Daily Kansan
Big John' Returns to KU
Riggins Likes Job With Jets
By BOB SIMISON
Kansan Sports Editor
John Riggins is perfectly happy with his job run, but he doesn't have the defensive lines of the National Football League every Sunday for the New England.
John Riggins Discusses Season "We'll be back in the money next year"
As Riggs sees it, "Where else can you find a job like this with six months of vacation every year?"
Kansan Staff Photo by TOM THRONE
"Sometimes I wonder when 'I'm on the bottom of a pile-up whether it's worth it.' Riggins said, "It's not right. 'but now I think it's great."
Riggins played his rookie season with the Jets last fall. He had been drafted in the first round by New York after he set single season and career rushing University of Kansas in 1970.
In Kansas City for an exhibition game with the Chiefs last August, Riggins expressed a vague longing to be in Lawrence for the first day of classes that day. He spoke on Wednesday about everything, about that yearning.
RIGGINS ENROLLED at KU for the spring semester. He is taking 16 hours toward an undergraduate degree in public relations, but it probably will require another semester to finish, he said.
"I don't know how exciting a sports information or public affairs job is said." said. "But right now I wouldn't like an eight to five job. I want to play football six months of the year and just do what I want the teacher told me."
The trend among professional football players is not necessarily college degrees. Riggs said, Some do though, including former KU football players Bell and Boll. Florida State, Atlanta, Brown, with Pittsburgh.
"There are categories of football players, usually the younger football players who go back to school, and then it's usually just the older players."
What was Riggins' biggest thrill about his rookie season?
"JUST GETTING to go to New York," Riggs said. "I wanted to get out of the immediate area, so we could be happy to be drafted by New York."
"I like the great potential of the city," Riggins continued. "everybody has the same chance, everybody there's always something going on."
Riggins said he hasn't developed an image like that of "Broadway Joe" Namath, the Jets quarterback.
"That kind of image doesn't really matter to me," he said. "I know what the score is, and I don't worry about the image."
"I don't really go out that much," he said, lived on Long Island and it took me an hour to get home from Shea Stadium every day after I worked.
THE MAN who directed those practices. Coach Weeb Ewbank, is quite similar to Pepper Riggins' coach at KU, Riggins said.
"He's along the same lines as Pepper," Riggs said. "But he's not as effercent as Pepper, and he not as strict. But he gets everything wrong. Everybody knows what he needs to do much need for discipline.
Riggins led the Jets this year in rushing with 769 yards and in touchdowns. He attributed much of his success to the N.Y. quarterbacks' lack of experience. The veteran Namath missed most of the season with a single
Experience, in fact, was the ingredient the leets lacked in their training. We were in the absence of key personnel, such as Namath, I never experienced any of the above.
explained, the quarterbacks would have thrown to deeper receivers.
"I got a lot of those receptions because Ai Woodall and Bob Crawford gave me out of the backfield," Higgins said. With more experience he
"WE WERE improving toward the end of the season." Riggins pointed out. "We'll be right back in the money next year. I didn't think I'd have any predictions like that because we was a little superstitions about it.
"I didn't really believe that the Jets were that capable," Riggins noted. "If you put them on a bus and watch them play, they'd look like a bunch of tourists or businessmen. There are only a couple of players who can beat them."
Jo Jo Remembers '66 Regional, Rates Stallworth a 1st-Round Pick
By JEFF HILL
Kansan Sports Writer
It was March 12, 1966, in Lubbock, Tex. The NCAA championship was at stake as the University of Kansas battled Texas Western to a 71-71 tie in the waning moments of the first game.
With seven seconds to play, KU gained possession of the ball and called time out. Coach Ted Owens and his assistant, Sam Miranda. He and the djahayhs to get the ball to sophomore guard Jc Je White.
"I brought it up and was going to try to score up the middle. I ended up scoring a home run." White related Monday in a telephone interview from Boston. He now plays for the Boston Celtics and National Basketball Association.
So White dribbed to the sideline and let loose a 35-foot jump. The shot went in, apparently giving KU a 73-71 win, when the checked an offside jibbon with another further jubilation on KU's part.
"I ITHOUGHT he was calling agou." White said. "But then he called me out of bounds and the shot was no good."
Texas Western eventually won the game, 81-80 in another overtime.
Whether White was inbounds or not is academic new, but that controversial segment of KU basketball history is indicative of White's playing style in basketball. White exhibited during his KU career from 1965 to 1969.
six years later, Jo Ko White still thinks he was inbounds when he took the game. Joe Hill of Texas Western bumped him out of bounds after a foul.
"WHEN I was at KU, I was the one to deliberate state of offense and my job was to set up the offense, so my scoring went down. White
A third-year pro with the
Celtics, White has attained
professional stardom with the
Celtics. He also scored a
sounding touch he displayed at KLU.
"When I got to the pros they wanted me to shoot again."
White said the biggest change for him in the transition from college to pro ball was playing defense.
"In college you do a lot of switching. They don't want you to do that in the pros." White
explained.
"When you first start, the first thing they do is try your defensively. They see if you can slip through. Then you know your man." White explained
THE CELTICS are in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 41-18 record.
When White isn't flinging around, he wins. Gardens, be and another KU basketball great, Dave Robicha, is making his players a player in Lawrence. This contributes his time to Ted Owens' jayhawks. Basketball has been the main contender.
It was White who discovered current KU shooting ace Bud Stallworth
White was impressed with Stallworth and informed Owens. Owens took a look at Stallworth's judgment had been correct
"Bud was up one summer when I was in summer school. A bunch of us played every day and one Bud played with us." White said.
"HIS BIGGEST asset was that he could shoot the ball. He's not afraid to put the ball up." White said.
The 6-5 forward is too short to compete with the towering forwards of the NBA. White figures.
he's going to have to make it as a guard." White said.
White predicted success for Stallworth in the pros.
"He's going to be the number one draft pick of some team. But
Fourteen Kansas and Kansas City area high school football players have signed Big Eight letterheads to play in the NCAA Tournament Coach Dam Fambourg announced Tuesday. Tuesday was the first day such letters could be given out.
KU Signs 14, K-State 31 To Big 8 Football Letters
Kansas
Two Kansas all-staters from St. Joseph High School in Kansas City were among the first-day signers. They are Paul Bower, the quarterback who played at Larry Fitzgerald's state championship and Larry Fitzgerald, his center.
Bower passed for 1,757 yards and rushed for 1,798 yards during his career at St. Joseph.
Of the 14 who signed, eight were listed as linemen four as offensive backs and two as defensive backs. Here is the list of first-day signees, their heights, weights, positions and schools;
Jim Baker, 6-1, 204, fulback, Pittsburgh; John Scanion, 6-1, 185, tackle, Lawrence; Mark Dorian, 6-1, 175, defensible, Wichita North; Dave Havenes, 6-4, 210, defensive end, St. Joseph, Mo. Kenny Rufick, 6-10, 46, quarterback Kansas City, Kan. St. Joseph; St. Joseph, Fitzsimmons, Kansas City, St. Joseph
Yter Hansen, 6-10, 195, fulback, El Dorado; Tom Barley, 6-3, 200, fullback, Fort Ossage, Mo.; Mark Cochran, 6-4, 240, lineman, Ruskin, Mo.; Vince Gordon, 6-2, 202, lineman, North Kansas City, Mo.; Sean Birmingham, 5-11, 185, defensive back; Tracy Foster, 6-1, 202, lineman, 240, lineman, Lee's Summit, Mo.; Roger Hammond, 6-2, 210, lineman, Lee's Summit, and Eric Powell, 6-0, 225, lineman, Lee's Summit.
MANHATTAN (AP)—Thirty-one high school football players signed Big Eight letters of intent to attend Kansas State University Tuesday, the first day possible under conference rules.
"This is, by far, the best year we've ever had," Coach Vince Gibson said about the number of signings that far exceeded last year's record of 19. "We reason for our success today was
"I feel the big reason for our success today was the great effort our current players have given in building our football program," he said. "We have some top-flight, blue-chip players."
David Cooper, back, cottonwood Falls; Stan Ross, end, Attickon; Rijk Blue, back, Coffeilley; Mike Collier, end, Topeka; Denny Gragg, inebacker, Topeka; Olver Jones, inebacker, Manhattan, back, Empress; Lincoln, Mick Lawrence, back, Empress; Linnean, Lawrence; Louis Wegener, inebacker, Marion; Kim Wasmilier, tackle, leche; David Livingston, el. Abdor, Denton; Kent Brown, inemich, Southeast; Greg Whalen, back, Medicine Lodge, end, Denton; back, Shawnee Mission South. From Oklahoma.
Bob Douglas, end, Tusa; Kane Flanken, back, Oklahoma City Grant; Jim Weeden, linebacker, Tusa Edison; Kenneth Langston, back, Fairland; Ren Few, back, Stingler; David Lawyer and Robert Hearn, back; Billy Daniels, back, and Randy Bass, end, both from Lawson, and Wes Nimmo, end, Ponca City.
rams, and the Browns. In baseball back, and Rick Thompson,
Imani both from Cameron, and Dave Corbin.
(Andrew L. Mueller)
As a three-year-old, Steve King fell into a motel swimming pool. Fifteen years later, he is still falling into pools, only now he calls it diving. King is a freshman in Kansas university of Kansas swimming team.
King Earns NCAA Diving Berth
During a typical two-hour practice session, each diver will practice eleven dives, five required and six optional. King said he does each dive about five aboard a total of about 110 dives each day.
By BILL SCHEELE
Kansan Sports Editor
The 18-year-old Shawnee Mine
The 19-year-old Shawnee last month for the NCAA meet in March with his performance at the Owner-Cowboy Invitational
Conditioning, practice, consistency and confidence are the bases of good diving, King said. Running the concrete steps at Memorial Stadium is expected to enable King for rounding into shape.
King credits his father, a former Wyndotte high diver, with getting him interested in the sport and learning boards in his inner tube at the age of five, diving in the city league at age eight and competing in AAU meets at fifteen. At Mission West, King received honorable mention for a dive.
King does not consider his size ('5' 6', 140) a handicap. He said that divers come in all shapes and sizes.
King stressed that consistency in a workout is necessary to perform well in a meet.
Looking ahead to the Big Eight
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Big Eight diving crown in recent years. Spikes is the defending champion.
King said the NCAA meet at West Point should introduce him to top flight competition. He will also participate in possible return trips to the national championship as long-range to become a top diver in the collegiate ranks
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swimming and diving meet at Columbia, Mo., in early March. King said the competition would be intense.
Okahama should give the Jahaways the most competition for the team title, King said, and Missouri and Iowa State provide the stiffest competition in diving. The two teams are defending Spikes of ISU have both won the
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