WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Kansas State will bring its fans. See Page 3B. BASEBALL: Team prepares for tonight's game. See Page 3B.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2002
Andy Samuelson asamuelson@kansan.com
Show K-State who's boss; support your home team
The "Purple People" are coming.
No, not some three-armed intruder from Pluto or Mars, but rather a band of purple-clad Manhattanites from the West.
They're ready to make Jayhawk basketball fans bleed crimson all over James Naismith Court.
Kansas State comes to Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday for a 3 p.m. "Sunflower State Showdown" in women's basketball.
The problem is that K-State has pounded the Jayhawks on the football field during the past decade. Kansas has equally dominated men's basketball.
Now it looks as though the rivalry that is Kansas/K-State might have yet another dominant team.
Although Kansas has won 20 of the past 28 meetings, this is the worst season ever for Kansas, which sits at 5-21.
If the No. 12-ranked Wildcats win on Sunday, they would have the most victories, 22, since the 1986-1987 season.
That's why the Showdown is so important.
I understand that Kansas is really bad this season and is in serious jeopardy of going 0-16 in the Big 12 Conference.
I don't care if Jayhawk fans don't support the women's team,but they need to show up Sunday to protect their home turf because K-State fans are coming.
Wildcat supporters have backed their women this season, averaging more than 11,000 in attendance for the last six games at Bramlage Coliseum.
Wednesday's game between the Wildcats and the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners drew a crowd of 11,789 - the fourth-best total in K-State history. The Wildcats are having a strong season for attendance this year, drawing a total of more than 90,000 fans.
Kansas on the other hand has had the worst fan support in the Big 12 a few more than 10,000 fans have shown up.
But it's not just the Wildcat fans coming from Manhattan who are a problem. Alumni will flock from Kansas City and the small towns scattered around I-70 between Manhattan and Lawrence.
Unless Jayhawk fans take the initiative Sunday, Allen Fieldhouse could contain an outrageous ratio of nearly 10-1 K-State fans to Kansas fans.
Even K-State's men's team, which has been overshadowed all season by the women's team, drew a nearly-packed house a couple of weeks ago when the Jayhawks came to town for their annual victory.
So, KU students, shake off those Saturday night hangovers, and come out to watch your Jayhawks.
Throw on a blue T-shirt and come out just to watch some young, talented instate players who K-State beat Kansas to the punch on.
The Wildcats start three freshmen, a sophomore and one senior, but it's been the play of in-state freshmen Laurie Koehn of Hesston, and Kendra Wecker of Marysville, that has made this Wildcat team so fun to watch this season.
Or maybe, Sunday will be the day that Kansas picks up a win. After all, K-State is in the midst of its only losing streak of the season.
And who knows maybe, just maybe, Manhattan might freeze over on Sunday.
Sanuleson is a Wichite senior in journalism
Baylor upset fresh in'Hawks' minds
By Brent Wasko Kansan sportswriter
The No. 2 Kansas men's basketball team doesn't want to forget its devastating 85-77 upset loss to Baylor last year in Waco, Texas.
Kansas was in prime position to make a run at the Big 12 Conference regular season crown until the Bears shocked the Jayhawks on ESPN's Big Monday. The pain and the lessons learned from that game still linger.
"I remember I was mad before the game because I didn't think our guys were focused," said Kansas coach Roy
Williams said. "I warned them, hoping it would shake them up in the locker room because I didn't like our attitude, didn't like the way we were walking, sitting, talking, anything about it whatsoever. Before you know it, we're down 27."
This year's Jayhawk team, with a 22-2 overall record and an 11-0 Big 12 record, will face Baylor in a somewhat similar scenario at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Allen Fieldhouse. With five games remaining in the regular season, Kansas has a three-game lead in the Big 12 and seems to be on its way to a conference championship.
This could be a case of deja vu for the Jayhawks.
"It is in the back of our minds because last year they let the title game slip away, but we are just going to try and take it one game at a time," freshman forward Wayne Simien said. "Baylor is a dangerous team."
Baylor comes to Allen Fieldhouse as the underdog with a 14-10 record overall and a 4-7 record in the Big 12.
The Bears have been erratic all season. They defeated Texas A&M by 52 points and sneaked past Missouri at home 81-80 while the Tigers were still ranked as the No. 22 team in the country. But those wins have been overshadowed by losses to teams such as Texas-Pan American and Rice. The squad has also struggled on the road, losing all seven games it has played away from home.
The Bears are a fairly young team and some of their players have put up strong numbers. Freshman Lawrence Roberts leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 16.3 points and grabbing 8.2 boards a game. Junior Wendell Greenleaf leads the Big 12 in
STAYING TOGETHER
SEE MEN ON PAGE GB
Freshmen buddies team up to provide support
Bv Brent Wasko
Kansan sportswriter
Adjusting to life as freshmen Kansas basketball players has been difficult for best friends Aaron Miles and Michael Lee.
But Lee said having each other to talk to made the transition a little easier.
"I think at times when, as far as basketball, I'm not doing so good. I've got him on my side. It's the same way when he gets down," Lee said. "He's somebody who has known me half my life and knows how best to talk to me. We keep each other together."
The teammates have faced challenges together for most of their lives, but nothing prepared them for the intensity, the stress and the fun of playing basketball at Kansas.
Friends since childhood
"We were always close," Miles said. "We basically lived together when we were in Portland. I mean he lived right down the street."
The friendship between Lee and Miles began before they decided to play basketball at Kansas. They met in their hometown of Portland, Ore., while still in grade school, and became good friends.
Miles and Lee shared many great moments together at Jefferson High School. Both were successful basketball players. Their team won the Oregon state basketball championship in 1999-2000 with a perfect 28-0 record. The squad also finished ranked No.4 in the nation.
Off the court, Miles and Lee performed well in the classroom.
Miles had a 3.7 grade point average and Lee had a 3.3 GPA— grades good enough to place them on the honor roll.
Aaron Miles
Miles was the student body vice president his senior year.
Miles and Lee knew they would attend college and would continue to participate in athletics after high school, but few predicted the two would end up together on the Kansas basketball team.
Lee was offered opportunities to play football after graduation. In high school he had played six different positions on the gridiron and was one of his team's top performers. As a senior, Lee became the favorite target for quarterback Aaron Miles.
More coaches recruited Lee to play football than to play basketball. The Oregon basketball team offered him the option of taking a redshirt, but Lee said a basketball scholarship at Kansas was too good to pass up.
"Not that many people get the opportunity to play at the highest level of basketball," Lee said. "I didn't really have that many scholarship offers, so the minute I saw this school, I knew it would be a positive for me. It was my best option."
teams across the country wanted Miles. He was listed as the No. 4 high school point guard prospect in the country and as the No.11 prospect overall by ESPN.com. He was selected to the McDonald's All-American team and was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon during his senior season.
Miles had a more difficult time deciding where he wanted to play. He knew one thing for sure — he was going to play basketball. It was just a matter of where.
Kansas coach Roy Williams recruited Miles heavily, but Lee said he and Miles never talked about the
recruiting process or about playing together at Kansas.
Miles narrowed his search to three schools UCLA, Arizona and Kansas. Around that same time Lee signed with Kansas. Miles didn't immediately follow his friend to Lawrence. He took a few more weeks before deciding to become a Jayhawk.
"We were traveling with our AAU team, and coach Williams would go to a few games to talk to Aaron," Lee said. "We never talked about coming together, but we did talk about the school."
Lee said he didn't think Miles' decision was totally based on the fact that he had already signed to play at Kansas.
Kansas.
"I think that had something to do with it," Lee said. "Even before Kansas recruited me, this was one of his No. 1 options."
Not everything they expected
The No.2 Kansas basketball team has seen its share of success this season, with a 22-2 overall record and a perfect 11-0 record in the Big 12 Conference. Yet Miles and Lee said they were not fully satisfied with the way things had gone for them personally.
Miles came to Kansas with some fans comparing him to former Jayhawk star point guard Jacque Vaughn. Miles even decided to
Women hope to repeat good effort against 'Cats
SEE BUDDIES ON PAGE 6A
By Jessica Scott Kansan sportswriter
The last time Kansas met up with its in-state rivals, the Jayhawks were the heavy underdog.
Sunday afternoon the Jayhawks will get a second shot at claiming a year's worth of bragging rights when they play Kansas State at 3 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.
Ranked No. 11 at the time, the Wildcats handed the Jayhawks a 72-59 defeat, but Kansas coach Marian Washington said her team played some of its best basketball at Kansas State a few weeks ago.
"We did a good job in Manhattan," Washington said. "I thought we played very well. Hopefully, we can do as well if not better on Sunday. We'll just have to see what happens."
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
In the first meeting, the Jay-
Kansas guard KC Hilgenkamp tries to advance the ball in a game last year against Kansas State. A large contingent of Wildcat fans are expected at Allen Fieldhouse for this Sunday's rivalry matchup.
hawks (5-21 overall, 0-13 Big shots and trailed by only three 12 Conference) connected on a season-high three-point
SEE WOMEN ON PAGE 3B
ism.
Kansas softball team heads to Las Vegas for weekend games
Bv Ali Brox
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas softball team has the opportunity to pick up two more victories against ranked teams this weekend at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Classic.
Last weekend at the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Phoenix, the Jayhawks defeated No. 17 Southwest Texas and No. 6 Arizona State.
Kansas (3-2) lost to No. 5 California-Berkeley in its second game in Arizona, but will get the chance to avenge that loss this Sunday when Kansas faces the Bears again at noon
"We get another chance against Cal this weekend, and I think that we're more prepared now than we were before," senior shortstop Courtney Wright said. "I think that if we just keep pounding away that we're going to get a win against Cal and they're another ranked team, so I think we feel really good all around. We seem to play better against ranked teams anyway."
Before the rematch with California, the Jayhawks must play No. 18 Oregon State at 3 p.m. and the host school, UNLV, at 5:30 p.m. today. Oregon State is off to its best start ever with an 8-1 record. The Beavers' only defeat came in their first
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 6B
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