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SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2003
Kansas finding rhythm Jayhawks get into groove during Big Dance
Courtney Kublen/Kansan
Keith Langford, sophomore guard, is all smiles after Aaron Miles hit a three-point shot to break 100 points for the Jayhawks. Kansas went on to beat Arizona State 108-76. The team advances to the next round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswriter
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kansas might have this NCAA Tournament seeding thing backward.
After squeaking by 15th-seeded Utah State 64-61 on Thursday, the No. 2 Jayhawks throttled No. 10 Arizona State, 108-76, on Saturday in what was billed as the more difficult match-up of the two.
No matter. The Jayhawks are just happy to be heading to Anaheim, Calif., and the Sweet 16.
"I wish we could go to Anaheim this weekend," sophomore guard Keith Langford said after the game.
The Jayhawks will get there soon enough, but first they had to stop Arizona State freshman phenom Ike Diogu. The 6-foot-9-inch, 250-pound man-child averaged 19 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season and had been mentioned as a candidate for the nation's top freshman. And Diogu was not going to be intimidated by the Jayhawks.
He told reporters on Friday that although he was impressed with the Kansas big men, he had never been schooled by anybody in his short career. He might want to rethink that statement.
Jayhawk senior forward Nick Collison may have taught the youngster and the entire Sun Devil team a few things. Collison wheeled between defenders, netting basket after basket. By half-time, the leading scorer in Big 12 Conference history led all players with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He added another 9 in the second half for a total
KANSAS 108 - ARIZONA STATE 76
KANSAS (27-7)
Player Min. FGM-A FTM-A FTM-R Abh
Nick Collison 32 9-12 4-10 12 10 7
Kevin Langford 31 9-13 1-2 19 5 2
Kirk Hinrich 31 9-14 3-3 24 5 2
Aaron Miles 32 5-7 6-8 18 3 6
Jeff Graves 21 2-3 1-2 18 3 4
Moudaive Ning 16 3-3 4-1 10 4 1
Bryan Nash 16 3-4 4-4 10 5 1
Jeff Hawkins 7 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Christy Moody 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Brett Olson 3 0-0 2-2 2 0 0
Stephen Vision 2 0-0 1-2 1 0 6
Totals 200 40-59 23-54 108 40 21
ARIZONA STATE (20-12)
Player Min. FGM-A FTM-A TP Reb. A
Player Winn. Timm. Kane
Ice Diqou 32 5-12 3-5 13 7 1 1
Shawn Redhage 28 3-7 0-0 7 13 7 1
Tommy Smith 28 3-14 0-0 13 7 2 1
Brandon Jennings 23 2-3 0-1 7 1 1
Curtis Millage 31 3-9 3-4 9 2 4
Jason Braxton 31 7-12 3-4 17 2 2
Drew DeWitt 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Ken Danaldale 2 1-3 0-0 0 0 1
Brandon Knight 1 1-3 0-0 0 2 1
Jamal Hill 9 1-2 0-0 3 1 0
Justin Allen 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Jamie Andresvee 2 1-1 3-4 4 2 0
Brandon Goldman 2 0-3 0-0 7 0 1
Brandon Journe 2 0-1 0-0 0 1 0
Team 6 6
Totals 200 28-69 16-23 76 31 11
of 22 to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Totals 200 28-69 16-23 76 31 11
And Diogu? After scoring 22 points in Arizona State's victory against Memphis on Thursday, Collison and junior forward Jeff Graves held him to 13 points — 3 in the second half. Despite his apparent humbling, Diogu didn't sound too overwhelmed after the game.
"It seemed like in the second half, we just let them take it to us," Diogu said. "He just guarded me like anybody else has this season."
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 3B
'Hawk dashes to win NCAA title
By Chris Wintering
cwintering@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The lone Kansas national qualifier clinched gold March 14 as he won the 200-meter dash at the 2003 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Leo Bookman finished first in the dash with a school-record time of 20.53 seconds to become the 200-meter national champion.
The junior already had the school record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 20.77 seconds, but he broke his own
record twice during the championship meet.
In the preliminaries, Bookman won his heat by running the top preliminary time of 20.64.
His performance earned him All-America honors for the second consecutive year. He said he was confident going into the race despite the difficult opposition.
"The competition was tough because there were guys here that were running fast times all season," Bookman said. "But I knew that if I ran a clean race, that there was no one here that could beat me."
Bookman was the 2002 Big 12 indoor and outdoor 200-meter dash champion.
He earned All-America honors in the 200-meter dash at the last year's NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a seventh-place national finish. He was the favorite to win the 200-meter dash entering this year's Big 12 Championships, but he was disqualified in his preliminary race for a lane violation.
That mistake earlier in the season did not bother Bookman at the NCAA meet, he said.
"Iwasn't worried about making a mistake again. I just took my time and was patient and made sure that I got out of the blocks correctly." Bookman said.
for the Indoor Championships. Kansas coach Stanley Redwine said Bookman earned it.
Bookman was Kansas's only qualifier
"He really deserved to win," Redwine said. "We're really excited for him and glad we have him on our side."
Bookman is the 18th Jayhawk to become a national indoor track and field champion. The last Jayhawk to become a national champion was in 1996 when Kristi Kloster won the 800-meter run.
The outdoor season begins for the team Thursday at the Emporia State Twilight meet in Emporia.
Softball goes 4-4 over break
— Edited by Michelle Burhenn
'Hawks still lack Big 12 victory as they move in to 'meat of the schedule'
Freshman second baseman Jessica Moppin returns a hit as Oklahoma junior Nikki Holt sprints for second base at the Kansas softball game yesterday. Kansas went on to lose to Oklahoma 10-0.
By Steve Schmidt
schmidt@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Dan Nelson/Kansan
Going into a doubleheader against New Mexico State on March 15 in Stillwater, Okla., it was good to be a member of the Kansas softball team.
The team had a record of 14-4 and a national ranking of No.25 as it headed into what coach Tracy Bunge called the beginning of the "meat of the schedule."
Unfortunately for Kansas, the meat so far has been tough to chew.
A 4-4 record during spring break play made the Jayhawks record 18-8.
Kansas started the eight-game stretch with two victories over New Mexico
The team has yet to get a Big 12 Conference victory, going 0-4 in the span with two losses apiece against No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 23 Oklahoma State.
Kansas senior pitcher Kirsten Milhoan and junior pitcher Kara Pierce combined for 12 scoreless innings. Junior Mel Wallach continued to hit for power, smashing two homeruns in both contests.
State, taking the games 11-0 and 6-0.
The next day the Jayhawks opened conference play with a doubleheader
This time it was the Cowgirls with broom in hand as they dusted away Kansas, winning 2-1 and 5-2.
against Oklahoma State.
The jayhawk bats were hushed by solid pitching as the squad was held to a total of six hits in both games.
SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 3B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Washington will continue to lead women's basketball
Kansas athletics director Al Bohl announced Tuesday that women's bas ketball coach Marian Washington would be back for her 31st season as coach of the Jayhawks.
"It's important that we recognize what coach Washington has accomplished over her 30-year coaching career at KU," he said in a statement. "I have talked with coach Washington and we have the same goals of wanting to see our program be a top level Big 12 Conference team."
Washington guided Kansas to an 11-18 overall record last season including a 3-13 mark in the Big 12 Conference.
Overall, she has a 551-347 record in 30 seasons at Kansas.
"I have a great deal of respect for what coach Washington has meant to women's basketball and at the same time I have an obligation to make decisions that are in the best interest of the University of Kansas," Bohl said. "I think we are at the point that we will make an evaluation on a year-by-year basis."
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Kansan staff report
Ryan Wood rwood@kansan.com
Washington could teach Williams foul lessons
Williams has relied on junior forward Jeff Graves to carry a big load while Wayne Simien nurses a dislocated shoulder. Graves is a big body, a big rebounder and a heck of an instinctive player at times.
Coach Roy Williams needs to learn a lesson, and women's coach Marian Washington could be the teacher.
Graves, though, can't keep his hands to himself.
Too many times, Graves has been in serious foul trouble. It's been 22 games since Simien's freak injury on Jan. 4. Graves has registered four or more fouls in 15 of those contests.
Ridiculous? Yes. Preventable?
Absolutely — just ask Marian Washington.
Washington was faced with a far too similar task. Freshman Tamara Ransburg, the best player on the women's basketball team, is another hack-happy Jayhawk. She was the team leader in points and rebounds, and she could be the top player in the Big 12 before her career is done.
But for a while, Ransburg wouldn't stop fouling. Silly ones, questionable ones, maybe even necessary ones — a Tamara Ransburg foul was no surprise to anybody watching.
Fortunately for everybody involved, Washington figured out what to do and Ransburg stopped getting into foul trouble.
Meanwhile, Graves keeps wearing the dunce hat, getting four fouls on Thursday against Utah State and four more Saturday against Arizona State.
In Kansas's first Big 12 loss at Colorado on Jan. 22, Graves had four fouls with 18 minutes to play in the game. He was useless after that — when the team needed him the most.
Kansas's next game — against Arizona on Jan. 25 — Graves had three fouls in a 40-second span early in the second half. Inexcusable on Graves's part, but also inexcusable that Williams let it get out of control.
The Jayhawks are heading to the Sweet 16 after two victories this weekend. A date with Duke, and a possible showdown with Arizona, is looming for Kansas. It could be a brutal stretch of games.
Has Williams not figured it out?
Washington's plan was simple: Save Ransburg for when she might really need her.
Kansas needs all the punches it can get, especially with Simien wearing a suit on the sidelines. Jeff Graves may be the most critical piece of the puzzle — but I wonder if he'll even see more than six or seven second-half minutes on Thursday.
Washington knows that foul-prone players just can't help themselves. Does Williams?
Against Kansas State on Jan. 8, Ransburg collided with K-State's Kendra Wecker just one minute into the game. She was whistled for a foul — and Washington sat her on the bench immediately.
There's an unwritten basketball rule to bench a player until halftime if they have three fouls, but Washington ignores it if someone's out of control. Ransburg never had three first-half fouls. Her coach sat her down after two.
In fact, Ransburg played just five minutes in the first half of that game. She still ended up with 13 points and 10 rebounds, playing the entire second half against Nicole Ohlde, the nation's best center.
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Marian Washington has been a head coach twice as long as Roy Williams. When it comes dealing with foul-prone players,it sure does show.
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Wood is a Lee's Summit, Mo., senior in journalism.