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SPORTS
1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2003
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Brad Zollars
bzollars@kansan.com
Student fans should get better seats
Students at Missouri have already begun to camp out inside the Hearnes Center in anticipation of Sunday's match-up with hated rival Kansas.
Both schools have a rich history of rabid fans and a staunch home court advantage. Both schools pride themselves on having top-tier basketball programs, and each strives for national prominence. But only one of these universities treats their student fans like second-class citizens, and unfortunately, it isn't Missouri.
As a student, getting into Allen Fieldhouse is about as easy as scaling the walls of Fort Knox. KUIDs are checked with ridiculous scrutiny, and the ticket-takers are about as trusting as a weapons inspector in the middle of Iraq. Even if you are one of the lucky few who makes it through the gate without being hasled, your reward is the catacombs of Allen Fieldhouse that are deemed student seating.
dent setting.
The alumni would never arrive at the Fieldhouse two hours early to witness the Jayhawks take on UNC-Greensboro.
Yet it is the alumni who receive seats on either side of the court.
As a student fan, you feel cheated. You feel neglected. You feel like you should have brought your binoculars. You're right.
Bettering student seating for men's basketball games isn't a new topic of conversation around campus. In fact, student groups as far back as 1989 have petitioned to at least move a small amount of student fans from behind the baskets to more effective courtside seats. The reasoning is simple: closer, visible student seats not only make the home court more attractive on television, but also makes Allen Fieldhouse an even more feared destination.
The wine and cheese crowds who inhabit the good seats seem to be permanently glued to them during most home games, a problem easily seen during nationally televised games. When trying to do something right, one always looks to the best for guidance. And recently, many of college basketball's elite programs are taking Duke, and its courtside Cameron Crazies, as the example by giving their students better seats to liven their arenas.
Missouri allows 4,500 student tickets, upping that number to 6,000 for the Kansas game, and allows 2,000 of those students to sit anywhere in the first three tiers of the Hearnes Center.
Matt Doughtery, former Kansas assistant and current coach of North Carolina, took a step to liven up the Dean Dome last year by bringing in a few hundred students to the prime seats. Kentucky, also one of the nation's leading college basketball programs, will do the same next season as they plan to put 750 students close to the action as well.
The Big 12 recognizes the problem too, as Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas each have students sitting on at least one sideline.
Maryland, national powerhouse and heartbreaker to the Jayhawks last season, took perhaps the largest step towards improving their seating. Starting next year, students will receive the first ten rows of regular seating all the way around the university's new Comcast Center, where Maryland will play next season.
The fear often heard around campus is that wealthy alumni would be more apt to cancel some large donations if seating were changed. This seems a little farfetched. Sure, some alumni would be upset, but at the same time, most I have talked to are all for closer student seats if it betters the atmosphere and reputation
SEE ZOLLARS ON PAGE 3B
Jared Soares/Kansan
Third basemen Travis Metcalf tags out Western Michigan baserunner Adam Rosales in the seventh inning. The Jayhawks went on to beat the WMU Broncos 8-1 yesterday at Hoglund Ballpark in the first of a four-game home series with the Broncos.
Broncos bucked Hawks run home after clean up
By Daniel Berk dberk@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
His team gave him that effort. The
After waking up yesterday morning, Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price knew by looking outside at the snow on the ground that it was going to take a total team effort not only to win the Jayhawks' game against Western Michigan University, but just to play.
players started working on the field about 11 a.m. to get it ready for game time. Then, after all that work, the team defeated the Broncos 8-1 at Hoglund Ballpark.
The victory improved the Jayhawks' record to 14-4, and dropped the Broncos to 0-6 on the season.
Junior Ryan Knippschild, the team's starting pitcher, stole the show as he pitched a complete game allowing only six hits. one run that was unearned and striking out 12 batters.
"My staff and players did a great job getting the field ready to play on," Price said. "We didn't get done working on the field until after three, so it was a
long day for all of us."
Coming into the series against the Broncos, Price stressed the importance of getting quality innings out of his starting pitchers to limit the amount of
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 3B
Mengüç's journey continues in Kansas
By Ryan Greene rgreeen@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
When searching for the perfect example of an athlete who is more than meets the eye, look no further than junior guard Leila Mengüc.
At 5-6, Mengüç is not the most physically imposing threat to her counterparts. Mengüç will not necessarily light up the points column on the stat sheet. Mengüç won't use trash talk to get into an opponent's head, either.
You cannot put a price on what Mengüç does bring to her team—experience and leadership.
Mengüç's journey to Kansas has not had many stops along the way, but has covered quite a distance. When she arrived at Kansas, Mengüç, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, became one of five foreign players to suit up in a Kansas uniform.
Mengüç played club basketball after high school for one year in Sweden. Living six hours away from home, she learned to take care of herself by living on her own, but Mengüç said coming to
SEE MENGUÇ ON PAGE 3B
Kansan file photo
Junior Leila Menguc averages 2.8 points per game for Kansas, but her leadership and tenacity have made her one of the Jayhawks' most valuable players. Kansas meets Iowa State on Tuesday in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Kansas 'greedy' for Big 12 title
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswinter
Kansas senior guard Kirk Hinrich faces Missouri guard Ricky Clemons during the Feb. 3 game. Kansas won the game, 76-70. The Jayhawks will play the Tigers at 1 p.m. Sunday in Columbia, Mo. If Kansas defeats Missouri, it will be the sole Big 12 Conference title-holder.
Don't waste your time extolling the virtues of sharing to Kansas sophomore guard Keith Langford. He has no interest in it, at least when pertains to Big 12 Conference championships.
"I'm greedy," Langford told reporters. "I want another ring."
Kansan file photo
Langford has already guaranteed his second championship ring by helping No. 6 Kansas (23-6 overall, 13-2 Big 12 Conference) defeat Texas Tech, 65-56, Monday, but with a victory on Sunday, he and the Jayhawks can ensure they will be the only conference team donning league jewelry at the end of the Big 12 season.
Heading into the final weekend of conference play, Kansas needs a road victory against Missouri (18-8, 9-6) to lock up sole possession of the title. Kansas leads Texas and Oklahoma by one game each. If the Jayhawks lose, they will share the title with the winner of tomorrow's game between the Longhorns and the Sooners.
"It's been a fantastic league race," Roy Williams said after the Tech game. "There are fantastic teams and fantastic coaches."
The conference is so strong. in
Williams' estimation, that in the preseason the Kansas coach predicted four teams would precede his in the league's final standings. Those teams included Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and
KANSAS VS. MISSOURI
PNo. Player Ht. Yt. PPg RPG
Nick Collison 6-9 St. 18.6 9.3
Kath Langford 6-4 So. 15.4 4.9
Kirk Hinrich 6-3 Sa. 17.4 3.8
Aaron Miles 6-1 So. 8.9 3.3
Jeff Graves 6-9 Jr. 5.1 5.8
6KANSAS(23-6)
F 01 Jeff Hawkins 5-11 Fr. 1.4 0.7
G 25 Michael Lee 6-3 So. 4.3 0.7
G 33 Bryant Nash 6-6 Jr. 3.3 2.6
MISSOURI (18-8)
P No. Player Ht. Yr. PP RPG G 0 Ricky Clamons 5-11 Jr. 15.5 31 G 14 Kevin McKinney 6-3 Fr. 8.6 4.0 F 14 Kira Young县 6-5 Fr. 2.5 3.1 F 23 Rickey Pauling 6-5 Jr. 16.9 5.2 F 30 Arthur Johnson 6-9 Jr. 15.6 9.3
F 5 Travon Bryant 6-9 Jr. 4.8 2.0
G 12 Josh Kroenke 6-4 Fr. 2.0
G 13 Jeffery Ferrouson 6-10 So. 1.7 2.8
Opponent: Missouri
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Columbia, Missouri
TV: CBS
Radio: KLZR 105.9 FM
Sunday's opponent
SEE BIG 12 ON PAGE 3B