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SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2003
Seniors to bid farewell
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
kansan sportswriter
Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison have rarely felt out of place in front of the 16,300 fans who regularly pack Allen Fieldhouse to see them play. Both, however, admitted they'll be more than a little uneasy when No.7 Jayhawks (21-6 overall, 11-2 Big 12 Conference play) take on No.16 Oklahoma State (20-6, 9-4) at noon tomorrow.
The two Kansas seniors will be playing their final home game as Jayhawks, but what really makes them nervous are the the speeches they'll be expected to give after the game as part of Senior Dav
"I'm not going to be comfortable at all," Hinrich said after Wednesday's 85-45 victory over Texas A&M. "I don't like speaking in front of that many people."
While Hinrich and Collision may not like standing behind a microphone, the two have had little trouble performing on the court. The Jayhawks' record is 104-27 during the duo's four seasons at Kansas. That's more than a quarter of the 409 victories Roy Williams has amassed in 15 seasons as Kansas' coach.
Hinrich and Collison's importance to the Jayhawks goes beyond wins and losses. Williams said that interacting with them as high school seniors renewed his faith in coaching at a time when 17-year-old egos and demeaning recruiting practices nearly drove him from the profession.
"If it wasn't for those guys and their families" he said. "This would probably be a lot livelier press conference, because it'd be someone else besides me here."
With the distractions of Senior Day activities, the responsibility for delivering a victory against the Cowboys falls to the underclassmen, sophomore guard Keith Langford said.
KANSAS VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
7KANSAS(21-6)
P No. Player Ht. Yr. PP RPG
F 4 Nick Collison K-18 2.9 18.6 9.2
G 5 Keith Langford K-6 4 So. 15.4 4.8
G 11 Krishnan K-3 6 So. 18.1 3.7
G 11 Aaron Miles K-1 So. 8.8 3.4
F 42 Jeff Graves K-6 Jr. 5.0 5.7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
F 23 Wayne Simien 6-9 So. 14.8 8.2
G 25 Michael Lee 6-3 So. 14.5 2.3
G 25 Brvant Nash 6-6 Jr. 2.8 2.4
16 OKLAHOMA STATE (20-6)
| PNo. Player | Ht. Yr. PPG RPG |
| :--- | :--- |
| F 23 Ivan McFarlin | 6-8 Jr 10.5 6.8 |
| F 24 Andre Williams | 6-8 Jr 6.8 6.9 |
| G 5 Victor Williams | 5-10 Jr 15.5 2.4 |
| G 24 Tony Allen | 6-4 Jr 14.8 5.2 |
| G 34 Melvin Sanders | 6-4 Jr 13.5 4.9 |
| Top Reserves | |
| G 30 Chryne Gadson | 6-3 Sr 5.9 2.2 |
| F 33 Jasmer Miller | 6-9 Jr 3.0 3.4 |
| G 25 Jeannie Weatherpoon 6 | 6-9 Jr 2.8 1.0 |
Opponent: Oklahoma State
When: Noon Saturday
Where: Allen Fieldhouse
TV: Channel 13
Radio: KJHK 90.7 FM, KLZR 105.9 FM
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
"It's up to us," he said. "We don't want to have them give their speeches after a loss."
Along with a proper farewell for its seniors, a victory on Saturday would further Kansas' quest for the Big 12 title. With three conference games to play, the Jayhawks lead Oklahoma and Texas by game, while the Cowboys trail by two.
Even with a conference title on the line, Williams seemed more interested in the fans' performance than his teams'.
"I don't care what happens on the court on Saturday," Williams said. "Those fans better never sit down."
Kirk Hinrich leads a drive down the court during the second half of Wednesday's 85-45 pounding of Texas A&M. Hinrich and Nick Collison will play their final home games as Jayhawks when Kansas plays No. 16 Oklahoma State tomorrow in Allen Fieldhouse.
Injury ends Simien's season
-Edited by Ryan Wood
Forward set to undergo shoulder surgery in March plans return next season
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
There won't be any more gasps when Wayne Simien bangs into another
player or talks of "tweaked" shoulders.
Simien was attempting to finish the season, despite playing with shoulder pain that he once likened to having a fork shoved into his shoulder.
"He tried." Kansas coach Roy Williams said at yesterday's press conference. "He really tried."
The sophomore forward is done for the season.
"Wavne never felt better than he did
in the Colorado game," Williams said of Simien's emotional state.
He injured the shoulder Jan. 4 when he jammed his hand into the basket
while trying to block a shot, forcing the shoulder back and down away from the socket. After sitting on the bench for 11 games, he returned to the floor against Iowa State with only an occasional wince to indicate anything was wrong. When he scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds in 20 minutes against Colorado, it seemed Simien would not only be able to contribute, but dominate.
But while Simien was thrilled to be on the floor again, struggling with a shoulder that would not stay together was beginning to wear him out.
Simien never denied feeling the excruciating pain — he simply said, "It's just something I'll have to get used to."
What he couldn't get used to was see-
SEE SIMIEN ON PAGE 8B
Jayhawks to tangle with the Tigers
By Ryan Greene rggreene@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
After losing 80-57 in a hostile environment at No. 5 Kansas State on Wednesday, the road will stay bumpy as the Kansas women's basketball team nears the end of the regular season.
KANSAS VS. MISSOURI
KANSAS(10-15)
The first of Kansas' two remaining regular season contests will be at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Missouri. On Feb. 15, Missouri (13-12 overall, 7-7 Big 12 Conference) won the front end of the season series in Allen Fieldhouse, 61-55. One area that Kansas (10-15, 3-11) will be addressing from the first meeting is not only defending the perimeter, but scoring from the perimeter as well. In the first meeting, the Tigers went 7-for-16 from beyond the three-point line, while Kansas was only 1-for-5.
P No. Player Ht. Yr. Fr. RPG 19
F 27 Temara Ransburg 6-4 Fr. 10.7
F 28 Temara Kemp 6-2 Fr. 11.0
G 31 Bair Witz 6-0 So. 7.8
G 21 Lola Menguc 5-6 Fr. 2.8
G 44 Anaura Buntas 5-9 So. 10.2
P No. Player Ht. Yt. PPG RPG
F 13 Elen Urumu 6-1 Jr. 15.6 7.6
F 40 Strasbourg James 6-2 Jr. 9.2 5.2
F 54 Melanie Fisher 6-2 Jr. 5.3 5.5
G 5 Tracy Lozier 5-10 Jr. 9.2 2.4
G 15 Korenza Barr 5-10 Sr. 11.6 4.0
Freshman forward Tamara Ransburg shoots a free throw against Baylor. Ransburg heads into tomorrow's game with Missouri averaging 10.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
"I think we've improved a lot offensively," coach Marian Washington said. "We have to really cover the ball better, and I think that if we can get more effective defensively, it will help out."
G 23 Eric Hallman 5-9 Fr. 8.2 1.6
F 33 Nichielle Roberts 6-1 Fr. 3.8 4.4
F 30 Stacey Becker 5-9 Sc. 4.4 1.8
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
MSISSOURI(13-12)
A big positive the young Jayhawk squad took from the Kansas State game was building on its nerves. For most of the newcomers to the team, it was the largest crowd they had ever played in front of. With next to no one dressed in crimson and blue in Manhattan, the
G 10 Latoye Bond 5-7 So. 3.7 1.5
G 23 Lazer Podratz 5-10 So. 1.3 1.2
F 44 Tarienne Wolfford. 6-0 Jr. 2.8 1.0
Opponent: Misssourl
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Columbia, Mo.
Radio: 90.7 KJHK, 1320 KLWN
team will know what to expect in another unfriendly setting tomorrow.
"I think it's all about us," Washington said. "When you have a particularly hostile crowd, for young players to experience that, I knew that they grew up a lot."
Kansas comes in with confidence in their inside offense, Freshmen forwards Tamara Ransburg and Crystal Kemp are combining for an average of 21.7 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, but more
importantly have found consistency in their production.
The Jayhawks not only need offense on the perimeter but will need a repeat performance from Ransburg and Kemp, who combined for 27 points and 17 rebounds in the first Missouri game.
But Ransburg may have to go alone, as Kemp is questionable for tomorrow's game. Kemp suffered a mild concussion against Kansas State and was held out from practice yesterday.
— Edited by Ryan Wood
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Jonah Ballow
jballow@kansan.com
4
New coach responsible for success in baseball
One might ask, what is the big deal they upset a better team?
Coach Ritch Price has created exciting baseball in Lawrence.
The real story line of the season is that Kansas swept the No. 6 ranked Louisiana State Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.
The Jayhawks are 11-3 on the season and Collegiate Baseball ranks the team No. 17 in the nation. Kansas is coming off a sweep over Eastern Michigan last weekend.
The difference is that, in baseball, the good college teams are always good and might drop one game in a series but not three consecutive games.
It has been nine years since the Jayhawks have had a solid baseball team, and to not only beat, but also sweep, a perennial powerhouse like LSU is an accomplishment in itself.
What is the cause of this quick turn-around?
Coaching.
Al Bohl, athletics director, said Price was committed to building a Top 25 baseball team.
Well Al, the team is accomplishing more than anybody expected in Price's first season.
A coach who was known on the West Coast built a quality program at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo in eight seasons.
The team experienced three straight 30-victory seasons before Price left for Kansas.
He also compiled nine Coach of the Year awards en route to a 501-403-1 career record.
"Ritch is one of the top young coaches in the country," said Stanford coach Mark Marquess. "He'll do a great job out there at Kansas. Not only is he great baseball person, but he is also wonderful at all the other duties that go along with coaching. You guys got a good one."
Junior first basemen Ryan Baty, sophomore third basemen Travis Metcalf, and most recently senior pitcher Kevin Wheeler have all won either Big 12 Pitcher or Player of the Week this season.
How does one coaching change translate to solid play on the diamond? Price brings a polished baseball résumé and has his players believing in themselves.
In 21 innings, Wheeler is 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA, which means Kansas has found its ace.
While talent is just one part of the game. Price gives the Jayhawks confidence.
The University needs another team to follow besides the men's basketball team.
A big component of Kansas winning baseball games is finding quality pitching to back up the offense.
The women's basketball team is two years away from success and the football team had a dismal season.
1
This weekend the Jayhawks will again have to prove themselves in the Music City Challenge.
Price can help Kansas continue this streak and provide fans with some optimism about baseball.
Kansas needs to keep the momentum rolling with the confidence that Price has instilled in this team.
If the victories keep piling up for the layhawks, fans will realize that the Price is right for Kansas baseball.
Ballow is a Littleton, Colo., junior in journalism