Tell us your news:
Contact Jessica Tims, jtims@kansan.com,
or Matt Gehrke, mgehrke@kansan.com,
or call (785) 864-4858.
SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2003
'Hawks try to stop upset
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Senior guard Kirk Hinrich shadows Kansas State's Tim Ellis in the first half of Saturday's 82-64 win. Big 12 Conference officials named Hinrich the conference's Player of the Week after he scored 24 points against Missouri and 28 against K-State, shooting a combined 72.4 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point range.
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
A heavy favorite entering the game, the Kansas men's basketball team was on the road and trailed at halftime.
Sounds like a scene from Saturday's game against Kansas State, right?
But this time, Kansas was losing by 25 points at the break, not one, and the Jayhawks didn't come back to win by 18 — they lost by 8.
The team was Baylor, the year 2001, and Kansas was the sixthranked team in the nation. The Bears brought the sky-high Jayhawks back to earth, 85-77, in front of 9,523 screaming Baylor fans and a national television audience.
Kansas hasn't been back to Waco, Texas, since.
That'll change when the ninthranked Jayhawks (17-5 overall, 7-1 Big 12 Conference) meet Baylor (10-9, 1-7) tonight, but don't expect Kansas coach Roy Williams to do much reminiscing.
SEE HAWKS ON PAGE 8P
Baylor seeks conference victory
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The 2002-2003 season of the Baylor men's basketball team was supposed to be their time to explode onto the national scene. Instead the team is left nursing its wounds after a 10-9 record and 1-7 start in the Big 12 Conference.
KANSASVS:BAYLOR
KANSAS(17-5)
The 49-point loss to the Sooners was the worst Baylor loss since a 102-50 loss to Clemson on Dec. 19, 1983. The defeat also extended the Bear's streak
The Bears were supposed to generate new excitement in Baylor basketball this season after being predicted to finish as high as sixth in a Big 12 preseason poll by the Basketball News.
"With the exception of last game, we've been competitive in every game we've played," said Bliss during yesterday's Big 12 teleconference.
That "last game" was a 91-42 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday in Norman, Okla., giving the Bears their seventh loss in their last eight games.
Instead, Baylor finds itself in last place in the conference and facing the challenge of facing conference frontrunner and perennial national power Kansas.
P No. Player Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 4 Nick Collison 6-9 Sr. 18.8 8.7
G 5 Kickofferson 6-4 Ss. 11.1 5.0
G 10 Kirk Hinrich 6-3 Ss. 18.0 3.6
G 11 Aaron Miles 6-1 Ss. 8.7 3.8
F 42 Jeff Graves 6-9 Jr. 5.2 5.8
G 25 Michael Lee 6-3 So. 4.4 2.4
F 33 Bryan Nash 6-6 Jr. 3.0 2.1
G 1 Jeff Hawkins 5-11 So. 1.4 0.9
BAYLOR(10-9)
P No. Player Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
Lewisville Roberts 8-9 So. 14.8 14.9
G15 John Lucas 6-11 So. 14.4 2.2
G 3 Kenny Taylor 6-3 So. 12.8 2.3
C34 R.T. Gunn 6-10 Jr. 9.2 4.9
G 4 Elliott Kid Jr. 6-4 So. 4.3 1.1
F 23 Carlton Dotson 6-7 Jr. 5.5 3.3
F 24 Terrance Thomas 6-6 Jr. 6.4 4.6
G 13 Matt Sayman 6-4 Jr. 4.1 2.3
of losing two straight road games and 18 straight road games in conference play.
"It was a very difficult game to go through," Bliss said. "Oklahoma had a very good outing that day. We obviously didn't do well."
The good news for Bliss and Baylor is today's game against the Jayhawks will be played on Baylor's home floor at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
"I think Kansas has played as difficult of schedule as anyone in the country." Bliss said. "And they've done it
without one of their best players in Wayne Simien."
One of Baylor's best players is emerging sophomore Lawrence Roberts who leads the Bears in scoring with 14.8 points per game and rebounding with 9.5 boards per game.
Bliss said Baylor's opponents have displayed a tendency to double and triple team Roberts when he received the ball in the post, putting pressure on Baylor's guards to respond with outside shots.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said he understood why Roberts is drawing so much attention from opposing teams.
"When you continue to put up numbers like he's doing, when you're the focus of the other team's defense, you should feel pretty doggone good about what you're doing," Williams said.
Complementing the front court play of Roberts is sophomore John Lucas. The 5-foot-11 inch guard is averaging 14.4 points per game, second to only Roberts' scoring this season.
Lucas will be matched up with Jayhawk sophomore point guard Aaron Miles who rebounded from his six
Courtney Kublen/Kansan
Bryant Nash slams a commanding dunk in the second half to put the Jayhawks up 53-51 in Saturday's game against Kansas State.
turnover performance against Missouri to score 13 points against Kansas State on Saturday.
"John has had terrific guards to play against," Bliss said. "Aaron is the next in line."
Edited by Leah Shaffer
JAYHAWKS IN THE PROS
Now that the NBA regular season is in full swing, every Tuesday the Kansan will update you on how your favorite former Jayhawk athletes are doing in the professional ranks. If there are any former Jayhawks that you would like an update on, e-mail your requests to rgreene@kansan.com.
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Paul Pierce - Boston Celtics
Pierce headed into the all-star game offensively hot. In two games last week, Pierce scored
27 points in a loss to New Orleans and then 26 in a 30-point victory against Seattle.
Pierce played as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the all-star game in Atlanta. In 18 minutes of play, Pierce managed to score eight points and finish the game with four steals.
Drew Gooden - Memphis Grizzlies
The all-star break could not have come any sooner for the Grizzlies, who have lost 13 of their last 15 games. Last
week, Gooden had a couple of solid outings, with 16 points and seven rebounds in a loss to Denver, then 14 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Golden State.
Gooden also took part in the Sophomore-Rookie game during the all-star weekend. He scored 16 points for the Rookie team in its 132-112 loss.
Jacque Vaughn - Orlando Magic
The Magic team will have a sour taste in its mouth going into the season's second half, as it
heads to the all-star break on a three-game losing streak.
In two games last week, Vaughn had modest numbers. Vaughn combined the week for 14 points and 10 assists. But, most importantly, Vaughn is still the team's starting point guard.
Raef LaFrentz - Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks split their last two games before the break, but the loss was only a close 110-109 loss to Sacramento.
LaFrentz had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks in a strong victory game over Utah, Monday, Feb. 3.
Washington deserves more respect for career's work
There are lots of things that go on in Kansas athletics that get on my nerves.
It drives me nuts to keep hearing people say coach Washington is not worthy of keeping her job because of the women's basketball team's tough times the past couple seasons.
This basketball season, one thing that has pushed me over the brink is the constant belittling of Marian Washington's status on this campus.
Whether it's a team being over-hyped, or a team not getting enough hype, I have to keep a lid on most of it since I only get this one column each week.
When push comes to shove, Marian Washington should be known as one of the most respected figures in the Kansas athletic department, and maybe even more than Roy Williams.
When looking at the technical aspect of her career, Washington has compiled an impressive resume. To her credit, she has won seven regular season conference titles between the Big 8 and the Big 12 Conferences, she has won six conference tournament titles, made 15 postseason appearances, two berths in the Sweet 16, and has more than 500 career wins. The list goes on, but there's not enough room in this column to squeeze much more in.
through and done here at Kansas should speak for itself.
Sure, Marian has never been to the Final Four, but what she has been
Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
When coach Washington came to Kansas in 1973, her duties went far beyond being the women's basketball coach. Washington also started the women's track and field program and served as KU's only women's athletic
SPORTS COMMENTARY
However, when fairly judging Marian Washington, you have to look beyond the numbers.
director from 1974 to 1979. Washington helped women's athletics grow significantly, and the University now has 11 women's varsity sports.
Washington has also been a pioneer in her playing and coaching careers by breaking down color barriers.
As a player in 1969 at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., she was one of the first two African-American women to play for a United States national team. She then became the first
African-American woman to coach a United States team in international competition in 1983.
Aside from her accomplishments and hellacious work ethic, Washington also has the class and personality that best represents the University and its athletic department.
These days, it seems everyone is so quick to jump on the bandwagon to try and get Washington fired.
The team is in the third season of what has been a dry spell for the program. Since a 71-69 double-overtime loss to Vanderbilt in the first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament, Washington has not taken a team back to the postseason.
Even though positive results have not been coming lately, things are looking up
Next season, Washington has a highly-touted recruiting class on the way, including forward Lauren Irvin, who is
In three years at Kansas, I was never really sold on coach Washington until I had a chance to get to know her better this semester as The University Daily Kansan women's basketball reporter. And now, as I like to say, "she's good people." She's a great person and coach whose accomplishments, work ethic and fledgling young team are often out shadowed by the men's team and minimal fan support.
For a coach who has done and brought so much to the University for three decades, getting respect and having job security should not be cause for rumors, it should be a non-issue.
one of the nation's top-five recruits. The fresh faces on their way to Kansas will add to a plethora of outstanding young players who are already here.
Greene is a Vernon Hills, IL., junior in journalism.
V
2