TUESDAY FEBRIARV A JUNI
"We're honoring the Hall of Fame, and we're talking about our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off." Boston Manning. Colt quarterback. on Pro-bowl teammate Mike Vanderjagt
3B
2B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Inside Sports
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Ryan Copeland
rcopeland@kansan.com
Sophomore Langford outperforms stars of old
This year's men's basketball team is riding on the performance of sensational sophomore Keith Langford. Keith "I-dunk-over-guys-nine-inches-taller-than-me" Langford is the star because of his improvement in the offseason.
How much has Langford improved? Let me count the ways.
First, Langford gained five pounds of muscle between last season and this season. He is now up from 200 pounds to a more solid 205 pounds. This helps him finish strong inside as he slashes to the hoop.
Secondly, he has more than doubled his average number of points per game. Up from 7.9 points last season, he's making 16.6 points per game this year.
Not to get sidetracked, but NBA studs Drew Gooden and Paul Pierce averaged only 15.8 and 16.3 points per game, respectively, in their sophomore seasons
Langford's rebounds per game have increased from 3.3 last year to 5 this season.
Now that we've looked at Langford's inside game, we have to decide whether his outside game has improved. In short, Langford bumped up last year's percentage of shots made from behind the arc — 26.8 percent — to 32.7 percent this year.
Skeptics may say that Langford's rising numbers can be attributed to his increased playing time. That's not true.
Where is it written that when people play more they are going to put up bigger numbers? There are more opportunities to perform with more playing time, but it's what Langford has been doing with his opportunities that's so impressive.
In only one game of 20 has Langford failed to score in double figures.
The Fort Worth, Texas, native brings style when he steps on the court. He sports a tattoo on his right arm with a "K" inside the Superman symbol, a la Shaquille O'Neal. The tattoo is brazen, but not overdone.
"Super Keith" has notched up 21 dunks this season. One of them was on a half-court lob pass from Kirk Hinrich. Langford went way up to grab and throw down. If you saw it, you remember it.
Langford also changes his shoes at halftime if he's not happy with his first half performance. This is just one quirk that makes Langford the most exciting Jayhawk on the roster this year.
Copeland is a St. Louis senior in journalism
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 who you would like an update about, e-mail your requests to rgreene@kansan.com
By Ryan Greene rgreee@kansan.com KansanSportswrirt
JAYHAWKS IN THE PROS
Paul Pierce - Boston Celtics
Following the best week of his pro career, things for Pierce and the Celtics did not go as well the following week. Pierce
had a double-double in two of his three games, falling one rebound short of making it three-for-three. On the downside, the Celtics lost all three contests and Pierce was ejected Friday night against Detroit. Pierce argued with a ref in the third quarter from the bench and drew two technical fouls in doing so. The ref then ejected Pierce from the game.
Drew Gooden - Memphis Grizzlies
Gooden continues to struggle as he is learning the small forward position. According to General Manager Jerry West, Gooden is not a happy camper, and trade talks have picked up recently.
It is rumored that Gooden could be sent to the Orlando Magic for swingman Mike Miller before the upcoming trade
deadline. Gooden did have a couple of solid outings last week, including 19 points and 11 rebounds in a Jan.27 loss to Houston.
Jacque Vaughn - Orlando Magic
Even though his team has lost four o
its last five contests, falling under .500. Vaughn continues his consistency in a starting role. Last week, Vaughn
had nine points and six assists Friday while losing to San Antonio, and also had eight points and five assists Sunday in a loss to Atlanta.
Rael LaFrentz - Dallas Mavericks
LaFrentz had his finest week of the season last week, extending his streak of double-figure scoring efforts to four games. In a season that has been
LaFrontz had.
married with injuries for LaFrentz, it is the second time he has had a four-game double-figure points streak. His biggest game of the week was in Thursday's win over Minnesota, with 13 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
Greg Ostertag - Utah Jazz
The Jazz have found a winn ing groove as the All-Star break approaches this weekend.
and they are currently in the thick of the Western Conference playoff hunt. Ostertag has had trouble scoring this season, and his minutes are starting to decrease as second-year center Jarron Collins is improving. Ostertag's best game this week was a five-point, five-rebound effort Saturday in a loss to the Lakers.
Scot Pollard - Sacramento Kings
Things were
Things were looking good for Pollard as he was set to return to action right after next weekend's All-Star break with his lower back fracture healed. Another
setback has now come about, and it's a broken hand. Pollard will be out another five to six weeks.
U Conn coach has prostate cancer
The Associated Press
Connecticut men's coach Jim Calhoun has prostate cancer and is leaving the team to undergo surgery.
"I want to attack this thing." Cahoun said yesterday at practice. "I'm going after it."
The 60-year-old Calhoun will take a three-to-four week medical leave, with assistant George Blaney taking over as coach on an interim basis. Surgery was scheduled for Thursday.
Calhoun's doctor, UConn Health Center urologist Peter Albertsen, said the cancer was detected early and was "relatively low-grade.
"Coach Calhoun's condition appears to be very treatable and we anticipate his return to normal job-related activities within three or four weeks." said Albertsen, who will perform the surgery.
In his 17th season at Connecticut, Calhoun led the Huskies to national prominence, capped by an NCAA title in 1999. With a career record of 637-290, including 14 seasons at Northeastern, Calhoun is among the top 10 active Division I coaches with at least 600 career wins.
The 18th-ranked Huskies (13-4, 4-2 Big East) play tomorrow at Virginia Tech. The Huskies are coming off a 95-71 loss
to Providence on Saturday, their worst loss ever at Gampel Pavilion.
Last season, UConn won its seventh Big East regular-season championship under Calhoun. The Huskies then captured their fifth Big East tournament title.
Calhoun is the only coach in Big East history to have been named the league's top coach four times. The Braintree, Mass. native is also a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Huskies have been to the NCAA tournament 10 times under Calhoun. Last year, they made the round of eight before losing to eventual national champion Maryland.
Florida moves to No.1 for first time
The Associated Press
Florida, the only member of the top five not to lose last week, moved to No. 1 in the AP men's college basketball poll yesterday for the first time in school history.
The Gators (18-2) jumped from fourth to No. 1 after matching the longest winning streak in school history at 14 games with victories last week over LSU and Arkansas.
Florida is the 49th school to be ranked No.1 in the history of the AP poll, which started during the 1948-49 season. The Gators are the second team to reach the top spot for the first time ever this season, joining fellow Southeastern Conference
They also took advantage of losses by Arizona, Pittsburgh, Texas and Duke, the teams surrounding Florida in the top five last week.
member Alabama, which was No. 1 for two weeks.
And the No. 1 ranking will get an immediate test as the Gators play at No. 6 Kentucky on tonight.
Florida's previous highest ranking was No. 2—for one week last season.
Pittsburgh (15-2), which had a chance to move up one spot to be No. 1 for the first time in school history with a win over Syracuse on Saturday, instead dropped two places to fourth following the 67-65 loss.
The Wildcats were No. 1 on 15 ballots and had 1,687 points, 130 more than Texas (14-3), which held third after losing at Kansas last Monday and then ending Oklahoma State's 15-game winning streak on Saturday. The Longhorns received five first-place votes.
Louisville (16-1) the last team in Division I with just one loss, jumped
from eighth to No. 5, the Cardinals' highest ranking since being fifth in the poll released on Feb. 14, 1994. The Cardinals, who received four first-place votes, extended their winning streak to 15 games Saturday with a 95-76 victory over Indiana. Their only loss was 86-84 to Purdue in the second game of the season.
Kentucky which has won 10 straight games, and Oklahoma were sixth and seventh, switching places from last week.
Maryland, Duke and Notre Dame rounded out the Top 10. Duke lost at Florida State on Sunday.
Oklahoma State was 11th this week followed by Kansas, Creighton, Wake Forest, Marquette Illinois, Georgia Connecticut, Syracuse and Xavier.
The last five ranked teams were Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi State, Purdue and Stanford.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2003
POLL
How many big 12 conference games will the women's basketball team win this season? kansan .com
- They will not win any more. They will stop at two conference wins.
- They will win three to five games.
- They will win six to eight games.
- They will win nine or 10 games.
- go on to www.hansan.com to cast your vote
They will not win any more. They
TOMORROW
Kansas Athletics Calendar
FRIDAY
Women's Basketball at Colorado, 8 p.m., Boulder, Colo.
Track Illini Track Invitational, Champaign, IL.
Baseball at at Arkansas-Little Rock,
3 n.m. Little Rock, Ark
Softball vs. Mississippi at the Triple Crown/UCF Tournament hosted by Central Florida, 9:15 a.m., St. Augustine, Fla.
Softball vs. Bethune-Cookman at the Triple Crown Sports/UCF Tournament hosted by Central Florida, 11:45 a.m., St. Augustine, Fla.
SATURDAY
Men's Basketball at Kansas State,
12:45 p.m., Manhattan
Track, Illini Track Invitational, Champa-
nion, IL
Women's basketball at Texas, 1 p.m. Austin, Texas
Swimming, vs. Iowa State, at 2 p.m., Robinson Natoriatium
Bosallah at Arkansas-Little Rock, 1
n. p.m. Little Rock, Ark
Softball vs. Purdue at the Triple Crown Sports/UCF Tournament hosted by Central Florida, 11:15 a.m., St. Augustine, Fla.
SUNDAY
Baseball at Arkansas-Little Rock, 1p.m., Little Rock, Ark.
Softball vs. TBA at the Triple Crown Sports/UCF Tournament hosted by Central Florida, TBA., St. Augustine, Fla.
Free for All
Why does the new golf course in Columbia only have fourteen holes? Because the Tigers never make it to the Final Four.
Hey Roy, where are the frickin' doughnuts? I've been up at 5:30 a.m. for the past two big Monday night games and there have been no doughnuts. What the hell?
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