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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2003
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Ryan Copeland
rcopeland@kansan.com
Graves gains playing time, steps up game
Kansas to take on Colorado
Damn, it feels good to be right. Though being right is one of my favorite hobbies, I must give some props to Wayne Simien for dislocating his shoulder and giving junior Jeff Graves an opportunity to shine.
Graves chipped in 8 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in Saturday's 81-64 victory over Kansas State. Graves' 11 defensive rebounds set a KU individual season high.
Before the season started, it was up in the air whether Graves would ever see the court this season. His weight created big concerns for Kansas fans.
Kansan file nhoto
At that point I said that the success of this team could depend upon his progress. On a Jayhawk team that, unlike last year's team, lacks depth, a big, tough, 6-foot-9-inch forward off the bench is critical.
Graves struggled in his first few appearances. He averaged around 2 points per game in his first 11 games. Graves seemed to drop every pass he received in the paint. He was uncomfortable on offense and a step slow on defense.
I stuck with him. I thought that by the end of the season, when we really needed him, he would develop into a reliable sixth or seventh man. I thought he was capable of giving a double-double every night he saw a decent amount of court time. With the Simien injury we needed him sooner than I predicted.
Graves showed up right when Kansas needed him. In the four games since Graves stepped in for Simien, he has averaged just under a double-double. He has snatched 10 or more rebounds in each of the last five games.
You've got to trust that a coach who has more than 400 wins knows when he sees a good player. The tattoos, cornrows and rough play reminiscent of Maryland's Chris Wilcox, a player that helped Maryland eliminate Kansas from last year's Final Four, maybe just what the 'Hawks need.
Though a player that averaged 11.8 minutes a game can't be expected to fill the shoes of a player that averaged 27 minutes a game.
In just two minutes and two seconds, Graves let loose for three rebounds, one assist, one steal and yes, another dunk. These two minutes gave Kansas basketball fans a glimpse at what I suspected all along —Jeff Graves has potential.
Graves has done well. Through 12 games, Simien averaged 15.9 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game. Since the injury, Graves has averaged a fewer points but a few more rebounds.
Graves also needs to stay out of foul trouble. Both Graves and senior Nick Collison had notched up two fouls each less than a fourth of the way through Saturday's game. This forced Williams to shuffle the lineup and play some zone defense.
"I need him to relax a little offensively because he is missing a lot of easy shots, and I think he is just rushing them. I think once he relaxes he'll do a better job of shooting the basketball," Williams said after Saturday's game.
Jeff Graves has stepped his game up and just in time.
Graves needs to improve in a only few areas. He needs to finish in the paint. He missed two consecutive layups at the end of the first half on Saturday. Coach Roy Williams also felt Graves needed to feel more comfortable on the offensive end of the floor.
Copeland is a St. Louis senior in journalism
Aaron Miles tries to maneuver his way around Buffalo center David Harrison during last year's 80-78 victory in Allen Fieldhouse. Players will be keeping their eyes out for the 7-foot sophomore center when Kansas plays at Colorado tonight at 8.
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Former Kansas forward Drew Gooden left for the NBA. Former Colorado forward D.J. Harrison graduated. Still, the much publicized feud between the two big men lingers in Internet chat rooms and the occasional radio talk show.
Harrison and his brother David — who still plays for Colorado — traded barbs in the media and hard fouls on the court with Gooden and other Kansas
players during their meetings last season, with origins in the 2000- 2001 season.
When D.J. returned to Allen Fieldhouse in November as a member
of the the EA Sports All-Stars, he repeatedly refused to speak with reporters.
But if the fans and media are interested in continuing the rivalry when No. 6 Kansas meets Colorado at 8. tonight, the current Jayhawks and David Harrison insist they are not.
"I didn't have a problem with either one," Keith Langford said when asked if there would be bad blood between the older Harrison and the Jayhawks. "I think it was a personal thing between them and Drew. If he's still thinking about that, that's just immature."
Harrison definitely remembers the incidents and the jeers from Kansas fans but said neither he nor his brother hated Kansas. In fact, he and his family have become close friends with sophomore forward Wayne Simien's family at the Big 12 Conference's preseason press
conference. he said.
"It's funny," Harrison said. "Everyone thinks we're these thugs. I mean, we're from Tennessee. We live on a farm."
For the Jayhawks,
the game begins a brutal
three-game stretch.
After the time on the
road in Boulder, Colo.
Kansas will return to
Both teams will have other obstacles on their minds when they meet. A victory against Kansas (13-3, 3-0) would even Colorado's (11-5, 1-2) conference record and give them respect in the league after an overtime loss to Nebraska Saturdav.
Allen Fieldhouse for games against topranked Arizona and No. 4 Texas.
Luckily for the Jayhawks, they are getting strong contributions from their five starters. Three starters are averaging double figures, not including sophomore forward Wayne Simien, who was averaging 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game before he was injured during a game against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His replacement, junior forward Jeff Graves, averages just 4.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season but has notched three double-doubles in his last five games. The only other starter who doesn't score more than 16.4 games, sophomore guard Aaron Miles, is close with 8.8 points per game while dishing an average of 7.4 assists.
Edited by Erin Chapman
'Hawks try to end conference skid
By Ryan Greene rgreene@kansan.com rkgreenesportswriter
Throughout the past two weeks, the Kansas women's basketball team (7-8, 0-4) has taken a heavy dose of what competition is like in the Big 12 Conference.
The team has experienced almost every type of loss you can imagine since the conference schedule started. A loss by 2 at Iowa State and a loss by 4 at Oklahoma State have forced the team to play harder down the stretch. A loss by 39
against Kansas State and 21 to Colorado have led to more intense practices.
To help her young squad, coach Marian Washington is making
ing for a repeat of their 79-57 triumph over the Jayhawks' last season. In order to stay competitive with a team of Oklahoma's caliber, Washington thinks her team's energy could play a major role.
"We are trying to cut the game into four-minute units," Washington said. "Just anything to help them see the game in pieces."
"Our kids get so riled up in the locker room," Washington said. "We are at a point right now where we are trying not to allow that kind of energy to dissipate."
the game as simple as possible for her players to understand.
Tonight, the 22nd-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (11-5, 2-1) roll into town looking up; she sees the current record as being uncharacteristic of the young squad.
See page 6B for additional women's basketball coverage.
For freshman forward Tamara Ransburg, the pressure to snap the team's 21-game conference losing streak is building up; she sees the current record as being uncharacteristic of the young squad.
Freshman forward Tamara Ransburg says the pressure to beat Oklahoma is building up. "I think it's a lot of pressure on me. I love to win. Just having an 0-4, it's just not us." The Jayhawks will try to snap their 21-game conference losing streak against the Sooners tonight in Lawrence.
Kansan file photo
pressure on me. I love to win," Ransburg said. "Just having an 0-4, it's just not us."
Two players who will be looking to make a big impact tonight are sophomore guard Aquanita Burras and junior forward Keila Beachem.
Burras struggled in Saturday's loss, going 2-of-12 from the field and scoring
"I think it's a lot of
all seven of her points in the game's final minutes. Burras still leads the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game, but she must step up tonight against a stingy Oklahoma defense.
"I think that their defense is very active," Washington said. "If you are not poised and you are not really sure of yourself, then I think they really create opportunities for themselves."
Keila Beachem's situation is different
than Burras'.
In the team's last two games, Beachem has averaged 14 minutes per game off the bench, producing 4 points, four rebounds and three steals per contest. On a bigger stage against a ranked opponent, Beachem can earn more regular playing time with another strong performance.
Edited by Jason Elliott
Cold weather signals coaching changes
By Kevin Flaherty
kflaherty@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The winter season brings on coaching changes in college athletics. Athletic directors assess coaches for their fall seasons and fire, hire or give contract extensions.
Last December, Al Bohl, Kansas athletics director, hired Mark Mangino as football coach. Almost one year later, Mangino received a one-year contract extension. Bohl said Mangino's experience made him the right candidate for the job.
"One of the things that we look for at the University of Kansas is an understanding of Kansas recruitment," Bohl said. "After that it was the ability to discipline players and public relations skills."
When hiring a coach, Bohl said, candidates sometimes contact Kansas with a desire to coach a sport. The athletics department also seeks coaches who seem to
Mangino
fit and identify those coaches interested. When assistant coaches are being hired and fired, the coach of that sport is in charge of personnel.
In the last year, Kansas has hired new football, baseball, women's golf and swimming and diving coaches.
Big 12 Conference teams have already hired and fired several coaches this offseason. Both Baylor and Texas A&M
shuffled football coaches. Texas A&M ousted R. C. Slocum after a 6-6 record. Slocum, the winningest coach in Texas A&M history, never had a losing season.
"They were able to sign Dennis Franchione out of Alabama," Carter said. "He's a fantastic coach who has Texas connections."
Bo Carter, assistant commissioner of the Big 12, said that Texas A&M fired Slocum because it wanted to try something new.
Baylor football coach Kevin Steele fell under different circumstances, never
Texas A&M president Robert Gates fired Slocum despite Slocum's landing what some recruiting experts labeled the number-one recruiting class in the nation. Since the firing, two recruits have decommitted, Carter said.
attaining a winning season during his tenure in Waco, Texas. Baylor also fired its women's soccer coach.
Bohl said knowing when to fire a coach depended on the institution, the sport and the situation.
"At this level of Division IA, in general, a tenure for a losing coach will probably stay anywhere from three to six seasons," Bohl said. "You have to factor in the circumstances of the university and the overall financial situation."
No Kansas coach currently has three consecutive losing seasons. Marian Washington, Kansas' women's basketball coach, has two losing seasons in a row. The women's basketball team is currently 7-8.
Edited by Jason Elliott
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