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SPORTS
1B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2003
Wildcats looking to upset
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The last time Kansas State defeated Kansas in men's basketball, Dana Altman was coaching the Wildcats, Kirk Hinrich was 13 years old and Kansas coach Roy Williams was still several years away from his 200th victory as a collegiate head coach.
The date was Jan. 17, 1994, when the wales upset the Jayhawks 68-64 in Lawrence. Fast forward nine years, and Altman is coaching No. 13 Creighton University, Hinrich is a preseason All-American for the Jayhawks, and Roy
Williams is fresh off his 400th coaching victory after Wednesday night's 98-70 victory over Woming.
As the Jayhawks and Wildcats prepare to meet for the 251st time at 7:00 pm tomorrow in Allen Fieldhouse, the Wildcats are searching for their first win against the rival Jayhawks in 24 games.
The situation looked bleak at the opening of practice for the Wildcats and Woolridge as his squad was fresh off a 13-16 campaign in 2001-02. K-State was picked by coaches and the media in the Big 12 preseason polls for 11th place, but so far this season Kansas State has displayed a renewed vigor on the court. The Wildcats come to Lawrence with a 10-5 record overall and a 1-1 record in Big 12 Conference play.
After starting the year 0-2 with losses to Brigham Young and Toledo at the Paradise Jam Tournament, the Wildcats have righted the ship with victories in 10 of their last 13 games.
The most significant victory of the season for K-State came Saturday, a 68-44 victory over Bobby Knight's Texas Tech squad.
"In 21/2 years here, we feel like we've made some progress," coach Jim Woolridge told reporters after the Texas Tech game. "Sometimes it's been minuscule. But this team has a chance to give us the ability to move forward."
Moving forward has been the theme for Kansas ever since sophomore forward Wayne Simien was injured against Missouri-Kansas City on Jan. 4.
Since the 100-46 victory against the Kangaroos, the Jayhawks have reeled off three straight victories by an average margin of 29.2 points per game.
Much of the recent success for Kansas can be attributed to starting big men senior Nick Collison and junior Jeff Graves.
Collison is averaging 23 points and nine rebounds over the last three games, and Graves has recorded double doubles in three of the past four games since he entered the starting lineup for the injured Simien.
Collison and Graves will be part of the Kansas defense that will be challenged by senior forward Gilson DeJesus and senior forward Pervis Pasco. DeJesus has become a potent weapon in the Wildcat offense, while Pasco is near the top of the Big 12 with five double-double games.
Even as the Jayhawks bring a ninegame winning streak and a 12-3 record overall into tomorrow's game, Williams realizes the Wildcats are a team with something to prove after their 69-63 road loss to Colorado on Wednesday.
"I believe they do have something going." Williams said. "I said last year, about Jimmy's club, I thought they were very coached and that they just didn't get very many breaks and the good things didn't happen for them at the right times when they could really use it."
Edited by Ryan Wood
KANSAS VS. KANSAS STATE
KANSAS (12-3)
**P No. Player** **Hr. Vz. PPG RPD**
F4 Nick Collison 6-9 Sc. 19.2 8.4
G5 Keith Lanford 6-4 So. 16.8 4.9
G10 Kirk Hurrich 6-3 Sc. 16.7 3.5
G11 Aaron Males 6-1 So. 10.1 3.7
F42 Jeff Graves 6-8 Jv. 4.4 5.3
**Top Reserves**
G25 Michael Lee 6-3 Sc. 4.4 2.4
G26 Michael Niang 6-10 Fr. 1.3 1.8
G1 Jeff Hawkins 6-11 So. 1.7 0.9
KANSAS STATE (10-6)
**P No. Player** **Hr. Vz. PPG RPD**
F4 Paavo Pasco 6-8 St. 11.4 7.8
F3 Glenn DeJesse 6-8 St. 12.9 6.1
F4 Mattei Nederland 6-8 St. 8.7 8.2
G22 Frank Richards 6-2 Jr. 11.6 2.5
G11 Tim Ellis 6-4 Jr. 11.5 3.0
**Top Reserves**
F9 Quentin Buchanan 6-8 St. 2.3 1.4
F23 Morgan Hayden 6-8 Fr. 7.8 5.0
G1 Schley Thomas 6-0 Fr. 1.0 0.9
Frie Braem/Kansan
Junior forward Jeff Graves comes down from the basket after being fouled by Wyoming. Graves scored 14 points Wednesday and will once again start in place of the injured Wayne Simien versus Kansas State tomorrow.
Gimmicks avoided in athlete promotion
By Kevin Flaherty
kflaherty@kansan.com
Kansan writer
If a Kansas athlete warrants award recognition, his or her likeness will not scream at voters from an expensive billboard.
Doug Vance, associate athletics director of communications, said the athletics department preferred to promote players more subtly.
"We have never taken the Madison Avenue-type approach by utilizing gimmicks," Vance said. "We just communicate through the right channels to the people who vote."
College football award promotion history is filled with colleges going an extra step to help players attain awards. Former Brigham Young Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer aided his status by sending ties to sportswriters. Ryan Leaf, Washington State quarterback, sent envelopes that contained leaves to voters.
Promotion of a player through puns on his name is a common tactic, Vance said.
In 2001, the University of Oregon spent $500,000 on award campaigns for its football team, including a $250,000 10-story billboard in Times Square dubbing quarterback Joey Harrington "Joey Heisman." Alumni donated money for the campaign.
For KU quarterback Bill Whittemore's campaign, Vance said that KU promoted him through the right connections to make his statistics and strong play known to the media. Whittemore finished the year winning the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year award.
Vance said that when it comes to Kansas basketball, players are a much easier sell.
"We have almost every game on TV,
SEE PROMOTION ON PAGE 6B
'Hawks seek consistency against Buffs
Kansan file photo
Freshman guard Erica Hallman leads the women's basketball team in assists with four per game. The Jayhawks will host Colorado tomorrow at Allen Fieldhouse.
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansan Sportswriter
In recent memory, the thought of playing the Colorado Buffaloes has brought nothing but pain for the Kansas women's basketball team.
The Jayhawks are looking not only to notch their first Big 12 Conference victory this year tomorrow, but they also would like to snap their four-game losing skid to the Buffs.
Youth and inexperience has been both a blessing and a problem early in the season for Kansas, but according to coach Marian Washington, that can no longer be an excuse.
"We can't think about our youth," Washington said. "We have to get past that and we are. There are going to be some things they tend to do, unfortunately."
One way that youth will play into Kansas' favor is the fact that few members of this year's team were present for two blowout losses last season against Colorado.
In the two games against the Buffaloes last season, Kansas was outscored 150-76.
A nagging problem so far in the conference season for the Jayhawks has been solid play from their leaders.
In Wednesday night's loss at Oklahoma State, freshman forward Tamara Ransburg, who leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots, and ranks second in scoring, fouled out late in the second half. The loss of Ransburg helped cripple any chances of finishing off a 21-point comeback.
"For us to win, we have to get
performances from some of our key players," Washington said. "We have to be able to stay disciplined late in games."
In preparation for tomorrow's contest, coach Washington has hammered into her players' heads that they cannot allow a repeat of Wednesday's situation that saw her team fall behind by 21 points.
"In order for us to win, we have to execute both early and in the stretch," freshman guard Erica Hallman said. "We've definitely got to step up on defense."
Another trend to look at within the team is the shuffling that is underway in the starting lineup.
In Wednesday's contest, freshman forward Nichelle Roberts replaced fellow freshman Crystal Kemp for the starting nod following a series of strong outings off the bench.
The next change may be the insertion of Hallman into the lineup. Hallman had 17 points against Oklahoma State and has provided a spark off the bench when healthy all season.
"There's no question we'll be looking at Erica Hallman," Washington said. "I think that she's one of our better shooters."
The young Jayhawks have found it tough to consistently click as a whole so far this year, but should it happen tomorrow, look for a 20- game conference losing streak to come to an end.
— Edited by Christy Dendurent
Graves leaves the doghouse, becomes big-time player
With one leap and one awkward jammed arm into the rim, sophomore Wayne Simien made Kansas realize its worst fears on Jan. 4 against the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The recipe for success this year was not scientific. Stay healthy and stay in the Big 12 conference and national title hunts. Get one of the five starters injured and pray — because bench help would be sparse at best.
So after the injury, it was as if most Jayhawk followers believed the season
Instantaneously, junior college transfer Jeff Graves went from Roy Williams doghouse occupant to potential frontline savior. Not easy for a guy whose preseason troubles were overly chronicied and chastised by everyone from the media to local barbers.
slipped through Kansas' fingers the moment Simien's shoulders slipped out of its socket.
Could anyone be blamed for doubting Graves? No way.
Graves showed up on campus almost
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Ryan Malashock
rmalashock@kansan.com
Graves' slow integration to Roy's ways.
50 pounds overweight. A car accident in the fall made Graves unable to exercise, but Williams still did not appreciate
By failing to pass the team's required conditioning, Graves did not become an "official team member" until after Kansas' exhibition games. Once the season started, the disappointing trend continued.
J-Rizzle, as Graves is known by his teammates, looked more like J-Fizzle with his sloppy and lazy play. Graves was on his way to fizzling out of Williams' favor, as he always seemed confused, never comfortable in Kansas' fast-paced,
non-stop attack.
But slowly, Graves started to shed weight. He gained his wind back. And most importantly, he regained Williams' confidence.
Against UMKC, Graves immediately stepped in following Simien's injury, posting his first career double-double. Since then, he's posted two more and overall has registered four double-digit rebounding games.
SEE MALASHOCK ON PAGE 6B