Wednesday, April 15, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
3 Jayhawks spend offseason dealing with knee surgeries
By Kevin C. Wilson Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team is knee-deep in injuries this offseason.
Guard Suzi Raymant, center Nikki White and guard Casey Pruitt each have injured their left knees. All require surgery.
Raymant, who was the Jayhawks' second-leading scorer last season with 14.1 points per game, will undergo surgery today to repair a torn ACL, a type of ligament, in her left knee. Raymant was injured last Thursday evening in a pick-up game at Allen Field House.
Assistant athletic trainer Carol Jarosky said that the rehabilitation for such an injury would take four to six months and that Raymant should be ready to compete at the beginning of the 1988-99 season.
"It's a challenging rehab, but I have no doubt that Suzi will be
back at 100 percent by the beginning of the season," Jarosky said. "She will be working on range of motion and muscle strengthening immediately following surgery."
Jarosky said
Pruitt: Knee surgery
Friday will remove
screws from earlip.
Jarosky said that Raymant had a good attitude about the surgery.
Coach Marian Washington said that Raymant's injury would be a challenge.
"It's the kind of injury that happens when you fully extend on your knee and you come down on it wrong." Washington said. "She'll be ready for next year, though."
White, who has had pain in both of her knees for years, had surgery
on Monday to remove cartilage from her left knee. The cartilage will be tested and regrown so that it can be replaced in a second surgery, scheduled for June.
Jarosky said that everything went as planned with Monday's surgery and that White already was preparing for rehabilitation.
Raymanti Leading scorer to have knee surgery today.
Washington said that White likely would be redshirted for the 1998-99 season.
"She could be ready as early as January, but unless we really need her, I want her to spend the entire year rebuilding her knee," Washington said. "That would give her
three more quality years at Kansas as well."
Pruitt will have surgery Friday to clean out cartilage in her left knee and to remove some screws that remain from previous
White:Had knee surgery Monday to remove cartilage.
surgeries. She underwent three knee surgeries before her freshman season at Kansas and was forced to redshift the 1996-97 season to rehabilitate.
Jarosky said that Puitt's latest surgery would not be a major undertaking.
"It's just a cleanup job," Jarosky said. "She should be back on the court in one to two weeks."
Trailblazer heating up on the court
Rasheed Wallace starting to meet high expectations
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — He found his son and lost his grandfather. He struggled with a new position and often wup up the fourth option on a team loaded with players who love to shoot.
The season has been uneven for Rasheed Wallace. Lately, though, he has scored numbers that befit the six-year, $80 million contract he signed before the season.
Going into last night's game with Sacramento, Wallace averaged 21.6 points and shot 61 percent from the field in the seven games since he took four games off for his grandfather's funeral.
Wallace shrugs off his hot streak and says it's only because Arvydas Sabonius has been out with a sore hip.
"I was just taking Sabonis' shots," he said. "It was probably six *r* seven shots a game."
It's the kind of production fans always expected of Wallace, who
was an immediate hit in Portland after the trade that brought him from Washington before the start of the 1966-97 season.
He averaged 15 points, shot 56 percent and was a leading contender for the NBA's most improved player award.
The Blazers made him the highest-paid player in team history. He is on the cover of the team's media guide and is considered the anchor of the franchise.
His recent big games have moved his scoring average up to 14.7 points a game, and he is among the league leaders in field goal percentage at .533.
Solid numbers — but not the spectacular ones predicted for him. Perhaps, as point guard Damon Stoudamire said, there are other ways to measure Wallace's value.
"He's probably one of the highest leapers in this league, and then his wingspan is so long. He's able to do a lot of things." Stoudamire said. "He's the type of player who is going to do what it takes to win, so shots sometimes are not as much of a concern. I don't think you can really judge if he has a good game or a bad game by how
BLAZERS
many points he scores."
Coach Mike Dunleavy moved the 6-foot-11 former North Carolina star to small forward to make room for free agent Brian Grant. The two seemed to have trouble getting used to playing together. Then Grant got hurt, forcing Wallace back inside.
Lately, with Sabonis out, Wallace and Grant have thrived.
"Rasheed has the ability to be a big scorer," Dunleave said. "A lot of it is at times he's been a little passive and tried to move the basketball a little more, not really caring about scoring."
Wallace has benefited from the arrival of Stoudamire, who is less inclined to shoot than his predecessor Kenny Anderson and loves lobbing the ball toward the basket for the slams that Wallace does as spectacularly as anyone in the NBA.
"That's cool with us because we have a lot of guys who can jump." Wallace said. "They've got to respect Damon at the point. He can shoot and he's court-savvy.
Wallace, only 23 in his third NBA campaign, would be just completing his rookie season had he stayed at North Carolina for four years.
"He has the potential to be one of the better big men in this league," Stoudamire said. "He's shown a lot of flashes. He just doesn't get the publicity of some of the other guys or is asked to do as much as some of the other guys. But he's just as capable."
That's a plus for us."
Wallace must fight a tendency to draw technical fouls. He stays loose on his weekly radio show, where he features his favorite rap music.
At home are three young boys: his fiancee's 10-year-old son, the couple's 10-month-old son, and Wallace's 2-year-old son Ishmail.
Ishmiel and his father were reunited last Christmas after private investigators finally tracked down the child's mother, who had gone into hiding rather than allowing Wallace visitation rights. He since has been given custody of the boy.
Life at home can get a little crazy.
"Sometimes it gets off the hook," Wallace said. "But other than that it's nice."
Investigations involve teammates, woman attending house party
Players questioned in assault complaint
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — There are no imminent plans to arrest basketball players Juwan Howard and Chris Webber, and police say they need more time to investigate the sexual assault complaint involving the Washington Wizards teammates.
Police Chief Garole Mehlring of Montgomery County, Md., responded yesterday to remarks by Howard's lawyer. Attorney Billy Martin disclosed details Monday of his own investigation because of rumors that police wanted to arrest his client.
A Connecticut woman contends she was assaulted April 6 at Howard's suburban Maryland house during a party. Howard and Webber both attended. Neither has been charged, and a grand jury is to hear the case tomorrow.
"The police department ... seeks nothing more and nothing less than a complete and impartial investigation," Mehrling said. "Any assertions that there is a predisposition to make an arrest before that process runs
its course is baseless."
Mehrling said her department still was trying to locate and interview the 40 or so
people, many from out of state, who were at the party. She said an undetermined amount of time was needed to complete the investigation.
"We keep hearing rumors that Montgomery County would like to arrest Juwan, at least on the
Martin had urged police to not rush to judgment.
"The police department... seeks nothing more and nothing less than a complete and impartial investigation. Any assertions that there is a pre-disposition to make an arrest before that process runs its course is baseless."
Martin also tried to turn the focus onto the accuser. He said his investigation had turned up someone who was an eyewitness to a sex act between the Connecticut woman and a person Martin wished not to name at this time. He added that the act was initiated by the woman.
evidence that they have," he said.
He gave few other details and did not say if the sex act involved Howard or Webber.
Details of the woman's accusations have not been released
Carole Mehrling
Police chief of Montgomery County, Md.
because the case documents are sealed.
Webber and Howard have not met with police. Martin, speaking only on Howard's behalf, said he didn't believe it was in his client's best interest to allow him to be questioned.
Webber's lawyers did not return calls yesterday.
The investigation appears to have taken its toll on the Wizards, who were 0-3 and on the brink of elimination from the playoff race entering last night's game at New York.
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