The Starting Lineup
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
8-1 Big 12, 24-3 overall
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
G RYAN ROBERTSON 6-5 JR.
B BUILDERS 4-1
F PAUL PIERCE 6-7 JR.
F LU PUNH 6-5 JR.
C RAEF LAFRENTC 6-11 SR.
Sports
Wednesday
February 4, 1998
Section:
B
Page 1
Memorial Stadium
SEE PAGE 3B
Renovations to Memorial Stadium are scheduled to be completed by Aug. 7.
Kansas Volleyball
Page 1
Meet Ray Bechard, who last week was named head coach of the Kansas volleyball team.
SEE PAGE 4B
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LaFrentz to play 'home' game in Iowa
'Hawks to face Cyclones in forward's home state
Kansas center Roef LaFrentz looks up in anticipation of the tipoff at the start of the Jayhawks game against Nebraska. Kansas defeated Nebraska Sunday in Lincoln, Neb. Photo by Geoff Krieer/KANSAN
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
Kansas forward Raef LaFrentz will return to the state where he was born and raised when the No. 3 Javhawks play tonight at Iowa State
LaFrentz is from Monona, Iowa, a town of about 5,000 people in the northeast corner of the state. When he decided to attend Kansas instead of Iowa or Iowa State, angered basketball fans across the state voiced their displeasure.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said LaFrentz struggled when he played at Iowa State during his freshman season.
"The first game he played there was very difficult, and I think that shocked him," Williams said. "But since then, playing up there hasn't affected him one bit. The fans' hostility has worn off."
When LaFrentz decided to leave the state, the announcement was broadcast live on an Iowa radio station, and more than 2,100 people called a Des Moines Register hotline to hear his decision.
In Monona, names and faces are recognized easily. The same cannot be said of the Cyclones' team this season.
Iowa State lost eight players, including all five starters, from last season's team. Eight freshmen and two transfer students are rebuilding the team.
Forward Marcus Fizer, a freshman, has been a crucial part of Iowa State's game. He averages a team-high 14.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Center Klay Edwards and forward Stevie Johnson have been solid inside, and guards Lee Love and Jerry Curry have become more comfortable in their first season at Iowa State.
But the Cyclones have not faced a team like Kansas this season.
Iowa State coach Tim Floyd said that the Jayhawks had run into trouble when their opponents were strong rebounders.
"It seems that teams that have been able to rebound against them have had a chance, so we'll have to do the same." Floyd said.
Kansas was outrebounded 44-40 in its 82-71 victory Sunday at Nebraska, the first time that had occurred since the Ohio State game Dec. 28.
This will be the last chance Iowa basketball fans will have to see their favorite son before
LaFrentz moves on to the NBA.
"They know that he's still a farm boy," Williams said. "They still like him. It may be begrudgingly, but I think they still support him and his decision."
Women's team toughens up for Buffs
Kansas forward Nakia Sanford puts up a shot against Texas A&M. The Kansas women's basketball team played Texas A&M Jan. 27 and will play Colorado tonight. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN
By Kevin C. Wilson Kansan sportswriter
Perennial women's basketball conference champions will square off tonight when the Colorado Buffaloes host the Kansas Jayhawks.
Since 1992, either Kansas or Colorado has won the Big 12 (formerly the Big Eight) regular-season conference title.
Colorado, 9-9 overall and 8-5 in Big 12 play, is coming off a 56-52 win against Kansas State on Saturday in front of a season-high 4.215 fans.
The Jayhawks, 13-5 overall and 8-5 in Big 12 play, will try to bounce back from a tough 67-62 loss on Saturday to the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats.
Kansas leads the 39-game series between the two teams by a single game. 20-19.
Colorado's strength lies in its backcourt pair of seniors LaShena Graham and Alexis Felts. Graham leads the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game and ranks third in the Big 12 conference in assists (4.9 per game) and free throw percentage (85.7). Felts averages 9.2 points for the Buffaloes.
"It's just one of those rivalries that's developed over the years," Coach Marian Washington said. "It's a lot of fun."
"The altitude is always a concern," she said.
"We also expect one of the larger crowds we've seen this year. It's up to our young players to respond to that."
Washington said that playing in Boulder always presented a challenge.
The Starting Lineup
Graham and Felts could present a challenge, Washington said.
"Teams that have experienced guards have given us problems all year," she said. "Graham is one of the best guards in the conference and Felts is a great outside shooter. Well
G JENNIFER JACKSON 5-10 FR.
SUI REMANT 5-11 JS.
F JACLYN JOHNSON 6-1 FR.
LIVIN PADE 6-2 SR.
C NAKIA SANFORD 6-3 JR.
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
5-3 Big 12, 18-5 overall
COLORADO
BUFFALOES
3-5 Big 12, 9-9 overall
"I don't think you can ever count them out," she said. "They seem to get stronger as the season goes on."
The Buffaloes were ranked in 75 consecutive polls, from the final poll of the 1991-1992 season to Dec. 9, 1996, including 49 weeks in the Top 10. Washington said her team would not underestimate the Buffaloes.
have to focus on our defense, especially on their guards."
Football quality heading south; prices creep north
Last week, the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation unanimously voted to raise football ticket prices for the 1998 season for Memorial Stadium renovations. But ticket buyers were led to believe that last year's increase would cover all of the renovation costs.
The department thinks that Terry Allen, the still-fresh football coach, has pumped so much enthusiasm into his program that people will attend games whatever the
Students graciously have been spared an increase according to the department, but don't believe it. (We'll get to that later.)
that people will attend games whatever the price.
They think this team will be good.
The department believes it has something worth paying big bucks to see, and they want us to believe, too.
Someone convinced them, probably that enthusiastic Terry Allen, that a quarterback named Zac, a 5-foot-7 starting running back and a squad that hasn't beaten Kansas State in five years is worth shelling out more money to see.
Are you a believer yet?
Spencer Duncan
sports@kansan.com
Single game tickets will increase from $26 to
$28, and general admission tickets will
increase from $16 to $20.
And for all that, look what people get to see:
A team that hasn't had a winning season in two years.
A team that has gone to just two bowl games in the past 16 years.
■ And let's not forget that Kansas has had just two winning records in conference play in the last 13 years.
A team that has beaten its biggest rival, Kansas State, just once in the last seven years.
We're supposed to believe this team is worth paying more for.
Coming at the same time of the increase was the news that the Williams Educational Fund, the athletics department's coffer for boosters, had raised $1,872,000 by the end of December, an increase from previous fund-raising periods. The department also received $500,000 from money generated by Kansas State and Nebraska in the Bowls game.
This is not a department that is hard up for cash.
The cost to students is supposed to be nothing. Students who purchase the all-sports combo for basketball and football tickets are, according to the athletics department, going to see no increase in prices.
Did I mention that Kansas ranked 10th last season in attendance in the Big 12 Conference?
At a time when the Kansas football team is trying to increase its fan base, and the athletics department wants people to believe in the team, raising prices is asinine considering ticket prices also were raised last season.
But don't hold your breath. Bob Frederick, athletics director, announced that student tickets prices would not go up last year, too.
He lied. Two weeks later the prices went up
Continuing disrespect from the athletics department for Kansas football fans?
Now that I can believe in.
Kansas ready to sign next season's players
The national signing period for college football begins today, and Kansas Coach Terry Allen and his staff have non-binding verbal commitments from 21 athletes.
Kansan staff report
Kansas' difficulties in the passing game were well documented in 1997. To address this, the Jayhawks have commitments from two wide receivers, two tight ends and a quarterback. Highlighting the receivers is Byron Gassaway, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound wide receiver from Grandview, Mo. He is regarded by many as the premier recruit in the Kansas-Missouri area. With his size and tremendous speed — 4.4 seconds in the 40 yard dash — Gassaway could figure into the offense his freshman year.
The Jayhawks' offensive line most likely will include John Oddenetto, a 6-5, 280-pound lineman, who was a NJCAA All-American his sophomore year at Eastern (Ariz.) Community College. Three other recruits reportedly will join the ranks on the front line.
On defense, Kansas most likely will add five defensive backs and four linemen. Among them are Dion Rayford, a 6-4, 255-pound defensive lineman from West Valley (Calif.) Community College, who led the state's junior colleges with 22 sacks last year. Another junior college player, Kerrie Washington, a 6-foot, 185-pound cornerback from Kilgore (Texas) Community College, would bring his blazing 40-yard-dash time of 4.31 seconds to Kansas.
Henri Childs, a running back from Shawnee Mission West High School, may be the biggest signing of the season. Childs, whose father played in the NFL, rushed for more than a 1,000 yards and scored 16 touchdowns last season. He also earned all-state honors.
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See FOOTBALL on page 2B