SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, January 28, 1993
9
Jayhawks' walk-on excels in limited role
Freshman seeks more playing time
By David Dorsey Kansan sportswriter
When Thomas Jerrell Whatley Jr., arrived at Kansas last summer, he brought with him his passion for basketball and his dream of playing for a Division I program.
After playing pickup games and conditioning with his current teammates during the preseason, Watley, known as "TJ," to family, friends and fans, made the Kansas basketball team as a walk-on guard and has never looked back.
"There were a lot of Division III Schools that wanted me, but I wanted Division I." he said. "I had the choice of going to a smaller school and playing a lot of minutes or coming here and improving while not playing so much."
Whatley, Glen Rose, Ark., freshman,
said he knew about the history and
tradition of Kansas basketball and
wanted to be a part of it.
"I came up here, looked around and liked the place," he said. "The coaches didn't promise me anything. They said I could try out for J.V."
Whatley and his father wrote letters to several Division I programs, and when former Kansas assistant coach Mark Turgeon wrote him back, Whatley decided to visit Lawrence.
But the 6-foot-4 Whatley wanted to play varsity, and he was willing to work through the preseason conditioning knowing that he might not make the team. The first week of practice in early November was a tryout for him. After the first exhibition game, Kansas coach Roy Williams informed the mustached freshman that he could stick with the team.
"The team accepted him immediately," Williams said. "I like the initiative that he had, and he's not a bad basketball player. He understands his limitations. One way that he helps us in practice is by not hurting us."
Whatley said he understood his role on the team, and realized that this season his only playing time would come at the end of games in which Kansas had a commanding lead.
Near the end of the Jayhawks'吹胜利victories at home, Kansas fans have chanted, "We want T.J."
"The crowd is great," he said. "It's amazing to me that so many people know my name."
Whatley notices the crowd shouting for him to shoot the basketball whenever he gets it — even if he is being guarded.
"I just try to block it out and shoot only when I'm open." Whatley said. "Even though the outcome is in hand, Coach Williams keeps coaching me, which is helping me improve. He really wants me to do well."
Whatley learned to play basketball on a hilltop near his home in Arkansas. His father constructed the backboard and attached it to a post which he had installed. The rim, Whatley said, was old and rusty.
"We've spent so much time up there," he said. "That's where he taught me to shoot. If it wasn't for him, I would not be at Kansas."
If Whatley made a mistake or missed badly, his father would hurt the ball down the hill, and Whatley would have to chase after it into the pit below. But the guard said he did not resent the constant pressure put on him by his father, and credited him for his success in high school.
At Glen Rose High School, Whatley averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds his senior year. As the tallest player on his team, he started at center but played around the perimeter because of his outside shooting ability.
Whatley leads the Jayhawks in three-point shooting percentage at 100 percent, but with only one attempt. He made the basket on Dec. 12 against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Whatley played a career-high seven minutes and scored five
Enjoy it while it lasts
The Top 25 men's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, was released Monday. Kansas is ranked first — for now.
1. **Kansas (49)** 16-2 1,603 1
2. Indiana (7) 18-2 1,520 2
3. N. Carolina (9) 17-1 1,517 3
4. Kentucky 14-1 1,436 4
5. Michigan 16-1 1,391 5
6. Cincinnati 14-1 1,254 9
7. Duke 14-1 1,207 6
8. Arizona 11-2 1,134 11
9. Seton Hall 15-4 1,044 10
10. UNLV 11-1 1,010 15
11. Iowa 12-3 841 14
11. Vanderbilt 15-3 753 19
11. Pittsburgh 13-3 728 20
11. Purdue 13-3 697 13
11. Virginia 12-3 696 7
11. Arkansas 12-4 694 8
11. Utah 14-2 586 22
11. Georgia Tech 14-1 491 16
11. Florida St. 13-6 478 20
12. Oklahoma 13-5 369 12
12. Georgetown 12-3 355 18
12. Connecticut 9-5 343 17
12. Tulane 14-3 150 24
12. Marquette 14-2 144 24
12. Houston 11-3 103 2
Other recipients woke Wake Forest 101,
Wisconsin 43, Ohio 28, New York 19,
Michigan 42, U.S. Mass. 34, Ontario 31,
Oklahoma 30, Indiana 31,
Kansas 18, Missouri 31, Cal. 10, Ohio St. 10,
Memphis 18, LSU 29, Syracuse 5, Boston Coll. 4,
Minnesota 27, Tampa 26, Wisconsin 3,
USC 3, W. Kentucky 3, Florida 2, Illinois 2,
Texas 2, W. Kentucky 2, W. Wisconsin 2,
Louisville 1, Nebraska 1
"I really felt like a contributing factor in that game." Whathe said. "I was out there with the starters like Rex (Walters) and Adonis (Jordan)."
points during what so far has been his favorite game. Kansas won 108-62.
As for his future as AJayhawk. Whatley said he wanted to continue working on his game and hoped to play more minutes in upcoming seasons.
"I've improved so much since I've been here," he said. "If I had played in high school the way I played after the summer, I would have been unstoppable. This summer I'll be able to get on the weights, get a little stronger and hopefully be a contributor next season."
Kansas freshman guard T.J. Whatley takes a shot during pregame warm ups. Whatley joined the Jayhawks as a walk-on this fall.
Andrew Arnone / KAN$AN
Athletes gain year of eligibility
Athlet NCAA ruling reduces ACT requirements
By Jake Arnold Special to the Kansan
"A wrong has been righted," said Gary Kempf, Kansas swimming and diving coach.
Swimmer Ronda Lusty and track team member Tarita Triplett also will have another team to compete.
When the NCAA ruled that athletes who scored 17 or better on their American College Test between 1989-1991 will regain a year of lost eligibility, basketball player Sean Pearson was not the only Kansas athlete who benefited.
In October of 1989, the NCAA changed the required ACT score for eligibility for student athletes from 17 to 18. The NCAA felt that 18 was more in line with the required score of 700
on the SAT. High school students who failed to score the required minimum could not be given athletic scholarships their freshman year and could not attend practices or participate in games or meets.
Lusty scored a 17 on the test in December of her senior year in high school. If she had taken the test in September before the ruling, she would have qualified for athletic scholarships.
"It was really hard for me," said Lusty, a freestyle sprinter from Pendleton, Ore. "I almost didn't make the decision to come here. Gary (Kempf) was very positive. He said we will work through this. Other coaches told me to go to junior colleges and they would recruit me from when I was eligible.
"It made me feel good that he cared enough to recruit me."
Kempf said he thought the transitions from high school to junior college to the university level would not be beneficial for Lusty.
"I felt stability would be important for her," Kempf said. "It would help
her academically and athletically."
In 1991, the NCAA decided that 18 on the ACT was not equal to a 700 on the SAT, so it changed the minimum requirement back to 17. Athletes who had scored a 17 during the two years that the minimum was 18 appealed for the return of their lost year of eligibility. Earlier this year, the NCAA decided at its convention to give athletes like Pearson, Lusty and Triplett their missing year back.
Triplette said that track assistant coach Rick Attig convinced her to come to Kansas from St. Louis. Triplette competes in triple jump, long jump and the 4x100 meter relay, but the triple jump is her favorite. Attig is Kansas' jump coach.
"It was a great decision by the NCAA that was long overdue," said Gary Schwartz. Kansas track coach.
"It was devastating." Triplett said. "I was out of condition for the second year. I needed the motivation from the team."
The athletes are grateful for the change, but the ruling cannot make up for the wasted year.
Lusty said she struggled during her first year because of the frustration of missed opportunities.
"It hurt really bad," Lusty said. "My close friends, the ones I had come on the recruiting trip with, could swim at meets, and I had to go and watch them."
Triplett and Lusty both are unhappy with present NCAA rules.
"I feel that they should not use ACT or SAT to get in school," Triplett said. "My freshman year I had athlete friends who passed the tests but who couldn't cope because of grades. I had the grades every semester."
Triplet and Lusty are both doing fine academically. Triplet is majoring in social welfare, and Lusty plans to enter the nursing school. Last semester, Triplet was named a Jayhawk Scholar, an honor for athletes with a grade point average of 3.0 or better.
"I have a reading disability that I didn't know about until I got to KU," Lusty said. "I have made it though, and it gives me confidence. I proved the test is wrong."
All-state fullback commits to Kansas
By Matt Doyle
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas football team received an oral commitment Tuesday night from Eric Galbreath of Jefferson City, Mo.
Galbreath, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, was a three-year starter and an all-state selection for Jefferson City. The fullback ran for 809 yards in a wishbone offense last fall.
"He had a great year for us," said Jefferson City High School coach Pete Adkins. "He is a winner having played on two state championship teams in his three years."
Gailbreath also played defensive back at Jefferson City, but the indication Adkins got from the Kansas coaching staff was that the Jayhawks recruited him as a fullback.
said. "Their running and blocking styles, though, are very similar."
Galbreath is the nephew of former National Football League running back Tony Galbreath.
Jefferson City High School has sent many players to Missouri in the past. However, Adkins said that had no influence on Galbreath's decision to choose Kansas.
"With this being a political town, our kids get pressure to attend the school 30 miles up the road," he said. "However, the kids are the ones that have to make the decision."
"This kid is maybe a little different than his uncle in build," Adkins
Note:
Kansas City, Mo., RockhurstHigh School defensive back Tony Blevins committed to Kansas yesterday afternoon, according to KMZ radio in Kansas City.
Neither Blevins nor Rockhurst coach Tony Severino could be reached for comment.
Blevins, 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, was also considering Stanford and UCLA.
Women mix doubles partners for tourney
Top-20 Kansas team to be tested three times in Utah trip
By Blake Spurney
Kansan sportswriter
"BYU and Utah are really big matches for us since they're in our region," Coach Chuck Merzhacher said. Both were defeated by the Jayhawks last year.
The No. 20 Kansas women's tennis team begins a set of three dual matches against Brigham Young University, Utah and Wisconsin today.
Kansas, the defending Big Eight Conference champion, is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest. It was the Jayhawks first conference title since 1979.
Merzbacher said that all three were solid teams, and BYU has received top-25 votes.
They also finished last year as the top-ranked team in the region, which qualified them for the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships. They were knocked out in the first
Kansas has not competed in a dual match this season, but the players
Preparing for matches in Utah, sophomore Rebecca Jensen works on her forehand stroke. The women's tennis team plays three matches in Utah beginning today against Brigham Young.
competed in individual tournaments in the fall.
One of those tournaments, the Rolex Central Regional, was won by sophomore Rebecca Jensen. She is the Jayhawks No. 1 single player and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranked her 16th in the nation.
Weiner and Jensen are No. 13 in the nation in doubles play, but they will not play together in Utah. Instead, Jensen will team up with sophomore Nora Koves, the team's No. 3 singles player.
Jensen also won the doubles title with junior teammate Mindy Weiner, who is the team's No. 2 singles player
Jensen was originally paired with Koves, but Koves missed the fall season due to tendinitis.
Merbacher said he was not sure if the pair would remain partners, but he said that Koves was one of Kansas' better partners.
"We definitely needed her to be in the lineup somewhere," he said.
Jensen said that even though she is the No. 1 player, the team's 1-3 spots were interchangeable.
All three players have the potential to become Al-Americans, Merzhacher said. To achieve Al-America status, a player must finish the year
ranked 16th or better
Merczahber said that it was important for the team to start the spring season well, and that the team's goal was to finish the week 3-10.
'If we compete and play the way are capable of playing we'll be satisfied
with our results." he said.
Freshman Jenny Atkerson and juniors Kim Rogers and Abby Woods fill in the No. 4, 5 and 6 singles slots respectively.
'Hawk swimmers reach new high in national poll
Kansanstaffreport
The Kansas women's and men's swimming and diving teams both moved up in the national rankings this week.
The women's team moved up from 12th to eighth, making it the first time since 1983 that it has been ranked in the top 10. The Javahawks are 10-0.
Florida, Texas, Stanford, UCLA,
Southern Methodist, Georgia and
Arizona State are ranked above the
Kansas women.
The Kansas men moved up to their highest point in the poll this week. Ranked No. 19 last week, the men's team moved up one notch to No. 18. This is the first season in which both squads have been ranked at the same time.
Stanford, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan and Florida are the top five men's teams.
The Kauses men, 7-3, take on Iowa State this weekend.
Both squads face the Cyclones at 2 p.m. Saturday at Robinson Natatorium in what will be their first Big Eight Conference meet of the season.