O SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Friday, April 1, 1994 11 Charlotte's the place for basketball's best Omens, history help in analyzing 1994 Final Four By Jim O'Connell The Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was the slow day leading to the Final Four. The fans began arriving yesterday, not yet the painted faces certain to populate the Charlotte Coliseum this weekend. The teams arrive, but there's business to attend to, so all anyone sees are players and coaches waving from baggage carousels or on their way to buses. Speaking of buses, that's the mode of transportation for one team this year. Duke made the 150-mile trek to Charlotte in a mini-caravan of char tered buses accompanied by an escort from the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Because there was so little going on yesterday, it was a good day to look for oranges. You can start with the buses. The last team to make its way to the Final Four in a bus was Kansas in 1988. The Jayhawks made the one-hour drive to Kansas City, Mo., then won it all. The only Final Four held in the state of North Carolina was in 1974 at Greensboro. The team that took it all that year was an in-state group from North Carolina State. The omens will long be forgotten by tomorrow when Arkansas and Arizona meet in the first semifinal with Florida going against Duke in the other. The winners meet Monday night for the national championship, a first for any but Duke, which won it all in 1991 and 1992. This is the Blue Devils' seventh Final Four appearance in nine years, a figure made even more impressive when you realize no conference had that many representatives in the same period. "I think we get a lot of respect from a lot of people based on what we did in the past," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "This is this year and we have to focus on this year and what these kids are doing." sophomores and freshmen. Duke, 27-5, left the NCAA tournament in uncharacteristic fashion last year, knocked out in the second round by California. The three seniors — Grant Hill, Antonio Lang and Marty Clark — have two championship rings, but this is all new to the The point of emphasis has become the defense, and Hill — defensive player of the year last season — is the focal point. He controlled Purdue's Glenn Robinson in the regional championship game, but it came with a lot of help from Lang and center Cherokee Parks. The latter has 13 blocked shots in the four NCAA tournament games. "Duke recognizes that they have the opportunity to do something with this team and they are also proud of their tradition." Florida coach Lon Kruger said. "But this Duke team has to perform. Either Duke's team or our team will be better on Saturday, and nothing else matters." mance doesn't count because this is the school's first Final Four appearance. Kruger has turned a program as close to bottom as it could get into one that actually has some football fans looking away from spring practice this weekend. Florida, 29-7, is lucky past perfor- "People are enjoying the success of Florida basketball and our fans are comfortable the team's doing well, competing for the national championship," Kruger said. Arkansas, 29-3, has become known as much for its biggest fan — as far as political clout goes — as for the success that kept the Razorbacks atop the poll for nine weeks this season. "I'm not on an ego trip. My team's not on an ego trip," Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson said. "He is the president and he is a Razorback fan. I don't have a problem with that." The Razorbacks, who have been in five Final Fours, the last in 1990, create problems all over the court. Arkansas has Corliss Williamsup on front and a gaggle of 3-point shooters, including 6-foot-9, 260-pound center Dwight Stewart, who has made nine of 12 from beyond the arc in the four NCAA tournament games. Arizona had been known for years for its formidable frontlines, but not this year. The Wildcats, 29-5, have what is probably the nation's best backcount in Damon Stoudamire and Khalid Reeves. They combined to average almost 48 points in the NCAs, with Reeves at 29.3. "They're really good friends. They've been roommates for three years and they just seem to have a feel for what the other guy is going to do before he does it," said coach Lute Olson, who led Arizona to its only other Final Four appearance in 1988. "Despite the scoring numbers you never see a situation where someone's open and they don't get the guy the ball. They're very unselfish and yet we need to have them shoot the ball a lot for us." Kansas running back gets new position After injuries White will be wide receiver By Matt Siegel By Matt Sieger Kansan sportswriter He's back. After suffering a season-ending left knee injury early last fall, senior George White has returned healthy and with a new position. White, who entered last season as the No.1 running back on the depth chart, has been moved to wide receiver. The Jayhawks already have a lot of depth in the backfield with June Henley, L.T. Levine and Mark Sanders. Levine and Henley combined to rush for 1.718 yards last season. "We have so much talent in the backfield," White said of his former position. "Any one of us could be starting at any school, but we decided to come here. We have L.T., Mark and June, so I'm not going to be playing in the backfield much. I'm going to be out at the wide receiver area." White said he was thrilled to have the opportunity just to play. In the Western Carolina game — the second game of the season — he tore a ligament in his left knee. White rehabilitated his knee while watching Kansas struggle to a 5-7 record. "It was a fluke," White said. "I had received a pitch and the guy that hit my knee actually fell into it. I hit the ground and knew something was wrong. The trainers thought I was OK until I started walking." After a season full of injuries, the Jayhawks are looking to rebound. The Jayhawks return 47 lettermen and have 29 players on their roster who have started in at least one game. "Last season kind of frustrated me because I was one of the first people to get injured," White said. "I sat back the whole time and just watched all these people get hurt. I look at it now and I see all the talent we have on the field and I don't see us being beat next season. We have so much talent. I guarantee we will have a winning season." To get back on the winning side, Kansas coach Glen Mason is emphasizing running the ball and stopping the run during spring practice. Mason said he saw some positives, one being the return of White: "I think George played well for us, but we have some good running backs coming back," Mason said. "George has good skills at receiver. He looked good but you didn't get to see him last year because he got injured. We had plans for him to play out in the third wide reliever spot anyway. George has good talent in the open field." White said he had been working with receiving coach John Jefferson to become a better receiver. But White is not the only player who has had to learn a new position. Last season junior Keith Rodgers moved from strong safety to outside linebacker. Rodgers shared White's optimism when talking about the upcoming season. "I think we have a better team than we did last year," Rodgers said. "We have better speed and a lot more leadership. When you have a sub-par season it just adds fuel to the fire. I expect nothing less than a winning season." As spring practice continues, the Jayhawks are confident that this season will erase last year's failures. For White, it has been a long road back, and he's ready for the season to get underway. "We should take it to the next level and dominate teams," White said. "It is just going to be us taking it one game at a time, starting with Houston. I'm happy to be back." George White, Kansas senior wide receiver, blocks Rodney Harris, junior wide receiver, during a drill in practice. White, who began last season as the Jayhawks No. 1, running back on the depth chart, has moved to wide receiver after rehabilitating a knee injury. Valerie Bontrager / KANSAN Baseball team up for Tigers Players prepare to prove themselves after Iowa State loss By Andrew Gilman Kansan sportswriter When the Kansas baseball team gathered to practice yesterday, Coach Dave Bingham said he would be doing most of the talking. "There's going to be a lot more talking than anything else," he said. "We're going to try to see what type of adjustments need to be made." Bingham and his No. 16 Jayhawks lost 19-15 to Iowa State on Wednesday. Kansas, Bingham said, did not play good baseball. The Jayhawks twice gave up seven runs in an inning and lost the game in the 12th. They also gave up 15 walks and committed six errors. Their record dropped to 20-7 overall and 6-3 in the Big Eight Conference. "That was one of the worst games I've been associated with," Bingham said of the four-hour flasco. "We'll try to leave that behind and work on the mental aspect of the game. Against Iowa State we did not have a strong mental outlook, and that's the coaches' fault. You can't blame the players." The Jayhawks hope to have their heads on straight when the Missouri Tigers come to town for a three-game series at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium, including tonight's 7 p.m. match. Missouri, 20-7 overall and 3-2 in conference play, is fresh off of the three-game sweep of Nebraska, where it held the Cornhuskers to four runs. The Tigers' pitching staff is led by sophomore Jason Meyhoff and senior Chris Robertson. Meyhoff, also a left hander, has a 1.60 ERA and a 3-1 record in 45 innings of work. The Tigers also have been helped in the bullpen by sophomore reliever Keith Massa. Massa, another left hander, has two saves, a 1.50 ERA, and 15 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched. The Missouri pitching is a concern for Bingham. Robertson, a left hander, has a 5-2 record and often leads the Tigers in victories. In 51 and two-thirds innings pitched, he has struck out 62. Robertson has given up only 45 hits and 25 earned runs during that time. "Robertson and Meyhoff are the top two starters," he said. "Robertson throws a fastball, breaking ball and change-up, just like most of the rest of the staff. They rely on control. We've been happy with our starting pitching." "They're primarily a left-handed pitching team," Bingham said. "So they're a little different in that aspect. They're strong fundamentally and are typically good defensively." Missouri coach Gene McArtor, also cited his two starters. McArtor, in his 21st season as coach, will move to a new position at the end of the season, the Missouri Associate Director of Athletics. Although this is his last season, he said this season was no more special than any other. "This is the players' team, not mine," McArtor said. "When you start getting caught up in all the games and the schedule, you don't have time to
leagueoverall
Oklahoma St.8021 7
Kansas6320 7
Missouri3220 8
Oklahoma5420 8
Kansas St.1510 19
Iowa St.157 14
Nebraska0512 14
Baseball Big Eight standings think about anything else." Sophomore pitcher Jamie Splittorff, who was named the conference's player of the week after his complete-game, six-hit performance against Oklahoma, will take his 7-0 record and 2.65 ERA to the mound for tonight's game, but Bingham said the team needed to be ready for anything. "Wednesday we just kind of expected things to happen with (Chris) Corn pitching," Bingham said. "We need to prepare and play hard for nine innings, and have a strong mental outlook." Corn was 4-0 prior to Wednesday's game. Although he received a no-decision, he gave up eight hits and eight runs in five innings. Both coaches said they expected well-played games this weekend. "It looks like there will be a great matchup from two similar teams," McArtor said. Bingham agreed. "These are two good teams matched up," Bingham said. "From the fan's standpoint, I think there will be some good games." Women's tennis team ranked fifth in nation But this week, the Kansas women's tennis team broke into the top five. The Jayhawks are ranked 5.0 in the nation, trailing only Georgia, Texas, Stanford and Florida. It is the team's highest ranking in Kansas history. "I like to say we are going to stay up there year in and year out, but this is just an exceptional group," Kansas coach Chuck M乙zbacher said. "You can put too much emphasis on rankings, but we are just enjoying it. We know you have to show up every day. We know we have to prove it." When most Kansas sports fans think of nationally-ranked programs at Kansas, most people think of the Kansas men's basketball team. By Matt Siegel Kansan sportwriter The Jayhawks are 15-2 overall after completing a successful spring break trip that saw them defeat Arizona, Arizona State and Minnesota. Junior Nora Koves remained as the No. 10 ranked singles player in the nation. In doubles, senior Kim Rogers and Abby Woods climbed from No. 17 to No. 11, which is the highest the two have been ranked all season. The ranking does not include the team's performance during spring break. Merzbacher said the fact that Kansas was not considered a traditional tennis school added to the enjoyment of the ranking. "I wish I could say that we are going to be a Stanford or a Florida, but they The Jayhawks begin Big Eight Conference play tomorrow when they play Colorado in Boulder. The Jayhawks, defending conference champions, have set their sights on doing well at the NCAA Tournament. "We've always been a participant at the NCAA tournament," Mierzbacher said. "We're one of six teams that really have a chance to make it to the semifinals. We have never won a match at the NCAA Tournament so our goal is to win a match and move on. We still have to take baby steps." just have an advantage over us with their location. It's nice to be mentioned with those schools. It just shows that if things go your way and you work hard that you can do it. I think this is a positive in every direction. We are going to try to use this in recruiting and in our schedule." The No. 28-ranked Kansas men's tennis team also faces Colorado this weekend. The Jayhawks, 15-5 overall, opened the conference season in impressive fashion, routing Missouri 7-0. Colorado is the defending Big Eight Champions and Kansas coach Michael Center said the team would have to be at its best to defeat the Buffaloes. "We're going to have to step it up." Center said. "They have some players from last year and picked up two players, Mark Bowers and Paul Trumpleman, in January. Bowers is 18-0 for them. But I think we will do all right. I like this team."