SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, February 17, 1994
9
COLUMNIST
Bewildered fan contemplates Winter Games
In Lillehammer, Norway, there's a lot of snow and a lot of the world's best athletes competing for gold medals.
In a front row seat, compliments of CBS, with a stack of Winter Olympics sports sections and magazines right beside me, I'm hoping for some inspiration. You see, I'm attempting to write about a topic that I honestly know little about - the XVII Winter Olympic Games.
How can an admitted Winter Olympics illiterate sit down at a computer and type 1,000 words without giving you a complete snow job? (Ha! Get it?)
Well, I'm beginning to wonder just how many people in this fine country are actually watching the Olympics.
My roommate really got me thinking.
Here's a girl who digs working out, watches the Super Bowl, the World Series, and Kansas basketball and football games. I consider her an average sports enthusiast and up-to-date in sports events.
I asked Gina what she thought about this year's Winter Olympics – four days after they began. Brace yourself for this one:
"Oh, so that's what you're watching," she said. "You mean the Olympics already started? I had no idea--but I love to watch skating. Hey, how're we doing?"
Her response knocked the wind out of me. It wasn't even what she said, but the carefree matter of fact way in which she said it. Sort of as if she could care less about the whole thing.
It's hard to get psyched about sports in which we rarely get to compete - such as every event in the Winter Olympics.
In Lawrence, basketball capital of the world, you simply slip on the high tops, call your friends and go to the gym for a pick-up game. It's simple. it's fun and it's a very available, inexpensive form of exercise and entertainment.
Skiing is another story. You can't simply call your friends, slip on your skis and drive a couple blocks to the local slopes for a quick pick-up match of Alpine skiing.
Instead, when snow finally falls by the foot at the University of Kansas, students go berserk. They "borrow" trays from the cafeterias, conveniently located trash can lids and sofa cushions from residence hall lobbies. With these objects, students create bobsleds to slide down the slopes of Mount Oread and Daisy Hill at breakneck speeds.
I think that's sort of the extent of interest in Winter Olympics at the University.
Have you even heard of the luge? Not many people know about the luge, but I learned something interesting the other day that has caused me to take a particular interest in this event.
Simply stated, the luge is an event that allows an athlete to become a virtual "human bullet" traveling at speeds up to 80 mph, with the capability of severing human limbs. And I kid you not.
In December, U.S. Olympics competitor Bethany Calcaterra-McMahon ran over the leg of a German coach who slipped in her track. Going 75 mph, she sliced his leg right off. Amazing but true. Now that would be something worth watching the Olympics for.
Cowboys' defense ropes Jayhawks
Kansas falls three games back in race
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
STILLWATER, Okla. — Overtime was not twice as nice for the No. 4 Jayhawks last night as Kansas lost to Oklahoma State 63-59 in the extra period of play.
The teams' last meeting also went into overtime when Kansas senior guard Steve Woodberry won the game on a three-point shot. This time, it was the other outside shooter in the game, Oklahoma State senior guard Brooks Thompson, who was in the spotlight.
With 10 seconds left in regulation, Thompson drove into the lane and hit a 10-foot jumper over Kansas freshman guard Jacque Vaughn. That shot put the game into overtime, in which the Cowboys outscored the Jayhawks 14-10.
"We were just in our motion offense," Thompson said. "We were looking for something to happen. I saw an opening, penetrated and made
it, thank God."
Kansas coach Roy Williams said he thought that Vaughn had played well defensively against Thompson.
"Jacque's deal was he wanted to stay in front of him, and he was," Williams said. "Thompson leaned in a bit and hit a tough shot."
The victory pushed Oklahoma State into a tie with Kansas for second in the Big Eight Conference at 6-3. The Cowboys improved to 17-7 overall, and the Javahaws dropped to 21-4.
It was apparent early that Kansas had to contain Oklahoma State junior center Bryant Reeves to win at a packed Gallagher-Iba Arena.
During the first five minutes of the game, the Cowboys went to Reeves for five of their first six possessions. Although Reeves scored only two points on those tries, he usually drew two and three Kansas defenders and left a Cowboy, such as senior guard Randy Rutherford, unguarded.
"They are a tough team," Williams said. "Oklahoma State has a great combination with Reeves and the outside shooting of Thompson and Rutherford."
Reeves finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, and both Rutherford and Thompson scored in double-digits.
Oklahoma State had an early 9-5 lead, but Kansas came back behind the play of Kansas junior center Greg
Ostertag. Ostertag finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, but he was not happy with his performance.
"It's always a team loss," he said. "I could score 25 points, but if we lose, I can't enjoy it."
Both teams shot poorly in the first half, but Kansas went cold after building a 22-18 lead. The Cowboys shot 40 percent from the field, but Kansas shot only 35.7 percent. With that advantage, Oklahoma State led at halftime 30-26.
Williams said the low percentages had been caused by tough defense from both teams, not poor shooting.
"You try to do a great job on the defensive end," he said. "If you watch college basketball with these two teams, it'd defense. I'll tell you, no one in this room could have scored against these two teams tonight."
"I think what we need to do is play the entire 40 minutes," he said. "We played well in the second half, but we've got to come out ready from the start."
Vaughn said that Kansas had not come out intense enough in the first half.
The low shooting percentages continued in the second half. However, Oklahoma State was able to keep its four point lead. 41-45.
The second half turned out to be a physical one — when two Jayhawks
hit the court. Woodberry was elbowed below his left eye on a jump shot and had to be taken out of the game temporarily.
"He's got about an inch-long cut," Williams said. "It affected him, but at the same time you have to give Brooks Thompson credit on his defense."
"He really wanted to play," Williams said. "He wasn't very effective. We tried to spot him and get him the ball."
Kansas senior forward Patrick Richey collided with an Oklahoma State player. Kansas senior forward Richard Scott played 10 minutes of the game but still was bothered by his left shoulder injury.
With two minutes left in the game, Kansas took a 48-47 lead on a free throw by Richey. He later had a chance to give the Jayhawks a three-point lead but hit only one of two free-throws.
Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said the Cowboys had needed the victory. Oklahoma State is unranked in the polls, and six of its seven defeats have been by less than five points.
"We had a lot of missed opportunities," Richey said. "We had a great chance to win the game, but it didn't happen tonight."
"I thought this game was bigger for us than it was for Kansas," he said. "We really needed to beat a nationally ranked team."
OKLAHOMA STATE (17-7, 6-3)
Oklahoma State 63, Kansas 59
Player fgm/fga ftm/fta tp
Roberts 3-6 1-2 7
Burley 3-10 2-2 8
Reeves 6-16 4-8 16
Rutherford 4-9 2-2 12
Thompson 5-13 6-7 18
Phillip 0-1 0-0 0
Manzer 0-2 2-2 2
Pierce 0-0 0-0 0
Sutton 0-1 0-0 0
Collins 0-0 0-0 0
Totals 21-58 17-23 63
KANSAS (21-3, 6-2)
Player fgm/fga ftm/ta tp
Vaughn 3-8 1-1 8
Woodberry 5-189 4-4 15
Richey 1-5 8-12 10
Scott 0-2 0-1 0
Ostertag 9-12 0-1 18
Pollard 0-2 1-2 1
Rayford 0-1 0-2 0
Gurley 0-2 1-2 1
Pearson 3-7 0-0 6
Williams 0-0 0-0 0
Totals 21-57 15-23 59
Halftime Oklahoma State 30, Kansas 26.
3-point goalie Oklahoma State 4-15
(Thompson 2-6, Rutherford 2-5, Roberts O-2,
Manzer 0-1, Sutton 0-1), Kansas 2-16
(Woodbury 1-6, Vaughn 1-4, Richey O-3,
Pearson 0-2, Gurley 0-1), Reboulda O-1
(Ostertag 13), Asselts Oklahoma State 13
(Thompson 3, Reeves 3), Kansas 9 (Vugriff)
4. Total fouls Oklahoma State 19 Kansas
20. Attendance 6,381
It is the shoes for sophomore star
By Matt Siegel
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas sophomore guard Charisse Sampson likes to do only one thing more than play basketball.
"I love buying shoes," Sampson said. "Coach Brown says that is all I do — buy shoes."
When she's not buying shoes, Sampson starts at the off-guard position for the No. 10 team in the nation.
"I think I'm an all-around player," Sampson said. "Offensive threat, defensive threat, whatever. I need to be more consistent. I haven't done much vet."
Sampson may be modest, but there is no getting around the numbers. She averages 12.8 points a game and is in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and steals in the Big Eight Conference. She also is ranked No. 1 in free-throw percentage in the conference.
As a freshman, Sampson experienced immediate success. She earned Big Eight player of the week honors in January when she led Kansas to three victories while averaging 15 points a game, six rebounds and 3.7 steals. But at the end of the season, Sampson's averages began to drop. Or as Sampson put it, she hit a wall.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
"I heard that Angela Aycock went through the same thing," Sampson said. "When you're in high school, you're used to being the go-to player. In high school, players like Angela and myself were used to taking control."
Kansas sophomore guard Charisse Sampson drives past Colorado sophomore guard DeCelle Thomas. Kansas and Colorado are Nos. 1 and 2 in the Bief Eight Conference.
Sampson met Kansas assistant coach Renee Brown when she was in the ninth grade. At the time, Brown was an assistant coach at Stanford University. The two hit it off. When Brown came to Kansas in May of 1901, Sampson was on her recruiting list.
"I liked Coach Brown, but I never had heard of Kansas," Sampson said. "But I thought there must have been something about it if Coach Brown was going there. I decided to check it out."
Although she ranks in the top 10 in several categories this season, Sampson has once again been slowed down. Sampson hyperextended her thumb in a tournament in New York. She said that the thumb had never healed properly and that she had reaggravated the injury during a recent practice. She wears a removable cast on the thumb, and she said it probably would not heal until the season ended.
If she has trouble with the injury, her teammates have not noticed.
"I think Charisse does all the little things," freshman guard Tamecka Dixon said. "Personally, I don't think she gets the credit that she deserves. She's just a player who does everything."
The fact that she isn't averaging as many
points as she did last season does not bother Sampson. She said that if players were in basketball for themselves, they would get nowhere.
"Coach Washington says I have something special in my hands," Sampson said. "I just happen to get my hands on the balls for steals and other things. It's just natural to me."
Runners prepare for Big Eight meet
By Andrew Gilman
Kansan sportswriter
Some on the Kansas track team will be looking to accomplish a lot this weekend by doing very little.
Instead of competing at the KSU Invitational, most of the middle- and long-distance runners will stay home and prepare for the Big Eight Conference championships.
The championships will be in Oklahoma City, Feb. 25 and 26.
"There won't be too many distance runners or sprinters going," assistant coach Steve Guymon said. "Right now it's a matter of getting people rested, cutting weights and workouts."
Junior Kristi Kloster, who will be competing in the 800-meter run and the distance medley relay, is just one of those who will have the weekend off.
"Most of us distance runners have been running since August, "Kloster said. "We needed a break."
The medley relay has four distances: the 800-meter, the 400-meter, the 1200-meter and the mile.
Kloster, who won the conference championship as a freshman, was redshirted all of last year with an injury.
Kloster suffered from muscle compartment syndrome, in which the tissues around the muscles in her legs were too tight. The tissue did not allow the muscles to expand, and surgery had to be performed.
She is fully healed now, and although she set a school record of 2 minutes, 51 seconds in the 1000-meter run earlier this year at the KU-KSU-MU Triangular, she is looking forward to doing well at the conference meet.
Kloster chose not to compete at the NCAA meet after she qualified for it her freshman year. But this year her goals are different.
"I love the 800," she said. "I want to go to nationals."
Although nationals are an individual goal for Kloster, she said that the team and the coaches were ready for the conference meet.
"I think we'll give Nebraska some trouble this year," she said. "We're pretty evenly matched up. Everyone's healthy, and the coaches are excited. They see the potential is great and we're as strong as we ever have been."
One of those coming off an injury from last season is senior Daniela Daggy.
Daggy, a distance runner, said that she had been injury free since summer and that she was ready to race.
"I'll be running both the 3000 and 5000-meter runs," she said. "I'll be ready to do well."
Kloster also mentioned that there were significant contributions being made by the freshman class.
"We have some great freshmen that have come in and helped motivate the upper classmen," she said. "They bring a lot of excitement to the team."
But there was plenty of excitement shown by the upper-classmen, as well.
"I'm just as excited as they are," Kloster said.Daggy put her emotions into a familiar phrase.
"Rock Chalk Jawhawk" she said.
"Rock Chalk Jayhawk," she said.
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