SPORTS
UN I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
Thursday. January 20,1994
9
Tom Leininger / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore forward Sean Pearson, guarded by Kansas State's Demond Davis, led the team in scoring with 15 points in Monday's loss to KS-Tate.
Kansas basketball team learning through losses
Bv Gerrv Fev
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
The learning process is continuing for Kansas' young basketball team. The Jayhawks' last lesson came with a 68-64 loss to Kansas State on Monday.
Kansas sophomore forward Sean Pearson said he was sure that the team would look at the defeat in a positive way.
"We can use it to realize that we have to come out ready to play every game," Pearson said. "K-State was more intense than we were in the first half."
Despite dropping its record to 16-2 and 1-1 in the Big Eight, Kansas senior forward Patrick Richey said it was no time for the Jayhawks to hit the panic button.
"It seemed like before the season nobody was picking us to do anything, and I kind of like that," Richey said. "It's such a long season. There's 14 games in the Big Eight. We've only played two. We're still 16-2, and I still think we have a great chance to win the whole thing."
The team may have learned from the defeat, but Kansas coach Roy Williams said he was not happy that the Jayhawks lost. Kansas' first defeat was against Temple on Dec. 1, after which the Jayhawks won 12 games in a row.
"It's not good for my sleep, and it's not good for my mental attitude." Williams said of the defeat. "People say, 'You learned something from the Temple game, and you won a bunch after that.' I happen to think we learned a lot at DePaul, and we still won the game."
At the halfway point in the season, Williams
said he had seen improvement from some of his voucher players.
Against K-State, freshman forward B.J. Williams scored a career-high 8 points, and Pearson scored a season-high 15 points. Both played more minutes than they would have usually after senior forward Richard Scott suffered a mild concussion early in the second half. Scott is listed as probable for the Iowa State game Saturday in Ames, Iowa.
Roy Williams said guard Jacque Vaughn and center Scot Pollard, both freshmen, had improved slightly more rapidly than B.J. Williams.
"He hasn't progressed as quickly as Jacque and Scot did," Roy Williams said of B.J. Williams. "It's going to take him a little longer just because of the physical part of the game. He needs to be a lot stronger, a lot bigger."
Early in the season, the Jayhawks played an NBA-type schedule. Kansas won the preseason National Invitational Tournament and also defeated teams such as Indiana and Georgia.
The Jayhawks played several times during that stretch with less than three days between games. Roy Williams said he thought that Kansas' best games were vet to come.
"It's crazy," he said. "It's like the year we lost to UTEP in the second round (NCAA). In the Big Eight tournament we beat Oklahoma in the semis, Oklahoma State in the finals and Colorado in the first round.
"We were fantastic for three straight nights. And yet the week after that we were coming home. I really believe we're going to continue to improve."
Football team bolstered by recruiting prospects
Although the Kansas football team finished 5-6 last season, they have established a solid foundation for the future.
By Andrew Gilman Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks also received commitments from two running backs, a linebacker and a quarterback.
The Jayhawks, who look to improve their defensive line this season, have received verbal commitments from three line players. The Jayhawks hope to replace NFL-bound senior defensive tackle Chris Maumalanga, among others, for the 1994 season.
Brett McGraw, a 6-foot-1, 260-pound lineman from Garden City, should provide some help on the line.
"He's got everything you need to make it at the college level," Meadows said. "He's strong, powerful and quick."
Although he may be small for the typical college lineman, he's mentally tough, said his high-school coach Dave Meadows.
McGraw also has a powerful resume.
He was a four-year starter on both offense and defense at Garden City and graduated with a 3.2 grade point average.
McGraw made the all-state teams in the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Wichita Eagle. He was all-district his senior season as well as all-conference.
Another lineman who will help the Jayhawks next year is Cleve Roberts.
Roberts, a 6-6, 265 pound lineman from
During his senior year, Roberts attracted many honors, including being named by the Topeka Capital-Journal as one of the top 11 players in the state. Roberts also made all-conference his junior and senior seasons.
Buhler, made the Kansas 5A all-state team last season.
"He has good foot speed and plays with a lot of intensity," Porter said. "I think he can play line at KU."
Jason Thoren, 6-2, 215-pound fullback/linebacker, is just one of many successful Lawrence high-school players who have staved in Lawrence.
Although he rushed for 1,254 yards his senior year, he will be playing linebacker for the Javhawks.
"I figured I'd be a linebacker," Thoren said. "They knew I realized how many running backs are there already."
As well as getting high-school recruits, Kansas has received verbal commitments from several junior-college players, including Trov Harper.
Harper, a 6-4, 275-pound defensive lineman, played two seasons at Taft College in Taft, Calif.
Heading the list of offensive players is quarterback Brian Gray.
Gray, 6-4 and 205 pounds, led his Liberty. Mo., high-school football team to 29 victories in three years. Gray started as a sophomore and inherited a team that had won just once the previous season.
He led his team to three conference and
district titles and an undefeated home record during his last two seasons.
Gray passed for 1,180 yards and ran for 692, averaging more than 5 yards a carry his senior season.
"He can play anywhere," Butler said. "He's a smart young man, and I think he'll be a great player."
Olathe North High School may be contributing to the Jayhawks running game in a big way for the 1994 season. Running back Julius Bruce and running back/defensive back Janie Harris plan to attend7 Kansas.
In two seasons at Oatle North, Bruce gained 1,638 yards on 231 carries for a school record of 7.09 yards a carry. He also scored 23 touchdowns, including 14 this season. He made the all-Sunflower League and second team all-metro. This season he sat out two games but managed to rush for 892 yards.
"He has a lot of ability," Coach Gene Weir said. "He has a knack for running with the ball and has a great vision for his future."
Harris had 99 tackles, six interceptions and eight eagle recoveries during his career.
Harris also was a 1993 all-Sunflower League running back. He gained 1,476 yards on 273 carries and scored 15 touchdowns during his career at Olathe North.
But Kansas may want to utilize Harris elsewhere.
NCAA scholarship allotment shows disrespect for baseball
"He's a better defensive player than offensive," Weir said. "He's an extremely fierce competitor. He has the mentality for a defensive player."
A great injustice continues to take place involving the appropriation of athletic scholarships at the Division I level. I am talking about the allotment of only 11.7 scholarships to men's baseball teams. As a Kansas pitcher, I take a special interest in the decisions the NCAA makes involving my sport. Because this sport does not generate a large amount of income at the college level, like football or men's basketball, baseball is often not given the funds or respect it needs and deserves from the NCAA.
I have two big problems with the NCAA's mandate of such a ridiculously low number of scholarships. The first of these is that a college baseball team needs at least 20 players to function. By limiting a team to 11.7 scholarships, each team's coach must choose one of two options: 1) divide the scholarships among 20-25 players or 2) have 11 athletes on full scholarship, one on partial scholarship and fill out the team with walkons.
At Kansas, Coach Dave Bingham has opted to divide the scholarships among his players. And no matter how the scholarships are divided, some athletes do not receive the aid they deserve. For example, the combined financial aid given by the Athletic Department to the six seniors on the 1994 Jawhayks equals 1.7 scholarships. Considering that the seniors are the backbone of this year's team,
it is a shame that they are receiving only 15 percent of the aid that is available. However, with the harsh restrictions the NCAA has adopted, anyway you cut it, somebody is going to get slighted.
The second problem is that several prospective student-athletes who are minorities are denied the opportunity to receive an education and continue baseball pursuits. Similar to the argument made by the Black Coaches Association involving a 14th basketball scholarship, it's a sad fact that many of those baseball recruits denied scholarships are minorities from low-income families.
This leaves minority baseball players with relatively few options. Those young athletes lucky enough to be drafted by professional baseball teams have the opportunity to con-
time their baseball careers. The following scenario, however, often takes place: The athlete, with no college scholarship and no bargaining power, is "low-balled" by the team that drafts him and is essentially forced to sign a contract for less money than he is worth. The odds of reaching the Major Leagues, and therefore, the big money, are low, and many times the athlete finds himself outside professional baseball within five years with no job, no money and no education.
Though there is no doubt that the NCAA will never agree to raise the number of scholarships to 20 "full-rides," Bingham feels he has a solution.
So could the families of most of the prospective baseball recruits.
"The NCAA should allow each school to provide 20 tuition and books scholarships," Bingham said. "The student-athlete would be responsible solely for room and board. I feel Kansas and most other Division I schools could afford this plan."
Unless changes are made, the NCAA will never completely shed its image as an organization that looks to further its own cause at the expense of the college athlete. The NCAA must overcome the ignorance it has developed against low-income sports and must provide funds for all athletic programs, including men's baseball, on an equal level.
Optical Perspectives
Optical Dispensary and Lab formerly fashion eveland
• New Owners
• New Services
• New Products
Your Hometown Doctor's Prescriptions Welcome
600 Lawrence Ave. (913) 841-6100
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
You don't have to be a staff member on one of the top college newspapers to receive its rewards.
Join us for a new program that is aimed at first-year students who are interested in reporting, editing or photojournalism.
Call or write Christine Laue, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall 864-4810
·Organizational Meeting 4:30 p.m.
January 27, 1994
Rm. 204 Stauffer-Flint Hall
8434040