Monday, November 27, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Kansas Basketball
Axtell returns to lineup
Senior guard says ankle healing lateral movement still difficult
By Chris Wristen
sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportwriter
ACT III of the Luke Axtell saga has been full of drama, but the Texas gunlinger was still going in his highly anticipated return Saturday night in No. 3 Kansas' 99-56 victory against Washburn.
After he transferred to Kansas from Big 12 Conference foe Texas in 1998, Axtell, a senior guard, played in the first 20 games of last season before missing the final 14 with an undisclosed medical condition.
This year, just hours before the team left for the season opening Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic in New York that was supposed to mark Axell's regular-season return, the plot thickened. He sprained his left ankle in practice when he landed on sophomore forward Drew Gooden's ankle.
Astell: took his first shot 13 seconds after entering the game.
Axtell scored five points in his return, but it wasn't without drama, as he slammed his leg into the scorer's table after taking a first-half three-pointer. With three minutes left in the game he was running a break and tweaked the ankle on a Washburn player's foot.
"It's all right. It got a little tender there at the end, but overall it went really well," Axtell said. "I can't push off of it like I want to and I'm obviously not as quick as I
want to be right now, but I'm just going to deal with it." Axtell made his return just five minutes into Saturday's game and he returned the same way he went out — shooting.
It took him only 13 seconds to fire a shot, a 15-footer from the left baseline that rattled in for two points. Axtell said it was important for him to take a shot right away but shooting wasn't coming easy because of his ankle.
"It's hard for me to shoot off the move," he said. "If I'm standing still or I'm going straight toward the basket, then I'm fine, but laterally it's hard for me to shoot."
Kansas coach Roy Williams said he wouldn't want most of his players shooting the ball that quickly, but Axtell was talented enough to do it.
"I don't think it's a very smart move to shoot the basketball right when you first get in the game," Williams said. "But if you shoot it as well as Luke then I guess it's OK."
Four minutes later, senior forward Kenny Gregory stole a Washburn pass and found Axtell wide open on the left side for a three-pointer that Axtell nailed. Those were his last points of the game, because he missed two more shots.
Axtell hit two of five shots in the game for his five points, well below his almost 17 points-per-game average in Kansas' two exhibition games, but he said he was more concerned with getting back on the court than scoring points. He said playing Washburn was a nice way to return.
"That was good because I didn't feel like I was going to hurt the team that much if I messed up." Axtell said. "There's also a mental part of just getting back because I haven't been practicing for the last week and a half, so it's always good to get in that kind of mode."
— Edited by John Audlehelm
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Bv Chris Wristen
'Hawks to combat Blue Raiders
When Middle Tennessee State visits Allen Fieldhouse at 7:05 tonight, Kansas coach Roy Williams and Middle Tennessee coach Randy Wiel might chat about memories past — well, in addition to coaching their teams.
Williams and Wiel both attended North Carolina, both served as assistant coaches for legendary Dean Smith and both were candidates for the Tar Heels' headcoaching job.
The two friends will reunite, and so will their teams, for the secondstraight season. Kansas downed the Blue Raiders 97-77 last year in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in a game Williams said he wouldn't soon forget.
This is a meeting Wiel said he was eagerly anticipating and was a series he hoped would continue.
("Wiel's) club gave us one heck-
va good game last year up at their
place," Williams said. "Randy's a
good coach and a good friend. We
go way back to about 1979."
"I would like to continue it," Wiel said. "It really helps us, and it's always good playing against Roy."
As much as Wiel is looking forward to his team's clash with
Kansas, he said he knew it would be a tough game. He credits that difficulty to the way Williams prepares his teams.
"Roy's teams are always well-coached," Wiel said. "They always seem to execute very well really early in the season. Even when they were playing in New York they were looking good."
Wiel said Kansas' big men and a resurgent senior forward Kenny Gregory would be the biggest challenges his team would face.
Despite the size advantage, Wiel's main concern is with Kansas' outside attack. In addition to sophomore guard Kirk Hinnrich's 22-point performance against Washburn on Saturday, Wiel said he was also concerned with junior guard Jeff Boschee's long-range accuracy.
"I don't think anyone in the country matches up with Kansas," Wiel said. "(Eric) Chenowith will give us some problems, and (Nick) Collison and (Drew) Gooden, especially Gooden, are very good and as athletic as anybody in the Big 12."
"I think that with Kansas being a year older and Bosche playing the second guard position, we really are going to have to focus on him because he shoots the ball so well," Wiel said.
With the odds stacked against his 1-1 team, Wiel is not waving the
white flag. He said his team would do its best to give Kansas a run for its money.
"I hope it'll be a good game, but we'll have to play to the best of our ability to upset Kansas at Kansas," Wiel said. "They don't lose there. Every time I turn on the radio they keep talking about their home-winning streak. But, on the other side, Kansas is the type of team that, when they're not playing good they're still not playing bad, and that's the danger of their team. That's the sign of a good team: They win games even when they're not playing real good."
Noting the Blue Raiders
Leading returning scorer Fernando Ortiz, senior forward, has seen reduced playing time while recovering from knee surgery. He is expected to play about 15 minutes.
Junior guard D'Marius Wilkes is off to career-high 15-point effort against Tennessee State in a 75-71 loss on Nov. 20.
■ Tonight's game is the seventh the Blue Raiders have played against a ranked team with Wiel as coach. They are 6-0 in those games, the most recent loss coming in a 78-77 thriller against then-No. 16 Tennessee last year.
— Edited by J. R. Mendoza
**Guards:** Kirk Hinrich had one of the most prolific three-point shooting nights in Kansas history on Saturday, hitting his first five attempts. Jeff Bosche is always a threat. This is in complete contrast to the Blue Raider guards, who are no threats at all. **Advantage:** Kansas
kansasstarters
Forwards: Middle Tennessee State's lil' Trennigan, a native of Finland, got his first career start last week and performed admirably. Still, the Fin will be finished off early by Kansas' forwards, which once again feature Luke Axtell.
Advantage: Kansas
No. Pos. Name Ht. Year
44 C Eric Chenowith 7-1 senior
0 F Drew Gooden 6-10 soph.
2 F Kenny Gregory 6-5 senior
13 G Jeff Boschee 6-1 junior
10 G Kirk Hinrich 6-4 soph.
lastgame
Men's Basketball
For the third straight game, the Jayhawks routed an outnmanned opponent. This time, it was Washburn's turn, as Kansas used a height advantage to blast the Ichabods 99-56.
KANSAS LEADERS
Scoring Points PPG
Gregory 103 20.6
Gooden 88 17.6
Chenowith 68 13.6
| | Made | Att. | %age |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Gregory | 45 | 68 | .662 |
| Hinrich | 19 | 29 | .655 |
| Gooden | 35 | 58 | .603 |
Treys Att. %age
Ballard 2 2 1.000
Hinrich 11 17 .647
Gregory 5 11 .455
Free throws
| | Made | Att. | %age |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Kinsey | 6 | 6 | 1.000 |
| Boschee | 10 | 12 | .833 |
| Hinrich | 17 | 21 | .810 |
Rebounds
Resources Off. Def. Total Avg/G Chenowith 15 36 51 10.2 Gregory 18 26 44 8.8 Gooden 13 29 42 8.4 Credit
Collison 5 2.5
Kinsey 3 1.5
Three Players 2 1.0
Assists
Assists APG
Hirnich 39 7.8
Boschee 25 5.6
Gregory 13 2.6
Blocka
Blocks BPG
Gooden 7 1.4
Collison 7 1.4
Chenowith 6 1.2
Kansas
VS.
Middle Tennessee State
Middle Tennessee State (1-1, O-0) at No. 3 Kansas (5-O, O-0) 7 tonight in Alien Fieldhouse
Rankings in the Big 12
Kansas
Scoring: 1st (94.6 points per game)
Shooting Percentage: 1st (58 percent)
Three-point Shooting Percentage: 1st (49 percent)
Free-throw Shooting Percentage: 3rd (63 percent)
Rebounds: 1st (48 per game)
Steals: 3rd (7.4 per game)
Assists: 1st (25 per game)
Blocks: 1st (5 per game)
Coaches: Kansas coach Roy Williams and Middle Tennessee State's Randy Wiel are friends from all the way back to Williams' tenure at North Carolina. So it won't be personal when Williams and the Jayhawks win by 32 points. Advantage: Kansas
Center: Eric Chenowith appears to have shrugged off his early foul trouble and responded by being a rebounding monster. Once again, he'll have a height advantage over the Blue Raiders' Lee Nosez, who is a strong presence in the paint. Advantage Kansas
lastgame
The Blue Raiders had the home-court advantage and the emotion of playing an in-state rival, but the combination was not enough, as Middle Tennessee State fell to Tennessee State 91-75.
Intigibles: The Jayhawks tallied victory for 500 in Allen Fieldhouse history on Saturday night. A shellshocked Blue Raider team, who is used to playing the likes of South Alabama and Radford, easily should become No. 501. Advantage: Kansas
mid-tennesseestatestarters
No. Pos. Name Ht. Year
10 F Freddie Martinez 5-5 senior
22 F Iro Tenngren 6-8 junior
33 C Le Nesos 6-10 junior
00 G Jonathan Whitworth 5-11 senior
3 G Kevin White 6-2 senior
Scoring
| Points | PPG | Rebounds |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 23 | 11.5 | Thomas 2 | 13 15 | 7.5 |
| 22 | 11.0 | Mitchell 7 | 6 13 | 6.5 |
| 21 | 10.5 | Nosse 2 | 7 9 | 4.5 |
Field goals
| Made | Att. | %age |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 5 | 5 | 1.000 |
| 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
Three-point shots
| Treys | Att. | %age |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 4 | 7 | .571 |
| 1 | 3 | .333 |
Free throws
| Made | Att. | %age |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 3 | 3 | 1.000 |
| 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 6 | 7 | .857 |
Rebounds
| Off. | Def. | Total | Avg/G |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Thomas 2 | 13 | 15 | 7.5 |
| Mitchell 7 | 6 | 13 | 6.5 |
| Nosse 2 | 7 | 9 | 4.5 |
Steals
| Steals | SPG |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tenngren | 3 | 1.5 |
| Eight Players | 1 | 0.5 |
Assists
| Assists | APG |
| :--- | :--- |
| White | 8 | 4.0 |
| Thomas | 6 | 3.0 |
| Martinez | 5 | 2.5 |
Blocks
| Blocks | BPG |
| :--- | :--- |
| Nosse | 4 | 2.0 |
| Thomas | 3 | 1.5 |
| Tenngren | 2 | 1.0 |
Wilkes
| Wilkes | Wilkes |
| :--- | :--- |
| .857 | .857 |
MTSU LEADERS
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