Monday, November 13, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 3
Big 12 Basketball
Gregory dazzles crowd
Tournament MVP's show silences Red Storm fans
By Chris Wristen sports@kansan.com
By Chris Wristen
Kansan sportswriter
NEW YORK — With a possible NBA career ahead, Kenny Gregory gave the Madison Square Garden crowd a glimpse into the future, putting on a show in No. 7 Kansas' 82-74 victory against St. John's on Friday night.
After the Jayhawks fell behind 10-4 early, Gregory ignited an 18-4 Kansas run with a towering one-handed slam 3:28 into the game. That quieted the raucous crowd begging to see the Red Storm pull off its second upset in two days after beating No. 12 Kentucky on Thursday.
"I'm one of those crazy guys; I think one of the greatest sounds in the world is listening to the other team's crowd get quiet," Kansas coach Roy Williams said.
Although his initial dunk silenced the crowd, Gregory, a senior forward, wowed it with two more dunks, alley-oops from sophomores Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden that brought the rival fans to their feet in appreciation.
Gregory said the noisy crowd and main-stage court,were a welcomed early-season challenge.
"The atmosphere was real tough because it was basically a home game for St. John's, so the atmosphere seemed like it was kind of like a
March Madness game," Gregory said.
"This is a great feeling to come out this early in the year and be on the road playing tough games, and close games at that, and showing great composition. That's a good sign that it's something we can build on," he said. "I hope we just (keep getting) better and better as the season goes on, and hopefully we can peak at the right time."
If Gregory hasn't peaked yet, that will be great news for the 'Hawks. His 17 points Friday and 24 against UCLA on Thursday make him the Jayhawks' offensive leader. He also knocked down two 3-pointers on Thursday, providing hope he has developed an outside game. All contributed to his selection as the Most Valuable Player of the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic.
"The most important thing is that we got two big-time victories this early in the season," Gregory said. "Being MVP is just icing on the cake.
"I worked harder this summer than I have any summer. I'm just trying to be a lot more allaround player, shooting jump shots, taking it to the basket, getting rebounds and whatever is needed at the time."
What's been needed, in addition to scoring, has been rebounding and free-throw shooting. Gregory had seven rebounds against UCLA and 10 against St. John's. Williams said that had been Gregory's greatest off-season improvement.
"I think he's bought into the offensive rebounding idea more than he ever has," Williams said. "(Friday night) he had five offensive rebounds, and I think two or three were for
baskets. He's worked hard in the offseason, and he's worked extremely hard in the preseason. A lot of that (improvement) comes after he sweats, and I think he put in the sweat."
Gregory did some off-season sweating at the charity stripe, too, and it paid off. He has been known for his free-throw blunders in the past, but Gregory responded against St. John's, converting on three of four attempts including one down the stretch. That improvement has him poised to become the clutch player Gregory said he hoped to be.
"I feel a lot more comfortable (at the free throw line), and I'm thankful that coach feels confident in me to leave me out there in the stretch when it's needed," he said.
Edited by J. R. Mendoza
STATISTICS
No. 7 KANSAS 82, ST. JOHN'S 74
Collison 69 19 11, Greggy 7.14 14 37, Chenwosh 3.4 2-3 8,
Boschee 48 34 12, Hinch 1.14 24, Kinssey 0.1-4 4, Gooden 7
10 7.13 22, Nash 1.1 0 0 2, Carey 0 0 0 0, Totals 29-51 22-31 82,
STOUNN (1.13)
Glover 7-17 5-11 19, Jessie 2-4 0-0 4, Cook 6-20 1-2 17, Shaw 4-12 3-17 13, Emanuel 1-1 0 0 3, Keita 0-2 0, Bangura 1-3 0-0 2, Fordham 0-3 0-0 0, Wolfinger 0-0-0 0,
Totals 27-71 13-7 27.
Halftime—Kansas 45, St. John's 37, 3-point goals—Kansas 2-9 (Gooden 1-1, Boschee 15, Gregory 1-0, Hirchin 2-1), St. John's 7-27 (Cook 4-16, Shaw 2-6, Emanuel 1-1, Glover 1-2, Bengura 1-4, Fordham 0-2), Fouled out—Chenowith, Rebounds—Kansas 41, St. John's 18, Glover (18), Bengura 41, St. John's 26 (Herrich 11), St. John's 18 (Cook 6), Total fouls—Kansas 22, St. John's 1A, 25-192.
Kansas senior guard Kenny Gregory goes up for a layup against St. John's on Friday. Gregory was named MVP of the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic. Photo by Craig Bennett/ KANSAN
Big 12 basketball previews
Baylor men look for small steps
Bv Michael Riaa
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
This season, the Baylor Bears will have a certain New Kids on the Block flavor.
The progressive rebuilding of the Baylor program means the Bears and coach Dave Bliss will have to take steps step by step.
Last season, Baylor just wanted to avoid being the laughingstock of the Big 12. This year, Bliss is focusing on reasonable goals for his team, such as finishing .500 and being considered for the National Invitational Tournament.
"We have no delusions this year any more than we did last year," he said. "We know a little bit better what we have to do and what we are capable of doing. Doing it is quite another thing."
Baylor is looking up at most of the Big 12 Conference after Finish
ing 14-15 overall last season and tallying four wins against the rest of the conference.
Still, 412 in Big 12 play is better than the 0-16 mark the Bears posted two seasons ago, and it's those baby steps that Bliss said he hoped his team would continue to take.
"There are some tremendous teams in the Big 12." Bliss said. "One of the main reasons that we're at Baylor is the opportunity to compete against the best and in one of the best conferences. We're excited."
A veteran core features senior guard DeMarcus Minor and senior forward Terry Black. The two paced a heady Baylor team last season that nearly knocked off Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse and downed Texas Tech twice.
Throw in sophomore guard Wendell Greenleaf, junior forward Greg Dayls — who followed Bliss
to Baylor from New Mexico — and sophomore 7-foot-2 center John Flippen, and the Bears have a starting five who can compete with nearly anybody in the conference.
But the Bears lost five players from last year and will have to suit up eight newcomers.
Minor said veterans and newcomers has meshed well.
"With the players that we have coming back this season, we seem to be a real family and have a positive attitude coming out of our locker room," he said. "Our new-comers will all have a chance to contribute this season."
Especially Davis, a player for whom Bliss said he had high hopes. But he dislocated his shoulder in a preseason practice and may not be ready when the Bears open up their season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday, Nov. 22.
- Edited by John Audelhelm
New coach gives women confidence
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
By Zoc Hunter
Baylor's women's team won only two conference games last season, and since it began playing women's basketball it hasn't finished better than fifth in either the Southwest or the Big 12 conferences.
Why all the confidence this season?
There's a new attitude. First-year coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson comes from a college basketball juggernaut. She spent 19 years with Louisiana Tech as a player and assistant coach.
She couldn't come with a better resume. She was a part of 11 Final Four teams and three national championships and is a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
"I will try to bring over some of the successes and attitudes I've seen at Louisiana Tech." Mulkey-Robertson said. "And things I've learned by some of the great coaches I've played for, like Pat Summit, of course I will try to emulate."
The change of pace and attitude is working already. Junior forward Danielle Crockrom said the Bears were ready to begin working toward the top of the conference.
"She brings new motivation to the system and believes in us," Crockrom said. "We are excited, and we are going to work very hard."
The Bears are returning four starters, but the difference is the newcomers. Baylor had one of the best recruiting seasons of anyone in the nation. The Bears got junior guard Sheila Lambert, preseason favorite for newcomer of the year. Playing for Grayson County College last season, she averaged 23.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists.
Despite the influx of talent, Mulkey-Robertson said she was realistic about the Bears' chances this season.
"What this team lacks offensively we have to make up for defensively. If the kids buy into it, we'll be in a lot of ball games where we might be overmatched talent-wise," Mulkey-Robertson said.
"With winning comes fan support, television coverage, playoffs and better recruiting," she said. "But this basketball team will not be measured in wins, but rather in number of games that they truly compete in." The way Baylor is going to compete in games is through defense. Mulkey-Robertson said that most of the Bears' practices focused on defense and that it would serve them greatly down the road.
— Edited by John Audihelm
Aggies pin hopes on King
Bv Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
There's a good reason Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins spends most of his time talking about super sophomore guard Bernard King and not speaking of team expectations — Watkins isn't sure what to make of his squad.
"I if say we'll win 12 to 15 games then that may be selling us short," Watkins said. "On the other side, if I said 20 or so it might be a little bit more than we can handle right now. We are just going to take it one game at a time, one step at a time and hopefully have some fun with this."
Fun may be a good place to start, especially since the Aggies have All-Big 12 Conference nominee King back for another year. He is arguably the best player to wear an A&M jersey in years, averaging almost 17 points per game as a freshman. Watkins said that King's instant offense put some excitement back into the program but that he would have to adjust his role this season.
"For us to be a good team, Bernard does need to take on a different role, and that may mean that his scoring
does have to come down some," Watkins said. "We went to Bernard too much and forced him to take bad shots at times. That's not good basketball, but when your options are limited, you do what you've got to do."
Two more options exist this year. Sophomore guard Jamaal Gilchrist and freshman forward Nick Anderson will both be expected to produce on offense, and that is a challenge Gilchrist said he was prepared for as the second-leading returning scorer on the team.
"As a freshman, I didn't have the mental edge," Gilchrist said. "As a sophomore, I now know what I need to do, and being mentally tough will help me go out and do it."
Anderson, at 6-foot-6, is one of the top-rated recruits to come to College Station, Texas. He was a Parade All-American and national Top 40 player coming out of high school.
"Coach has brought in some players that can score," King said. "When teams try to double-team me, I can just dish to them and they can put it in the hole."
King said the addition of Anderson and freshmen Nolan Butterfras and Dylan Leal would give the team a more balanced offense.
Edited by Clay McCurlion
Women endeavor to add wins
sports@kansan.com
By Zac Hunter
Kansan sportswriter
Texas A&M should find another team to pick on this year because the Aggies won't be pounding on Baylor any more.
Despite winning only five conference games in the last two seasons, the Aggies have shown improvement under third-year coach Peggie Gillom. Last year, they won four more games than they did the previous year. If A&M can do that again, it might find itself climbing out of the
Of A&M's three conference wins last season, two of them came at the expense of the Bears. This season, Baylor has improved, so the Aggies will have to find a team to beat or find themselves winless in the Big 12 Conference.
cellar
But Big 12 coaches don't think so. The Aggies were picked to finish last this year, but the team's players and coaches are hoping to prove the other coaches wrong.
"We were picked last in the Big 12 Conference, but our team is really upbeat about the season, and we want to come out and show that we won't be the last team in the Big 12." Gillom said. Senior Brandy Jones said she
Senior Brandy Jones said she took the coaches poll personally.
"It makes us mad, but we need to go out and prove ourselves on the court." she said.
That may be easier said than done. The Aggies lost two players that averaged in double figures last year and now have five freshmen that must contribute if they want to prove they're not the worst team in the conference.
A&M changed styles because of necessity.
Although wins are not guaranteed, the Aggies promise to be a different team this year. They are looking to have a more run-and-gun style, abandoning the half-court style they used to run.
"The kids I recruited this year are athletes who run up and down the floor, so you to adjust to the kids that we have," Gillom said.
Jones said A&M would definitely be a running team.
"We have a lot of athletes and are going to stress defense and pushing the ball up the court," she said.
Jones will be a big part of that up-tempo offense. She averaged 9.1 points, 3.48 assists and started every game last season.
Edited by Clay McCuistion
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