Friday, November 3, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Big 12 Basketball
Emporia State fights injuries as game with Kansas looms
By Chris Wristen sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
There is an evident buzz surrounding Emporia State coach Marc Comstock and his players as they prepare for tomorrow's exhibition game against Kansas.
The 7 p.m. game in Allen Fieldhouse will mark the first time the Hornets have taken the floor this season.
Emporia State will make the most of the experience, Comstock said, and Texas A&M transfer T.J. Brown, junior guard, also will take the floor for the first time in a Hornets jersey.
"Hopefully we're going to get a lot out of it," Comstock said. "We've tried to sit down and come up with nine or 10 things that we're going to try to do that are going to make us better. We can't go up there and just not get something out of it."
He said he was not concerned with what Kansas threw at his team. He only cared about what his team can do to improve itself.
"We're not going to spend a lot of time over the next two or three days trying to defend KU's stuff or preparing for them," Comstock said. "We're
going to go up there and try to execute our stuff offensively and defensively. We're going to be concerned with some things that they do because they're awful good, but we want to come out of it being a little bit better of a team than we were going into it."
A depleted roster for Emporia State, however, should make the task a little taller than Kansas' height advantage.
"We think we've got a real nice Division II team, but we have been hit by the injury bug a little bit," Comstock said.
Senior Benny Theriot. Emporia State's leading scorer and rebounder last season, had surgery for a broken foot in Topeka on Wednesday. Theriot will miss the entire season and was granted a medical redshirt.
Theriot's not the only wounded Hornet. Junior guard Shawn Kinder will not play either. He had compartment syndrome surgery — the same surgery that sidelined Kansas freshman Mario Kinsey last month.
"We've got a couple guys nicked up," Comstock said. "We're a little thin, but we like our team, and we think we're going to have a pretty competitive Division II team."
Speaking of thin, Emporia State will
also face a difficult match-up in the post. Its tallest player is 6-foot-9 junior center Brad Emme. He will have to deal with the Kansas front line of senior Eric Chenowith, junior Jeff Carey and sophomores Nick Collison and Drew Gooden.
California All-Stars coach Phil Bryant, whose team lost to Kansas 98-80 on Wednesday, said it would be tough for any team to match Kansas' interior players.
"It's a huge factor, their post play is because they're all solid post players," Bryant said. "They can put Chenowith in there or they can put Carey, Gooden or Collison in there. They shoot the ball well and they run their stuff well."
Ultimately, Comstock said he just hopes his team plays hard.
"We're going to try very hard for 40 minutes to do some things that we can control, in terms of how we play," Comstock said. "Are we gonna be able to play them as competitively as the California All-Stars? I doubt that. But, we can't waste 40 minutes of one of our two scrimmages just going in there and playing the game and not trying to get better."
— Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
Senior center Eric Chenowith stuffs a dunk in the first half against the California All-Stars Wednesday night. Kansas will have a size advantage tomorrow when it takes on Emporia State at Allen Fieldhouse.
Photo by Christina Nef/KANSAN
Big 12 Conference basketball season preview
Buffalo men expect better season
By Michael Riga
By Michael Rigg sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportswriter
In the high country of the Boulder flatirons, the expectations are equally as lofty.
"I'm excited about the group of men on our team and I think we have a chance to make some strides this season," said Colorado coach Ricardo Patton. "For the first time in my five years, I feel we finally have all the players with both feet heading in the right direction."
For the Buffaloes, that direction is a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where Colorado hasn't been since Chauncey Billups led the Buffaloes to the second round in 1997. After appearing in the National Invitational Tournament the past two seasons, the Buffaloes are convinced they can break into the upper echelon of the Big 12 Conference.
But in order to do that, Colorado must fill the Buffalo-chip sized shoes left by feisty guard Jaquay Walls, who is now playing for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. To counter for Walls' departure, Colorado is counting on increased production from guard Jose Winston and forwards Stephane Pelle and Jamahl Mosley to pick up the scoring slack and lift to
Buffaloes on their shoulders.
"I've been preparing myself for this over the last few seasons," Winston said. "I just want to be an extension of coach Patton. I just want to win games and help our team do that in any way that I can."
"I think we have the best set of wings since I have been here in Colorado." Patton said. "The only question is their youth. Down the road there will be no doubt about them being great basketball players."
Patton also emphasized the importance of this group of returners.
But perhaps the biggest question marks for the Buffaloos' season is the four newcomers to the team. The freshman class of Chevis Brimmer, Justin Harbert, Michel Morandais, and Blair Wilson was ranked as one of the highest in Colorado history.
"Mihal is a guy that is inexperienced but at some point will be special in this league," Patton said. "He's only a freshman. Blair has shown signs of being a good player. He moves without the ball and will help us this year along with the numerous other new faces."
But whether Patton's Buffaloes will become the talk of the conference remains to be seen.
— Edited by J. R. Merndaza
Women work to regain elite status
Big 12 Conference basketball season preview
By Zac Hunter
By Zac Hunter
sports.kansas.com
Kansas sportswriter
Just four seasons ago, the Buffaloes finished the conference season with a 12-4 record and advanced to the NCAA tournament. That was the last of six straight NCAA tournament appearances that included three Big 8 titles.
Colorado wants to regain its status among the elite in the Big 12 Conference.
Since then the Buffaloes have barely cracked the top 10 in the conference, including a 10th place finish last year, with an dismal 4-12 record in the Big 12.
This season, the expectations are a little higher, as the Big 12 coaches picked Colorado to finish sixth.
What's the difference between this year's team and last year's?
Colorado coach Ceal Barry said it was finally having some experienced players on the roster.
One of those upperclassman that can play is the team's leading scorer from a year ago, junior Jenny
"It is the first time in four years that we have upperclassmen on the roster," she said. "We have juniors and seniors with experience that can play."
Roulier. She averaged 14.9 points per game last season, and said this year's team would be much better than in her two previous seasons.
"Last year we ended the season on a positive note," she said. "Then this year started and we felt like a new team. We feel that we can erase the 10-19 record from last year."
The Buffaloes have lost only one player from last season and return nine players, including all five starters.
"She is the glue of this team and it will be huge to have her back," she said. "She is a silent leader for us both on and off the court."
Even though sophomore guard Linde Lappe wasn't a starter, Roulier said she could be the key to the season.
"We can't foul on the road and must shoot better than 70 percent at our end of the foul line," Barry said. "If we can do those things maybe we will finish high and go to play in the postseason."
Those nine players accounted for 100 percent of Colorado's points, but even that doesn't guarantee success in the Big 12.
Lappe averaged 10.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season.
'Cats hope triangle offense helps
By Michael Rigg
Kansan sportswriter
In Manhattan, it doesn't take much to keep the basketball fans happy.
Granted, the Wildcats have a strong tradition, but these days — when Kansas State fans worry more about the BCS than the NIT — Wildcat backers would be happy with a .500 season and an occasional challenge of the hated Kansas Jayhawks.
Unfortunately, K-State didn't even whiff medocrity last season, finishing 19-19, and the Wildcats haven't defeated Kansas since 1994.
So the Wildcats decided it was time for a change. Tom Asbury was fired last April and replaced by former Chicago Bulls assistant Jim Woolridge.
He said he wanted to rebuild the K-State program one day at a time.
"We talk about being better than we were yesterday," Woolridge said. "We also preach about the team approach, in that we all have to sacrifice something to make the whole better."
Good thing, too. Because there's a whole lot of improvement to be made.
K-State finished dead last in the Big 12 Conference in defense last season, and their offense wasn't much better, finishing tenth. To cure the stagnant Wildcat offense, Woolridge instituted the famed triangle offense that helped the Bulls win six NBA titles.
But the triangle offense is difficult to learn, and the four newcomers and the nine returnees in the K- State lineup have been trying their best to catch on.
"Learning a new system is all mental," said senior forward Kelvin Howell. "If you listen to the coaches, the transition is easier than you think."
Woolridge agreed the transition in the offense is going smoothly.
"I think it's a great format." Woolridge said. "You can see improvements in this offense. I wouldn't agree that it's difficult. It's teaching basketball, and some will pick it up quicker than others do."
The new offense has also forced the Wildcats to develop more of a team approach to the game. The K-State players admit that there is no "go-to" player on the team, so the Wildcats will count on a balanced approach, featuring guard Galen Morrison and junior college All-American Larry Reid, among others.
Edited by John Audiolham
K-State women trade size for speed
Bv Zac Hunter
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas State is looking to shed its old image. Last season, the Wildcats had a bulky front court that pounded the ball inside and wasn't very mobile. This season the 'Cats want to find the fifth gear they've been missing.
"I definitely think we have more versatility and athleticism this year than in previous years that I have been here," senior guard Kim Woodlee said. Coach Deb Patterson said Kansas State would have a different approach on offense.
"We are changing in the way we play to some extent on the offensive end of the floor because of the versatility that our younger and newer players are bringing to the program." Patterson said.
The Wildcats' change is similar to that of Kansas because of all the new players Kansas State has on its roster. Six newcomers will team up with five returning players, and they will try to get Kansas State out of the middle of the pack.
Last season the Cats finished eight in the Big 12 Conference with a 6-10 conference record and were 13-17 overall.
While Kansas State is replacing size with speed, it will have to make up for some of its scoring. The Wildcats lost three players from last year's front-court that combined for 35 points per game, including forward Nicky Ramage, who averaged 13.2.
Woodle returns as one of the conference's best three-point shooters because of her 207 career three-pointers and her 42.8 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Another player Kansas State will lean heavily upon is junior forward Kristin Rethm. She will help to replace the losses inside, but is also another threat from the outside. Rethm nailed 41.1 percent from three-point range, and averaged more than two three-pointers per game.
"I know we will be forced to play a lot of freshmen or players who have no experience in the front line," Patterson said. "How they will be I don't know. And whether our seventh and eighth and ninth players will emerge as consistent performers and producers, again because they are young, is a question mark."
But Patterson realizes it will be tough to win in the Big 12 with such an inexperienced team.
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