Section:
B
The University Daily Kansan
Trivia question
What sport besides men's basketball was James Naismith the head coach of at Kansas?
Find the answer on page 2B
Sports
Inside: Columnists from the Kansan and Missouri's Maneater exchange blows about Saturday's border war. SEE PAGE 3B
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2000
Inside: Other Big 12 Conference schools will celebrate the beginning of basketball season with their own versions of Late Night.
SEE PAGE 2B
For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Kansas senior guard Suzi Raymant, top, sophomore guard Jennifer Jackson, middle, and sophomore forward Jadyn Johnson pose during media day. The women's team answered media questions Wednesday. Photo by Tara Kraus/KANSAN
Late Night to follow Friday the 13th theme
By Zac Hunter and Michael Rigg sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriters
The stars are aligned just wrong for this year's Late Night with Roy Williams.
It's Friday the 13th, and Allen Fieldhouse will be awash in a full moon. Still, the Kansas basketball players can't help but be excited about tonight's official start to the basketball season — even with its superstitious overtones.
"All I can guarantee is that everyone will have a good time," said sophomore forward Drew Gooden.
Because of the date, all skits will be centered around the theme,
"Surviving Friday the 13th on Phog Island." The central theme will be similar to the hit television show Survivor.
"Some people might get voted off," said junior guard Jeff Boschee. "There might be a couple of punishments."
Maintaining the popular culture theme, the senior women, Brooke Reves, Jennifer Jackson, Nikki White and Jaclyn Johnson, will perform a Charlie's Angels number, and they are confident that the act will be a crowd pleaser.
"We've been working real hard at it, and it's going to look good Friday," senior guard Reves said.
Although the seniors were more
than willing to share their skit ideas, younger players kept a tight lid on their act.
"It's a surprise," Juniors Nikki White and Fernanda Bosi and sophomore Kristen May said in unison.
But the biggest crowd pleaser of the night could come from the musically minded seniors on the men's team. Center Eric Chenowith's rock band -- fittingly entitled "Blink 7-foot-3" -- will take on guard Luke Axell's country singing in a "Battle of the Bands."
"We're actually going to compete against Luke," said junior center Jeff Carey, who will play in Chenowith's band. "And I urge the crowd to vote for us."
Axtell, meanwhile, was a little more tight-lipped about his performance tonight.
Axtell maintained the veil of secrecy surrounding tonight and said he didn't know if he would play his guitar. "I don't think we're allowed to talk about it." he said.
Another highlight will be Carey's rumored haircut. Carey hasn't cut his hair in months, so his locks now drape slightly above his shoulders. The long hair didn't pass the inspection of coach Roy Williams, who insisted Carey must cut his hair before the season started. But the haircut could come sooner than that.
"There could be some hairstyles changing," Carey said. "I won't name any names."
LATE NIGHT
When: Doors open at 5 p.m. tonight; entertainment begins after 10 p.m.
Where: Allen Fieldhouse
Where: Allen Hunt
Theme: "Surviving Friday the 13th on Phog Island"
Will it involve Carey?
"It might," he said. "I don't want to be too specific."
The finale of the night will be at midnight with a dunk contest and scrimmage by the men's team. But perhaps the best dunker on the team — senior guard Kenny Gregory — won't participate in the dunk-a-thon. Gregory said he would sit out the contest because of his lower back, which he strained Monday.
"I don't think I'm going to be dunking," Gregory said. "I'll do the little skits. I might play in the scrimmage. I don't know yet. It just depends what coach Williams wants me to do."
Williams could be at the center of attention, as well. Tonight will be Williams' first public appearance at the fieldhouse since he turned down the coaching job at North Carolina in July.
As a result, Williams is returning for season No. 13, which may or may not turn out to be a lucky number for the latest season of Kansas basketball.
— Edited by Warisa Chulindra
Fans won't see volleyball this year
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
By Michael Riga
Tonight's Late Night with Roy Williams festivities will have a Survivor theme, so the fans who go might want to bring a tiki torch and hiking boots.
But they might want to bring some good books, too.
By virtue of the Big 12 Conference scheduling gurus, the Kansas volleyball team will not be playing a game at 7 tonight, as it usually does before Late Night. With the doors at Allen Fieldhouse swinging open at 5 p.m. and the festivities not starting until after 10 tonight, the fans waiting inside the Fieldhouse will have only themselves for entertainment.
That could leave a lot of bored basketball junkies. And Rick Mullen, director of promotions, said that fans couldn't expect very much entertainment ahead of time.
"We might have a couple of contests or something, but we're really not planning on starting things until later." Mullen said.
The reason behind the lack of bumps and spikes tonight is the Big 12. The teams in the conference rotate taking weekends off, and this is the Jayhawks' scheduled by weekend. Also, the conference dictates that all conference games take place on Wednesday and Saturday, so the only way Kansas would be able to play tonight would be if the Jayhawks brought in a nonconference opponent.
Kansas coach Ray Bechard said
the chances of that happening in the future were very slim. Still, Bechard said the change in schedule wasn't necessarily a bad thing for him and his team.
"This is actually a great chance for me to actually enjoy the Late Night festivities and not have to worry about a game," Bechard said. "And I think the team feels the same way."
Still, Bechard said his team usually got pumped up for the large crowd. In fact, before Late Night in 1994, a crowd of more than 14,000 watched the volleyball match — a mark that still holds as the largest crowd ever to watch a collegiate volleyball game.
"I think obviously it's a good opportunity for the team, but it's out of their control," Bechard said.
— Edited by Kathryn Moore
Kansas braces for war against Missouri Tigers
By Jason Franchuk
By Jason Franchuk
sports@kansas.com
Kansas sportswriter
The Marlboro Man could love this game.
The border war, the annual clash between Kansas and Missouri, means one football team's season is about to get smoked. If either team has any hopes of reaching the postseason, then this game would appear to be a must-win. But each team shies away from the hyperbole.
"We're not trying to look at the game as a do-or-die," said Kansas senior linebacker Tim Bowers. "We have enough pressure on us already. We don't need to add any more."
Similar to last year, tomorrow's game at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo., could indicate how each team will finish the season. Kansas won last year's game in Lawrence, 21-0. The next week the Jayhawks lost at home to eighth-ranked Nebraska, but they showed a higher level of confidence than before the Missouri game. The Jayhawks won two of their last three games and finished the season with a 5-7 record.
Missouri, however, slumped after last year's defeat to Kansas. The Tigers, who finished 4-7, beat Texas Tech the following week before losing their final three games — two of which were shutouts.
Both teams' coaches have been scrutinized heavily the past couple of years for lackluster seasons. It would appear that this game could be a chance for Terry Allen and Larry Smith to prove their critics wrong.
More information
For a statistical breakdown of tomorrow's game,
See page 68
Allen, in his fourth year at Kansas, has been criticized for not being able to win road games — he's 1-16 away from Lawrence. Smith, in his seventh year at Missouri, revived the program momentarily, as it finished in the Top 25 in 1997 and 1998 — the last time it defeated Kansas.
But the loss to the Jayhawks last year fueled more skepticism, and Smith has responded oddly at times. So far this season, he has chastised fans who boo and scolded a student-run newspaper for publishing injury reports.
Last year, both programs were nearly identical, and each team is 2-3 this season. Allen said he tried not to look at the game as a battle between himself and Smith, each of whom has faced a plethora of public criticism.
"It's tough at Missouri and Kansas right now," Allen said. "We're both trying all do the best we can with our teams."
The game also marks homecoming for Missouri. With it comes pageantry and pride to defeat a team it will play for the 108th time, with Missouri holding a 50-49-9 lead.
"I've always big arch-rival games are big emotional games," Smith said. "I think it's better during the week to practice and prepare for your opponent and not run around like a chicken with your head cut off."
- Edited by Shawn Hutchinson
Jayhawks look for Big 12 berth
By Yoshitaka Ebisawa sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
Even though the Kansas women's soccer team has never defeated its next four conference foes on the road, the team is confident it will earn respect and its first berth in the Big 12 Conference Tournament — as long as the players come out to play.
After concluding its home schedule, Kansas (7-7, 3-3 Big 12) will enter a five-game road swing at 7 tonight against Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. The Jayhawks will then travel to Austin, Texas, to face another conference team, Texas, at 1 p.m. Sunday.
"Being on the road is tough, but we're more than capable of getting the job done and doing what we need to do to qualify for the tournament," said Kansas coach Mark Francis. "We are definitely going to have to play well to win."
The road looks tough for the Javahaws.
Against its next four conference opponents — Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor and Missouri — Kansas is 1-14-1 all time and 0-8 on the road. Assistant coach Donna Holyman, however, said the record meant little for this year's squad.
Sophomore defender Nikki Wahle agreed.
"Our team has improved a lot since last year," Holyman said. "So we are looking to change that. We can beat anybody if we come out to play."
"I think there's a good chance going to the tournament," Wahle said. "I think our team can win the next five games if we show up ready to play."
But there's a problem: Kansas isn't always ready to play.
"Sometimes, unfortunately, we don't show up, and we don't play as a good game as our team can play." Wahle said. "I don't think there's one reason for the inconsistency. But we definitely need to come in the games more ready to play, more motivated, more enthusiastic and ready to have fun. And I think any team is beatable."
Kansas will need to be prepared this weekend because the two Texas teams won't be kind enough to provide a lucky victory for the 'Hawks. Texas A&M (9-5, 3-2 Big 12) is ranked 12th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America national poll. The Aggies averages 2.6 goals per game, which exceeds the Jayhawks' 1.71. With then-junior forward Nicky Thrasher's hat trick, Texas A&M beat Kansas 4-1 last year at SuperTarget Field in Lawrence. Unfortunately for the Aggies, Thrasher won't be able to play today because of a fractured fibula.
Holyman said the Jayhawks' poor scoring percentage might have been one of the reasons for the inconsistency. In the past three games, Kansas, while taking 40 shots, registered only one goal.
"Our finishing hasn't been good at all," Holyman said. "We've been working on that in practice a lot, so hopefully that will prepare them."
WEEKEND SOCCER
Kansas at Texas A&M
■ When: 7 p.m. today
■ Where: College Station, Texas
Kansas at Texas
Kansas at Texas
■ When: 1 p.m. Sunday
■ Where: Austin, Texas
Texas (9-4, 4-1 Big 12) stands at second in the Big 12, just behind Nebraska, the country's No. 2 team. Texas coach Chris Petruceli joined the Longhorns last year after leading Notre Dame to the 1995 National Championship and six NCAA appearances. In their last match, Texas and Kansas came away with a scoreless tie at SuperTarget Field.
- Edited by Warisa Chulindra
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