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Aug. 29, 1974 — Nineteen-year-old high school basketball star Moses Malone signed a contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA, becoming the first player to go directly from high school into professional basketball.
Today in sports history
The University Daily Kansan
Sports
TUISDAY, AUGUST 29, 2000
Inside: Associated Press releases college football Top 25 poll for first week of season.
SEE PAGE 2B
For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Inside: Kansas State running back injured in season's first game. For an update and other sports news,
SEE PAGE 2B
Heat takes toll on football team
Kansas quarterback Dylen Smith evades defenders in a game last season. Smith has been suffering from heat- and flu-related symptoms and may not start in Saturday's game at Southern Methodist. Redshirt freshman Zach Dyer may start for Kansas, playing in his first game since his senior year of high school. Kansan file photo
By Jason Franchuk
As football practice dragged on in the suffocating heat, Kansas coach Terry Allen saw an athletic trainer fiddling with an electronic thermometer.
kansan sports writer
sports@kansan.com
Allen asked the athletic trainer how hot it was.
The response, 108 degrees with 26 percent humidity, made Allen take off his hat, rub his forehead and mutter to himself. But he did not need to know the heat index to realize how much trouble the Jayhawks are in — especially at quarterback.
Practice had barely started yesterday when Kansas' starting senior quarterback, Dylan Smith, left and vomited on the walkway in between the two practice fields. Smith also left practice early Saturday and missed the "Get Ready Rally" that night. Allen reported at the pep rally that Smith had been admitted to a hospital for heat-related fatigue, but that was not the case. Allen said, at the time, Smith's woes were not serious, and everything being done was precautionary.
"It's more flu-related," Allen said of Smith's symptoms. "He just said 'it's coming up, and coming up quick.' You can figure out what that means."
Along with Smith, third-string quarter-back Jonas Weatherbie left practice early suffering from the same illness as Smith.
That leaves Zach Dyer, a redshirt freshman, as a possible starter if Smith does not recover in time for Saturday's opener at Southern Methodist.
Assuming Smith does not heal, "Zach would go," Allen said. "But I'm not excited for him to go."
Smith, who transferred from a junior college in Santa Monica, Calif., last year, started the final eight games last season. He threw for 1,599 yards and 12 touchdowns and entered this season as the nodoubt-about-it starter. However, as Smith alls, Dyer has received the brunt of the practice repetitions.
"It's tough sometimes," said Kansas quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson of the quarterback situation. "But it allows the younger guys to get some opportunities. We've not a good supporting cast."
"He's got good athleticism, and he can run well," Johnson said of Dyer.
Johnson said he thought Dyer would be ready, even though Dyer had not played in a game since his senior year at Oathe South. Although Dyer, at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, is two inches and 20 pounds bigger than Smith, Johnson said their abilities were comparable.
Still, some players limped off the field, victims of the heat wave. Because of that, Allen moved today's practice to 6:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. He saw no point in continuing to fight the conditions.
Head athletic trainer Lynn Bott said there was no time frame for Smith and the others to recover. Once the symptoms — headache, dizziness and vomiting — arrive, there's no telling when good health will return. Bott said. It varies from player to player, and Bott said he was surprised by who had been affected. Bott is just as concerned, however, about making sure the epidemic does not get worse.
Kansas' athletic trainers tried just about everything to reprieve the team from the heat. Two tents and several enormous fans were placed in a couple locations. Water and ice were accessible to the players, who were given a five-minute water break an hour into practice.
"Hopefully, everybody's eating breakfast, lunch and dinner," Bott said. "I'm literally telling them all the time. That's just as important as water."
Redshirt ready for action
- Edited by Warisa Chulindra
Freshman running offense for ailing quarterback Smith
By Jason Franchuk
Kansan sports writer sports@kansan.com
Zach Dyer does not want to be treated like a fourth-grade.
He's ready to play football after red-shirting last season. The last year he didn't play was in fourth grade, which was also the first year he played.
Dyer, Olathe sophomore, has been talked about this season as the redshirt-freshman kid who should be learning the offense while senior quarterback Dylen Smith plays.
Smith, who is suffering from the flu, did not practice yesterday. He vomited on the field before retiring to the locker room. He also left practice early Saturday and does not appear to be getting better.
Dyer is trying to seize the opportunity to show that Kansas' success does not hinge solely on Smith's participation.
"I think I'm doing pretty well." Dyer said. "I've gotten quite a bit more confident with the offense."
But Dyer may get his chance to grow up.
Football coach Terry Allen has been consistent in saying that the back-ups are not prepared to play. Dyer objects, saying he is ready for action, and not in the sense that he thought Smith would eventually get hurt or he would wish some voodoo curse upon him.
It is not uncommon for major college teams to require backups at some point, Dyer said. Even though there was no question when practices began that Smith was the starter and Dyer was the understudy, Dyer said his mental approach has been the same.
"My mindframe has to be that I practice as if I am going to play." Dyer said. "Anymore, it's not uncommon for major college quarterbacks to go down."
Quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson said he felt comfortable with Dyer playing. Smith may be considered the Jayhawk's undisputed leader, but Johnson said he thought Dyer could fill the role.
"Anytime you're a quarterback, that's part of your responsibility," Johnson said. "You have to show you have confidence in yourself to be successful."
Dyer admitted that while he understood what the offense was doing, he was still learning what attempts the defense was making to stop the plan. Because Smith and third-stringer Jonas Weatherbie did not practice yesterday because of dehydration,
"My mindframe has to be that I practice as if I am going to play. Anymore, it's not uncommon for major college quarterbacks to go down."
Zach Dyer Kansas back-up quarterback
Kansas back-up quarterback
Dyer took the majority of the snaps with the first team offense.
Dyer doesn't think that the offense will have to change much if he starts instead of Smith. He says the two have similar styles. He also brags that his time in the 40-yard dash is faster than Smith's.
Smith has brought mobility to the Kansas attack, but Dyer feels he can duplicate it.
"In high school, I had to scramble around quite a bit," Dyer said.
Dyer also has devised a better strategy than the coaches, trainers and players — especially the quarterbacks — to ward off effects from the heat. His words of wisdom sound like someone prepared to be a leader and someone who will not let his abilities slide.
"You've just go to drink," Dyer said. "You can't wait until practice. I bring a water bottle to all my classes."
- Edited by Kimberly Thompson
Williams to visit homes of four local players for 2001 season
By Michael Rigg
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Williams has deemed four Kansas recruits worthy of in-home visits. He will head to Halstead to visit with highly regarded Dennis Latimore, 6-9 forward from Halstead High School and to Kansas City to make his pitch to Jamar Howard, 6-6 forward from Bishop Miege High School in Shawnee Mission, and to Jeff Hawkins, 5-9 guard from Sumner High School in Kansas City, Kan. Throw
Next summer, when repairs on the Kansas Turnpike have traffic backed up for miles, weary travelers can thank Roy Williams. After all, with all the turnpike recruiting the Jayhawk coach is doing this year, Williams can probably fund repaying from Emporia to Wellington.
in the oral commitment that Leavenworth's Wayne Simien has already given the Jayhawks, and the 2001 recruiting class could definitely have a turnplike feel.
Of course, Williams will also make his rounds to California and the Pacific coast, which can make his total in-home visits as high as 15. He also said that he would like his five scholarship players to fill all positions on the court, ranging from point guard to center.
"This is as good a year in this area in a long, long time." Williams said. "I can never remember a year I've gone into four homes of local kids."
Williams might visit even more players if he chooses to recruit on the east coast, where he has tried and failed before.
"The largest factor in recruiting is
KANSAS IN-STATE RECRUTING
Name Height Pos. City
(high school)
Wayne Simien 6-8 F Leavenworth
(Leavenworth)*
Dennis Latimore 6-9 F Halstead
(Halstead)
Jeff Hawkins 5-9 G Kansas City,
Kan. (Sumner)
Jamar Howard 6-4 F Shawnee
Mission (Bishop Miege)
*already verbally committed
KANSAS IN-STATE RECRUITING
Sports Columnist
geography." Williams said. "Why would a kid fly over schools like Syracuse and St. John's to come here?"
Williams would know, because he tried recruiting eastern talent like Felipe Lopez and John Wallace in the past, only
to see them sign elsewhere. So Williams will stick to where he's had success—the Pacific coast and the Sunflower State.
Run, Crider, Run If last week's 12-minute run was any indication on who is in the best game shape, expect junior guard John Crider to run circles around the competition this season. Crider totaled eight and one-third laps to win the event for the third straight year. Sophomore point guard Kirk Hinrich finished second, and senior guard Luke Axtell finished third.
Williams said that Axtell's showing at the event proved that Axtell was well on the road to recovering from a groin injury he suffered while playing with a team of Big 12 Conference all-stars in Europe almost two weeks ago.
Shawn Hutchinson
Edited by Erin Adamson
sports@kansan.com
NFL's criminals could enliven voyeur TV shows for next season
Here comes the confession.
But the truth is, I predicted the outcome weeks ago.
I was, um, one of the few people in the known universe to, um, you know, miss the finale of the television show, Survinor.
I've been watching the World Wrestling Federation ever since I was 11 years old, so I know how these things work.
The fat guy with no shirt, hairy chest and loose-fitting shorts almost always wins.
Seriously, though, does anybody else hear the clock ticking on all this Survivor craze? Sure, 16 people stranded on an island is a novelty the first time around, but by the time Survivor II rolls around sometime next year, it's going to get old pretty fast.
I think we all have learned this lesson from MTV's most recent installment of The Real World.
So how is it possible to keep the freshness of the Survivor genre intact? I have the answer.
namely those current and former NFL players who have been convicted of, charged with or associated with .
Just hear me out on this one. How about next time around, instead of having normal people as the castaways, we include celebrities that we can relate to
namely those can be convicted of players who have been convicted of, charged with or associated with a crime? Think about it. Marooning them on a deserted island out in the middle of the South China Sea would not only make for interesting viewing, but it also would mean the crime rate in the continental United States would drop considerably.
I know I could definitely stand a joyous 39 days without having to read in the newspaper how former Chief Andre Rison was charged with passing $158,000 worth of bad checks.
The list of potential castaways would be easy to assemble — Rison, Rae Carruth, Mark Chmura, Sebastian Janikowski, Bam Morris, Tamarick Vanover, Bill Romanowski, Michael Irvin, Lawrence Taylor, Ray Lewis and O.J. Simpson.
Once all of these castaways pass physicals, and some check with their parole officers, off they would go to the island. Of course, each of the castaways would be allowed to take one "luxury" item with them. For example, Rison may want to take a fire extinguisher just in case his girlfriend decides to burn down his bamboo hut.
To the winner? One thousand hours of community service.
Every week we would watch the NFL players adapt to the island around them. Vanover, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to a federal charge of assisting in the sale of a stolen car, could use those skills to his advantage on the island. Just think of all the havoc he could wreak by stealing other castaways' coconuts and reselling them on the open market.
Must see TV, indeed.
NFL Survivor would possess this kind of excitement every week.
And just like the original Survivor, I have already predicted the outcome of NFL Survivor.
The final four castaways will consist of Rison, Vanover, Morris and Romanowski. Why? The "Three-Chief Alliance," made up of Rison, Vanover and Morris, will certainly team up and vote off the majority of the other castaways. Denver linebacker Romanowski, on the other hand, always seems to stick around long enough to be a thorn in the Chiefs' side.
But Romo quickly gets the boot, and Rison gets disqualified after his girlfriend burns down his bamboo hut. Vanover stole the fire extinguisher in episode three.
And Morris will be tossed off the island just because he always seems to screw something up.
So that leaves the big winner to be Vanover, who 'once was my favorite football player but is now merely the butt of all my jokes.
Hutchinson is an Overland Park senior in journalism.
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