University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, October 14, 1986
Sports
9
Women's team to face year of changes
Evette Ott is one of two seniors on this year's women's basketball team, which lost forward Vickie Adkins to graduation and center Kelly Jennings, who transferred to Washburn. Without a dominant big player, head coach Marian Washington said the Javahawks will have to run the ball more than they did last year.
Jayhawks to rely on speed after loss of inside players
By BRIAN SNYDER
Sports write
The fast-paced game that women's basketball head coach Marian Washington wants to run this year might be in jeopardy with a team that has lost height to graduation and transfers.
"You have to have the ball to run." Washington said. "To have the ball, you must be able to rebound, and we're very small in the middle."
The reasons for her apprehension were obvious yesterday at media day in Allen Field House. Gone are two of last year's starters, forward Vickie Adkins and center Kelly Jennings. Gone is Sherri Stoecker, a key substitute for the Jayhawks, and, gone are three of last year's freshmen from a team that went 18-10 overall and finished second in the Big Eight Conference with a 9-5 record.
Replacing them will be five freshmen and three junior college transfers.
But Adkins and Jennings will be hard to replace. Adkins averaged 22 points and 9.7 rebounds a game last year and finished her career at Kansas as the third-leading scorer in Jayhawk history. Jennings grabbed an average of eight rebounds and scored 12.8 points a game.
Adkins graduated and Jennings transferred to Washburn University in Topeka.
Forward Jackie Martin is the leading rebounder returning this year with an average of 6.4, and Lynn Page, Tulsa, Okla., freshman, will provide some size inside.
Washington is counting on the six returning letterwinners and eight new recruits to take up the rebounding slack.
Washington called the 6-foot-4 Page a sleeper. She said that Page, who lettered in track as well as basketball at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, would surprise people this year.
"She's come in and learned a lot," Martin said. "I've been playing against her and she has learned to use her body, become stronger and more confident.
Martin also expressed enthusiasm over Page and her abilities.
"She's younger than Kelly (Jennings) and is more competitive. She wants it."
Five letterwinners transferred from the team since last year, making room for eight newcomers. Most of those who transferred did so because of the opportunity for more playing time at other colleges, Washington said. Jennings was an exception to this.
"Women find out that playing at this level is intense and demanding," Washington said. "It takes time and commitment. She was not able to make that kind of commitment. She did, though, have the potential to become one of the best big players in the conference."
Even with Martin's inside strength and the addition of Page, Martin said she thought that this year would provide a challenge for the Jayhawks.
"It's going to be a tough year for us," Martin said. "It takes a team to rebound. They just don't fall to us."
Page said she was optimistic about her ability to fill the shoes of the 6-foot-5 Jennings. She said her power, size and height would help her in making the transition to college basketball.
"They didn't have a true center last year." Page said, "and I hope to be the true center they're looking for. I'll help with the rebounding and have no problem getting up and down the court."
Washington also spoke about the makeup of this year's team.
A team which has been blessed with inside scoring and strength the past couple of seasons, the Jayhawks will be a队 dominated by strong perimeter players and depth at those positions.
"We might have the best backcourt in the Big Eigh," she said. "Evette Ott had her best season last year. She was very consistent and accepted her role as quarterback at point guard."
Guard Toni Webb, Washington said, had had trouble with game pressure but handled it better last year.
would be the Lady Jayhawk Dial Classic on Nov. 28 and 29th, the regular season opener, and the Dec. 8 game against Drake.
Team leadership will come from co-captains Laughter Dougherty and Ott.
As far as the Big Eight is concerned, Washington said that if she were to pick a favorite to win the conference championship, Missouri would be the team. Last year's conference champion was Oklahoma.
The rest of the women's basketball schedule is what Washington called impressive and respectable.
"It's hard to say. It'll be close," she said. "Iowa State has built confidence and K-State has the tradition. The favorite would have to be Missouri. Their inside attack with Renne Kellt is the best in the Big Eight."
For the first time since Washington has been KU head coach, the backcourt will open the season.
against a foreign team. The Yugoslavian National Team will visit Allen Field House for an exhibition game Nov. 14
The Big Eight season begins Jan.
Washington said that some of the highlights of this year's schedule
Newcomers to get plenty of court time
By JANE ZACHMAN
Sports writer
This year's Kansas women's basketball team doesn't have a dominant player, head coach Marian Washington said yesterday.
For the eight newcomers on the team, this could provide a chance for them to see a lot of action early in the season.
"We've had our share of outstanding players." Washington said. "Now we have to be able to bring some players along that still need some work."
But, she said, "We're not at the point where we'll have to start four freshman like we were a few years ago."
The new Jayhawks will play quite a bit in the early part of the season, she said, so she can decide how she'll work plays and manage the team.
Five freshman are settling into the Jayhawks' nest, along with three transfer students from junior colleges.
■ Lynn Page. 6-foot-4 center from Tulsa, Okla., leads the list of freshmen prospects.
Washington said she hoped Page eventually would fill an opening left after last season by forward Vicki Adkins, who graduated, and center Kelly Jennings, who transferred to Washburn University.
Page lettered in basketball and track in high school and was named Booker T. Washington High School Forward of the Year.
She played six-on-six basketball in high school before coming to Kansas. In that type of game the players cover only half the court. They can never cross the center line, but must pass the ball to teammates on the other half of the court.
Page said there was a big difference when it came to running the full length of the court.
Washington said Page had a lot of spirit and determination and she hoped Page would be a strong force on the team.
"She has made a lot of progress in our conditioning program." Washington said, "but we'll have to wait to see how strong she'll be in Big
Washington said Page was working
Outspoken Forte backs up talk on field
See RECRUITS. p. 10. col. 3
Kansas defensive end Phil Forte has emerged as a defensive leader for the Jayhawks. Forte is tied for the team lead with four quarterback sacks and has 23 total tackles.
By ANNE LUSCOMBE
He's not cocky, or so he says, he's just confident.
Phil Forte, the formidable force on the Kansas defense, said the attitude he displayed on the field was all confidence, with maybe a little cockiness thrown in to make it fun
His personality off the field is much like that on. He likes himself, but not without reason. Reporters love him because he is "Mr. Quotable." His teammates look up to him. His coaches are impressed by him. His opponents fear him.
"Phil is a hard-working guy," John Randolph, linebacker, said yesterday. "Something that he's become this year that he wasn't last year is a leader. Last year he was the guy everyone wanted to laugh at."
That perception of Forte, the team clown, is nothing new to him.
Crazy, maybe. He's been known to pull his share of pranks, like shooting bottle rockets under doors at unsuspecting teammates.
"I think I'm pretty outspoken," Forte said. "Some people say I'm wild and crazy. I don't think I'm all that bad. This is my last year, so I'm not going to worry about what people say."
"I'm easy to get along with," the 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end said. "I feel like I make people laugh and I'm always a lot of fun. There's always going to be someone out there that won't like me because I'm a football player, but I don't think I'm better than anyone else."
"I't hard to believe I'm 22,
almost 23. I've been here five years
and I'm still playing
games." Forte said.
Even with the cockiness, which he won't fully deny exists, Forte is still likable — something he is proud of.
Outside of football, there is little Forte takes seriously. Having a good time is important. But when it comes to football, practice and lifting weights, then it's serious business.
"I'd like to say I'm serious about school, but everybody would laugh," said Forte, who was suspended from the Indiana State game for skipping a class. "But I am serious about my football."
Practices are taken seriously
but games are to have fun, he said. Leave out the fun in the Saturday games and a crucial element is missing for Forte.
"I think Phil is a very highly-motivated player; he gets excited every Saturday," defensive coordinator Dave Dunkelberger said. "He always gets pumped up and is a very emotional player. A lot of the plays he makes, he is playing above his ability, and that comes from the level of enthusiasm he has."
Forte was moved around on the defensive line early in his collegiate career, but he has played defensive end for two seasons. Last year, he finished fifth on the team in total tackles with 63 and had 11 tackles behind the scrimmage line. He recorded three quarterback sacks for a total loss of 17 yards, a feat he has already surpassed this season.
In four games this season, Forte has had four sacks for a loss of 32 yards. He is currently tied for
Sacking the quarterback is the ultimate play for Forte.
sixth on the team in total tackles but has hopes of moving to first.
"Receivers want to score, quarterbacks want to throw touchdown passes, defensive linemen live for the quarterback sack," Forte said. "That's what it's all about, there's nothing better."
See FORTE, p. 10, col. 1
Astros, New York fall victim to rain
United Press International
A steady rain began falling two hours before the scheduled 2:10 p.m. start. NL President Charles "Club" Feeney, after conferring with the umpiring crew, waited to 3:22 p.m. before postponing the game.
The game was rescheduled for 12:05 p.m. today. However, more rain was forecast for today, and another rainout might create scheduling problems with the World Series should the NL playoffs go to a decisive seventh game.
NEW YORK — Rain forced postponement yesterday of the fifth game of the National League playoff series between the Houston Astros and New York Mets.
The rain subsided to a drizzle an hour after Feneve had his decision.
If today's game also is rained out,
Feeney said it would be rescheduled
for 12:05 p.m. tomorrow.
That would mean the sixth game,
Despite yesterday's rainout, Mets Manager Davey Johnson said he would stay with right-hander Dwight Gooden as the starter for Game 5. However, Astros Manager Hal Lanier changed his pitching plans and named right-hander Nolan Ryan to replace rookie left-hander Jim Deshies as his fifth game starter.
Ryan was the losing pitcher in Game 2.
Game 6 of the American League playoffs also is threatened by rain. The National Weather Service predicted a 70-percent chance of showers tonight in the Boston area as that series between the Red Sox and the California Angels moved back to Fenway Park.
4 students to coach late night Jayhawks
originally scheduled for the Astrodome tomorrow afternoon, would be moved back to Thursday, and the seventh game, if necessary, would be played Friday at the Astrodome, only one day before the scheduled start of the World Series
Sports writer
By NICOLE SAUZEK
Coaching a championship basket ball team is probably every sports fan's dream.
The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.
The fear of embarrassment?
Could be. Especially for four Kansas students on their way to stardom as coaches of the Big Eight Conference and NCAA Mid-West Regional Champion Jayhawks during the Second Annual Late Night with Larry Brown basketball scrimmage tonight.
Activities begin at 9:30 p.m. at the Burge Union, where a pre-game warm-up will be given by the KU coaching staff and special guest Larry "Bud" Melman, of Late Night with David Letterman.
At 11:00 p.m., the gates to Allen Field House will open and Melman and the band Harmonic Function will entertain until tine-off.
At 12:01 a.m. the 1986-1987 NCAA basketball season will open for the Jayhawks and every other college
basketball team in the country
All four scrimmage coaches earned their jobs in a month-long contest selling Late Night T-shirts.
And, at 12:01 a.m., palms will be sweating for Kristi Kassebaum,
Chuck Thyfault, Jan Fink and Sean Beckett, guest coaches for the
season-opening bash.
The basketball department will donate fifty cents from every Late Night shirt sold to Special Olympics. So far, close to $500 has been collected from sales.
"I'm really nervous," said Kassebaum, St. Louis senior, after she found out she was one of the winners Kassebaum, with the help of members of her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, sold 222 T-shirts. "I go to all the basketball games, but I still don't know very much. I have no idea what I'm going to do."
But, skill shouldn't be the name of the game.
The basketball team has been informed beforehand of what is ex-
See LATE, p. 10, col. 1