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SPORTS
1B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2002
SPORTSCOMMENTARY
Joey Berlin
jberlin@kansan.com
The Big 12, an overview of the sports
A few notes from the men's basketball team's win over Holy Cross, and some other stuff:
Winning by 24 is a nice enough way to open the season, but this year's 'Hawks need someone to assume the Drew Gooden trash-talking role. This team needs someone to get in David Harrison's face and tell him how much his team is losing by, somebody who'll publicly refer to a huge win over Mizzou as an "ass-kicking."
Arrogance is a character flaw? Not in sports. When you're in direct competition, you have to believe you're better than the opposition every time you step on the floor. Roy Williams' mid-'90s teams didn't have a mouthy player who spread that kind of inflated confidence across his team not even Paul Pierce
and those teams underachieved in the NCAA Tournament. Last year's team had Gooden and reached the Final Four.
So who should step up to become the designated smack-talker? Keith Langford may be the most confident player on the team, but he carries more of a quiet confidence. I can't see him spewing venom about an opposing team in his postgame comments. Nick Collison or Kirk Hinrich? Too Iowa. I nominate Simien — he's good, he's intimidating and he knows it.
I said in a previous column that if Bryant Nash worked hard on his game, he could turn into Nick Bradford. That's exactly who he looked like against Holy Cross, only with better hops. As long as Nash uses his speed on the break, crashes the boards and avoids putting the ball on the floor, he'll be a handy role player, like Bradford.
Entering the year, Jeff Graves and Jeff Hawkins were expected to be the top two players off the bench, but Nash played 16 well-deserved minutes Tuesday compared to 17 combined for the two Jeffs. Is Graves really so out of the loop that he can only play eight minutes? I doubt it — he did commit three fouls in his limited time, but he also bagged three rebounds. Williams has to ask Graves to play 12 minutes or more per game, because he needs another post player. No disrespect to Moulaye Niang, but he wasn't even expected to play this year, and right now he's B.J. Williams Lite. Kansas needs Graves' space-eating abilities inside.
It's about time the ridiculous standards for jersey retirement at Allen Fieldhouse were loosened to include more Kansas greats. The old standards were far too strict, especially the one that included only four-time All-Americans. You might as well ask players to keep their eyes open when they sneeze.
Kentucky and North Carolina, the only two schools with more all-time men's basketball victories than Kansas, both have more than 30 men's jerseys retired, dwarfing Kansas' total of eight. Pierce and Raef LaFrentz were both among the five best players in Kansas history, and their numbers belong in the rafters. So does Darnell Valentine's.
Thanks to the Kansas football medical staff for not allowing coach Mark Mangino to "convince" you to allow Bill Whittemore back on the field for the team's final three games. Maybe Mangino's tough-guy talk is only talk, but it'd be a lot more reassuring if he took a more cautious stance when important players got hurt. Let's see Mangino play with a torn MCL — in fact, let's see Mangino play at all. That would be funny.
Kansas 94, UNC Greensboro 65
Berlin is Leawood senior in journalism
Teamstangle tonight
Kansan file photo
Senior forward Nick Collison drives toward the basket against the EA Sports All Stars. For more on Collison and the Jayhawks, see page 3B.
Freshman Moulaye Niang ready to play as Jayhawks face unfamiliar opponent
Freshman Moulaye Niang must adjust not only to life in Kansas but also to life as a Kansas basketball player.
By Jessica Scott
jscott@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Niang, a 6-foot-10 forward, hails from Senegal, West Africa. After moving to San Diego for his junior year of high school, Niang averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds as a California prep superstar. During tonight's 6 p.m. game against UNC-Greensboro (1-0), Niang will get an opportunity to prove what he has learned in a short time from Kansas coach Roy Williams.
"My game is improving every day," Niang said. "I think the fact that he's putting me in the game is because I'm doing things he wants me to do."
Williams said Niang had surpassed his early expectations, but he still had room for improvement. For the Jayhawks to reach the level of play that Williams envisions, Niang must contribute twice as much off the bench.
"I thought that Moulaye would be able to play for us before he left here for sure, but I thought it might be a little down the road because he just hasn't played enough basketball," Williams said. "For how hard he works and how quickly he picks up things, I think the timing of that is a lot quicker than I thought it was going to be."
The Spartans come to Lawrence after defeating Wagner 84-65 in the first round of the tournament. The team hit 62 percent of its attempts, led by 6-6 junior James May, who ended with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kansas point guard Aaron Miles said he knew little about UNC-Greensboro.
"I don't know about them, but I've heard they kind of want to play us a little bit," Miles, a sophomore, said. "Everybody always wants to try and knock down the people on top."
Williams is not familiar with this team either, although he
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 3B
Miners to face Jayhawks
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
What?
They took a beating during last year's conference season. You can count their total wins from a year ago on one hand. They were undefeated through two exhibition games this season. They're not the Kansas Jayhawks.
That's right. "They" are the Miners from the University of Texas-El Paso, and — like the Jayhawks — they are looking to turn their fortune when the teams meet at 2:05 p.m. Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be the official start of the 2002-2003 season for the Jayhawks.
Kansan file photo
It will also be the first time the two teams have met, but that doesn't mean they are unfamiliar with each other.
UTEP coach Keitha Green hails from Oxford, Kan., and coached five years at Independence Community College in Independence, Kan. Her assistant, Darren Brunson, is from Wichita
Dragana Zoric went to Independence Community College, Kia Dowell and Noni Wharemate went to Fort Scott, Angie McGee went to Highland, and Valida Zagursky went to Seward.
There are also five players on the Miners roster from Kansas community colleges.
Despite all the Kansas connections,
Crystal Kemp, freshman forward/center, looks for an open teammate under the basket. Kemp said she was ready to play the Miners from the University of Texas-El Paso at 2:05 p.m. Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.
UTEP has a decidedly international feel. Four of the Miners were born outside of North America.
"When you bring international players in, they bring a different rhythm to their game," Kansas coach Marian Washington said. "The thing that we can expect is that they are going to play us, man, all the way through. They're
"It's always good to know you can play against some players your own size."
Marian Washington Women's basketball coach
going to have an up-tempo style of play. I think they're going to be pretty good-sized players out there. They'll probably have some good outside shooters."
One thing is for sure, the Miners will be bigger than any team the Jayhawks faced during the preseason.
UTEP has eight players 5-foot-10 or taller. Junior center Lily Ramirez is a powerful 6 foot 5 and sophomore center Ingrid Goslin isn't far behind at 6 foot4.
That is no concern to the Jayhawks forward/center Crystal Kemp. The 6-foot-2 freshman plays a physical style of basketball and is looking forward to playing some bigger players.
"It's always good to know you can play against some players your own size," Kemp said after Wednesday's practice. "It's really getting me ready to go into the Big 12 season."
Kemp averaged 12.5 points and six rebounds per game during exhibition wins against the Solna Vikings and Fort Hays State University.
- Edited by Melissa Shuman
Volleyball in midst of critical matches
By Jason Hwang
jhwang@kansai.com
Kansai sportwriter
The team is still far away from clearing the smoke screen.
Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard said the team would see where it stood when the smoke cleared in the last weeks of the season.
The Jayhawks (18-8 overall, 9-8 Big 12 Conference) will play a ranked opponent for the second straight match. The game is at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center when they host No. 22 Missouri (23-12, 6-5).
The Missouri match is in the middle of a three-match stretch against ranked opponents. Kansas's last match was a 3-0 loss to No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln, Neb. After the Missouri match, the Jayhawks play No. 19
Ray Bechard
jayhawks play 14.1 Kansas State, Wednesday in Manhattan
Kansas is 2-4 vs. ranked teams and 5-3 against conference opponents in Lawrence this season.
"It's a difficult time in some stand-points, but it's also an exciting time to know there's still something to play for." Bechard said. "We have their full attention at practice. A big win late in the season seems to carry more impact as you look at the NCAA tournament."
Freshman middle blocker Josiane Lima, reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, did not play in the Nebraska match because of shin splints. She is still questionable to play the Missouri match. If Lima cannot play, senior middle blocker Kylie Thomas will start in her place for the second straight match. Thomas had eight kills vs. Nebraska
"Lima is a very important player to us. But we have very good, very capable middle blockers here to fill in," sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Morris said. "We will still play with the same intensity for the rest of the season."
Morris said the Missouri match was important to get into the NCAA Tournament, and gave the team a more incentive to play its intense rival at home.
Missouri is on a three-match winning streak, including a 3-0 sweep of Baylor Wednesday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers are second in the Big 12 in kills with 6.44 per game and assists with 14.95 per game and lead in service aces with 1.7 per game. Senior Christi Myers is seventh in the conference, averaging 3.92 kills per game and junior Mary Lauren Smith is eighth with 3.78 kills per game. Senior setter Lindsey Hunter leads the conference with a 13.65 assists per game average.
"There's been some attention to the Border War series," Bechard said. "I don't think that will be a motivating factor. The motivating factor is we're playing a very good team and fighting to get into the NCAA tournament."
Edited by Matt Norton
Baseball recruits may be a top-25 class
By Steve Schmidt
sschmidt@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
Kansas might have signed a top 25 class without the help of Roy Williams.
On Wednesday, Kansas baseball coach Ritch Price unveiled the names of twelve recruits who will make up the class of 2004. Two of the players will suit up in crimson and blue next semester.
Junior college players and university transfers fill 11 of the 12 slots in the new class. Price said he wanted players who were able to contribute to the squad
from game one.
"We came in with some very definite holes that we needed to fill," Price said. "We focused on junior college players because we feel we have to win immediately. We can't take two or three years developing high school players."
He cited losing five seniors after this season and possibly three juniors to the 2003 Major League Baseball draft as key reasons for the sense of urgency.
The coach said he thought this class would be ranked in the top 25 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
The 2004 recruiting class includes Tanner Munsey, who was drafted in 2000
by the Minnesota Twins but opted for the junior college route. He was named AllRegion at the Community College of Rhode Island, batting .281 on the year.
"Tanner is a big, strong, physical catcher with an outstanding throwing arm. He will add much needed depth behind the plate for us," Price said.
Kenny Falconer has also been recruited to add to the Jayhawks' arsenal.
"We expect Kenny to make an immediate impact in our program," Price said. "He has the potential to be a high draft pick in the upcoming professional draft."
Two signed players should help add power in particular to the heart of the
lineup next year. Price said Andy Scholl and Mike Dudley will probably bat in the third and fourth spots.
Scholl took home New Mexico High School Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school senior. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 45th round last summer but decided to play for Lamar Community College. There he hit finished hitting. 401 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs.
"Andy is one of the finest junior college hitters in the country," Price said.
Dudley was crowned the 2001 Colo-
5
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 3B