MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4.2002
KANSAS BASKETBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7B
Big 12 coaches, players look to NCAA tourney
The Associated Press
DALLAS — Despite losing 31 key starters, players and coaches of the Big 12 Conference are looking to make another showing at the NCAA Tournament this spring.
"I do not see the conference being weak in any way, shape or form," said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale, who led the Sooners to the league's first showing in the Final Four. "There will be a changing of the guard in terms of personnel, the people who lead teams."
Oklahoma, which lost to Connecticut in the national championship game, lost two-time AllAmerican Stacey Dales. The Sooners are picked to finish fourth in the league in a preseason conference coach's poll, after finishing No. 2 in the nation last year.
Texas coach Jody Conradt said
she believed the talent of this year's newcomers leaguewide would offset inexperience.
"We are one of the youngest conferences this year, yet we still have enough talent to be competitive game in and game out with any other conference," Conradt said.
Coale and Conradt were among the Big 12 coaches and players who discussed the caliber of the league as well as their championship hopes Wednesday at the Big 12 Women's Basketball Media Day.
While other teams discussed the players lost in the last year, Texas A&M coach Peggie Gillom said the Aggies could have an advantage with four returning starters.
"I think there is a window of opportunity for us," Gillom said. "The Big 12 lost a lot of great players. So I think the opportunity is there for us and other teams to get
into the top brackets."
Kansas State goes into the season picked to finish second in the conference. The Wildcats have lost only one starter and boast the league's preseason player of the year in center Nicole Ohlde.
"She is one of the most premier post players, not only in the conference, but in the country," Kansas State coach Deb Patterson said. "She has tremendous talent and is well-deserved in all the preseason honors she has been receiving."
Iowa State, picked in the preseason poll to finish sixth, lost All-Big 12 center Angie Welle and forward Tracy Gahan.
"The only thing that never seems to change is Texas Tech. They're always good. Death, taxes and Texas Tech," Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly said. "Kansas State, Texas and Texas Tech will be in a lot of preseason Top-10 rankings. Anytime you have two
"The only thing that never seems to change is Texas Tech. They're always good. Death, taxes and Texas Tech."
schools in the league that are realistic Final Four contenders, the league can't be down overall. I think at the end of the year, our league will be where it always is—one of the best in the country."
Many teams in the league had hoped an appearance in the Final Four would establish the league's place as a national powerhouse but find themselves facing questions — this time about the lack of experience.
Bill Fennelly
Iowa State basketball coach
"I obviously think it is the best conference in the country from
top to bottom," Texas Tech coach Marsha Sharp said. "I think we have proven that over several years and not just a one-year stance last year.
"I think the last thing to do was to get a team to the highest level of playing in the country and Oklahoma took care of that for us last year. I think some people finally decided on the national level that the Big 12 was for real."
Texas Tech was picked this year to win the Big 12 championship title in the preseason poll.
Despite lower expectations for Oklahoma, Coale believes her team can still be a contender.
"We do not look at our team and say it was a very special thing and treasure that the rest of our lives because it may never happen again," said Coale, who expects to be a Final Four contender every year. "We understand how special it is, but we have an expectation to get back there."
Bulked-up Ford means trouble for Longhorn opponents this year
The Associated Press
DALLAS — Shortly after Texas' heartbreaking two-point loss to Oregon in the NCAA tournament's round of 16 last season, Rick Barnes' precocious freshman point guard put his arm around the coach and made a pledge.
"Coach, I promise that I'm going to be better in every area next year," said T.J. Ford, as he and Barnes trudged off to the team bus in the bowels of Milwaukee's Kohl Center.
Seven months later, Ford appears to have delivered on his promise, looking as if he added at least 10 more pounds of muscle at Thursday's Big 12 men's basketball media day. Ford was even sporting a brand-new hairdo, a closely-cropped hairstyle as opposed to his previous choice of neatly braided cornrows.
The 5-foot-10 sophomore grinned when Barnes jokingly asked if he would take off his clingy, cream-colored sweater and show off his new physique.
"Guys were taking advantage of my weakness," Ford said. "So I kind of bulked up on them."
A bigger Ford could mean big things for the Longhorns, who return all five starters from last year's 22-12 team. They'll need Ford to again run the show, using his remarkable quickness and highly-developed court instincts to lead Texas, which is looking for its first conference title since 1995.
"It is amazing being around somebody who does not have to score 20 or 30 points," said Brandon Mouton, a junior guard who is the Longhorn's leading returning scorer, "but can dish out 12 assists and maybe even grab 10 rebounds."
At Thursday's media event, Ford's name came up several times when players and coaches were asked to pick out the Big 12's top point guard.
Ford shrugged off all the praise, insisting he has a lot more to prove this season.
"I need to improve my overall game," he said. "My team will look to me this year like they did
"This summer, I knew I had to hit the weightroom and get stronger for this team to get better."
T.J. Ford
Texas point guard
last year. Now I am just trying to be more vocal and trying to be a leader on the floor."
Ford was the first freshman in NCAA history to lead the nation in assists (8.3 a game) and developed into a much more consistent shooting threat as the season progressed. But he battled nagging injuries all season and sometimes wore down in the final minutes of tight games.
He played at about 150 pounds last year, often getting screened out of defensive plays by bigger opponents. On Thursday, Ford admitted that his disdain for the weight room probably was responsible for most of his few on-court struggles.
"There were times that I really got tired," Ford said, keeping his head down and scribbling on a note pad. "This summer, I knew I had to hit the weight room and get stronger for this team to get better."
Barnes said Ford had shown signs of improvement in all phases of the game, particularly defense. Ford also recorded a 44 1/2-inch vertical jump in offseason drills.
"He really did embrace a conditioning program," the coach said. "He never really got a chance to be totally healthy last year."
Now that Ford has picked up a few pounds, Barnes is already lobbying the guard to become more of a consistent offensive threat. Ford averaged just under 11 points a game, shooting about 41 percent from the field.
"I think he needs to score double-digit points and I've talked to him about that," Barnes said. "TJ. needs to shoot the ball for us. He is a guy that truly likes to pass the ball."
Tech basketball coach sarcastic at media day
DALLAS — Texas Tech coach Bob Knight was at his feisty best during the Red Raiders' Thursday morning interview session at the Big 12 men's basketball media day.
The second-year coach started off innocuously enough, talking about how he handles on-court mistakes by his players. Then, he was asked about the quality of point guards in the Big 12. From that point on, Knight seemed a little agitated.
A sampling of sound bites:
Knight on point guards:
"I'm not really sure that I know what a point guard is.
I've never had a point guard because I don't know what the hell it means. Does he stay out there on 'the point?' Where is 'the point?'"
Knight on the development of his players: "It adds another phrase to my vocabulary. 'Where the hell were you last year?'"
Knight on the potential of freshman John Ofoegbu: "If I could do that, I should be in a high position in the Bush Administration."
The Associated Press
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