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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
10A
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2002
Chris Burket/Kansan
Aaron Miles, sophomore guard, goes up for a layup during the 20-minute scrimmage after the Late Night activities. Last year Miles was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Rocking with Roy
By Jessica Scott
jslscott@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The 2002 installment of Late Night with Roy Williams on Friday in Allen Fieldhouse showed off the dancing and acting talents of KU men's and women's basketball teams in an MTV-themed production.
Dancing and acting took precedence over basketball on Friday, but the Jayhawks have not booked a TRL appearance.
A music video countdown included performances by freshmen Moulaye Niang, Christian Moody and Stephen Vinson wearing Kansas State shirts and straw hats dancing to "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." Sophomore Aaron Miles made a guest appearance as Britney Spears in a rendition of "Baby, One More Time."
"I love watching our guys act a fool," Williams said.
Senior Nick Collison gave the capacity crowd an MTV News-style update including breaking news stories such as "Purple still sucks," and a Quin Snyder-bashing story about a lack of hair gel in
"Local sources believe there is a stockpile at the Hearnes Center," Collison said.
Columbia, Mo.
After his last Late Night experience, Collison said he enjoyed the skits and didn't let his own performances rattle him.
"I was just trying not to screw up," he said. "I'm always a little bit nervous but this year was just a lot of fun. It was probably the most fun since I've been here."
Changes at the Fieldhouse made this Late Night more fun for fans.
Additional speakers and a clearer sound system allowed fans to hear dialogue from players. A video tribute to women's coach Marian Washington and a highlight show from last year's Final Four season played on four large video boards hanging from the rafters.
This element of the festivities pleased Williams, who shed tears after watching a clip of him speaking to fans after last year's Final Four loss to Maryland.
"That was hard for me," he said. "I don't mind saying I had tears in my eyes tonight. That was hard to watch."
The crowd greeted recruits J.R. Gid
Check out more photos from Friday's Late Night
dens, Jeremy Case and David Padgett with applause as they entered the gym. All three have given oral commitments to Kansas. Recruit Josh Boone joined the three in the stands and watched as fans carried jumbo-sized fake Kansas jerseys around the court.
Langford said he thinks Late Night helps the recruitment process.
"I think it could have a tremendous impact, seeing the fan support firsthand," he said. "It's probably the biggest recruiting tool you could use to get a player."
Kansas fans will have to wait less than a month for another glimpse at the basketball teams. The EA Sports All-Stars kick off the men's exhibition season on Nov. 4 in Allen Fieldhouse. The women's basketball team will play the Basketball Travelers in an exhibition game on Nov. 13 in Allen Fieldhouse.
Players show talent
- Edited by Amanda Sears
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Shots sailed far from the baskets, defensive schemes broke down, players tugged on their shorts and the fans loved it. The 2002-2003 basketball season got underway at 12:01 Saturday morning as the men's basketball team took the floor for the finale of Late Night with Roy Williams.
The annual, 20-minute scrimmage between the Crimson and Blue featured old and new Jayhawks as Blue easily handled Crimson 40-26. Guards Jeff Boschee and Brett Ballard from last year's team filled in for Crimson, and forward Todd Kappelmann, also a senior last year, suited up for Blue. They tried to keep pace with freshmen forwards
Moulaye Niang and Christian Moody and freshman guard Stephen Vinson.
Junior college transfer left Graves did not play in the scrimmage. Kansas coach Roy Williams told reporters on Thursday that Graves had not met requirements to join the team yet. Senior guard and preseason All-American Kirk Hinrich also sat out the scrimmage with a hip pointer.
One Kansas player that definitely did play with sophomore guard Keith Langford. Langford lead all scorers with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Blue. Another bright spot for Blue was Moody. The walk-on grabbed
SEE SCRIMMAGE ON PAGE 7A
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Andy Samuelson asamuelson@kansan.com
Washington deserves recognition
Emerging out of the shadows and onto James Naismith Court Friday, the coach emblazed in all black brought a nearcapacity Allen Fieldhouse crowd to its feet.
The applause was much deserved
The night belonged to Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams — but this
But even more so, needed.
"It's been a long time since I've heard cheers like this."
Buffaloes' offense tramples Kansas
Marian Washington Women's basketball coach
"It's been a long time since I've heard cheers like this," said Washington, clearly
That's what happens when you've had as rough a season as Washington, who is entering her 30th year at Mount Oread, did last year.
touched by the emotion of the moment.
Her team was bad.
The worst squad she's ever had, if you
SEE SAMUELSON ON PAGE 6A
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
This is bad news for the Jayhawks who fell behind by two touchdowns in the first quarter for the third straight game Saturday against the Buffalooes. The Jayhawks also allowed 427 rushing yards in the 53-29 loss.
In its next four games, the Kansas football team will face Texas A&M, Missouri, Kansas State and Nebraska, all teams that like to get an early lead and control the game by running the ball.
An eight-yard touchdown pass from Colorado quarterback Robert Hodge to wide receiver D.J. Hackett on Colorado's first possession of the game put the Buffaloes ahead 7-0.
"Our players played hard, fought hard and gave everything they had to give," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "We were just beaten by a better football team today."
Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore fumbled on Kansas' ensuing possession to give Colorado the ball on the Buffaloes' 18 yard line.
Two plays later Colorado running back Chris Brown broke free through the Kansas defense and ran 78 yards for another Colorado touchdown. That put the Buffaloes ahead 14-0 after less than five minutes of play.
Whittemore and the Kansas offense struggled to move the ball on the next possession, and he threw three straight passes that were all nearly intercepted by Colorado.
After the Kansas defense gave the team a spark by tackling Brown in the
John Nowak/Kansan
With 121 rushing yards and 217 yards passing, Whittemore amassed 338 total offensive yards. Even with his third straight productive game from Whittemore, the junior quarterback would still like to have one throw back.
View a slideshow from Saturday's Colorado game.
end zone for a safety. Whittemore found wide receiver Marcellus Jones for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Early in the second quarter Whittemore gave Kansas the lead 15-14 after his five-yard touchdown run.
Late in the second quarter with Colorado ahead 29-15, the Jayhawks were 12 yards away from the end zone when Whittemore was intercepted by defensive back Donald Strickland. He returned the interception 95 yards to put Colorado ahead 36-15.
After Colorado added a field goal early in the third quarter. Whittimore scored on his second rushing touchdown of the game to make the score 39-29.
"Today we made a leap," Mangino said. "I'm really encouraged by what I saw today."
Brown totaled 309 rushing yards on 25 carries, the third best individual rushing effort against Kansas in history. He averaged 12.4 yards per carry with two touchdowns.
That was as close as Kansas would get as Colorado added two fourth quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
Edited by Christina Neff and Chris Wintering
Colorado wide receiver Derek McCoy struggles for extra yardage. Kansas had difficulty covering McCoy, who caught two touchdown passes.
Colorado back blasts Kansas
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Mark Mangino has said all season that the Jayhawk defense must stop the big play. That's easier said than done when faced with Colorado's 6 foot 3,220 pound running back Chris Brown.
Brown broke loose on three plays for 50 yards or more, including a 78-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. When Kansas took a 15-14 lead in the second quarter, Brown made sure the Jayhawks' advantage was short-lived. His 51-yard run for a touchdown put the Buffaloes ahead 20-15 and began a series of 22 unanswered points by Colorado.
Brown told reporters after the game the significance of those plays was greater than putting points on the scoreboard.
"I think it pretty much takes the wind out of their sails," he said. "Sometimes if they're doing good and then they give a big play it kind of hurts."
Brown was a pain for the Jayhawks all day. At halftime he had 164 yards on 14 carries. His 309 yards on 25 carries at the end of the day was the third-most rushing yards ever by a Kansas opponent.
SEE COLORADO ON PAGE 6A