University Daily Kansan / Monday, November 16, 1987
Sports
11
KU guard suspended for 2 games
The Associated Press
The NCAA has declared Kansas guard Milt Newton ineligible to play in the first two games of the 1987-88 basketball season, Athletic Director Bob Frederick said Friday.
Newton, a 6-foot-4 junior from Washington, D.C., missed Saturday's exhibition game against the Italian National team and will miss the opening-round contest of the Maui Classic against Chinadime.
Frederick said the University reported the incidents to the NCAA
The NCAA ruled that it was inappropriate for an institution to act as a collection agent for student athletes.
Fred Sadowski/KANSAN
The NCAA based its ruling on the handling of some travel agency billings for Newton's personal travel. On three occasions, the Kansas Athletic Department collected payment from Newton for personal airline travel, then forwarded the money to the travel agent.
Newton, who averaged 3.6 points as a reserve guard last season, will be allowed to practice with the team and will be eligible for the remainder of the season, beginning with the second game of the Maui Classic.
KU harriers finish fifth at district
The Kansas men's cross country team ended its season with a fifth place finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association District V meet Saturday at Columbia, Mo.
By a Kansan reporter
The Jayhawks, with 142 points, were led by top-ten finishes from junior Craig Wateke and sophomore Steve Heffernan. Wateke placed sixth with a time of 30:31.1 and missed qualifying for the NCAA national meet by less than four seconds. Heffernan was ninth, finishing in 31:49.9.
"The two really ran a great race," men's track coach Bob Timmons said. "That was the biggest race they've been in this year, and they beat a lot of good runners."
Freshmen Andy Pritchard in 38th place (33:24.4), Sam Froese in 45th (33:39.7) and Sean Sheridan in 46th (33:41.9) accounted for the rest of Kansas' points.
"They ran fairly well grouped up, but they were just too far back," Timmons said. "Teamwise, we have moved up one position ahead of Kansas State (112 points)."
Oklahoma State tailback Barry Sanders brushes by KU linebacker Kyle Schenker on his way downfield. The Cowboys went on to beat the Jayhawks 49-17 Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
KU still doing quarterback shuffle
By ANNE LUSCOMBE
Associate sports editor
The quarterback shuffle. It's a new routine Kansas has adopted this season of switching quarterbacks midgame, midquarter and, should the need arise, maybe midlay.
The shuffle is a change for the Jayhawks, who for several years had depended on their starting quarterbacks to be consistent and keep the offense alive. Remember John Hadl, Bobby Douglass, Frank Seuer and Mike Norseth? So do the coaches as they keep looking for someone to shine like the veterans of KU football past did.
In the meantime, Kansas has alternated between sophomore Kiley Donhoe and freshman Kevin Verdugo, and the quarterback position remains open before each game. So much for consistency.
You can't have continuity with young, unexperienced quarterbacks*<sup>14</sup> said Kansas offensive coordinator Gary Gifford.
Only in four games this season has one quarterback played the entire game. Verdugo was the sole quarterback in three contests, Southern Illinois, Kansas' only victory of the season, the Nebraska debacle and the Kansas State tie. Donohoe stood alone against Iowa State in Kansas' homecoming game.
For the other six games the quarterback position has rotated between Donohoe, Verdugo and senior Mike Orth, who hasn't played since the first three games.
"We've established Kelly and Kevin as the quarterbacks of the future. They need more experience than Mike Orth does," Huff said, explaining Orth's absence on
the field.
"We try not to think about it off the field even though we're both real competitors." Dohoone said. "We try to help each other out and don't try to be jerks. To be honest, I'm glad Kevin is my roommate. We are very competitive on the field, and because I live with him I've become very close with him off the field.
"It's easier for me to accept the changes in quarter-back because he's my friend. We're both just trying to do our best even though we don't know who'll get the call."
Donohoe and Verdugo share more than just the quarterback position, they share an apartment. And although tension runs rampant on the field, little carries over off the field.
Verdugo received the summons to start Saturday's game against Oklahoma State, but the offense remained fairly ineffective in the first half. He was pulled at the half and replaced by Dohonoe.
The offense livened up enough to hit a 32-yard field goal by sophomore place-kicker Louis Klemp and then two touchdowns, a one-yard run by Donohoe and a 20-yard pass to junior wide receiver Willie Vaughn who was waiting with open arms in the end zone. Still, Kansas couldn't make up the deficit and lost 49-17.
"Kelly played very well in the second half," Huff said. "The reason we benched Kevin was not because of his performance, but that he wasn't getting time to throw. We thought Kelly could move faster and it was the right move to make. There's nothing wrong with putting in a pinch hitter."
KU's lack of offense dashes upset hopes in 49-17 loss to OSU
By CRAIG ANDERSON Staff writer
Staff writer
For a few fleeting minutes in the first quarter of Kansas' 49-17 loss to No.17-ranked Oklahoma State, the atmosphere for an upset was in the air.
The roar of the crowd had never been louder this season in Memorial Stadium than when senior defensive end Stacy Henson sacked Cowboy quarterback Mike Gundy for a 17-0 win, first first quarter. On the next play, Oklahoma State pointer Gary Cooper dribbed a punt 18 yards against a stiff wind.
Kansas had the ball on the Cowboy's 28-yard line. On the first play of the game, Kansas tailback Darryl Terrell 17 yards, down to the Cowboy 29-yard line.
The fun for the Jayhawks stopped there.
Terrell was dropped for a 2-yard loss, and then Kansas freshman quarterback Kevin Verdugo's pass was intercepted near the goal line by Oklahoma State strong safety Rod Smith.
Kansas coach Bob Valesente said the good performance by the Jayhawk defense was overshadowed by an impatient offensive attack.
"Our defense put us in good field position, but our offense didn't go out and make things happen at critical times," he said. "It was the same old thing. We couldn't build any momentum."
"It was the old 'switcheroo' of momentum after the first quarter," said Kansas senior strong safety Marvin Mattox. "We had the wind in the first quarter and should have capitalized, but the offense just wasn't working."
Smith's interception signaled the end of any momentum the Jayhawks had. Oklahoma State scored touchdowns on its next three possessions, and the last home game for Kansas' 22 seniors turned into a less-than-storybook finish.
Jayhawk senior linebacker Rick Bredesen said the Jayhawk defense, which had played so well in the opening 15 minutes, fell victim to a case of the second-quarter blues.
"The second quarter hurt us," he said. "We got a little discouraged and started to arm tackle."
"When something goes bad for us it turns into the snowball effect," he said. "Everything builds on itself, and suddenly we're playing bad."
Mattox said Verdugo's interception was typical of the problems that had limited the Jayhawk's successes this season.
Oklahoma State senior tailback Thurman Thomas, who rushed for 202 yards and scored three touchdowns on 25 carries, said the Cow
boys' attitude had something to do with the second quarter turnaround.
"It was hard to get up for a team like KU," he said. "We knew going into the second quarter that we needed to get going. I told the guys we needed to score 28 points."
Cowboy junior split end Hart Lee Dykes, who caught four passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns, said the Memorial Stadium crowd of 18,500 had something to do with the slow start.
"When we came out, we noticed there weren't many people in the stands, so we came out kind of flat," he said.
For the Kansas offense, most of the high points came in the second half when the game's outcome was already decided. Sophomore quarterback Kelly Donoho replaced Verdrug in the second half and completed 13 of 24 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown.
Jayhawk junior tailback Arnold Snell continued his string of good performances, rushing for 100 yards on 24 carries. The six-foot, 200-pound Mount Vernon, N.Y., native has rushed for 525 yards in the his last five games this season.
Kansas junior flanker Willie Vaughn also was a standout, catching six passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. Vaughn's touchdown came in the fourth quarter when he led the team to march to two quick touchdown stealing drives after the game was already out of reach for the Jayhawks.
The possibility of a victory might not have been there for Kansas in the second half, but senior offensive guard Bryan Howard said that didn't stop him or his teammates from playing hard.
"I wanted to come out in my last home game and give a great effort," he said. "In the second half, I had to play for pride. I was playing the game for myself, my friends and my family."
Kansas senior wide receiver Murphy Ray's last game at Memorial Stadium was also the first start of his college career. He caught a 17-yard pass from Donohoe in the fourth quarter during the Jayhawks last touchdown-scoring drive.
Ray said even it had been a lean season for the Jayhawks, he still had a good feeling about his final season in a football uniform.
"I'd still call this season a success," he said. "Sometimes it's your performance that makes it seem successful. I just think about all the good times as a football player I've had from grade school up. I felt pretty good (about the last home match), but I'd trade it for a win."
Jayhawks' All-American too much for Italian team
Staff writer
By DARRIN STINEMAN
In Kansas' 88-82 victory over the Italian National Team on Saturday night, senior forward Danny Manning reminded a crowd of 15,800 who he was a consensus All-America selection last year, scoring 41 points on 16-for-20 field goal shooting.
Although Manning appeared to have lost nothing offensively over the summer, both he and his coach, Larry Brown, said he was weaker than normal in other areas.
"Offensively, he was sensational," Brown said of Manning's performance. "But he's going to have to defend better. He had to play a lot of minutes, and that was certainly a factor."
Despite Manning's machine-like offensive effort, Manning and Brown, both perfectionists, were displeased by the team's turnovers (six) than rebounded (five).
"I was very unhappy that I ditn, rebound, and I committed too many turnovers," said Manning, who had only one second-half rebound. "If I've got to pass the ball, I'll pass the ball; if I've got to play defense, I'll
play defense. I just want to win."
Thanks to his seven points in a 14-8 Kansas run in the game's final five minutes, the Jayhawks did win, but he was out of the game until the final few seconds.
The plan must have been to get the ball to Italy's 6-4 guard Antonello Riva, the team's leading scorer at halftime with 10 points. After Italy's time-out, Riva made a steal and laid it in at the other end to bring his team within four and then went on to score eight more points in the game's final five minutes.
After Kansas took a 69-60 lead when junior guard Lincoln Minor stole the ball and outran the Italians for a layup with just more than nine minutes remaining, Italian coach Alessandro Gamba called a time-out to regroup.
One of his five three-point field goals of the night tied the game at 74 with 5:16 remaining in the game, but also lost to the Jayhawks took over from there.
Kevin Pritchard's short lean-in jump shot to put the Jayhawks up 80-77, and the lead increased to 82-77 when Manning slammed home an alley-oop pass from junior guard Scooter Barry. Barry closed out the run with a back layup 22 seconds later, giving Kansas a more secure lead at 84-78.
But Riva's free throws turned out to be the final points Italy would score in Kansas, the team's second stop in a six-game U.S. tour. Unable to find Riva open for a three-point attempt, the Italians had to settle for two point shot and missed it with just more than a minute in the game.
Italians' rough play no big surprise
Kansas scored six points in 71 seconds, giving it a point-cushion going into the final 2:46 of the game. It started with sophomore guard
But the Italians came back to give the capacity crowd a scare at the end of the game. With 1:44 remaining, Riva's two free throws brought Team Italia within three at 85-82, and after Manning lost the ball out of bounds seconds later, the Italians were one three-pointer away from tying the game.
On the Jayhawks' next possession, Manned on the game when he followed his own missed shot and was fouled with 45 seconds remaining.
By DAVID BOYCE
Assistant sports editor
When guard Scooter Barry got into position to draw a charging foul, he was surprised that the Italian player continued to drive hard to the basket.
I was lucky there was a pad," Barry said. "There were lot of charge attempts that they didn't try to avoid."
After the play, Barry found himself on the floor against the padded basketball support pole.
Barry expected this sort of physical play from the Italian National Team after facing the Soviets last year and after Kansas coach Larry Brown told the team that the game would be physical.
Sophomore guard Jeff Gueldner, who only played a few minutes against the Soviets last year, said he was
surprised that he started at point guard, but he wasn't surprised by the Italian team's style.
Besides Barry and Gueldner, sophomore guard Kevin Pritchard also spent a lot of time on the floor. Pritchard was knocked around, even when he was filled for a foul.
"Kevin's fourth foul was unbelievable," Brown said.
"A guy hits him in the head with an elbow, and they call it on Kevin."
Pritchard, who played this summer on the U.S. Junior World team, said the Italian team was the most physical of the European national teams.
"I played against them before, and they were physical then," he said. "It seemed like everytime I moved, I would get bumped, and it seemed everytime I turned around, I was on the floor."
LA * MACHAN KANSIAN Kansas forward Danny Manning attempts to pass the ball around Stefano Rusconi, Italy center. Kansas defeated the Italian National Team 88-82 Saturday night at Allen Field House.