University Daily Kansan / Friday, November 13, 1987
13
Sports
Little time left to accomplish goals as Jayhawks play last home game
Staff writer
By CRAIG ANDERSON
With little time left on the football field for Kansas' 22 seniors, they feel like they still have time to accomplish some important goals. Tomorrow, they will play their last home game at Memorial Stadium against No. 17-ranked Oklahoma State.
"If we can pull an upset against Oklahoma State, everything else would fall into place," said senior defensive tackle David White. "It would be a great way to go out."
"We haven't talked much about it, mainly because nobody wants to think about it being our last game here," he said.
White said that he and his senior teammates hadn't talked much about the last time they will ever play football in front of their hometown fans.
They've seen the best of times, such as the 1984 upset of Oklahoma, and the worst of times, such as this season's losses to Division I-AA teams Kent State and Louisiana Tech. For better or worse, the Jayhawk seniors know there's no going back.
If I could tell the freshmen anything, it would be to enjoy the time you've got, because it goes by fast," said senior offensive tackle Jim Davis. "It seems like just yesterday that I was watching (former Kansas players) Frank Seurig, Reggie Smith and Renwick Atkins play. I respected all those guys and then all of a sudden I was playing with them. It's experiences like that that I'll remember."
Kansas senior cornerback Milt Garner said that he was happy for the chance to experience the highs and lows that accompany playing for a football program that is still looking for consistency.
"I'm thankful to the University of Kansas for giving me the opportunity to play major college football," he said. "I've enjoyed playing KU football. Ten years from now, when KU football is like Oklahoma, I will be proud to say I was a part of building the program."
However, in the process of building the program, attendance at Memorial Stadium
has dropped from about 34,000 last season to less than 26,000 this year. The fan support may not always have been there, but senior offensive tackle Bryan Howard said that he didn't hold any grudges.
"I can kind of understand the people not being there, because the fans want to see a winner," he said. "I enjoy just being on out the field and playing. When it comes time on Saturday, I'm sure it will be quite a sentimental moment."
Once the game begins, the Jayhawks have a challenge if they want to compete with the Cowboys. Oklahoma State has lost this season only to No.1-ranked Oklahoma and to No.2-ranked Nebraska. The Jayhawks haven't beaten the Cowboys since 1972, and haven't been them in Lawrence since 1968.
The Cowboys are led on offense by a three-headed monster that includes tailback Thurman Thomas, who leads the Big Eight Conference in rushing; quarterback Mike Gundy, who leads the Big Eight in total offense; and split end Hart Lee Dykes, who leads the conference in number of receptions and in receiving yards.
Kansas coach Bob Valesente said that the Jayhawks would be especially hard pressed to stop the Gundy-to-Dykes tandem.
"Mike Gundy has great instincts, and he makes good things happen." Valesen said. "Hart Lee Dykes will be a high-round draft choice in the NFL when he becomes available. He takes a lot of pressure off their running game. He's kind of deceiving because he gets a lot of his yardage after he catches the ball."
The Jayhawks will also have to contend with sophomore tailback Barry Sanders. The Wichita North High School product ranks third in the nation in punt returns, averaging 17.1 yards a return. He ranks seventh in the country in kickoff returns with an average of 27 yards a return. Sanders has returned two punts for touchdowns and one kickoff for a score.
"I took over the job and I was right on him from the start," Valesente said. "Sanders) wouldn't even give us a visit, so what could we do?"
Sanders when he was a senior at Wichita North, but was very unsuccessful.
Kansas should be optimistic in its chances to score against an Oklahoma State defense that has given up 20 or more points in five of its nine games. The Jayhawks have been somewhat successful recently in controlling the ball on the ground.
Junior tailback Arnold Snell has rushed for 343 yards in the Jayhawks' last three games. Kansas has scored 55 points its last three games, their highest three game scoring total in over a year. Snell, however has been slowed by an ankle injury all week in practice. But, he said that he felt he was going to be able to play tomorrow.
Valesente said that he had tried to recruit
"it's better better all week," he said. "If I can play on Saturday, I'll start."
If Snell is unable to play, junior tailback Darryl Terrell or freshman Frank Hatchett will start. Both were hampered by ankle injuries earlier in the season, but now appear to be at full strength. Terrell has rushed for five yards in the Jayhawks' last five games, and Hatchett has only eight yards rushing in Kansas' last two games.
"Both can do the job if they have to," he said "We've had good depth at running back all season."
Valesente said that he felt comfortable with either Terrell or Hatchett starting in Snell's place.
Once again this season, Kansas has a chance to upset a nationally ranked team. Whether it's for the outgoing seniors or just the overall team pride, Valesente said that his team would be at an emotional high.
"We've had spirited practices all week," he said. "We've got a chance to go out and prove we can win. The challenge is amazing, but we have to put out of our minds everything else that has happened, and go out and play our best game of the year."
Game 10
Kansas
Jayhawks
Coach Bob Valesente
Record: 1-7/1 1-4-1
Last Week: A last-second blocked field goal attempt saved a 17-17 tie with Kansas State in Manhattan.
WR - 2 Quinn Smith, 5-11, 175;
LT - 70 Jim Davis, 6-20, 260;
LG - 68 Jay Allen, 6-23, 255;
LG - 61 Chip Budde, 6-23, 255;
LT - 61 Budde, 6-23, 255;
RT - 71 Bob Peper, 6-25, 280;
TE - 88 John Baker, 6-230, 260;
GB - 13 Kevin Verdugo, 6-240, 200;
TB - 22 Arnold Scoll, 6-00, 200;
TB - 22 Arnold Scoll, 6-00, 200;
FL - 1 Willey Vagtigna, 5-11, 185;
PK - 29 Louis Klomp, 5-10, 195;
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Coach Pat Jones
Record: 7/2-4/2
LE — 39 Stacy Henson, 60, 230, BrL
LT — 103 Eldridge Avery, 63, 255, BrR
RT — 79 David White, 6, 248, BrS
LRT — 79 Teddy Newman, 6, 248, BrS
MLB — 19 Curtis Moore, 8, 212, BrF
MLB — 19 Curtis Moore, 8, 212, BrF
RLC — 25 Rick Edden, 6, 230, BrR
RCB — 16 Mit Garner, 5, 11, 200, BrR
RCB — 16 Mit Garner, 5, 11, 200, BrR
CLN — 6 Clinne Nunn, 6, 200, Jr
SS — 32 Mavin Mattax, 6, 241, BrP
P — 48 Rich Riehl, 5, 119, BrR
Last Week: Thurman Thomas' 173 yards rushing weren't enough to prevent a 29-10 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Probable Starters:
Offense:
BT- 82 Brien Keith, 6-3, 235, Sr.
LT- 62 Mike Wake, 6-5, 255, Jr.
GD- 50 Charlie Stanley, 6-5, 255, Jr.
GT- 61 Michael Tuttle, 6-5, 255, Jr.
RG- 58 Doug Meacham, 6-3, 250, Sr.
RT- 56 Byron Woodard, 6-3, 297, Jr.
SH- 11 Hart Lee Dyckes, 6-4, 206, Jr.
SH- 11 Gulay Gunkin, 6-4, 206, Jr.
FB- 32 Gibbon Gunkin, 6-4, 218, Jr.
TB- 34 Thomas Thomas, 6-1, 195, Sr.
FL- 15 Ronnie Williams, 6-4, 220, Sr.
PK- 25 Kary Biancandi, 6-1, 188, Fr.
Series: The Jayhawks lead the series 22-20-3, but have lost the last four meetings to the Cowboys. Likewise, Kansas has a 13-11-1 record against OSU in Lawrence, but the last victory here for KU was in 1968.
EE~ 97 Ricky Shaw, 6, 230, JR
LEE~ 76 Marcus Jones, 6, 245, JR
NG~ 79 Kim Johnson, 6, 255, JR
NG~ 79 Kim Johnson, 6, 255, JR
DR~ 49 Ren Williams, 6, 235, JR
RBG~ 92 Robert Nunn, 6, 230, JR
RLB~ 53 Sim Drahm I, 6, 210, JR
RS~ 2 Mellvin Chellen, 6, 210, JR
SS~ 45 Rod Smith, 6, 195, JR
RS~ 28 Wade Wilson, 6, 105, JR
P~ 7ary Cooper, 5, 10, 160, JR
History: Kansas has not defeated Oklahoma State since 1972. Since then, the Cowboys have wom 11 games and tied three. Thurman Thomas, a Heisman Trophy candidate this season, rushed for 170 yards in last year's KU-OSU game.
Coverage: The Kansas-OklahomaState game will be carried locally by the Kansas Jayhawk Network. The game can be heard in the Lawrence area on KLZR (106 FM) and KLWN (1320 AM). Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Lewis Stadium in Stillwater. Radio station KJHK (90.7 FM) will also provide coverage of the game.
KANSAN graphic
Cross country team needs high finish in District V meet
Staff writer
By MIKE CONSIDINE
The Kansas men's team wants to add one more cross country meet to Bob Timmons' coaching career. Do that, the Jayhawks have to finish first or second at the National Collegiate Athletic Association District V meet tomorrow in Columbia, Mo.
ley Conference schools entered will advance to the NCAA meet Nov. 23 at Charlottesville, Va.
The top two teams among the Big Eight Conference and Missouri Val-
"We don't have enough healthy people to take a team, so we're not going to go," Rovello said. "They don't really want to go if they can't go as a team."
Kansas was entered in the women's District V meet, but Coach Cliff Rovelo said injuries forced his team to withdraw.
"We have everything to gain and nothing to lose," student assistant
A disappointing fourth-place showing at the Big Eight Conference meet Oct. 31 may have relieved some of the pressure for the men's team.
Ben Welch said. "It's more a matter of desire than pressure."
Junior Craig Watchee said he's feeling self-inflicted tension.
, m reeting a lot of pressure because I ran well earlier this year and I haven't run up to my capabilities since," Watcke said. "For our freshmen, there isn't as much pressure because we pointed for the conference meet."
Welch said the team was better. He more rested than it was for the Big Era.
"At the Big Eight, the pace was so slow that it really hurt the team." Watchee said. "People who weren't there were able to stay in there longer."
three runners who are not on a qualifying team and in the top 15
If the team doesn't advance, Watcke and sophomore Steve Heffernan could qualify as one of the top
Hiefferman finished ninth and
were placed 11th in the conference
Junior Matt Bell, freshman Sam Froese, Heffernan, freshman Andy Pritchard, freshman Sean Sheridan, junior Doug Slifka and Watke will run for the Jayhawks.
Vollevball seniors set to leave Allen
By ROBERT WHITMAN Staff writer
Memories of past matches have already begun to fade for some of the seniors on the Kansas women's volleyball team as they prepare to play their last match at Allen Field House.
The Jayhawks will take on Oklahoma at 8 p.m. tonight in their final regular season game. Six teams are scheduled to host home match in the field house.
"There is definitely a lot of memories for me out there on that Allen Field House court," said senior outside hitter Tammy Hill. "Lots of games won, lots of games lost."
But the one match particularly memorable for Hill was played on Oct.19, 1985, against Iowa State at the field house.
"We had not won a Big Eight match in, I don't know how long. It was just the most emotional match I ever played in," Hill said.
Did Hill remember the score?
"I think it was like 17-15," she said.
Dan Ruettimann/KANSAN
"Yeah, the fifth game," she said.
Judy Desch, left, Monica Spencer, and the rest of the senior members of the Kansas volleyball team play their last home game tonight.
In the fifth game?
"I was about ready to feel we wouldn't win a Big Eight match all year," coach Frankel Albiz said about 1885, her first year at Kansas. "We beat Missouri two nights, and I was really worried about that one because I was afraid we might let down."
Did she remember the final point?
Well, it was the fifth game, but Kansas won the match 16-14. No record is to tell how the final point was scored. But Hill will remember that it was scored on a serving ace.
"I want to say it was on a serving ace," she said.
Hill said, "I think my first year (1984), everybody knew we were going to lose a lot. Then Frankie came, and people started overlooking us. Last year, we were a respectable third place, which says a lot for our program."
Kansas finished the season 17-15 overall and 2-8 in the conference.
This year the Jayhawks have struggled. They go into tonight's match with a 12-18 record overall and 3-8 record in the conference.
"I swear I've had more laughs this year than in the last three years," Hill said. "We're not as cliquish as we used to be."
The Jayhawks were 5-30 in 1984, the final year Bob Lockwood coached the team. All six seniors
— Hill, Judy Desch, Kristi Coniway, Michelle Klone, Shannon Ridgeway and Monica Spencer were recruited by Lockwood.
Ridgeway and Spencer are
"When Frankie came, we had to learn a whole new system," Desch said. "It wasn't really until my sophomore year that I looked two or three years ahead because I figured Frankie would be around for a while. I knew we'd improve."
junior college tranfiers who played the freshman seasons at Barton County Community College and were recruited by Lockwood just before he resigned.
New uniforms, shoes will make Jayhawks look a shade different
By MIKE CONSIDINE
Select your game wardrobe accordingly.
The Kansas men's basketball team is awash in color this year. From shoulder to toe, basic blue and white
Staff writer
In previous years under Coach Larry Brown, the team were primarily blue and white uniforms at home and on the road. For variety, red and white was modeled on special occasions.
This year's basic uniforms are white with blue lettering and red and blue trim. The design is similar to uniforms worn during former coach Ted Owens' career at Kansas.
The warmups are white with a Jayhawk emblem over the chest and are trimmed in blue, red and yellow. The warmup jacket has a sailor-style flap with "Kansas" spelled out in script.
The team switched from Puma shoes to Nike and from uniforms manufactured by Russell to Champion.
"Coach Brown likes to change it up from time to time," senior Chris Piper said.
The shoes are white with patches of red and blue.
"I like them," said sophomore Kevin Pritchard, "but some of the other guys may not. They're unusual."
demilitary more colorful.
Puma spokeswoman Jeanine
"Puma was a good shoe," Brown said. "Nike was great. They've been real good to our program."
Stevenson said that her company had not entered a bid for this season because Brown had notified Puma of his decision to change companies.
Puma had supplied the men's basketball program with warmups, gym bags and running shoes for two years. The contract also provided Shirts for Brown's summer basketball camp.
Brown said Nike provides travel warmups (composed of a long-sleeved sweatshirt and sweat pants), gym bags and approximately 120 shoes.
Nike spokesman Kevin Brown sait that the KU coaching staff also received shoes, a set of warmups and a set of coach's shirts.
Kevin Brown said Coach Brown would teach at high school basketball clinics that Nike sponsors for high school juniors. The Nike spokesman said that such a camp may be at the University of Kansas in the future.
Nike has worked with the Kansas women's team for three years, Kevin Brown said. He said that Nike expected to provide the women's team with 100 pairs of shoes and that it received the same basic package as the men.
Although he said he was happy with Russell, Brown said switching to Champion was a natural transition.
"We always got their practice
gear," he said. "They offered to give us home and away uniforms free, if we bought their warmups and practice gear. So it was a big savings to the school."
A couple of recent Kansas traditions will die. The team will no longer wear the "Beak 'Em Hawks" shooting shirt, and the red uniforms will be replaced by new gold uniforms.
"I'm not going to be sad over the loss of the 'Beak 'Em Hawks" shooting shirt," Piper said.
Brown said that Champion offered to provide three sets of uniforms, and it was necessary to choose a third color aside from the standard blue and white outfits.
"I didn't want to go to red," Brown said. "We didn't have a lot of success with red."
Brown said he decided on gold because the Jayhawk mascot has a gold beak and shoes. He compared the "neutral" color to the green uniforms worn by Notre Dame and the gray uniforms adopted by Georgetown.
He said he had jokingly told his team it would wear blue on the road, white at home and gold on neutral courts. In reality, Brown said he didn't know if the team would wear the gold uniforms in games.
The team doesn't have its warmup pants yet, but was expecting them in time for tomorrow's exhibition game with the Italian National team.
Blue defeats White in scrimmage
By ROBERT WHITMAN
Staff writer
Four players scored in double figures last night leading the Blue squad to a 59-32 victory over the White squad in a Kansas women's basket-ball team intrasquam scrimmage at Wichita Southeast High School.
Sophomore guard Michelle Arnold led the Blue team with 15 points. Senior forward Lisa Baker, senior guard Lisa Dougherty and junior center Deborah Richardson added 12 points each for the Blue squad, which rallied from a 39-34 halftime deficit.
Sophomore guard Lisa Braddy had eight assists and five steals for the Blue squad. Richardson had 11 rebounds.
Arnold scored only seven points in five games all of last season.
"Lynn Page was obviously one of the top players in this scrimmage. She's improved a lot," Washington said.
Senior forward Sandy Shaw led the White squad with 17 points. Sophomore center Lynn Page added 16 points and 16 rebounds.
"You always hope your player's first year is truly a good one," Kansas coach Marian Washington said. "Certainly Michelle has always been a fine shooter. We have to get her to be more aggressive and get her to move without the ball."
"I was pleased with the effort of both teams," Washington said. "I
"We didn't permit them to full-court press, but we allowed them to press at different times," Washington said. "We saw a lot of fast break. At times, we had to set up and look for the offense.
just thought the White team ran out of gas at the end."
The Blue squad was coached by assistant coach Julia Yeater. Assistant coach Kevin Cook coached the White squad.
"I was extremely pleased with the way they played a this stage of the season. We're still working on getting our flow and our rhythm on offense."
Washington said the team responded well to playing in front of a crowd for the first time this season.