University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, October 20, 1987
11
Sports
Recruiting results take time, effort
By ROBERT WHITMAN
Staff writer
Touring rock n'roll bands don't have as many stops in as many days in Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington did during her recent three-week recruiting trip.
Players who don't sign with schools during this early signing period will have to wait until next spring to do so.
Whether her visits to 51 prospects in 31 schools and homes were worthwhile would be clear from Nov. 11 to 18, when high school seniors can sign national letters-of-intent for NCAA schools.
Washington said nine high school seniors would visit the University from this weekend until the beginning of the signing period.
She said she could not release the names of the players who would visit the University. Prentice Gautt, associate commissioner of the Big Eight prentice said schools could only confirm the names of players they were recruiting.
"We would like to sign more of them early this year," Washington said.
If more prospects signed early, she said, would free her to prepare for the job.
Kansas has signed at least one player during each of the three years that early signing has been available.
Assistant coach Kevin Cook said that five of the nine players visiting the University are listed among the top 70 seniors in the nation. The other four are among the top 150 in the nation.
All of them have more than a passing interest in attending the University.
"All of them have narrowed their choices to five schools and most of them to at least three," Cooksaid.
Cook and assistant coach Julie Yeater handle many of the recruiting details. Washington said, Yeater also kept abreast of NCAA recruiting rules.
Yeater said the NCAA rules book last year had about 400 pages.
"I understand that last year's book is about half the size of this year's," she said. "After 14 years of doing this, I still have to look things up or ask (associate athletic director) Gary Hunter."
The NCAA has rules covering items it must be unaffair inducement. Center seal.
Schools are allowed to pay the expenses of prospects for one visit. Prospects are allowed five expense-paid visits to schools.
"We have a policy that if we're in the top three (schools the prospect is considering), we'll pay for the visit," Yeater said.
"We can't pick up in a limousine. One school used to pick up players in the helicopter," she said. "Alumni cannot be involved during the visit, but faculty, staff and students can be."
Shawna Waters, the fourth leading scorer on last year's team, was redshirted this season because her team made her academically inelegible.
Washington said because of past academic problems with a few players, she was looking for prospects who could handle the academic environment at the University as well as basketball at an NCAA Division I school.
"I am very, very determined that we're going to get student-athletes first," Washington said. "We're looking at kids that have athletic potential, but we want that person who has demonstrated some discipline in terms of academics."
Ruth Jacobson/Special to the KANSAN
Marian Washington, KU women's basketball coach, discusses plays with the Jayhawk basketball team. Washington recently returned from a three-week national recruiting trip.
Practice more telling of ability than games says Broncos scout
By CRAIG ANDERSON
Staff writer
The long hours of repetitive drills and lots of running may not endear players to football practices, but the workouts might eventually help them more than they realize.
Last week, Reed Johnson, Director of Player Personnel for the defending American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos, watched Kansas go through just such a practice. He said he knew of nothing like watching a player go through a regular practice when it came to scouting him.
"I look for a player's attitude and work habits during practice time," he said. "Everyone can see what a player does at game time by just watching the films. It's at the practices, though, that players are made."
The Denver scouting system works so that Johnson sees at least two practices of area schools every year. The Broncos employ 11 scouts to cover the nation's collegiate football talent.
From the practice observations and a camp that trains potential NFL players in the spring, the scouts assign each prospect a grade of one to ten, with ten being the best possible score.
The Broncos scouts work to confirm the measurable aspects of a player's height, speed and weight. They also talk to the player's attitude to an idea of the player's attitude and physical strengths and weaknesses.
During this grading system, Denver coach Dan Reeves listens to the scouts' evaluations and gets a report on the injuries that the prospects
have suffered He then grades the players himself. Johnson said it is at this point that the first cut is made
"Coach Reeves decides on the players that will be able to play for him," he said. "He wants to find the players that have decided they want to pay the price and play professional football."
When it comes time to make the final draft decision on who to draft, the Broncos like to choose the highest-graded player available, regardless of his position. Johnson said the Broncos had a good enough nucleus of veteran players to enable them to fill their roster with good athletes.
In last year's draft, the Broncos chose Florida wide receiver Ricky Nattiel, even though they were stocked with veteran receivers. Johnson said Nattiel might not contribute that much early in his career but eventually he would be a big-play performer.
"Teams that draft to fill needs are looking for a utopia," he said. "We feel like you can never have enough good players at a position."
The Kansas players Johnson was mainly looking at last week were offensive tackle Jim Davis and defensive end Eldridge Avery. He said both were good players but he didn't know the best of the prospects to decide just where the Jayhawk seniors would fit in.
Johnson said Davis would be the hardest player to evaluate because he played on the offensive line. He said players on the line had to be exceptionally mature physically and mentally to be able to grasp all the new things that would be thrown at them in an NFL training camp.
KU basketball hopes to tap best of jucos, high schools
Staff writer
By DARRIN STINEMAN
After signing some of the most highly regarded basketball players in the country last season, the Kansas basketball staff would like to keep the gravy train rolling as the early signing period approaches.
A high percentage of the players recruited by the Jayhawks last year came from junior colleges, and will be an important source this year.
Three new Jayhawks, all of whom appear to be key players, were recruited from junior colleges. Marvin Branch, a 610 center from Barton County Community College, was named the No. 1 incoming junior college player by Dick Vitale's Basketball magazine and was listed among the top 10 incoming junior college transferrs by Snort magazine.
college transfers by sport magazine.
two other junior college transfers.
guards Lincoln Minor and Otis Livingston, appear to be impact players as well. Minor, ranked as the nation's 15th-best incoming junior college player, averaged more than 16 points and four rebounds for national runner-up Midland (Tex.) Junior College last season. Livingston, a transfer from El Camino Junior College in Torrence, Calif., averaged 8.3 points and 12.5 assists ast season.
Although Kansas has done well recruiting from junior colleges, Coach Larry Brown has said he would prefer to bring in blue-chip high school recruits. Those, however, are rare for the state. Kansas losses at Allen Field House.
"Out here, I've found since I've been here that it's extremely difficult to recruit the kind of players I think this program should be able to recruit," he said. "We have great
junior college programs (in Kansas) so we have to take advantage of that."
“Kansas is the school to beat with him right now,” Coleman said in a
Kansas has had to take advantage of junior college products because the top-notch high school players simply haven't been interested, for the most part. The Jayhawks are, the biggest "class" of the class of 1988, which is regarded by many experts as one of the best recruiting classes ever.
the brightest hope for Kansas appears to be Anthony Peeler, a 6-8 guard from Paseo High School in Kansas City, Mo. Peeler, who is being recruited by Missouri, Syracuse, Maryland, Iowa, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Georgetown, among others, is rated as the No. 1 offguard by Van Coleman's National Recruiter's Cage Letter.
telephone interview. "You name the school, and they're somewhat interested. I'm not expecting him to sign early."
Three of the country's other top players have named Kansas as one of the five schools they may attend. Chris Jackson, a 5-11 guard from Gulfport, Miss.; Chucky Sproiling, a 6-4 guard from Denver; and Litteral the point guard from Moss Point, Miss., are becoming Jayhawks, according to several major basketball publications.
The chances of landing Jackson, last year's Mississippi player of the year, seem dim. Jackson, rated among the top 10 overall recruits by most basketball publications, has been reported to be leaning toward Louisiana State, Duke, and Louisville.
But Kansas does appear to have a
good shot at both Sproiling and Green, Coleman said. His service rates Sproiling as the No. 5 off-guard and Green as the No. 6 point guard in America. Both are highly recruited.
Coleman said that Sproiling "could be a tremendous big point guard defense," and the green screen was "not as flashy as Jackson, but he gets the job done just as well."
Kansas is still in the running for two other highly touted guards, Lee Mayberry of Tulsa, Okla., and Derrick Daniels of Fort Worth, Tex., according to Off The Glass basketball magazine. Mayberry is rated ninth overall and Daniels 22nd by the Sporting News Magazine.
Mayberry is considering Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa as well as Kansas. Besides Kansas, Daniels is considering Alabama, Oklahoma State, DePaul, Houston, Purdue, and Minnesota.
There seems to be little doubt among most recruiting experts about who the top five high school recruits are. They are: Shawn Kemp, a 6-10 forward-center from Elkart, Ind.; Alonzo Mourning, a 6-10 center from Cheapeake, Va.; Billy Owens, a 6-8 forward-center from Hopkins; Roberts, a 6-11 center from Hopkins; S.C.; and Kenneth Williams, a 6-9 forward from Elizabeth City, N.C.
Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisiana are reportedly competing for Kemp, and North Carolina and Villanova are competing for Owens, but there is little doubt about the destinations of the other three. Mourning is expected play for Georgetown, Roberts for LSU and Williams for North Carolina.
The early signing period is Nov. 11-18. The main signing period begins next spring.
Martin named Yankees manager for 5th time
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Billy Martin was named manager of the New York Yankees for the fifth time yesterday after Lou Piniella, who had been expected to be fired, was promoted to general manager instead.
Pinella replaced Woody Wood-
dale had asked to be relieved
as GNJ.He
"I'm anxious to return as Yankee manager, and I'm looking toward bringing an exciting and winning team to Yankee fans," Martin said in
the statement
American League East, nine games behind first-place Toronto, in Piniella's second season as manager. The Yankees were second in his first year.
Piniella said in the statement, "I feel this is a step forward in my baseball career and gives me the opportunity to learn a new facet of the game."
The Yankees finished fourth in the
Tony Vourax/KANSAN
Wham!
Tracy Treps, Edmond, Okla., senior, backhands a volley to her teammate. The tennis team practiced behind Robinson Gymnasium yesterday.
The Associated Press
NFL regulars return but some irregulars find spots on teams
The regular NFL players, most or whom were shown the door when they tried to report last Thursday, returned to work yesterday, ready to pick up the pieces of what for them is a shattered season — financially, if not aesthetically.
As they came in, out went most of the truck drivers, security guards, teachers and coaches who had lived a career of playing professional football.
For those who stayed remained a question of how much tension they would face among the players they replaced. At Buffalo, spray cans in the lockers at at least two players were labeled "Scab Guard: Kills Nasty Germs on Contact."
While teams were permitted to keep as many as 85 layers for the time being, many chose to get rid of it but the handful who showed potential.
Philadelphia and Cincinnati cut all their replacements. Detroit Coach Darryl Rogers saw a slim chance that any of the Lions' replacements would make the 45-man roster, although no moves were made yesterday.
Among those was veteran quarterback Vince Evans, who Coach Tom Flores said would be one of "two or three" replacements kept by the Los Angeles Raiders. The 32-year-old Evans had been out of football for two years before catching on with the Raiders' strike team.
Atlanta kept only two replacements — Rich Kraynax, a linebacker on injured reserve quarterback, and Erik Kramer, who threw for 335 yards and three second-half touchdowns, helping the Falcons overcome a 17-0 deficit and beat the Los Angeles Rams 24-20 Sunday.
The New York Giants are super-
lineemen Dan Morgan and Mike
Jack from the group that went 0-3
and lost to the Bowl champions in
desperate straits.
Other teams retained several players.
Cleveland retained 15 strike players, although Coach Marty Schotte-heimer said the active roster for next Monday night's game with the Rams would be the same 45 who were on the roster when the strike started.
Indianapolis Coach Ron Meyer cut just 16 replacements, retaining 71, although he said he would cut more later this week.
Miami kept 14 replacements, New Orleans 11 — including much-traveled quarterback John Fourcade — and the New York Jets 15, including defensive lineman Scott Mersereau and linebacker Jay Brophy.
"The strike is the reason one of our players is with us," Jets Coach Joe Walton said, referring to Mersereau, a fifth-round draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams from Southern Connecticut.
"As we entered the season, one of our biggest question marks was the defensive line, particularly nose tackle. He's shown he can play. At this point, that area looks a little brighter."
Another player who might have earned a job is punter Tommy Barnhardt of New Orleans, who averaged 44 yards a kick in three games. Regular punter Brian Hansen, a former Pro Bowler, averaged 36.9 in two pre-strike games.