Sports
University Daily Kansan / Thursday, August 27, 1987
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Pan Am Games give Newton new role
Job as co-captain for U.S. Virgin Island team a different experience
By CRAIG ANDERSON Staff writer
Staff writer
The game was still the same for Kansas guard Milt Newton at the Pan American Games, but his role was different.
Newton, Washington, D.C., junior, played for the U.S. Virgin Islands basketball team at the recently-completed Pan Am Games in Indianapolis, Ind. He served as co-captain of the team. Newton said the experience of being a captain of the team gave him a different view of the game.
"I took the role that Danny (Manning) has here," said Newton, who was born in the Virgin Islands. "I tried to pump the guys up during the game and give them any instructions the might need."
Newton also was a leader by example, averaging 18 points a game. He scored 32 points against eventual gold-medal winner Brazil
—a game the Virgin Islands team lost by 5 points. Newton said the Brazil team played a fast-paced style of basketball that could result in shooting at any time, any place.
"They had one guy, Oscar Schmidt, who had just taken one step over the half-court line when he took a shot," Newton said. "That was a regular part of their offense."
Schmidt scored 46 points, including seven three-point goals, in the game against the United States.
The Virgin Islands team ended up losing all five games it played in Indianapolis, but Newton said the team improved after each loss. The team's last three games all were decided by fewer than five points.
A one-point loss to Uruguay kept the Virgin Islands from playing the United States, a team that included Kansas All-American forward Manning.
"I wanted to play against Danny." Newton said. "I would have been exciting to go up against a great player like him."
Though they did not meet on the court, Newton and Manning.
Lawrence senior, kept track of each other. He said Manning attended some of Newton's games and cheered him on. Newton did the same for Manning. Newton said he went to the United States-Brazil gold-medal game, but left when the U.S. led by 20 points, figuring they would win.
"I was back at the village when I heard they had lost," he said. "I was shocked and had a hard time believing it at first."
The coaching he had received from KU coach Larry Brown also helped Newton at the Pan Am Games. Newton said the fundamentals he had learned from Brown helped him greatly. He said his teammates could have benefited from Brown's coaching.
"Some of the guys were kind of nervous in the first couple of games, so they wouldn't be real aggressive and take it to the other team." Newton said. "I tried to show them some of the things I had learned to help improve our play."
Newton said he couldn't complain about the living conditions at the athletes' village. He shared a room with five of his teammates and said it was a little cramped. The food was great, though, Newton said.
"I think all the protesting and stuff kind of got blown out of proportion," Newton said. "It didn't have anything to do with the competition itself or with the Cuban team."
While at the village, Newton said he got to meet many athletes from other countries, including members of the Cuban delegation. He said the Cubans were always friendly to him. Political demonstrations against the Cuban government flared up several times during the Pan Am Games, Newton said, but the athletes were unaffected by the unrest.
With the Summer Olympics less than a year away, Newton said he would consider playing on the Virgin Islands team. He said the thought of being an Olympian was exciting to him.
Milf Newton, Kansas forward, shoots to the hop during a scrimmage with some members of the Kansas basketball team. Newton played with the U.S. Virgin Islands team in the Pan American Games.
By DARRIN STINEMAN
Basketball program deals with changes while still recruiting
Staff writer
In the midst of the Kansas men's basketball program's bustling recruiting season, a wave of other developments have cropped up to further complicate the situation.
The dayawkins lost former assistant coach Mark Freidinger during the summer to an NCAA rule instituted in January. The rule limits the total number of basketball coaches to five. Head coach Larry Brown said the rule left him with a difficult decision.
"When Mark came it was a year-to-year thing," Brown said. "He had opportunities to go other places and he didn't want to go. Mark did a great job, and I hope he does well, but (assistant coach) R.C. (Buford) has done a good job as well, and we had to make a decision."
Sophomore forward Keith Harris was originally scheduled to play for the Big Eight Select team, which is currently playing in the Beijing International Tournament in Beijing. China, Harris, however, had to attend summer school to maintain eligibility requirements.
"Some doctors said he'd never play again, but he has worked unbelievably hard," Gentry said. "He's been playing in pickup games and he's about 95 percent (healthy)."
The Jayhawks' other two main concerns are to find a legitimate center and point guard. Their two point guards from last season, Cedric Hunter and Mark Turegon, graduated last spring, and last year's center, Mark Pellock, quit the team this summer. The biggest problem seems to be at center, where Pellock and Sean Alvarado combined to aver-
he got it all taken care of, and everything is fine," assistant coach Alvin Gentry said. Everyone on the team is eligible at this time, he said.
A member of the select team, forward Archie Marshall, is progressing well after knee out last season with a knee injury sustained in the 1986 NCAA Tournament semifinal game with Duke.
age only 4.3 points last season.
"C
The coaching staff is hopeful that Marvin Branch, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound transfer from Barton County Community College, will fill the position of center.
Some doctors said he'd (Archie Marshall) never play again, but he has worked unbelievably hard. He's been playing in pickup games and he's about 95 percent (healthy).'
— Alvin Gentry
Assistant basketball coach
"We're looking at him really seriously," Gentry said. "He would be a big key for us if he plays the way we think he's capable of playing, because we could play Danny (Manning) at his natural position. Even though Danny might not score as many points (at forward), he would be more effective."
Coaches are looking to transfers to help out at point guard as well.
Lincoln Minor, a 6-3 guard from Midland (Tex.) Junior College, and Ols Livingston, a 6-1 guard from El Camino Junior College in Torrance, Calif., appear to be the two top candidates to take over at the point.
Gentry likes the fact that Minor and Livingston come from two successful junior college programs. In Minor's freshman year at Midland, they finished the season with a 33-1 record and won the National Junior College Tournament. In his sophomore year, they finished second.
"These two guys didn't come from typical junior colleges," he said. "They came from really, really good programs with styles similar to programs."
For now, the coaching staff is preparing for Sept. 17, when they can officially enter recruits' homes. That period will end on Oct. 10.
Play ragged but tough in first full scrimmage
By a Kansan reporter
Play was ragged in the first full football scrimmage of the year, Kansas coach Bob Valesente said. He said he was pleased, however, with the physical toughness the team showed.
In the scrimmage, Kelly Donoho completed seven of 11 passes, including a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Willie Vaughn.
The only other scoring came on two field goals by sophomore walk-on
Cleveland puts end to Molitor's streak
Louis Klemp. Klemp kicked field goals of 21 and 43 yards and missed attempts of 38 and 46 yards.
Valeseht said he was pleased with the play of freshman tight end Wolf Blaser. Blaser caught 2 passes for 29 vards.
"Blaser was impressive today." Valesen said. "He's got that great size that makes him hard to drag down."
Valesente still hasn't named his starting quarterback.
The Associated Press
After Felder crossed the plate, Molitor ran to first to congratulate Manning, and a minute later he came
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee's Paul Moltor went 0-for-4, ending his 39-game streak, and the Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians 1-0 in 10 innings on pinch-hitter Rick Manning's RBI single.
With Molitor waiting in the on-deck circle for a possible fifth at-bat, Manning hit an 1-0 pitch to center field with one out, scoring pinch runner Mike Felder from second base.
out of the dugout to an ovation from the 11,246 fans. Molitor tipped his cap to the crowd.
Molitor, trying to tie Ty Cobb for the fourth-longest hitting streak in modern major league history, failed to get the ball out of the infield against Cleveland rookie John Farrell. Farrell, making his second major-league start, pitched nine shutout innings and allowed three hits.
Molitor struck out in the first inning, grounded into a double play in the third and grounded out in the sixth. He reached base in the eighth
With two outs in the eighth and a runner on second. Molitor hit a slow grounder that third baseman Brook Jacoby charged and threw to Tabler. First base umpire Mike Reilly called Molitor out but then ruled him safe when Tabler bobbled the ball. Jacoby's throw beat Molitor to the bag by about two steps.
on an error by first baseman Pat Tabler.
During the streak, which started July 16 against California, Molitor was 68-for-168, a .405 average. For the season, Molitor is batting .363 but does not have enough plate appearances to qualify among the leaders.
George Sisler hit 41 straight for the St. Louis Browns (AL) in 1922.
Molitor's streak was the longest in the majors since Cincinnati's Petite Rose hit in a National League-record 44 consecutive games in 1978. The last time an American League player had a longer streak than Molitor's was in 1941 when the New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio set the major-league record of 56 games.
Before 1900, Baltimore's Willie Keeler hit in 44 straight in 1897 and Chicago's Bill Dahlen hit in 42 straight in 1894.
Stanford wins restraing order against NCAA testing program
The Associated Press
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Stanford University won a temporary restraining order today against the National Collegiate Athletic Association's mandatory drug-testing program.
Judge Conrad Rushing of the Santa Clara Superior Court granted the order, preventing the NCAA from requiring that Stanford obtain written consents to drug testing from its athletes as a condition for participating in intercollegiate sports.
"I am very pleased," said Jennifer Hill, captain of Stanford's women's soccer team, who in spring joined the suit filed in January by diver Simone LeVant. "It means that we can play without giving up our constitutional
rights."
Stanford attorney Debra Zumwalt told the judge the university and its athletes would be "irreparably harmed" if the temporary restraining order were not granted. She said that if athletes were forced to sign consent forms, they would be giving up a constitutional right.
Attorneys for the NCAA argued that the requirements for court relief had not been met by Stanford and that only three of the school's 600 athletes had objected to the testing.
Stanford argued that it did not want to enforce an unlawful program and that it was caught in the crossfire between students challenging the drug testing and the NCAA insisting the university enforce the program.
Rushing, who set Sept. 29 and 39 for a preliminary hearing on the case, asked both sides to present evidence on false positive results in the drug test. He also asked for testimony on
Rushing previously had allowed Stanford to join a lawsuit by students challenging the NCAA's drug-testing program.
whether there were different methods for testing athletes in different sports.
On March 13, Judge Peter Stone granted a preliminary restraining order permitting LeVant, then captain of the women's diving team, to compete without submitting to drug testing. LeVant has since graduated.
Suit would delay football games
The Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — College and professional football games scheduled in Memphis next weekend should be postponed because the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium lacked sufficient seating for the handicapped, a federal court suit argued yesterday.
Memphis State University has its football season opper with the University of Mississippi at the stadium Sept. 5, while the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs are set for a National Football League preseason game there Sept. 6.
The NFL game is billed as a chanc for Memphis residents to show their desire for a professional football franchise.
City officials contend that the Liberty Bowl stadium, which is undergoing renovation, meets government regulations.
But Terrance Endsley, a lawyer who filed suit on behalf of four Memphis residents confined to wheelchairs, said the city-run stadium fell short of federal and state regulations governing access by the handicapped to public facilities.
The stadium is being enlarged from 50,000 to 65,000 seats, and, although the work is behind schedule, it is scheduled for completion in time for the Memphis State game.
Endsley said city officials had been ignoring repeated complaints from his clients that the renovated
stadium would have too few seats for the handicapped.
"We're trying to get them to at least listen to our version of what the law is and work out some kind of compromise," Endsley said. "We really don't want to stop the games. The people who are involved are fans too."
"The they don't want to have to sit down on the field and look at people's backs, or they don't want to have to sit up in the end zone and miss everything that goes on at the other end of the field."
In their suit, Endsley's clients ask for a temporary injunction halting expansion work on the stadium and blocking any public events there until their complaints are resolved.
Missouri fans uneasily waiting to resume winning ways
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Is this the year the sleeping giant finally stirs?
It had better be, says a vocal segment of University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., alumni who are increasingly unhappy with their football program and absolutely narrow-minded about Woody Widenhofer's 4-18 log as head coach.
The coach, professing confidence in his third Missouri team and its newly installed wishbone offense, met the subject with candor and humor.
A favorite topic of conversation among Missourians this summer, besides the possibility of another Cards-Royals World Series, was how many games Widenhofer must win.
"Which starter am I happiest to have back this year? Me," he told
"I don't think my job is in jeopardy right now," he said. "Once we get back on track, Missouri should never be worse than No. 3 in the Big Eight. We've got good facilities, we've got good location."
Big Eight Skywriters on Wednesday. But he insisted he bore no ill will toward any of his critics.
"It's a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be," he said. "A lot tougher. I just didn't know, for one thing, how many good players you need to win in college. And I didn't know how much speed was a factor. In college football, you're dealing with people who are still growing, still maturing."
Widenhofer admits these past two years have been a humbling learning experience.
career as a defensive assistant for the four-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. When he came to the university, he faced a talent-overpowered squad and announced he would rebuild with a pro-style wishbone offense featuring a dropback passer.
Widenhofer spent most of his
Switching to the wishbone is a sign of his new-found wisdom, he frankly admits.
"If you'd told me two years ago that I'd be involved with a wishbone offense, I would have told you you're crazy." he said.
Widenhofer is calling his new offense the "flexbone," because he plans to occasionally split the two halfbacks out wide and use them as pass receivers.
One major reason for going to this strategy is junior quarterback Ronnie Cameron. Also, the Tigers have three good running backs, including senior Robert Delpino, super freshman Tony VanZant and Darrrell Wallace, who has gained almost 1,900 vards the past two seasons.
years as the player. Sidelined his first season by a knee injury, VanZant, the most highly sought prep runner in the nation two years ago, is "about 90 percent," Widenhofer said.
"Running back and defensive secondary will be the strength of this team," he said. A transfer from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, John Stollenweider, enclosing Cameron, who the hoops held, said the Wizards he?
"I think we're good enough to win more games than we lose this year. The idea is progress, to make progress." Widenhofer said.
"That's progress. You're winning more each year," he said. "I think we're good enough to win more games than we lose. Ability-wise, I think we're better than Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State."
The Sept. 12 game against Baylor University, Waco, Texas, could be more crucial than most season openers.
"I would never say that one ballgame makes a season. But we have some ability on this football team, in a lot of areas. I would say Baylor is a very important game for us. This football team needs two things. No 1."
to stay healthy at certain positions,
and No. 2, to win a game."
Widenhofer promises his 1987 Tigers will bear little resemblance to the 1-10 squad of 1985.
"This team is 45 points better than my first team two years ago," he said. "It's better because of speed."
While he may be uncertain of VanZant and how quickly his players will adjust to their new offense, Widenhofer can be certain of a few key operatives.
One is Wallace, who is probably much better than his lack of press clippings would indicate. The compact Kentuckian burst upon the Big Eight in 1895 with 1,120 yards and was selected as a reserve on the all-conference team. In 1966, he was the Big Eight's leading rusher with 872 yards.