Thursday, December 4, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 3
Expect an exciting game tonight
Emporia who?
While many Kansas fans are trying to figure out what the Emporia State Hornets are, I'll be preparing to watch a really important game.
This game doesn't have the importance of facing Arizona, and the national championship won't be decided.
But the ESU-Kansas game will be more than the No. 2 team in the nation facing a mediocre Division II school. It will be the first chance I've had to see the two colleges that I grew up watching play each other.
Eighteen years of traveling to White Auditorium to watch the Hornets play has put a little black and gold in my blood. (Not that I would attend Emporia State; the Jayhawk blood in my veins is thicker.)
A trip to Lawrence to watch Danny Manning, Mark Randall and Rex Walters wasn't always an option for me while I grew up. Instead, I watched players with names like Andy Uphoff, Sean Robbins and Brian Robinson.
Emporia State is never a contender for a national championship, and White Auditorium doesn't get anywhere near full. But the Hornets play some wonderful basketball.
You probably won't see any brutal basketball like we've seen from the Outback All-Stars, taunting
benchwarmers like the players from Rice University or players you feel like hurting (Miles Simon, Mike Ribby and any other Arizona players), but what you will see might impress you.
Matt Gardner
sports@kansan.com
For the first
For the first half of tonight's game, I guarantee you'll see Emporia State players giving everything they have. That's the type of basketball that always can be expected from the Hornets. It's not that ESU recruits the most disciplined athletes in the nation or the ones with the most heart. It's because they are guided by a man that gives them the motivation to play hard every game.
Ron Slaymaker, the Division II answer to Dean Smith, has led Emporia State for 28 years and is one of the most respected coaches outside Division I. The Hornets have won more than 550 games with Slaymaker as coach. But Coach "Slay" will be making his final trip to Allen Field House tonight. He will retire at the end of the season.
One ESU player that you can expect to play well is junior guard
Troy Forbes. Forbes. The Hornets' outside specialist, has led the team in three-point shooting for the past two years and has been averaging 16 points per game. Forbes has developed Billy Thomas-type firepower from the outside and can shoot the ball from anywhere outside the three-point line
Forbes also is familiar with playing big games against Lawrence. He led the Emporia High School team to the 1995 6A state basketball championship game against Lawrence High School. The interesting part of that game was that two of Forbes' opponents were Brad Frederick and Scott Williams, the sons of Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick and head coach Roy Williams.
After I realized that Kansas was playing Emporia State, I was left with an important decision. Do I cheer for my hometown team, the underdog Emporia State Hornets? Or do I go for my Kansas Jayhawks?
Now, I've made up my mind, and while everyone is shaking the field house with enthusiasm this evening, I'll be the fan sticking out. I won't be wearing Kansas' crimson and blue, nor will I be sporting the black and gold of Emporia State.
I'll be the one cheering for both teams.
Gardner is an Emporia, Kan., freshman in journalism.
New running back's experience aids Rams
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Lawrence Phillips' replacement at running back for the St. Louis Rams is no stand-in.
Jerald Moore ran 92 yards for his first pro touchdown in last week's victory against Washington. A third-round pick, Moore quickly is making a name for himself.
"He's not auditioning for anything," coach Dick Vermeil said. "Anyone that comes here in the future is going to have to beat him out. We can win with Jerald Moore."
He topped that in his first start at tailback with 60 yards against Carolina.
"It makes me feel pretty good to know he's got confidence in me," Moore said.
Illustrating his grit, Moore sustained a concussion in the first quarter of the Redskins game, took
a few series off and then played the rest of the way.
"It wasn't really that bad," Moore said. "I just blanked out for about a second. I've got a pretty hard head, so it won't hurt too long."
Moore's short stature also has benefited his game.
Moore is able to tunnel beneath the defense for extra yardage.
"I try to use that to my advantage, getting as low as possible so they can't get the licks." Moore said. "Most defensive guys are 6 feet and above and I'm just 5-8, and I can get up under them."
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