Pro Baseball
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
The Kansas City Royals finalized their 40-man winter roster by adding Tim Byrdak, Bart Evans, Patrick Flury, Carlos Febles and Mark Quinn.
Pro Football
Friday November 21, 1997
Chiefs officials denied rumors that coach Marty Schottenheimer had promised to pay any fines his players incurred against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Section:
B
Pro Basketball
Page 1
Isiah Thomas resigned as general manager of the struggling Toronto Raptors yesterday. He has been offered a multimillion-dollar broadcasting job by NBC.
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Jayhawks hope to outrun Rebels
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallogher@kansan.com
Associate sports editor
A berth in the Chase Preseason NIT semifinals will be at stake when the No. 2 Kansas men's basketball team plays the UNLV Runnin' Rebels at 8:35 tonight in Allen Field House.
The game will be the Jayhawks' third in five days. Guard Ryan Robertson said the time constraints made it impossible to prepare a game plan for an opponent.
"We don't necessarily need to prepare for them as much as we need to prepare ourselves," Robertson said. "We have to take care of our own problems rather than looking at what Eastern Michigan or UNLV's going to do."
With a win tonight, the Jayhawks would play either Cincinnati or Arizona State on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said the Jayhawks needed more practices to balance the number of games they already have played. The team weight trained, practiced almost two hours and watched game tape of UNLV yesterday.
Guard Kenny Gregory said more emphasis would be placed on defensive pressure and offensive sets.
Center Eric Chenowith shoots around Western Kentucky center Greg Springfield in the first round a Chase Preasonall NIT. The freshman is averaging 12.3 points a game in his first season with the Jayhawks. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
"Every game we need to prepare for what we need to do to become a better team," Gregory said. "Offensively, we're a little shaky. And on defense, we need to
apply more pressure and get our hands up in the shooter's face because we haven't done that at times."
In its first three games, Kansas has shot 53.6 percent from the floor while opponents have managed just 38.7 percent. The Jayhawks have had superior size and athleticism in each game, and no opponent has vet to match their experience.
UNLV's roster has 15 players, 11 of whom are either juniors or seniors. And while the Rebels have two centers that are at least 6-foot-10, the rest of the team is small compared to the Javhawks.
The Rebels defeated Eastern Michigan 84-66 Wednesday night at home to advance to tonight's second round. This will be the Rebels' first road game of the season.
But while UNLV has yet to be tested on the road, the Jayhawks have been tested on the court.
"If you're going to let someone pressure, you've got to make them pay on the other end." Williams said after Wednesday's victory against Western Kentucky.
In games against Santa Clara and Western Kentucky, Kansas has struggled to score points against the full-court press.
Williams said the team needed more exposure against the press in practices and in games.
"We're not doing a very good job of that right now," he said. "Still, we can't simulate other people's press because I don't coach it very well in our practice situations, so games like this really help us."
Border war hits water as swimmers face MU
Kansan staff report
The Kansas-Missouri rivalry dives into the pool this weekend.
Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf said he expected the Jayhawks to improve.
The Kansas swimming and diving team will play host to Big 12 Conference foe Missouri at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Robinson Natatorium.
"We want to step forward both emotionally and physically," Kempf said. "I expect Missouri to come out and swim a great meet, and I want us to come out and lay our pride on the line."
Last weekend, the men's team defeated No.21 Indiana 104-103 in Bloomington, Ind.
Sophomore Tyler Painter has won the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle events at every meet this year. Because he is a member of the U.S. Olympic Team, he will compete at the World Championships in Australia in January.
"We've been swimming pretty good," he said. "Missouri doesn't have a lot of talent or depth, but we'll see how fast they go. We're going to load the first half just in case, see how it goes and then back down."
Loading a meet refers to putting the best swimmers in their best events instead of the usual regular-season format of mixing swimmers and events.
The women's team defeated the University of St. Bonaventure, but lost to the University of Indiana.
The women are led by senior Kristin Nilsen. She has won the 200- and 400-yard individual medley races and 100-yard breaststroke at every meet.
"The women have made a big improvement over last year and especially since I got here my freshman year," Nilsen said.
"We are prepared and ready and we have good depth. The rivalry between Missouri and Kansas is not as huge in swimming, but it's getting to be so. Football won against them, basketball is going to and we're going to take it as well."
College Football Tomorrow Big 12 Conference
No. 9 Kansas State at Iowa State,
11:30 a.m. Fox Sports
Top 25
Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 1 p.m.
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Ohio State.
11 a.m. ABC
No. 2 Florida State at No. 10
Florida 2 p.m. CBS
No. 5 Tennessee at Kentucky, 11:30 a.m. ESPN2
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 24 Wisconsin. 2:30 p.m.
No. 7 UCLA at Southern California, 2:30 p.m.
No. 8 North Carolina vs. Duke, 11 a.m.
No. 11 Washington State at No. 17
Washington, 2:30 p.m.
No. 14 Georgia at Mississippi, 1 p.m.
No. 15 Mississippi State at Arkansas, 1 p.m.
No. 19 Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh, 2:30 p.m.
No. 13 Auburn vs. Alabama, 6:30 p.m.
No. 22 West Virginia at Notre Dame, 12:30 p.m. NBC
No. 25 Colorado State at San Diego State, 9:30 p.m. ESPN
12:40 p.m. NBC
No. 23 Purdue at Indiana, Noon
Kansas women's team signs California player
Kansan staff report
She chose Kansas instead of Vanderbilt or Navv.
Kristin Geoffrey, a 6-foot-6-inch forward/center from Los Alamitos, Calif., has signed a letter of intent to play for the Kansas women's basketball team.
Geoffrey averaged 13.4 points and eight rebounds a game as a junior, and is listed as the No. 6 high school post player in the country
Coach Marian Washington said she was excited about the height and athleticism that Geoffrey would bring to the Kansas squad.
"Kristin brings great size at 6-6, and she is a very mobile 6-6 player," Washington said. "She runs the floor very well, and her great hands give her the ability to do many things."
Kansas' other signees in the early signing period are point guard Selena Scott from Austin, Texas; forward Dalton Brown from Virginia Beach, Va., and forward/guard Katie Hannon from Rochester, N.Y.
NIT ticket sales leave Kansas fans confused
Wednesday night's first-round game against Western Kentucky in the first round of the Chase Preseason NIT had the lowest attendance of the season.
The Kansas men's basketball team has played five games in Allen Field House this season. Only one of them was in front of a full-capacity crowd.
And it doesn't look like the second-round game tonight against UNLV will be much different. When the ticket office opened yesterday morning, 1,500 tickets remained for the game.
The Jayhawks' regular-season opener against Santa Clara posted a crowd of 16,300, but the other games were between 300 and 1,995 spectators short of that magic number.
Tonight's game will be broadcast to a national ESPN television audience. Some random television shot will show that section 13B is not filled to the rafters, and people will wonder what is wrong with Kansas basketball fans.
After doing the research, I think the
NIT tickets are cheap, as Kansas basketball tickets go. They cost only $12.50 a game compared to the usual price of $25. Student tickets cost $4 a game.
I answered questions about opponents, playing dates and locations, and I directed ticket inquiries to the Kansas basketball ticket office at 864-3141.
Judging by the phone calls I have gotten in the last couple weeks asking for game locations and ticket information, I think they're just confused.
answer is nothing.
I answered questions
Part of the explanation for the price is that NIT game tickets are sold differently than normal Kansas games.
Kristie Blasi
One of the most important distinctions
Blasi is a Caney senior in journalism.
is that the money from ticket sales does not benefit the Kansas athletic department. The NIT gets the cash from ticket and program sales while the athletic department retains sales revenue from concessions and clothing.
An NIT regulation requires that all reserve season-ticket holders receive NIT tickets as part of their ticket package this season. There was a $25 hike in the package cost to comply with the regulation.
But many of the same factors as a normal game are involved.
The NIT sets a minimum and maximum ticket price for preliminary-round games and lets each school set the price within that range.
Janelle Martin, associate athletics director, said that Kansas chose $12.50 so fans would get two games for the price of one. The decision was influenced by the number of home games already included in the ticket package.
Students did not receive the NIT tickets
in their $91 All-Sports Combo because student tickets are general admission instead of reserve seating.
"This protects the students because we would have had to increase the students' ticket price," Martin said. "All of that money goes to the NIT, so we left it up to the students if they wanted to attend the games."
The premise behind the universities playing host to the preliminary-round games is based on the postseason tournament format that existed before the modern 64 team NCAA Tournament.
"It goes back to the old days when schools would host first- and secondround games." Martin said.
On paper, these games belong to the NIT. But the games are Kansas games in the sense that the team's streak of 47 consecutive victories in Allen Field House is on the line.
And it's still Kansas basketball.
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
3-0 overall
G  RYAN Robertson 6-5 Jr.
F  BELLY THOMAS 6-4 Sr.
F  PAUL PIERCE 6-7 Jr.
R  RWF LAFRENTE 6:11 Sr.
T  J. T. PUGH 6-8 Jr.
UNLV REBELS 2-0 overall
G Mark Dickel 6-1 So.
G Greedy Daniels 6-0 Fr.
F Tyrone Nesby 6-6 Sr.
F Corry Ausborne 6-2 Sr.
K Kaspars Kambala 6-9 Fr.
*Allen Field House • Lawrence*
TV; Ch. 18
Radio; KJHK 91.7 FM
Connecticut 80, Rhode Island 61
Florida State 66, Utah State 55
Preseason NIT Glance Second Round Wednesday Atlantic 80, Rhode Island 67
UNLV at Kansas, 8:35 p.m. ESPN
Cincinnati at Arizona State, 11 p.m.
ESPN
Todav
At Madison Square Garden New York Semifinals Wednesday
Connecticut vs. Florida State, 5 or 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Championship
UNLV-Kansas winner vs. Cincinnati-Arizona State winner, 5 or 7:30 p.m. ESPN
Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m. ESPN
Third Place
Semifinal losers, 4 p.m. ESPN
Today
Alaska, 5:45 p.m.
No. 6 South Carolina vs. Citadel, 6:30 p.m.
Top 25 Schedule
No. 2 Kansas vs. UNLV, 8:35 p.m. ESPN
No. 5 Clemson vs. Iona at Fairbanks,
Alaska 4:54.m.
No. 5 Cresnion vs. Iona at Fairbanks,
Alaska, 5:45 p.m.
No. 11 New Mexico vs. Texas Southern, 7 p.m.
Tomorrow
No. 17 North Carolina Charlotte at Miami: 6:30 p.m.
No. 4 North Carolina vs. California, 6:30 p.m.
No. 5 Clemson vs. Duquesne or Southwest Missouri State at Fairbanks, Alaska, 3:30 or 9:15 p.m.
No. 10 Xavier vs. Akron, 1 p.m.
No. 11 New Mexico vs. Arkansas State or Canisius, 7 o'r 9:15 p.m.
No. 13 Fresno State vs. Massachusetts, 11 p.m.
No. 18 Temple at No. 21 Mississippi, 7 p.m.
No. 19 Oklahoma vs. Southwest Texas State, 7 p.m.
No. 25 Georgia vs. Charleston Southern,
6:30 p.m.
Women
No. 8 Texas Tech at Texas-San Antonio, 6
d.m.
No. 17 Stephen F. Austin vs. Oklahoma at San Antonio: 8:15 p.m.
No. 18 Colorado vs. Brigham Young, 8 p.m.
No.19 Duke vs. Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
No. 23 George Washington vs. North Carolina State, 1 p.m.
,
Sunday
No. 5 Clemson vs. TBA at Fairbanks,
Alaska, TBA
Women
No. 1 Tennessee at Tennessee-Martin, 2 p.m.
No. 3 Old Dominion at No. 7 Illinois, 2 p.m.
No.4 Stanford at Purdue, Noon
No. 5 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Florida at Champaign, Ill. 11:30 a.m.
No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 17 Stephen F.
Austin. 1 m.
No. 10 Vanderbilt vs. James Madison, 2 o.m.
No. 11 Iowa vs. Arkansas at Boston, Noon
No. 12 Virginia vs. West Virginia, 1 p.m.
No. 14 Arizona vs. UC Santa Barbara, 3 p.m.
No.25 Texas at Boston College, 3 p.m.