Friday, November 7, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
'Hawks start where they left off; underneath the Arizona Wildcats
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Associate sports editor
The Kansas men's basketball team is 2.0 behind the Arizona Wildcats, defending NCAA champions, according to The Associated Press' 1997-98 preseason basketball球.
The Jayhawks received 1,684 points and 28 first-place votes, 24 points and two first-place votes behind Arizona. The Wildcats defeated Kansas 85-92 last season in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
This season, Kansas will play Arizona Dec. 2 in the DirectTV Great Eight at the United Center in Chicago, Ill.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said senior forward Raef LaFrentz and the rest of the team had some input as to whether the Jayhawks would play in that game.
"I gave the seniors the first opportunity when we started talking about playing in the Great Eight because I know it really crowds our schedule," Williams said. "We could have easily said 'no' to that. Raef had asked me if we would practice anyway. I said 'Yes' and he said 'Td rather play a game.'"
The Jayhawks were ranked No. 1 from Dec. 2 through the final Associated Press poll last season. The Jayhawks finished the season 34-2.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said he would not have felt so bad about last season's tournament had the Jayhawks not been voted the best team in the country.
"I told Michael Jordan that the big difference between the Bulls and the Jayhawks is that the (Utah) Jazz beat them twice and they still were world champions," Williams said. "We didn't have that chance. If you watch us play this year, we won't change many things. I'm stubborn enough to try it again to see what happens."
With the Great Eight; the Jayhawks will have another chance at Arizona, though this time as a probable underdog. The game will be televised to a national audience by ESPN.
With the return of LaFrentz and junior forward Paul Pierce, who both passed up a chance to play in the NBA, most college basketball analysts projected the Jayhawks at or near the top of the preseason polls.
LaFrentz said expectations remained high, but they would be lower this season.
"We're not quite as high as we were last year," LaFrentz said. "People are going to have high expectations. They will always expect us to be one of the teams that are going to play for a long time. I would say we are one of the top 10 teams in the country."
Junior guard Ryan Robertson said the team would not be content with anything less than a national championship this season.
"You will be judged by how you finish the season," Robertson said. "We wanted to win the national championship last year. That is our goal this year. Anything less will be a disappointment."
AP Top 25
The Top Twenty Five teams in The Associated Press' preseason basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 1996-97 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and ranking in 1996 final poll:
| kk | team | rec | pta | pva |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1. Arizona (30) | 25-9 | 1,708 | 15 | |
| 2. **Kansas** (28) | 34-2 | 1,684 | 1 | |
| 3. Duke (8) | 24-9 | 1,601 | 1 | |
| 4. N. Carolina (10) | 28-7 | 1,582 | 4 | |
| 5. Clemson | 23-10 | 1,323 | 14 | |
| 6. UCLA | 24-8 | 1,319 | 7 | |
| 7. S. Carolina | 24-8 | 1,257 | 6 | |
| 8. Kentucky | 35-5 | 1,256 | 5 | |
| 9. Purdue | 18-12 | 1,246 | - | |
| 10. Xavier, Ohio | 23-6 | 1,070 | 13 | |
| 11. New Mexico | 26-8 | 1,015 | 11 | |
| 12. Connecticut | 18-15 | 813 | - | |
| 13. Fresno St. | 20-12 | 760 | - | |
| 14. Stanford | 22-8 | 720 | 21 | |
| 15. Iowa | 22-10 | 634 | - | |
| 16. Utah | 29-4 | 530 | 2 | |
| 17. Indiana | 22-11 | 525 | - | |
| 18. N.C. Charlotte | 22-9 | 512 | - | |
| 19. Georgia | 24-9 | 345 | 17 | |
| 20. **Oklahoma** | 19-11 | 310 | - | |
| 21. Rhode Island | 20-10 | 278 | - | |
| 22. **Texas** | 18-12 | 248 | - | |
| 23. Mississippi | 20-9 | 235 | - | |
| 24. Temple | 20-11 | 204 | - | |
| 25. Louisville | 26-9 | 203 | 25 |
Others receiving votes Michigan 190, Mary
183, University of Cincinnati 175, Illinois St. 173,
Arkansas 15, St. John's 49, UNLV 79, Minnesota 74,
Minnesota 69, Wichita 52, Oklahoma 55, Maryland 45,
Massachusetts 39, Wisconsin 38, Illinois 27,
Hawaii 23, Texas Christian 25, St. Joseph 22,
George Washington 20, Villanova 20, Mississippi St.
19, Michigan 18, Kentucky 17, Carolina St. 11, New Mexico St. 11, Marquette 10,
Tennessee 9, West Virginia 9, Nebraska 8, Pacific B,
South Alabama 8, Washington 6, Princeton 5, Califor-
nia 5, Sacramento 4, Houston 4, Argentine 2,
Coppin St. 1, N. Arizona 1, Oldman St. 1
Kansas center Raef LaFrentz rises for a shot in last year's game against Iowa State. LaFrentz and the Jayhawks were ranked No. 2 in this year's Associated Press preseason poll. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Only four months until March Madness
By Jim O'Connell The Associated Press
Dean Smith headed for the golf course. Rick Pitino left for the NBA and $70 million. Danny Fortson and Ron Mercer decided not to be upperclassmen. And Tracy McGrady leapt straight from high school to the pros.
College basketball lost many familiar faces in the offseason, yet some star coaches and players are back for a shot at being the last team to cut down the net.
Commentary
Arizona has its top eight players returning to defend its championship. Kansas is among the favorites to win it all because Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce didn't give in to the lure of the NBA. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski managed to come up with one of the best recruiting classes in years. And the five-second rule is back.
So a season starts next week with a lot to get used to.
It will be hard to watch North Carolina and not be distracted by the absence of Dean Smith. For the past 36 seasons he was the focal point of one of college basketball's special programs and his departure was as expected — on his terms.
Smith was replaced by longtime assistant Bill Guthridge, but the Tar Heels probably will be as tough as ever as they compete in the country's strongest league, the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Pitino left Kentucky after consecutive appearances in the NCAA championship game. The man who turned the Wildcats back into a national powerhouse left for a chance to do the same with the Boston Celtics. He'll be followed by his former assistant, Tubby Smith.
Sixty-four of 306 schools — 21 percent — start the season with a new
"Basketball coaches are the last of the old cowboys. They live on the edge and the posse is just around the corner."
coach.
"Basketball coaches are the last of the old cowboys. They live on the edge and the pose is just around the corner," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "It's the nature of the game. It doesn't mean we have to like it or say it's OK, because it's not. It makes for a lot different environment from 20 years ago."
What made the moves entering this season so stunning was that they came so late. Moves at major schools with longtime coaches and possible NCAA violations — such as Michigan, Arizona State and New Mexico State — all came as
Roy Williams kansas men's basketball coach
practice was about to start or had already begun.
It's not coaches that are hard to keep the players are hard to keep around for four years too.
Three members of last season's All-America team were eligible to return and only LaFrentz did. Cincinnati's Fortson and Kentucky's Mercer weren't the only topflight players to leave early: Tony Battie of Texas Tech and Chauncey Billups of Colorado joined them in the NBA draft lottery.
the NBA from high school.
Many think college basketball is too strong to be brought down by players who leave early or jump to
"It's hurt our sport, but overall it's still exciting." Krzyzewski said. "The older player, the really outstanding player, can't teach the younger player to become that great player, that superstar, and that hurts the pros."
As for the biggest rule changes, coaches can now call a timeout and players with the ball must advance toward the basket or pass within five seconds if a defender is within 6 feet. That rule returns after a three-year absence.
Some early season games also will experiment with a 40-second shot clock instead of the 35 now used and four quarters instead of halves.
And fans should note one date that begins the most important part of the season: Sunday, March 8,the day they can fill in their tournament bracket.
KU and K-State student athletes to fight cancer at football game Fund-raiser to be held during first quarter
Kansan staff report
Kansas athletes have been doing a lot more than just training lately.
The fund-raising effort will occur during the first quarter of the Kansas-Kansas State football game tomorrow in Manhattan.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is joining the Kansas State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to raise funds for cancer research via the American Cancer Society.
The groups are calling the game the Ultimate Sunflower Showdown: KU and K-State's Fight Against Cancer.
Kansas State director of athletics Max Urich and both universities' SAAC presidents will present a check to the American Cancer Society at halftime.
This is the second annual joint fund-raiser between the Kansas schools.
"Last year was a great success," said J.J. Jefferson, athletic adviser. "This year we hope to have at least 20 KU athletes attend the game and help to raise $2,000 to $3,000 for the American Cancer Society."
SAAC is a group of student- athlete representatives from each sport that meets bimonthly to serve as a liaison between the student body, the Lawrence community and the Athletic Department administration.
Other Kansas SAAC activities this semester have included a canned food drive and Camp Jayhawk.
Before the Kansas-Iowa State football game Saturday, 13 children from Lawrence's New York Elementary School, accompanied by student-athlete escorts, followed the Kansas football team down the hill. The children's outing was sponsored by Lawrence residents.
The outing was an attempt to allow underprivileged children to attend a Kansas game and to meet some of the athletes.
SAAC members are also selling buttons to raise funds for "Awareness Against Violence Month," which was in October. Athletes have raised more than $1100. Funds will be donated to the Women's Transitional Care Center as well as other rape and battered women's centers.
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