THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Inside Sports
Sports
Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder was named the AP Big 12 coach of the year yesterday.
Pro Basketball
SEE PAGE 3B
Michael Jordan made a surprise appearance at the bargaining table yesterday as NBA labor talks resumed.
Friday
December 4, 1998
Section:
B
Page 1
SEE PAGE 4B
Boxing
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson might find himself back in jail after possibly violating terms of his probation.
SEE PAGE 4B
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Commentary
Chiefs can redeem season's failures missed chances with draft picks
It is hard to imagine that there could be a more disappointing team in the NFL this year than the Kansas City Chiefs. Going into the season, the Chiefs were expected to dominate the AFC and present the Denver Broncos with a serious challenge for a Super Bowl berth.
Instead, it's the Broncos who are on the verge of perfection, while the Chiefs find themselves in the AFC West cellar.
With four games left in the season, it's apparent that the Chiefs have no chance of making the playoffs. An unsettled quarterback position and an atrocious six-game losing streak have turned what was supposed to be Marty Schottenheimer's first season with Super Bowl expectations into a nightmare. Now Schottenheimer and the Chiefs must look to the future. That future lies in the upcoming NFL draft.
The NFL hasn't had a more promising group of college quarterbacks enter the draft since Elway, Marino and Kelly infiltrated the league in 1983. The Chips desperately need a young, talented quarterback to build around. With Tim Couch, Michael Bishop, Daunte Culpepper, Cade McNown, Brock Huard and Donovan McNabb expected to be available, the Chiefs should have plenty of talent to choose from.
The only problem now is getting into a position to select one of them.
If the Chiefs could somehow manage to lose the rest of their games (and that's not too far of a stretch), they would most likely get one of the top-10 picks and a realistic shot at a top-notch quarterback. But even if the Chiefs have the
Kevin Wilson
sports@tansan.com
opportunity to draft one of the quarter-
backs, there's no telling if they will.
When Marcus Allen retired last season, it seemed obvious that the Chiefs needed to find a feature-back to replace the void. Instead of grabbing one of the many proven free-agent running-backs that were available at, like Natrone Means, the Chiefs decided to select one in the draft. And to top it off, the Chiefs waited until the third round to draft Rashaan Shehee, who as been less than spectacular in his limited playing time. In doing so, they passed on the more productive Skip Hicks, who is now starting and flourishing in Washington, and the more exciting Tavian Banks.
The Chiefs have proven that they are unpredictable when it comes to draft-day decisions, but hopefully after suffering through another quarterback controversy this season, they will make the right choice.
On the other hand, they could always go after Ty Detmer. After all, he is an over-the-hill San Francisco 49ers quarterback, and you know how the Chiefs love those guys.
Wilson is a Des Moines, Iowa, senior in journalism.
Forward Nick Bradford jumps to block a shot by Kentucky forward Scott Padgett. The Jayhawks lost their first game of the season against Kentucky on Tuesday night, 63-45. Photo by Dan Elavsky/KANSAN
Williams stresses learning for players in new positions
Rv Mike Harrity
Kansan sportswriter
Two days after losing 63-45 to Kentucky, a game in which his team was outhustled and outrebounded at every bounce, coach Roy Williams paused while considering this question:
"This team doesn't have that killer instinct in the games, and it might be the nicest team that I've coached," said Williams, whose team fell to 4-1 after the loss Tuesday night. "And a big reason is that they're learning. We don't know well enough what we're doing to do itrecklessly."
Is your team too nice?
The No. 7 Jayhawks play Pepperdine (5-1) at 4:05 p.m. tomorrow in Anaheim, Calif., in the John Wooden Classic. Kansas beat Pepperdine 96-83 last season at Allen Field House.
His team had better learn fast.
The slow learning process experienced by the Jayhawks is mainly because three of the team's five starters — Kenny Gregory from point guard to swing forward, Ryan Robertson from point guard to shooting guard, and Nick Bradford from shooting guard to power forward — are playing new positions.
Bradford, who mostly played guard last season, views the situation as a daily challenge in practice.
" (Williams) tells us that he enjoys practice more than the games because he loves to get better and loves to teach," said Bradford, who is averaging 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. "We just need to be
eager to learn how to improve as a basketball team because we have a long way to go."
And it starts with Pepperdine. The Waves won their first five games before losing 68-58 last Saturday at Cal-State Fullerton.
Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar thinks his team can take something positive from the loss.
"Hopefully it will serve as a wakeup call," Romar said. "Kansas is one of the nation's premier college basketball programs, and our team is anxious to have an opportunity to play a ranked opponent."
Pepperdine is led by 6-foot-6 point guard Jelani Gardner, who transferred from California and is averaging 12.2 points and nearly six assists per game.
One person all too familiar with Gardner's ability is Wichita State assistant coach Donn Parr, whose team lost 60-50 to Pepperdine on Nov. 24.
"Everything they do on offense is initiated by Gardner, and he does a great job at the point," Parr said. "How good they play is how good Gardner plays. It all starts with him."
As for Kansas, Williams said it all starts with himself.
"I've done a poor job (coaching) with this group," Williams said.
"I've allowed them to learn at their own pace too much. And now they'll have to learn at my pace the next two weeks.
"It's the same old story: If the teacher tells you to know the poem
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
4-1 overall
G RYAN ROSESTON 6-5 SR.
G JEFF BOSCHEE 6-1 FR.
G NICK BRADFORD 6-6 Jr.
G KENNY GRÉGORY 6-5 So.
C ERIC CHENWITH 7-0 So.
the next day, you may learn it. If they tell you that you have to recite it to the whole school the next day, you're going to learn it a little bit better. Well, now they're going to learn that dadgum poem well enough to recite it for the whole freaking universe because we're going to get better that way."
Raymant out for season; replacement sought
Washington considers Jackson for position
By Sam Mellinger
Kansan sportswriter
It's all but official: Kansas senior co-captain Suzi Raymant will be sidelined for the rest of the 1998-99 women's basketball season.
Raymont injured her left knee on Nov. 21, the same knee that was operated on to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in April.
A rigorous travel schedule has delayed the examination of her knee until today, but coach Marian Washington isn't optimistic.
That preparation means juggling the lineup a little. Since Raymant went down, senior guard Shandy Robbins was put into the starting lineup.
"It itooks like Suzi will not return," she said. "Emotionally, right now we are preparing to go the rest of the way without her."
A strong shooter who brings instant offense to the lineup, Robbins had been used exclusively off the bench before Ray-
mant's injury. That is a role which Washington likes Robbins to play.
wut that in mind, Washington is considering moving sophomore Jennifer Jackson from point guard to shooting guard and inserting either Casey Pruttt or Selena Scott in Jackson's spot.
"Both Casey and Selena really added some quickness on the perimeter, especially on defense," Washington said. "I think it would be an advantage to turn to our ability to take care of the basketball a little better."
Raymant averaged 14.1 points per game last season.
"Without Suzi, we're looking for different ways to put points on the board." Washington said. "We've got to be able to score more and we can't just sit back and have Lynn do it all. Lynn pressures herself a lot, and she's got to realize she can't do everything."
"I know we need some points," Jackson said. "I've gotten to run a little bit of two-tuard since Suzi's been hurt, so this won't be too much of a change for me."
Jackson found out yesterday that Washington was thinking about moving her to shooting guard.
The switch would not be a big change
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
4.2 years
MARYLAND-
EASTERN SHORE
3-3 overall
G KRISTI SHELDON 6-0 Sr.
G KIANA LEWIS 5-7 Jr.
G NYKESHA THOMPSON 5-6 So.
G NICOLLE COUNCIL 5-8 Jr.
C MARLENA SMITH 6-3 Sr.
Allen Field House • Lawrence
Time: 6:05 p.m.
Kansas hopes that Jackson's strong shooting continues today in the team's home-opener against Maryland Eastern Shore (3-
because Jackson was recruited to Kansas as a shooting guard. As it turned out, Jackson was thrown into the starting point guard role the first game as a freshman and has been there ever since.
"My shot really started to flow that game," Jackson said.
Against Arkansas State on Tuesday, Jackson scored 19 points on 19 of 13 shooting.
3) .
"They have good shooters and their half-court offense is very good," Washington said. "I think they are struggling in terms of how deep they go."
The game is the first of the Jayhawk Classic and will begin at 6:05 p.m. at Allen Field House. Oregon and Butler will follow about 8:05 p.m. The two winners will play tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. for the championship, and the consolation game will follow about 4:05 p.m.
Graduation rates for Kansas athletes mirror national trend
By Brad Hallier
Kansan sportswriter
Although NCAA student athletes are slipping in the classroom, they still are graduating at a higher percentage than their peers.
According to NCAA statistics, 57 percent of Division I athletes who entered college in 1991 graduated by 1997, compared to 56 percent of all students. This marks the sixth consecutive class that graduated at a higher rate than the general student body nationwide.
Kansas is following the same trend. Student athletes who enrolled as freshmen in 1991 graduated at a rate of 56 percent by 1997, while the student body graduated at a rate of 54 percent by 1997.
as well as the other students, so for that,
I feel pretty good," said Paul Buskirk,
associate director of intercollegiate athletics." I do feel that most student athletes want to get a degree, but to expect a 100-percent rate is unreasonable."
"Our student athletes are performing
The NCAA tracks graduation rates for several college sports, including baseball, basketball, track and cross country and football for men, and basketball and track and cross country for women. Sports such as soccer and tennis are grouped into an other category by gender. The report tracks rates for students graduating in six years.
Forty-eight percent of the men who enrolled at Kansas in 1991 graduated in the six-year period, compared to 51 percent of all Division I athletes.
Kansas women are slightly ahead of
Jason Benavides/KANSAN
the national graduation percentage. Sixty-nine percent graduated in the six year period, compared to 67 percent nationwide.
"I'm pleased with the women's basketball team," Buskirk said. "The other programs do well also."
The Kansas women's basketball team had a graduation rate of 69 percent, while the rate for all women's Division I basketball players is 66 percent.
The other programs have the highest percentages for both men and women. The men's other programs graduated at a rate of 63 percent, and the women's other programs had a graduation rate of 73 percent.
The football team had the lowest graduation rate at Kansas with 40 percent of the players graduating. The national rate was 50 percent.
"I am delighted that Terry Allen is on
Buskirk said that he would like for the football percentage to increase.
board because I believe in his commitment to academics," he said.
According to the NCAA, graduation rates are affected by a number of factors. Some students have jobs and need more than six years. Other students leave school to work, to travel or to serve in the military, and others transfer. Students who transfer or drop out still are included in the percentages.
For the first time, the NCAA let the federal government collect the data instead of having schools report it directly to the NCAA.
Wally Renfro, NCAA representative,
said that he did not want to blame the slight decline in percentages on that change.
"The fact is, we'll have to watch the trends and see what happens," he said.
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