Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Friday
November 20,1998
Section:
B
Page 1
The 60th anniversary of the NCAA cross country championships will be held Monday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
SEE PAGE 3B
Volleyball
The Kansas volleyball team has a chance to finish the season with a winning record for the first time in four years.
SEE PAGE 3B
Pro Baseball
Sammy Sosa was voted the National League MVP yesterday in a landslide win against Mark McGuire.
SEE PAGE 5B
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Jayhawks to try to declaw Tigers
Kansas to take on Fort Hays State
By Erin Thompson
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Allen Field House after getting a lesson in hostile environments Tuesday at the Palestra in Philadelphia.
The No. 8 Jayhawks face the Fort Hays State Tigers, a Division II team, at 7:05 tomorrow, and the Jayhawks hope that this opponent will challenge them as much as their previous two opponents.
"it's kind of a step down," said freshman point guard Jeff Boschee. "But again Coach Williams isn't going to let that happen. He's not going to let us get down. He's going to be pumped up like any other game so I expect it to be a good game."
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS JAYHAWKS 2-0 overall
G JEFF BOSCHEE 6-1 FR.
G RYAN ROBERTSON 6-5 SR.
G KENNY GREGORY 6-5 So.
F NICK BRADBORO 6-6 Jr.
C ERIC CROWTH 7-0 Sr.
Kansas coach Roy Williams said that Fort Hays State (2-0) would be excited to play at Allen Field House and that the Jayhawks (2-0) had to be prepared for them.
"They're all fired up when they come in," Williams said. "We have to match their enthusiasm. It's a time of excitement for them, and hopefully, it will be for us, too."
Guard Jeff Boschee drives around a Gonzaga defender during the Jayhawks' first home game. The Jayhawks' next home game will be against Fort Hays State on Saturday night. Photo by Matt Daugherty/KANSAN
In its first two games Kansas has trailed at the half, a trend it hopes to end tomorrow. The Jayhawks were behind at the half, 32-28, against Gonzaga and again, 26-19, against Pennsylvania. Williams said that Bosche told him he should start yelling before the game instead of at halftime to get the team fired up.
Allen Field House • Lawrence
TV: Ch, 3 and 13
Time: 7:05.pm, tomorow
Radio: 105.9 FM and 1320 AM
"Coach Williams gets us pumped up a little for the second half in the locker room," Bosche said. "He kind of got on us at Pennsylvania."
Boschee has played impressively in his first two college games, but Williams said that he was more impressed with his second-half play than his play in the first half.
he (Williams) got of got on me a little at halftime. That's where he's kind of challenging me, and that's where I need to step up and accept that challenge."
Boschee concurred, "At Pennsylvania,
Despite the team's lackluster play in its first halves, Williams said he was pleased with where the Jayhawks progress.
See FORT HAYS STATE on page 3B
'Hawks head to Hawaii tourney
Women's basketball team hopes to rebound from loss
By Sam Meltingen
Kansan sportswriter
The coach talked about the things her team did wrong, she talked about the things that North Carolina did right, but mostly, she talked about the future.
Marian Washington stood at the podium, answering questions in the media room at Mackey Arena after the Kansas women's basketball team lost its much-anticipated season opener. 76-58, to North Carolina.
"I'm just looking forward to our next game," she said.
The No. 17 Jayhawks take on Massachusetts in the Hawaiian Regent Classic in Honolulu. Tip-off is set for 6:30 tonight, central time.
The UMass game is the first of three that Kansas will play this weekend. Minnesota will be the Jayhawks opponent at 5 p.m. tomorrow, and the Jayhawks will take on
Hawaii, the tournament host, at 9 p.m. Sunday.
UMass is 1-1 this season, beating St. John's 83-66 last Friday and losing to Boston College, 72-66. Monday.
The Minutewomen are led by three returning starters: Tez Kraft, Kelly Van Huisen and Alison MacParland. Kraft is a 5-foot-11 senior forward and has averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds in her first two games. She scored 14.2 points per game last season.
Van Huisen is a 5-8 junior guard, who averaged 15.2 points per game last season. Through two games this season, Van Huisen is averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 assists per game.
Minnesota may have a long season ahead with just one starter returning from last year's 4-23 team. The Gophers won their season opener, beating Illinois State, 67-63 on Tuesday. Sonja Robinson and Jackie Tate led Minnesota with 10 points each.
MacFarland, a 5-8 junior forward, scored 10.1 points per game for the Minutewomen last season. She's scored 11 and 14 points in the team's first two games.
Hawaii (0-0) returns three starters from a 24-4 team last season but has struggled to replace Kodak All-American guard Nani Cockett.
"Unless you can find another Nani Cockett," head coach Vince Goo said, "it's impossible to replace her value to the team and the kind of talent she had."
Goo will look for several players to fill the void. Forward Kylie Page, along with guards B.J. Itoman and Raylene Howard, are expected to help fill in after Cockett's departure.
"I'm not too big on sun-bathing," she said. "I don't let them out in the sun for more than an hour and a half, it drains your energy. We'll have a day for them where they can go to the beach and that kind of thing, but other than that, we're there for basketball."
It would be easy for the Jayhawks to push basketball to the back of their minds as they take in the atmosphere in paradise, but Washington said she won't let that happen.
"If they come in at another level, then perhaps we can lessen the loss of Nani," Goo said.
The Starting Lineup
SUZI RAYMANT 5-11 Sr.
G JENNIFEJ Jackson 5-10 Sr.
F LYNN PRIDE 6-2 Jr.
F JACLYN Johnson 6-1 So.
C NAKIA SANFORD 6-3 Sr.
MASSACHUSETTS
MASSACHUSETTS MINUTEWOMEN 1-1 overall
G KATHY COYNER
StanShorriff Center = Honolulu
Time: 6:30 ton
Williams ready for Earl case to finish
By Matt Friedrichs
Kansan sports editor
The NCAA barred Louisiana State's men's basketball program from postseason play and reduced the number of scholarships the university will be able to offer Wednesday.
But coach Roy Williams said yesterday at his weekly news conference that he knew very little about the problems.
"I'm glad it's almost over with, and I
I am glad it is almost think its a bad situation," Williams said. "I wish it had never happened, but it did."
Earl transferred to Kansas after attending LSU for one semester. He became eligible to play for the Jayhawks last spring and his eligibility will end this spring unless he successfully appeals for another year.
Earl: Transferred to Kansas after a semester at LSU.
The NCAA sanc
tioned Louisiana State because a booster paid Earl about $5,000.
Williams said he spoke with NCAA officials about Earl, as is the procedure with all transfers.
Earl also spoke with the NCAA,'and Williams said he told Earl one thing before the interview.
"You have to tell the truth," Williams said.
The NCAA granted Earl immunity in return for his testimony about improprieties at Louisiana State.
Earl said that Johnny Jones, a former assistant coach at Louisiana State who now coaches at Memphis, gave him cash payments, but the NCAA did not find any evidence to show the Louisiana State coaches were involved in wrongdoing.
Williams responded to critics who say he should never have taken Earl.
"I should know a lot of things that I don't know," Williams said. "All I know is that a kid called and said he'd like to have a second chance to come to KU. He made some mistakes, but he's not the only one," he said.
Earl did not make a statement yesterday.
"What can Lester say," Williams said.
"It's old news. It's done. It's a sad day for him. It's a much sadder day for the LSU program."
Williams also said he was sympathetic for LSU coach John Brady, who now must deal with NCAA probation related to a player he never even coached — much like Williams had to in his first season at Kansas.
Jayhawks to face Cyclones in battle to avoid Big 12 cellar
By Jodi M. Smith
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas is not like Texas A&M and Texas, duking it out for the top spot in the Big 12 South. Kansas simply is playing for pride and respect.
But this time, unlike last year's final game, the players are not playing for a coveted sixth win to make the team eligible for a bowl bid.
The Kansas football team travels to Ames, Iowa, to kick off their final game of the season at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow against the Iowa State Cyclones.
"Everybody's a little bit down, but we're trying to get a win, we're not trying to have a worse record than last year," defensive back Greg Erb said. "We're trying to prove that we still are a good team. Send the seniors out with a win."
A victory tomorrow will prevent the Jayhawks from finishing dead last in the Big 12 Conference, giving the that title to the Cyclones.
and ended the season 5-6.
Things played out a bit differently this season.
After winning two of their first seven games, the Kansas football team has been picking up wins late in the season to boost its record.
"Well, to win the final two to get to a 5-6 record, would help build momentum as well as stop some of the frustration this team has been experiencing." coach Terry Allen said.
Kansas began with a 4-1 record last season and won one of the final six games
A win tomorrow will mean the team has matched last year's loss-loss tally.
But it difficult for some team members who know that although they are far and away a better team than last year, their record will not reflect that.
"It's really disappointing knowing a lot of those games we were in it, and one mistake, one call, one play cost us the games," Erb said. "It's real frustrating. It gives us something to build on, but you don't want to think about that, you want to win now, you want to go to a bowl."
The competition in the Big 12 was stiff
this year, Kansas played five games against ranked opponents, upsetting the Colorado Buffaloes. 33-17.
Sophomore running back David Winbush needs 124 yards to surpass 1,000 yards for the season.
Winbush, who amassed 338 yards during his freshman season, came close to surpassing that total during the Colorado game with 268 yards.
If Winbush gains those 124 yards, he will become the fourth sophomore in Kansas history to accomplish that feat.
But Allen said, in the bigger scheme of things, the victory was far more important than Winbush gaining those vards.
"For us to win the football game, we are going to have to rush the ball and rush it well, and obviously David will be our feature in doing that," he said. "However, we are not going to rush him 40 times just to try to get him over 1,000 yards. By doing that we may jeopardize our chances of being successful."
Saturday's game will air on the Jayhawk network, 105.9 FM.
Offensive linebacker Tim Bowers and defensive back Muhammad Abdul-Rahim bring down K-State wide receiver Gavin Peries. The Jayhawks next opponent will be Iowa State tomorrow in Ames, Iowa. Photo by Matt Daugherty/KANSAN