THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Inside Sports
Sports
The Missouri men's basketball team will try to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The women will adjust to a new coach. SEE PAGE 3B
Commentary
Columnist Tony Pacheco cheered against K-State Saturday, but he grudgingly admires the Wildcats.
Pro Football
SEE PAGE 4B
Tuesday
November 17, 1998
Section:
B
Page 1
The Kansas City Chiefs tangled with the Denver Broncos in last night's game between division rivals.
SEE PAGE 6B
Contact the Kansan
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Sports Desk: (785) 864-4810
Sports Fax: (785) 864-0391
Sports e-mail: sports@kansan.com
Kansas city Eric Chenowith grabs a rebound against Gonzaga. The Jayhawks will play Pennsylvania university sat 7:05 tonight in Philadelphia. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN
'Hawks have to fight history, tough team
By Erin Thompson
Kansan sportswriter
Roy Williams had never coached the Jayhawks in the legendary Philadelphia Palestra sports arena. Legendary announcers Max Falkenstien and Bob Davis had never called a game in the Palestra.
The only solution Kansas coach Roy Williams could find for this situation was to schedule a game against University of Pennsylvania in the Palestra.
"At the time it sounded good, and that's Bob Davis' fault," Williams said. "Last year we were in Washington D.C., and we were getting ready to play Penn, and he said, 'one place I have never called a game at is the Palestra.' I asked him if Max (Falkenstien) had done a game there, and he said he could not remember. So I figured as old as those guys are, we ought to give them that opportunity."
As an assistant coach at North Carolina, Williams coached the Tar Heels in the Palestra in a 79-72 defeat of La Salle.
Eighth-ranked Kansas (1-0) will face Penn (0-0) for only the second time in school history. Last season the Jayhawks defeated the Quakers 89-71 in Washington D.C., in the consolation game of the Franklin Bank Classic.
The Quakers could be quite a challenge for the young Jayhawks. Penn returns four starters, all of whom averaged in double figures for the team last season.
Williams questioned his decision to schedule the Quakers, just so his announcers could go to the Palestra.
"Playing Penn at Penn, they have four starters back this year," he said. "They played us well last year in Washington D.C. Now I think it's a dumb team for us to be playing."
Nick Bradford, junior forward, remembers playing a tough team last year, but said if the Jayhawks just stuck to Kansas-style ball they would be fine.
"I remember playing them last year and they were a very good ball club." Bradford said. "We've just got to go in there and do what we do best."
Williams is more than familiar with former Tar Heel and NBA super star Michael
Jordan, and after tonight he could be all-too familiar with another Michael Jordan
Jordan, 6-0 guard, is the top returning scorer for the Quakers, averaging 15.3 points last season. Last year, Jordan scored 12 points and had four assists against Kansas.
Including Penn, Kansas has four non-conference road games. The Jayhawks' non-conference schedule may be a challenge, but Williams said it was good for Kansas to get the experience early in the season.
"If you look at a lot of the top teams around the country, there are not many teams that play four true non-conference road games," Williams said. "We play those plus UNLV in Springfield and Kentucky in Chicago. The top teams don't usually play that many. The strength of our early schedule provides a challenge for us and should tell us a lot about our basketball team."
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
1-0 overall
G JEFF BOSCHEE 6-1 FR.
R RAN ROERTSCHÉ 6-5 So.
F KENNY GREGORY 6-5 So.
N NICK BEINHARDT 6-5 Je.
E ERIC CHENOWITH 7-0 So.
PENNSYLVANIA
QUAKERS
0-0 overall
G MICHAEL JORDAN 6-0 JR.
G MATT LANDER 6-5 JR.
F PAUL ROMANCZUK 6-7 SR.
F JED RAY 6-7 SR.
C GEOFF OWENS 6-11 JR.
The Palestine • Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.
TV: Ch. 3 and 13
Radio: 105.9 FM, 1320 AM
Kansas distance legend stunned running world
By Cal Butcher
Special to the Kansan
Billy Mills is a Oglala Sioux warrior whose given Native-American name is Loves His Country.
That — not his 1964 upset win in the 10,000-meter run at the Tokyo Olympics or his 1965 world record in the six-mile run — is his most important accomplishment, he said.
Mills, who was born on a reservation and grew up to be a Marine lieutenant, joined Bill Easton's Kansas cross country and track teams in the late 1950s. He was a member of the Jayhawks' 1959 and 1960 NCAA Championship teams in outdoor track and field.
Current head coach Gary Schwartz was a member of the Kansas track team just after Mills left.
"I don't think anybody really appreciated him while he was here," Schwartz said. "It was just one of those things nobody expected."
But Mills vaulted from obscurity into the spotlight in 1964.
But it was Billy Mills who came out of nowhere to win one of the most exciting races in Olympic history.
At that year's Olympics, he was one of a trio of Kansas track legends. Al Oerter won the third of his four gold medals in the discus. Jim Ryun ran in the first of three Olympics in the 1,500 meter-run, even though he was only 17 and still in high school.
His qualifying time in the 10,000-meter run was 29:10.4, nearly a full minute behind Australian Ron Clarke's world record.
On the final lap of the race, Mills was caught in a pack of runners and trailed Clarke and Tunisian Mohamed Gammoud. He found one last burst of energy in the final 100 meters. His time of 28:24.4 was
a new Olympic record and 46 seconds faster than his own previous best.
"I kept saying to myself, I can win, I can win, I can win, '''Mills said. 'The next thing I remember, I broke the tape."
Mills' final lap split was an incredible 59.8. To this day, Mills is the only American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters.
Billy Mills was born in Pine Ridge, S.D. He was orphaned at 12 and sent to the Haskell Institute for Native Americans in Lawrence. He began running as part of his training to become a boxer but soon took track and grose
While at the University of Kansas, Mills was a cross country All-American in 1958 and 1959. He also won the individual 1960 Big Eight Conference Championship in cross country.
country up full time.
In track and field, he was the 1961 indoor conference champion in the two-mile with a time of 9:17.4. His outdoor time of 9:31.4 also was good enough to win the conference title in 1961. His teams won both the 1959 and 1960 NCAA Outdoor National Championships.
Following his gold medal performance, he set a world record in the outdoor six-mile run of 27:11.6 on June 26, 1965 in San Diego. He also set an American record in the 10,000 meters at 28:17.6.
Mills is a member of the University of Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame and one of seven Kansas inductees in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in Charleston, W. Va.
Since retiring from competition, Mills has remained active in the concerns and politics of Native Americans.
Mills will be in Lawrence this weekend for a track reunion and the NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Rim Rock cross country course.
His difficult climb to
His difficult cimb to success is honored on one of the course's toughest hills, the "Billy Mills Ascent."
Billy Mills sits with Kansas track back and Jayhawk decals. The former Kansas track great said his proudest accomplishment was being granted warrior status by the Oglala Sioux Native Americans.
AP TOP 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' men's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through yesterday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| link | team | rec | pts | pva |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1. Duke (42) | 1-0 | 1,738 | 1 |
| 2. Connecticut (18) | 1-0 | 1,697 | 2 |
| 3. Stanford (10) | 1-0 | 1,637 | 3 |
| 4. Kentucky (1) | 0-0 | 1,507 | 4 |
| 5. Michigan St. | 1-0 | 1,436 | 5 |
| 6. Maryland | 1-0 | 1,421 | 6 |
| 7. Temple | 2-0 | 1,228 | 7 |
| **8. Kansas** | 1-0 | 1,091 | 8 |
| 9. Utah | 1-0 | 1,031 | 10 |
| 10. North Carolina | 1-0 | 1,004 | 11 |
| 11. UCLA | 0-0 | 954 | 12 |
| 12. Arizona | 1-0 | 903 | 13 |
| **13. Oklahoma St.** | 0-0 | 845 | 13 |
| 14. Washington | 0-0 | 779 | 14 |
| 15. Purdue | 1-0 | 771 | 16 |
| 16. Xavier | 0-0 | 767 | 17 |
| 17. Cincinnati | 0-0 | 748 | 15 |
| 18. Tennessee | 1-1 | 691 | 9 |
| 19. Arkansas | 1-0 | 549 | 19 |
| 20. New Mexico | 1-0 | 470 | 20 |
| 21. Indiana | 3-0 | 455 | 22 |
| 22. Syracuse | 0-0 | 440 | 20 |
| 23. Massachusetts | 0-0 | 212 | 24 |
| 24. Clemson | 1-0 | 101 | — |
| 25. Rhode Island | 2-1 | 87 | 23 |
Others receiving votes: Memphis 71, Texas Christian 62, California 61, Georgia 49, Minnesota 43, Texas 12, Johnsun 12, UNV 8, Charleston 13, Fresno 11, Gleneagles 11, Georgia Tech 9, N. Carolina 5, St. George 5, Florida 4, Texas 7, Gwake Water 6, Bumba 8, Princeton 4, Penn 3, Dualefault 2, Providence 2, Mississippi 1, *Missouri* 1, South Carolina 1, Southern Methodist 1.
Kansas defensive back joins district All-America team
Kansas defensive back Greg Erb was named to the District VII GTE Academic All-America team yesterday.
Erb was one of nine Big 12 players on the district team selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
He has played in all 10 of Kansas' games this fall and has 35 tackles and one interception.
The redshirt sophomore has a 3.71 grade point average. He is studying biology with the intention of applying to medical school.
He originally is from Lawrence and joined the football team as a walk-on in 1996.
Other Big 12 players on the team include Missouri quarterback Corby Jones, Missouri tight end Jake Stueve, Nebraska running back Joel Makovicka, Nebraska linebacker Brian Shaw, Nebraska defensive lineman Chad Kelsay, Nebraska punter William Lafleur, Nebraska offensive lineman Ben Gessford and Colorado offensive lineman Shane Cook.
The national GTE Academic All-America team will be announced Dec. 8.
-Kansan staff report
The Cardinals joined 33 other automatic team qualifiers from the nine regional meets that were held Saturday.
The second-ranked Stanford men's cross country team will try to defend its title on Monday at the NCAA Championships at Rim Rock Farm.
Cross country teams set for championships
Joining Stanford as an automatic qualifier are two Big 12 Conference teams, including ninth-ranked Oklahoma State and fourth-ranked Colorado.
On the women's side, defending champion and the top-ranked BYU Cougars were among the 34 automatic qualifiers. Four Big 12 schools earned automatic bids to the women's race, including 15th-ranked Kansas State, 22nd-ranked Colorado, Baylor and Missouri.
"I think there were a lot of surprises on Saturday, but overall most of the teams that should have advanced to the championships did so," said Kansas coach Gary Schwartz.
Schwartz also said that on the men's side, Arkansas and Stanford are the teams to beat, and BYU and Stanford are the ten women's teams.
There were 72 individual men's and women's automatic qualifiers for nationals, including Kansas' Brian Jensen, who finished second at the Midwest Regional.
— Brad Hallier
More information
V
More information
Automatic qualifiers listed in sports briefs.
See page 2B