Wednesday, November 4, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Preseason Basketball
Preview
Texas basketball gets a fresh start
By Brandon Krisztal
Kansas sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
Change is in the air in Austin, Texas. While most of the Longhorn fans are watching running back Ricky Williams and the Heisman race, the Texas men's basketball team, under new head coach Rick Barnes, has been working to turn around a team that ended last year in disarray.
Last season, the Longhorns, coached by Tom Penders, who's coached the most wins in school history, drastically underachieved. Texas compiled a 6-10 conference record and a 14-17 overall mark.
Barnes came to Austin following Penders' controversial resignation. The last four years at Clemson, Barnes' Tigers played well in arguably the toughest conference in the nation, the Atlantic Coast Conference, earning an NIT appearance his first year and played in the NCAA tournament the last three years.
despite the disappointing season a year ago, the Longhorns return four starters, including two preseason Big 12 selections, forward Kris Clack and center Chris Mihm.
Clack is not sure what to expect from Barnes and the rest of his team this year.
"It's gonna be different; I expect us to do a lot of different things," he said. "We're still gonna win, but in a different way."
Barnes' coaching style is night and day compared to Penders' run-n-gun, minimal defense game plan. The previous teams that Barnes coached at Providence and Clemson have been characterized as tough, aggressive defensively and hard working. Conditioning has been a key focus for the new Texas staff since last spring, partly because the Longhorns only have eight eligible scholarship
Barnes; Led Clemson before coming to coach Texas.
players available to compete this season. Clack highlights the group as he gear up for his senior season in his home town. He was selected to the Big 12 all-defensive team the last two seasons, and he heads
into his senior year, looking to increase his scoring from last year's team high 17.3 points per game.
Mihm, who turned a lot of heads last year as a freshman, looks to build on his successful rookie season. In the middle, he was first on the team in rebounding with eight a game, first on the team with 2.9 blocked shots per game, and he was third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game.
The Longhorns also return three-year starter DeJuan "Chico" Vasquez, at point guard. Vasquez and fellow Austinite Clack have both started in 77 career games. Last season, Vasquez's scoring improved to 7.5 points per game, and he ranks 10th on the all-time Texas shot-block list.
The fourth starter to return is power forward Nnadubem "Gabe" Muoneke. He was fourth on the team in scoring with 10.4 points per game and third on the team with 5.7 rebounds a game.
The Longhorns are going to have to find added scoring to replace the 13.3 points per game from Luke Axtell, who transferred to Kansas.
Longhorns seek to improve on last season
By Sam Mellinger
Kansan sportswriter
You'll have to excuse Texas women's basketball coach Jody Conradt if she looked a little lost this summer.
"It's been a long off season," she said.
"It's been a long off season," she said. The Longhorns finished 12-15 and were knocked out in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, a far cry from the postseason success that has become routine in Austin.
"Words can't even touch it," said senior Kim Lummus. "I couldn't deal with it. There were a lot of low points."
The team's win total tied for the lowest in school history, and its nine conference losses were an all-time high.
you wake up the next morning physically sick, and you wonder why you don't find something to do." Conradt said. "But my feeling is when you're coming off a disappointing
season, your anticipation is even greater."
Conradt's excitement is fueled by the realization that last season's struggles had a lot to do with a young team trying to deal with losing four seniors.
This season, the Longhorns will be without center Angela Jackson, an All-Big 12 selection last season, but the rest of the team returns. That includes Edwina Brown, who teamed up with Kansas junior Lynn Pride and won a gold medal in Taiwan this summer for the USA women's basketball Jones Cup team.
Other returns include Lummus (11.6 ppg), guard Vanessa Wallace (10.8 ppg), forward Dee Smith (7.0 ppg) and sophomore Carla Littleton, who sat out last season with a knee injury. Rashunda Johnson, a 6-4 center, also will join the team.
Johnson originally signed with Texas for
the 1997-98 season but didn't enroll after failing to post a qualifying test score. Johnson has four years of eligibility left, and Conradt projects her to replace Jackson in the starting lineup.
Johnson is one of six freshmen on the roster. Unlike most coaches, Conradt likes new bodies on the team.
"I love coaching freshmen." she said. "I think
Conradt: Is dealing with last year's disappointing season.
they bring an enthusiasm to the program you don't get other wise."
The Longhorns were picked seventh in the preseason Big 12 coaches' poll. Texas plays Kansas in Austin on Jan. 27.
Women's basketball to play first exhibition game
Continued from page 1A
team balance by making everyone on the floor a threat.
Some players are struggling to learn the concepts of the new attack, but Johnson said that once the team decoded the offense, it would roll.
"I don't really understand it yet, but it's coming," Johnson said. "But it's going to be the bomb offense. It's going to be tight."
The Jayhawks also will feature a new look on defense. Washington had to be selective with how much the team
pressed last year but with more depth, those restrictions are all but gone.
"Now we can give 110 percent for five minutes, then sit down for two," John s on said "We'll
be able to do more with our defense this year."
The team lost one player from last season and welcomes five
Johnson: Says team will thrive once it learns new offense.
newcomers: sophomore transfer Brooke Reves, freshmen Kristin Geoffroy, Katie Hannon, Selena Scott and Dameyla Stepney.
"It's tough for them because we're going so fast," Johnson said. "Last year, we went a little slower. We'd do everything five or six times. But now, it's not like that with everybody back."
But still, the freshmen have been impressive. Johnson said that Scott had done well, and Washington has said that the 6-foot-6 Geoffroy had made more progress than expected.
The team's exhibition and first three regular season games will be played under experimental rules. The changes call for each team to have no more than three players line up for the rebound during free throws, and each team will have five 30-second timeouts.
This season also will see a move to curb physical play in the paint. Officials have been instructed to call a foul on a defensive player who puts an open hand on an opponent.
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Kansas Women's Basketball
the Future's in Our Hands
Exhibition Game KU vs. Myjava of Slovak Rep.
Wed. Nov. 4
7:00 pm
NATIONAL RECOGNITION DOESNT COMETO THOSE WHO
Faculty/StaffSeason Tickets: $32 individual/$48 Family Single Game Admission: $4 adults/$2 children Students Free with KU ID
APPLICATIONS MAY BE PICKED UP AT THE KANSAN BUSINESS OFFICE, 119 STAUFFER-FLINT HALL. DEADLINE FOR STAFF APPLICATION SUBMISSION IS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6,1998 AT 12:00 PM
for the Spring 1999 semester.
For ticket information call 864-3141
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