Monday Football
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
College Football
The Dallas Cowboys took on and soundly defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 34-0 in last night's NFL match-up.
Tuesday
November 3,1998
Section:
B
Page 1
SEE PAGE 3B
Four teams remain strong in the hunt for a Fiesta Bowl bid and a shot at the national championship.
SEE PAGE 3B
Pro Football
New Orleans quarterback Kerry Collins was arrested yesterday for drunk driving.
SEE PAGE 4B
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Robertson will lead inexperienced team
By Erin Thompson
Kansan sportswriter
The season has just begun for the Kansas men's basketball team, but the team already looks as though it's been through a major battle.
Senior T.J. Pugh had surgery on his foot last week and is expected to miss up to four weeks of play, junior Ashante Johnson had surgery on his right knee cap Friday and is expected to miss six weeks, junior Lester Earl is still recovering from this summer's knee surgery, and freshman Marlon London is battling an injured back.
But in the midst of the storm of injuries, Ryan Robertson will provide the building block for an inexperienced group of players. It is a role the senior guard is comfortable with playing.
I'm a senior this year, and I'm automatically going to be looked at as a lead man," he said. "That's the kind of an automatic leadership role that you take, but then again, I'm also the point guard. I've also played in a lot of key roles so I think that's going to be important."
Robertson, a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award for the nation's top college basketball player, returns as Kansas' leading scorer after averaging 8.3 points per game last season. But Coach Roy Williams said he expected more scoring from Robertson this season.
I think Ryan will score more than in the past," he said. "I think Ryan will be asked to do more than he has in the past. I think with Jeff (Bosehee) back there, Ryan will feel some freedom that he hasn't felt since he has been the man at quarter-back for us. That might release him to do more and play two-tuard for us."
Robertson started at point guard and led the Jayhawks to a 35-4 record last season. As a sophomore, Robertson started 11 games after point guard Jacque Vaughn was injured. Robertson led the Jayhawks to wins in each game he started, including wins against Cincinnati and the defending National Champ
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1998-99 Big 12 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Coaches Poll
Team (first place votes) Points
1. Oklahoma State (7) 117
2. Kansas (5) 115
3. Missouri 91
4. Oklahoma 90
5. Texas 74
6. Kansas State 72
7. Nebraska 69
8. Iowa State 45
9. Texas Tech 42
10. Colorado 38
11. Baylor 17
12. Texas A&M 17
1998-99 Preseaon Coaches All-Big 12 Team
Name School Pos. Cl.
Marcus Fizer Iowa State F So
Mamys Dies Kansas State F Sr
Venson Hamilton Nebraska C Sr
Desmond Mason Oklahoma State F Jr
Adrian Peterson Oklahoma State G Sr
Kris Clack Texas G/F Sr
Chris Mikm Texas C So
Others receiving two or more votes — Kenny Price, Colorado G Sr.; Eric Chenowith, Kansas C So.; Ryan Robertson, Kansas G Sr.; Albert White, Missouri G/F Jr.; Ryan Humphrey, Oklahoma F so; and Eduardo Najera, Oklahoma F Jr.
Preseason Player of the Year — Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year — Victor Avila, Oklahoma
Preseason Freshman of the Year — Keyon Dooling, Missouri
ions, UCLA.
See POINT GUARD on page 2B
This season, Robertson does not have two All Americans supporting him as he did last
Guard Ryan Robertson tries for a layup in a game against Rice last season. This year, Robertson is a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, which is given to the nation's top college basketball player. KANSAN staff photo
Basketball glory, title predicted for Cowboys
By Brandon Krisztal
Kansan sportswriter
The word "confidence" sums up the attitude of the Oklahoma State Cowboys heading into the 1998-1999 basketball season
the Cowboys, whose coach Eddie Suttle is beginning his 40th year of coaching, were picked by the Big 12 coaches as the preseason favorite to win the men's basketball race in the conference.
Last year, Oklahoma State finished 11-5 in the conference and 22-7 overall, ending the season with a 79-73 loss to Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
point guard Doug Gottlieb like the team's chances this season.
Eddie Sutton:
Begins 40th year of
coaching.
"I think with four returning starters and an extremely talented transfer and a couple of solid big
guys, if they step up we're potentially a top 10, top five team," he said. "If they don't, then we're not a team. We have extremely talented wings, but everybody knows you can't win without a big man."
Peterson led the Cowboys in scoring for the second straight year with 17.7 points per game and was third on the team in rebounding with 6.7 per game during his junior year. He is a preseason honorable mention All-American and is considered one of the top shooting guards in the country.
Gottlieb transferred to Oklahoma State a year ago and earned a starting spot right away. He was the Big 12 assist leader with 6.93 per game and was named by The Associated Press as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
Shooting guard Adrian Peterson, the preseason player of the year in the Big 12, is the Cowboys' top returning starter.
Last season, he was named to the second-team AllBie 12 and the conference's all-underrated team.
Forward Desmond Mason joins Peterson as a member of the preseason All-Big 12 team. Mason was the Cowboys' second leading rebounder with 7.7 boards
per game and the third leading scorer averaging 14.6 points per game.
The Cowboys will get some scoring help in the seventh game of the season when transfer swingman Glendon Alexander becomes eligible to play. Alexander, the all-time leading scorer in Texas high school basketball, transferred from Arkansas after a year and a half. In seven games as a sophomore, he averaged 7.9 points per game. As a freshman, Alexander averaged 9.6 points per game and earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team.
The fourth starter returning is swinger Joe Adkins. Adkins started in 28 of 29 games for the Cowboys last season, averaging 12.6 points per game. His 3.4 assists per game ranked second on the team.
The question mark for the Cowboys will be in the middle. They have lost center Brett Robisch, whose 15.4 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game were key to the team's second place finish in the conference.
Alex Webber is slated to start in the middle and is the only true center on the Oklahoma State roster, Sutton said. He will split time in the middle with Scott Robisch and Fredrik Jonzen.
Oklahoma State women looking to win respect
By Sam Mollinger
Kansan sportswriter
Junior Jennifer Crow was the team's leading scorer last season with 13.1 points per game. Despite the Cowgirls' loss of their other two double-figure scorers to graduation, Coach Dick Halterman promises it will not be a one-woman show this season.
Sophomore Devon Magness is the team's second-leading returning scorer. She scored 9.6 points per game last season, but at 6-foot-7 she brings an intimidating presence to the inside. Magness led the team in rebounds (5.7 per game) and blocks (28).
Oklahoma State University's women's basketball team may go as the Crow flies this season.
Oklahoma State was 20-11 overall last season, 10-6 in the conference.
"I think Jennifer Crow is an outstanding player," he said, "but we'll be so balanced."
"She was even more effective for us than her stats
"This could be one of the best teams we've had," Halterman said. "I think we'll be able to put more points on the board. I think we'll surprise some people this year."
It is interesting that the preseason talk of the Cowgirls revolves around offense because OSU's success traditionally comes from defense. Last season the Cowgirls led the Big 12 in scoring defense at 59.1 points per game.
tremendous strides, maybe she's too hannov with where she is."
show." Halterman said, pointing to Magness' limited playing time of 22.5 minutes per game."She's made tremendous strides, maybe she's
For that extra offense, the Cow-
to the environment.
Dick Halterman:
Says team will be
more balanced.
compliment Crow and Magness. Crow said she was most impressed with freshmen Jessica Spinner and
The Cowgirls have more scoring this year, but senior Nikki Harmon has no illusions about seeing any AllAmerican candidates on the team. She acknowledged that the team had extra offense this year, but said it would be business as usual in Stillwater, Okla.
Mandy Stuber. The addition of some scorers should give the defensive-minded Cowgirls a new weapon.
"Every year," she said, "you have the same Oklahoma State team, we have to out-hustle people. We're not the greatest athletes, but I think we work harder than most teams."
"We thought we didn't get much respect with the rankings," Crow said. "We thought we had a real good season last year, so we thought we'd be ranked higher."
OSU's season ended with a second-round loss to Baylor in the WNIT. The Cowgirls won 20 games for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons.
Commentary
K-State fans show maturity respect to rivals
I would like to toss some tortillas to the Kansas State fans who attended the game Saturday.
Despite predictions by Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock and Dave Konda, a K-State fan who emailed me to point out how wrong my Friday column was, no goal posts were torn down after the Wildcats won.
Matt Friedrichs
sports@tansan.com
I remember the game in 1994 — in fact I watched with horror as K-State fans poured out of the North stands at Memorial Stadium and tore down the north goal posts.
I watched in 1996 as Kansas fans quickly descended to the field after the game to protect those same goal posts.
And in the back of my head Saturday, I feared that K-State fans would try to hit the goal posts after the game like the Wildcats crushed quarterback Zac Wegner in the first quarter.
Instead, none even threatened the uprights.
K-State fans have matured with their football team. They no longer need sophomoric pranks to prove their worth as fans. They do their cheering from the stands as their team totally dominates opponents.
Several K-State fans e-mailed me Friday and Saturday to disagree with my prediction that Kansas would win 31-28, and they were right.
As Carlos Galdamez wrote, "Emotions don't give you enough basis to predict a score."
Maybe he's right.
My friend Aaron Harries, another K-State graduate, wrote, "No amount of bulletin board material will inspire the 'Hawks to beat the 'Cats. We are just in a level above everybody else this year, including Nebraska."
Manhattan, or "Manhappiness" as my brother calls it, will explode with joy if the Wildcats defeat Nebraska in two weeks.
While the team may still be shut out of the National Championship game by its strength of schedule, it has been an impressive and historic season for the Wildcats.
And K-State fans, like their Kansas basketball counterparts, have had a hand in that success.
Of course, I haven't lost my emotional attachment to Kansas. And I'll continue to pick against Kansas State. However — in a nod to the class the K-State fans showed Saturday — I will pick the Wildcats to beat Missouri when the teams play Nov. 21.
Lest everyone think I've gone completely gaga about the Wildcats, here's a joke a friend from Chicago sent me that provides a small bit of solace, even after a loss.
The man sitting beside him at the bar, obviously a regular, says, "Before you tell joke, there is something you should know. I was the starting K-State quarterback from 1964-67. The gentleman to my left is an assistant to coach Bill Snyder. The large gentleman at the end of the bar is the meanest linebacker ever to play for the Wildcats. Are you sure you want to tell that joke?"
A man walks into a bar, sits down orders a beer and says, "I heard a great K-State joke today."
The newcomer to the bar scratches his chin and says, "Not if I'll be needing to explain the punch line three times."
Sure, K-State won. Sure, they're better than us. But if we played them again Saturday, I'd once again pick Kansas to win.
Friedrichs is a Bremen graduate student in journalism.
Pick 'em games: Week 10, November 7 Pick the winners of the following games and submit your predictions to the Kansan.
We'll print the best pickers in the paper and list everyone else in the UDKI.
Picks are due by 5 p.m. Friday. Drop them by the newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall, or e-mail them to the sports editor, matt@ukans.edu
Include your name, home town and year in school.
North Texas at Kansas
Kansas State at Baylor
Colorado at Missouri
Nebraska at Iowa State
Oklahoma at Texas &M
Oklahoma State at Texas
Virginia at Florida State
Penn State at Michigan
Tulsa at SMU
Nevada at Utah State
Syracuse at West Virginia
San Jose State at Hawaii
Kristi Elliott / KANSAN