PAGE 18E AUGUST, 1996
KUED • SPORTS
LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
Haase, Pollard return
Scot Pollard returns to man the pivot, where he blocked 84 shots last season.
EARL RICHARDSON/JOURNAL-WORLD PHOTO
Continued from page 16
make him even more difficult to guard."
Senior backcourt partner Jerod Haase, a 6-3 native of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., was outstanding on defense, shaky on offense last year. Haase averaged 10.8 points on 35.6 percent shooting.
"Jerod was really hurt, disgusted about the way he played last year, particularly the way he shot the ball," Williams said. "I hope her relaxes a bit. I think he puts too much pressure on himself.
"He improved his assist/error ratio last year and had two double-figure rebounding games in the last 10 games. I told him I wanted him to really concentrate on his rebounding this year, too."
KU returns pivot Scot Pollard, a 6-10 senior from San Diego, Calif. Pollard averaged 10.1 points on 56.4 percent shooting last year. He owns a career field goal percentage of 55.5.
Last year, Pollard blocked 84 shots, the third highest single-season total in KU history. He ranks fifth on KU's career
charts, needing 56 to move into second place ahead of Danny Manning.
"You look at Scot's stats, they're about what he did the year before when he was splitting time with Greg (Ostertag)," Williams said. "I think he expected to do a little more. I think he got caught up in his foul trouble early in the season. It made him a little bit more hesitant in some things.
"We've got to do a better job of getting him the ball in the post and he's got to do a better job of finishing. He's going to rebound and play defense for us."
The final California starter is Paul Pierce. A 6-6 sophomore from Los Angeles, Pierce averaged 11.7 points on 41.9 per
See LaFrentz, page 19
EARL RICHARDSON/IOURNAL-WORLD PHOTO
Jerod Haase was dandy defensively but erratic on offense last year.
EARL RICHARDSON/JOURNAL-WORLD PHOTO Paul Pierce started 33 of 34 games as a freshman last year and should start again this season.