8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2004
SPORTS
BIG: K-State had no players elected to first team
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
In addition to leading the nation in interceptions, Gordon was the conference leader in pass defenses, with seven. He was the only non-senior to be selected to the first-team defense from a true defensive position.
McMillan had a quiet, but consistent season through the first 10 games. In his Kansas finale, at Missouri, McMillan sacked Missouri's Brad Smith three times, and propelled himself into the team lead with seven.
At times, the relatively inexperienced unit was unable to open up a hole for the tailbacks or provide adequate pass protection. Vaughn was the most experienced one on the line, and never missed a starting assignment in the 24 games he took part in with the team.
Five other Jayhawks made honorable mention; defensive lineman Jermial Ashley, defensive back Rodney Harris, wide receiver Brandon Rideau, defensive back Tony Stubbs and linebacker Gabriel Toomey.
Kansas had two players selected to the second team, one on offense and one on defense. Senior Joe Vaughn, last year's Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, anchored an offensive line which struggled most of the season, but found its stride over the final few games.
Junior linebacker Nick Reid was the lone second-team defensive selection for Kansas. Reid led the team in tackles with 109, including 15 tackles-for-loss, moving him into a three-way tie for seventh among all Kansas players, ever. In addition to leading the team, Reid was either first or second in the Big 12 in tackles per game throughout the season. Reid also contributed three quarterback sacks as part of a linebacker corps which was the heart of a much improved Kansas defensive unit.
For the season, Kansas' defense allowed just 345.5 yards of total offense per game, compared to an average of 412.6 last
THE BEST OF THE BIG 12
The All-Big 12 Conference football teams and individual award winners are selected by the leagues' 12 head-coaches. Each coach is prohibited from voting for his own players. Offensive Player of the Year Jason White, Quarterback, Senior, Oklahoma Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Johnson, Linebacker, Senior, Texas Offensive Freshman and Newcomer of the Year Adrian Peterson, Running back, Freshman, Oklahoma Defensive Freshman of the Year Jordon Dizon, Linebacker, Freshman, Colorado Defensive Newcomer of the Year Tim Dobbins, Linebacker, Jurior, Iowa State Coach of the Year Dan McCarney, Iowa State, 10th year of coaching
First Team Offense
Pos. Player School Class
QB Jason White Oklahoma Senior
RB Adrian Peterson Oklahoma Freshman
RB Cedric Benson Texas Senior
WR Mark Clayton Oklahoma Senior
WR Terrence Murphy Texas A&M Senior
TE Bo Scaife Texas Senior
OL Jammal Brown Oklahoma Senior
OL Vince Carter Oklahoma Senior
OL San Mayes Oklahoma State Senior
OL Justin Blalock Texas Soph.
OL Johnathan Scott Texas Junior
PK Mason Crosby Colorado Soph.
KR/PR Willie Andrews Baylor Junior
KR/PR Danny Amendola Texas Tech Freshman
First Team Defense
Pos. Player School Class
DL David McMillan Kansas Senior
DL Atiyyah Ellison Missouri Senior
DL Dan Cody Oklahoma Senior
DL Mike Montgomery Texas A&M Senior
DL Adell Duckett Texas Tech Senior
LB Barrett Ruud Nebraska Senior
LB Lance Mitchell Oklahoma Senior
LB Derrick Johnson Texas Senior
DB Ellis Hobbs Iowa State Senior
DB Charles Gordon Kansas Soph.
DB Donte Nicholson Oklahoma Senior
DB Michael Huff Texas Senior
P Daniel Sepulveda Baylor Soph.
season. The Big 12 coaches rewarded the defense with seven players receiving some sort of all-Big 12 award,
Source: Big12Sports.com
Several Jayhawks also received honorable mention.
Incidentally, this is the first time since at least 2001 that no players from Kansas State have been elected to the first team.
Edited by Ashley Doyle
Illini 'Krush' No.1 team
Illinois extends home nonconference winning streak to 35 games
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Topranked teams might want to think twice about visiting Assembly Hall.
Robin Scholz/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Illinois' student cheering section, the Orange Crush, celebrates No. 5 Illinois' 91-73 victory over No. 1 Wake Forest at Assembly Hall in Chamapaigh, Ill., on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004.
roger Powell Jr. scored 19 points, Dee Brown and Luther Head added 16 each and No. 5 Illinois made No. 1 Wake Forest look more like a nonconference patsy in a 91-73 rout last night. The Illini led by double-digits for the last 28-plus minutes of the game, and were up by as much as 32 in the second half.
With 8:34 still to play, the "Orange Krush" student section broke into chants of "OVER-RATED!" In the final minutes of the game, there were chants of "WE'RE No. 1."
The Illini have now beaten both No. 1 teams that visited Assembly Hall. They beat then-No. 1 Michigan State 57-55 in 1979 — though if it's any consolation to the Demon Deacons, the Spartans still went on to win the national championship that year.
Illinois (5-0) has now won 35 straight at home against non-conference opponents, a streak that date back to Nov. 17, 1998. The Illini are 67-3 overall at Assembly Hall since the 2000-01 season.
Wake Forest (5-1) opened the season 5-0 and climbed to No.1 for the first time in school history. Though the Demon Deacons had impressive surps on their way to winning the preseason NIT last weekend, they also looked at times like a team still trying to find its rhythm, getting tested by both Providence and then-No.18 Arizona.
Providence and Arizona, and the Demon Deacons were no match for them. The Demon Deacons were held to 39 percent shooting, and two of their best players were never a factor. Chris Paul, the leading vote-getter on the AP's preseason All-America team, had just 10 while Justin Gray, MVP of the preseason NIT, had 11. Eric Williams had 18 on 7-of-13 shooting.
But the Illini are a cut above
GRUBER: Charles is one of Charlie's biggest fans
CONTINUED FROM 12A
Run" in honor of the runner.
Charles said he's had fun with the attention, sometimes even telling people that he's the runner.
"It's a delightful shitck," he said. "Don Rickles did the annoying schick. I do the 'Yes-I-am-an-athlete-unless-you-want-real-estate' shitck. If the caller ID says 'Adidas endorsements,' then I am definitely the runner."
Khabira is in on the joke, along with the couple's children Lily, 21, and Jesse, a senior at the University.
Charles has even tacked Charlie's newspaper clippings to the wall of his office. His favorite headline reads, "Gruber wins again." During the Olympic trials, his weekly newspaper ad said "Run Charlie
"We love the headlines," Khabira said. "They're a scream. I always say to him, 'I see you're going to run again, Charles.' It's a family joke."
got into full swing in the spring. Gruber trains with the Kansas track team as a volunteer assistant coach and is expected to run in the World Championships in August in Helsinki.
Though their paths have never crossed, Charles said he would like to chat with Charlie about their different experiences being Charlie Gruber.
"It's on and off," she said. "We'll wait 'till he's in the news next time."
The phone calls died down after the Olympics, but Khabira said she expected they would start again when track season
Charles said he had become one of Charlie's biggest fans. This experience is right up his alley.
"Life pretends to be really serious, but in fact I know it's a total hoot," he said. "Mixing up the serious with the goofiness makes for a fine tasting stew."
— Edited by Janette Crawford
The Princeton Review will get you the scores you need.
Is grad school in your future?
Guaranteed.
Sign up early and save!
Prices are changing in 2005, but sign up before January 1 and get this year's prices plus save an additional $50 - $100!*
Course:
MCAT
GRE
2004 Price:
$1499
$949
2005 Price: You save: Promo Code:
$1599 $150! NAMQ404MED
$1049 $150! NAMQ404GRA
*You must use promo codes at time of registration to save!
Offer not valid with other discounts.
In addition, enroll by the New Year for any LSAT course and receive $100 off!
Short on cash before the holidays?
Sign up for our payment plan, which is completely interest free and same as cash! Mention this ad by December 31, 2004 and we can save you the $25 service charge.
Seats are limited. Enroll today! PrincetonReview.com | 800-2Review
THU
E Unit than ions Eac write with cus ing