BASEBALL Baltimore and Cincinnati hire new managers. Page 6
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SPORTS ERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1995
Surprise season a real treat
Digesting Kansas' loss to Kansas State on Saturday is surprisingly easy.
One would think that with the Jayhawks' 7-0 record and then-No. 6 ranking that anything less than victory would be unacceptable. But let's wake up here — will a 9-2 season really be that bad?
Consider the fact that now-No. 11 Kansas was seen as a 6-5 or 7-4 team at best just two months ago. Don't
get that Kansas football coach Glen Mason was on the hot seat after the two disappointing seasons that followed his 1992 Aloha Bowl win.
And finally, the Jay hawks brought in two new defensive coaches, reshuffled the remaining assistants' assignments and introduced new
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SPORTS
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offensive and defensive schemes.
Whew. I think that's about it. The message here is that Kansas' 1995 campaign has been special — one that will not soon be forgotten. On paper, Kansas should be the 7-4 or 6-5 team that everyone thought it should have been.
But Kansas has another important element that can only be seen on the field — heart.
Look at its comeback wins against No. 10 Colorado and No. 25 Oklahoma. Kansas shouldn't be criticized for failing to do the same against No. 9 K-State. Pulling off a third come-from-behind victory would have been really hard to do. Add the fact that all three were on the road, and one realizes the Jayhawks faced a difficult task.
Another element of this magical season won't be seen until after the it is over. Kansas looks much better to high school recruits following a 9-2 season in which it finishes in the top 10 than it does after a 7-4 campaign. The days of recruiting from the leftovers are gone.
The rest of the college football world has been exciting as well. Look at any preseason top 25 compared to this week's, and you will see why. After digging through our exhaustive files at the Kansan, I pulled out a copy of Street and Smith's College Football.
Boy, was everyone wrong.
Check out their preseason top 10 — Florida State, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Auburn, Southern California, Penn State, Florida, the University of Miami, Alabama and Virginia. Only three of those 10 teams are in The Associated Press top 10 this week.
So where are they? Texas A&M is No. 17, Auburn is No. 21, Southern California is No. 14, Penn State is No. 12, Miami is unranked, Alabama is No. 16 and Virginia is No. 24. In their places are Ohio State, Tennessee, Northwestern (yes, Northwestern), Michigan, Notre Dame, K-State and Colorado.
I'm all for letting the traditional powers step aside to let others grab a share of the spotlight. But on the other hand, Vanderbilt and Northwestern probably won't be battling annually for the top spot either. However, I don't think there are many fans crying about the absence of Miami. The Hurricanes may get the death penalty from the NCAA next season anyway.
Never in my 14-plus seasons as a college football fan has there been such an uprising — and frankly, it has been a pleasant change.
SECTION B
So don't fret, Jayhawk fans. The team is doing just fine and should have no problem taming the mighty Missouri Tigers on Saturday. And another thing — don't let one loss cause you to jump ship. Let's fill the east side of Memorial Stadium and have a good tune-up game for No. 1 Nebraska on Nov. 11.
Who knows, maybe the Tuskers could get a little cocky and slip up now that they are in the driver's seat again. Only time and the polls will tell.
Don't forget to turn in your predictions for our Kansas Basketball Preview by Friday. We want to know what all you hoops junkies think.
Richard Devink / KAMSAM
Kansas senior Slade Adams decided to come to Kansas after two frustrating seasons at Texas Christian. Adams has helped improve the Jayhawks and is considered one of the Big Eight Conference's best golfers.
Injury leads golfer to Kansas
Adams revives his college career after becoming a Jayhawk
By Spencer Duncan Kansan sportswriter
Injuries are dreaded by most student-athletes. For Kansas senior golfer Slade Adams, however, being injured may have been one of the best things that ever happened to him.
As a sophomore at Texas Christian, Adams was working out before a practice when he injured his wrist. The injury was minimal and only sidelined him for a few weeks, but those few weeks gave him time to think.
After his sophomore season, Adams decided TCU wasn't the place for him. He had friends at Kansas and liked the coaching staff, so he decided transfer and become a Jayhawk.
"The TCU coach and I had some differences, and I wasn't real happy," Adams said. "I had friends from high school that had been going to KU all along, and I knew some people I had played in junior tournaments with. It seemed like the right place to go. I think the scores I have shot the last
PROFILE
year have shown it was a good change for me."
The change of scenery helped Adams turn his game around. At Kansas, he has become one of the Big Eight Conference's best players.
Adams has done more than win individual honors. He has brought with him an attitude that rubs off on other players.
In two years at TCU, Adams finished in the top 10 of tournaments only twice. In a year and a half at Kansas, he has finished in the top 10 eight times and finished in the top 25 nine times. His average has dropped two strokes since his transfer. In addition, he helped lead Kansas to the NCAA Tournament last year.
"He is one of the best players in the conference," Kansas senior golfer Alan Sterns said. "He can compete with anyone, and he proved that last year at the Big Eight Tournament."
Adams biggest accomplishment came at the end of last fall at the Big Eight Conference Tournament. After trailing the leader by four strokes, Adams charged back and ended the tournament as tri-champion of the Big Eight Conference.
"That is something I have built on," Adams said. "I really want to go back and defend my title."
"The real
enjoyment comes with travel and the people you meet. Playing is an easy way to take my mind off of things."
Slade Adama Kansas senior golf team member
"He expects everybody to give the best of themselves," Stearns said. "He has brought consistency and an attitude."
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Success is important to Adams, who has his eyes set on a professional golf career. Even though he wants to win, Adams tries to use golf for more then making a name for himself.
"The real enjoyment comes with travel and the people you meet," Adams said. "Playing is an easy way to take my mind off of things."
Pearson not wary of Pierce
By Matt Irwin
Kansan sportswriter
Paul Pierce may start for the Kansas men's basketball team, and Sean Pearson doesn't seem to care.
"It doesn't really matter," Pearson said. "If you start, you start. If not, as long as you're out there doing your job, you're going to get a chance to play, and that's the most important thing."
Pearson, a senior forward, isn't phased by the thought of Pierce, a highly-touted freshman forward, replacing him in the starting line-up.
"The decision is made of who starts between the exhibition game and the start of the season," Williams said. "That way I give the players time to decide that because I think that, in most cases, players determine who starts and plays the most, not necessarily the coaches."
"Sean can take the ball to the basket but really gets into it when he's shooting in three-point shots," Williams said. "Paul puts it on the floor a little more. Pierce is as talented as anybody I've ever recruited, but what he's got to do is go out and do it on the college level."
Williams relishes competitions for starting spots and sees different skills in each of his small forwards.
Williams said that the Jayhawks had only seen a bit of what Pierce could do on the court.
"Paul looks like a duck out of water sometimes," Williams said. "I think the intensity level has been quite a challenge to him. Yet, I talked to our staff, and of the three or four plays that have jumped out this year, Paul has been involved in those plays. So, the ability is there. We've just got to get some consistency on the effort and concentration side of things."
With Pierce learning a new system and how to play on the college level, Pearson may be a lock to start if he plays like he did at the beginning of last year's Big Eight Conference season.
"If he plays like he did the first part of the conference season last year, he was one of the 10 best players in the league." Williams said.
In the first seven games of the Big Eight season and one against Connecticut, Pearson averaged 17.8 points while shooting 55 percent from the field.
Then he went cold. In his last 12 games, Pearson averaged 4.8 points while shooting 27.4 percent from the field. Pearson said that he got down on himself after the slump began.
"I'd make a mistake and feel that I shouldn't make that mistake," Pearson said. "I just have to go out there and play and just realize I'm a human being and I can make mistakes. If I make a mistake, I need to keep playing and not worry about it."
Whoever starts at the small forward position, Williams is looking for that player to score.
"As much as I love guys that dive on the floor and take charges, that thing that hangs down from the ceiling is called a scoreboard, and you need somebody who can put points up there," Williams said.
Tom Leininger / KAMBAN
Kansas senior quarterback Mark Williams and the No. 11 Jayhawks will be on national television for the third time this season when they face No. 1. Nebraska at 3:0 p.m. on Nov. 11.
Lights, camera, Kansas: Jayhawks on tube again
Kansas-Nebraska game to air on ABC; may determine Big Eight championship
By Robert Sinclair
Kansan sportswriter
ABC announced that it would broadcast the Kansas-Nebraska game on Nov. 11. It will be the third Kansas game to be nationally televised and may decide the conference champions. Kickoff has been pushed back to 2:30 p.m.
Despite the No. 11 Kansas football team's lopsided loss to Kansas State, good things are still happening for the Jayhawks.
The No. 9 Wildcats were bumped into the top 10 after the victory and received the praises of Oklahoma football coach Howard Schnellenberger.
"In both games (against Nebraska and Kansas) they were very impressive. Certainly against Kansas they looked as good as any football team I've seen all year," he said yesterday during the Big Eight's teleconference. "Their defense is probably as strong, as quick and as well-coached as any I've been around."
K-State senior defensive tackle Tim Colston anchored his squad with a 10-tackle, two-sack effort against Kansas. His performance was enough to earn him Big Eight defensive player-of-the-week honors.
Nebraska senior quarterback Tommie Frazier was recognized for his performance last weekend. It came as no surprise to his coach.
Before the much-anticipated game with No. 1 Nebraska, Kansas will have to get past Missouri this weekend.
KANSAS FOOTBALL
"He's like an l-back playing quarterback." Frazier threw a career-best 241 yards with two touchdowns. After rushing for a third score, he raised his totals to 13 touchdowns through the air and 10 on the ground.
"He hasn't had a bad game this year, and he hasn't had very many I would categorize as average," said Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne. "He has great intelligence, he picks things up quickly, and he's a very physical player.
How does Kansas football coach Glen Mason feel about playing rivals back-to-back?
"He's like an I-back playing quarterback."
"I don't like it. We have two natural rivals: one in Kansas State — which we didn't fare well against — and one against the Tigers coming up on Saturday," he said. "I didn't make the schedule. I just play the cards which are dealt to me."
Although Missouri is coming off of a 13-9 loss to No. 25 Oklahoma, Missouri football coach Larry Smith isn't concerned about his team.
"We did probably play our best game of the season. There's no question about that," Smith said. "We just didn't play good enough to win.
"The defense played well enough to win, but the offense didn't score enough points."