THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2007
SPORTS
>> BIG 12 FOOTBALL
5B
Expectations run high for Mizzou, Illinois
BY TROY SCHULTE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The last time Missouri entered a season with such high expectations, things didn't go so well. This year, the Tigers are determined to live up to the hype.
Expectations are growing, too, for Illinois as the Illini and Tigers prepare for Saturday's opener at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Illinois was 2-10 last season but third year coach Ron Zook's recruiting class was considered among the best in the nation.
Missouri, coming off an 8-5 season and with most of the starters back from an offense that ranked eighth in the nation last season, has been picked by the media to win the Big 12 North for the first time ever. The Tigers aren't ranked in the preseason Top 25 but received several votes and could move into the ranking with a win or two.
The last time Missouri came in with such high regard was 2004, when they were ranked 18th in the preseason. After a 4-1 start, that team fell flat, losing five straight and finishing 5-6.
"It's good to be acknowledged, but we all understand that what he ver our picks are, it doesn't mean a nothing unless we go out and prove it," running back Tony Temple said.
Six Tigers starters were on that 2004 team. One of them, tight end Martin Rucker, said the holdovers won't let it happen again.
"There are similarities, but the difference is the important thing. The difference is maturity," Rucker said. "All the guys that were on that team that are here now, we've been through that year. Nobody wants to go back there."
First, Missouri must get past Illinois. Quarterback Chase Daniel leads a Missouri offense that averaged more than 30 points per game in 2006.
Meanwhile, the Illini defense ranked fifth in the Big 10 last year. The top four tacklers return, including linebacker J. Leman, Butkus Award candidate who led Illinois with 152 tackles in 2006.
Offensively, the Illinois: spread offense is similar to Missouri's, so Zook said his defense won't be in for many surprises.
"They spread you out a little
more," Zook said. "The fact that we've been going against our own offense everyday is going to help us."
Illinois also features a rushing game that led the Big 10 last year. Though the Illini lost leadingrusher Pierre Thomas, it returns running back Rashard Mendenhall and quarterback Juice Williams. Mendenhall averaged more than 8 yards per carry as a sophomore, while Williams ran for 546 yards.
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said comparisons can be made between Williams and former Missouri quarterback Brad Smith, now a receiver for the New York Jets.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"I see a really good athlete," Pinkel said. "He can make plays with his feet, he can run; I think he's got a really strong arm. I think he's an outstanding prospect."
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, center, and his Tigers face Illinois Saturday in their season opener at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The last time a Missouri team entered a season with high expectations was three years ago, when a No. 18 preseason ranking turned into a 5-6 record, a performance Pinkel is determined not to repeat.
The Tigers struggled to stop the run last season. Every Big 12 opponent except Texas Tech rushed for at least 160 yards. Missouri has six new defensive starters.
The teams last played in the 2003 opener, also in St. Louis, when Missouri beat Illinois 22-15.
team, a Big 10 school, at this caliber, on national TV, you want to play
urgency, there's not a warm-up period," Pinkel said. "When you play a
well. I think our players understand and recognize that"
>> FIBA AMERICAS
LeBron has perfect night for USA Guard scores 26 points in 14 minutes, leads team to rematch with Argentina
BY BRIAN MAHONEY ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS — By the time his perfect first half was over, LeBron James had a field goal percentage for the FIBA Americas tournament that seemed too unbelievable even for a video game.
And the United States had a huge advantage going into its biggest game yet.
James and the rest of the U.S. starters got the whole second
half off, a welcome break before Thursday night's showde wn with fellow unbeaten Argentina, that will determine the No. 1 seed in the semifinals.
"At halftime we decided to give a couple of guys who have been playing dominant minutes in dominant roles an opportunity to get ready for tomorrow." U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We should be in full health tomorrow and the next four days is why we came together."
Argentina had a much tougher
USA's LeBron James drives against Uruguay during the FIBA Americas Championship basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
night in an earlier game Wednesday, needing to make up a 17-point deficit to get by Brazil 86-79 in overtime. That meant heavy minutes for Luis Scola and Carlos Defino, two of the few stars from the country who are playing in the tournament.
James was 11-for-11 from the field, made all four of his 3-point attempts and scored 26 points in the first half to lead the United States to a 118-79 victory over Uruguay. Despite playing only 14 minutes, he fell two points shy of the American record in an Olympic qualifying game shared by Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.
In a sensational display of speed and power, James raised his tournament-leading shooting percentage to an almost comical 79.7 percent (47-of-59). He is 14-of-20 from 3-point range, a 70 percent mark that also leads the event.
"That first half was awesome, it was as good as I've seen," said Chaucey Billups, whose Pistons watched James score 48 points against them in the Eastern Conference finals.
When James nailed a 3-pointer with 2:39 left to improve to 10-of-10, 4-of-4 behind the arc, all that seemed
missing was a shoulder shrug like Michael Jordan made after hitting all six of his 3-point attempts in the first half of Game 1 of the 1992 NBA finals against Portland.
James and the rest of the starters then grabbed spots on the bench next to leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who missed the game because of a bruised right heel that is not considered serious.
"He said he was going to be me tonight," Anthony said. "I didn't know what he meant. He said he was going to show me something. I guess he did that."
Anthony will return to face Argentina in the Americans' sixth game in six days. Argentina will be playing for the eighth day in a row.
Argentina beat the United States in the semifinals at the 2004 Olympics, a loss the Americans avenged last year in the bronze medal game at the world championships.
"It's definitely become a rivalry between us, so tomorrow will be a big game for us and a big game for them," James said. "If we continue doing what we've been doing for the last two weeks, we'll be fine."
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FOOTBALL
Elway returns to field as son's high school OB coach
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — With No. 7 emblazoned across his chest, the high school senior preparing for the season opener Friday night drops back and throws a dart to a receiver in the back of the end zone.
Wow, this kid really is the next Elway.
Jack Elway is the 17-year-old son of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, who is tutoring his kid this season as Cherry Creek High School's quarterbacks coach.
"As a rule of coaching, you really don't want to have a parent as a coach," Bruins coach Greg Critchett said.
But this is no ordinary parent. This is the man who is revered in Denver for leading the Broncos to consecutive Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. This is one father who could really help out.
"I was interested in trying to
get whatever time we could with him. Miniacik, a couple of times a week, whatever," Critchett said. "We started talking about it early in the summer. His schedule was freed up, so it was really a no-brainer in my eyes."
The elder Elway wants to keep the focus on the kids.
John Elway hadn't been on the football field in a long time. He retired in 1999, when most of the players he's coaching were in the third grade. But with Jack in his senior season, John's urge kicked in.
"He was kind of like, 'What would you think if I came and coached?' Jack said. "I just said that'd be great, if anything, he can help us out. It wasn't a big shock for me to see him out here, and everyone kind of got used to it."
"I never see John screaming or getting in his grill or anything like that," Critchett said. "I just don't think that's the way they are with each other. Overall, it's a very professional relationship."
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