SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1994
COLUMNIST
SECTION B
CHESLEY DOHL
Players and alumni shoot hoops for fun
In the north practice gym of Robinson, driving the paint, rejecting shots, draining three-pointers and hustling down the court, the Kansas men's basketball team was getting in a little preseason scrimmage.
Talk about fun. I got to see a miniature NBA training camp.
I sat down in the balcony and watched.
Kevin Pritchard, Rex Walters, Eric Pauley and Steve Woodberry were back on the court with their former teammates.
Allow me to put this into perspective for you:
We're talking about some of the best talent in the nation under one roof playing ball for the sheer fun of it.
Divided into shirts and skins, they ran up and down the court, competing, pushing, shoving and having fun.
It was street ball at its best.
That's what was so completely fun to watch about the whole thing. These guys were playing on their own free will.
No coaches, no schedules, no pressure, no drills.
Self-discipline, a love for the sport and the desire to improve their game brought each of them to the court.
The only time most of us ever get to see the Kansas men's basketball team play is at games or end-of-year scrimmages. And naturally, Coach Williams is there.
Think about it. Having your coach around puts a different spin on things. Your every move, gesture and word is scrutinized — as well as your future on the court. Performance becomes a do or die situation.
That's why this particular scrimage was so unique.
It was so ordinary, unlike the NCAA star-athlete hoopla we associate with men's basketball at Kansas.
It was more like one of those average college things we all do.
Like when you live in a residence hall, a fraternity or an apartment and call your friends up:
"Hey guys, why don't we get together for a little looph over at Robinson?"
It's the same story with the men's basketball team, and practically the whole team shows up. Not to mention Pritchard, Walters, Woodberry and Pauley.
"We have a kinship," said Kevin Pritchard, former point guard for the Kansas 1988 National Championship team. "We come back, and when these guys graduate they'll all come back. Not every program is like this."
The fact that alumni come back to Kansas shows they care about the program and the school. It's a family reunion every fall before each of the players return to their respective seasons.
Pritchard said he remembered his underclassman years when Cedric Hunter would come back to scrimmage with the team.
"He'd give me tips, we'd play hard and we'd compete," he said. "But as soon as practice was over we'd be buddies."
There were times when Kansas rookies beat the veteran players — you could just tell it *ate* at that former Kansas star.
That professional player would grit his teeth, shake his head and follow up by burying a three-pointer from NBA range.
They all looked like kids playing ball and having a good time. They were carefree without pressure, except for the pressure they put on themselves. They'd smile and joke on occasion — but then they'd buckle down and turn out an incredible play.
It's good to be a part of Kansas basketball. In spirit, it can be a part of us forever.
It's been two years since I've left, but everything's still the same," said Eric Pauley, former Kansas center. "Everything feels the same. You'll find most successful programs have this family atmosphere. Sometimes, I think miss it."
Chesley Dohl is a Sylvan Grove senior in journalism.
New kicker guided by convictions
Bv Matt Irwin
Kansan sportswriter
At times, it seemed like a greater entity was behind the 50-yard field goals and 60-yard punts of Kansas' all-time leading scorer Dan Eldchoff.
Now the Jayhawks have a kicker who genuinely believes there is a greater entity behind him.
Redshift freshman placekicker Jeff McCord may not be able to match Eichloh in distance, but McCord said that the Lord guides his actions.
"I feel the Lord leads me and guides me in each and everything I do, including kicks," McCord said. "I always pray before a kick. It gives me peace."
McCord is in a battle for his position with junior college transfer Phil Brodkin. Brodkin is recovering from an injury he sustained during the early preseason.
"It's hard going day-by-day not knowing if you're going to be kicking," McCord said. "If I don't play, I still know the Lord brought me here."
McCord spent his redshirt year learning from Eichlöh how to deal with college athletics.
"If anything, I grew up mentally," he said. "That's a big adjustment going from high school football to college football. Seeing what he did on the sidelines and getting prepared; that helped me a lot."
Wide receivers coach Tim Phillips, who also works with the placeckers, believes McCord is just as accurate as Eichloff but with less leg- strength.
In comparing the two, Phillips said he could only look at their abilities on the practice field since McCord has never been in a game situation.
"He was very good in high school," Phillips said.
McCord made eight field goals in 11 attempts beyond the 40-yard line in high school, his longest being 52 vards.
In Eichloff's four years at Kansas, he made 22 field goals of at least 40 yards, a feat surpassed by only 10 other college kickers.
The Jayhawks punter this season, junior Darrin Simmons, must also follow four years of Elchloff excellence. Elichloff averaged 41.7 yards a punt over his four years, including two kicks which went 64 yards.
"We're the guys that have to get the job done," Simmons said. "It's a fresh slate. There's always going to pressure to play and perform. Somehow you have to channel that pressure into your playing and make that pressure become a positive."
McCord said he depended on the Lord for guidance in everything, including pressure situations. He is much like Green Bay Packer defensive end Reggie White, who also tries to use his success on the football field to improve his ministry.
"I see their examples, and sometimes when I'm speaking I use their examples," he said.
McCord said he was confident of his abilities, even if he falls in his kicking attempts.
"Everything about my kicking game relates back to Him," he said.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Jeff McCord, freshmen place-kicker, practices before yesterday's scrimmage at Memorial Stadium. McCord is attempting to fill the void left by Dan Eichloh, who was the team's punter and placekicker last year.
Players keep getting a sinking feeling
Kansas soccer club member Magnus Kindstrom, Stockholm, Sweden, sophomore, moves the ball downfield around a cement post anchor and through torn up grass on the field east of Robinson Center.
Robinson's fields Outdoor recreation areas located near Robinson Gymnasium.
Sunnyside Ave.
Dave Campbell / KANSAN
Source: Kansan staff research
Poor condition of soccer fields to be mended
Bv Kent Hohlfeld
Kansan sportswriter
Athletes using the University of Kansas practice fields have watched their facilities literally sink from beneath them.
"It's so dry that sink holes have begun to form in some of the soccer fields," said Mark Salisbury, Kansas men's soccer club coach.
This has kept the people at Recreation Services busy for the last few months. Allan Heinze, director of physical education and recreation services, said the problem started last spring. Crews working on a sewage pipe that ran underneath the fields south of Robinson Center broke a water main during the repairs.
"We didn't even know about the problem until we went to start the sprinkler systems and found there was a leak," said Heinze, who oversees the maintenance of the fields.
Robinson were the most effected since much of the grass died.
That problem grew worse during the summer as hot and dry conditions combined with the lack of water to take a heavy toll on the fields. The fields east and south of
"We had a guy who went sliding for a ball and there was so much dust kicked up that you couldn't even see the guy," Salisbury said.
The dry conditions led to a second sizable problem. Holes started forming in the unwated fields.
"When the dirt gets really dry, it compacts down and creates the holes," Heinze said.
He said that crews were struggling to stay ahead of the problem.
"We'd go out and fill some holes one day and find more the very next day." Heinze said.
Repairs to the sprinklers were completed Wednesday. Some of the problems suffered by the teams should be alleviated, Heinze said.
Will Stelle, Syracuse, N.Y., junior and soccer club member, said he would like to see new grass planted to help replace the dead grass.
"They need to smooth out the field," Stelle said. "When a ball hits a spot of dead grass or weeds, it makes it jump and hard to control."
Heinze said that the high-impact use the fields received made it difficult to keep the grass maintained.
"Ideally, we'd alternate the field use so we could re-seed them, but we usually can't do that because of the demand for space." he said.
In addition, crews will no longer trench the lines for fields this year. In the past, end lines were cut with a
"We'd go out and fill some holes one day and find more the very next day."
Allan Heinze Director of physical education and recreation services
machine that dug the lines directly into the grass.
"Since we use the same fields for the same sports most years, sometimes the trenches would get pretty deep," Heinze said. "This year we're just going to paint the lines."
Heinze said that all the trenches should be filled by the end of the week, and new lines should be painted on the field shortly after.
Heinze said he wished people would help in efforts to keep the fields in good condition by staying off them after rain storms.
"We close the fields, but a lot of times we still see people playing mud football or mud soccer," he said. "That tears those fields up pretty bad."
Soccer club set for alumni game
By Kent Hohlfeld
Kansan sportswriter
This weekend should be a blast from the past for the Kansas men's soccer club.
The team will hold its first-ever alumni game at 2 p.m. Saturday on the field east of Robinson Center.
"We should have at least eight to nine guys back," Kansas men's soccer coach Mark Salisbury said. "If we could get 11 guys back, I'd be thrilled."
Salisbury said the game would give former club members a chance to see how the club has changed since they played.
"One of the things we struggle with as a club is that we're seen as less of a team than varity sports are," he said. "This game will give the guys a
chance to get some of the recognition that they deserve."
Keeping alumni involved is one way to help the team raise itself to a higher level, Salisbury said.
"All the varsity teams need and have the support of their alumni," Salisbury said. "We're hoping that some of the alumni might be able to help us out financially."
Jim Sheldon, who graduated in 1975, was a member of the team during his four years at Kansas. He said that the lack of money was a constant problem back then just as it is now.
"We were really run on a sheostring budget back then," Sheldon said. "We put together our own schedules. We basically played wherever we could find a game."
Sheldon is now director of the
National Soccer Coaches Association. In that position, he said he has seen the changes that collegiate soccer has endured.
"The level of play is just light years ahead of where it was when I played," he said.
He said the number of Division I programs had grown immensely in the last 20 years, and even club teams have increased their stature with the development of club soccer leagues.
One of these is the National Collegiate Club Soccer Association, of which Kansas is a member.
Brad McChesney, who graduated in 1991, said he was anxious to see the new club members.
"I think this will give the guys a chance to come in and see what's going on with the club," he said.
Swimmers and divers make a splash across U.S.
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
While some Kansas students spent their summers relaxing and sunning by the pool, members of the swimming and diving team spent their time in it.
Over the summer, 15 Jayhawks trained for and competed in tournaments across the country.
"This was a good-sized group we had this year," Kansas swimming coach Gary Kempf said.
Kansas sophomore Seth Dunscomb represented the Jayhawks at the Olympic Sports Festival in St. Louis. Participants in the festival were required to be 18 years old or younger and not a member of the national team.
"The Olympic Sports Festival is a program designed to take some of the up-and-coming athletes and try to help them get to the next level, "Kemp said. "It's a very elite-picked team."
In the festival, Dunscomb placed eighth in the 200-meter butterfly. He also placed ninth in the 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley.
He served as a captain for the North squad as well. Team members interacted with the crowd, handed out posters and helped to raise the level of enthusiasm.
"We would lead cheers," Dunscomb said. "It was great."
The squad sent three divers to the Zone National Diving Championships in Houston. Kempf said he was pleased with his divers' performances.
"They did an excellent job down there," he said. "They trained
hard all summer long to get that opportunity."
"Those were very strict qualifying meets," Kempf said. "Those meets you put among the elite athletes in the nation."
The swimming and diving national championships were highly selective and competitive meets.
The remaining swimmers who competed this summer traveled to the U.S. Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis.
"I thought we had a real up-and-down meet," Kempf said.
Some team members struggled, but several performances caught the eye of Kempf. Sophomore Eric Burton placed 15th in the 400-meter individual medley, and freshmen Kelly Williams and Kristin Nilsen had good outings.
He said he placings were not as important to him as the experience.
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