WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2004
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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25
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Simien's stolen GMC Sierra still not found by police
Senior forward Wayne Simien is still waiting to hear from the Lawrence Police Department about his stolen black 1992 GMC Sierra truck.
The truck was stolen early last Tuesday morning from a Chase Court apartment parking lot while Simien was sleeping in his apartment.
Mike Simmons, Lawrence resident, came across some of Simien's belongings, including his wallet, Bible and insurance papers, on a street near Holcom Park, 2700 W. 27th St., during his morning walk at 5:15 a.m. last Tuesday.
Simmons called Simien's cell phone to inform him of what he had found and then took the items to the Lawrence police.
The Simien family went to the police station to recover the items.
Simien said his father gave the truck to him after high school graduation.
The still missing truck has the words "Big Dub" and the number 23" emblazoned on the back window.
Joe Burke
DAVIS: Mid-'90s Vaughn, Haase team resembles current squad
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This year's group — we'll call then 'Bills'
— returns four starters who produced 70 percent of the offense for last year's 24-9 team.
RoyW had three seniors in its starting lineup, including an all-senior backcourt of Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase, along with Scot Pollard at the center spot. BillS features three seniors as well — Aaron Miles and Keith Langford in the back-court, plus Wayne Simien doing his thing inside the paint and out. RoyW also had a key senior coming off the bench, B.J. Williams, who started 11 games during the season for an injured Pollard. Sounds an awful lot like Michael Lee, who is a key contributor off the bench, can start if necessary and happens to be a senior.
Seniors play a big role for each team, but both lineups feature superstar sophomores. RoyW had a fella by the name of Paul Pierce, who had a solid freshman campaign and showed signs of being the versatile, impact player that Kansas desperately needed. Pierce averaged 11.9 points and 25.4 minutes in the 34 games he played as a freshman. J.R. Giddens, the chest-pumping, Arnold-flexing, 3-pointer shooting wonderkid wasn't too shabby his first year either. Last year, Giddens averaged 11.3 points and 25.9 minutes a contest in the 33 games he played. Is this coincidence in numbers, or is there something really X-Files-ish going on here? Not even David Duchovny saw that kind of relationship coming.
There is one glaring exception to the starting lineups, and that is Raef LaFrentz. It's hard to compare anyone from this year to LaFrentz, but if I must, Sasha Kaun, like LaFrentz, is listed at
6'11". Numbers don't lie.
The final installment in this tangled web of basketball bewilderment is Elite Eight losses the year before. RoyW lost to a John Wallace-led Syracuse team that made it to the championship before losing to Kentucky and Kansas lost to a Jarret Jack-led Georgia Tech team that made it to the championship before losing to Connecticut.
Ladies and gentlemen, the evidence has been laid before you and now the ban must take effect. It is not going to be easy, but I urge each and every one of you who watches Jayhawk basketball this year, to refrain from thinking about that 1997 team, even if this year's team starts out 22-0. Because we don't want this season to end in a cloud of smoke.
Davis is a pre-journalism Topeka freshman.
GOLFER: Ward's play improving
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"I think not playing helped Kevin reevaluate his game," Edwards said. "He expected to be rewarded because he worked hard. He has learned that winning is a by-product of hard work not the direct result."
His improved play has given Ward hope of playing golf at the next level, but he said that he must continue to improve if that was going to happen.
Randall agreed that Ward might have a shot at taking his game to the next level.
"Kevin might be able to play golf for a living," Randall said. "He is certainly on the road to developing into a professional."
As Ward continues his summer schedule, which includes stops at the Rice Planners Amateur in Charleston, S.C., and the Porter Cup in Buffalo, N.Y., later this month, he just wants to keep getting better.
Edited by Jay Senter