3 the university daily kansan
sports
wednesday, april 21, 2004
Coach fills dad's old shoes
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — John Thompson III won't have to make a name for himself at Georgetown. His father took care of that long ago.
Ready to take on the pressure of living up to the legacy of his Hall of Fame father, Thompson III was hired yesterday to coach the Hoyas back to national prominence.
"I am John Thompson's son," said Thompson III, the coach at Princeton since 2000. "I have been John Thompson's son for 38 years. I'm pretty comfortable being John Thompson's son. The pressure that comes along with that—no one's going to put more pressure on me than myself."
The elder Thompson coached the Hoyas for 27 years, turning a little-known program into a perennial national powerhouse. With Patrick Ewing at center, Georgetown made three appearances in the NCAA title game in the 1980s, winning the championship in 1984.
Thompson resigned in 1999 and now works as a TV analyst, and the Hoyas haven't been the same since. His longtime assistant, Craig Esherick, couldn't up to the Thompson standard and was fired last month after going 103-74.
gong 109-34. Attendance sagged, the program lost money, and the Hoyas made just one NCAA tournament appearance under Esherick. They lost their last nine games this season, and the 13-15 record was Georgetown's worst in 31 years.
Now comes Thompson III, whose name alone will draw immediate comparisons to the campus legend. The elder Thompson sat proudly in the front row at yesterday's news conference.
SALSA: Members dance to different music styles
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Franko said the club attracted many international students and male engineering students.
She said many of the male engineering students in the club came to meet girls. Franko said she had trouble getting the guys in the club to go one step further to move beyond the beginner level.
For the women in the Ballroom Dance Club, letting the man lead does not come easily.
"Latin dance is really close to pop culture. It's how you interpret the music"
Theresa Bird Albuquerque, N.M. freshman
"Working with a partner is difficult. The hardest thing is letting go and not being in control," said Emily Moison, club vice president and St. Charles, Mo. freshman.
Bird said that she changed dance partners frequently to be a more flexible dancer and to adapt to different situations.
adapt to like "The girls are always following. It's a control issue, I guess," Bird said.
Professional dance instructor; Mallee Morris, teaches the Sunday lessons.
Morris specializes in international style Latin dance. Bird said that the idea that ballroom dance is very formal isn't necessarily true.
"Latin dance is really close to
The more experienced dancers practice in Hashinger Hall's dance room Monday and Friday nights, but any member, regardless of level, is welcome.
pop culture," Bird said. "It's how you interpret the music."
Franko said the KU Ballroom Dance Club would hold an end-of-the-year fund-raising event with the KU Swing Society on May 15, the day after Stop Day.
Franko said Jazzhaus Band, a 20-piece live jazz band with members from all over the area, would play at the event.
Participants can take lessons
in ballroom dance styles such as, swing, foxtrot and standard ballroom.
Franko said she hoped to attract more members to the club at the fundraiser because the University did not offer a ballroom dance class this semester.
The University cancelled the one credit hour class that is usually offered trough the health, sport and exercise sciences department because no instructor was available to teach it.
Edited by Kevin Flaherty
Fans won't affect former Sharks player
Colorado to face San Jose Sharks in second round
The Associated Press
DENVER — Teemu Selanne had a difficult first season in Colorado, with extended scoring slumps and some time on the fourth line. What better way to get on track than against his former team?
Selanne will get that chance starting tomorrow, when the Avalanche open their second-round series against San Jose.
"Obviously, I know those guys very well and that helps a lot," Selanne said yesterday. "I think it's a little bit more excitement when you play against your old teammates and you want to show how you really can be."
A nine-time All-Star, Selanne left the Sharks after 21/2 seasons and signed with Colorado in a package deal that included his former teammate, Paul Kariya.
Which means Selanne wants to prove this season was a fluke.
Karrya. The two scorers immediately made the Avalanche one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, but it didn't work out quite as
planned.
Kariya missed 31 of the first 38 games with a sprained wrist and hasn't played since spraining his ankle in Colorado's season finale.
Selanne had a decent start, with nine goals and 10 assists in his first 26 games, but tailed off after that.
The Finnish Flash went 19 games without a point late in the season and finished with 16 goals and 32 points, both career lows.
Worse yet, one of the league's best scorers for 12 seasons was relegated to the third and fourth lines and a healthy scratch twice.
"I've tried to work hard and do the things I can do," Selanne said. "Sometimes you can't score so many goals, but you can help the team in other ways."
"Obviously, I know these guys very well and that helps a lot. I think it's a little bit more excitement when you play against your old teammates and you want to show how you really can be."
That is what he's done.
Selanne ended his 19-game pointless streak with two goals in the final four games and had two assists in Colorado's first-round playoff series against Dallas.
But even before finding his scoring touch, Selanne was digging pucks out of the corners, crashing the net and getting back on defense.
"We expect him to step up and score a big goal and if he's
Teemu Selanne Colorado
not scoring to make sure he's doing all the little things away from the puck to help us win," Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. "He's skating well and this is a good opportunity for him. He does play well against his old teams and hopefully he'll step forward and score some big goals for us."
No matter how he plays, Selanne is sure to hear it from San Jose's fans.
In two games at the Shark Tank this season, Selanne was booed every time he touched the puck.
He was able to quiet the jeers on Nov. 11 by scoring the game-winning goal, but that will probably just make him more of a target once the series starts.
"I don't think they were that hard on me," Selanne said with a chuckle. "It was more of a funny thing for me. At the same time, that's how you're going to wake up, too. When you get that kind of little boost, it's a good thing. You want to turn it into positive energy and shut that building down."
Selanne said he doesn't expect the crowd to affect how he plays, but at least he'll have someone to turn to if it does.
In 2001, defenseman Rob Blake was sent from Los Angeles to Colorado in a trade deadline deal.
dear.
He was booed relentlessly when the Avalanche faced the Kings in the playoffs two months later, but didn't let it affect his game.
game. Blake stayed steady and helped Colorado win Game Seven in Los Angeles before going on to win its second Stanley Cup.
same thing.
"I think your focus and concentration is definitely on the game," Blake said. "Your focus shifts totally on the game and I don't think you rely on anything more than that. He should be fine."
Blake doesn't think Selanne will have any problems doing the same thing.
ROBINETT Self gets players from all regions of the country
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
This year's batch of such players may be why some current Jayhawks are choosing to transfer.
Williams also rarely traveled to the East Coast for potential Jayhawks. Some think he avoided the area so he would not have to take players away from North Carolina.
Others thought he only went west because there are so many basketball schools out east and that he could have more success elsewhere. Whatever the reason, Self isn't afraid to travel east to snag a recruit.
Russell Robinson is from New York and Alexander Kaun is from Florida.
In addition, Self was on the East Coast earlier this month in attempt to land Alex Galindo, a 6-foot-6-inch swingman from Newark, N.J.
Newark, N.J. Bill hits the recruiting trail hard each and every year. He visits all regions in the country to find his players. As a result, his system works, even better than Williams'.
Robinett is an Austin, Texas, Junior in Journalism
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