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SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY. APRIL 27,1995
Haskell acquires famous Kemper floor
SECTION B
Hardwood court was scene of 'Hawks-Sooners'88 title game
Haskell's Coffin Sports Complex houses the portable hardwood floor that was used in Kemper Arena for the 1988 NCAA championship game. In that game, Danny Manning led the Jayhawks to an 83-79 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
By Brian H. Spurrier Special to the Kansan
A unique piece of Kansas' fabled basketball history quietly found a new home in Lawrence last year, but you won't see it proudly displayed on the University campus.
In 1988, the Jayhawks won their second NCAA basketball national championship on the portable floor at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.
Last October, Haskell Indian Nations University leased the same floor from Kemper and installed it in Coffin Sports Complex on the Haskell campus in Lawrence.
The hardwood floor eventually was purchased for $17,000 by Haskell this month to replace the aging, synthetic rubber-based court in Coffin, said Fran Day, executive director of the Haskell Foundation, who negotiated the deal with Kemper.
Sports Information In that
"How I found it is a pretty neat nest in itself." Day said.
Day said much of the credit for Haskell obtaining the historic court belonged to her son, Jason, a senior center and captain on the Raytown South (Mo.) High School basketball team.
Day, who is of Eastern Cherokee and Mohawk heritage, said when she first was hired at Haskell, her son was excited about the prospect of playing basketball with other Native Americans.
"As soon as he heard there were
Indian kids
someplace, he grabbed his basketball and started to come over here to play ball with the guys," she said. "He came out of the gym after the first day and said, 'Mom, you have got to do something about the gym floor, it's awful. Those guys need a new gym floor."
Day said Haskell President
Morrison, Day's search ended at Kemper Arena when she contacted Charles Black, the building's superintendent.
Black said the floor was purchased by Kemper before the 1988 Final Four. Following the Jayhawks' 83-79 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the championship game, the court was put into storage at the Arena. Many Final Four floors have been cut up and sold as souvenirs, but not this one.
"We had an offer from KU, but we wanted to keep it." Black said.
Haskell was able to obtain the floor after the Jayhawks had been turned down only with some help from Mother Nature. While the floor was in storage, the Midwest flood of 1993 found its way onto the surfaces of some of the sections, causing slight warping.
The floor could no longer be used for the Big Eight's men's postseason basketball tournament, which is held at Kemper, Black said.
After negotiating the initial lease, the floor, in several pieces, was hauled to Lawrence on a flatbed truck and installed at Coffin by Haskell employees, Days said.
"We didn't have a use for it," he said. Kemper was not actively trying to sell the floor when he was contacted by Haskell, he added.
Day, who calls herself a fundraiser, said a $40,000 donation from the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin will be used to cover the cost of purchasing the floor and for future
Bob Martin confirmed that the gym floor was "approaching critical" and her search for a replacement floor was on.
With the aid of Raytown South
assistant basketball coach Kurt
repairs. Haskell plans to take up the floor to fix several dead spots caused by water damage. Kemper's logo was painted over until the floor can be resurfaced and the Haskell logo painted on, she said.
Although the floor may hold historic, sentimental
value for Jayhawk basketball fans, not everyone on the Haskell campus is making a beeline to the sports complex.
There are no lines of visitors stopping to gaze in awe or to walk on the
same floor on which Danny Manning led Kansas to the pinnacle of collegiate basketball seven years ago.
The majority of students attending Haskell are not originally from the state of Kansas, so most have not been exposed to the hoopla surrounding Kansas' rich basketball tradition.
In fact, many Haskell students come from Oklahoma. Day said one of Haskell's alumni professors told her, "Well, you need to remember that was also the floor that OU lost on."
Chad KillsCrow, Pawhuska, Okla., freshman and a guard/forward on the Haskell basketball team, said he was more impressed that a Final Four was played on the court. The fact that Kansas won a national championship on the court, isn't as significant.
"I never was a KU fan," said KillsCrow, a professed Oklahoma State fan.
KillsCrow's teammate, Ringo McGimpsey, a sophomore point guard from Neabay, Wash., said he was glad to be playing on the court. He said the old court was like playing on cement.
"It's an honor to be playing on this court," he said.
Day said the ties between the Haskell and Kansas basketball programs go back to the days of the legendary Phog Allen.
Both Day and Martin said Allen coached the men's basketball teams from Haskell, Kansas and Baker University all in the same season—sometimes conducting practices with all three teams in the Tecumseh Hall gymnasium at Haskell.
Day said Allen's team defeated other Native American teams in the
A yellowing photograph in Martin's office in Navarre Hall shows Allen with the Haskell Indians, the 1908 National Aboriginal Champions.
United States and Canada to claim the title.
Tuckwin, Haskell athletic
Sorry I missed director, said that having Lawrence High products, Danny Manning and Chris Piper, on the 1988 championship team was something to be proud of and added that the floor held some value for Haskell.
"I think probab-ably for those of us who have
Walking across the court that Jayhawk fans may consider a basketball shrine, Fran Day joked with
been here for awhile, it has some sentimental value and it's something we can mention to the student-athletes," Tuckwin said. "We'll use it for motivational purposes, sometimes a little publicity."
Haskell track coach Dwight Pickering they should charge admission for the pilgrimage of KU people who will be coming in.
Tuckwin doesn't plan to charge admission, and he isn't bothered by the possibility of visitors filtering into the sports complex.
"We'd be happy
if people did that," said Tuckwin. "We feel like we're part of the community."
Always the fundraiser, Day said jokingly, "We could charge five dollars to let them kiss it."
SPORTS in brief
Rain thwarts another baseball game
Rain has kept the Kansas baseball team from competition for the second time this week.
Yesterday's doubleheader with Iowa State in Ames, Iowa was canceled. The games will not be rescheduled.
Kansas, (16-29, 7-15) also had a game with Missouri canceled Sunday. The Jayhawks have now lost three Big Eight Conference
The series with Iowa State were Kansas' last road games of the Big Eight season. The Jayhawks will begin a three-game weekend series with Nebraska at 7 tomorrow night at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium. Kansas junior pitcher Jamie Splittorff (4-5, 4.65 ERA) is expected to start the opening game.
The Creighton Blue Jays didn't spoil the Kansas softball team's opportunity to recover from a five-game losing streak.
Kansas softball rained out in Lincoln
Instead, the rain spoiled those plans. The two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader yesterday in Omaha,Neb., before wet conditions caused the cancellation of the games.
If the Jayhawks hope to end the season with a.500 record, they must win all four games this weekend against the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa. Kansas is 17-21 overall, 3-13 in the Big Eight Conference.
games to inclement weather.
kansas lost four games last weekend against Oklahoma State. But Kansas softball coach Kalum Haack saw some positives in those losses.
Kansas junior pitcher Beth Robinson also showed her potential. In the Cowgirls' 4-1 win on Sunday, Robinson and the Jayhawks sent the game into extra innings before Oklahoma State scored three runs in the eighth.
Kansan staff reports
"We scored four runs in one inning against Oklahoma State," Haack said. "We have the potential to do that kind of scoring all the time, but we just haven't been able to do it."
"Beth's second start against Oklahoma State was her best game all season, I felt," Haack said. "I was really happy with the way she pitched that game."
Mason tries broadcasting; prepares 'Hawks for season
By Tom Erickson
Kansan sportswriter
Now that he has left sportscasting to the professionals, Mason will lead the Jayhawks in the annual Blue-White game at 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The event is free.
The game serves as the final practice in the Jayhawks' spring drills, which began April 1. Mason said the team had good workouts and would be ready to play this fall.
Mason spent Monday evening as a guest sportscaster on KMBC-TV with what he described as limited success.
Kansas football coach Glen Mason is finished with broadcasting.
"I took a lot of grief over that, but I looked good," he said. "The guy that was on last night didn't even wear a tie."
Mason thought he was better on the 10 o'clock broadcast than the 6 o'clock broadcast.
"Overall I'm very pleased with the way spring practice has gone," he said. "I think the work ethic of our players has been extraordinary."
Team unity is one of the most important objectives for each spring practice.
"We've come together better as a team," Mason said. "You don't evaluate that much by what people say, but more how they perform on the field. I use the older guys as a gauge, and they have had the best spring since they've been here."
Two big changes that Mason and his staff have planned for 1995 include a balanced offense and a 3-4 defensive alignment.
7
Special Collection
"One of our major objectives was the development of the quarterback position," Mason said. "Right now, Mark Williams has established himself as our No. 1 quarterback," he said. "On defense, it's a whole new look, new scheme, new
Donations to the Oklahoma City relief effort will be collected at the Southeast Entrance to Memorial stadium at Saturday's Football game. Those interested may donate:
New stuffed animals, to be given to children who survived the blast, or who had siblings who did not and to replace those already distributed by Oklahoma City area hospitals.
New stuffed
The stuffed animal collection is coordinated through the University 911 Center and Episcopal Diocee of Lawrence and Oklahoma City.
Source: Sports Information
Cash donations to the American Red Cross disaster relief effort. All Red Cross money collected will go directly to Oklahoma City.
Krista McGlohon/KANSAN
defensive coaches."
Williams, a senior who started one game for Kansas last season, said the switch to a more aggressive passing game had worked well.
"Everything is different to me," he said. "We have a complete offensive package. Last season, we were mostly a third-and-long passing team, but now we have the ability to throw short passes as well as medium and long."
One important element of the Jaya-
hawks' new offense is the plan to spread
passes out between the running backs,
tight ends and wide receivers.
Senior outside linebacker Keith Rodgers said the new defensive alignments also were working well.
"The tight ends have always been a big part of the passing game," junior tight end Jim Moore said. "Now we are a lot more as we spread the ball around."
"in the old defense, I was four yards off the ball watching for moves," he said. "Now I'm on the edge, getting the read from the corner. There is more space to move around and do different things."
Mason will again use his own scoring system for Saturday's game, which puts the offensive players against the defensive players. The Jayhawk defense won last year. 66-47.
"Last year, it worked pretty well," he said. "It makes it easier for the defensive and offensive coaches to utilize all our personnel. The defense intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown that was worth 14 points in my system that I figured up, and they won the game."