THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
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TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
INTRAMURALS
Abuse fights all part of job
BY MIKE MOSTAFFA
mmostaffa@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Chris Eichhorn does not wear glasses, yet every day at work people angrily suggest he should.
Eichhorn, Baldwin senior, is one of nearly 75 students who works as an intramural basketball official for KU Recreation Services
Kansan file photo
Eichhorn has been an intramural basketball official for nearly two years. He said that intramural basketball officials were paid more than any other intramural officials because of the verbal abuse they received
"You're just playing for a shirt. People shouldn't go that worked up over it." Chris Eichhorn Baldwin senior
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after every call they make.
Eichhorn could not help but grin when he recalled an incident earlier this semester when a player physically showed his displeasure with his officiating.
He said during one game he gave a player two technical fouls, both for cursing at the officials, which caused the player to be ejected.
"He just walked off without even looking back," Eichhorn said. "I couldn't believe it."
During a game this semester Eichhorn was forced to break up another scuffle in a game between two teams, one made up of KU football players.
Tempers eventually cooled, but Eichhorn said it was a fight that he was not looking forward to trying to break up.
"You're just playing for a shirt. People shouldn't get that worked up over it." Eichhorn said.
Zach Eicove, Olathe freshman, was officiating on the court next to Eichhorn's when the water bottle incident happened.
He said that in the highly competitive games, players' tempers often flare out of control. One of the main reasons players snap at the officials and other players is because most officials are the same age or even younger then the players, unlike officials in the NCAA, who are usually much older.
SEE REFEREE ON PAGE 8A
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jayhawks, from left to right, freshman forward Marija Zinic, freshman guard Ivana Catic and freshman guard Katie Smith, celebrate after their 59-49 victory against Northern Iowa in the first round of the WNIT. The victory was one of Kansas' top five games this season.
The good, the bad
WNIT win sweep by K-State are highs,lows
Editor's note: Kansas women's basketball writer Ryan Schneider has ranked the Top 5 and Bottom 5 moments of the Kansas women's basketball season.
TOP5:
After losses to Kansas State in back-to-back games, the victory was a much-needed boost for a team that struggled in the
Kansas scored its first postseason victory in seven years in the preliminary round of the WNIT. The Jayhawks' inside combination of forwards, senior Crystal Kemp and freshman Marija Zinic, was too much for the Panthers to match. Kemp led all scorers with 18 points off 21 shots, while Zinic scored 13 points, one shv of a career high.
1. Kansas 59. Northern Iowa 49 (March 16)
Big 12 Conference.
2. Kansas 70, No. 23 Texas 61 (Jan. 3)
Kansas improved on its school-record 12-0 start with its first victory against a ranked team in four years. In front of a season-high 5,634 fans in Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas continued the hot three-point shooting that helped propel its fast start to the season.
The team's guards shot 40 percent from behind the three-point line. The three Jayhawk seniors, Kemp and senior guards Kaylee Brown and Erica Hallman, combined for 50 of the team's 70 points. Kansas notched its first victory to start the conference season since the 1999-2000 season.
3. Kansas 81, Missouri 71 OT (Feb. 25)
Kansan file photo
This was Kansas' lone victory against a team that played in the NCAA tournament. Junior guard Sharita Smith's defense on Missouri guard LaToya Bond was the deciding factor in the game. In the earlier meeting at Mizzou Arena, Bond lit up Kansas for 31 points. Smith, however, held Bond to just four points in 40 minutes in this game. The Jayhawks' 8-0 run to open overtime sealed the victory and avoided a season sweep at the hands of the Tigers.
4. Kansas 65, Iowa State 64 (Feb. 4) / Kansas 57,
Iowa State 65 OT (Feb. 18)
Kansas was only able to sweep one Big 12
North foe in fellow WNIT participant Iowa State. The Jayhawks' lone road victory of the season came in overtime in Ames, Iowa.
Senior forward Crystal Kemp wipes her eyes during the senior night recognition after the game against Kansas State on March 2 in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks lost to the Wildcats three times this season.
Smith put together another solid defensive performance on the road, holding Iowa State guard Lyndsey Medders to seven points off 2-of-12 shooting. Zinc tied her career-high with 14 points. Hallman hit game-winning shots in both games — free throws at the game in the fieldhouse and a layup in Hilton Coliseum.
5. Kansas 90, Wisconsin 87 20T (Dec. 11)
Hallman began her season-long trend of nailing big shots with her three-pointer
SEE WNIT ON PAGE 8A
TENNIS
Freshman Ksenia Bukina returns the ball to her Lady Reider opponent during the match against Texas Tech on March 3. Bukina and her teammates defeated UMKC and Saint Louis, 7-0 each, last weekend in Lawrence.
Spring break sweeps Four victories bring team to new level
Anthony Mattinolv/KANSAN
BY ANTONIO MENDOZA
amendoza@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
After losing four consecutive matches, and five out of the past six, the Kansas tennis team needed a boost. It got one during spring break, winning four matches in a row: three sweeps and a 4-3 victory against No. 48 LSU.
it's definitely a motivator. The girls right now are mentally excited about winning and playing the competition and living up to their level of play right now."
Of the three sweeps, the first one came against Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., on March 19. The other two
Amy Hall-Holt Kansas coach
sweeps took place in Lawrence against UMKC and Saint Louis last Saturday.
"It's definitely a motivator." Kansas coach Amy Hall-Holt said. "The girls right now are
mentally excited about winning and playing the competition and living up to their level of play right now."
SEE TENNIS ON PAGE 8A
▼ 'HORN BORN. 'HAWK BRED
5 reasons for KU's round 1 demise
1. Inexperienced players
TRAVIS ROBINETT trobinett@kansan
Who's to blame for the Bradley disaster in the first round of the NCAA tournament? If you're pointing your finger at Kansas coach Bill Self, you shouldn't be. Here are five reasons why you can't blame Self for Kansas' first-round loss.
Playing in the tournament for the first time is tough, especially for freshmen. Even the sophomores, minus guard Russell Robinson, lacked poise, as their only tournament experience was last year watching from the bench. They played a combined 10 minutes against Bucknell; three for center Sasha Kaun and seven for center CJ Giles.
Kansas couldn't prepare for the feel of an NCAA tournament game. The teamwork wasn't there. That showed in the box score. Kansas had only 11 assists. The only three games it had fewer than 11 assists were against Arizona, Nevada and Kansas State — all losses.
2. Bad decisions at key moments
Kansas turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 22 points for Bradley off those turnovers. Some of those 18 turnovers were more timely than others. Was it Self's fault that Kaun and Robinson threw the ball to no one on two important possessions late in the game during Kansas' comeback?
As a team, Bradley averaged a mediocre 33.6 percent from three-point range. In three games in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Bradley went 4-of-21, 2-of-13 and 3-of-22 from three-point range. Against Kansas, the Braves went 11-of-21 from long range, putting them just above 50 percent for the game.
I am not saying the referees were biased. They called a fair game. However, the way they called the game was not in Kansas' favor. All season long Kansas relied on solid defensive basketball to force bad shots and turnovers. In turn, that led to a productive fast break offense. That's Bills Self basketball.
But against Bradley, Kansas was called for 25 fouls, with Giles and freshman guard Mario Chalmers fouling out. Bradley ended up shooting 32 free throws. The refs consistently called the Jayhawks for every touch foul they committed, taking the team away from what it does best: playing tough defense.
3. The referees
5. A crazy tournament
4. Bradley's three-pointers
Kansas pulled within three points late in the game, but never could overcome the deficit. Hypothetically, the game could have been tied had Bradley not made a desperate, deep three-point bank shot to end the first half.
This is March. It happens. Bradley's trip to the Sweet Sixteen didn't even make it the biggest Cinderella in the tournament. That honor was taken by George Mason, who made the Final Four.
So should Self be blamed? Definitely not. Blame the format of a one-and-done tournament. "March Madness" is clichéd for a reason.
Robinett is an Austin, Texas,
junior in journalism. He is
Kansan correspondent editor.
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