Sports
University Daily Kansan / Friday, March 27, 1987
Three-pointer causing havoc in NCAA
United Press International
NEW ORLEANS — Fear of the college basketball bomb is creating defensive shockwaves.
floor this season. Michigan's Garde Thompson hit four three-pointers against Syracuse two months ago sparking a 91-88 triumph. Heank nine three-pointers two weeks ago in an NCAA tournament victory against Navv.
"The three-pointer hasn't been as much of a factor for us in the post-season," said Providence coach Rick Pitino, whose team led the country by averaging more than eight three-point baskets a game. "What it has done is create great drives to the basket by (guard) Billy Donovan and
opened up new doors for us.
"We've defended the three-point shot well, and because we're so fearful of it as a weapon, we've learned how to use it to our advantage. When you have good three-point shooters, they can't double down on you inside."
Employing that strategy, Pitino told his Friar guards to concentrate on keeping the ball underneath against Georgetown during Saturday's Southeast Regional final. Donovan and backcourt mate Delray Brooks attempted one three-pointer apiece but their presence on the perimeter opened things up inside.
fringe and daring teams to leave him open.
Nevada-Las Vegas has used the inside-out strategy all season as three-point threats Freddie Banks and Gerald Paddio complemented the power game of Armon Gilliam. Indiana's Steve Alford opened up the lane by stationing himself on the
"We had to extend our defense for that three-point shooting," Georgetown coach John Thompson said after the 88-73 loss. "If their big people are scoring, it's a major problem because they shoot so well from the perimeter."
According to Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson, pressure on the ballhandler is the key to successfully defending against three-pointers.
"What we did not do a very good job of was to contain the dribble," said Sanderson after Providence sank 14 of 22 shots from three-point range in a 103-82 rout. "The reason for that is, when they get past you defensively, you have to help the other players. As the guy is driving the ball, the team has their three-point shot. One of the main things we hoped to do was to try to contain the dribble. We let the drubber penetrate too much."
"When I was working in the NBA, I had the benefit of seeing guys like Larry Bird and Darrrell Griffith and watching how they set up for the three-point shot," says Pitino, who was an assistant to former New York Knicks coach Hube Brown for two seasons. "We run our offense to the three-point line. I think our guys can blindfold themselves, run down from one end of the court and stop right at the three-point line."
Steve Wright, Providence center, fights to get a shot off against the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Wright and his teammates won the Southeast Regional in Louisville, Ky., and will play Syracuse in New Orleans at the NCAA Final Four.
Rick Patino and his Providence Friars are the cinderella team in this year's NCAA Final Four. The unranked Friars face Syracuse tomorrow in New Orleans.
Southern Miss, Nebraska win NIT games
United Press International
NEW YORK — Southern Mississippi hit 11 three-pointers last night, six by Casey Fisher, on the way to an 84-80 victory over La Salle in the finals of the 50th National Invitation Tournament.
Southern Mississippi converted 11 of 24 three-point attempts, 46 percent. La Salle, which converted its first four three-pointers in the semifinals against Arkansas-Little Rock, was just four of 24 from three-point
range against Southern Miss
Southern Mississippi withstood a late rally in which La Salle had a chance to tie the score with the last shot. The Explorers scored six straight points to pull within two with 15 seconds left.
The championship marked the first time a college from Mississippi won a national basketball tournament. La Salle reached the finals of the NIT for the first time in 35 years.
rently changed his mind and threw the ball away. John White recovered the loose ball for Southern Miss, and was fouled. White converted a pair of foul shots to complete the scoring.
All five starters finished in double figures for Southern Mississippi, 23-11. Randolph Keys had 18 points, 16. Derrek Hamilton 17, and White 10.
Rich Tarr went in the air to take the final shot for La Salle, but appa-
La Salle, 20-13, was led by freshman Lionel Simmons with 34 points. Tarr added 14, Tim Legler 12 and Craig Conlin 10.
In the consolation game, Brian Carr recorded 18 points and Nebraska outscored Arkansas-Little Rock on the overtime on the way to a 76-64 victory.
The score was tied 65-65 at the end of regulation.
Carr followed his own miss with 3:54 left in the extra session, giving the Cornhuskers a 67-65 lead. Nebraska followed with nine straight points before James Dawn scored on a slam with 21 seconds left in the game to make the final score 76-67.
Pattin to leave coaching post
By DAVID BOYCE
Staff writer
KU baseball coach Marty Pattin was informed Tuesday by the Athletic Department that he could either resign immediately or be fired at the end of the season, sources said yesterday.
If Pattin resigns, assistant coach Lee Ice would take over for the remainder of the season.
But sources close to the team said Pattin would coach the team the rest of the season.
Both Pattin and Ice would not comment on the coaching situation.
During a team meeting yesterday before practice, Pattin told the team not to comment on the situation but to concentrate on the upcoming games against Missouri this weekend in Columbia.
Pattin has said that it was hard to run a successful baseball program with below average financing from the Athletic Department.
Before Pattin took over, Temple coached the team for 28 years, from 1954 to 1981. In his last season, the Jayhawks finished 32-19, the last time the team finished above .500.
Of the seven big Eight schools with baseball programs, Kansas ranked sixth in financing with $127,445 last year. Kansas State had the lowest budget last year at
Paul Henry, who will start the first game against Missouri tomorrow, said the uncertain coaching situation would have no effect on the team's play.
Pattin took over the coaching position in 1962 when Floyd Temple left the post to become an assistant athletic director at KU.
Temple also had no comment yesterday on Pattin's status.
Marty Pattin
Pattin is in his sixth year as coach and had his best conference record in 1983, when the team finished third with a 9-9 record. Pattin's career at KU is 116-141.
During 1983, Kansas was 17-17 overall, Pattin's best record with the team.
Last year, Pattin's team finished with a 25-34 overall record and placed fifth in the conference at 7-16.
$95,000 and finished last in the conference.
On the other end of the scale,
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
have the two largest budgets,
and both are first and second
in the conference.
Kansas this year received $130,000 for baseball and OSU, picked to win the Big Eight, received almost $280,000.
Before Pattin became the baseball coach, he played 13 years in the major leagues with Seattle, Milwaukee, Boston and Kansas City.
Perhaps Pattin's biggest moment in the major leagues was when he pitched in the World Series for the Kansas City Royals in 1980, his last professional season.
From the start of the season, the player's wanted to finish in the top four in conference, and they said rumors would put affect that goal.
Kansas, 9-7 overall, will play its first conference games against the Tigers, 11-10, in doubleheaders tomorrow and Sunday.
"All the games in the Big Eight are important," Henry said. "But these games will set the tempo on how well we will do in the Big Eight."
The team will leave at 12:30 p.m. today for its games tomorrow, which start at noon.
Pattin plans to start Henry in the first game and Mike Murrie in the second game.
Staff writer
By DIANE F!LIPOWSKI
KU men's track team having alumni meet
Men's track, which has been a part of Kansas athletics for 84 years, is one of the country's oldest track programs, and its coaches have found a way to help preserve its tradition.
Tomorrow at 1 p.m. in Memorial Stadium the men's team will hold its first alumini track meet, which is expected to draw athletes from each decade back to the teens, Al Fereshekian, Kansas Relas manager, said.
"We have one of the greatest track traditions in the country," Feresheian said. "We thought it was ridiculous not to have an event like this."
Carl Rise, class of 1918, who was the NCAA indoor high jump champion in 1918, is the oldest returning alumnus. Rice will be 79 today.
Fereshetian said he expected 25 to 30 alumni athletes to participate, including Wes Santee, class of 1954, who was a world record-holder in the
mile and the 1,500-meter run while at Kansas, and former All-America Jeff Buckingham, class of 1983, who holds Kansas' all-time records in the pole vault, both indoors and outdoors.
The meet also will include this year's KU men's track team and officially will open its outdoor season.
Coach Bob Timmons said the meet would be low-key for the team, but an opportunity for it to compete at home.
"It's a meet that everyone can enjoy themselves at," Timmons said. "There will be a gathering after the party and you will reminisce about their glory days."
The alumni and current team members will be divided by odd and even years of graduation, or expected graduation, in a red and blue team. The meet will consist of seven field events, nine track events and one relay. Points will be awarded through eighth place.
NCAA rules committee favors three-point rule
United Press International
Steitz also said he thought the current three-point line distance of 19 feet, 9 inches from the center of the basket again would be in force next year.
"The success has exceeded my fondest expectations," Steitz said. "I never thought I would see such great excitement among those watching."
"Yes, the three-point shot has changed the game. But you don't make progress without changes."
Providing data taken from more than 8,000 Division I games played this season, Steitz said 17.97 shots from three-point range were taken a game with 6.93 of them being successful. That 38.5 percent ratio, he said, was almost exactly what the
rules committee had projected when it surprisingly approved the threepoint shot at last year's meeting.
The three-point shot was implemented over the objections of a majority of Division I coaches, but Steitz said five years of research had convinced the committee that it was the thing to do.
"It it has done what we had proported it would do. It has stopped the decline in scoring, it has opened up the middle and stopped rough play and put the outside shooter back in the game. It has made it an inside-inside game instead of an inside-inside game."
"Now," he said. "84 percent of the coaches responding to our questionnaire agree in the three-point concept.
Exhibition baseball is spring fever cure
There is still disagreement, however, about where the three-point line should be drawn. Of the Division I coaches responding to Steitz' questions, 34 percent said they liked the line where it was. Another 39 percent said they would like to see the line moved to the Olympic distance.
Let's get one thing straight. I don't believe in sappy baseball cliche that seem to be prevalent this time of year such as "hope springs eternal in every baseball fan's breast" or "every team begins the season in first place."
Harlen Makemson Assistant sports editor
A friend and I saw the Chicago White Sox. They have about as much chance of winning the pennant as the Gadhafis have being invited over to the Reagans' for dinner.
We also saw eight other major league teams over spring break in a seven-game, six-day spring training baseball feast, which included over 800 miles of driving from ball game to beach to ball game across Florida's Gulf Coast.
People have told me, "You can see baseball anytime. Why didn't you spend more time on the beach, idiot?"
Why? Because spring training has an entirely different atmosphere than the regular season. Spring training games are played before crowds of three or four thousand in small, intimate stadiums, unlike the antiseptic concrete and steel monsters.
Spring training also is more laidback than the regular season. Managers saturating down to the dugout after the game already has started. Players running wind sprints in the outfield during the game.
Of course the best part about spring training is sitting in the bleachers with your shirt off, slipping a cold beer in 80 degree weather while your friends are back in Kansas missing the excitement of the beginning of another baseball season.
MARCH 16 - CLEARWATER - Wade Boggs and Marty Barrett were there, but the Red Sox's split squad lineup also included such household names as Ellis Burks, John Marzano and Sarn Horn. Not exactly World Series revisited.
"He's got the whole world in his hands . . . "
Fans down the leftfield line were distracted in the third inning when newly acquired Lance Parrish stepped into a batting cage and started smashing vicious line drives. The elderly gentleman who was feeding baseballs into the pitching machine was protected by a mesh screen. I would have demanded a suit of armor.
The Phillies win a 9-8, 10-inning. 32-hit slugfest.
MARCH 17 — ST. PETERSBURG — Fifth inning, Houston Astros plays the St. Louis Cardinals at Al Lang Stadium. The Astros, wearing green hats in honor of St. Patrick's Day, lead 1-0. Non-roster player Glenn Carpenter has led off the inning with a double for the Astros, and pitcher Bob Knepper reaches on a fielder's choice when the crowd hears a booming voice.
It's the hot dog vendor, singing to all his potential customers in this particular section. He persuades the crowd to join him and
clap along.
Billy Hatcher strikes out
"He's got the little, bitty babies."
The vendor switches to his version of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA."
"He's like one of the seats," an elderly gentleman says of the singing vendor. "He's always here."
Shortstop Bert Pena singles in a run, and Terry Puhl clears the bases with a triple.
"Zip-A-De-Doo-Da . . . "
Phil Garner hits a sacrifice fly and Paul Householder pops out to end the inning. The singing vendor takes off his hat to the cheering section after his concert and moves to another part of the park. The Astros go on to win 10-0 and hold the Cardinals to three hits.
MARCH 18 — FT. MYERS — Changes are being made. This is the last season the Kansas City Royals will be playing at deceptive Terry Park in Ft. Myers. Next
See FEVER, p. 12, col. 1