Sports
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, March 25, 1987 13
Ex-Jayhawk starting for Phillies
Continuous Alignment Coordinate System (CACS)
Former Kansas baseball player Steve Jeltz is scheduled to start at shortstop again this season for the Philadelphia Phillies. Last year, his first full season with the club. Jeltz played in 145 games and started in 132.
By HARLEN MAKEMSON
Assistant sports editor
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The first time Steve Jeltz stepped onto the field for the Philadelphia Phillies late in the 1983 season, the lineup included such possible Hall of Famers as Pete Rose, Joe
Morgan, Tony Perez, Mike Schmidt and eight-time Glove winner Jack Marado
"They were talking that I had to take control of the
Steve Jeltz
infield. "Jeltz said, laughing.
"Twenty-year veterans all around,
and they're asking me to take charge."
Since then, the former Lawrence High School and Kansas baseball standout has become an integral part of the Phillies' infield. Barring injury, Jeltz will be Philadelphia's shortstop on opening day for the second consecutive season.
"We see him as being one of the league's best defensive players at shortstop," Phillies coach Lee Elia said at the team's spring training camp here.
Defense is the main reason Jeltz has succeeded in the major leagues. In 1985, he had an error and lost 46 games with the Phillies.
But last year, in his first full season with the Phillies, Jeltz had a .219 batting average. He did, however, walk 65 times while hitting in the number eight spot, finishing with a .320 on-base percentage.
"Hitting in that eight spot is tough." Jeltz said. "When the count's 3-0 or 2-1 you don't get to hit much. My role more or less is to drive in runs with less than two outs or get on base with two outs to get the pitcher out of the way."
Jeltz came to KU in 1978, turning down scholarship offers from such collegiate baseball powers as Arizona State and USC. He signed with the Phillies in 1980 after his junior year, but in three seasons, he established KU all-time career records in triples and stolen bases, and is second all-time in runs scored.
Since turning professional, Jeltz has made a habit of returning to the Lawrence area in the off-season to work out and to give tips to some of the Jayhawk players. This winter, however, Jeltz stayed in Chicago and worked out with Chicago Cubs centerfielder Bob Dernier.
"This year I was more concerned with getting me in shape. I didn't have time to go over there like I wanted to." Jeltz said of Lawrence.
The major adjustment from college to the major leagues, Jeltz said, was learning how to handle the grueling 162-game schedule. Being a major leaguer means that the night life has to be curtailed.
"At up at KU we played 48 games in a season; here we play 48 games in 48 days." Jeltz said. "You just can't burn your candle at both ends. You can go out, but you can't make a habit of doing it and getting up at noon everyday."
Jeltz came up through the Philies' farm system as a utility player, occasionally even playing catcher and outfield Jeldz said playing a different position every time as a physical strain for a player
"It hurts your arm," Jeltz said
"It's a different throw everywhere."
Ela, who was Jeltz's manager for part of the 1984 season at the Philies then-AAA affiliate Portland, said Jeltz's athletic ability made him a natural anywhere on the field.
"He's a pure athlete," he said. Some baseball players would consider it a dream come true to be a starting shortstop for a pennant contender, but Jelts never has seen it that way.
"I never dream about it. I was just having a good time playing ball." Jeltz said. "If you ask the guys around here if they dreamed about being here, most will probably tell you not really."
Jeltz doesn't think he's made it. He remembers his struggle to make it to the majors and knows that other young players in the Phillies' system would like to have his job.
"If some guy comes along that can pick it and hits .340, you know he's going to be playing." he said.
Editor's note: Harlen Makemson, assistant sports editor, spent spring break in Florida visiting the spring training camps of several major league teams.
So. Mississippi beats Nebraska in NIT semifinal
United Press International
NEW YORK — Randolph Keys and John White scored 24 points and 19 points respectively and sparked the rally last night that pulled Southern Mississippi to an 82-75 victory over Nebraska and into the National Invitation Tournament final.
Southern Mississippi, 22-11, meets La Salle in the final at 8 p.m tomorrow. The Explorers, 20-12, beat Arkansas-Little Rock 92-73 to advance to the NIT first for the first time since 1952 when they beat Dayton 75-64.
The Golden Eagles converted 15 of 38 from the field in the first half. The Cornhuskers, paced by 11 points from Vick, converted 16 of 32 shots from the field in the opening half.
Keys finished with 13 first-half points and White nine to help Southern Mississippi to a 43-42 lead at intermission.
White had eight points and Keys six in the rally over the last six minutes that proved to be the difference. After White hit a three-point basket to give Southern Mississippi a 61-10 lead, Keys completed a three-point play and a basket to build the lead to 66-10.
Bernard Day converted a basket for Nebraska to cut the deficit to four, but White followed with a basket and a three-pointer and Keys a jumper to make it 73.62. The Golden Eagles, who have never made it past the first round in two other NIT appearances, held on the rest of the way.
Derrick Vick finished with 19 points and Anthony Bailous with 16 for Nebraska. The Huskers sent Arkansas-Little Rock in the consolation game tomorrow night.
The Golden Eagles converted two of their first 15 shots from the field to open the game and trailed 22-9 before rallying. Jurado Hinton scored five straight points to key a 12-0 Southern Mississippi streak that turned a 28-18 deficit into a 30-28 lead.
Casey Fisher hit two three-point shots to give Southern Mississippi a 51-46 lead early in the second half. Nebraska, 20-12, behind Bailou's six points regained the lead at 52-51.
La Salle 92
Arkansas-Little Rock 73
NEW VORK — Tim Leger scored 26 points, Rich Tarr added 23 and 12 assists and Lionel Simmons finished
with 21 points last night to lead La Salle to a 92-73 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock in the semifinals of the 50th National Invitation Tournament.
Simmons, a 6-foot- 205-pound freshman from Philadelphia, played with a broken nose suffered in a second-round game against Niagara. La Salle, which improved to 20-12, won the NIT in 1952 behind 6-foot-6 freshman Tom Gola and had not won a NIT game since.
"Early in the game, Tim, Larry (koretz) and Richie were hitting it all," Simmons said. "In the second half they went man-to-man, and I felt it was my turn now."
James Dawn led Arkansas-Little Rock, 26-10, with 19 points, including 15 off the bench in the first half. Koretz finished with 12 points for La Salle.
The Explorers, who led by as many as 18 points in the first half and 45-34 at halftime, held 19-point leads four times in the second period, including the final margin.
"We needed the outside shooting to open up the middle for us early," said Legler, who hit three of seven three pointers. "It wasn't a strategy only for this game. We always do that when somebody goes zone against us. We know no team can go a whole game in a zone against us.
"If they're not going to come out and play us, we can hit those shots all night."
The Explorers finished the first half shooting eight of 14 from three-point range, but took only one three-point shot in the second period. Legler finished the first half with 15 points and Tarr finished with 14.
The Trojans shot a higher percentage than the Explorers in the first half, 52 to the Explorers' 49.
Little Rock pulled to 29-23 midway through the first half before La Salle went on a 14-2 spurt to pull away. Legler finished the run with two consecutive three pointers. The Trojans finished the period with a 9-2 burst to close within 11 at intermission.
Western swing Men's team beats WSU twice
By ROB KNAPP
Staff writer
"We rode the roller coaster of winning and losing," Perelman said with a laugh.
The Kansas men's tennis team played seven matches in California last week, and Coach Scott Perelman equated it to a day at the amusement park.
The Jayhawks, 11-7, indeed were up and down in their spring break matches, but two victories over cross-state rival Wichita State left the team with some momentum going into the West Virginia Invitational this weekend in Morgantown.
Kansas prefaced its trip to the coast with a 5-4 victory over the Shockers in Wichita on March 13. Then the Jayhawks won the rematch 6-3 in their final match at the Anteater Classic at University of California at Irvine on Monday.
The victories left Kansas 3-0 against Wichita State this season and reinforced the Jayhawks' position as the top team in the region.
The Jayhawks' victory in the Cal-Irvine tournament was accomplished without Mike Wolf, No. 1 singles
player and the 28th-ranked singles player in the nation.
I've played more than I'm accustomed to playing. I think I've just pushed myself too far. Things I called on previously just weren't there.'
— Mike Wolf Kansas tennis player
Wolf won his match at the Wichita State contest in Wichita and then lost three straight times in matches against Cal-Riverside, Illinois and New Mexico in a four-day span from
"For us that's like the basketball team playing without Danny Manning." Perelman said.
March 15 to 18. He came back to Lawrence after the New Mexico match suffering from what both he and Perelman called "mental and physical exhaustion."
"I've played more than I'm accustomed to playing." Wolf said yesterday. "I think I've just pushed myself too far. Things I called on previously just weren't there."
Kansas opened the tournament Friday by beating Princeton 6-3. But its next two opponents, Indiana and Utah, blew Kansas out 5-1 and left it playing for seventh place in the 16-team tournament.
With Wolf in the No. 1 singles position, Kansas beat Cal-Riverside 8-1 and Illinois 5-4 and lost to New Mexico 6-3. After Wolf's departure, freshman Craig Wildey moved from the No. 3 position into Wolf's spot for the Cal-Irvine tournament and won three of his four matches.
The Wolf-less Jayhawks then rallied to beat Wichita State, sweeping the doubles matches and impressing Perelman.
"I was really proud of the way we sucked it up against Wichita," Perelman said. "It's the best thing that could have happened to us."
Friars gear up for Final Four
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Providence College is regarded as the dark horse of the Final Four only because its talent is of a different nature, says Friars coach Rick Pitino.
Picked to finish sixth in the Big East, Providence has not the size of Syracuse, the speed of UNLV or the reputation of Indiana. But Pitto says his team surprises opponents because the usual standards of measurement do not apply.
United Press International
"We have a different type of talent, that's why people think of us as an underdog." Pitino said yesterday. "I think we are like Larry Bird, for we play with a lot of heart, we may not be fast, but our head tells our legs to keep on moving, and we keep running."
The Friars will play Syracuse on Saturday, marking the third meeting this season between the Big East rivals. Syracuse won both earlier games.
"We outplayed them for 30 of the 40 minutes in each game." Pitino said. "But turnovers and blocked shots is what did us in. Syracuse is a great shot-blocking team because of (center) Rony Seikaly and (forward) Derrick Coleman."
Guard Billy Donovan says Providence will not repeat its earlier mistakes.
UNLV would have preferred LSU
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Nevada Las Vegas will not be facing the team Coach Jerry Tarkanian would have preferred in Saturday's Final Four matchup with Indiana, but count on him to show up in New Orleans anyway.
"I'd rather have played LSU than Indiana because I thought we had a better chance of beating them," Tarkanian said yesterday. "I just wanted to play someone I thought we could beat.
"For that matter, I'd rather have played Pacific," Tarkanian said as an afterthought, referring to the All-Star Athletic Association opponent.
The Associated Press
UNLV beat Iowa 84-81, and Indiana edged LSU 77-76 Sunday
advancing to the semifinals of college basketball's championship tournament.
"We have to try and control them in the transition game. In the first two games we made mistakes in our offensive execution that ended up in lavvins for them." Donovan said.
Tarkamian said that just being in the Final Four was more than he allowed himself to dream last fall. He has contended since preseason practices began that the four teams making it to New Orleans would have to be not only talented, but also lucky. He stuck with that assessment yesterday.
After Jim Boeheim was elevated to head coach at Syracuse 11 years ago, he hired Pitino, and the two spent many weeks driving around the country together, trying to convince high-school basketball stars that their
"I thought we were very good and very lucky." Tarkanian said of the NCAA playoffs. "I thought all the teams that made it were very good and very lucky. In fact, if you played the tournament over again, I think you would have four different teams in the Final Four."
Inman to return soon for Jayhawks
While Pitino has acquired the label of "miracle-worker" in his two years at Providence, Boeheim has been plagued by a "loser" label since arriving at Syracuse.
future lay in upstate New York.
The Kansas women's tennis team went 2-5 on its trip west, but the Jayhawks received good news when they came home.
By ROB KNAPP
"Jim's got to feel good about him
now." Pitino said. "He's not
negative, but there have been times
he's called up and said, 'I'm not that
good.'"
Staff writer
Senior team captain Barb Inman, the Jayhawks' regular No. 5 singles player, underwent arthroscopic surgery on her knee Monday at Lawrence Memorial Hospital She returned home and competed with Kansan Brown. Your brightness at Provo, Utah, did not travel to California with the team.
Doctors discovered that cartilage in the knee was only frayed and not torn, Kansas coach Scott Perelman said.
The Jayhawks' next competition will be Friday through Sunday at the Northeast Louisiana Invitational in Monroe.
Perelman said that the team needed to work on consistency and that he was encouraged by its performance against LSU, a top 25 team.
Perealman said Inman should be ready to play when the team's Big Eight Conference schedule begins April 3 at Oklahoma State.
In Provo on March 11-14, the Jayhawks lost 8-1 to BYU and 6-3 to Louisiana State before beating Iowa 7-2. Kansas finished with a 6-3 loss to Utah.
"We did everything but beat them," Perelman said.
The Jayhawks then traveled to California where they lost to Yale 7-2 in Irvine on March 16, beat Texas-El Paso 8-1 in San Diego on March 18 and lost to Pepperdine 5-1 in Malibu on March 21.
Perealman said that junior Marie Hibbard played well on the trip. Hibbard won all four of her matches in the No. 6 singles position and took two of three after moving up to replace Iman at No. 5.
Freshman Stephanie Rahilly moved into the No. 6 slot and won one of two matches. Senior Janelle Bolen played at No. 6 against Pepperdine and lost in three sets.
The team did not play its doubles matches in Malibu because of rain
Clippers talk to Brown, paper says
United Press International
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers, owners of the NBA's worst record, have spoken to Kansas basketball coach Larry Brown, former Phoenix Suns coach John MacLeod and former New York Knicks coach Hubie Brown about coaching the team next season, published reports said yesterday.
Larry Brown, who coached in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets, is a possibility for the job, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner reported. Brown is “considering all options,” such
as remaining at Kansas or entertaining an NBA offer with the New York Knicks, sources quoted in the Herald Examiner said.
"My position is that I don't want to discuss a job while the coach is fighting his tail off for his job," MacLeod said. "I told them I would talk at an appropriate time."
MacLeod, fired after 14 seasons by the Phoenix Suns last month, told the Los Angeles Times that he was contacted by the Clippers and was interested but would not discuss the position until after the season, out of respect for Los Angeles Coach Chaney.
The Herald Examiner reported that Clippers President Alan Rothenberg had met with Hubie Brown, who was fired by the Knicks in November. Hubie Brown, now working as a television producer, has been told to be the club's No. 1 choice because of his disciplinary style.
Los Angeles General Manager Elgin Baylor said, "We're going to evaluate the coach and the team after the season. If there's any change to be made it will be made after the season."
The Clippers took an 11-55 record into last night's game at Denver.