Sports
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, January 20, 1988
13
Operations beach KU's 'Shark'
Redshirt forward Mark Randall spends his afternoons watching basketball practice rather than participating while he recovers from law and nose surgery
By Elaine Sung
Kansan sports writer
His teammates used to call him "The Shark."
But redshift forward Mark Randall has a new look since doctors operated on his jaw two weeks ago.
Teammates Scooter Barry and Jeff Gueldner made up the nickname last year. Gueldner said it was because of his nose and his voracious appetite.
“When people came to visit me, their first comment was, ‘Your nose smaller.’” Randall said. “Everyone on the team said I look like a rail now.”
"We used to say that if he got into the Alvamar pool and floated on his back with just his nose sticking up, the kids would run out of the pool when we arrived. He told herder said. "And before the operation, he would eat everything in sight."
Randall, who has dropped from a summer high of 235 pounds to 220, still cannot chew solid foods. Instead, must purse everything before he eats it.
"I can't bite anything," he said. "I have a permanent hat, I have to have my neck fitted shirt."
That was what doctors were considering when they operated on Randall. But they decided to hold his upper jaw together with the help of a splint made of plastic plate sections and screws.
A dentist had discovered the jaw problems first when he found that only two of the molars in Randall's mouth touched when Randall closed his mouth, resulting in a gap between the jaws.
He sent Randall to an oral surgeon, who said that an operation was the only solution and if surgery were performed with facial muscles could lock at any time.
Randall, however, had been chosen earlier for the Big Eight Select team, scheduled to compete in the People's Republic of China that summer. His dilemma was whether to opt for a medically validately or to travel with the team.
Instead, Randall decided to red-shirt his sophomore year at KU and undergo surgery during the winter break.
"I wanted to put it off," he said. "I was going to delay it until next summer."
He checked into St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver on Jan. 4.
Randall's upper palate, which was too small, was sawed into four sections and widened out. The entire upper jaw was then moved forward and held together with the plastic splint.
The result is that he can now breathe 100 percent better and that infected tissues are not prevented from returning. Randall said.
"I had a slight case of asthma to start with. It's something I've lived with, and I was used to it," he said. "But since the operation, the asthma's cleared up as well. I guess I got all the problems out of the way."
Randall goes back to St. Joseph's in seven weeks to have the plates removed, and he may need to see an orthodontist as a positioner or braces for his teeth.
"I have pain medication, and I take it when I need it," Randall said. "My teeth are shifting, so they're just sore and there's a little discomfort."
The procedure itself was not painful, he said, and with the help of anti-inflammatory drugs, the swelling was kept to a minimum.
The operation caused only a few problems; small nosebleeds being on them.
“it's kind of embarrassing when I constantly wiping my nose,” he said.
Another problem is Randall's lack of sensitivity in the area under his right eye and above the upper lip. The nerves there were damaged during the operation and will take up to a year to grow back, he said.
for another six to seven weeks.
"I didn't want to shave the first couple of days," Randall said. "When I'm shaving now, I can't really feel it."
According to his recovery schedule, Randall can start riding a bicycle in two weeks, but to keep the practice alive, he must practice any except free-throws
He makes a habit of attending basketball practices now, and he even suited up to help out during the Special Olympics basketball clinic last Sunday.
For now, he watches his teammates carefully from the bleachers of Allen Field House, often holding a baseball and spinning it on his fingertips.
Gueldner, who was Randall's roommate last year, said he never knew the situation was serious enough to warrant an operation.
Randall, a business major, said he did not regret his decision to redshift, and would use this year to concentrate on his studies.
"I'm happy to be back and just be around the team," he said. "It was really tough for a while when I wasn't playing."
"It never seemed to get to the point where he'd have to sit down in practice," Guelndner said.
It felt worse, though, when he had to watch his team on television instead.
"When I was still in Colorado, I stayed up to watch the tape-delayed game of the Kansas-Missouri game," Randall said. "Being there and not playing is one thing, but not being there at all is tough. You want to be there cheering for them."
Kansas women need victory against Buffs to avoid an 0-3 start
By Keith Stroker
Kansan sports writer
An 0-3 start in the Big Eight Conference is something the Jayhawk women's basketball program has never experienced.
It could become a reality tonight if Kansas loses to the Colorado Lady Buffs in Boulder, Colo. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
The Lady Buffs, 10-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference, have been a surprise this year, according to Washington.
Senior Sandy Shaw replaced junior center Deborah Richardson in the starting lineup against Iowa State on Saturday. Richardson, who injured her knee in practice Thursday, will be out for at least a week and will return after a short rehabilitation process.
The Jayhawks, 10-5 overall, need to work on mental toughness and aggressiveness, said Kansas coach Marian Washington. She said the team was struggling but this was somewhat misleading because the conference was much more competitive this season than in years past.
In the two conference games, starters Lisa Braddy and Lisa Baker have combined to hit just two of 27 field goals for 7.4 percent. Cook said it was a matter of instilling confidence in them, as well as the rest of the team, to stop the two-game losing streak.
Richardson leads the Big Eight with 34 blocked shots. She has scored in double figures in seven of nine pitches and the Jayhawks winning all seven.
Assistant coach Kevin Cook agreed with Washington. He said the Big Eight was the second toughest conference, from top to bottom, next to the Southeast Conference, which includes perennial powerhouses Louisiana State, Georgia and Tennessee.
"Colorado was one of the favorites
the year in the conference.
Washington is in the state."
good every team in this conference is. We can't afford to take anyone lightly."
Colorado is led by junior guard Bridget Turner, who is averaging 13.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game.
This season Turner became only the seventh player in Lady Buffs history to score 1,000 career points. She sheared that number Dec. 30 against California State-Fullerton.
Washington said Colorado had a terrific perimeter game, with a deliberate offensive attack. She said their only weakness was the inside game.
Kansas assistant coach Julia Yeater has seen Colorado play this year. They are a ball club that plays under control, she said.
"They are a team that has very few weak spots," Yeater said. "They never turn the ball over."
Washington said she knew how good the Lady Buffs could be, referring to their play in a 66-59 loss at Louisiana Tech, which is ranked No. 80 in the nation's college basketball important game for the Jayhawks and for the rest of their season.
Last season the two teams split, each one winning on its home court. The scores were 83-65, Colorado, and 65-62, Kansas.
The Jayhawks are 9-4 overall against the Lady Buffs, 2-3 in Boulder. Kansas last won there on Jan. 26, 1965, 66-55, but has lost the last two.
PROBABLE STARTERS
PROBABLE STARTERS
Kansas Jayhawks 10-5
Coach: Marian Washington   PPG
-F34 Mesh Strohwer     5'8"    7.9
-F32 Liza Baker       5'11"    5.9
-C23 Sandy Shaw       6'0"    11.7
-G12 Lisa Braddy      5'7"    8.8
-G3 Lisa Doudyhert    5'8"    13.5
Colorado Lady Buffs 10-5
Coach: Calary Barb             PPG
F-55 Rosland Stark           '61' 1.5
F-55 Molly Hall            '61' 1.5
C-34 Crystal Ford           '62' 10.9
G-24 Bridget Tripp          '58' 13.7
G-42 Tracy Tripp            '510' 13.1
Former KU swimmer Karen Dionne overcame insurmountable odds by returning to school and becoming an assistant swimming coach after a near-fatal injury ended her swimming career.
Former swimmer finds joy in spite of disabling injury
By Tom Stinson
Kansan sports writer
Boring lectures. Late nights. Breaking even with your laundry.
For some students, it just seems hopeless. But for Karen Dionne, even the most menial task has its own rewards.
She's back and she's loving it. Dionne, a former swimmer and now a student assistant coach with the Kansas swimming program, was injured in an automobile accident Nov. 30, 1985, while driving to Lawrence after Thanksgiving break. The car sled on ice into an oncoming car. No one in the other car was seriously injured.
She suffered severe head injuries and was comatose for about a month following the accident. Tammy Pease, Dionne's teammate and one of the passengers in the car, died in the accident.
"It it's been a long two years," the Bartlesville, Okla., sophomore said. "But it's great to be here. My first day back was all smiles."
The return of Dionne's smiling face in Lawrence capped off two years of battling odds that many thought were insurmountable. After nine months in Bartlesville, she spent 11 months in therapy at the New Medico Rehabilitation Center in Wauchoa, Fla.
"It's amazing that she's back," said swimming co-captain Anne Bloomfield, also from Bartlesville. "But that's typical for Karen. If
anyone could do it, she could."
Dionne, a recreational therapy major, said the most difficult aspect of therapy was overcoming the physical limitations. Maintaining a positive attitude was simple for her, she said.
"The mental part of therapy was really no problem," Dionne said. "Swimming helped that. Swimming toughened me up. I always wanted to do more than what the hospital wanted me to. Then I'd illustrated when I couldn't do something. That was the problem."
Relearning basic functions such as walking, talking and eating posed new obstacles for Dionne.
"I walked for the first time with (swimming coaches) Gary (Kemp) and Brad (Wells)," Dionne said. "It was about 35 steps at a swim meet in Bartlesville. I remember I was thinking 'this is the beginning.' It was really encouraging."
Kempf also remembered the first time he heard Dionne's voice.
"It was fantastic," he said. "I had heard her whisper, so I was waiting for her voice to come back. Then, one night, she just called. To watch her . . . step-by-step return and to see how well she is now is really excited."
Dionne said that accepting her inability to compete in swimming any longer was the hardest part of the ordeal. She began competitive
swimming at the age of eight
Dionne was the 1985 Big Eight Conference champion in the 100-room breast stroke team and was an All-Star at the 2007 N.C. State Basketball and 200-vard freestyle volleyb
"At least I can still work out and I can still do all of the strokes," Dionne said.
Last semester in Bartlesville, she swam as much as two miles a day. She also took classes at Bartlesville Wesleyan College.
Graduating and getting a job are Dionne's newest goals. During her rehabilitation, she changed her major from occupational therapy to recreation therapy. Dionne also plans on specializing in what she can best relate to - head injuries.
"I think I'll know a little bit about it," she said jokingly. "I want to help people. If people say 'you don't know what it's like', I can say 'yeah I do.'"
Rebuilding a life in two years requires a level of confidence that Dionne said grew with time. She said support from her family and friends helped her maintain that confidence in every aspect of her life.
"Now I feel like I'm unstoppable," Dionne said. "I feel that I can attempt anything. Something like this makes you look at life in a different perspective. It really gets your priorities straight."
Kent State hires new coach
The Associated Press
KENT, Ohio — Former North Carolina football coach Dick Crum, who resigned under pressure in November, was named yesterday as the new head football coach at Kent State.
"He's a proven winner," Kent State President Michael Schwartz said at a news conference. Schwartz said Crum had been associated with fine programs and was concerned about both the academic and athletic achievements of his players.
Kent State declined to release the terms and length of Crum's contract in a news release issued today. But the Akron Beacon Journal reported in yesterday's editions that Crum had agreed to a three-year contract that calls for a salary of $60,000 a year, $30,000 less annually than Crum had earned as coach at North Carolina.
Athletic Director Paul Amodio said that $60,000 was a reasonable estimate and that Crum would be paid at least that much.
Crum replaces Glen Mason, who accepted the head coaching job at the University of Kansas on Dec. 29. Mason led Kent State to a 7-4 record in 1887. The school shared second place with American Conference with Miami-Ohio and Bowling Green. Each had a 5-3 conference record.
Crum, a 53-year-old native of the Youngstown suburb of Boardman, said he was looking forward to returning to his home state. The coach is a graduate of Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio.
"The Ohio area, I think, is a special area when it comes to football," he said. "It's always nice to get back to an area where you know a lot of
people."
Crum said that the top priority was for students to do well on the field and in class.
Crum said his top priorities were recruiting new players and getting his staff set up. He said he had the staff members from North Carolina.
Crum accepted an $800,000 buyout of the remaining four years of his 10-year contract at North Carolina. Terms of the buyout allow Crum to keep the money although he has accepted another coaching job.
Before he moved to North Carolina, Crum led the Miami of Ohio Redskins to three Mid-American Conference titles and a 34-10-1 record between 1974 and 1977. Miami in 1974 was ranked 10 nationally, the highest finish ever by a Mid-American Conference team.
Wilander defeats Jarryd, reaches the semifinals in Australian Open
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia — Two-time champion Mats Wilander scored a clinical straight-stacks victory over fellow Swede Anders Jarryd yesterday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open Tennis Championships.
Wilander, the No. 3 seed, defeated the sixth-seeded Jarryd 7-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a 2-hour, 41-minute battle of wills. Wilander captured the first-set tiebreaker 7-2.
He earned a meeting with either defending champion Stefan Edberg of Sweden or Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, the last remaining non-seeded player in the tournament.
The men's semifinals are scheduled for Friday
The other men's semifinal will be between top-seeded Ivan Lendl and Wimbledon champion Pat Cash. Neither has lost a set in the tournament.
he masters $8m per kilm leaf some in the difficult swirling winds, won the Australian Open title 1983 and 1984. He is seeking the fifth Grand Slam title of his career, also having won the French Open twice.
Jarryd provided stiff competition throughout the first set, which dragged on for one hour. 20 minutes. Wilander staved off three set points in the 10th game.
After that, Jarryd's baseline game fell away and Wilander was able to outlast him in a number of torrid slugging baseline duels.
Wilander was more adventurous than usual, particularly in the second set, when he advanced to the net with surprising regularity.
Wilander did not serve one double fault against Jarryd, and the errors he did make often came at the net.
Jarryd, a quarterfinalist in the event for the second straight year, just did not have the consistency of his countryman.
"I felt like it was very important to Anders to win the first set," Wilander said. "I felt like he was tired from his big match the other day."
"I was lucky to win the first set and lucky to win in three straight."