8A the university daily kansan --- sports monday, march 1,2004 KUAC board approves priority points seating plan By Joe Bant jbant@kansan.com Kansas staff writer The saga of the men's basketball priority points seating plan may be coming to a close. The University of Kansas Athletics Corporation board of directors approved the plan Friday. Now, only the chancellor's approval remains to be had. The vote was one vote shy of being unanimous. Most board members had only positive things to say about the plan, praising revisions that awarded points for University service and membership in the Chancellor's Club, which is a club for academic donors. Board member Mike Maddox said he apprecii- ated the fairness of the plan. "We've all got constituencies that we'd love to take care of, but we're going to be as fair as we possibly can," Maddox said. The primary way to earn points is donating to athletics. Other ways include graduating from the University and previously holding season tickets, among others. Ticket-holders must be members of the Williams Fund to use their points. Membership in the Williams Fund requires a minimum $100 annual donation. The total amount of points ticket-holders have will determine the quality of the seats they get, with more points equaling better seats. Board member Bill Tuttle was the lone voice of opposition and provided the only dissenting vote. Tuttle said he still had concerns about longtime season ticket holders losing their seats and what he viewed as the value of revenue over loyalty. Athletics Director Lew Perkins said he could have the plan ready for Chancellor Hemenway as early as today. Hemenway will review the plan and suggest any changes he feels are necessary. Hemenway said he did not expect to make any significant revisions. The near unanimous support of both the KUAC and the ticket advisory committee indicated widespread support for the plan as it stands, Hemenway said. He said he would mainly be looking to make sure the plan was as fair as it could possibly be. Once the plan is finalized, the Athletics Department will conduct a mock draft, using information about current ticket-holders to project their points total and where they will be sitting next year. Perkins said the department would contact all the ticket-holders and provide them with the information when it's available. The completed plan will be put to use for next year's basketball season. Ultimately, the department will use the system for football seating too, but Perkins said it would not be ready for next year's season. The goal of the plan is to raise revenue for the Athletics Department. Perkins projected the revenue increase at between two and four million dollars. — Edited by Joe Hartigan WAYS TO EARN POINTS: One point per account for every $100 donated to KUAC beginning July 1, 1978 Two points per account per sport, per year, of purchasing non-football season tickets, beginning fall of 1984 One point per account for every football season ticket purchased per year since fall 1984 Two points per account for every year of donating to the Williams Fund since 1978 (minimum $25 per year) One point for every year of employment with the University of Kansas 10 points if attended the University of Kansas (one time only) 10 points per account if member of Chancellor's Club (one time only, one point per year beginning 2004-05 for continued membership) 10 points per account if member of KU Alumni Association (one time only, one point per year beginning 2004-05 for continued membership) 10 points if member of K-Data (one time only, one point per year beginning 2004-05 for continued membership) One bonus point per account per $100 gift to KUAC (current giving cycle only) Source: University of Kansas Athletics Department RESERVE: Simien scores team-high 26 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A Kansas center David Padgett was escorted off the court yesterday by teammates Jeff Graves, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee after spraining his ankle. Officials said he may not play Wednesday against Nebraska. Padgett played six minutes in Kansas' 79-58 victory over Oklahoma. Ignited by 13-2 and 11-3 runs in the second half, the Jayhawks looked like Kansas teams of recent years, scoring on fast breaks and buckling down on defense. The second run was capped by an alley-oop dunk from Aaron Miles to Langford to put the Jayhawks up 70-52. "The key was just to never stop running," Simlen said. "OU came out and really tried to pressure us, and that kind of got us going and we got some clean rebounds. I think that was good for us this afternoon." Amanda Kim Stairrett/Kansan The boost from Graves and Lee was needed not only because of injuries to the Jayhawks' two freshman starters, but also to show that the team can play with the depth that has led them to consecutive Final Four appearances. Lee was inserted into the game in the first half, but he was yanked immediately after turning the ball over. In the second half, Lee scored all 12 of his points, but his point production was just a footnote on his performance in the minds of his teammates and coach Bill Self. "I wasn't impressed with the baskets as much as I was impressed when he did a great job on Detrick, he played with great energy and he wasn't worried about shooting." Self said. "When you don't worry about shooting, you're always going to shoot it better. Today, he didn't think once. He just played." For the Jawhacks to be successful in the near future, Graves will have to duplicate his performance and energy from yesterday's game. The main reason is because of the high likelihood Padgett will not be able to play for a while. X-rays on Padgett's right ankle came back negative. Wayne Simien led the Jayhawks with 26 points and eight rebounds. Keith Langford's 22 points were his most since scoring 24 against Villanova on Jan. 2. Miles hit the double-digit assist mark for the 16th time in his career with 10 assists. Freshman guard Lawrence McKenzie led Oklahoma with 15 points and Derrick added 10. Next up for Kansas will be an opportunity to avenge its previous loss at Nebraska when the Cornuskers come to town on Wednesday. Just as important to Self and his players as keeping up the point production and solid defense will be maintaining the "You've got to be able to handle emotions like a man, and you can't be all up and down," Langford said. "Point production is good wherever it comes from. But when we play with good energy and good half-court defense, that gives us our best chance to win." Edited by Meghan Brune VICTORY: Bench scoring helps Jayhawks after Padgett's iniurv CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A "He obviously got the message," Self said. "Because when he got back in there he really plaved well." Miles said he talked to Lee before the game about his slump and took notice of his defense afterwards. "I told him offensively don't worry about it," Miles said. "Defensively just be a dog out there — a hound, a pit bull. And you know, that's what he showed tonight." Along with Lee, senior forward Jeff Graves added help off the bench with four points, seven rebounds and five assists. Graves also added a spark in the first half with a big breakaway dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. "I was just thinking, don't miss," Langford said with a smile after the game. But Lee had a key play of his own in the second half. With Kansas up by two and 17:30 left, Lee drained a three that took the life out of Oklahoma for good. The Sooners never got any closer, as the Jayhawks rolled the rest of the way. — Edited by Meghan Brune OKLAHOMA Kansas — 79 Oklahoma — 58 KANSAS | | Min. | FGM-FGA | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Jason Detrick | 32 | 2-8 | 10 | 3 | 1 | | Johnnie Gilbert | 34 | 2-2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | | Jabahri Brown | 19 | 2-4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | | Drew Lavender | 31 | 4-11 | 8 | 4 | 4 | | Lawrence McKenzie28 | 28 | 6-13 | 15 | 1 | 0 | | Jeison Williams | 8 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | Brandon Foust | 14 | 1-4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | | Larry Turner | 14 | 2-5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | ANSA5 Keith Langford 29 9-15 22 4 3 Wayne Simien 26 10-15 26 8 2 David Padgett 6 1-2 2 1 0 Aaron Miles 33 1-6 2 3 10 J.R. Giddens 21 2-4 6 3 1 Jeff Hawkins 1 0-1 0 0 0 Omar Wilkes 2 0-1 0 1 0 Jeremy Case 8 1-1 5 1 1 Nick Bahe 2 0-1 0 1 0 Michael Lee 22 5-7 12 4 1 Bryant Nash 4 0-2 0 3 0 Christian Moody 9 0-0 0 1 0 Jeff Graves 26 2-3 4 7 5 Moulaye Niang 2 0-0 0 0 0 Tuesday, March 9 @10:30 am Tuesday, March 30 @10:30 am