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The University Daily Kansan
Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
The chants of 'K-S-U during the Jayhawks' fight song and fans arguing calls against the Wildcats boomed through the rafters. An overabundance of purple tainted the crimson and blue seats.
Attendance: 4,564. KU fans in attendance: Maybe enough to field a baseball team.
"Ninety-five percent of it was purple," freshman forward Lauren Ervin said. "I look up in the upper deck, the nosebleed section, and see purple. It's very difficult to play in your home when they're chanting 'K-S-U.' It was tough for me personally."
Sitting in Allen Fieldhouse last night, there were a couple of conclusions to be drawn:first,"Kansas fans," particularly the students, should be ashamed. However, no one will feel any shame because no one cares about this school's history. And that's a problem.
Fans must defend Kansas' character
During the Kansas-Kansas State women's basketball game, one could hear things that should never be said in the historic arena.
Kansas got roughed up last night, 81-51, but hung around for awhile. Yes, the Jayhawks are now 9-11 this season with only two conference wins. No, they're not that good of a team.
At Kansas State, there is a men's basketball team that is sub-par and draws low attendance numbers. But when Kansas came to town, at least 80 percent of Bramlage Coliseum was purple and white.
Is this a column butchering people for not showing up to support the womens' basketball team? Heck no. There are few legitimate reasons to attend the remaining home games. However, this is about defending the honor of this school.
While you were out at the bar or in your dorm room last night, you may have heard a rumbling noise under the floor. That was Phog Allen spinning in his grave.
It would pain the Fieldhouse's namesake, and other former legends who call it home, to see the sight.
Along with being a student at the University of Kansas, you hold a responsibility to carry the traditions of this school. One of those is maintaining the prestige of Allen Fieldhouse. If you don't want to go to women's games on a regular basis, no one's going to cut your tongue out. But you should have found a way to make it to the game last night, because the amount of Wildcat faithful in the stands was more than it ever should be.
A "shout out" has to go to Keith Langford and his teammates for making an appearance.
The other conclusion that can be made from last night is that there are few people who can actually consider themselves "Kansas fans."
You may pay tuition, go to class and even call the Free For All confessing your love for a men's basketball player, but that doesn't get you off the hook.
What about those devoted boys and girls who loyally sit in the Fieldhouse hallways for days and wait for men's basketball games? They are "Kansas men's basketball fans." The same goes for those who selectively attend football and men's basketball games.
Greene is a Vernon Hills, IL., senior in journalism
Other then the men's team and the handful of other KU fans who showed up, no one should have the audacity to call themselves a true "Kansas fan."
'Hawks overwhelmed by crowd and team
By Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Thursday, February 12, 2004
It is an Allen Fieldhouse tradition for fans to wave the wheat after a Jayhawk home victory. After last night's women's game against Kansas State, there was plenty of waving, unfortunately for the Jayhawks it was not because of a victory.
The waving came from Kansas State players acknowledging the nearly 4,000 Wildcat supporters who traveled east to pack the Fieldhouse.
In front of what amounted to a home crowd away from home, the No. 9-ranked Wildeats ran away from the Jayhawks in an 81-51 victory last night.
"We knew they were coming," Kansas interim coach Lynette Woodard said of the Kansas State following. "We just wanted to use that energy on our behalf."
Instead, it was the Wildcats who were inspired. The team used its talented post players to overwhelm the Jayhawks.
players to State had Kansas seeing triple inside, as center Nicole Ohlide, and forwards Kendra Wecker, and Brie Madden
combined for 58 of the team's 81 points.
Ohlde and Wecker were especially impressive early. The two combined for 16 points in the first eight minutes of the game, giving Kansas State a 19-6 edge and ensuring the Jayhawks would never hold a lead.
"It's tough even for a two-point lead playing against K-State," freshman forward Lauren Ervin said. "They just have so many weapons on the floor."
so many weapons on the foot. The Wildcats only extended the lead from there.A quick move from Ohlide with just under seven minutes left in the first half resulted in a basket, and a 32-11 advantage.
"They're one of the elite teams in the country."Woodard said. "I really thought we could do it, though."
For the next 20 minutes, Kansas did play as if it could have pulled off an upset.
Eric BroemyKansan
The Jayhawks received a spark off the bench from forward Kandis Bonner, who brought not only points but emotion. The junior forward capped a 9-1 run for Kansas in the first half, knocking in a layup, getting fouled and converting the free throw to bring the score to 29-41.
Kansas State junior guard Megan Mahoney fouled Kansas junior guard Aquanita Burras under the basket in the first half. The Wildcats outscoored the Jayhawks in the paint by 20 points as they won 81-51 yesterday in Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks were unable to cut the lead further. Twice in the second half, Kansas narrowed the gap to 13 could not
SEE OVERWHELMED ON PAGE 5B
Hallman leads game, doesn't save Jayhawks
By Jonathan Kealing
jkealing@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
Interim head coach Lynette Woodard made a minor change to the lineup for last night's game against Kansas State.
The change did not make much difference in the final score, but it did allow sophomore guard Erica Hallman to lead the team in scoring with 14 points.
Hallman, who replaced junior guard Blair Waltz as a starter, has played off the bench for the last few games. However, Woodard chose Hallman last night.
"We just wanted to get more shooting," Woodard said. "She's been doing a great job in practice."
Halman,who averages 6.7 points per game,knocked down 14 points, 11 coming in the first half. Also in the first half, she was 3-4 from beyond the arc, and scored the first Kansas points of the game.
"We knew that Kansas State could rain threes at any time. First
SEE HALLMAN ON PAGE 58
Jared Soares/Kansan
LEFT: J.R. Giddens took a breather during a break in action. Giddens has solidified his spot in the Jayhawks' starting lineup as just a freshman. His high-flying dunks and smooth jumpshot have made him an Allen Fieldhouse fan favorite. RIGHT: Giddens fired a three-pointer against Colorado on Jan. 25. The deep ball has been one of the freshman's specialties in his first season as a Jayhawk. He has also emerged as an emotional sparkplug for coach Bill Self's team.
Eric Braem/Kansan
FREE-FLOWING FRESHMAN
STORY BY RYAN GREENE
Kansas freshman guard J.R. Giddens takes the game as it comes
then Late Night in the Phog began last October, Justin Ray Giddens, or J.R. as he's known, was already a local celebrity. But by midnight, fans
could see he was more than the name and number on his jersey. They could see they would never forget the number 15.
After thundering down the newly designed Allen Fieldhouse floor, he took off in the air with one foot on the freethrow line, soaring through the air, his legs pumped as though he was walking on the air below.
Finally, he cocked the leather ball behind his head, pushed it forward, and as the rim and backboard vibrated, 16,300 people erupted to their feet in a state of ecstasy. Young boys grow up with hoop dreams like this, but a select few are gifted with that astonishing athletic ability and star power.
No one in the stands at the annual
midnight festivities that evening cared whether this kid could defend, rebound or hit a free throw. On that Friday night, one thing was established among the Kansas basketball faithful — J.R. Giddens had arrived.
"In Oklahoma," he says with his signature ear-to-ear, toothy grin, "I'm known as the man."
Growing up
There is no doubt that J.R. Giddens is a pretty free-flowing guy. He pumps his fists and yells during games, he does cart wheels at practice, and he loves to talk. It's easy to be that way when you have so much confidence.
Born and raised in a northwest suburb of Oklahoma City, Okla., he first held a basketball while still in diapers. But the game was never forced upon him by his parents. He loved it all on his own.
"I had a Fisher-Price hoop, and my sister bought me a basketball when I was little," Giddens says. "I dunked it so hard
As he grew older, J.R. would watch basketball on television with his dad, Charles. He would practice his game outside with his dad and with his cousin Rico. Giddens spent countless hours outside shooting hoops, sometimes as late as two in the morning.
Giddens' favorite pastime was going outside in the winter mornings before school and shooting on the frozen basketball nets around his neighborhood. The youngster would shoot until he saw the ball drop through the net, causing the icicles hanging from the frozen nylon to fall like rain. The endless early days and late nights shooting in the neighborhood turned him into the lethal three-point threat he is today.
The ability to dunk, which is now a signature of Giddens' style, came on a neighbor's driveway when Giddens was
that I broke it."
SEE GIDDENS ON PAGE 4B
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C. Jackson or Maggie Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
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