Sports
West Coast clash
The Kansas men's basketball team faces undefeated Stanford. Look at the statistics of tomorrow night's game.PAGE 7A
12A
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, December 5, 2003
Jared Soares/Kansar
Sophomore forward Crystal Kemp muscled for position amid defenders. Kemp led the team in scoring with 10.7 points per game. The 1-2 Jayhawks will attempt to improve their record at the Jayhawk Classic this weekend in Lawrence.
Jayhawks will finally be at home
Jesse Newell
jnewell@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
After starting the season with three consecutive road games, Allen Fieldhouse will not be the only welcome sight for the Kansas women's basketball team.
The presence of fans — Kansas fans — will also be a refreshing change.
Kansas will finally be able to experience that home-court advantage this weekend, when it hosts the Holiday Inn Jayhawk Classic. The Jayhawks will face Cal State Fullerton at 12:30 p.m. in their first game of the tournament tomorrow. The game will be televised on the Jayhawk Television Network.
"Going away to Oregon, we probably had five or six fans in there," sophomore forward Crystal Kemp said. "It's always nice to get fans behind you, especially in a tight game."
Kemp said the team was more pleased with the loss to Oregon than it was with its victory over Sacramento State.
"We were so aggressive the whole time," Kemp said. "The fact that we were able to put it together against a great team like Oregon gave us an extra pep in our step."
Coach Marian Washington agreed that, despite the road loss, the team had gained much from the close game.
"When you're away from home, it's not easy." Washington said, "but I think, obviously, they could tell how much progress they'd made over one game."
The Jayhawks will look to continue that progress during the weekend.
Kemp and sophomore forward Tamara Ransburg are coming off strong performances in Oregon, as both were named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging double figures in scoring.
Junior guard Larisha Graves and sophomore guard Kaylee Brown have also begun to come into their own for the Jayhawks. The junior-college transfers started both games in Oregon and contributed more than 25 minutes per game.
Meanwhile, Cal State Fullerton enters the tournament winless in three contests. The Titans are led by a pair of sophomore forwards, with Amber Pruitt averaging a team-high 13.7 points and 8.7 rebounds and Tessa Moon right behind with 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Last year, the Jayhawks fell 48-46 to Western Illinois in the championship game of the Jayhawk Classic. Kansas last won the tournament in the 1999-2000 season.
Alabama State and UTEP will compete in the second game of the tournament tomorrow. The winners of tomorrow's two games will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. for the championship, with the losers matching up at noon in the consolation game.
"Scheduling can get you going or it can just really make you struggle," Washington said. "I am so happy to be back here."
Washington said, after a tough road stretch, she was ready to enjoy the comforts of home.
Edited by Jonathan Reeder
Size matchup favors Kansas
By Chris Wintering
cwintering@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
At 3 p.m. tomorrow in Anaheim, Calif., Kansas will put its No.1 ranking on the line against No.17 Stanford. The Cardinal, like the Jayhawks, are 5-0 this season and both are expected to contend for their conference title.
Kansas coach Bill Self said this game would be his team's first against a team with similar size.
In Kansas' first three games, all of its opponents have been undersized, which created matchup problems for the Jayhawks, usually involving a Kansas post player chasing a smaller man around the perimeter. With 6-foot-10 junior Rob Little and 6-foot-9 senior Justin Davis in Stanford's front court, Kansas will not have to worry about chasing smaller players around tomorrow.
Kansas' problem with smaller teams
was most evident Monday against TCU. The Horned Frogs took away the Jayhawks' high post, which led to only four field goals for Kansas' post players.
white Kansas' post play wasn't a major factor against TCU, its perimeter game offered major contributions especially from sophomore guard Jeff Hawkins. Hawkins scored a career-high 19 points coming off the bench, including five three pointers.
"I knew coming in Mike Lee wasn't playing, so I had to step up." Hawkins said. "I had it in my mind to do whatever it takes to win the game."
In addition to Hawkins' stellar game, freshman J.R. Giddens also marked a career high with 12 points. It was the first start of Giddens' young career at Kansas.
"He is learning an awful lot real fast," Self said. "He watches tape and spends a ton of time up in the office—he's starting to get it."
While not getting the ball to junior Wayne Simien or freshman David Padgett
didn't influence the victory against TCU. Self said his team must get the post players involved against Stanford.
Stanford coach Mike Montgomery is in his 17th season and 366-165 in his career. This season, his team is 3-0 after beating Rice, UC-Irvine and Sacramento State. Stanford has not looked good offensively in its first three games scoring less than 70 points per game partly because the team is without last year's leading scorer, junior Josh Childress.
Childress will be out until conference play with a stress fraction in the his left foot. He was a top recruit that actually turned the Jayhawks down after attending Late Night with Roy Williams in 1999.
Self said that this game was important because of the recruiting battles that Kansas has had in California in the past. Former Jayhawks Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Scot Pollard and Eric
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 8A
Guard J.R. Giddens shined last week against TCU, scoring 12 points. With Mike Lee out with a broken collarbone, Kansas is looking to Jeff Hawkins and Giddens to threaten from above the arc.
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Kansas' outside hitter Sarah Rome recorded one of her 17 kills in the Jayhawks' three-game victory last night over Long Beach State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Pepperdine University.
Jeff Jacobsen/KUAC
'Hawkswin
By Mike Norris
mnorris@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas sweeps Long Beach State in three games
MALIBU, Cali. — When the whistle blew to begin the match it didn't matter that this was the Kansas volleyball team's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and Long Beach State's 17th straight.
The Jayhawks, after seeming tentative at the start, swept the 49ers out of the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. Long Beach coach Brian Gimmillaro gave credit to Kansas coach Ray Bechard.
"I'm proud of Ray and what he developed," he said. "They outplayed us in every category."
Kansas had four players with at least 12 kills, with Rome leading the way with 17. The Jayhawks had a hitting percentage of .359 after.244 on the season.
Bechard said the increased hitting percentage was a direct result of good passing. Sophomore setter Andi Rozum had a match-high 51 assists.
The Jajhawks recovered to win game one 30-23.
Long Beach jumped out to a 10-7 lead but instead of calling a time-out Bechard let his players play. The Jayhawks responded with a 10-2 run to take a 17-12 lead. When middle blocker Josi Lima recorded a kill to give Kansas a 21-16 lead the Jayhawks never looked back.
Long Beach, which was 0-9 in the regular season after losing game one, seemed determined to put an end to that streak. The 49ers jumped out to an early 6-3 lead. On the 49ers sixth point Lima came down hard on her tailbone after a block attempt. She lay on the floor for more than a minute, then bounced back up and stayed in the game. The injury didn't seem to affect her as she pounded a kill to give Kansas a 16-15 lead.
The teams then battled to an 18-18 tie, giving the Long Beach faithful an uneasy feeling.
Rome and junior middle blocker Ashley Michaels kept the Jayhawks close with stellar play at the net. Michaels recorded five kills in the game and Rome had seven.
The teams then traded points, with Kansas finally jumping ahead 29-27.
On Kansas' 29th point it appeared that Long Beach had recorded a kill for a point, but a late net-violation call on the 49ers gave the point to the Jayhawks. Outside litter Lindsey Morris then recorded a kill, sending Kansas to a 2-0 lead at the half.
Heading into game three Bechard said he knew the team needed to end to the match soon.
"I didn't want to play any longer," he said, "for them, game three would've meant momentum."
Bechard called his first time-out of the match with the Jayhawks trailing 20-15. The teams traded points again with the 49ers leading 26-22. The momentum slowly shifted Long Beach's way again, but Lima answered, flying through the air and crushing a kill that cut the lead to three.
Rome and Lima later added a kill each to tie the match at 28.
Gimmillaro called a time-out. Afterward, Morris recorded a kill and the Jayhawks were one point away from their first post-season victory. When Long Beach's Rosie Lewis attempted her twelfth kill of the night, Jayhawk volleyball history rested in her hands. She swung and smashed the ball over the net and out of bounds. The Kansas comeback was complete.
"We won a game from ahead, we won a game that was even and we won a game from behind," Bechard said. "So we won all the different ways you could win."
in the different ways. Kansas will take on the fourth-seeded Pepperdine Waves at 6 tonight. The Waves are 26-2 on the season after defeating Manhattan College 3-0 last night.
Edited by Jonathan Reeder
Tangerine Bowl 2003
Coaches work to recruit, build programs
Chuck Amato
son as the Wolfpack coach. Amato, who lettered for three years as an NC State linebacker in the 1960s, served as an defensive assistant for 18 seasons, including acting as the assistant coach from 1986-99. As a defensive coach for the Seminoles, Amato worked with players such as Andre Wadsworth, Peter Boulware and Derrick Brooks who all went on to the NFL. He became the NC State head coach just two days after coaching the Seminoles to the 1999 National Championship. In just four seasons under Amato, the Wolfpack program has become one of best in the ACC.
Key Facts — At the age of 57, Amato is in his fourth season as the Wolfpack coach.
Accompailments — In 2002, his third season at NC State, Amato led the Wolfpack to the first 11-victory season in school history. Amato is just the fourth coach in the history of the ACC to lead his team to a bowl game in his first four seasons. Amato's biggest contribution, however, may be his recruiting. His current freshman class was
Amato
ranked in the top-10 by several recruiting services.
Sound Familiar? — Just like Kansas coach Mark Mangino, Amato is all about building a program. Amato has built his roster with solid recruiting classes, as well as changing the physical layout of the NC State program. The recent winning
SEE AMATO ON PAGE 8A
Mark Mangino
Key Facts — In a way,
everything that coach
Mangino has touched in his
Mangino has touched in his coaching career turns to gold. Mangino has been an integral part in helping turn the Kansas State and Oklahoma programs in the right directions as an assistant. Those stints include winning a National Championship with Oklahoma in 2000 as the offensive coordinator. Mangino is 8-16 in two years at Kansas, but he has validated his hiring by doing the little things over the past two seasons. Coach Mangino has run his program his way, has gotten rid of players who did not meet his requirements and has brought a new brand of football to Lawrence with players that fit his blue-collar preference.
Accomplishments --- Mangino has
Mangino
keyed one of college football's more impressive turnarounds in recent memory. The Jayhawks, who had five losing seasons under previous head coach Terry Allen, went 2-10 in Mangino's first season, including a winless conference schedule. Kansas' 6-6 record this
year earned the school its first bowl bid since 1995, when the Jayhawks defeated UCLA in the Alaho Bowl. This is the 10th bowl game Mangino will coach in and could be his most memorable.
Aling Things Out — As if Kansas' highly-rated pass attack does not convince people that Mangino's
SEE MANGINO ON PAGE 8A
TA!K TO SPORTS; Contact II Hensley and Shane Mettlen at **SPORTS@KANSAN.COM**
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