what we heard
"I enjoy working with young people.I'll collect water bottles and won't yell at the referees." Former Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss on volunteering to coach his son's high school team.
thursday, december 4, 2003
off the bench
the university daily kansan7A
Lee's injury gives Miles time to improve three-point game
Mike Lee's injury is the best thing to happen for Aaron Miles.
Now, I don't mean any ill-will toward Lee. In fact, I wish for a fast, complete recovery from the broken collarbone, and I seriously doubt that Miles would hope for any serious harm toward his roommate. These next six-to-eight weeks in Lee's absence will be a big test for Miles. The junior point guard must demonstrate that he's a consistent perimeter shooter.
While it may seem early, consistently hitting the outside shot is crucial for Miles, especially in the conference season and the postseason.
Last year, Miles had a solid year as a sophomore. He was named to the honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference Team. He averaged 8.9 points per game. His 6.4 assists-per-game average was second in the Big 12 and 11th in the nation. The Portland, Ore., native led the Big 12 in steals at 2.4 per game, which was also 17th in the nation.
Jason Hwang jhwang@hansan.com
sports commentary
But the Achilles' heel to Miles' game last year was shooting beyond the arc. He shot an abysmal 24.5 percent beyond the three-point line. Only two starting point guards in the Big 12, Frank Richards of Kansas State and Kasid Powell of Texas Tech, had a worse percentage.
Miles made multiple three-point field goals in only five games last year and failed to record a made three-point
shot in 21 contests.
Yet Miles' weakness was under the radar of many layhawk fans because of the presence of Kirk Hinrich. Hinrich made 40 percent of his threes and ensured the team did not necessarily need Miles to make a big impact in the scoring column.
Now Hinrich is gone. Lee, who shot 50 percent as a situational three-point shooter last year, won't be there for the next six to eight weeks as a security blanket beyond the arc.
Now, Miles cannot afford to hide his flaw under any shadow. He must become more assertive and prove that his three-point shooting stats from a year ago are, in fact, a thing of the past, not a trait.
So far, after three games, Miles' scoring, assists and steals have increased. But most importantly, his three-point percentage is showing signs of improvement. He went 2-5 from three-point range against Tennessee-Chattanooga
and 1-3 against TCU. Now he's at 33 percent (4-12), which is 13 percentage points higher than last year's first three games.
The media has said that three-point shooting was a glaring weakness for Kansas and the one factor that might hinder the 'Hawks chances to compete for a national title. Keith Langford, Jeff Hawkins and J.R. Giddens are there to make sure this is not an issue.
But the wild card is Miles. In the past, opposing point guards would back off of Miles because they didn't respect his perimeter shooting but had to respect his ability to drive the lane.
Now, Miles must make these defenses pay. Before this season, Miles had received little fanfare from the national media as being one of the top point guards in the nation.
No one will question that Miles has a lot of talent and potential. He's shown he is great at dishing the ball to his teammates and playing great defense.
I know Miles has the ability to become a solid three point shooter, and I believe that's the only thing preventing him from being the best point guard in the nation. It's a deficiency he will surely overcome.
Hwang is an Overland Park senior in communication studies.
Bonds to testify to jury for drug use
SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds weighed 185 pounds as a rookie in 1986, when he was a slender leadoff hitter known more for stealing bases than hitting homers.
Now he's a muscle-bound 230 pounds, a six-time National League MVP who holds the season record for home runs and is gaining on Hank Aaron's career mark.
Bonds says his increased strength comes from intense weight training, a proper diet and nutritional supplements from companies such as the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
The Associated Press
Still, when Bonds testifies today in a probe focusing on possible tax and drug violations by BALCO, the grand jurors and fans across the country might wonder whether his muscular development has been entirely natural.
Bonds, 59, repeatedly has denied using steroids and argues that his evolution as a home run hitter has been steady.
"Go look at the back of my bubble gum card," he said after winning a third straight MVP award last month. "My numbers are consistent."
Except for 1989, Bonds has hit at least 24 homers in each of his 17 full seasons. The only dramatic jump came in 2001, when his record 73 homers marked the
only time he topped 50.
On the other hand, four of Bonds' five biggest homer totals came in the last four seasons, all after his 35th birthday.
Bonds will be the biggest name to appear before the grand jury.
basketball, swimming and volleyball — already have appeared. That includes track star Marion Jones and her boyfriend, 100-meter world record-holder Tim Montgomery, four Oakland Raiders and Olympic champion swimmer Amy Van Dyken.
An appearance before the grand jury, or being subpoenaed to testify, does not mean an athlete is a target of the probe.
FOOTBALL
Conference coaches name Kansas players All-Big 12
Twelve members of the Kansas football team were honored yesterday as All-Big 12 performers by coaches in the conference.
For the second straight season the Jayhawks had the conference's Offensive Newcomer of the year, this time with center Joe Vaughn. Quarterback Bill Whittemore took home the honor last year.
Vaughn
Vaughn, a first-year Jayhawk transferred to Kansas following two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M
He allowed just one sack all year in 372 pass attempts.
The All-Big 12 Third Team included six Javhawks.
Those players are senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, junior center Joe Vaughn, senior offensive lineman Adrian Jones, sophomore linebacker Gabe Toomey, senior punter Curtis Ansel and freshman wide receiver Charles Gordon.
The following received honorable mention: sophomore receiver Mark Simmons, sophomore tailback Clark Green, sophomore linebacker Nick Reid, sophomore linebacker Banks Floodman, junior safety Tony Stubbs and freshman tailback John Randle.
Ryan Greene
Friday
Swimming at U. of Houston, 6 p.m. at Houston
Saturday
Men's basketball at Stanford, 3 p.m. at Anaheim Calif.
Women's basketball
Swimming at Texas A&M, 1 p.m. at College Station Texas
Holiday Inn/Jayhawk Classic, Kansas against Cal State Fullerton, 12:30 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse
Sunday
Women's basketball, Holiday Inn/Jayhawk Classic,TBA
The Associated Press
Chiefs' Kennison sick of Broncos talking trash
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City wide receiver Eddie Kennison blasted the Denver Broncos and coach Mike Shanahan yesterday, and seemed to promise that the Chiefs would beat them this week.
Kennison, who started six games for the Broncos in 2011 and then was dismissed for quitting the team the night before a game, insisted that the Chiefs are the NFL's best team.
"You can believe that," he said. "If you think I'm not serious, I'm about to get emotional right now just thinking about it."
Controversy with the Broncos is nothing new for Kennison. He has said he walked out on the team because his wife was going through a difficult pregnancy
But many Denver players at the time expressed anger.
The Chiefs (11-1) can clinch the AFC West title Sunday and take another step toward securing homefield advantage by beating the Broncos (7-5). In Kansas City in October, the Chiefs ended the game with a one-point victory despite getting outplayed in many statistics.
Kennison said he was upset by remarks he had heard in the Denver media leading up to Sunday's game in Denver.
"They better get ready," Kennison said. "We're the best team in the NFL right now. They better understand that. They better respect it."
Kennison said he was particularly disturbed that someone in Denver had referred to the Chiefs as "frauds."
"We'd rather be 11-1 frauds than 7-5 hanging from a string for Mike Shanahan," he said. "When you're really scared, that's when you make quotes in the paper like that."
"Well, OK, then he's scared, too." he said. "Scared of what you all might write. I need to write something about him."
Kennison was unfazed when told that it was Denver Post columnist Mark Kissla and not the players who said the Chiefs were frauds.
Kennison, who has caught 42 passes for 601 yards and three touchdowns, said he was also irritated because he'd been told there was criticism in Denver of Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil.
"They talk about our coach. Ask them about their coach," he said. "Ask them what kind of person he is."
Moving defensive back Deltha O'Neal to wide receiver, Kennison said, was just a way for Shanahan to "find a scapegoat."
"He had his select few people he liked being around, he liked having," Kennison said. "Why do you think John Elway left? John Elway didn't like that guy. It was his way or no way. If it's not his way, it's the highway."
The Chiefs have also been irritated at remarks by Denver safety Kanoy Kennedy, who said, "We physically whipped them" after the Chiefs won in October on Dante Hall's 93-yard punt return.
On that play, Julian Battle got away with an apparent clip that may have helped spring Hall for his NFL-record fourth straight game with a touchdown return.
Yesterday's University Daily Kansan contained an error. The article about Kansas tailback Clark Green, labeled him as a senior. Green is a sophomore.
Free for All
Call 864-0500
Correction
David Padgett is my hero.
I just caught a KU Parking Department worker, a male KU KU Parking Department worker, leaving money in Wayne Simien's meter instead of writing him a ticket. A man leaving money for Wayne Simien. I hate the KU Parking Department.
I am watching the Illinois-North Carolina game, and this is like Bill Self's bizarro world. It is the coach that he replaced versus the coach that replaced him. It is crazy.
-
Padgett is hot. Can I have him for Christmas?
SAILING
KU Sailing Club place sixth in Lake Michigan regatta
As most students went home to relax, three KU students spent their Thanksgiving break sailing in the blistering cold weather of Illinois.
The KU sailing club finished sixth out of 12 teams in the Chicago Yacht Club's 47th annual Timme Angsten Memorial Regatta. Sailors competed in two divisions in the Lake Michigan race; with Chris LaBorde, Shreveport, La., senior, competing on the A team, and Tim Fitzgerald, Wichita freshman, and Rusty Morgan, Libertyville, Ill., junior, competing on the B team. Both divisions sailed 18 races, and point totals were compiled for final results with the team with the least points winning.
Both divisions got off to a slow start Friday. With temperatures in the mid-20s and chilling 20 mph winds from the northwest, the University of Kansas finished the day in 10th place. Water froze to the boats making sailing difficult, Fitzgerald said, but Kansas finished with 128 points that day; 84 points behind leaders Boston College.
Saturday temperatures dropped near freezing as the teams sailed another six races. Winds were milder, enabling Kansas to jumped to sixth place. In one race Kansas defeated all other eleven schools and it finished within the top five consistently in the other races.
On the last day of the Regatta weather again helped Kansas. Mild winds and 40-degree temperatures made for enjoyable sailing, Fitzgerald said.
Kansas was able to maintain its sixth place position throughout the day, eventually finishing sixth overall. Boston College finished first with a total of 190 points, second was Wisconsin with 258 points, leading them to win the MCSA Fall Championship. Kansas finished with 530 points.
Thursday
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