Section:
B
The University Daily Kansan
Sixers Clinch
Allen Iverson scored 37 points as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 108-95 last night, clinching home-court advantage throughout the East playoffs.
Sports
Inside: Kansas forward Nick Collison will have surgery on his right elbow today.
SEE PAGE 2B
Inside: The Kansas softball team will play a double header today at Wichita State.
SEE PAGE 3B
UESDAY, APRIL 10, 2001 For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
Sports Columnist
Brian Hanni
sports@kansan.com
ESPN.com poll fails to consider Celtics' Pierce
Comeback players are athletes who persevere against all odds. They overcome obstacles by rescurrecting a fading career or by fighting back from injury and returning to the playing field. Their stories are among the best in sports.
The former Jayhawk's recent play has caused many people to forget the events that took place on Sept. 25 last year at a Boston nightclub. Six months later, the stabbing that nearly cost Paul Pierce his life seems like a distant memory. Pierce has been back in uniform and scorching the nets at the Fleet Center all season. Ask anyone in Beantown about Paul Pierce, and they'll rave about the career year he's having. You're not likely to hear much anymore about his near-death experience.
A couple weeks ago, ESPN.com had a poll to declare this year's comeback player of the year. It featured names such as Andres Galarraga and Mario Lemieux, who have both beaten the odds and returned to the sport they love. ESPN.com had some worthy candidates, but they missed the boat on a guy who should have won in a landslide — Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce.
Most Boston fans have moved on and turned their focus to the team's playoff hopes. Paul Pierce would love nothing more than to see his team still going in two weeks, but for him, forgetting how this dream season started is not so easy. A career year can make up for a lot of things and wash away many bad memories, but even the best season won't erase the memory of the night that nearly ended it all.
On an early September morning while hanging out at a local club, Pierce was stabbed within an inch of his life — literally. He was stabbed repeatedly on his back, neck and across his face. But a seven-inch gash to his sternum was an eyelash away from being fatal. Had the cut been within an inch or so in any direction, Pierce would have died instantly.
When the news of Pierce's stabbing first broke, the buzz in Boston was about whether Pierce would survive the night. Soon after he was listed as stable, people began wondering whether his career would be in jeopardy. Once former Boston head coach Rick Pitino told the public Paul would be all right, people began anticipating his return. It was a whirlwind couple of days for Boston fans, but before they could say "clam-chowda" their worries about Pierce had been put to rest. But things weren't so simple for Paul.
While Celtic fans were glued to their TVs, watching the Pierce-less Celtics struggle through their first few exhibition games, Pierce was undergoing plastic surgery and rehab. His road to recovery was underway, and to the surprise of several Celtic trainers, he was back on the parquet floor in a few weeks. By the time the regular season's first week rolled around, he was hitting on all cylinders and getting closer to 100 percent.
With every month that passed, Pierce was getting stronger and his game was improving. Before long, he returned to full strength and even surpassed his previous level of play. He leads his team in scoring and has set career highs in almost every statistical category.
His comeback became complete in March when he was named NBA Player of the Month. Pierce averaged more than 30 points in March and scored more than 40 points on four occasions in seven games. He posted a career-high 44 against the Nets and had back-to-back 42-point games against the Lakers and Suns. Larry Bird was the last Celtic to accomplish that feat in 1987.
Pierce is finally starting to get the recognition he deserves, and he'll be the first to tell you he'd rather be remembered for his basketball shooting than his September stabbing. But despite Pierce's great attitude and desire to move on, the scars from last fall still remain, and nightmares can return on any night. We, on the outside, don't have to look at those scares every morning or remember what it was like to be attacked out of the blue.
Paul Pierce always will. He didn't have the time or desire to worry about it, though, and because of the way he fought back, he's now playing the best basketball of his life. Pierce's survival, perseverance and progress should be an inspiration to everyone. And if he's not worthy to be comeback player of the year, I don't know who is.
Hanni is a Topeka junior in Broadcast
Junior linebacker Marcus Rogers, left, runs drills with his teammates yesterday on the KU practice field. Rogers was chosen as me team's co-captain for the upcoming season. Photo by Aaron Showalter/KANSAN
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Linebacker guides team
By Jeff Denton
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Senior middle linebacker Marcus Rogers gathered his teammates in a 9-on-7 drill during yesterday's practice. As he began to bark instructions, six pair of eyes were locked on the on-co-captain. They appeared not to blink until Rogers was finished talking.
"Marcus is a good football player," coach Terry Allen said. "After being elected captain, he's warmed to the leadership role."
Leading by performance has never been an issue for the 6-foot-1, 235pounder.
He started every game from his spot in the middle last season. Playing in front of his friends and family, the Dallas native flourished in the season opener against Southern Methodist with a career-high 13 tackles. In the October match-up with Missouri, Rogers' 11-tackle afternoon helped him earn the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week Award.
This time last year, Rogers was expected to make plays. Anything more would have been a plus. A year later, he is expected to lead the Jayhawks' defense. Anything less would be a disappointment.
"I am proud that the younger players have the respect to choose me as a co-captain," Rogers said. "I want to fulfill that role. It's my job to lead this team; it's my responsibility."
New linebacker coach Johnny Barr has been around the game of football most of his life, but has only been in Lawrence since late last week. As an evaluator of defensive talent, Barr is excited about the potential of his new players. He likes how the linebackers respond to his intensity, and he appreciates how they react to his instruction and benefit from his discipline. He raves about everyone's willingness to learn — but not only from himself.
Their guide to improvement was in place before he got there.
"If you can reach a guy like Marcus, then enough guys will follow," Barr said. "I'm still learning about him, and he's still learning about me. But I see in Marcus that he wants to be really good. He wants to be one of my best."
Rogers is more intent on team improvement than individual gain. One of Kansas' most glaring defensive weaknesses last season was stopping the run. Nebraska steamrolled for seven touchdowns. Texas stamped Kansas for 396
yards. Two Iowa State backs crossed the century mark in rushing yards before the start of the fourth quarter.
"Our No. 1 objective will be to stop the run," Barr said. "But you need to have guys that want to be physical. Winning teams have guys that are physical."
Barr knows that numbers like these cannot be repeated. Toughness leads to stops which keeps the defense fresh, he said. Winning teams negate the opponent's running game.
Winning teams also have forces in the middle.
"Marcus will be the key player in the success of our defense next season," Allen said.
Football notes:
Wounded birds: Several Jayhawks sat out yesterday's practice because of injuries suffered in Saturday's scrimmage. Of all those injured, coach Allen thinks that the guys working hard to earn playing time will be most affected. Offensive lineman Jason Stevenson was on crutches yesterday, nursing a high ankle sprain. Junior receiver Byron Gasaway was hampered by turf toe, the latest condition of nagging injuries that have plagued the athlete since his arrival to Lawrence.
— Edited by Jennifer Valadez
Golfer gets good news
Hurst named Golf World's player of week
By John Domoney sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
The junior from Erie, Kan.,
was a two-time state champi-
on in high school. As a sophomore last year at Butler County Community College,
Hurst was named Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year and was a first-team all-American.
Success in golf has always come naturally to Travis Hurst.
So being last week's Golf World's collegiate player of the week shouldn't have come as a surprise to Hurst — but receiving the news from coach Ross Randall via answering machine left the star golfer a little shocked.
Kansas didn't recruit Hurst out of high school, so he competed at the community college level in the Jayhawk Conference. He may have never ended up at Kansas if Randall had not been told about the diamond in the rough.
"I was surprised because I hadn't been playing well all semester," Hurst said. "Lately, I've changed a few things, and I've hit the ball better."
Hurst said the beginning of the season was rocky after coming to a new school and team, but he has rebounded nicely and has become one of the Jayhawks' most dependable performers.
"I saw him play at Alvamar a couple of times," Randall said. "One of my former players told me I needed to be recruiting Travis Hurst."
While at a junior college tournament in Lawrence last year, Randall took Hurst into his office and invited him to join the team.
As a junior, Hurst has garnered five top-10 finishes, making him the team leader along with sophomore Chris Marshall. Hurst also has finished in first-place ties at both the Purina Classic and the Stevinson Ranch Invitational.
Hurst has done more than just make the team, and he is ready to tackle the 'Hawks last tournament at the Intercollegiate 2001 this weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Jayhawks will then enter the Big 12 Conference Championship.
"I've surpassed all of my expectations this year, and I had no idea I'd come in and do this well," Hurst said. "I just wanted to make the team and stay on the team."
"Myself and everybody else on the team really want to win Big 12s," Hurst said. "I really want one of those rings."
— Edited by Leita Schuttes
Junior golfer Travis Hurst takes some practice shots before beginning an afternoon game. Hurst said yesterday that he went through about 200 golf balls a day during serious practice. Photo by Aaron Showalter/KANSAN
Jayhawks aim to build momentum at Creighton
Bv Rvan Malashock
Kansan sportswriter
"We were so upbeat and excited after the win," Del Chiaro said. "It was a great trip home on Sunday. During our streak we weren't having any fun, and we had been pressing. But Sunday we didn't press and just enjoyed playing the game."
The Kansas baseball team's 5-2 victory at Texas A&M Sunday allowed the players to experience something they had not felt in quite a while. After breaking their 10-game losing streak, senior Brent Del Chiaro noticed a quality about himself and his teammates. They were smiling, and they were having fun.
Kansas' victory at Olsen Field on Sunday drew more than 4,000 fans and
More information
For baseball statistics
See page 3B
the combined attendance for the weekend series was 15,007. Del Chiaro said playing and winning in front of so many fans was fulfilling.
"The older guys on the team enjoyed playing in front of a big crowd," Del Chiaro said. "It was great to win in a hostile environment, and I think it was important for the younger guys to get that experience because we're going to see that again at Texas Tech."
Kansas (14-18 overall and 2-13 in the Big 12 Conference) will look to build off its victory when the Jayhawks take on Creighton (13-17 overall and 6-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference) at 2:30 p.m. today in Omaha, Neb. To beat the Bluejays, Kansas coach Bobby Randall said the Jayhawks would have to put together another game like the one on Sunday. Randall described Sunday's performance as an example of how the coaching staff envisioned Kansas playing this season.
"We played a full game on Sunday," Randall said. "Doug Lantz pitched a fantastic game, we got great clutch hitting from John Nelson and Ryan Klocksien, and we didn't make any errors. I'd still like to cut down on the strikeouts (15 in Sunday's game), but we managed to get around that."
Klocksien's performance against the Aggies on Sunday looked quite extreme in the box score. Klocksien was one for five with a home run, 2 RBI and four strikeouts. Klocksien's two-run home run in the seventh put the game away.
"I was kind of tentative at the plate so I guess Coach decided to put on the hit-and-run," Klocksien said. "I just relaxed and hit a fastball out to left."
Last season in Lawrence, Creighton swept three games from the Jayhawks, qualified for the NCAA tournament and posted 38 victories. But the Bluejays are suffering a disappointing 2001 season thusfar and bring a 13-17 record into today's game. Coach Jack Dahm's squad won three out of four games against Southern Illinois this past weekend and played No. 5 Nebraska tough in a 14-9 loss last Wednesday.
Despite Creighton's record, Klocksien said the Jayhawks can't afford to take Creighton lightly tomorrow if they want to start a winning streak.
"We've got to come out ready to play tomorrow," Klocksien said. "Creighton's a good team, so we need to be at our best. It would be great to put some wins together."
Baseball notes
- Starting pitchers for both teams in today's game had not yet been announced.
today's game had not yet been announced.
Senior left fielder Dou Dreher is still listed as being out indefinitely with torn ligaments in his left wrist. Dreher has yet to return to practice but has stayed optimistic. "It's feeling better," Dreher said. "I don't know if I'll be able to come back yet, but I'm going to try."
Four players on Kansas' roster, Pete and Chris Smart, Jason Appuhn and Kevin Wheeler, played high school baseball in Omaha.
Senior Jesse Gremminger is in the midst of a 13 game hitting streak. His streak is the longest for any Jayhawk player this season.
Edited by Melinda Weaver
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