Section: B
Flashback
The University Daily Kansan
March 25, 1988. Kansas defeated Vanderbilt and Will Perdue 77-64 en route to winning the NCAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Sports
Inside: Michigan State and Arizona both won yesterday, earning trips to the men's Final Four.
SEE PAGE 2B
Inside: The Kansas rowing team defeated Texas in Austin, Texas, despite losing the first varsity eight race.
MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2001
SEE PAGE 3B
MARCH 26, 2001 For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
Associate sports editor
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Shawn Linenberger
sports@kansan.com
Kansas unable to stop Illinois
Linenbarger is a Washington, Kan., senior in journalism.
Kansas fans visit hot city, see cold team
Padre Island, Cancun, Las Vegas,
Davon, Ohio.
Hmm, three of four destinations sounded spectacular for my first spring break to somewhere not in Kansas. The fourth possibility was the only one I had in mind. Sure, the Wright brothers were born there, but this spot wouldn't fly for most students.
The new additions will help make Spring Break 2002 more enjoyable for those wanting to follow the Jayhawks. But for some of us, it will be called vacation from work.
But having Kansas play in not-so-warm Dayton was reason enough to visit. Unfortunately, at the time, tickets weren't available. My last resort was the Cal-State Northridge ticket office. The clerk asked if I was a Matador fan. I responded with a politician's answer: "I'm from the Lawrence area," hoping there was a Lawrence, Calif. If I would have said I were a Cal-State fan, I was expecting a Matador quiz I wasn't prepared for. Still, I was put on a list and later told all tickets were sold.
But after disposing of Cal-State Northridge and Syracuse, the much more attractive venue of San Antonio became a possibility in the latter portion of break. The Alamo, Riverwalk and 80-degree temperatures indicated better things come to those who wait. Well, except for the main objective — watching Kansas play basketball.
As hot as the Jayhawks were in Dayton, they ended the season in miserable fashion. Kansas appeared to be off and running, leading 4-0 and threatening to score more after Kirk Hinrich stole the ball. But he was stripped of the ball, maybe more, but no foul was called.
The 'Hawks never had momentum after that. That nice run midway through the first half was encouraging, but Illinois answered and maintained its lead in the second half.
Leavenworth product Wayne Simien should complement Collison and Drew Gooden, and Aaron Miles, Simien's McDonald's All-American teammate, will make the Kansas backcourt stronger. Keith Langford and Michael Lee also bring in strong perimeter shooting.
it looked as though the physical Illini would all foul out and Kansas could capitalize, but although Brian Cook, Marcus Griffin and Damir Carupalija fouled out for Illinois, Hinrich and Nick Collison followed suit. Sure, calls were questionable, most vividly Hinrich's foul in a loose ball tussle with Frank Williams, but the team that had endured a gradually smaller lineup and some bickering couldn't handle Illinois.
Not sweet enough:
Kansas fans came in droves to San Antonio, but it wasn't supposed to end in an 80-64 loss. Collison's 23 points were overshadowed by dismal 6-of-14 free-throw shooting; Jeff Boschee had three points, and Eric Chenowith's record-filled career at Kansas had no points in its finale.
While coming from the Jayhawks' pep rally near St. Anthony's Hotel, a San Antonian dressed in an impressive Dudley Brothers shirt and having maybe just a little too much to drink yelled "Illinois by 10." I didn't think his prediction would be remotely correct.
It could be worse. The Jayhawks could have lost to Baylor and Hampton to the season as Big 12 Conference champion Iowa State did. The only thing stranger was Bobby Knight taking a job in west Texas.
The Jayhawks possessed the only glimmer of hope for a conference that seems to be absent in the late stages of the NCAA Tournament far too often. The Big 12 women had slightly better success, sending four teams to the Sweet Sixteen, but none advanced any further.
Kansas' ability to change the pattern rests now on new recruits. Kenny Gregory's distinct ability to dunk, score on put-backs, and jump oh-so-high won't be replaced, but new ingredients should build a depleted squad.
By Chris Wristen sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The blank stare on Nick Collison's face after fourth-seeded Kansas' 80-64 season-end loss to to-seeded Illinois said it all.
Sweat mixes with tears on sophomore forward Nick Collison's face as he walks off the court after the Jayhawks' 80-64 loss to Illinois Friday night. Photo by Matt Dauaherty/KANSAN
The Jayhawks (26-7) were stunned by their sloppy play and sickly free-throw shooting and saw their first Sweet 16 trip since 1997 end earlier than they wanted. Nothing bounced the right way for Kansas in the Midwest Regional Semifinal, and who better than Collison to explain that
He was Kansas at its best and at its worst Friday night in the Alamodome.
Collision sparkled from the field. He drained eight-of-11 shots and, at one point, scored nine straight points for Kansas, bringing the 'Hawks within five in the second half. He also sank his lone three-pointer that closed a later gap to six points.
He tore down seven rebounds and was the only Kansas big man who could match the muscle power of Illinois' Sergio McClain, Lucas Johnson and Marcus Griffin.
He was also overcome by Kansas' coldness.
Collision sank just six of his 14 free throws and, as a team, the Jayhawks missed 17 of their 35 shots from the stripe. "I just wasn't following through," Collison said of his misses. "I was trying to make them all."
Free throws weren't the only bad bounces the Jayhawks got against the Illini (27-7), either. They had trouble dribbling and passing during much of the first half because Big 10 Conference player of the year Frank Williams worked well at pestering Kansas point guard Kirk Hinrich. Williams forced Hinrich to turn the ball over five times in the first half as the Jayhawks dug a 41-29 halftime deficit.
"Even the baskets we were getting, we had to fight so hard to get them," said Kansas coach Roy Williams. "Defensively, they're good."
"You take their talent there, and put
with it the fact that we weren't very sharp, and that makes for an ugly game. And yet, gosh, we hung in there. The kids, they were trying."
Try as they might, the 'Hawks never had a handle on the game. Much of that was
because of Frank Williams' timely play. Williams scored a game-high 30 points — the most by a Jayhawk opponent all season. He had three steals, three assists and hit three-pointers that killed Kansas comebacks.
"They really got after us," said Kansas forward Kenny Gregory. "It was their type of game — physical. We couldn't even
See ILLINI on page 3B
Bears maul'Hawks, sweep series
'Hawks in last place after weekend losses
By Ryan Malashock
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas baseball team hit rock bottom this weekend.
No. 16 Baylor capped its three-game sweep of Kansas with a 7-4 victory against the Jayhawks yesterday at Hogland Ballpark. Along with their 11-2 victory on Friday and 12-0 pounding Saturday, the Bears dropped Kansas' conference record to 2:10—placing the 'Hawks in last place in the Big 12 Conference.
The Bears amassed 30 runs and 86 hits off the Kansas pitching staff in the three games. Baylor catcher Kelly Shoppack said the Bears' offense was due for a breakout series.
"This team has the potential to win the conference, but we needed to bust out offensively," said Shoppach, who leads the Big 12 with a 480 batting average. "We got a lot of confidence back this weekend."
Kansas' best performance came in yesterday's game. But the Jayhawks (14-14) spotted Baylor (21-8 and 9-3) five runs in the first innning, and those were all the runs the Bears would need.
Baylor third baseman Matt Williams capped a remarkable hitting weekend with a three-run home run in the first. Williams finished the three-game set going 9-for-13 with four doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI.
Kansas starting pitcher, junior Doug Lantz,
recovered after the first inning and gave the
Jayhawks nine strong innings, striking out a
career-high 10 batters. Kansas coach Bobby
Randall was pleasantly shocked by Lantz' performance.
Randall reflected on Kansas' 12-0 blowout loss Saturday against Baylor and said he was partially to blame.
"Doug was so tough today." Randall said. "The only guy who thought Doug could last nine innings today was Doug, and that says a lot about him."
"We just didn't show up to play today, and that's my fault as a coach," Randall said. "I told our guys after the game that we've got to work hard every day to be a great baseball team. It's a never-uuit deal."
Junior third baseman Ryan Kloksien recorded all four of Kansas' RBI yesterday with a second-inning two-run home run and an eighth-inning two-RBI double.
Kansas senior Pete Smart (6-1) took his first loss of the season Saturday, giving four runs on eight hits in six innings. Smart tied his career high with eight strikeouts in the game.
Sophomore second baseman Casey Spanish gets squeezed by a pitch in the ninth inning as the Jayhawks attempt to come back from a 7-4 deficit against the Baylor Bears yesterday at Hogglund Ballpark. Kansas gave up a five-run first inning and dropped to 14-14 overall and 2-10 in the Bia 12. Photo by Laurie Sisk/KANSAN.
Williams continued his torid battering of Jayhawk pitching by going 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three RBI.
Williams started the weekend strong in the Bears' victory Friday. Williams smacked four extra-base-hits — three doubles and a home run — and drove in four runs, leading
Baylor's 14-hit attack. Baylor pitchers Josh Scott and Paul Throp combined on the shutout.
Kansas baseball notes:
Including the three weekend losses to Baylor, Kansas finished its spring break string of games 3-4. The Jayhawks defeated
Eastern Michigan twice and Southwest Missouri State, and lost to Michigan.
Randall announced last week that junior outfielder/first baseman Justin Davis left the team because of a lack of playing time.
— Edited by Jay Pilgreen
Track teams triumph at Oklahoma State
By Michael Sudhalter
Kansan sportswriter
Several Kansas athletes performed successfully at the Oklahoma State Duels, as the Kansas track and field team began its outdoor season Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
Senior Andy Tate won the 3,000-meter (8:39.09) and the 1,500-meter (3:55.06) events. Tate said the Oklahoma State meet was good preparation for both the Texas and Kansas Relays in April.
Kansas competed against Oklahoma State, Tulsa and a series of community colleges.
"I just wanted to get an idea of where I was in my training," Tate said. "This was more of an exaggerated workout for me."
In the pole vault, Kansas junior Jeremy Hull won with a 15-0 jump while freshman Ty Williams placed second with a 14-6. Junior Ryan Speers won the shot put with a 57-3 throw and finished second in the discus with a heave of 149-11.
Jayhawk long jumpers sophomore Anson Jackson and junior Jereme Jackson had another one-two finish while sophomore Benaud Shirley won the triple jump event.
Other top finishers for Kansas were
junior Pete Prince, first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase; junior Brian Blachly, third in the 1,500; senior Eric Patterson, second in 110-meter hurdles; and Alex Thomas, third in discus.
On the women's side, junior Jennifer Foster won both the shot put (44 1/2) and the discus (141-0). Junior Andrea Bulat won the javelin event with a 139-4 toss and senior Andrea Branson won the pole vault with a 10-0 vault.
Sophomore Sarah Schraeder finished first in the high jump with a 5-4 effort. Both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams won their relays while junior Katy Eisenmenger (1,500 meters), freshman Abby Nielsen (100 meter hurdles).
sophomore Robbie Harriford (100 meter dash) and sophomore Eve Lamborn (3,000 meters) finished second in their events. Kansas track notes:
Kansas will compete next in the Texas Relays April 4-7 in Austin, Texas.
Coach Stanley Redwine decided to redshirt seniors Charlie Gruber, Jabarl Wamble, Andy Morris and Scott Russell for the 2001 outdoor season.
"I think these athletes could definitely use an extra year of development and I think they will be much better this time next year," Redwine said.
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Edited by Courtney Craigmile
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