Wednesday, February 14, 2001
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 5
Missouri guard's return still unclear
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Suspended guard Clarence Gilbert met with Missouri coach Quin Snyder for the first time Monday since his suspension, and the two were to meet again yesterday, although there was still no timetable for Gilbert's
return to the team
"It's not a complex situation. It's just a question of a young man doing the things that all the other players on the team are doing, and
being part of the team."
Snyder suspended Gilbert last week, officially declining to provide a reason. But several reports pegged the suspension on Gilbert's poor attitude toward team play, which included subordination.
Gilbert did not make the Tigers' road trip last weekend to Iowa State, where Missouri lost 72-64. Also missing from that game was swingman Kareem Rush, out for the season because of an injured thumb.
Gilbert's suspension remains indefinite and he did not practice with the team Monday, Snyder said. But Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said he expected Gilbert to play when the Tigers play host to the Buffaloes today.
"Those guys will step up whether Gilbert plays or not," Patton said. "But we fully expect Gilbert to be in the lineup today."
Snyder said he wasn't sure when Gilbert would return to practice.
"There are a number of things that have to be talked about when a player re-enters the group." Snyder said. "The primary one is that player's interaction with his teammates. To me, that is what this is about. It has less to do with a player and a coach than a player and a team."
"If you have a strong relationship with a young man — and I believe that Clarence and I have that, we've been through a lot together — you rely on that relationship to resolve things."
In Gilbert's absence, senior guard Brian Grawer has moved into his role as the team's shooting guard, with freshman Wesley Stokes playing point guard. Grawer has excelled since the switch, scoring 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting from 3-point range against Iowa State.
it's possible Gilbert could move into the small forward role vacated by Rush, if and when he returns to the team.
"That remains to be seen," Snyder said. "What our team's doing right now has been good. The main issue when someone re-enters the team, are they committed to the team? If you come back and you say, What can I do? I just want to make the team better,' those problems take care of themselves."
"I'd rather miss the free throw and take home the "W," Buchanan said.
The miss with 4.6 seconds remaining could have been costly because Georgetown had a chance to tie, but Kevin Braswell missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Buchanan, averaging 13.5 points a game, struggled all night against
Georgetown, making just one of his first six shots and turning the ball over eight times.
The previous Division I record was 64, set by Joe Dykstra of Western Illinois in the 1981-82 season.
Record streak of consecutive free throws ends
"I found myself in a position where I had to take the big shot." Buchanan said, adding he was surprised he wasn't fouled. "I was confident I could hit the 3-pointer even though I wasn't hitting shots all night."
Buchanan's Division I-record streak of consecutive free throws made ended at 73 on Monday, but his 3-pointer in the final minute lifted Villanova to a 59-56 victory against No. 18 Georgetown.
The shot might turn out to be a season-saver for Villanova, which
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Gary Buchanan became a player nobody wanted to foul. Teams now might want to keep him away from the 3-point line, too.
With Villanova clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute, Buchanan held the ball and waited for a foul. It never came.
So with the shot clock winding down, he launched a crucial 3-pointer from well beyond the arc, giving the Wildcats a 58-53 lead with 17 seconds left.
The sophomore guard is 82-of-84 from the foul line this season and 151-of-158 overall, including a string of 45 straight last year. He fell short of the overall NCAA record of 94 consecutive free throws made, set by Paul Cluxton of Division II Northern Kentucky in the 1996-97 season.
Who could blame him?
needed a victory to boost its NCAA tournament hopes. The Wildcats (15-8, 6-5 Big East) now have three road victories against conference opponents and are 6-0 in games decided by fewer than 10 points.
The Associated Press
"I think our chemistry is starting to show," Villanova coach Steve Lappas said. "You start to really enjoy playing together and achieving common goals."
The victory was most impressive because the Wildcats had to play nearly the entire game without starting point guard Jermaine Medley and forward Brooks Sales. Medley played just three minutes because of a sore leg and Sales sat out.
"I rushed it." Buchanan said. "I was just too confident."
"We've had a lot of adversity and our kids have done a great job responding to it," Lappas said.
The University of Kansas Chancellor's Student Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the following:
The Agnes Wright Strickland Award
Gretzky ready to take control of NHL's Coyotes
The Donald K. Alderson Award The Class of 1913 Award The Alexis F. Dillard Student Involvement Award The Rusty Leffel Concerned Student Award The Carvel K. Smith Student Leader Award
Nomination forms for these awards are available at the Dean of Students Office, 133 Strong Hall, or Student Organizations and Leadership Development Center, 400 Kansas Union, Lawrence, KS 66045.
Nomination forms must be returned to the Dean of Students Office in 133 Strong Hall by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 16, 2000.
The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Wayne Gretzky is a day away from returning to the NHL, this time as an owner.
Gretzky and partner Steve Ellman, a Phoenix developer, were expected to close on the purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes today and finally take control of the team.
The purchase has been in the works for 13 months, and the price could reach $91 million with adjustments after Gretzky's group originally agreed to buy the team from Richard Burke for $87 million. The closing would come a day before the third deadline arrives.
The new owners will take control four weeks before the March 13 trading deadline, an important period when they must decide whether to trade either Keith Tkachuk or Jeremy Roenick, the scoring leaders whose combined salaries make up one-third of the team's $39 million payroll.
Burke barred Gretzky from the
Gretzky set nearly every scoring record in hockey before his
Even with Gretzky added as a partner on May 26, there wasn't enough investor interest. The buyers overshot the first deadline and a second one on Dec. 31, and it took the addition of Phoenix trucking magnate Jerry Moyes a few weeks ago to complete the package.
At that time, Ellman said he wanted to close the day before the Feb. 15 extension ended. Reached at his office yesterday, he declined to comment.
The closing will be a relief to Gretzky and his fans.
Burke plans to close today.
"I haven't heard anything one way or the other, but I wouldn't construe that as negative at all," Burke said. "I've stayed out of it to make it less complicated. If there were any problems I probably would have heard, but I don't know of any."
"I also made it plain I'm not going to pull out if there's a hitch." Burke said.
He said he urged Ellman to give himself an extra day at closing.
Gretzky will be the Coyotes director of hockey operations, with control regarding every aspect of the team's play and training.
last game with the New York Rangers in April 1999, and Ellman is banking on his popularity to help generate interest in the team.
In addition to deciding which high-salaried players to keep, Gretzky likely will have to choose between All-Star goalie Sean Burke and free agent Nikolai Khabibulin, who was the team's franchise goalie until he began a $1^{1/2}$-year holdout rather than accept $3 million a year from the Coyotes.
Gretzky was leaning toward Khabibulin, 28, last summer, but the 34-year-old Burke has almost single-handedly kept the Coyotes in the playoff hunt with feats like stopping 112 shots in his three shutouts.
Coyotes locker room at the first game he attended, citing conflicts that would ensue because the sale wasn't official.
Gretzky understood, but it still rankled him to have no control after bringing a personal investment of $2 million.
During the wait, Burke had to use some of the non-refundable $18.5 million Ellman paid in installments, and long time NHL executive Cliff Fletcher was hired at Gretzky's insistence as executive vice president.
The owners and Fletcher outrand general manager Bobby Smith, whose future with the team remains in question.
One of the hitches Ellman encountered involved borrowing from two banks to cash out a $60 million loan made to Burke.
The French bank Societe Generale asked Ellman to secure a $10 million line of credit before it loaned him $20 million, expressing concerns over the new ownership being able to pay operating costs.
STUDENT TRAVEL
Kansas City Ballet
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7. A.A.A.A.A.