8A
Trivia question
The University Daily Kansan
Who were the two stars who battled against each other as Michigan defeated Princeton 80-78 in Holiday Festival semifinal, played in December of 1964, who later moved on to the same NBA team, the New York Knicks? See answer on page 6A.
Sports
Inside: Oklahoma State has hired a new football coach, former Dallas Cowboys assistant Les Miles. SEE PAGE 6A
QSU
Inside: Missouri's football coaching staff will remain basically the same next season under its new head coach.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7. 2000 For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
SEE PAGE 6A
Wake Forest hopes that its home court throws 'Hawks
Sophomore forward Drew Gooden checks for clearance after a dunk over Illinois State opponents. The Jayhawks 'big men will be crucial tonight in their game against the Demon Deacons in North Carolina. Kansas file photo.
By Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
The Demon Deacons are good, especially in nonconference home games. They've won 44 of their last 47 home games against nonconference foes and they're 7-3 overall against Big 12 Conference teams. Plus, the matchup of two of the top teams in the nation is expected to draw a packed house at Lawrence-Joel, which seats 14,407.
If the No. 3 Kansas men's basketball team is a little nervous when it heads into Lawrence-Joel Coliseum for its 6 p.m. game against No. 11 Wake Forest, it's with good reason.
"The game will be more like a February game from an atmosphere standpoint," said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. "That's what you want if you're a basketball coach this time of year. You put your team in that type of a situation and see how they will respond."
What Odom is hoping, he said, is for his Deacons to respond with a win. Wake Forest is 6-0, and a win would give the team its best start since the 1996-97 season, something that Odom said he knew would be a tall task.
"They've got big guys that run the court, and they're relentless in that they do it on every possession so we can't take a single possession off." Odam said. "They're relentless on the offensive glass and they get back on defense."
True, but the Deacons aren't exactly tiny. Junior
forward Darius Songaila is 6-foot-9, averages 13 points per game and has Olympic experience for his native Lithuania. Junior forward Antwan Scott (6-8) is averaging 10 points off the bench and 6-9 senior center Josh Shoemaker is averaging almost 11 rebounds per game. Hurting Wake Forest in the size battle is the continued absence of senior center Rafael Vidurareta who is recovering from off-season knee surgery. His absence puts more pressure on Songaila to produce.
"He's played really well for us thus far." Odom said. "We've been careful not to ask too much of him so far because he had an exhausting experience at the Olympics. His minutes will be more like they will be in an ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) game Thursday night."
Songalia said the Kansas big men would be the toughest front he had played against all year. He added that his strength had been down, but he said he would be ready.
"They've got a strong front line, and the big guys move the ball real well and run the floor real well," Songaila said. "That says a lot about the big guys. I didn't do a lot of weight lifting during the summer because of all the basketball I played, but I think I'm back where I want to be, and I'll be ready to play."
The shortest weapon for the Demon Deacons may be the most dangerous — senior point guard Robert O'Kelley. He's averaging almost 14 points per game and is in the top 10 in all-time 3-pointers in ACC history, something Kansas sophomore point guard Kirk Hinrich and junior guard Jeff Boschee will try to counter.
Hinrich is shooting 70 percent behind the arc this season. He's also averaging more than eight assists per game, which has caused Odom to notice how dangerous Hinrich is at running the point.
Road game to test 'Hawks
"Their ability to push the ball at the defense so quickly is a major factor," Odom said. "They've got guards that just really push the ball up the court."
By Michael Rigg
sports@kanson.com
Kansas sportwriter
Don't mind the Jayhawks if they happen to get a case of crimson and blue dejá vu tonight.
After all, when Kansas returns to North Carolina, Jayhawk coach Roy Williams and his players won't be able to stop thinking that they've been there before.
It was just last March when Kansas walked off the court in Winston-Salem, 69-64 losers to Duke in the NCAA Tournament. It was just four months later when Williams was back in North Carolina, pondering whether to take the Tar Heels coaching job.
In a season that's been so squarely cut so far, the Jayhawks (7-0) have come full circle. Kansas will be back in North Carolina when the Jayhawks take on 11th-ranked Wake Forest at 6 p.m. today.
"I really don't expect any problems," Williams said. "I think most of the people are Wake Forest fans, not North Carolina fans. But if there are any negative things that happen, I guess we'll have to roll with the punches, and if there's not, then that's be OK, too."
The game will mark the first public return in the state for Williams since spurring the Tar Heels in July, and Williams said he hoped his return would go smoothly.
"They've got a lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket." Williams said. "They're a good basketball team, they're extremely well coached, and it will be a major challenge for us, to say the least. We'll have to play our best game of the year if we expect to win."
"The guys are really anxious," said sophomore point guard Kirk Hinrich. "We've been talking about how much we've wanted big games, big-game atmosphere, and that's what we're going to have."
The game will be a major change for the Jayhawks, who played their last five games at home against less-than-stellar competition.
the forward movement has led Williams and the Jayhawks to their first true road test of the season, facing the dangerous, undefeated and 11th-ranked Demon Deacons on their home court. Williams said he was impressed with Wake Forest.
Ironically, that big game will be at the same building — LawrenceJoel Coliseum — where Kansas finished its 1999-2000 campaign with a 69-64 loss to Duke.
"I think it will bring back memories, but that's it," Hinrich said of the venue's familiarity. "We're not playing Duke, we're playing Wake Forest, and they're a great team, and we're going to have to play well."
Tonight's game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.
Injury Update: Junior guard Jeff Boschee went full-speed in practice today while senior forward Kenny Gregory was limited, but both are expected to play today
and will resume their spots in the starting lineup.
Freshman guard Mario Kinsey and senior guard Luke Axtell have practiced all week and will see action against Wake Forest. Edined by Warisa Chulindra
Jayhawks optimistic despite losses
Senior forward Brooke Reves stares down an opponent. Despite recent losses, the women's basketball team is confident it will be playing its best basketball when Big 12 Conference play begins. The Jayhawks attribute their recent losses to a schedule in which they played five games in eight days. Kansan file photo
Even though some think that is a stretch, the 'Hawks said they were confident they could still accomplish this goal.
Even after losing two of their last five games, the Jayhawks said they still could accomplish the goals they had set at the beginning of the season. One of those goals included winning the Big 12 Conference Championship.
By Zac Hunter sports@kansan.com Kansan sportwriter
Part of the reason for the recent slide is Kansas' furious game pace. The 'Hawks rattled off five games in eight days, and that might have caught up with them against St. Joseph last Saturday.
An abundance of confidence is found in the Kansas women's basketball program.
"By the time we get around to conference, we're going to be playing our best basketball of the year," said senior guard Jennifer Jackson.
"We played a lot of games in a few days," Jackson said. "We knew it was going to be a tough road. Our goal now is not to lose again, hopefully, until the conference season."
Coach Marian Washington said she knew so many games in so few days would be a challenge, and, despite the loss to St. Joseph, she said her team responded well.
If Kansas can manage to win its last four nonconference games, it could be primed for the Big 12. An exhibition
against Washburn University, the 'Hawks are home to Creighton and Mississippi Valley State. Then they take to the road for a couple against Arizona and California-Santa Barbara.
Sports Columnist
Derek
But it won't be easy. Both Arizona and Creighton are receiving votes for the Associated Press Top 25 and will post stiff challenges for Kansas.
Now Kansas will have to format a plan to run the rest of the nonconference table.
"We're just trying to minimize our turnovers as much as possible," said junior guard Selena Scott. "Those are what break your back at the end of the game."
It will have to hang on to the ball, which the 'Hawks have been doing a better job of as the season has gone on.
In the first two games, the Jayhawks notched up 56 turnovers, much to the dismay of Washington. Since then Kansas has seen its turnovers decline. It had 15 against St. Joseph and only five in the second half.
Despite the progress, Scott said there was room for improvement.
"If we probably would have had one less turnover the last game we probably would have won," she said.
"We've been working very hard taking care of the ball," Washington said. "For the game to have 15, that's pretty good for a team that's trying to push the ball up."
— Edited bv Warisa Chulindra
Prater
sports@kansan.com
University should retire more jerseys
Up. up and away!
Vince Carter, a.k.a. "Vinsanity," has been doing his superman impression ever since exploding on the NBA scene two years ago. Last weekend, coincidentally (or perhaps not), his old Carolina-blue jersey did a little flying of its own into the rafters of the Dean Dome.
The "honoring" of Carter's jersey got me wondering: Why haven't some of the stars from the Roy Williams era been honored in the rafters at Allen Fieldhouse?
Carter's NBA highlight-reel resume may seem like the coolest thing since sliced bread, but several recent Kansas alums have college grade cards that clearly outclass Carter's.
He met two of three criteria that North Carolina established to have a jersey honored: He was a consensus second-team All-American in 1998, and he played for a Gold-Medal winning Olympic team this year. The other criterion is to be voted team MVP in an NCAA championship game.
Those all are nice things, and Carter certainly was an outstanding college player, but his college accomplishments hardly compare to those of former Jayhawks Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce or Jacqueline Vaughn.
Pierce was a consensus first team All-American (1998), MVP of the Big 12 tournament in both 1997 and 1998, and in just three years he became the fifth all-time scorer in Kansas history. But no banner specifically honors No.34.
LaFrentz was a two-time consensus first team All-American (1997, 1998), a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year (ditto) and was only the second player in Kansas history to score 2,000 points. But there's no banner specifically honoring No. 45.
Vaughn was the 1997 GTE Academic All-American of the Year, a second team All-American in 1997 and the 1996 Big Eight Conference Player of the Year. But, you guessed it, no banner for No. 11.
So what's the deal?
Both teams have very high standards for actually having jerseys retired. At North Carolina, a player must be a consensus National Player of the Year to have the honor. At Kansas, a player must meet one of three criteria: three-time consensus All-American, consensus Player of the Year or MVP of the Final Four.
Well, North Carolina and Kansas just honor their players in different ways.
Suffice it to say, those are rare achievements, and a lot of great players are left out.
What North Carolina did was to add a second category of achievement.
In addition to retiring jerseys, the Tar Heels also "honor" jerseys with banners dedicated to a specific player. Like Vince Carter.
recently, the Kansas Athletics Department did raise a banner with all of the program's All-Americans on it, but it's just not the same.
The Athletics Department also has a Hall of Fame in the east lobby of Allen Fieldhouse that features portraits of great Kansas athletes. But once again, it's just doesn't capture the majesty of a banner hanging in the rafters.
Surely LaFrentz, Pierce and Vaughn have provided as much pleasure to as many Kansas fans as did B.H. Born, Charlie Black or Paul Endicott (each with a retired jersey).
And isn't that what it's all about?
Give the fans of today — who will one day regale their kids with tales of watching the great Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce or Jacque Vaughn — banners at which to point.
Prater is a Lawrence graduate student in Journalism.