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The University Daily Kansan
Between 1949 and 1975, this pro played in 340 major league games — more than any football hero before or since.
Sports
Trivia question
SEE PAGE 2B
Inside: The Chiefs will take on the Patriots tonight and hope to bounce back after a loss to the Chargers.
SEE PAGE 4B
Inside: Seven Big 12 Conference football teams will play in bowl games this season.
MONDAY DECEMBER 04, 2000 For comments, contact Melinda Weaver or Jason Walker at 864-4858 or e-mail sports@kansan.com WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
SEE PAGE 3B
Kansas suffers last-minute loss
Senior guard Jennifer Jackson blocks St. Joseph's Amra Mehmedic. St. Joseph's defeated Kansas 70-67 in Saturday's game to win the Jayhawk Classic tournament championship.
Photo by Selena Jabara/KANSAN
No one should have expected anything less.
By Zac Hunter sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Each game in the KU Credit Union Jayhawk Classic, except for Kansas' 74-56 drumming of Eastern Illinois in the first round on Friday, came down to the final possession, and the championship game against St. Joseph's was no different
On Saturday, Kansas (5-2) had a
chance to tie the game on its final possession, but it was St. Joseph's (3-3) who managed to corral the inbound pass and hang on for the 70-67 victory.
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"We sure wanted this one," coach
her point totals, point guard Angela Zampella was knifing through the Jayhawk backcourt and finding open players. She played all 40 minutes and had 14 assists, contrasted by only four turnovers.
Despite Kansas not being able to stop
Johnson said Zampella continually broke down Kansas' perimeter defense, which gave her more than one option for an assist.
"That's ridiculous," Johnson said. "We have to really sit down and play defense up top, but that's been the story before."
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Two Kansas basketball team members
were named to the all-tournament team.
See page 3B.
See page 38
Check out more basketball game photos.
See www.kansan.com
this one, color Marian Washington said. "But hopefully we can move on from here and keep working on ourselves."
St. Joe's was led by tournament MVP Susan Moran, who scorched the Kansas frontcourt for 30 points, including 12-13 from the charity stripe.
Johnson finished the game with a team-high 15 points, despite scoring only two points in six minutes in the first half. She was delegated to cheerleader for most of the first half after picking up two quick fouls.
"No. 10 killed us," said senior forward Jaclyn Johnson. "That shouldn't have happened."
"She's such a key player," Washington said. "I wanted to try and hold her and see if we could stay in the game without her."
Moran or Zampella, two of the most crucial plays in the game came as a result of the official's whistle.
Shortly after Kansas tied the game at 52, there were two questionable calls on consecutive possessions. Both calls went against junior center Kristin Geoffroy in the low post, and halted the Jayhawks momentum long enough for St. Joe's to extend the lead.
"Contact is going to happen, but you cannot call that stuff." Johnson said. "I'm not sure what those referees are doing. I don't think they are showing any consistency right now."
To the Jayhawks credit, they did not give up. They knotted the game at 52, but were unable to take the lead. Then, trailing by seven with under a minute to play, they got right back into the game. Johnson and junior guard K.C. Hilgenkamp connected on three-pointers, cutting the St. Joseph lead to one point.
point. However, two free throws by Moran
and a turnover on the final possession sealed Kansas' fate.
While it was Moran and Zampella who were tearing up the Kansas defense, it was the play of center Irina Krasnoshikh that killed the Jayhawks.
Each of her 17 points came outside the paint, including 5-7 from three-point range.
"They've got some great shooters," Washington said. "They are a great team."
St. Joseph advanced to the championship on Friday, beating Minnesota 64-62 when Zampella cut through the Golden Gophers' defense and hit a layup with less than a second left on the clock.
Tournament notes
■ In the consolation game Saturday, Minnesota managed to pull off the same trick it did the night before, losing with nearly no time on the clock.
Eastern Illinois freshman Lauren Dailey nailed a jumper to give the Panthers a one-point lead, 73-72, with only five seconds left on the clock, securing the Eastern Illinois victory.
Edited by Erin McDaniel
Sooners beat 'Cats; Orange Bowl up next
FINAL BCS STANDINGS
Explanation Key
Explanation Key
Poll Average — The average of The Associated Press media poll and USA Today-ESPN coaches poll. Others receiving votes are calculated in order received
*computer Average* — The average of Richard Billingham, Dunkel Indoe, Kenneth Moseley, New York Times, David Rohman, Jeff Sagarin, Matthew/Scripps-Howard and the Hester & Galloway/Griffin Travels, pranks
Schedule Rank — Rank of schedule strength compared to other Division I teams divided by 25. It is calculated by determining the cumulative loss/records of the team's opponent (60.6 percent) and the cumulative win/records of the team's opponent (83.3 percent).
— One point for each loss during the season
Rank team AP U-E Avg. Str Rank L Tot.
1. Oklahoma 1 1 1.00 11 0.44 0 3.30
2. Florida St. 1 3 3.00 2 0.08 1 5.37
3. Miami 2 2 2.00 3 0.12 1 5.69
4. Washington 4 4 4.00 6 0.24 1 10.67
5. Virginia Tech 6 5 5.50 14 0.56 12.20
6. Oregon St. 6 5 5.50 14 1.68 14.68
7. Florida 7 7 7.00 1 0.04 14.75
8. Nebraska 9 8 7.50 1 0.84 12.82
9. Kansas St. 11 9 10.00 29 1.16 3 24.30
10. Oregon 8 11 9.50 24 0.96 24.32
11. Notre Dame 10 10 10.00 25 1.00 25.07
12. Texas 12 12 10.00 84 3.36 27.22
13. Georgia Tech 15 17 16.00 44 1.76 29.62
14. TCU 16 13 14.50 95 3.80 13.01
15. Clemson 16 13 14.50 56 2.24 32.17
16. Michigan 17 15 16.00 35 1.40 35.40
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma reached into its past to get where the Sooners of old used to be — in the Orange Bowl playing for a national championship.
A surprise option pitch on fourth-and-inches turned into a 22-yard gain by Quentin Griffin and set up Josh Heupler's 17-yard go-ahead touchdown pass in No. 1 Oklahoma's 27-24 victory against No. 8 Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference title game Saturday night.
"That was just some Oklahoma football of old," Stoops said. "We haven't forgotten totally about the option."
In the glory days of Barry Switzer's wishbone offense, the Sooners won three national titles with their option attack.
"We have a great history with the Orange Bowl," Stoops said, referring to the Sooners' 12-4 record in their favorite bowl. "And I hope that excellent history continues."
Now, under coach Bob Stoops' passing game, Heupel helped put Oklahoma back in the Orange Bowl for the first time in 13 years.
The Sooners (12-0) the nation's only major unbeaten team, will get a chance for their first national title since 1985 when they play defending champion Florida State (11-1) on Wednesday. Jan. 3.
Oklahoma and Florida State were first and second in last week's Bowl Championship Series standings and, based on computer projections, seemed certain to remain that way yesterday when the final rankings are released and the BCS officially announces its bowl matchups.
"For us to talk about a national championship, we had to win this game," Stoops said. "So this was more like a regular-season game and that's the way we embraced it. I'm proud of our guys. This win defines our season."
es for 220 yards. The Sooners' defense held the Wildcats to just 239 yards — 185 yards below their average.
Heupel, in his final Heisman Trophy push, overcame a season-high three interceptions, completing 24 of 44 pass-
"I think our defense may have been the story of the game," Stoops said. "It was pretty special. You hold them to 239 yards for the day? That's pretty strong."
rieupel threw a 1-yard TD pass to Trent Smith in the first half, ran 7 yards for a score in the third quarter and hit Andre Woolfolk with a 17-yard scoring pass 36 seconds into the final period to put the Sooners ahead 24-17.
Tim Duncan kicked his second field goal of the game, a 46-yarder with 1:25 left that proved to be the winning points.
K-State's Jonathan Beasley threw a 16-yard TD pass to Quincy Morgan with six seconds left, but the Sooners recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock as fans in the crowd of 79,655 tossed oranges onto the field.
"We'll enjoy this one for a day or two," Heupel said. "It's been a long season and a great ride so far. I think everyone will get to enjoy this one and then we'll go get another one."
Junior forward/center Jeff Carey gets aggressive during the Illinois State game Thursday. He played 8 minutes total, a little more than his game average playing time of 6.3 minutes. The most he has played this season is 12 minutes against Washburn on Nov. 25.
Photo by Justin GOLLANDY
GOLLANDY@SUNYATLAN
Carey hopes for more minutes
Williams praises junior's work says role will increase in future
By Michael Rigg
Jeff Carey deserves more playing time, and Kansas coach Roy Williams knows it.
"If there is anybody who can feel like he is getting shortchanged, it's Jeff Carey." Williams said of his junior forward/center. "But he hasn't said one negative word, one negative look or anything. He's just gone out in practice and tried to do the best that he can do."
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
It's not like Carey doesn't contribute when he's in the lineup — he has averaged 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 points per contest — it's just that Carey has been pressed for playing time on a team as talented as Kansas.
So far, the best Carey can do is muster an average of just 6.3 minutes in the Jayhawks' first seven games.
In a typical game, Williams sticks with a seven-man rotation, of which Carey is not a part. If the Jayhawks have a substantial lead, which happened frequently in their recently completed five-game
More information
Read more about Big 12 basketball matchups.
See page 3B
homestand, Williams inserts the walk-on players at the end of the contest.
That routine doesn't open up very many doors for Carey.
"It's been bad on my part," Williams said. "He's kind of squeezed in both directions. But I do have a great deal of confidence in him, and I told the team that."
Carey said that he appreciated Williams' good will. "It makes me feel good that he understands and that he has confidence in me," Carey said. "That gives me confidence."
Still, he remains frustrated by his lack of playing time.
"It's frustrating that one day, you can play a pretty good game, and the next game you don't get as many minutes," Carey said. "I think it hurts your confidence, but I just try to keep my mind focused and not let it bother me. Coach is going to do what's best for the team. He has reasons for whatever he does."
See CAREY on page 5B
Junior center's game appears to be growing along with her
People gawk.
Kristin Geoffroy does not have dash marks or numbers scaling her body, but she might as well.
Such is life when you're the human tape measurer, taller than everyone else in the room.
They go up to her and ask just exactly how tall she is. They try to see where they measure up compared to her.
It's happened plenty of times. At the mall, around home, around Lawrence when she goes out. The most recent time was earlier this year when the Kansas women's basketball team, which she is a junior center on, was at the airport.
ple see, but they can Can she really be that tall?
Jim, I came up to her armpit. How 'bout you?
She is her own David Copperfield act. People see, but they can't believe.
A look at a family picture would make her seem ordinary. The Geoffroy family of Los Alamitos, Calif., probably qualifies as palm trees.
by team.
Father Glenn is 6-foot-8 American women, on average, are 5-4, but the Geoffroys are helping to elevate that statistic. Mom Surina is 6-2. Kristin's sister, Lindsay, is 6-5 and just signed with Iowa to play basketball next year. Lindsay's twin brother, Erik, a water polo player at Long Beach State, is "only" 6-1.
The family knows more about spurts than Old Faithful.
the youngest Geoffroy kid, Shawna,
is the family midget at 5-6.
"We're hoping he still has a growth spurt left in him," Kristin said.
"But she's only 11," Kristin added quickly.
Growing up is hard enough for many kids, who are teased for the slightest abnormalities. Of course, Geoffroy had her height to contend with. And the jokes flowed when she hung out with her two best friends.
"It was two 5-4 Asian girls and me," Geoffrov said.
Sne still does not like being listed as taller than 6-5, although the media guides keep raising the number as it becomes more apparent she isn't fooling anyone.
She is listed at 6-6 this year, still most likely shorter than what she really is. At the same time, she is not fretful of her stature.
She'll even slip on a pair of heels for a night on the town.
"I figure I'm taller than everybody anyway," she said.
Geoffroy is finding a way to put her height to good use at Kansas. In a way, she knows she's a member of the Lucky Sperm Club, born into a situation where being tall was something that just happened, beyond her control. It was nothing that she had to work for.
WORK FOR:
"I know just because of my height I'm going to get opportunities," Geoffroy said.
But doing something with her innate ability means more than just standing in the paint.
"Everything I've gotten here, I've had to work for," she said.
Geoffroy's height has stayed the same in the past year. Her game, however, is like an overactive pituitary gland — it keeps finding ways to create growth.
She started only two of 30 games last year. Already, she's started four in Kansas' 5-2 start. She averaged 8.4 minutes last year. This year, it's up to 19.7. She's averaging five more points per game.
She's tall.
She's always been tall and will always be tall.
Now it's opponents who are staring, because Geoffroy is coming up big.
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Franchuk is a Boulder, Colo., senior in journalism.