9
9
9
9
2
9
9
14
14
14
b
b
c
a
E
SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, November 17, 1993
11
Kansas outpaces Marathon AAU
Exhibition game serves purpose
It wasn't pretty, but it served its purpose.
By Mark Button Kansan sportswriter
After only 15 practices, the Kansas men's basketball team played its first exhibition game last night and defeated Marathon AAT 103-94 in front of a crowd of 14.500 at Allen Field House.
Kansas coach Roy Williams had said earlier in the week that he hoped the game would help the team get used to playing in front of a crowd. let the players react against an opponent and get out some of nervousness that accompanies a new season.
The Jayhawks accomplished all three, but with not much grace nor precision.
"We've looked pretty good defensively at times." Williams said. "Tonight was not one of those times, to save the least."
Offensively, Kansas was led by sophomore forward Sean Pearson, who scored a career-high 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting. His previous career high was 19 points against Missouri-Kansas City in last year's Golden Harvest Classic.
Pearson started in place of senior forward Richard Scott, who sprained an ankle in practice Monday. Pearson, LaGrange, III., is usually regarded as a three-point threat, but he scored 23 of his points last night inside the arch. Also, Pearson reported to school this year 12 pounds lighter than last year.
William Alix / KANSAN
"When I was heavier, I didn't feel comfortable," Pearson said. "I feel smoother. I think tonight will improve my confidence."
Overall, though, the game was sloppy.
"I wasn't pleased that we allowed them to do anything they wanted to do." Williams said. "I guess that
Williams said he wasn't happy with the team's performance, and the limited practice time showed.
Marathon shot just 45 percent to Kansas' 49 percent, neither of which is great, and the Jayhawks out rebounded their foes 45-41.
means we've only been practicing 15 days."
Marathon guard LaKeith Humphrey, who played for Kansas State during the 1988-89 season. scored 36 points, including eight three-point haskets.
In particular, Williams was upset with the 'Hawks defensive play.
Williams said the team needed to improve—and in a hurry.
"Tomorrow night we we're playing a team that has had more time probably than Marathon has." Williams said of today's game against Western Michigan. The Broncos are the Jayhawks' opponents in the first-round of the National Invitational Tournament. If Kansas wins, it plays the winner of the California-Santa Clara game on Friday.
The Marathon team that Kansas faced had met each other only Sunday night at an airport. They had one practice together before last night's game.
"I think we could have executed better," Richey said. "We got out there in front of 15,000, and some of the people let the crowd interfere with what they were doing, including myself. I didn't execute as well as I could have."
"We've got to be better on the defensive side of the floor tomorrow night or all these people who are talking about Friday can forget about it." Williams said last night.
Senior forward Patrick Richey scored 18 points and led the team in rebounds with 10.
Freshman point guard Jacque Vaughn got the nod at the starting spot and scored nine points and dished out nine assists. But he turned the ball over four times in 23 minutes. Junior point guard Calvin Rayford scored two points, had four assists and no turnovers while playing 17 minutes.
Kansas junior center Greg Ostertag fouls Marathon AAU center Tom Elliott while Kansas guard Steve Woodbury attempts to block the shot. Ostertag scored six points and fouled out with 2:09 left in the game. The Jayhawks won 103-94 at Allen Field House last night.
Williams said if Kansas hoped to defeat Western Michigan, the team would have to play better defense.
"Anyone who knows anything about basketball and watched us on the defensive end tonight knows we didn't play very well," he said.
Williams to push freshmen in first NIT game
Kansan sportswriter
Finally
By Mark Button
The official 1993-94 basketball season starts today, and the Kansas men's team opens playing host to a veteran Western Michigan team.
After only 15 practices and one exhibition game, last night's 103-94 victory against Marathon AAU, the youthful Jayhawks begin their season with the Preseason National Inviational Tournament.
The field for this year's tournament is stacked with top 20 teams. Heading the list is No. 1-ranked North Carolina. Other ranked teams include No. 6 California, which possibly could face Kansas in the sec-
and round at Allen Field House Friday night, No. 10 Minnesota, No. 19 Cincinnati and No. 22 Massachusetts.
Kansas, which was ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press' preseason poll, received one first place vote. The only other schools to receive first place votes were North Carolina and No. 2-ranked Kentucky — and the Wildcats received only three.
"My mother passed away...she would have voted for us, but I don't know who else would have voted for us," said Kansas coach Roy Williams. "She still thinks I taught Dean Smith everything."
The Western Michigan Broncos
return four starters of last year's
team that finished 17-12, which was good for a third place finish in the Mid-American Conference.
The Bronco leader on the floor is senior guard Leon McGee. McGee averaged 14.3 points and 3.6 rebounds a game last season.
The Bronco leader on the sideline is fifth-year coach Bob Donewald, a disciple of Indiana's Bobby Knight. Donewald was an assistant coach under Knight from 1974-78. During his tenure to the Hoosiers, the team posted a 121-27 record, winning three Big Ten Conference titles, and won the 1976 NCAA national championship with an undefeated record.
"Bob's teams always play well on the defensive end of the floor."
Williams said. "They play motion game on the offensive, so it will be a challenge for our kids to try to find the guy they're guarding."
Williams said playing in the NIT would challenge the freshmen to learn the system in a hurry.
"We had a decision to make, to go at a slower pace so the freshmen could keep up or just try to push the freshmen to get up to the level of the other guys," Williams said. "I chose to push the freshmen."
Another aspect of participating in the NIT is that if the 'Hawks fare well in the first two games, they will be rewarded with a trip to New York and two more games. The teams that lose first or second round are eliminated; those that make it to New
York are guaranteed two more games.
"Our players love the fact that we're in it because that's two less weeks of practice before we start playing games," Williams said of the NIT. "But if we don't go out and play well Wednesday night, it doesn't make any difference. But we like playing in the preseason NIT because if you play well, you have the opportunity of getting four extra games that other people don't have."
Junior center Greg Ostertag said last night's exhibition game helped the team prepare for the NIT.
"As far as the NIT, I think the exhibition game will help us work out some cobwebs," he said.
Missouri receiver switches to QB job
By Matt Doyle Kansan sportswriter
Missouri junior wide receiver Brian Sallee may be on his way to reaching a mark that has only been accomplished once before in Big Eight history.
Sallee is near the 40 reception mark that would link him, with senior wide receiver Kenny Holly and junior tight end A.J. Ofodile as only the second group of three receivers from the same school in Big Eight history to each have more than 40 receptions in the same season. Holly has 51 receptions, Ofodile has 50 receptions and Sallee has 33.
The 1992 Tigers were the only team in conference history that had three players with 40 or more receptions.
However, it will be difficult now for Sallee to attain the seven receptions he needs. For Sallee will be the starting quarterback against Kansas in the 1 p.m. contest Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Sallee replaced injured junior starter Jeff Handy during the second quarter of last Saturday's 31-21 defeat at Kansas State. Handy suffered torn ligaments in his right foot and underwent surgery Sunday.
Missouri coach Bob Stull said he did not have any choice but to use Sallee as quarterback when Handy went down. Freshmen reserves Brandon Corso and Mitch Alvarado are full-time quarterbacks. But Corso is still recovering from a shoulder injury suffered earlier this season, and Stull said he would rather redshirt Alvarado this season than play him against Kansas State and Kansas.
Stull said the Tigers would not change their offensive scheme to accommodate Sallee.
"We can't change a whole lot for Brian in just two practices," Stull said. "We need for Brian to get his timing down for the stuff we do offensively."
Quarterback is not an unfamiliar position for Sallee. He was recruited to Missouri as a quarterback, but was switched to wide receiver during his redshirt freshman season in 1991.
Sallee had seen limited action at quarterback in his three seasons before the K-State game by completing 17 of 26 passes for 251 yards. In three quarters against K-State, Sallee completed 16 of 28 passes for 191 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Stull said that the increased repetitions in practice this week would help Sallee in his preparations for the Jayhawks.
"Brian has a good grasp of the offense, but his timing is not on since he has not worked with those guys like Jeff," Stull said, comparing the two quarterbacks. "He's probably only had a third of the repetitions in practice at quarterback."
Kansas coach Glen Mason said the Jayhawks would not prepare a different defense to face Sallee.
"I'm not sure if they will have a new look on offense, but we'll prepare for what we've seen." Mason said.
Women's top 25 teams
The preseason top twenty five women's basketball teams as compiled by Mel Greenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Poll was based on the votes of 71 coaches, with first-place votes in parentheses, 1992-93 record, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last year's final ranking.
| | Record | Points | Last Year |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1. Tennessee (34) | 29-3 | 1,728 | — |
| 2. Vanderbilt (34) | 30-3 | 1,715 | 1 |
| 3. Iowa (2) | 27-4 | 1,834 | 4 |
| 4. Louisiana Tech (1) | 26-6 | 1,452 | 14 |
| 5. Auburn | 26-4 | 1,401 | 7 |
| 6. Stanford | 26-6 | 1,379 | 6 |
| 7. Penn State | 22-6 | 1,170 | 8 |
| 8. Ohio State | 28-4 | 1,151 | 3 |
| 9. North Carolina | 23-7 | 1,040 | 17 |
| 10. Virginia | 26-6 | 1,029 | 9 |
| 11. Southern Cal | 22-7 | 913 | 15 |
| **12. Colorado** | **27-4** | **793** | **10** |
| **13. Western Kentucky** | 24-7 | 782 | 13 |
| **14. Texas Tech** | 31-3 | 743 | 5 |
| **15. Stephen F. Austin** | 28-5 | 707 | 12 |
| **16. Kansas** | **21-9** | **631** | **24** |
| 17. Georgia | 21-13 | 593 | 21 |
| 18. Connecticut | 18-11 | 505 | — |
| 19. Alabama | 22-9 | 499 | — |
| 20. SW Missouri St. | 23-9 | 463 | — |
| 21. George Washington | 20-11 | 449 | — |
| 22. Mississippi | 19-10 | 355 | — |
| 23. Maryland | 22-8 | 267 | 11 |
| **24. Oklahoma State** | **23-9** | **244** | **25** |
| 25. Purdue | 16-11 | 220 | — |
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 180, Texas 158, Washington 144, Clermont 93, Wailou 84, UCLA 49, Brigham Young 40, DePaul 17, Mississippi 43, Nebraska 40, San Diego St. 35, Northern Illinois 31, Providence 31, Creighton 21, UNLV 23, Miami 22, Boise State 12, Bowling Green 21, Rogers 12, Seton Hall 19, Florida International 18, Montana 18, Vermont 17, Old Dominion 16, Tolio 16, Arizona 13, Georgetown 12, Tennessee Tech 12, Long Beach State 11.
Tennessee tops preseason poll
Source: The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Tennessee, an NCAA semifinalist last season, edged Vanderbilt yesterday to land the No.1 spot in the Associated Press preseason women's basket.
The Volunteers received 34 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of 71 coaches. The Commodores also received 34 first-place votes, by points.
Press preseason women's basketball poll.
"It surprises me a bit because I don't think we're the best team in the country right now, although that's our goal," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "Also, because Vanderbilt has been No. 1 in many of the preseason magazines."
WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL
Both teams start play in Jackson, Tenn., this weekend when Vanderbilt meets defending NCAA champion Texas Tech Saturday, and Tennessee plays Ohio State, last season's national runner-up, Sunday. Jackson is the site of the future Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
also received 34 first-place votes, but fell short with 1,715 points.
The regular season begins Thanksgiving weekend, followed by the first weekly vote of 1983-94.
Iowa followed the Southeastern Conference rivals in the preseason balloting. The Hawkeyes were third with two first-place votes and 1,483 points. The Hawkeyes lost to Big Ten rival Ohio State in the NCAA semifinals last season.
Louisiana Tech, which advanced to the final eight in the NCAA tournament last season, was fourth with the remaining first-place vote and I.452 points.
The SEC, considered the strongest conference in women's basketball, placed three teams in the first five and six in the Top 25.
The Big Ten was represented by four teams, including three in the first 10, while the Atlantic Coast Conference placed three teams in the poll.
Jayhawks need last victory from Wildcat volleyball team
Team hopes to end conference play on a positive note
By Gerry Fey
The Wildcats are 7-23 overall and 0-10 in the Big Eight. They are looking for their first conference victory and will be playing on their home court. Those kind of things can get a team fired up.
Kansas State will have no problem getting pumped up for tonight's volleyball match against Kansas at 7:30 at Manhattan, but the Jayhawks may not be quite so excited.
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Frankie Albizt said it might be hard for her team to look forward to this match. If Iowa State defeats K-State on Saturday, the Jayhaws will be eliminated from the Big Eight tournament, Nov. 26-27 in Omaha, Neb. Kansas enters its last regular season match 15-12 overall and 4-7 in the conference.
Albizta said it was important for the team to defeat K-State. Although
Kansas sophomore middle blocker/rightside player Jenny Larson said the team was emotionally down after last week. The team found out Iowa State, 3-6, would go to the Big Eight tournament if the Jayhawks were tied with the Cyclones in the conference standings.
"That could be difficult to do." Albitz said about defeating the Wildcats. "They have nothing to lose, and that can be hard to deal with sometimes. We need to keep on going. We still have the NIVC tournament coming up."
"I think we are a better team than Iowa State," Larson said. "It makes me mad to know that they're going and not us. I wish we could have that match back."
That match was a 3-0 defeat at Iowa State on Oct. 9. Because Iowa State won one game in its Oct. 30 defeat against Kansas at Allen Field House, Iowa State at the upper
the conference tournament may be out of reach, Kansas still has an invitation as the host team at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship tournament Dec. 3-5 in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas senior outside hitter/setter Shelly Lard said she wanted to end the regular season with a victory tonight after losing three straight against Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
"We have to realize it could be tough to get excited for this match," Lard said. "Ending our Big Eight season on a good note is important, since it probably will end with this match and not at the Big Eights."
Despite this letdown, Kansas will try to focus on its match against K-State.
"None of us want to lose to Kansas State," Larson said. "Our pride has something to do with it. They haven't won a conference match yet, and we don't want to be their first."
hand in case of a tie.
Lard said the NIVC tournament was not as satisfying as going to the Big Eight tournament.
"The season wasn't totally successful," she said. "It would have been nice to play in the Big Eight tournament. The NIVC is good, but it's not like we qualified for it."
1