6B
Wednesday, May 2, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
491
Pritchard
Continued from p. 1
"He looks like a choir boy, but he's mean as sent on the court," Phillips said. "I told him I was going to chew him out in practice so his teammates would rally around him. He'd work hard, though, not to mess up. Then, after about a week, he asked why I didn't yell at him, and I'd say I would
Pritchard spends much of his off-court time with Jodi Oelschlager.
Randall said he and Pritchard joked about the fact that he messed up enough during his freshman year at Kansas to attract the shouts of Brown and former teammate Chris Piner.
Piper, who played with Pritchard on the Jayhawks' championship team, said, "I rode Kevin pretty hard because I saw what kind of player he was. I didn't realize it. I was the least aftest I think I knew that one once."
Pritchard said he became mentally tough under Brown's scrutiny.
"He was great from the day he entered KU," said Brown, who now is coaching for the San Antonio Spurs. "He's always put faith in his coaches and has a willingness to learn. He's tough."
After four years of loyal service to the Jayhawks, Pritchard may not have to downplay his chirpy appearance, but he will have to prove himself at the next level: the National Basketball Association.
The promotion
"I just want to play basketball. That's the bottom line," Pritchard said.
Brown said Pritchard's chances were good.
"Without a question he will be in the NBA." Brown said. "I would love to have him, but I don't know if we could do that." Not doubt that he'll make the NBA.
As Pritchard's opportunity to pro
ve himself in the big leagues approach,
he said he would not count on
playing professionally until he was
on the court, when another of an NBA team. Any NBA team
teeth.
"I still don't know," he said. "Success is a journey, not an end. It's a dream."
Pritchard's friends and family have been dreaming too.
"It keeps falling into place for him," said Julia Pritchard, Kevin's mother. "It's like a storybook I really feel like it is going to hank.
really hate it like he'd "He's just worked so hard. There's no doubt in my mind; I know him." Born competitive
'He looks like a choir boy, but he's mean as snot on the court. I told him I was going to chew him out in practice so his teammates would rally around him. He'd work so hard, though, not to mess up. Then, after about a week, he asked why I didn't yell at him, and I'd say I would . . . when he messed up.'
John Phillips
High school coach
son's competitive basketball drive before he was able to dribble a basketball.
"Kevin is self-made," she said. "I remember when he was about three or four, he would sit and watch basketball, and if the team in the white didn't win, he'd cry. It didn't matter who was playing. He would always give me the dark team and he would take the white.
"He's been competitive all his life, but sensitive too."
Pritchard moved around a lot as a child. His family he went from Noblesville, Ind., to Independence to Tulsa, Okla., and finally to Lawrence. Although, but the abbreviation kielathelmos of Indiana that interested him in basketball, it was the Boy's Club that made him good.
"From the first day I signed him up, he hardly ever came home," his sister said. "He's spent all afternoon there from the day he was the greatest babysitter for $10 a year."
Pritchard said the support of his parents had been one of his greatest assists.
"I've been really lucky," he said. 'They would back me in anything.'
Pritchard's parents share the same quiet confidence and modesty that make their only child the person he is.
"I can say I taught him everything he knows," said Steve Prichard, Kevin's father, "but that would probably not be the truth. We just got luck with a good kid. Maybe he did learn by watching his mother and me, but our secret was that we never pushed him into anything.
"I'd pick 1,000 people before picking me as having a kid like Kevin."
Off the court
Julia Pritchard said she saw her One of the things Pritchard said he
His girlfriend, Jodi Oeerschlager, who played volleyball for Kansas, may have the best grasp of that.
prided himself on is his ability to separate his social life and his basketball life.
"I think people think he's quiet and introverted or cocky," she said. "He's the farthest from cocky. He's probably the most hyper person I've ever met. He's the funniest person.
"He's really different than on the court. He is really concerned with the things going on with people close to him. He tries to keep basketball on the court. After a loss he is upset, but he realizes it's a game."
"There are some times when I like to be alone," he said. "I think as an athlete, you either shelter yourself or try to blend in. I try to blend in."
Pritchard said he wanted to be as much like a typical student as he could be.
accountant in Kansas City, Mo.; and
Jeff Mullins, Leavenworth senior,
are an active part of Pritchard's life
away from Kansas basketball.
"I'm a regular person," he said. "I enjoy the things that any other person would."
Pritchard has three roommates, none of whom play basketball. Donald Loudermark, a close friend of the Pritchards; Kevin McCluskey, an
Pritchard, who is majoring in communication studies and sociology dreams of coaching the Jayhawks someday. He said he realized that a basketball career could be short, so he made his education as important as basketball
I pursue on success at whatever, and I will put my heart into it," he said. "I like to compete and to succeed. That's my nature. When it comes to crunch time or test time, I get the job done."
Pritchard is planning a future that will incorporate everything he loves: basketball, friends and family.
And possibly, when he walks into the arena of the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers or wherever he may go, a coach will whisper to his assistant, "This kid doesn't look like a basketball player."
Reiber
Continued from p. 1
Dozens of coloring books are scattered on a couch. A rag dangle hangs above her files. Toys cover other furniture and a red square box containing wooden toys lies on the floor.
"The minute I come in, I never know what I will be doing." Reiber said. As the day progresses, she finds herself dealing with numerous tasks.
"The reason I can handle it is because I had five children," she said. "I seem to have that personality, so I can work on 10 or 15 things at the same time."
Reibner's husband, Frank, a KU professor of design, said his wife thrived on being busy not only in her work life, but also in her private life.
"She tries to balance them," he said, adding that she enjoyed taking on additional responsibilities.
Indeed, Reiber has been active outside her job at Hilltop. Last summer in Salina she was co-chairman of leadership Conference of KAEYC
Reiber also was co-chairman of the Conference of the Midwestern Association for the Education of Young Children from March 29 to April 1 in Kansas City, Mo. About 3,500 people were registered for the conference.
"It was a wonderful experience. It brought Kansas and Missouri together, and people thought it was well organized." Reiber said. The conference's theme was "Unity Within Diversity."
Reiber's involvement is explained by her interest in public policy, especially in child advocacy.
Her work with KAEYC includes tracking child-related bills in the Legislature, developing position papers, and organizing the association's monthly newsletter.
Monica Matyak, a Topea sophmore who works as secretary at Hilltop and assists Reiber, said Reiber's interaction with KAEYC had made Hilltop a better child care center.
Reiber's commitment to children isn't limited to paperwork. On a daily basis, she visits Hillop's eight
"She has so much experience," Matyak said. "She encourages teachers to come with questions or anything that will help improve Hilltop programs."
Committed to children
'The reason I can handle it is because I had five children. I seem to have that personality, so I can work on 10 or 15 things at the same time.'
— Joan Reiber
programs to observe the children and to develop ideas for future programs.
"Sometimes I am a friendly visitor. Sometimes I am a disciplinarian." she said.
Kathy G Gottlieb, head of Hilltop's board of directors, said that Reiber's professional dedication to Hilltop was an asset to the center.
Gottlieb said that Reiber's credentials were outstanding and that she understood that child development was necessary for child care.
"She is a very strong advocate of choosing qualified people to work with the children at Hilltop," Gotlieb said. "I feel fortunate having my children at Hilltop."
Although Reiber loves teaching, the center's size requires her to remain as full-time administrator. But she says she is not giving up her training to teach after retirement which will come in three to five years.
Reiber said she cried when she left Florida in 1964 with her husband. But she would like to stay in Kansas after retiring.
"Now, he wants to go back and I don't," Reiber said.
Yet, she might consider teaching in a community college in Florida.
Reiber said she would miss the children, their parents and the staff at Hillop, but she viewed retirement as a good opportunity to become more active in children's advocacy on a national level.
After Reiber retires, she will be able to continue doing 10 to 15 things at the same time.
She will watch television while reading. She will take care of her garden while designing a new strategy to endorse a children's bill.
And no matter where Joan Reiber might be, among those 10 to 15 things, one will always stand out. She will never stop working to give children better opportunities to become happy adults.
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