University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, March 7, 1990
Sports
9
West overcame obstacles to play ball
By Molly Reid
Kansan sportswrite
He says he is one in a million.
Be says ne is one in a milion.
Playing college basketball is the dream of almost all little boys who grow up playing hoops, Freeman
West said. But he was lucky. His dream came true.
me. The dream finally came true.
"It's a dream that you want, but you never know." West said. "There are millions of kids that have the same dream that started out just like
"It's a great feeling. I feel fortunate, and it all comes down to setting things straight."
West, who grew up in East Chicago, Ind., said he came from a
neighborhood where realizing priorities was the way out.
"My neighborhood was bad, but it wasn't real, real bad like the south side of Chicago," the 6-foot-5 senior said. "We tried to stay away from the bad. I know some guys that were super, super players, but never got a chance to go to school because drugs affected their lives. I try to stay away from those kinds of people."
West said neighborhood gangs, like the Disciples and the Black Kings, left him alone because they realized he was better himself by playing basketball.
'it's a dream that you want, but you never know. There are millions of kids that have the same dream that started out just like me. The dream finally came true.'
- Kansas forward Freeman West
"Basketball kind of did keep me from hanging out with the wrong crowd," he said.
Family was also a big influence on West's life. The final home game against Iowa State on Saturday was special for West because it gave his brains and body their third opportunity to see him play at Kansas.
"It all comes down to my mom and dad," he said, "he said it if it weren't for them telling me to come home at a certain time and doing this and doing that, I am here. All that really comes down to the amount of success I have now."
Freeman had one of his best performances of the season, scoring 12 in the scoring game of the season was Jan. 9 in Nebraska when he scored 13 points.
West played junior college basketball at Paris Junior College in Texas for two years before transferring to KU in 1988. He said he never expected to play for the No. 1 team in the nation. Kansas was ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press college basketball poll on Monday, but has been ranked in the first or second spot throughout the season.
West's 15-year-old brother, Jermaine, shared the same doubt.
"I thought he'd go to some small school and stay there." he said. "I
Kansas forward Freeman West shoots over Missouri's Nathan Buntin in the Javhawks' loss Feb. 13.
didn't know he'd come to this big school, and they'd be this good."
Jermaine said he looked up to Freeman and shared his older brother's obsession with basketball.
Freeman said, "I think that's true because I'm older. I think my older brother was the first role model for me. I remember that got me deep into basketball."
Treeman said his 24-year-old brother, Douglas, used to keep him up late at night watching basketball, but he did not work out in the back yard to shoot baskets.
"I remember when we were small and we didn't have a rim," he said. "So we used to take bicycle tires, put them out and nail it up and play with that."
Role models are important, Freeman said.
"I try to set an example off the court as well as on," he said. "I try to never be satisfied. There is always something you can do better."
Freeman's efforts have not gone unnoticed.
"He's meant just as much to us in terms of leadership and his effort and the things that he does out on the court," Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams said. "He hasn't started and he's not a role sometimes for seniors to take."
Forward Mark Randall said, "Freeman has meant a great deal to this program the last two years. He works hard every day at practice to get better. He's a classy guy. He's just fun to be around."
"That's part of me," he said. "You know, it is so serious sometimes around the locker room and practice. There is a time for everything — a time to be serious, a time to put in a little joke and a time to have fun. I like to put in a couple of jokes to make the guys smile a bit."
Freeman said he liked to joke around.
Freeman said his future goals would follow those same lines. He plans to graduate with a degree in communications after the summer semester, but he also would like to complete a second degree. His goal is to find children who grow up in neighborhoods like the one in which he grew up.
"I want to tell them that life isn't over," he said.
Kansas athlete vaults to championship meet
Bv Kate Lee
Special to the Kansan
Junior pole vault Pat Manson will be the only member of either Kansas track team traveling to Indianaapolis this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Kansas track
Manson qualified for the championships Jan. 20 at the second indoor meet of the season, when he jumped 17 feet, 7 inches.
"Physically he's been able to do a bit more each week," he said. "Mentally, he's ready and that's a big part of this."
He said his left gin, which he strained during his victory at the Big Eight Conference championships two weeks ago, had improved and he hoped it would hold up this weekend.
"The technique is there, I'm just hoping that the groin muscle holds up so he can turn himself loose."
Rick Attig, assistant track coach, said he thought Manson was ready for the competition.
"I've rested it since then," he said. "I haven't stressed it out. I haven't been doing any hard sprinting."
Attig said the groin injury could bother Manson during warm-ups but that, once the competition began, it would not be a problem.
"It might be uneasy or uncomfortable in the beginning, but I don't think it's going to affect him," he said.
Maryland to appeal ban
After the Big Eight championships, Manson said he was ready to jump as high as was necessary to win the NCAA this weekend.
Attig said he thought the winner would have to jump at least 18-8 but Manson might have to jump 19 feet to win.
enough," he said. "I intend to go and jump the highest, no matter how high that is."
"I vowed last year not to not win because I didn't jump high
"I really felt like he was ready to jump 19 feet several times during the indoor season, but he had some friends that held them back" Attiq said.
Attig said Bagyula had been jumping close to where he had thought Manson would be now.
"It's going to come down to how his groin holds up," he said. "If he strains it, he won't be able to jump, and that's not how he does nothing with Pat, not half way."
Attig and Manson agreed that Manson's toughest competition would come from Istvan Bagulya, from George Mason University.
"I think I'm ready for him," Manson said.
"This one will be another barn burner."
"He's going to be tough," he said. "It'll be a good match-up. Can I camp on a good show but some guy just snuck in and beat them."
Manson said he is ready for the challenge, although he does not feel any extra pressure in being able to dayhawk at the championships.
At last year's NCAA championships, Manson and former Jayhawk Cam Miller each jumped 18-2 to tie for second place behind Illinois' Dean Starkey who jumped 18-6.
Maryland must officially notify the NCAA of its appeal within 15 days.
Bill Payne of Baylor and Greg Fenza of Purdure also will challenge Manson, Attitt said.
Women excel in golf tourney
"There's enough pressure as it is," he said. "The NCAA is the NCAA no matter what."
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The University of Maryland is planning an appeal concerning penalties it issued against its men's basketball program.
probation, but Maryland president William E. Kirwan accused the NCAA of failing to account for Maryland's cooperation with the investigation and the school's previously unblemished record.
The Associated Press
By Brent Maycock Kangaea sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
While the rain came down in Lawrence, the Kansas women's golf team shone in Utah.
Kansas edged 39th-ranked U.S.
International by one stroke for
fourth place. The Jayhawks shot a 600, and
Kansas, which entered the tournament ranked 35th by Golf Stat magazine's NCAA women's rankings, was one of eight teams ranked among the top 50 to compete in the two-day tournament.
The NCAA imposed a two-year ban on post-season play and put the basketball program on three years
In their first tournament of the spring season, the Jayhawks finished fourth out of 18 teams at the Utah Dixie Classic in St. George, Utah.
U. S. International finished with a 961.
Brigham Young, ranked 28th, won the tournament with a three-round score of 936. Iowa, ranked 25th, finished second with a 941, beating 32nd-ranked Lamar by a single stroke.
Kansas trailed U.S. International by 15 strokes going into the final round, but the Jayhawks shot a 313, and the Gulls shot a 329.
Big Eight Conference rival Missouri, which entered the tournament ranked 41th, finished in eight place and 48th in MEM and 48th-ranked Washington State.
In the individual scoring, Elsabe Hefer from Lamar received first-
The Jayhawks, 5, tentatively will play Washburn at 2 p.m. today at Jayhawk Field, depending upon weather conditions. The double-handed Jayhawks of Topeka, was moved to Lawrence because of wet weather conditions.
Seniors Donna Jo Lowe and Sherri Atchison each shot a 241, finishing behind Myers. Atchison and Lowe were followed closely in the standings by sophomore teammate Shelly Triplette, who shot a 242. Sophomore Laura Martin shot a 245.
The next tournament for the Jaya-
hawks will be March 11-13. Kansas
will compete in the Peggy Kirk Bell
Invitational in Winter Park, Fla.
Kansas softball
place honors by shooting a three- round 226.
The Jayhawks shut out the Icha-buns 3-0 and 7-0 last semester. Washburn has not scored against Kansas in a single game and was a 9-0 history against Washburn.
The top individual finisher for Kansas was sophomore Laura Myers. Myers shot a 240 which tied her for 14th place.
Team ready to take on Washburn
Pitchers Roanna Braziez, 1,1, and Jill Bailey will start for Kansas, respectively. This will be Bailey's first start of the season.
Although the KU Weather Service reports a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms in Eastern Kansas today, Jayhawk Field has been covered with a tarp, prompting officials to change the game site. Washburn's field is not covered by a tarp.
"I think this game is good for us and good for Washburn," Haack said. ("Washburn) has had a successful program over the years. We played them in the fall but they had only nine players."
Kansas softball coach Kalum Haack does not take any opponent lightly, not even Washburn University, an NCAA Division II club.
"We really don't have a deep team this year," Washburn coach Kelly Stuaffel said. "It was our first outing at fall ballet; we did not have our regular lineup."
By Paul Augeri
"I approach all teams the same," Haack said. "I want to crush them."
Kansan sportswriter
Stauffer has a roster of 13 players, including three seniors. She said she would field an all-freshmen pitching staff and experiment with a combination of offensive and defensive lineups.
Haack said he was satisfied with his pitching staff after a scrimmage game Friday against Kansas Wesleyan. Shelly Sack, Brazier and the 15 innings played. The teams played three five-inning games.
"But I'm looking forward to this game. It is the first time we have hosted (Kansas)."
Stauffer split her coaching duties last fall between softball and volleyball. The Ichabobs were 7-3 in their inaugural fall softball season.
Brazier said the Jayhawks were prepared to play Washburn.
"The girls are tired of practicing," Haack said. "They want to play ballgames."
"We worked on all our defensive and offensive plays against Wesleyan," she said. "It is not as important as a tournament game, but we treat every game as important."
Kansas third baseman Camille Spitaler said she was looking forward to playing Washburn, but preferred to play strong competition like top-ranked UCLA and No. 2 Cal-Fallerton. Kansas lost to both clubs at the Arizona Softball Classic on Feb. 15.
Sports briefs
LINDLEY'S NEW LIMB: Kansas basketball recruit Chris Lindley, recovering in the University of Kansas Medical Center after losing his right foot in a train accident Jan. 6, has been fitted with a temporary artificial limb.
Lindley will wear the prosthesis, attached above the knee by a strap, for approximately three- or four months depending on the healing process. A second maturing of the stump, said John Redford, head of rehabilitation medicine at the Med Center.
Redford said Lindley wouldn't walk normally until the extensive skin damage on his left leg healed. He said the goal in rehabilitation at this point was to get Lindley on his feet. Lindley, currently confined to a wheelchair, is trying to walk on the new limb with a brace on his injured left leg.
Redford estimated that it would be at least three to four weeks before Lindley's left leg healed. A lot of skin was lost from the thigh down.
"Externally, he appears to be coping very well." Redford said. "It is going to be different when he gets out of here and back into school.
"He's a very positive kid. I'm impressed."
'HAWKS TO PLAY CREIGHTON:
After being rained out yesterday, the Kansas baseball team will try to play again today.
The Jayhawks, 5-5, play Creighton at 2 p.m. at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
The Blue Jays, 10-0, are ranked 23rd in the Collegeiate Baseball/ ESPN poll released Monday.
Yesterday's game against Southwest Missouri State was rescheduled to 7 p.m. April 19. The Jayhawks originally were to play Wichita State on that date, but the game was cancelled
There is a 50 percent chance of rain today, which may hamper the Jay-Z game. But this game's game before this weekend's series with 19-ranked Louisiana State.
Book says Syracuse violated recruiting rules
The Associated Press
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse university basketball coach Jim Boehm defended his program yesterday after a newly released team of players shot at the Orangemen were guilty of recruiting violations.
Boeheim said there wasn't "an ounce of truth" in the allegations made by writers Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian in their book, "Raw Deal," which the authors say sheds light on illegal recruiting practices in college basketball.
"We don't even think of buying recruits," Boeheim said. "We
The book links Syracuse to a "street agent" whose job is to sell the Syracuse program to elite New York City players, giving them access to expensive sneakers and free transportation and other incentives.
travel, my staff and I, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles a year to recruit.
"We're on a lot of. kids' labs before we even contact them. We use us on television. We don't have to be so involved with them." Boehm said.
The Syracuse coach criticized the book at a news conference late yesterday afternoon, saying it "stifled" "'the abuses of journalism."
The book says that Robert Johnson, working on behalf of Syracuse, steered Syracuse freshman Conrad McRae and former Orangeman Tony Bruin to Syracuse. The book also questions Syracuse's involvement with Marcus Liberty and Jamie Brandon, two Chicago prep stars successfully recruited by Illinois.
Johnson, who is unemployed and lives in a New York City housing
"I try to help them as much as I can. I try to keep them off the streets and try to help them stay in school." Johnson said.
Johnson admitted being a dyad襄嫁 fan but denied that he pressures or entices athletes to go to particular schools.
"I have nothing to hide," he said. "I just know the coaches. I think it's a real good program. If you don't ask and asks me, I may good things."
project, is often seen sitting by the Syracuse bench or in the locker-room after games, the authors said.
Wolff, a Sports Illustrated writer, and Keteyan, who broke a story alleging point-shaving at North Carolina State, stop short of accusing Syracuse of violating NCAA regulations, but if the allegations made in the book are true, the university could be guilty
of recruiting violations.
"We stand by our reporting. It's solid reporting through and through," said Keteyian, a former news reporter now working for ABC News.
Syracuse is not being investigated by the NCAA, said Chuck Smrt of the organization's enforcement office. However, Wolff said Johnson had been interviewed by the NCAA.
The book claims Johnson took McRae to the 1967 'Tup-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass., to watch Syracuse play North Carolina.
It also says that McRae was given a pre-paid airline ticket for a flight to Syracuse to play in Boeheim's summer basketball camp. The information came from Mark Festberg, who coached McRae his junior season at Brooklyn Tech.