UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, February 20, 1997
3B
Raefropes national respect
Things afoot in the world of athletics
Here's a sports stew for you to digest. So grab a spoon.
Raeffin't the Root
News flash ... Raef LaFrentz is good.
He was one of five players Dick Vitale listed on his all-America team in his USA Today college basketball column.
In yesterday's paper, Vitale picked Wake Forest center Tim Duncan, LaFrentz, Utah forward Keith Van Horn, Colorado guard Chauncey Billups and Stanford guard Brevin Knight as his first team at this point in the season.
Vitale's selection of the Kansas forward is an example of the national respect that LaFrentz is gaining as one of the top college post players in the country. LaFrentz was ranked the 25thbest power forward before the season began by Athlon's magazine.
Golden Gophers
LaFrentz is averaging 19 points and nine rebounds this season. Golden Gonhers
The victory of the Minnesota men's basketball team at Purdue last week was the best news I've
SPORTS COLUMNIST
heard since Wescoe Terrace brought back pumpernickel bread. All right, I exaggerate, but Minnesota hasn't won in West Lafayette since 1982. That same year was also the Gopher's last Big Ten Championship. Hopefully the victory is a sign of things to come for the Golden Gophers.
Having grown up in Minneapolis, Minn., I'm enjoying the college basketball rankings right now with No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Minnesota.
Brown likes the green, but likes Green Bay more
Former Kansas defensive tackle Gilbert Brown signed a three-year, $8.25-million contract with Green Bay. But what was impressive about that transaction was that Brown signed for less money to stay in the Midwest metropolis known as Green Bay. Wis.
The Jacksonville Jaguars offered Brown $250,000 more a year — hardly chump change.
But Brown is no cheesehead for taking less money. He simply
displayed a lost quality in professional sports — loyalty. Hopefully, other athletes will follow Brown's example.
The Packers acquired Brown on waivers after the Minnesota Vikings let Brown go in 1993. Argygh.
Roller derby: a forgotten sport
Remember the T-Birds team and roller skating and ... Sorry, just another '80s flashback. I have been having them often lately.
But before I switch topics, I have a question. If roller derby was played today on television, would the roller-derby players race around on Rollerblades?
Fullback gets respect
It's nice to see the fullback position taking on a bigger role in the NFL.
Evidence of this is the contract little-known fullback and former Carolina Panther Howard Griffith received this week. Griffith signed a four-year, $4.4-million contract with the Denver Broncos, but he didn't get that cash for his running skills. However, at Illinois, he holds the collegiate record for most touchdowns in a single game with eight.
Griffith probably will be used mostly as the blocking back for All-Pro running back Terrell Davis and a receiver out of the
backfield.
It's seems like the Denver Broncos long for the days of a sweet backfield combination like when they had Sammy Winder, Gerald Wilite and Steve Sewell. Sewell, arguably one of the top third-down backs of the 80s, was the player who would catch the screen pass or run a draw on third and 30.
The two-back offense seems to be making a comeback. Other fullbacks besides Griffith who have a role in a two-back offense are Green Bay's Dorsey Levens, Tampa Bay's Mike Alstott, New England's Sam Gash, Arizona's Larry Centers and Kansas City's Kimble Anders.
The Cavs
Brad Daugherty's No. 43 will be retired in Cleveland on March 1. Daugherty was an all-star center for five years, but he doesn't come to mind as a player whose jersey should be retired. However, he is the Cavaliers' all-time leader in points. But I think former Cavaliers guard World B. Free should also have his jersey retired. This is the second week in a row I've mentioned World B. Free in a column. That's probably the most he's been talked about by the Kansas press in years. What's the World coming to?
Tennis teams take off to nationals
No.9 men to face top-10 competition
By Andy Rohrback Kansan sportswriter
Eric B. Howell / KANSAN
The men take on No. 8 Duke in the first round in Louisville, Ky.
The University of Kansas men and women's tennis teams face big matches when the Intercollegiate Tennis Associations National Team Indoor Tournaments begin today.
Junior Fernando Sierra, who missed the start of the season because of an injury, continues his comeback as the men's tennis team faces the Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Team Indoor Tournament today.
The Jayhawks hold the No. 9 ranking with a 3-0 record but have yet to face a top-10 team this season. Kansas is coming off a 7-0 victory at Minnesota, the only away meet this season.
"Collectively, we did a better job there," said Mark Riley, Kansas men's tennis coach. "We need to play a complete match and play good tennis. In the past, we've played some good tennis and some bad tennis. We just want to play a complete match."
The Blue Devils, a tennis powerhouse, will provide stiff competition, Riley said.
The women's team will head north to Madison, Wis., for its tournament. No. 12 Kansas will face the No. 19 University of Southern California Trojans in round one.
The Jayhawk women, 1-3, face a different situation than the men. The women's team has already trudged through the most difficult part of its season. The team's first three matches were against top-10 teams William & Mary, Duke and Notre Dame.
"We weren't really prepared," Kansas' Maria Abatjoglou said. "We started with a bang, but now we've got some rhythm. We can definitely beat Southern Cal."
Kansas is without its top singles player, senior Kylie Hunt. Hunt is out of the lineup indefinitely with a knee injury.
Roland Thornqvist, the women's coach, said the loss of Hunt was difficult, but his team would survive.
"We've got to work harder," he said. "We have a talented enough team to be able to adjust."
"The only problem is that everyone has shifted up one spot," she said. "Anyone playing the No. 1 position, that's the hardest position in the world to be in."
Without Hunt at the No.1 spot, the rest of the team has moved up on the roster. Christie Sim plays the top spot now, followed by Brooke Chiller. Abatjoglou, who plays the No.5 singles spot, said everyone on the team was feeling pressured.
Much of the pressure falls on the team's rookies, freshmen Chiller and Julia Sidorova. Abatjoglou said that the team
Men's Tennis Lineup
SINGLES
No. 1 Enrique Abaroa 15-5
No. 2 Xavier Avila 12-5
No. 3 Fernando Sierra 7-4
No. 4 Luis Uribe 13-4
No. 5 Trent Tucker 14-6
No. 5 Ryan Baxter 2-3
DOUBLES
No. 1 Abaroa/Avila 15-8
No. 2 Sierra/Urile 10-5
No. 3 Baxter/Tucker 2-0
Andv Rohrback/KANSAN
Women's Tennis Lineup
SINGLES
No.1 Christie Sim 1-3
No.2 Brooke Chiller 2-2
No.3 Kris Sell 1-3
No.4 Julia Sidorova 1-3
No.5 Blanca Kirchhoff 2-2
No.6 Maria Abatioglou 1-3
DOUBLES
No. 1 Sell/Kirchhof 0-4
No. 2 Amy Trytek/Abatjoglou 1-0
No. 3 Sim/Sidorova 1-2
Andy Rohrback/KANSAN
could rely on the new players.
"They have a really good attitude," she said. "I just want to keep that attitude."
Both teams finish the tournaments on Sunday and have upcoming matches at home. The men play Feb. 28 against Drake, and the women play March 1 against Auburn. Both meets will be played at Alvamar Tennis Club, 4120 Clinton Parkway.
Kansas recruit chosen to play on junior team
Game benefits Hall of Fame
Kansan staff report
Eric Chenowith, a 7-foot-1 center who will play basketball for Kansas next year, has been selected to play on the 1997 USA Men's Junior Select national team.
The 1997 team includes 12 high school senior basketball players from across the country. The team will compete on April 19 at the Nike Hoop Summit game, with proceeds benefiting the Basketball Hall of Fame. The game will be televised from Orlando, Fla., at noon on CBS.
The team will compete against an International Select team of young international players.
John Farrell, a pre coach at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, will coach the junior team. Rich Gray, coach of the AAU St. Louis Eagles, will be the assistant coach.
Farrell said, "I feel really fortunate to be nominated to coach the USA Team. I look forward to making this experience a lifelong memory for the students athletes involved."
All 12 team members have been heavily recruited by NCAA Division I basketball programs, and eight of the 12 have already committed to play at Division I schools. Duke, Georgetown, Indiana and Kansas are among the universities to which the players have committed.
Eleven of the 12 players were members of the USA Today Super 25 selection.
This is the third year the event has been held. In the past, players such as Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves forward), Stephon Marbury (Minnesota Timberwolves guard), and Sha
Men's Junior team
William Avery; 6-foot-2 guard;
Oak Hill Academy; Augusta,
Ga.; Duke
Shane Battier; 6-8 forward; Detroit County Day; Birmingham, Mich.; Duke
Eiton Brand; 6-8 center;
Peekskill; Peekskill, N.Y.;
Duke
Chris Burgess; 6-11 forward;
Woodbridge; Irvine, Calif.;
Duke
Baron Davis; 6-2 guard;
Crossroads; Los Angeles;
undecided
■ Eric Chenowith; 7-1center;
Villa Park; Orange, Calif.;
Kansas
Dion Glover; 6-5 guard; Cedar Grove; Decatur, Ga.; undecided
Larry Hughes; 6-5 guard;
Christian Brothers Academy;
St. Louis; St. Louis
Tracy McGrady; 6-7 forward;
Mount Zion Christian Academy;
Auburndale, Fla.; undecided
Lamar Odom; 6-9 forward;
Redemption Christian Academy;
Troy, N.Y.; undecided
Anthony Perry; 6-2 guard; St.
Anthony; Jersey City, N.J.;
Georgetown
Luke Recker; 6-6 guard;
Dekalb; Auburn, Ind.; Indiana
reef Abdur-Rahim (Vancouver Grizzlies guard) have played in the event.
"The Hoop Summit has truly evolved into a premier event for our country's high school aged players against the best of that age group from the rest of the world," said Warren S. Brown, USA basketball executive director.
TRACK
Continued from Page 1B
Field Magazine to win the men's conference title.
Schwartz said he had seen improvement in the Jayhawks since the team had competed at the Husker Invitational Feb. 7-8, but said it would take a total team effort to do well at this meet.
"The people who are supposed to place, need to place, but you need that wild card of somebody stepping up and performing over their head," he said.
Schwartz said it was disappointing to enter this meet without some of the ammunition he had counted on the team having at the beginning of the semester.
"The analogy is we're going to war with not enough weapons," he said.
"This will be the most competitive conference meet I've been in."
Gary Schwartz Kansas track coach
"Yeah, we lost some people because of grades, and this and that has happened. But at the end, it doesn't mean crap because the gun's going to go off on Friday morning, and we have got to be ready to go."
Events begin Friday morning and continue through Saturday evening.
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