WEST ALL STARS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, a four-time starter for the NBA's Eastern Conference All-Star team and current Los Angeles Lakers center, was chosen as a reserve for the West yesterday. Karl Malone of Utah, Lattrell Sprewell of Golden State and Mitch Richmond of Sacramento were also picked for the team.
Other West reserves will be Dylex Drake of Houston, Tom Gugliotta of Minnesota and Eddie Jones of the Lakers.
ROYALS AND EXPOS MAKE TRADE
The KANSAS CITY ROYALS traded pitcher Melvin Bunch to the Montreal Expos for outfielder Yamil Benitez yesterday. Benitez, 24, hit .278 with 23 home runs
and 81 RBIs at Triple-A Ottawa last season.
Bunch, 25, was 8-9 with a 6.08 ERA at
Triple-A Omaha.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1997
ZIMMERMAN RETIRING
All signs point to the retirement of seven-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Gary Zimmerman, which would force the DENVER BRONCOS to refocus their free-agent priorities this off-season.
Sources close to Zimmerman, who has been plagued by shoulder injuries the last two seasons, have told the Denver Post that Zimmerman is illustrious 11-year NFL career is over.
The telephone number Zimmerman had in Denver the past few seasons has been disconnected. His home has been put on the market, and he and his family have moved back to their primary residence in Bend, Ore.
SECTION B
Two KU prospects won't sport crimson and blue
Two Kansas football recruits backed out of their commitments earlier this week.
B. J. Tiger, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback from Washington High in Tulsa, O.K., pulled out of his commitment Monday along with Idris Elias, a 6-0, 205-pound running back from Wichita West High.
Tiger visited Oklahoma State during the weekend and committed to the Cowbys after his visit.
It was the third time Tiger had changed his mind about college. He committed to Oklahoma after visiting Norman, then he committed to Kansas after visiting Lawrence.
Eilas, who had committed before former Kansas coach Glen Mason left for Minnesota, has decided he will play for Wyoming.
Former Kansas State offensive coordinator Dana Dimel is now the head coach at Wyoming.
The signing date for football recruiting is February 5.
—Kansan staff report
Cyclone starter pleads not guilty to traffic charges
Court records show that five charges, including drunk driving, were filed against Pratt after a Dec. 28 traffic accident.
AMES, IOWA — Iowa State forward Kenny Pratt said he was not guilty of allegations stemming from an automobile accident last month.
Pratt's attorney, Jerry Crawford of Des
He also was charged with serious assault, harassing a police officer, interfering with official acts and driving without a valid license.
Kenny Pratt
Moines, said Monday that no trial date had been set.
lowa State coach Tim Floyd suspended Pratt from the team Dec. 29, but Pratt appealed to an athletic department committee, which voted unanimously to reinstate the 6-foot-5 senior.
He missed one game and has played every game since his reinstatement, averaging 14.9 points and six rebounds.
Jewell says newspaper and college should pay
ATLANTA — Former security guard Richard Jewell is suing The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Piedmont College, his former employer, saying they libeled him when he was identified as a suspect in last summer's Olympic Park bombing.
Roger Kintzel, publisher of The Journal-Consitution, said today he had not seen the suit and would have no immediate comment.
The newspapers, nine of their reporters and officials of the college made false and defamatory statements about Jewell, the suit said.
No damage amount was specified in the 41-page suit.
Jewell, 34, was working at the park when a pipe bomb exploded July 27, killing one person and injuring more than 100.
There was no answer this morning at the office of Wray Eckl, an Atlanta attorney representing the college.
History is one win away
After Jewell's name was leaked as a suspect to The Journal-Constitution July 30, he became the center of intense media coverage, which continued until federal prosecutors cleared him in October.
Steve Puppe / KANSAN
'Hawks set to tie record at Texas Tech
Kansas junior forward Raef LaFrentz dunks at Colorado. The Jayhawks will play Texas Tech at 8:05 tonight in Lubbock,Texas.
The Associated Press
By Bill Petulla
Kansan sportswriter
Another game, another record.
When the Kansas men's basketball team plays Texas Tech at 8:05 p.m. today in Lubbock, Texas, it will attempt to tie a 61-year-old record.
Despite his usual, take 'em one game at a time demeanor, Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said he had been looking forward to tonight's game.
At 20-0, the Jayhawks are one game away from tying the best opening ever for a Kansas team — the 21-0 start of the 1935-36 Jayhawks.
forward to give them
"After what a great year they had last year, the one thing that I did was look at the Big 12 southern schools and which ones we we're going to be at." Williams said.
The Raiders are coming off a hard fought 64-61 loss at Iowa State.
Guard Cory Carr scored 26 points and guard/forward Gracen Averil chipped in 18 points in the losing effort.
Carr has led Texas Tech in scoring in all but, six games this year.
Although he turned in one of his poorest statistical performances of the season (three points, three turnovers) against the Iowa State Cyclones, center Tony Battie has been a fundamental force for the Raiders.
Battie is averaging double figures in both points and rebounds this season, with 20.3 points and 12 rebounds a game.
Williams recruited Battie's older
"I have not spent one minute looking at any polls the entire season. If it's on SportsCenter, I see it." RoyWilliams Kansas men's basketball coach
Kansas men's basketball coach
"He's a very good player," Williams said. "He really has a heck of a touch, and he can score."
brother Derrick, who played for Temple. Williams said Tony was an offensive-minded player.
The assignment of guarding Battie will most likely fall on the shoulders of center B.J. Williams.
B. J. Williams is starting in place of injured center Scot Pollard, who has a stress fracture in his left foot.
B. J. Williams scored eight points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in Sunday's 77-68 win at Colorado.
Along with B.J. Williams, forward Raef LaFrentz has been called upon to elevate his game in the absence of Pollard.
Roy Williams said the decision to start B.J. Williams was easy.
Colorado men's basketball coach Ricardo Patton applauded LaFrenz's 21-point, 14-rebound performance against the Buffaloes.
"B.J., for four years, has proven that he wants to win," Roy Williams said. "He's the first guy that comes off the bench, and he's a senior."
tonight's game
Lubbock, Texas
Although Kansas was voted the unanimous No. 1 team by the Associated Press Poll and Coaches' Poll for the second consecutive week. Roy Williams said he hasn't paid much attention to the neighboring top 10 teams.
"He is a terrific player," Patton said. "We expected him to give us problems."
"They (the polls) don't mean anything," Roy Williams said. "I have not spent one minute looking at any polls the entire season. If it's on SportsCenter, I see it."
Kansan sportswriter
By Tommy Gallagher
Kansas point guard Tamecka Dixon earned the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year award last year. With her performance this season, she could become the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in women's basketball.
"I haven't talked with anyone about this yet." Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said. "But I think Tamecka deserves serious consideration for Player of the Year."
In each of the past three games, Dixon has dominated opponents while taking command of the jayhawk offense.
In a loss at Texas on Jan. 18, Dixon had 32 points, four assists, four steals, three rebounds and three blocked shots. Four days later, she had 29 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and one steal in a win at Texas A&M.
Tamecka Dixon
Dixon's tremendous week ended, with a home win against Colorado in which she had 26 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Although she had only six points at the half, Washington found a way to get Dixon the ball in the second half.
"Coach designed a set at halftime that gave me an opportunity to create for myself and for my teammates." Dixon said. "Obviously it worked."
Specifically, Washington allowed Dixon to penetrate the lane with the option of scoring or dishing to a teammate who might have an open shot, forward Shelly Canada said.
"We have a lot of looks, some isolations, where she is able to take her defender one-on-one," Canada said. "Before they even know it, she pulls someone and dishes to another player. When she doesn't dish it and takes it herself, she has the ability to pull up and either shoot the open jumper or take it to the hole. There really isn't a whole lot anyone can do against her."
Last week Dixon averaged 27.5 points and 5.5 rebounds against Texas A&M and Colorado in earning Player of the Week honors Tuesday. It was the second time this season Dixon had won the award
Baseball roomies hit it off
Brian Flink/KANSAN
Players balance demands of home plate, dirty dishes
By Harley Ratliff
Kansan sportswriter
Four college guys, living together, are on their own for the first time. Each one has his own unique personality, making for an interesting mix of characters.
Nick is the messy one with a flare for cooking. Andy is meticulous and clean. Mike is the self-proclaimed, laid-back, cool roommate.
And then there is Sparky. Sparky is simply Sparky, undefinable and irreverent.
This isn't the pilot for a new sitcom, and the guys aren't aspiring actors.
From left to right, Kansas baseball players Mike Dean, Andy Juday, Sparky Wilhelm and Nick Frank not only are the four men teammates, but they also live together.
They're baseball players at the University of Kansas.
all four sophomores — Nick Frank, Andy Juday, Mike Dean and Aaron "Sparky" Wilhelm — are entering their second year as Jayhawk baseball players and their first year as roommates. And despite the occasional ups and downs, all of them are loving it.
Dean came to Kansas by way of okmulgee, Okla. Last season, he broke the Kansas freshman record for at bats, 175, and hits, 51.
Dean enjoys the company of his roommates.
"I didn't realize how close I was to all the guys," he said. "When I went away last summer, I couldn't wait to get back."
Juday and Frank were hardly strangers when they came to Lawrence. The two players from Tucson, Ariz., first played together when they were 12 years old. They reunited at Canyon Del Oro High School, where they helped the team to the 1994 Arizona State Championship.
"It helped having another guy I knew up," he juddy said. "It made the transition much easier."
in such an event, Juday, who is battling to replace Josh Kliner at second place, last year hit Kansas' first pinch-hit home run in more than two seasons and earned Phillips 66 Academic All-Bie Eight Honorable Mention.
Dean has labeled Juday the neat freak of the group, although Juday denies the charges.
"Mike is really the person who always wants things clean. I bet he showers three times a day," Juday said, chuckling.
Juday's roommate from Arizona, Frank, also enjoyed success as a freshman.
Frank ended his first year with the highest batting average among Kansas freshmen. 348. His coaches praise him for his quick bat and his ability to hit the ball to every part of the field.
But in his roommates' opinion, Frank's cooking ability is his biggest asset.
"He is a great cook. He's awesome," Wilhelm said. "My favorite dish is his chicken Parmesan. It's so good."
Although Frank may be a star when it comes to cooking, he has yet to master cleaning the dishes, his roommates said.
"He once tried to fill the dishwasher with regular dishwashing soap." Wilhelm said. "It was a disaster. The whole kitchen flooded."
"I got the name when I was about seven years old," Wilhelm said. "We had two Aarons on my little league team. I guess I was kind of the sparkplug."
Wilhelm is the only one of the four who is homegrown, moving to Lawrence from Topeka. Wilhelm is known as "Sparky," a nickname he received as a small child.
His three roommates agree that his nickname fits his personality.
"Sparky is always the antagonist at our place," Frank jokes. "He always has a smart-alek comment for everything."
Bobby Randall, head baseball coach,
also sees Wilhelm's fiery persona.
"Sparky is definitely a character," Randall said. "He works hard everyday, and he is going to be a significant contributor to this team—he is still a sparkplug."
Despite their differences, all four players share a common goal — they want to do their best to help the Jayhawks make it to the College World Series.
"As players, we all just want to contribute in any way we can," juday said.
.
"They all have great attitudes. They want to be great players on a great team," Randall said. "We need them to come through this year."
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