OLAJUWON AT HOME
HAKEEM OLAJUWON, saying he is in good health and has a very good heart, left the hospital on Monday and plans to start working out in hopes of rejoining the Houston Rockets. For the second time in less than two weeks, the star center was treated for
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
an irregular heartbeat. The problem is not considered career-threatening, but his return was not immediately set. Olajuwon, 33, was given aspirin and the drug Lanoxin to deal with the heartbeat irregularity. The problem resurfaced Saturday night in Washington. Two weeks ago, doctors used electrical shock to correct Olajuwon's arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, after he left the Nov. 19 game against Minnesota at halftime.
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION UPDATE
Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo, known for his defense, also showed enough tallent in offense to be selected the NBA Player of the Week. Mutombo led the league in rebounding with 16.7 a game and ranked fourth in blocked shots with 4 a game. Offensively, he averaged 19.7 points per game, including a season-high 25 against Washington.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1996
NFL UPDATE
Arizona quarterback BOOMER ESIASON, who threw for 522 yards in one game, and Dallas kicker CHRIST BONIOL, who had a record-tying seven field goals in a game, are among the NFL's Players of the Month. Carolina linebacker Sam Mills was selected NFC defensive player. The AFC honors went to Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettle.
Buffalo defensive end Bruce
Smith and indianapolis kicker Cary Blanchard. Bettis had five touchdowns during November. Smith had 4 1/2 sacks among 24 tackles, and Blanchard was 12-for-12 on field goal attempts.
Texas Tech's running back receives Walker award
DALLAS — Texas Tech's Byron Hansspard, only the sixth running back in NCAA history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, won the Doak Walker Award yesterday.
In a three-man final among juniors, Hanspard edged Iowa State's Troy Davis and Northwestern's Darnell Autry for the honor, which goes to college football's best running back.
Hanspard will receive the award at a banquet tonight in Dallas.
This season, Hanspard ran for 2,084 yards, going more than 200 yards in five games, including a school-record of 272 yards against Oklahoma State. He has gone more than 100 yards in his last 16 games while becoming Texas Tech's single-season and career rushing leader (4,219).
"Byron is a fine athlete who I know will live up to our expectations," said Walker, a former Heisman Trophy winner from Southern Methodist who starred in the NFL for the Detroit Lions. "We are proud to include him among our recipients."
AP Top 25
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 1.
rank team rec- pts
1. Kansas (58) 5-0 1,759 2
2. Wake Forest (12) 4-0 1,704 3
3. Utah (1) 3-0 1,572 4
4. Cincinnati 2-1 1,459 1
5. Villanova 3-0 1,442 5
6. Kentucky 3-1 1,370 8
7. Michigan 2-0 1,264 7
8. Indiana 4-0 1,206 20
9. Iowa St. 2-0 1,175 9
10. Duke 3-1 1,013 6
11. New Mexico 5-0 954 19
12. Clemson 4-1 869 10
13. Fresno St. 4-0 837 15
14. North Carolina 2-1 831 14
15. Arizona 2-1 756 11
16. Minnesota 5-0 679 24
17. UCLA 0-1 662 13
18. Texas 2-0 612 18
19. Syracuse 3-1 462 12
20. Boston College 2-1 410 23
21. Tulsa 2-1 405 22
22. Arkansas 2-1 323 16
23. Xavier 3-0 164 —
24. Stanford 2-1 154 21
25. Virginia 3-1 151 —
Other teams receiving votes: Louisiana 109, Texas Tech 93, George Washington 71, Massachusetts 71, Providence 63, Marquette 58, Iowa 62, George Temple 93, Temple 39, California 36, Illinois 28, Coll. of Charleston 23, Connecticut 21, Oril. Roberts 20, South Carolina
USA Today/CNN Top 25
PAGE 7
The Top 25 teams in USA TodayCNN college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 1.
rank team rec pts prv
1. Kansas (27) 5-0 747 2
2. Wake Forest (2) 4-0 710 3
3. Utah 3-0 603 4
4. Cincinnati 2-1 595 1
5. Kentucky (1) 3-1 593 8
6. Indiana 5-0 548 17
7. Michigan 2-0 521 7
8. Villanova 3-0 506 6
9. Clemson 4-0 491 9
10. Duke 3-1 415 5
11. Texas 2-0 342 13
12. New Mexico 1-0 322 12
13. Arizona 2-1 320 10
14. North Carolina 2-1 318 12
15. Iowa St. 2-0 317 15
16. Fresno St. 4-0 260 19
17. UCLA 0-1 257 18
18. Syracuse 3-1 221 11
19. Tulsa 3-1 173 21
20. Minnesota 4-0 185 —
21. Stanford 2-1 157 14
22. Boston College 2-1 141 24
23. Arkansas 2-1 109 20
24. Georgetown 3-0 89 —
25. Texas Tech 3-0 68 —
Kansas ranked No.1
Other teams receiving votes: Xavier, Ohio 63. Connecticut 61, Louisville 61, Temple 55, George Washington 46, Virginia 43, Providence 40, Massachusetts 34, Bowling Green 26, Oklahoma City 25, California 24, New Orleans 25, Texas A&M 21, Georgia Tech 19.
Chris Hamilton / KANSAN
Coach Roy Williams says hoopla won't affect team's play
By Evan Blackwell Kansan sportswriter
For the fifth straight season, Kansas moved to the top of the Associated Press college basketball poll yesterday.
The 5-0 Jayhawks jumped into the No.1 spot and received 58 first place votes after a week in which they won the Maui Invitational tournament in Hawaii and beat the University of San Diego.
Former No. 1 Cincinnati was knocked from the top spot after it was upset by Xavier. The Bearcats fell to No. 4 and will play Kansas tomorrow night at the Great Eight in Chicago.
"Right now, I think there are 20 to 25 teams that are as good as we are on any given night," said Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams. "Get Jacque (injured senior guard Vaughn) back, and we may move into one of those top 10 teams."
Kansas has been No.1 in the AP poll on separate occasions in each of the last four seasons.
Williams said the ranking received too much attention.
Kansas senior guard Jerod Haase makes an acrobatic layup in the Jayhawks' victory against the University of San Diego Toreros on Sunday.
"It doesn't really mean anything to be honest," Williams said. "We haven't talked about it as a team at all."
Because the current group of Jayhawks has been through the rigors of being No.1 before, Williams said the hoopla shouldn't affect his experienced squad.
"If we hadn't been there at all, then I think it would probably be a little bit more of a motivator than it will be," Williams said. "I just want us to play every day and get a heck of a lot better."
cons and the Utes were the only other teams besides Kansas that received first place votes. Villanova rounded out the top five. Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa State and Wake Forest got 12, and Utah got 1. Duke completed the top 10.
Kansas sophomore forward Paul Pierce said the difficult aspect of the top ranking was becoming a prime target for every opponent.
"It'll be exciting," Pierce said. "We still have to go out and play every night. Teams are really going to give us ballgames because we're number one."
Both Wake Forest and Utah moved up a spot to numbers three and four. The Demon Dea-
New golfers are links to success
Freshmen on par for spring season
By Tommy Gallagher
Kansan sportswriter
Ryan Vermeer and Susan Tessary had solid fall campaigns on their teams, but more will be expected from them in the spring when the tournaments count toward postseason play.
While the Kansas men's and women's golf teams strive to improve before the spring season, two true freshmen have emerged as prime-time performers for their teams.
Vermeer, who came from Millard South High School in Omaha, Neb., won the Class A Golf Championship last year as a senior. He chose Kansas rather than Nebraska, Minnesota and a host of other schools because although Lawrence was far from home, it was close enough for the occasional weekend visit during the semester. Although he said adjusting to the golf team was easy, Vermeer said that making the grades had been much tougher.
"Abigreason why I chose to come to Kansas was that I felt the coaches would listen to me."
"School is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Vermeer said. "I'm working two times as hard as I did in high school but I'm still doing as well as I thought I would."
In his first collegiate tournament, Vermeer led the Jayhawks with rounds of 72, 72 and 77 for a three-
Susan Tessary Freshman golfer
Ryan Vermeer, Omaha, Neb., freshman, has a 74 per round average, and Susan Tessary, Collinsville, Ill., freshman, has an A83 per round average for the fall season. Between them they played in 9 of the 10 tournaments during the fall golf season.
"I was pleased with my performance but I could have done better in the last round," Vermeer said. "I was tied for fourth going into the final round, but in college you play more for your team than for yourself, anyway. To shoot a 300 in college is terrible. But if you shot a 315 in high school, you could get away with it."
round total of 221 at the Kansas Invitational in September and tying for 16th in the tournament.
Vermeer, who competed in all five tournaments of the fall season, has a 74 per round average and two top 25 finishes. His average is second on the team to sophomore Chris Thompson.
Just as Vermeer made an impact for the men's golf team, Susan Tessary had an impact for the women's golf team.
Tessary came to Kansas from Collinsville, Ill., after placing fifth in the state high school golf tournament at the end of her senior year. She said she was impressed by what the Kansas coaches had to offer on a personal level.
"A big reason why I chose to come to Kansas was that I felt the coaches would listen to me," Tessary said.
Tessary, who competed in four of five fall-season tournaments, had an 83 per round average and a top
"I wasn't surprised at how well she played this past semester, but I was pleased." Waugh said. "When I recruited her I knew she had the potential to be one of the best we have, but you never know the mental climate of a college freshman.
25 finish. Women's golf coach Jerry Waugh said Tessary had great poise for a freshman.
"She's handled the pressures of being a freshman fine so far, and I expect her to continue that in the future."
Texas team is focusing on big game Longhorns confident despite narrow odds
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Unranked and unfazed, Texas says it has nothing to lose in the Big 12 Championship game against defending national champion and third-ranked Nebraska.
Texas quarterback James Brown on Monday boldly stated that the Longhorns (7-4, 6-2) — almost three-touchdown underdogs against the Cornhuskers (10-1, 8-0) — would win by that margin Saturday in St. Louis.
"I think we're going to win by t h r e e touchdowns," said Brown, who threw for four TDs and 336 yards without an interception in a 51-15 victory against Texas A&M on Friday. "If they blitz us, and we make plays against the blitz, we'll be all right."
Brown, who thrivens on big-game atmosphere, said, "We really don't have anything to lose, but we have a lot to gain. It's going to be a good game. I can't wait until Saturday. I'm as confident about this game as I was going into the A&M game."
On paper, Brown figures to have a long day against the nation's No.4 defense, which is giving up just 77.8 yards on the ground and 232 yards total a game.
Grant Wistrom, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound end for the Huskers, leads a defense that has taken up residence in opposing backfields. Wistrom sacked Colorado quarterback Koy Detmer twice and had 15 tackles in Nebraska's 17-12 victory against the Buffaloes on Friday.
"I watched the Colorado game, and they sacked Detmer every other time he dropped back to pass. To sack me, they're going to have to catch me," said Brown, an effective scrambler.
"We know that people have been talking about the Big 12 South not being as tough as the North, but I think right now, Texas is playing as good as it's played all year," said Longhorns linebacker Tyson King. "We are going to show up and play well."
"If they bring everyone, it means they are going to be man-to-man, and I don't think they can cover our receivers the whole game man-toman," Brown said.
King said the key to winning would be stopping Nebraska's high-powered option attack, averaging 296.4 yards a game.
Brown's other teammates weren't as outspoken. But they were equally confident.
"Nebraska is the one who started the option." King said. "They are the standard, and that's why they've only lost one game in three years. We haven't faced anyone who's going to be as good a running team as they are."
King said the Longhorns, currently giving up nearly 200 yards a game on the ground, must force Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost to beat them passing.
"If we can put them in some third-and-long situations, then I like our chances because I've said all year, our defensive backs are second to none," King said.
King said it didn't bother him that no one was giving Texas a chance. "No one gave Arizona State a chance against Nebraska," he responded.
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