COLLEGE BASKETBALL Dayton center Chris Daniels is dead after suffering a heart attack early yesterday morning. Page 2.
SPORTS
U N I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1996
Wanted: women's support
As a member of the Kansas women's basketball team, I have decided that some things never cease to amaze me.
Here we are, tied for first place in the final year of the Big Eight Conference, and although we have the ability, determination and desire to be the 1996 Big Eight champions, we still lack one very important factor
Not just fans that sit and watch the game with a passing interest, but fans who cheer, yell and intimidate the opponent. Fans who complain when the officials make bad calls and read newspapers when the opponent is introduced. Fans that storm their feet
My teammates and I know that the University of Kansas breeds this type of fan. We see them every time we attend a men's game. We know you are basketball crazy. We know you understand the game.
We wish you would give us a chance.
So far this season, the women basketball team has played five Big Eight teams on the road. And each time the situation was the same. More than 3,000 people showed up to encourage and support their home team.
I won't make excuses about why we lost to Missouri last weekend. But I will say that the Tigers should give part of the credit to their fans. I can't stress enough how much it helps to hear "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk" echoing through Allen Field House and how much we look to fans to keep us focused in the close games.
We need you. We want you to be there. We want you to be a part of the final season of Big Eight women's basketball.
This is the last chance we have to be Big Eight champions. We have defeated two nationally-ranked teams, one of them — Oklahoma State — right here at home. Yet we had only 1,278 supporters. That's not enough.
We are a part of your everyday life,
and we want you to be a part of ours.
Most of those people live in the Lawrence community. My teammates and I would love to see our fellow classmates in the stands. We pass you as we walk through campus. We see you in class. We study with you for exams.
We run out on the court everyday wearing "Kansas" on our backs, representing you to the best of our ability. Sometimes we win, sometimes wlose.
I speak on behalf of all my teammates when I ask each and every one of you to give us a chance. We have only three home games left. Please don't miss an opportunity to help us defeat our Big Eight rivals.
At this point I would like to challenge every student at KU to come watch us play. I know we won't disappoint you.
You may even want to come back. But don't disregard us until you have seen what we can do.
And based on what I have seen so far, with your help, we can do a lot.
Editor's note: Tamecka Dixon is a Linden, N.J., junior majoring in child psychology.
ine Kansas women's basketball team will play Iowa State at 7 p.m. tonight and Nebraska at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Both games are in Allen Field House.
SECTION B
Admission is free for all students with a valid KUID.
INSIDE:
MICHAEL EVERS: The junior decathlete is determined to have a better year in 1996 after an injury last season. Page 4.
JAYNAWKS MEET MISSOUR:
The No. 3 Kansas men's basketball team will put its 7-0 Big Eight Conference to the test against Missouri tomorrow in Columbia, Mo. Page 3.
Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
After being a starter for his entire basketball career, Kansas freshman guard Ryan Robertson has been getting used to spending more time on the bench as a first-year Jayhawk. "I've accepted the fact that this year we're so good," he said. "It's best for me to sit back and use practice to get better"
Finding time for everything
Life is much more than basketball for Robertson
By Jenni Carlson
Kansas sportswriter
Ryan Robertson's reaction is a reflex.
The Jayhawks are up by nine points against Kansas State when Jacque Vaughn picks up his fourth foul. All eyes on the bench turn to Rov Williams.
Williams points, and Robertson twitches toward the scorer's table. But the call isn't for him.
Senior guard Calvin Rayford peels off his warm-up and shuffles toward midcourt.
Sitting on the bench is not something Robertson, a freshman guard from St. Charles, Mo., is accustomed to.
A McDonald's All-American in high school, he has been the star since his father taught him, at age three, how to dribble with both hands in their garage.
Now Robertson is the Jayhawks' 11th man, backing up the first- and second-string point and shooting guards.
"I've accepted the fact that this year we're so good," Robertson said. "It's best for me to sit back and use practice to get better."
However, it's not an easy role to accept. Robertson is sometimes disheartened about his lack of playing time, said Brandon Jett, his close friend.
Robertson grew up in a Christian environment. His parents, Angie and Johnny, made sure of that.
"He understands but still gets discouraged about it," said Jett, who attends St. Louis Community College at Meramec in Kirkwood, Mo. "But his faith is so strong. Everything he does, he thinks about God first."
Angie Robertson, a high school French teacher, said she and her husband, a home builder. never emphasized winning.
"Of course we get disappointed about losing," she said. "We just try to remember that the Lord is in control."
"No matter what happens in those fields, I can always turn to Him and say, "This is it. I'm at the bottom. I'm not going to make it," Robertson said. "I can't say enough about how much His relationship has meant to me. I just don't understand how other people can make it through."
That kind of trust hasn't changed on the court or in the classroom since Robertson came to Kansas in August.
But before last semester, Robertson had wondered about making it through. Like many first-year college students, he had worried about being away from home.
Three months before he came, he told his mother, "I'm not going to be able to do this. I'm going to miss you guys too bad."
Robertson, who hasn't been in St. Charles
See ROBERTSON, Page 3.
It's home sweet home for women's team
Kansan sportswriter
By Evan Blackwell
There's no place like home.
The Jayhawks, who enter the weekend in a first place tie with Colorado and Oklahoma State, hope some of the comforts of home will help them hang on to the lead.
That has been the feeling with the Kansas women's basketball team as they return to Allen Field House this weekend. The Jayhawks last home game was Jan. 21 against Oklahoma State.
Kansas, 13-8 overall and 6-3 in the Big Eight Conference, will play Iowa State tonight and Nebraska Sunday afternoon.
4
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Iowa State sophomore center Jayme Olson has been the main weapon for the Cyclones, averaging
"We're always glad to come home," Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said.
Iowa State comes to Lawrence with an overall record of 15-6, but the Cyclones have struggled in the Big Eight at 3-6. Kansas ripped Iowa State 75-51 on Jan. 14 in Ames, Iowa, but Washington said the Cyclones have improved since that meeting.
"I really think they're playing a lot better," Washington said. "Their post people have become much more involved."
16. 1 points and 8.2 rebounds a game.
Fennelly said the Cyclones would try to play the spoiler role to perfection.
Iowa State women's basketball coach Bill Fennelly said his team will enter tonight's game with something to prove to themselves.
The Jayhawks have won ten consecutive games against Iowa State, leading the all-time series 29-7. The last Cyclone victory against Kansas was five years ago.
"On the road, sometimes you just try and hand on as long as you can,
"Kansas has never had trouble with Iowa State," Fennelly said. "We need to prove that we can play with them.
Kansas will try for the season sweep of the Cornhuskers on Sunday. The Jayhawks beat Nebraska 74-71 on Jan. 12 in Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers remain one game behind the conference leaders at 15-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big Eight.
and hope the ball bounces your way, "Fennelly said.
Kansas junior guard Tamecka Dixon said she remembered how tough the win in Lincoln was.
"They've turned some heads this season," she said. "They've played some tough teams. Very tough."
Dixon said that her team would have to take advantage of the home court and take out the Cornhuskers early.
"We have to take away their confidence early in the game," Dixon said.
Washington said Nebraska presented many problems to its opponents.
"They've got great quickness, and they've got a very experienced player inside in Pyra Aarden," Washington said.
Aarden, a senior players averaging 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds a game, teams up with junior forward Tina McClain to form a powerful front-court. McClain leads Nebraska with 14.1 points and 6.6 rebounds a game.
"They're playing extremely well," Washington said. "We're going to have our hands full."
Play ball! Jayhawks swing into season opener
By Dan Geiston Kansan sportswriter
By definition, a duel is a struggle for domination between two persons or groups.
"It's just one more team we have a chance of beating," Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall said.
However, there are three baseball teams playing in this weekend's Duel in the Desert in Grand Canyon, Ariz.
Baseball is back as Kansas begins its 1996 season against New Mexico State at 3 p.m. today.
It's the first of three games Kansas will play in Arizona. The Jayhawks face Grand Canyon tomorrow and New Mexico State again on Sunday.
Opening weekend will have a special significance for at least two Jayhawks.
Bobby Randall will make his debut as Kansas coach. He comes from Iowa State, where he compiled a 309-311-1 record in 11 seasons.
Randall said he was excited about getting back on the field.
"There will be butterflies of excitement," he said. "I can't wait to get out on that field. Not because it's my first game, but because these kids are ready to go out and play."
One Jayhawk who has been more than ready
to go out and play is tomorrow's starting pitcher, Kansas junior Aric Peters.
Peters suffered a season-ending elbow injury after pitching just five innings in 1995.
This year, he says he's healthy and ready to show Kansas what he can do.
He's been tapped as the No.1 pitcher by Randall, but that doesn't seem to faze him.
Grand Canyon (2-4) beat San Diego State for
"I'm not worried about being a No. 1," Peters said. "The only pressure I really feel is for me to do the best that I know I'm capable of."
New Mexico State and Grand Canyon have started their seasons, while Kansas, 24-33 last year, has yet to play a game.
New Mexico State (1-2) got its first taste of Big Eight Conference play last weekend in a three-game series with Nebraska.
happen in the next week, but Randall won't use that as an excuse.
both its victories.
But more than the lack of practice time, Kansas will hope to overcome the road woes that plagued them last year. They were an abysmal 5-20 away from Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
"I'd like to have an extra week, actually," he said. "It's a test for us physically. But there are no excuses. There never in this game."
Kansas just started practicing outside this week, but Randall won't use that as an excuse.
"I can't really point to a reason why we were so bad," Kansas senior second baseman Josh Kliner said. "I think if we're a good team, and play like we can, that will take care of our road problems."
Randall had another solution.
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"Don't travel, he said, laughing.