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SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 6,1996
KANSAS BASKETBALL
SECTION B
Big Eight play is 'smaller' this season
Departure of the tallest affects game
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
With the departure of centers Greg Ostertag, Bryant Reeves and Loren Meyer from the Big Eight Conference, many thought a big change was forthcoming.
Smaller interior players looked forward to this year, when they wouldn't be shooting over and rebounding against these three big men.
They all measure 6-foot-10 or taller and were first-round NBA draft picks.
"Play in the conference has changed somewhat," Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said. "But it's not anything as big as the media says it is. I'm just as concerned about Iowa State, and they
don't have Loren Meyer."
Nonetheless, shot blockers such as Meyers affected other players. Ostertag, who broke the Kansas and the Big Eight block record, is an obvious example.
"They were always looking for
Greg," Williams said. "They were always making that extra pump fake."
E v e n though that intimidation is not as prominent in the league, the makeup of this year's conference
But the rest of the conference's top scorers were listed as forwards or guards.
Through Sunday's game, the Big Eight's top 10 scorers consisted of three forwards and seven guards.
"We still have an outstanding con-
scoring leaders is relatively the same as last year. At the end of last season, the top 10 included Oklahoma State's Reeves, 21.5 points a game, and Iowa State's Meyer at 15.7.
Roy William:
Kansas men's basketball coach
ference even though we did lose a lot of big people," Oklahoma State men's basketball coach Eddie Sutton said. Kansas is one of the few Big Eight teams that has more than one experienced interior player. Of the 15 active players who are 6-10 or taller in the conference this season, six are playing it
their first Division-I season. Two others averaged less than 15 minutes a game last year.
Kansas sophomore forward Raef LaFrentz and junior center Scot Pollard were second and third in
team scoring last season and averaged 23.6 and 20 minutes a game respectively.
After Sunday's 72-62 victory against Kansas State, LaFrentz leads the team in scoring with 13.8 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. Pollard is second in rebounding at 7.6 a game, and first in blocked shots with 2.7.
"That's one of the reasons Kansas has probably gone undefeated," Sutton said of the No. 3 Jayhawks, who are 6-0 in the Big Eight. "They've got two quality big men."
LaFrentz and Pollard proved instrumental in the Jayhawks' victory against the Wildcats on Sunday.
"Lots of people have played with Kansas for a half, primarily because they get the team's best shot," Asbury said. "But that only goes up to a certain point. In the end, it boils down to talent and depth."
Kansas State men's basketball coach Tom Asbury said they wore the K-State big men down, especially in the second half.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore forward Raef LaFrentz battles with Kansas State's Gerald Eaker during the Hawkys' 72-62 victory Sunday.
Best of times and worst of times for Jayhawk women
Women's basketball hits highs and lows in Big Eight action
Andy Rohrback/KANSAN
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Kansas women's basketball team took one giant step forward and then took one giant step backward in the Big Eight Conference race this weekend.
By Evan Blackwell Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks lost at Missouri 86-66 yesterday, just two days after they took sole possession of first place in the Big Eight with a 67-57 win at No. 14 Colorado Friday night. Kansas is now 13-8 overall and 6-3 in the Big Eight.
The Tigers jumped on Kansas early, led by senior forward Erika Martin, who scored 17 points in the first half. Martin got to the free throw line 11 times, making nine.
Foul trouble hampered the Jayhawks most of the game. Kansas was forced to play most of the first half without the services of junior guard Tamecka Dixon and senior guard Charisse Sampson. Both picked up two fouls in the first ten minutes of the game.
With the Jayhawks' two leaders on the bench, Missouri pulled away to a 44-26 halftime lead and never looked back.
"They got 12 points from the foul line in the five."
They got 12 points from the 10 half," Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said. "You just can't let that happen."
The Jayhawks were unable to stop Martin, who finished with 26 points.
Missouri women's basketball coach Joann Rutherford said the strategy to get the ball in Martin's hands was obvious.
points."
"I told her to start taking the ball because I knew they couldn't stop her," Rutherford said. "She's too quick on the wing."
While Martin dominated on Sacrive end, Rutherford
"We weren't as rested as them, and it showed,"
Washington said the team was not able to overcome the physical and emotional fatigue from their win Friday night in Boulder. Colo.
"I look at her D more than I do the offense," Rutherford said. "She held Sampson to eight
said she was just as impressed with her player's defense.
"We weren't as rested as them, and it showed."
Marian Washington Kansas women's basketball coach
d as them, and it showed." Washington said. "We were a step behind all day."
Kansas took hold of first place with its come-from-behind triumph against the Buffaloes. After trailing by seven points at half-time, the Jayhawks took control with a 10-0 run midway through the second half.
defense and more action on the boards."
"I didn't feel we played that well in the first half," Washington said. "But we came out of the locker room with much better
Junior guard Angie Halbleib led Kansas in scoring both games with 18 against Colorado and 20 against Missouri.
Randall talks baseball at Diamond Club to pitch the upcoming Jayhawk season
Steve Puppe / KANSAN
Bobby Randall, men's baseball coach, says a few words about the seniors at the annual Kansas Diamond Club kickoff.
Preseason event features new coach and former players
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
Fans at last night's Kansas Baseball Diamond Club preseason special got a chance to hear from a former major league baseball player who, at one point in his career,
combined with a teammate to hit 576 career home runs.
"I hit one and Harmon Killebrew hit the other 575," Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall said about himself and his Hall of Fame teammate on the Minnesota Twins.
Randall kept the mood light
annual event to allow fans to meet the team, and to sell season tickets
Kansas pitchers Josh Belovsky and Clay Baird, second baseman Josh Kliner, and catcher Ted Meadows addressed the audience, and
"I really like our baseball team this year," said Randall, who is in his first year as coach of the Jayhawks.
"They have a good work ethic, and that was one thing that was really already established here."
"I really like our baseball team this year. They have a good work ethic..."
at the event, which featured talks by Kansas baseball seniors and former major league players before a crowd of 75 fans at Hadi Auditorium in Anchors Sports Pavilion.
Bobby Randall Kansas baseball coach
The Diamond Club sponsored the
Kansas baseball.
followed the lead of their coach by talking about the coming season, and thanking the fans for their support.
Renko, who pitched for Kansas in the 1960s, was encouraged about the coming season.
The highlight of the evening came when former Kansas City Royals pitchers Steve Renko and Paul Splittorff talked about their support of
"I think that they're going in the right direction," he said. "They've got a good baseball man in coach
Randall, and I know he'll have them working hard."
Splittorff said he remains an ardent supporter of Kansas baseball.
"I still have tickets, and I'm going to try and make it up here as much as I can," he said.
Janie Splitorff, who pitched for Kansas from 1993 to 1995 and is now in the Twins organization.
For Kansas fan Cliff O'Bryhim,
Overbrook, the event was a great
chance to let his 8- and 12-year-old
sons meet their favorite players.
"The boys here really enjoy it," he said. "We have season tickets and come up as much we can.
"They've been to the camps and clinics the team puts on."
4
Jayhawks compete in Wildcat septathlon
Track members take first and sixth place at KSU invitational
By Adam Herschman Kansan sportswriter
Mike Evers, Kansas junior, took first in the event, and Travis Perret, Kansas junior, finished in sixth place.
Three Jayhaws traveled to Manhattan Friday to compete in the two-day KSU Invitational Septathlon.
Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, Nathan Prenger, Kansas junior, pulled out of the competition because of a foot injury and did not compete in the second day of the meet. He was in second place.
The Jayhawks' next meet will be at the two-day Husker Invitational Friday and Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.
"The Big Eight changed from a pentathlon to a septathlon, and we needed to get experience at the septathlon," Perret said. "It was great, probably the best competition in the Big Eight multi-wise. It just kind of shows us where we're at in the season compared to everybody else."
Kansas multi-event performers competed in the seven-event competition because of a Big Eight Conference rule change affecting the track and field indoor season.
1.
"The Husker meet is very high caliber, very high pressured type of meet," Kansas track and field coach Gary Schwartz said. "We're coming off a couple scoring meets, and next week will be something high-intensity that will be similar, like the conference stuff."
"This year it will be good because we're running Big Eight's at Nebraska, so will get used to the track,"said Nathen Hill, Kansas junior. "We'll probably have a week off, some people might go to K-State, and then we come back to Big Eight at Nebraska. It will work out really good this year."
Nebraska will also host the Big Eight Indoor Championships Feb. 23 and 24.
The Husker Meet is one of the biggest indoor meets of the season. The Jayhawks will be competing against track and field athletes from many schools, including UCLA, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska.
"We're all getting ready for the Cornhusker meet next weekend, and we're just going to take it easy so we can really go all out next weekend," said Lisa Beran, Kansas sophomore.
n Former Kansas distance runner and 1994 cross country All-American David Johnston won the men's 5,000-meter run at the Jayhawk Invitational last Saturday. He finished in 14:44.76.