WIRE
James Jordan trial delayed, Page 4.
NBA
Magic Johnson makes a successful return, Page 3.
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1996
Kansas senior dives head first into success
SECTION B
Rojohn expects to break more records in her final season on the Jayhawk diving team
By Dan Geiston
Kansan sportswriter
When Kansas senior diver Michelle Rojohn was diving at Olathe South High School , she placed second in the state as both a junior and a senior.
Kansan sportswriter
Those were the first two years she had ever competed as a diver.
When she came to Kansas as a freshman in 1992, she had never been on a three-meter board. Yet in one of first dual
her first dual meets, she set a new school three-meter record.
Kansas men's and women's diving coach Don Fearon is the first to admit that although Rojohn is a hard worker, diving has always come easy to her.
During the past four years, Rojohn has developed into one of the best divers in the country and one of the best ever at Kansas.
ROJOHN CAREER BESTS
■ One-Meter Diving Dual 303.450 (Nebraska) Championship 461.950
She said she might never even have tried diving had it not been for a career-end knee injury during a high school gymnastics meet.
Three-Meter Diving Dual 316.575 (Nebraska) Championship 541.650
First Kansas diver to earn All-America status 1995
Michelle Rolohn
"The knee injury was so
Finished first overall in the NCAA Zone meet 1995
Big Eight champion on the three-meter board 1994
Scored 285.00 on the three-
meter to set new record (later
broken) 1993
severe, the doctors told me I couldn't compete in gymnastics year round, and it's a year round thing." Rojohn said. "I wasn't doing anything else so I just kind of picked up diving."
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Despite her high school diving success, she was new to the sport and wasn't heavily recruited.
"Her ability was very rough," Fearon said. "There were some mechanical problems, and she had limited experience."
Kansas was the only Division I school that tried to recruit her, and Fearon could only offer her a scholarship that would pay for her books.
Since Rojohan has been at Kansas, she's rewritten the record books as a Jayhawk. She owns every Kansas varsity record in the one-meter and three-meter dual and championship meets. She also holds the conference and Big Eight meet record on the one-meter board.
But her collegiate career was stalled during her freshman year. She was forced to miss the second half of the season with vertigo, which was brought on by an innerear infection.
Shortly thereafter, she had to undergo major reconstructive surgery on her right knee, the same knee that ended her gymnastics career.
Rojohn rehabilitated her knee for about six months and came back just one week before the first dual meet of her sophomore year.
"I was a little worried after that, that I wasn't going to be as strong as I was," she said. "I had just completed high school diving so I still didn't have the experience I felt I needed to have."
Fearon said that when Rojoin came back her sophmore year, it was really the start of her diving career.
RoJohn's junior year was her best season. She was the first Kansas diver to earn All-American status by finishing 13th on the three-meter board and 20th on the one meter at the NCAA Championships. She also came in first overall at the NCAA Zone meet, which she has also qualified for this year.
"I'd really like to win the Big Eights this year," she said. "I want to go to the NCAs, make it to the finals and hopefully finish in the top eight. Top four would be incredible."
Roijohn's continued success hasn't surprised Fearon. "I've known it and believed it all along," he said. "She's a talent. She's got a gift of grace."
'Hawks outshoot Cowboys
Kansas assaults zone with 13 three-pointers
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
In preparing for Oklahoma State, the Kansas men's basketball team expected the Cowboys to play zone defense.
Or maybe it was man-to-man.
"After awhile, I had no clue what they would do," Kansas men's basketball coach Row Williams said.
But it didn't take long for the No. 3 Jayhawks to see that an outsized Oklahoma State team would play zone — and the Cowboys stuck to it for the entire game. Kansas shot holes in the defense, though, and won 84-66 last night in Allen Field House.
The Cowboys are still looking for their first Big Eight Conference victory after falling to 0-5 and 10-7 overall. The victory pushes the Jayhawks' record to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
Kansas sophomore guard/forward Billy Thomas led the team with 18 points, hitting five of eight three-point shots. The Jayhawks hit 56.5 percent from behind the arc and recorded 13 three-pointers.
"We haven't proved on a consistent basis that we're able to knock down the outside shots," Kansas junior guard Jerod Haase said. "But Billy started things."
"Everybody was just on," said Kansas freshman forward Paul Pierce, who hit three of four three-point attempts. "I don't even remember somebody missing a shot."
The Jayhawks did miss a few but not many, just as Oklahoma State freshman guard Adrian Peterson did. He was 10 of 17 and scored a game-high 27 points. Peterson's performance, which included 22 second-half points, conjured memories of former Cowboy guard Randy Rutherford, who scored 45 points in the field house last season.
"I was a long way away from that," Peterson said. "I just happened to have the hot hand tonight, but we'll run plays for whomever is hot."
That was Peterson last night, but he could not carry Oklahoma State against Kansas.
With 11:44 remaining in the first half, Oklahoma State junior guard Chianti Roberts hit a layup and narrowed Kansas' lead to 17-15.
A seven-point possession started the Jayhawks on a 15-2 run. Thomas hit a three-pointer with 9:51 in the first half.
The pass to Thomas on the left side of the court came from a driving Calvin Rayford. The senior guard ran into Oklahoma State senior center Jerome Lambert, who retaliated against Rayford. Lambert was whistled for his third personal foul, which drew the wrath of Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton.
Sutton rushed onto the court and picked up a technical foul.
Kansas freshman guard Ryan Robertson hit one of two ensuing free throws. The seven-point possession was capped by Robertson, who hit another three-point shot.
"It's a judgment call, and it didn't cost us the game," Sutton said. "That's a good officiating crew, and I'd be happy to have them call a game any night."
Oklahoma State got back within nine points later in the first half, but Kansas extended its halftime lead to 51-32. The Cowboys never threatened in the second half, only getting as close as 18 points.
But it wasn't a game without error for the Jayhawks. They had 17 turnovers, 11 in the second half. Oklahoma State also got some easy baskets. Thomas said.
"We had a few mental breakdowns," he said. "Once you're ahead, you tend to let down. But I think this is the closest we've come to playing a 40 minute game."
Kansas freshman forward Paul Pierce attempts to pass as Oklahoma State guard/forward Jason Skaer defends. Kansas won 84-66 last night.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Tyler Wirken / KANSAN
Kansas sophomore guard Billy Thomas finished with 18 points last night.
Kansas hits three-point bull's eye
Jayhawks complete 53.8 percent of shots from beyond the arc
By Tom Erickson
Kansan sports editor
Faced with a tough Oklahoma State zone defense, the No. 3 Kansas men's basketball team knew it would have to have good perimeter shooting.
The Jayhawks responded with their best three-point shooting percentage of the season, blistering the Cowboys 84-66 last night in Allen Field House. Kansas made 56.5 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, topping its previous season-best of 53.8 percent against both Utah and Cornell.
Watching so many long-range shots fall through the nets was no surprise to
Kansas coach Roy Williams.
"I've said all along that we're a good shooting team," Williams said.
And the Jayhawks did just that last night. Led by sophomore guard/forward Billy Thomas, who was five for eight from three-point point, Kansas consistently got the points it needed.
"It was one of those nights when everybody was on their game," Thomas said of the Jayhawks' shooting performance. "This is one of the best shooting teams we've had, although we make mistakes now and then."
But miscues were rare for Kansas, as junior guard Jerod Hase and freshman forward Paul Pierce both made three shots from three-point range.
Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said the Cowboys' game plan was to use the zone defense to shut down
"We just shot the ball." Pierce said.
"Everyone felt confident."
Kansas junior center Scot Pollard and sophomore forward Raef LaFrentz and force the Jayhawk shooters to work harder. The effort was futile on both ends, however, as LaFrentz scored 11 points and Pollard five.
LaFrentz said although the zone was intimidating, he managed well.
"They did a pretty good job with it execution-wise," he said. "I just had to push though it. The other guys had a good game, especially Jerod and Paul with the outside shot."
Sutton said Oklahoma State needed a perfect game to win last night, and the effort obviously wasn't enough.
"We couldn't play them man to man on the road," Sutton said. "I felt like we had to play zone so that they could take a chance on their outside shooting, or otherwise Pollard and LaFrentz would wear us down. But they were on tonight."
Point guard shuffle stirs competition
Dixon and Reed benefit from their head-to-head competition in practices
By Evan Blackwell Kansan sportswriter
They control the tempo of the game. They can kickstart their team's defensive intensity. They are the heart and soul of the Kansas women's basketball team.
Reed transferred to Kansas after playing her freshman season at Iowa. After sitting out her transfer season last year, Reed began this season as the Jayhawks' starter at point guard.
They are junior Tamecka Dixon and sophomore Erinn Reed, Jayhawk point guards.
But due to some early-season struggles, Reed moved back to the bench when senior guard Charisse Sampson returned to the starting lineup from a knee injury.
"I tried to look at it positively," Reed said. "Coach was looking for a combination that complimented each other best."
"In high school, Erinn had to do a lot of things," Washington said. "She doesn't have to do it all here. She just had to get used to her role."
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said Reed, who was a high school All-American in Saginaw, Mich., had to adjust to the point guard role.
Dixon, a former shooting guard, said having the lighting-quick Reed to challenge her in practice had helped her learn the position.
"I think playing against each other every day in practice is making us stronger." Dixon said.
Washington agreed that the competition between the two in practice had helped both players improve their game.
"Erinn practices very hard, and I've seen Tamecka's intensity level in practice greatly improve this year."
"I think playing against each other every day...is making us stronger."
Tamecka Dixon
Kansas juniorguard
Washingour hand.
Reed and Dixon both said their practice competition sometimes got fairly intense.
"If people came in off the street and watched us in practice, they might think we're enemies or something the way we go at it on the court," Dixon said.
Despite the heated practice battles, Dixon said the two point guards were still close off the court.
Since then, Dixon has been determined to step into that role.
"When it's all said and done on the court, we leave it there," Dixon said.
After an upsetting loss to Oklahoma earlier this season, Washington said one thing the Jayhawks had locked was a leader on the floor.
"I went to coach's office, and I told her that I was the leader she was looking for," Dixon said.
Andy Rullestad/KANBAK
Kansas junior guard Tamecka Dixon (left) has been called upon this season to play both guard positions.
Washington took Dixon at her word, and she has seen the results on the floor in the Jayhawks' last two victories against Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
"She's really working hard to be that leader for us," Washington said. "It's not easy to put yourself last, but that's what a great leader has to do."
Which makes some critics argue that Dixon still has the mentality of a scorer, not that of a true point guard. Dixon does lead Kansas in scoring, averaging 18 points a game, but she disagreed with those who say she can't be a true point guard.
"Last year, I didn't totally understand when I had to distribute the ball," Dixon said. "Now, I know when to distribute the rock, and when to take my shot."
---