NBA
Magic Johnson comes out of retirement, Page 6.
TENNIS
Strong showing from Kansas tennis teams, Page 3.
SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 30,1996
SECTION B
Cyclones, Wildcats defy early odds
Camping tradition lives on
The Allen Field House camping tradition is alive and well.
Since my column about recent struggles expressed by those waiting in line at men's basketball games ran Thursday, I have received information regarding the incident before the Oklahoma game Jan. 22.
Jeff Cunningham, Neodesha sophmore, was lining groups up that day. The reason I know this is because he both wrote and called me the day the column came out.
Cunningham said he stopped the process because the harassment and lack of cooperation from those wait-
to get in line was too much to handle.
SPORTS EDITOR
"After managing to line up groups one through eight successfully, I began to be bombarded with derisive and even threatening comments from some individuals when asking them to move backward so the other
groups can line up," he said in the letter. "The difficulties with the camping system are no one's fault but they are everyone's problem."
I would like to apologize to Cunningham for not thinking about the fact that everyone else in line gives the poor sap trying to get everything organized hell, because that is exactly what happens.
But there are solutions.
On Friday, I spoke with Darren Cook, director of facilities, who said that in no way would the camping tradition be lost. Cook said he would do two things from now until the end of the season to help the process move more smoothly.
People have been confused about what time the student entrance opens for each game. Some have said three hours, others said two.
Because the increased number of campers for Big Eight Conference games, the student gate will open two hours before tipoff. Cook said. General admission and reserved seat gates will continue to open 1 1/2 hours before tipoff.
Cook also plans to print numbers on laminated cards for each group so that people can get a better idea of where one group ends and another begins. The cards, which should be ready for tomorrow night's game against Oldahoma State, would then be picked up as students enter the field house.
It was good to know that campers could find support from the folkks who run the building, rather than an excuse to shut the tradition down.
"We are here to help students in any way we can." Cook said.
That help includes stopping students who cut into the line once it starts moving.
Cook said if students see someone cut into the line, they should notify an official, who will send the offender to the back of the line.
All of this takes me back to the original point — use this right correctly or kiss it goodbye. Good luck to all the campers tomorrow night. I'll be with you in spirit.
I question how long this guy will stick around. One only has to look at past history to see why.
In November 1991, Johnson revealed he was HIV-positive and retired from basketball. He then returned to play in both the NBA All-Star Game and Summer Olympics the next year.
n The return of Magic Johnson to the Los Angeles Lakers is great from the standpoint of his battle with HIV, but it brings up other concerns.
mixed in between was a stint as the chairman of the President's Council on AIDS Awareness, which he also resigned after one year, and an analyst job with NBC Sports.
I give him until the end of this season before retirement No. 3 rolls around.
Then, in the fall of 1992, he returned to the NBA for one month, only to retire for a second time. The next year, he purchased 5 percent of the Lakers and became interim coach but then quit and sold back his portion of the team.
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
After achieving his 200th win, Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams and the Jahvahs will host Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Big Eight play gives surprises thus far
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
It isn't much of a surprise that the No. 3 Kansas men's basketball team is at the top of the Big Eight Conference.
Preseason coaches and media polls picked the Jayhawks, who are 4-0 and 16-1 overall, to win the conference.
But the two teams on the Jayhawks' heels may not only be a surprise, but also a shock. Iowa State is in second place at 4-1, and Kansas State follows in third with a 4-2 conference record.
"I am extremely impressed by both teams," Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said. "They have been a pleasant surprise for the league."
That is an understatement looking at the preseason Big Eight poll. KState was predicted to finish seventh while Iowa State was picked eighth.
In the conference's history, only two teams picked in the bottom
four of the preseason poll have finished in the upper half. Colorado did it in 1983-84 when it tied for fourth after being picked to finish at the bottom of the Big Eight. In 1991-92, the poll also ranked Nebraska last, but the Cornhuskers finished third.
Iowa State men's basketball coach Tim Floyd said his team's success this year had surprised him. The Cyclones were facing a rebuilding year after losing 10 lettermen, including four starters.
But seven transfers and two freshmen have gotten the Cyclones off to a better Big Eight start than last season's 3-2 beginning.
"I'm not about to say we're going to be like last year's club," Floyd said. "We're a decent team right now, but I don't think we're a great team by any stretch of the imagination."
Defense has been integral to the Cyclones' success. Their defense is allowing 61.4 points a game in Big Eight games, second in the conference.
They have received an offensive punch from junior guard/forward Dedric Willoughby, who was named the Big Eight player of the week yesterday. He is averaging 20.2 points and ranks second in the conference in scoring.
K-State's scoring production is from senior guard Elliot Hatcher and senior forward Tyrone Davis. Hatcher is averaging 15.8 points, while Dawis scores 14.1.
"I think their success goes
The Wildcats are benefiting from the experience of Hatcher and Davis, K-State men's basketball assistant coach David Campbell said. But they also have added talented players, such as transfer junior center Gerald Eaker, and have improved because of their nonconference schedule, which included Illinois and Michigan State.
through Hatcher and Davis," Nebraska men's basketball coach Danny Nee said. "They've got some real quality players."
The success of K-State and Iowa State has left other teams such as Oklahoma wallowing in the conference's bottom half. The Sooners are 2-4 in Big Eight play and in sixth place.
"We feel we have the ability to come in and compete day in and day out," Campbell said. "The Big Eight is one of the more rugged conferences in the nation. You'd better put your hard hat on when you come to play in this conference."
After their 67-11 loss to Iowa State on Saturday, Oklahoma men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson found his players hanging their heads in the locker room.
"I said, 'Hold your heads up,'"
Sampson said. "Four or five of them were crying real tears. That's when you realize these are kids. They are playing as hard and giving as much effort as any team I've had."
"But other than Kansas, anybody in the league can beat anybody else at home or away."
PROFILE
Intense drive pushes runner
By Adam Herschman Kansan sportswriter
About two-thirds into the 600-meter dash, Kansas junior sprinter Brian Martin was in fourth place, but no one seemed worried.
"The guy's got guts," Kansas junior spinner Nathan Hill said. "I've seen him with 200 meters in third, fourth, even fifth place, and the guy's going to come back. He's just got the mentality that he's not going to lose.
"He's got the tattoo on his arm that says, 'Just Win Baby,' and that's what he believes in."
At the KSU-KU-MU Invitational on Saturday in Manhattan, Martin was true to his creed in the 600-meter dash.
"I started out kind of slow," said Martin, one of the Jayhawks' captains. "I felt drained, like I had no energy at all."
In the middle of the pack with about one lap left, Martin made his move. He passed two runners, and with one purple jersey ahead of him, he kicked into high gear.
With 50 meters left, Martin took the lead away from Kansas State sprinter Scott Galas for the first time. He maintained it across the finish line, edging Galas out 1:12.21 to 1:12.45.
"I hate to lose more than anybody, so I'm always going to go 110 percent or better," Martin said.
In any situation, Martin exerts the same effort displayed at Manhattan. At the Missouri Invitational on Jan. 20, Martin was anchoring the 1,600-meter men's relay team, where he showed the same energy.
Kansas junior captain Latanya Holloway said that although the Iowa sprinter was in first place 100 meters ahead, Brian had kept trimming the gap.
"Everyone was just fascinated by just seeing him run," Holloway said. "He never gave up. That's the good thing about Brian. Some people do give up, but he never gives up."
Former high school and college teammate Sean Krider, who went to Saturday's meet to watch his old team, said that Martin was running with the seniors when he was a freshman in high school.
Martin ran track and played defensive back at Lawrence High School. In 1993 he was the Kansas state champion in the 400-meter dash.
"He's one of the hardest workers on this team," Hamilton said. "Brian's one of those guys that runs from his heart. Brian does have a lot of athletic ability, but he has heart also, and he's a hard worker in practice."
Theo Hamilton, Kansas assistant track and field coach, said Brian's hard work in practice carried over to meets.
"He's a guy that will come back and pull a miracle lck, he's a gutsy runner," Krider said. "The gutsy side of him is something he's had since high school."
kansas track and field coach Gary Schwartz agreed. "One of the things you can always count on with Brian is when he steps to the line, he's going to give you everything he's got," Schwartz said.
Holloway said that as a captain, Martin led by performance.
"He's really quiet, he doesn't say much," Holloway said. "But he doesn't really need to say much, I mean his action on the track says a lot."
Richard Devink / KANSAN
Kansas Junior spinner Brian Martin has given the Jayhawk track and field team an added kick this season.
Kansan sportswriter
By Evan Blackwell
Kansan sportswriter
Nakia Sanford has changed that.
Size at center was a luxury the Kansas women's basketball team didn't have last season.
A year ago, the Jayhawks often used junior forwards Jennifer Trapp and Shelly Canada, who both stand at just over six feet tall, at center. Sanford, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Lithonia, Ga., has stepped in immediately and provided Kansas the presence in the paint it lacked before.
"It's a big difference for this team," senior guard Charisse Sampson said. "We've been longing for this kind of height."
can selection and a first-team All-Metro selection in Atlanta.
Sanford, who chose Kansas over Alabama, was a 1995 USA Today Honorable Mention High School All-Ameri-
Entering last weekend, Sanford was averaging 7.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a game and has ten blocked shots. She said the adjustment to Division I college basketball from high school has been difficult at times.
"You learn so many things in practice, and then you have to incorporate it in the game when you don't have a lot of experience." Sanford said.
Nakla Sanford
Sanford has struggled occasionally on offense, but has been one of the keys to the Jayhawks defensive success.
"I've always been a better defensive player," she said. "I've got long arms, so that has always helped me."
Sampson said Sanford's physical stature can make some opponents think twice before entering the lane against the Jawhawks now.
"She alternates opponents' shots," Sampson said. "She's got those long arms, and she makes people shoot over them."
One player who definitely appreciates the impact of Sanford is Trapp, who no longer finds herself matched against much bigger opponents on such a frequent basis.
"Things are a lot different this year," Trapp said. "She really clogs up the middle, especially if you run a zone defense."
With the Jayhawks' lack of size apparent, Sanford knew Kansas presented the chance to play right away.
"I didn't have the perception in my mind that I was going to be starting, but I knew I'd get the opportunity to play," Sanford said. "I didn't want to go to a team that had too many post players."
Sanford was also attracted to the Jayhawks because of Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington.
"One of the things I found intriguing about Kansas was the stability of the coaching staff. Coach Washington has been here a long time," Sanford said. "I can't imagine another name, other than Marian Washington, being associated with Kansas women's basketball."
Despite the growing pains that come with starting a freshman, Washington said Sanford has made a world of difference.
"We haven't had that kind of player in five or six years here," Washington said. "She's going to be a fine player in this conference."
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