BIG EIGHT Two Colorado men's basketball players have been suspended for stealing coupons from a campus bookstore. Page 3.
SPORTS
U N I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1996
SECTION B
Matt Flickner / KAN$AN
Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn wasn't known as an offensive threat until this season
By Jenni Carlson
Kansan sportswriter
Jacque Vaughn watched the clock as it counted down to halftime.
Crouching near half court dribbling the ball, the junior guard appeared ready to hit an open teammate or to execute one of his patented twisting, turning drives in the lane. Instead, Vaughn seemed to catch the Oklahoma State defenders off guard.
He dribbled to the top of the key and nailed a three-point shot. No big deal.
"I was supposed to pass the ball around a little bit, but I think the ball was sticking to my hand," Vaughn said after the Javahawks' 76-61 victory on Jan. 8.
The ball must be doing more of that season. Vaughn is scoring 11.3 points a game, up from his season average of 9.7 last year, and is hitting 48.6 percent of his three-point attempts. His 63.6 percent threepoint average in Big Eight Conference games tops all league players.
nansas junior guard Jacque Vaughn has raised his scoring average up almost two points compared to this time last season. His 63.6 three-point shooting percentage is best in the Big Eight Conference.
"He's developing into our best three-point shooter, and the best thing is that they are all good three-pointers," Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams said. "He doesn't take bad shots."
During the off-season, Vaughn worked diligently on his shot, Williams said. That has carried over into the Jayhawks' practices, where the team does numerous repetition and shooting drills.
Williams doesn't mind his players firing three-pointers, but he said he wanted the entire team to strive for a balance between perimeter and post play.
Vaughn fits that ideal. Not only is he scoring, but he's also averaging 6.2 assists a game, which ranks second in the conference, just behind Colorado freshman guard Chauncey Billups, who averages 6.4 assists a game.
During Monday's 72-66 victory against Oklahoma, Vaughn's 11 assists tied a Kansas record for the most assists in a Bir Eight game.
going over some事地 discuss what I'm going
Other Big Eight coaches are noticing that.
"In my position, it's definitely my job to get others involved," Vaughn said. "But I've always said I'm not going to let somebody dictate what I'm going to do."
"I can't think there's a better point guard in the nation running a team," Oklahoma men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He has not taken many attempts, which means he's smart. He doesn't force shots."
Nebraska men's basketball coach Danny Nee probably has thought about Vaughn a little bit while preparing his team to face the Jayhawks on Sunday.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb.
The Cornhusker coach said Vaughn had matured this season.
"He looks at this as more of his team," Nee said. "That's something that you want the point guard to step up and do."
Vaughn's improved offense punch has caught Nee's attention, too. He likened the Jayhawk point guard to the gas that makes the Kansas offensive engine go.
"Jacque Vaughn is not a good player, but a great placer." Nee said.
Women rowers enjoy new varsity status
Focus has been shifted from raising funds to racing boats
By Evan Blackwell Kansan sportswriter
Years of hard work and determination finally are paying off for several involved with the Kansas women's rowing club team.
After laboring thanklessly on the club team for three years, the seniors were rewarded when women's rowing became a varsity sport this year.
Senior rower Paige Geiger, who joined the club team her sophomore year, said
there was definite excitement heading into this season.
"I love this sport," Geiger said. "Moving the sport up to this level is a great opportunity for all the athletes."
The main difference for this year's varsity team is the chance to spend more time on training, since much of the team's time is no longer spent on fund raising.
"We did all kinds of things," Catloth said. "We worked the concession stands at football and basketball games. We also had a rent-a-rower program."
Kansas rowing coach Rob Catloth said the club team's efforts to bring in money were sometimes unique.
The rent-a-rover program allowed athletes to earn money by working for Lawrence residents doing chores like
Kansas assistant rowing coach Tami Odell was one of the athletes who once put in that hard work as a member of the club team.
raking leaves and chopping wood. Kansas men's and women's club teams still participate in such fund-raising activities.
"When I rowed, we had to pay for all our regattas out of our own pocket," Odell said. "We would be sleeping on gym floors sometimes."
Odell said that now the team could keep excellent athletes even if the athletes couldn't afford to pay those expenses.
Odell rowed for Kansas from 1989 to 1994, and still remembers the days when money was tight for the club team.
Geiger, who is from Leavenworth, said there were no high school programs in her area, and that now it was fun to see the sport grow at Kansas.
cost at least $40 to $50 a person. The team's annual spring break trip to Louisiana, which the varsity team will take this season, cost about $250 a person.
Geiger said she always would remember the hard work the club-sport athletes put forth to get the chance to compete.
ANALYSIS
"I had never even heard of the sport until I got here," Geiger said. "I saw them recruiting on campus and decided to check it out."
Odell said a typical road trip would
"Having been on the club side and now the varsity side, I'll always appreciate what goes into it," Geiger said.
Many like interleague play plan
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
No major professional sport has seen more changes or has been in such disarray as major league baseball has during the past two years.
Its outlook hasn't been brilliant for quite some time.
Labor problems, greedy owners and players, a canceled World Series and abbreviated seasons have dampened even the most die-hard fans' enthusiasm for the game.
But the national pastime is trying to ensure that it doesn't become a game whose time has passed.
On the heels of last year's wild-card format comes the owners' idea of inter-league play. Major-league.
owners unanimously approved interleague play for the 1987 season last week, using a format that will pit American League East teams against the National League East, AL Central teams against NL Central teams and AL West teams against NL West teams.
It's a move that leaves baseball purists shaking their heads in disbelief. But for some, like Kansas baseball coach and former major leaguer Bobby Randall, interleague play is a good step toward bringing back the fans.
"As a fan, I love interleague play," he said. "I'd love to see a team like the Dodgers come to Kansas City. How would I get to see these players otherwise?"
Unlike the plaques in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of baseball's Hall of Fame, interleague play is not etched in bronze.
It still requires the approval of the Major League Baseball Players Association, and potential conflicts regarding the designated hitter still need to be resolved.
For Aron Wiechman, Scott City sophomore, the prospect of interleague play is not intriguing.
"Interleague play destroys the tradition, as well as the rivalries, we have always had in separate leagues," he said. "It is a weak attempt to win back fan loyalty, just as the wild card and the new playoffs are. People want the baseball they had before the strike occurred, and not some radical new style."
Baseball has taken pride in tradition. The advent of the wild card was the first major change since the inception of the designated hitter in 1973.
But Randall believes that change is good and that it only can help baseball.
"What the wild card does is create excitement," he said. "It happens in every other sport. Nobody gets upset about the other sports doing it. It's like Oklahoma State winning the College World Series but not winning the Bie Eight Conference."
It's one thing to upset players and another to upset fans, but former Kansas baseball player Darryl Monroe is both. He doesn't like the changes.
"I'm not a big fan of interleague play." Monroe said. "It takes away from the uniqueness of the two leagues. It will take away from the World Series. That was the one thing that really sets baseball apart from the other sports."
Monroe, who played for Kansas from 1991 to 1994, finishing his career as the Jayhawks' all-time games-played leader with 212, is preparing for his second season in the Detroit Tigers organization.
Although Randall likes interleague play, he admits that it would be done for all the wrong reasons.
"They say they want to make the game better and bring back fans," he said. "But what this is really all about is the owners want money. They need the fans to make money, and ultimately that's what it's all about."
Kansas freshman forward Nakla Sanford and the rest of the women's basketball team feel the Big Eight Conference championship is well within reach
Tyler Wirken /
KANSAN
Women's basketball shooting for Big Eight title
Sunday's upset victory has Jayhawks excited about rest of season
By Evan Blackwell Kansan sportswriter
Fresh off one of the Jayhawks' most decisive victories of the season, Kansas women's basketball coach Marlan Washington thinks she knows where everyone stands.
"As long as we have good leadership on the floor, we can have opportunities like this every game," Washington said of the Jayhawks 85-58 win against No.24 Oklahoma State on Sunday at Allen Field House
This season has been plagued by inconsistency for Kansas. The Jayhawks have frequently been up for one game, and then back down for the next.
Last weekend was a typical one for the Jayhawks, who have won 11 games and lost seven. They lost to Oklahoma on Friday night before defeating Oklahoma State on Sunday.
Junior guard Angie Halbleib said it was finally time for the more experienced players to say something after the loss to Oklahoma.
"We had a team meeting," Hableib said. "We decided that us upperclassmen really need to step up, and start leading this team."
Washington felt the team definitely responded in the Oklahoma State game.
"It was important for the team to demonstrate what they say they're committed to doing," Washington said. "It was good to see them play
with focus, and a lot of determination on defense."
Halbleib said it was important the Jayhawks didn't forget the things they talked about before the Oklahoma State game.
"This was just one game. We need to keep this up every game," Halbleib said. "We can't do this one game, and then go back to where we were again."
"My main focus was to distribute the ball, and get everyone involved in the offense." Dixon said.
Washington said Dixon was capable
Junior point guard Tamecka Dixon has started all 18 games in the Kansas backcourt, and leads the Jayhawks in scoring at 18.4 points a game. Along with the scoring output, Dixon said she worked harder at spreading the ball around in the Oklahoma State game.
of becoming the leader and floor general Kansas needs with her performance against the Cowgirls.
"Tamecka... became that quarterback that we need on the floor," Washington said.
The Jayhawks currently find them selves in second place in the Big Eight almost halfway through the conference season, with a 4-2 record. Both Dixon and Halbleib said Kansas was capable of taking the Big Eight crown away from defending champion Colorado.
"The sky's the limit for this team. We have so much talent." Hablelb said.
Dixon said the Oklahoma State victory had to be used to push the team for this season's stretch run.
"We know what we're capable of doing, and we have to get it done by the NCAA tournament," Dixon said.