6B
Wednesdav. December 6. 1995
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Women Start1996 out right!
Join a KU School of Nursing Study on yo-yo dieting. Are you a yo-yo dieter, age 21-45, weigh 110-200 lbs., have no diagnosis of eating disorders or depression and are not pregnant? This FREE program in Lawrence runs from January to July in cooperation with the Exercise Physiology Lab on the KU Campus. You'll attend weekly, 90-min. meetings to learn new skills to stop overeating and get regular exercise. Call Dr. Sue Poppess-Vawter at 542-5250. Leave your name & work/home numbers for a call to discuss details.
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNICIAN
Menninger is accepting applications for a P/T Communications Technician. Duties include answering calls and monitoring emergency panels. Will work a minimum of 16 hours per week, plus cover other shifts as needed. High school diploma required. Interested applicants should apply in person Tues-Fri between 8:30-11:00 am & 1:30-4:00 pm at:
MENNINGER 5800 SW 6th Street Tower Bldg., 1st FIr. Topeka, KS 66606
EO/AAEmployer
Freshman basketball players learn leadership by following
By Matt Irwin Kansan sportswriters
Kansan sportswriter
Sitting next to his teammate, Kansas junior center Scot Pollard, at a press conference yesterday, the Kansas freshman forward gulped as he listened to Pollard answer a question.
Watching Paul Pierce nervously sit in front of seven cameras and a handful of reporters, it's hard to believe the quiet 18-year-old can take the pressures of being a freshman on the No. 1 men's basketball team in the nation.
Pierce may be one of the most athletic players Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams ever has recruited, and he even starts for Kansas. But listening to Pierce whisper in post-game interviews makes one wonder whether he has can take the pressures of being a Jayhawk or the rules that come with it.
If Pierce or one of his fellow freshmen doesn't turn on the showers soon enough after practice, he hears about it. If they don't chase a loose ball when it leaves the court in practice, they must suffer the consequences. If they aren't in proper defensive position during practice, a scolding comes their way.
"It doesn't bother me at all," Pierce said. "I think the way seniors have to talk to us when we do things wrong, or like after practice we're responsible for turning on the showers, or during practice we have to chase the loose balls — those are the things that remind you that you're still a freshman."
But Pierce doesn't mind the rules — that's just how it is.
Williams has helped implement freshmen rules for years so that newcomers remember who their leaders are. He said he never had seen a player want to be excluded from following the rules.
"I'd tell them that if they did, they don't have to take exception, they can just leave," Williams said. "I don't think we'll ever have that problem."
Williams has instituted many of the same rules at Kansas that were used at North Carolina when he was an assistant coach to North Carolina men's basketball coach Dean Smith. When the Jayhawks travel, Pierce, guard Ryan Robertson and forward T.J. Pugh put their personal belongings on the bus and then help the managers with the rest of the bags. When the Jayhawks eat, they eat in order of seniority.
Williams said he created these rules to keep freshmen from getting too carried away with success.
"I'll admit I do some of those things to let them know that they didn't invent the game, that they aren't the leaders of this team," Williams said. "I make their times for the preseason conditioning program for the running test always more difficult than anybody else, because I want them to understand that what they did as a high school player doesn't cut it with me."
Williams preaches loyalty and rewards the players who have spent the most time with him.
Kathleen Driscoll/ KANSAN
Kansas freshman forward Paul Pierce may stand tall on the court as he did Saturday against UCLA, but the Jay. hawk freshmen know their place off the court. For example, they must turn on the showers after practice.
"I just wanted to make sure they understand these other guys have already accomplished something at the college level and that they haven't," Williams said. "It's a little bit to wake them up and get them to understand that. But it's other things. I think it's good for the camaraderie of the team. When we decide where we're going to go eat or what we're going to eat or how we're going to dress, I don't ever ask the opinions of the freshmen. I'll ask the other guys."
Williams said he wanted the older players leading the Jayhawks. This year's team has strong leaders, he said.
"We may have the best leadership with this group that I've ever had," he said. "They do try to talk to them, teach them and help them through not only practice but the things off the court. They've been through it the past two or three years. They know a heck of a lot more about it than I do. They know a heck of a lot more about the problems the kids are going to face."