University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, December 7, 1988
Sports
13
Kansas game 'one shot' experience for Lutes Coach says he doesn't want players overawed
By Arvin Donley Kansan sportswriter
For the Pacific Lutheran Lutes,
tonight's game against defending
NCAA champion Kansas will be the
game of their college careers.
"It's kind of like our Olympics," said Bruce Haroldson, who coaches Pacific Lutheran, an NAIA school from Tacoma, Wash. "It will be our one shot to experience the big time and to have the opportunity to go into it; consider the creation of college basketball – the University of Kansas."
"Getting the chance to play in Allen Field House is just a great opportunity. I think Kansas basketball exemplifies the spirit of America and this question that it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our kids."
Tipoff will be at 7:35 p.m. in Allen Field House.
Despite being grateful for the
opportunity to play in the field house, Haroldson said he did not want his players to be awed by the surroundings.
"In order for us to play as well as we can, we'll have to block out the arena atmosphere." Haroldson said.
“When it’s all said and done we’d like to have the opportunity to help Kansas become a better team,” Haroldson said. “We don’t want it to be a challenge. We want it to play well and do a good job in representing all colleges of our size.”
Haroldson said he was not as worried about winning the game as he was with his team being competitive with the Jayahawks, who are 4-1. Pacific Lutheran is 2-3 this season against NAIA competition.
After watching Kansas win two of three games in the Great Alaska Shootout, Haroldson said the Jay-Z players were better than he first expected.
cated they would be." he said. "They appear to be solid at every position and have a lot of people coming off the bench that can contribute."
The Lutes return their leading scorer from last season, junior guard Burke Mulles, who averaged 17.1 points a game. However, Haroldson said Mullens had not played as well this season.
"He's struggling a little bit," he said. "We haven't had anybody surface like him. He did a year ago. Maybe in life like this somebody will emerge."
Last season, the Lutes were 1-1 against the Seattle Chieftains, an NAIA team the Jayhawks defeated 98-65 Thursday.
Pacific Lutheran will be the third non-NCAA division I opponent of the season for the Jayhawks. Although conference rivals Missouri and Oklahoma will play together, opponents this season, Williams said he did not care to compare schedules.
"I don't give a flip what the heck Missouri's doing." Williams said. "I don't think I have to defend our schedule; I didn't have anything to do with it. We have to play some people who aren't exactly chopped liver."
"They're better than people indi-
Williams said that in the future he would prefer not to play non-NCAA division I teams.
Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick said this year's schedule was put together by former associate coach Tom Dahlgren and former assistant coach R.C. Buford.
"I was really nervous last year at the point in the season where we were 12-8 because, in actuality, we were only 9-8 (against division I competition)," said Frederick, referring to Kansas' victories over non-NCA teammates like Oklahoma and Hampton and Pomona-Pitzer. "I prefer to play division I games."
Frederick said he did not help draw
Kansas Jayhawks
Coach: Roy Williams Record: 4-1
Pacific Lutheran Lutes
Coach: Bruce Haroldson
Record: 2-3
PROBABLE STARTERS
Player Height PG
F-Mark Randall 6-9 17.2
F-Milt Newton 6-4 15.2
C-Sean Alvarado 6-10 5.2
G-Scooter Barry 6-4 6.6
G-Kevin Pritchard 6-3 14.0
Player Height PPG
F-Jeff Lerch 6-6 12.0
F-Don Brown 6-2 12.8
C-Greg Schellenberg 6-9 3.2
G-Byron Pettit 6-2 5.0
B-Gurke Mullins 6-0 12.6
COVERAGE: Tip-off will be at 7:35 tonight at Allen Field House in Lawrence. The game will be broadcast on KLZR 106-FM.
up the schedule, but that he did
heit. He said although he had the
power to veto the schedule, he
would prefer not to.
Washington says Shockers will be fired up for Kansas
By Ken Winford Kansan sportswriter
A Kansas women's basketball team that still might be savoring Saturday night's victory over seventh-ranked Iowa, will be looking for its third consecutive victory when it travels to Wichita to play the Wichita State Shockers at 7:30 tonight.
Junior guard Lisa Bradley scored 16 points and led the Jayhawks to a 63-36 win over Wichita State last year at Allen Field House.
1"
Kansas coach Marian Washington said she would be glad to start playing again following the four-day layoff since the Jayhawks won the Lady Jayhawk Dial Classic last weekend.
"You go from an extreme emotional high, and then you have to get back up," said Washington, whose 31 Jayhawks are tied for 20th in the NBA. "We're ready to play. I know Wichita State will be ready. They are a good club so
It's early in the season but there is no question that Wichita State will be very up for this game. The fact that we've upset a nationally-ranked team means that every team is going to be shooting for us.'
Marian Washington
Marian Washington Kansas women's basketball coach
it won't be easy for us.'
The 1-2 Shockers' leading scorer is Lori Findall. The 6-foot-1 junior is averaging 20.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a game.
Other key players for Wichita State are Tonya Lane and Trina Jones. Lane, a sophomore guard, is an All-Star player. She averages 16.7 points a game.
averaging 12 points a game.
Kansas assistant coach Kevin Cook said the Jayhawks would concentrate on controlling those three players.
"Wichita State has some pretty good players," Cook said. "They are anxious to play us. We will stay close and get the footbottles and try to deny them the ball."
Jones, a junior point guard, is the floor leader for Wichita State. She is
Although the Shockers had a strong starting lineup, Washington said the Javhayws had a depth advantage.
Washington said, "My question about Wichita State that this point is about it is not."
"I really don't think they are,
they're just going to try to force them to go to their bench."
Washington said she enjoyed the strong in-state rivalries with Wichita State and Oklahoma.
"It's early in the season but there is no question that Wichita State will be very up for this game," she said. "The fact that we've upset a nation's ally-ranked team means that every team is going to be shooting for us."
Juco-to-college transition can be tough for athletes
- Editors note: This story is the first of a three-part series on junior college student-athlete transfers.
By Mark E. McCormick Kansan sportswriter
And at 6-foot-10,225 pounds, he had the tools to be a promising recruit.
Junior college transfer Marvin Branch played a fair game of basketball.
His gangling arms allowed him to clean the backboard of rebounds and his bulky frame made him difficult to move when he was in position.
But Brunch had little to look forward to when arriving at Kansas in the fall of 1986, after stints at Barton County Community College in Great Falls and at Lakeview College in Sewell, N.J., and as a redshirt at Hutchinson Junior College.
Declared academically ineligible after his first semester, he opted to try out with the Topeka Sizzlers semi-pro basketball team. It wasn't the route he originally had planned to take, but the National Basketball Association
"I wished things could've worked out at Kansas, but they didn't." Branch said. Now, I've got to do what he says I want things work here with the Sizzlers.
Branch's ordeal hasn't been an unusual one for junior college athletes who transfer to major colleges. Due to increased athletic and academic demands, many are finding it difficult to make the transition.
"That's at the base of the dilemma and I don't think the dilemma goes away," Kansas tennis coach Scott Perelman said. "It's not like being in Southern California where you have so many kids to pick from. Here, the recruiting process makes you take chances. It's hard to turn a program around without taking some chances on marital kids.
Confronted with the task of building a winning program, more coaches are forced to gamble on junior college athletes who may not survive the academic jump from the major pond to the major college ocean.
"It's like a game. Like throwing dice up in the air, but it's disastrous when that individual doesn't pan out."
Kansas football coach Glen Mason
'H
Here, the recruiting process makes you take chances. It's hard to turn a program around without taking some charges on marginal kids.'
Scott Perelman
said many of the top junior college athletes were only marginal students, and for that reason, some coaches hesitate to recruit them. But some junior college athletes needed more time to develop or weren't tested and could not afford to pay tutute at a major university, Mason said.
"A lot of them are just late developers," he said. "They weren't highly recruited out of high school but were good students. Pretty soon, they ready to graduate, and they've problem solved the attention of some major college scout."
"The rest of the University doesn't seem to be nearly as concerned about the problem as the athletic department," he said. "I thought we made a step in the right direction in the area of academic support, but it needs to be one of our most important priorities. Things seem to be moving in the right direction, it's just the fact that it's so slow."
Despite recruiting difficulties, Perelman said he'd been successful in avoiding the problems that accompany recruiting.
"It's not acceptable," Mason said of Supportive Educational Services, which provides tutoring for athletes. "I'd like to see you as much as we possibly can to help them, and that's not acceptable."
"This team has run the gamut from weaker students to 4.0 (GPA) students," he said, "and in my six and one-half years here, we've graduated everyone who's come into the program."
Mason said the educational support system wasn't enough.
Perelman said he would like to see the University more involved in providing support for athletes.
"The national attrition rate for college dropouts is about 35 to 40 percent. We do a heck of a lot better
"I'm worried about the demands put on them when they reach the college ranks," Washington said. "It's so important that they gain and grow academically. At the junior college, they gain a lot atheltically, but I'm not sure what's happening to them academically."
job. If we were losing 35 to 40 percent of our team,we'd be out of business."
The problem starts early in a person's education and the junior college often inherits the problem from public school system. Mason said.
Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington said the increased pressure of the major college campus could have much to prove in the problem, but the junior college system must accept some of the blame.
"It's a two-way street," she said. "There's got to be an increased awareness that there is an even greater responsibility on their (students) ability to absorb academic growth. The young person has to take it seriously."
"All I can do is spend time with them, encourage them and make sure that they go to class," Mason said.
"Some of the top players go to junior colleges for two years and gain a lot of playing time, probably more than they would've gotten at some four-year school," she said. "The player has a number of games under his belt coming into a program and they can really benefit."
"I don't want to generalize, but there is enough evidence, and there are grounds for concern."
But Washington said the schools weren't all to blame.
Yet Washington said she tried to remain realistic about her ability.
"I have to tell myself that I'm not a miracle worker, but I have to do what I can," she said. "We try to motivate them on and off the floor. We've got some bright kids, but many students become victims of the system.
Students can often benefit from a junior college experience.
"We can not allow them to go through school illiterate. If we do, we have misused and abused that particular individual."
Freshman guard Gei Hart puts up a jump shot during Monday's basketball practice. Hart has started five games this season for the Jayhawks and is averaging 3.8 points a game.
Freshman making smooth transition
KU's Hart feared switch to Univesity
By Cindy Harger
Kansan sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
When Geri Hart, Independence freshman, came to play basketball at the University of Kansas this year, she gets lost in the crowd $^2$ players.
But, after starting five games this season while switching between point guard and off guard, Jared Goff will be watching fans will be watching in the future.
Hart said at first she thought it might be difficult to adjust from being an outstanding high school player to being young and inexperienced on a university team. Hart led Independence High School to the division 5A Kansas state championship during her senior year.
"It's a big jump. The pace is a
"Everyone is a good player here, and everyone deserves to play," said Hart, who is averaging 21 minutes a game this year. "I've realized that if I want to play, I'm going to have to work a lot harder."
Hart said the more physical, faster pace of college basketball had been a change from high school, but she had been able to adjust easily because of her team-mates.
At 5-foot 6, Hart is one of the smallest players on the team. But even so, while averaging only 3 points and 1.3 rebounds a game, she doesn't let bigger or older ball players intimidate her.
"In some aspects, it's a bigger challenge," she said. "I have to learn the basics and work on the fundamentals more. But in some aspects, I think smaller players have the advantage, playing with a quicker, easier recover on defense more quickly and take more chances."
lot faster here, but then you're playing with players like Lisa Braddy on your team, and she makes everyone look better just because she's so good." Hart said.
Kansas coach Marian Washington said Hart's intelligence helped her compensate for anything she lacked.
Indications are Hart will be as successful at Kansas as she has been in the past. Washington said he has made sure both on and off the court.
"She makes up for things she "loses not possess, such as size," Washington said. "She does the task," Washington said. "She gets them with everyday."
Hurt said she always had tried to do her best at everything she tried. And it's paid off.
Besides all state basketball honors in high school, she lettered in track and volleyball, and she was valedictorian of her senior class.
"I'm really delighted with the way she's adjusted," Washington said. "She's an excellent student."
I could do that," he said. "But I don't feel it's an area I should get involved in, unless it is absolutely necessary."
KUAC delays proposal on soccer status
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas University Athletic Corporation decided yesterday to delay a proposal to upgrade the men's soccer program at Kansas from club to varsity status until Feb. 8.
By Jeff Euston
Kansas sportswriter
The stumbling block for the board members was Title 9, a federal law that requires schools receiving federal money to offer an equal number of athletic programs to both men and women.
"I would suspect we would have to fund a men's and a women's program comparatively." Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick said. "The proposal of generating income is feasible, but I think we need to focus more visually. My concern at this point is the other non-exercise sports."
Gleim Shirliffe, Kansas men's soccer club coach said the necessary money could be raised through prizes and a fund raising campaign.
The proposal will be discussed again at the board's next meeting on Feb. 8.
Tom Mulinazzi, chairman of the board, recommended the proposal be referred back to the finance committee and asked Frederick to consider the availability of facilities and office space.
In other business, the board:
- discussed the Big Eight Conference meetings, which start today in Kansas City, Mo. Among the items on the agenda will be whether or not the Kansas basketball team should be allowed to play in the Big Eight postseason men's basketball tournament.
"The NCAA didn't recommend that we shouldn't participate," said Del Brinkman, the faculty representative to the conference and the NCA. "There isn't a clear cut rule now in place that says we should be barred from the tournament. But it will be discussed."
■ learned that Montana State had replaced the University of Southern California on next season's football schedule. USC canceled a scheduled basketball season in order to play Illinois in Moscow for next year's Glastonbarn School.
- received a summary of the legislation that would be discussed at the NCAA Convention in January in Mission, Kn. Included in the proposed rules changes was legislation concerning the annual limits on the number of football scholarships that a school may award, a proposal to add a 12th game to the football season, and an assessment that athletes must be making satisfactory progress toward a degree.
unanimously accepted a report by an ad hoc committee on corporate sponsorship of athletic events. David Amber, the chairman of the committee, recommended that the University be involved both local and national sponsorship.
Under the program, corporations will be allowed to sponsor athletic events at Kansas by posting advertising signs inside athletic facilities. The program is limited to alcohol or tobacco will be excluded from the program on a local basis
■ learned the university had a contract in hand from a broadcasting company for the rights to television Kansas basketball games next season. The contract will more than replace 'Kansas' rights' fees, Frederick said.
Frederick would not release which new business company issued the rights until the end of 2015.