Crusaders bothered by venue

By Chuck Woodling     Nov 20, 2002

Holy Cross forward Tim Szatko didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t playing Kansas in St. Louis anymore.

This was Allen Fieldhouse. That was the Edward Jones Dome.

“There definitely is a difference,” Szatko said. “Their crowd was going crazy. It wasn’t like St. Louis at all. It was the loudest atmosphere I’ve ever played in.”

Szatko, a 6-foot-8 senior, was in St. Louis last March when the Crusaders, a No. 16 seed, gave the top-seeded Jayhawks quite a scare before bowing, 70-59, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

This time Holy Cross scared the Jayhawks for the first 11 minutes, leading 17-15 before KU dropped a 24-4 haymaker during the last nine minutes of the first half en route to an 81-57 Preseason NIT victory on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, that run in the first half took us out of everything we wanted to do,” Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said. “Then we lost our focus defensively.”

During those fateful nine minutes, Holy Cross missed eight of nine shots and coughed up the ball six times.

“We could communicate OK,” Szatko said. “But when the noise got loud we surrendered, so I guess it did affect us.”

Willard knows what can happen to visitors in Allen Fieldhouse. He was an assistant coach at Kentucky when the Jayhawks posted an astonishing 150-95 victory against the Wildcats on Dec. 9, 1989.

“I think we were intimidated by the crowd in this building,” Willard said. “It’s a special place.”

Holy Cross made a brief comeback bid early in the second half after trailing 39-21 at the break. But when starting center Patrick Whearty and starting point guard Jave Meade fouled out within 19 seconds of each other with more than 14 minutes to play, well :

“The game was over,” said Whearty, a 6-10 senior. “You can’t blame it all on fouls.”

The noise. Blame it on the noise. Holy Cross plays in the 3,600-seat Hart Center back home in Worcester, Mass.

“We knew it would be loud,” Whearty said. “But it’s hard to prepare for.”

Too, it was difficult for the Crusaders to prepare for KU’s numerous weapons.

“This (Kansas) team is a little more balanced offensively than last year,” Willard said. “Last year they relied on (Drew) Gooden and (Jeff) Boschee. Now offensively they seem to be spread out a little more.”

Kansas outscored Holy Cross in the paint (38-14), on second-chance points (14-5) and in points off turnovers (28-17), but it was the points off fast breaks (17-4) that really hurt, Willard said.

“They’re smart,” Willard said. “They kill you : they KILL you in transition.”

Szatko led the Crusaders with 14 points. Guard Brian Wilson added 12, all in the first half when he drilled four of five three-point attempts. Holy Cross shot only 34.6 percent and was guilty of 20 turnovers.

“Last time we had nine turnovers when we played them,” Willard said. “This time we had 20. That’s the difference.”

The Crusaders’ next game will be a lot different, too. Holy Cross will open at home against Dowling, an NCAA Div. II school, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Crusaders bothered by venue

By Gary Bedore     Nov 20, 2002

Holy Cross forward Tim Szatko didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t playing Kansas in St. Louis anymore.

This was Allen Fieldhouse. That was the Edward Jones Dome.

advertisement

“There definitely is a difference,” Szatko said. “Their crowd was going crazy. It wasn’t like St. Louis at all. It was the loudest atmosphere I’ve ever played in.”

Szatko, a 6-foot-8 senior, was in St. Louis last March when the Crusaders, a No. 16 seed, gave the top-seeded Jayhawks quite a scare before bowing, 70-59, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

This time Holy Cross scared the Jayhawks for the first 11 minutes, leading 17-15 before KU dropped a 24-4 haymaker during the last nine minutes of the first half en route to an 81-57 Preseason NIT victory on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, that run in the first half took us out of everything we wanted to do,” Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said. “Then we lost our focus defensively.”

During those fateful nine minutes, Holy Cross missed eight of nine shots and coughed up the ball six times.

“We could communicate OK,” Szatko said. “But when the noise got loud we surrendered, so I guess it did affect us.”

Willard knows what can happen to visitors in Allen Fieldhouse. He was an assistant coach at Kentucky when the Jayhawks posted an astonishing 150-95 victory against the Wildcats on Dec. 9, 1989.

“I think we were intimidated by the crowd in this building,” Willard said. “It’s a special place.”

Holy Cross made a brief comeback bid early in the second half after trailing 39-21 at the break. But when starting center Patrick Whearty and starting point guard Jave Meade fouled out within 19 seconds of each other with more than 14 minutes to play, well :

“The game was over,” said Whearty, a 6-10 senior. “You can’t blame it all on fouls.”

The noise. Blame it on the noise. Holy Cross plays in the 3,600-seat Hart Center back home in Worcester, Mass.

“We knew it would be loud,” Whearty said. “But it’s hard to prepare for.”

Too, it was difficult for the Crusaders to prepare for KU’s numerous weapons.

“This (Kansas) team is a little more balanced offensively than last year,” Willard said. “Last year they relied on (Drew) Gooden and (Jeff) Boschee. Now offensively they seem to be spread out a little more.”

Kansas outscored Holy Cross in the paint (38-14), on second-chance points (14-5) and in points off turnovers (28-17), but it was the points off fast breaks (17-4) that really hurt, Willard said.

“They’re smart,” Willard said. “They kill you : they KILL you in transition.”

Szatko led the Crusaders with 14 points. Guard Brian Wilson added 12, all in the first half when he drilled four of five three-point attempts. Holy Cross shot only 34.6 percent and was guilty of 20 turnovers.

“Last time we had nine turnovers when we played them,” Willard said. “This time we had 20. That’s the difference.”

The Crusaders’ next game will be a lot different, too. Holy Cross will open at home against Dowling, an NCAA Div. II school, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Crusaders bothered by venue

By Gary Bedore     Nov 20, 2002

Holy Cross forward Tim Szatko didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t playing Kansas in St. Louis anymore.

This was Allen Fieldhouse. That was the Edward Jones Dome.

advertisement

“There definitely is a difference,” Szatko said. “Their crowd was going crazy. It wasn’t like St. Louis at all. It was the loudest atmosphere I’ve ever played in.”

Szatko, a 6-foot-8 senior, was in St. Louis last March when the Crusaders, a No. 16 seed, gave the top-seeded Jayhawks quite a scare before bowing, 70-59, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

This time Holy Cross scared the Jayhawks for the first 11 minutes, leading 17-15 before KU dropped a 24-4 haymaker during the last nine minutes of the first half en route to an 81-57 Preseason NIT victory on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, that run in the first half took us out of everything we wanted to do,” Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said. “Then we lost our focus defensively.”

During those fateful nine minutes, Holy Cross missed eight of nine shots and coughed up the ball six times.

“We could communicate OK,” Szatko said. “But when the noise got loud we surrendered, so I guess it did affect us.”

Willard knows what can happen to visitors in Allen Fieldhouse. He was an assistant coach at Kentucky when the Jayhawks posted an astonishing 150-95 victory against the Wildcats on Dec. 9, 1989.

“I think we were intimidated by the crowd in this building,” Willard said. “It’s a special place.”

Holy Cross made a brief comeback bid early in the second half after trailing 39-21 at the break. But when starting center Patrick Whearty and starting point guard Jave Meade fouled out within 19 seconds of each other with more than 14 minutes to play, well :

“The game was over,” said Whearty, a 6-10 senior. “You can’t blame it all on fouls.”

The noise. Blame it on the noise. Holy Cross plays in the 3,600-seat Hart Center back home in Worcester, Mass.

“We knew it would be loud,” Whearty said. “But it’s hard to prepare for.”

Too, it was difficult for the Crusaders to prepare for KU’s numerous weapons.

“This (Kansas) team is a little more balanced offensively than last year,” Willard said. “Last year they relied on (Drew) Gooden and (Jeff) Boschee. Now offensively they seem to be spread out a little more.”

Kansas outscored Holy Cross in the paint (38-14), on second-chance points (14-5) and in points off turnovers (28-17), but it was the points off fast breaks (17-4) that really hurt, Willard said.

“They’re smart,” Willard said. “They kill you : they KILL you in transition.”

Szatko led the Crusaders with 14 points. Guard Brian Wilson added 12, all in the first half when he drilled four of five three-point attempts. Holy Cross shot only 34.6 percent and was guilty of 20 turnovers.

“Last time we had nine turnovers when we played them,” Willard said. “This time we had 20. That’s the difference.”

The Crusaders’ next game will be a lot different, too. Holy Cross will open at home against Dowling, an NCAA Div. II school, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Crusaders bothered by venue

By Gary Bedore     Nov 20, 2002

Holy Cross forward Tim Szatko didn’t take long to realize he wasn’t playing Kansas in St. Louis anymore.

This was Allen Fieldhouse. That was the Edward Jones Dome.

advertisement

“There definitely is a difference,” Szatko said. “Their crowd was going crazy. It wasn’t like St. Louis at all. It was the loudest atmosphere I’ve ever played in.”

Szatko, a 6-foot-8 senior, was in St. Louis last March when the Crusaders, a No. 16 seed, gave the top-seeded Jayhawks quite a scare before bowing, 70-59, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.

This time Holy Cross scared the Jayhawks for the first 11 minutes, leading 17-15 before KU dropped a 24-4 haymaker during the last nine minutes of the first half en route to an 81-57 Preseason NIT victory on Tuesday night.

“Obviously, that run in the first half took us out of everything we wanted to do,” Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard said. “Then we lost our focus defensively.”

During those fateful nine minutes, Holy Cross missed eight of nine shots and coughed up the ball six times.

“We could communicate OK,” Szatko said. “But when the noise got loud we surrendered, so I guess it did affect us.”

Willard knows what can happen to visitors in Allen Fieldhouse. He was an assistant coach at Kentucky when the Jayhawks posted an astonishing 150-95 victory against the Wildcats on Dec. 9, 1989.

“I think we were intimidated by the crowd in this building,” Willard said. “It’s a special place.”

Holy Cross made a brief comeback bid early in the second half after trailing 39-21 at the break. But when starting center Patrick Whearty and starting point guard Jave Meade fouled out within 19 seconds of each other with more than 14 minutes to play, well :

“The game was over,” said Whearty, a 6-10 senior. “You can’t blame it all on fouls.”

The noise. Blame it on the noise. Holy Cross plays in the 3,600-seat Hart Center back home in Worcester, Mass.

“We knew it would be loud,” Whearty said. “But it’s hard to prepare for.”

Too, it was difficult for the Crusaders to prepare for KU’s numerous weapons.

“This (Kansas) team is a little more balanced offensively than last year,” Willard said. “Last year they relied on (Drew) Gooden and (Jeff) Boschee. Now offensively they seem to be spread out a little more.”

Kansas outscored Holy Cross in the paint (38-14), on second-chance points (14-5) and in points off turnovers (28-17), but it was the points off fast breaks (17-4) that really hurt, Willard said.

“They’re smart,” Willard said. “They kill you : they KILL you in transition.”

Szatko led the Crusaders with 14 points. Guard Brian Wilson added 12, all in the first half when he drilled four of five three-point attempts. Holy Cross shot only 34.6 percent and was guilty of 20 turnovers.

“Last time we had nine turnovers when we played them,” Willard said. “This time we had 20. That’s the difference.”

The Crusaders’ next game will be a lot different, too. Holy Cross will open at home against Dowling, an NCAA Div. II school, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

PREV POST

Kansas Football Notebook: Mangino plans to retain assistants

NEXT POST

2209Crusaders bothered by venue