Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self was 30 minutes late for his live radio show Monday night at Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Cafe.
He had a good reason, needing time after practice to tell his players that Wayne Simien had left thumb surgery and would be out four to six weeks.
“One of the first things I said (to the team) was, ‘We should probably revamp our goals with Wayne out, right?”‘ Self related.
“Nobody said anything, and I said, ‘Expletive no, we’re not going to revamp anything because we’ve got good enough players to get the job done.’ Guys are going to play a little bit better than what they did before. Guys are going to be a little more focused. There’s going to be more of a sense of urgency, and we’re going to benefit from this in some way.
Self said he didn’t know yet who would replace Simien, who likely will miss six to 10 games, in the starting lineup Wednesday when the Jayhawks meet Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 7 p.m. at Kemper Arena.
“Darnell, probably in my mind, has played the next best,” Self said of Darnell Jackson, who along with fellow freshmen C.J. Giles and Sasha Kaun have played behind the starting frontcourt of Simien and Christian Moody.
“It could be Darnell. We’ll see how things go. We need multiple people to step up and somebody will.”
Freshman Alex Galindo, known for his outside shooting, also could play more minutes at the power forward position.
“We could go a different mode and play small if we had to. I’m confident they can all do it,” Self said.
KU’s rookie big men will do all they can to replace Simien’s 17.4 points and 12 rebounds a game.
“All our big guys will have to step up,” Giles said. “With Wayne gone, we don’t have a post presence. We need to get a lot tougher. For me, it’s kind of scary at first but I know I can go out and do it. I have to just go out and play.”
Jackson said “yes and no” when asked if it could provide him an opportunity to play more.
“Yes, because I have a chance to go out and prove myself. No, because it’ll be hard. The freshmen need to pick it up,” Jackson said. “We need to take it to another level. We need to block out and concentrate.”
Kaun added: “I think for the big guys, we need to step up and help the team as much as we can because we’re a little different team now. It might be a chance but for me, the first thing is to help the team any way I can. We all need to get more physical, box out and get rebounds, put a body on people.”
Senior Aaron Miles realizes Simien is a tough man to replace.
“You lose Wayne, he’s a 20-and-10 guy that has to be replaced somehow, someway. It’s not necessarily the points. If Wayne can’t play, they definitely have to step up and give 110 percent effort, give rebounds and box out, do fundamental things to help the team,” Miles said of the freshmen.
Miles said Simien is in good spirits.
“Wayne is an optimistic cat,” Miles said. “He’s one of those guys who always sees the glass half full. Whatever he has to go through, he’ll do it.”
“Can you believe that?” Self said Monday. “I think that was just a blown call. I think the official that made the no call would probably tell you, ‘Look, I missed that one.’ On tape, it looked very, very obvious. But those things happen. It’s one thing kind of frustrating with Wayne. He takes a pounding down there. He has not been recipient of near as many free throws as what he was shooting earlier in the season.”
“Everybody was telling me I should have just dunked it,” said the 6-10 freshman center. He grabbed a missed South Carolina free throw with 1:06 left in the first half of Saturday’s 64-60 victory, promptly depositing the ball in the Gamecocks’ basket.
“I don’t even know,” Giles said Monday, asked what was going through his mind when he committed the gaffe. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Giles, who had three blocks in seven minutes, knew he made an error in judgment even before the points were put up on the scoreboard.
“Right when it left my hand,” Giles said of the moment he knew he erred. “Honestly that was not a freshman mistake. It was a mistake of someone just not having his head in the game, not being ready. I have to be a lot more focused.”
Giles wasn’t scolded by his coach because of the play.
“He just laughed it off,” Giles said of Self. “He would have gotten upset if in the first couple of minutes I wasn’t playing as hard, but I was playing pretty good before that.”
“We’re definitely going to play in crimson,” Self said. “And we may play in ’em real, real, real, real soon.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoFor the first time in a long time, Keith Langford is pain-free on the basketball court.
“I am very healthy for the first time in seven, eight months,” Langford, Kansas University’s senior shooting guard, proclaimed on Thursday at KU men’s basketball media day. “I am really, really looking forward to playing with a free mind, not injured, obviously.”
Langford underwent surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee in April. He still was feeling the effects of that procedure during KU’s Labor Day-weekend trip to Canada.
“I’m glad to finally have the injuries out of the way,” Langford said. “It’s good to know I shouldn’t have any more issues.”
Langford said intensive treatment and rehabilitation since Canada had completed his long comeback.
Scott McClurg/Journal-World Photo“I don’t think a lot of people really understand exactly what I was dealing with my knee,” said the 6-foot-4 Langford, KU’s second-leading scorer at 15.5 points a game despite being hobbled the second half of his junior year. “People say it was a minor ‘scope and that was it. That wasn’t totally the case.”
The sweet-shooting lefty was asked to set the record straight about his surgery, which he insists was more than a mere arthroscopic procedure.
“It wasn’t like a normal ‘scope,” he said. “I’ll put it like that. I will not say (anything else). It was not a two-week deal. I didn’t play ball for four months. That should tell you something right there.”
Langford, who says he won’t miss any time during season-opening practice sessions, is not yet in tip-top shape.
KU coach Bill Self estimated Langford was 100-percent healthy from a “structural standpoint,” but only half-way to where he needed to be in terms of conditioning.
“I’m just concerned about him feeling good,” Self said. “He’s felt better than he has in a long time.”
Langford said conditioning would come in time.
As far as practice … Self said this year’s sessions may not stretch past three hours, sometimes close to the four-hour mark, as they did last season.
“We were able to get 10 days of practice in (before Canada trip). Stuff that took so long to teach last year, this year won’t take quite as long,” said Self, who had to put in a new system last fall. “The veterans can teach the newcomers. That makes for shorter practices. It’s not guaranteed if we are not doing well. But when we enter practice, we’ll have a game plan. It’ll be to not be out there quite as long.”
Self hopes shorter practices could make his players healthier and stronger for the stretch run.
He envisions fewer repetitions for senior standouts Langford and Wayne Simien and sophomore J.R. Giddens, who is coming off foot and knee surgeries.
Also, workhorse point guard Aaron Miles might take some reps off as the season progresses to keep him strong for tourney time.
“They will practice just as hard as everybody else,” Self said. “Last year was such a long season because everything was new, so a two-hour practice became a three-hour practice. You do that over five months, that wears on your body. We’ve got to find a way to keep their bodies fresher.”
Sounds good to the Jayhawks, who will debut at tonight’s Late Night in the Phog. Doors open at 8 p.m., with a scrimmage to start right at midnight.
“That’s obviously helpful,” Langford said of shorter workouts. “We did the same thing my sophomore year when we had 11 guys. He (then-coach Roy Williams) cut down practice time. Toward the end of the season, you could tell the difference.”
“I mean, it’s OK because I love ball, but, hey, if we can get it done in three, there are no problems here,” Giddens joked. “No complaints at all.”
The Jayhawks do have lots of bodies to use at practice and in games. Five new freshmen all are ready to contribute major minutes, along with the four returning starters and guys like Michael Lee and Christian Moody.
“We’ll play faster,” Self said, “because we’ll have more bodies. Aaron won’t have to play 35 minutes. We can pick up backcourt and pressure. I said pressure, not press. We can do a lot of different things, play guys in shorter spurts. Guys don’t have to pace themselves. Last year, depth was an issue. It will allow us a lot more possessions a game than last year.”
Bill Self compared his Kansas University men’s basketball team to a MASH unit after Sunday’s Elite Eight overtime loss to Georgia Tech.
That’s Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, for those who haven’t watched any Alan Alda TV reruns lately.
“This is the most beat-up bunch I’ve been around,” Self, KU’s first-year coach, said Tuesday. “I don’t think we were a tight (nervous) team. I think we were a fatigued team. We were living on borrowed time from a health standpoint. It kind of caught up with us at the end.”
Self is hoping “within the next six weeks we have a healthy team.”
Here’s what’s in store for his injured Jayhawks:
“The rehab time is anywhere between one to three months depending on what they find when they go in there,” Self said. “Hopefully they’ll find the healing has already started to occur.”
“It’ll be strictly rehab, no basketball,” Self said. “When you hear about bad groin pulls, it involves stomach muscles. His is certainly severe in that regard.”
¢
No NBA yet: Self scoffed at rumors Giddens might leave KU after one season for the NBA.
“There’s a lot of talk you hear from one or two people, and all of a sudden it becomes a rumor or hot subject,” Self said. “This is not a hot subject right now.
“J.R. is certainly going to be a pro. He has a chance to be a very high draft pick someday as opposed to a guy who gets drafted. He knows and understands that. I’ll support him in getting information (from NBA), but right now J.R. is set on becoming a better basketball player which will lead to outstanding opportunities for him.”
¢
No NBA yet, Part II: Self said Simien wouldn’t test his draft status at camps. The junior has said all along he would be back next season.
“I’d recommend him not doing anything unless people there (NBA) tell him he should do things,” Self said. “My opinion is, when you go expose yourself and are not ready it doesn’t help you. I do think there are things he needs to improve on to really enhance his draft position (for 2005 Draft). He’d be first to agree with me on that.
“I would never try to convince Wayne to stay and not go in the draft. I’d never try to encourage him to (go in draft). All I do is give information and then and his family make the best decision.”
¢
Prediction time: Self likes Oklahoma State to beat Georgia Tech in one national semifinal and UConn to stop Duke in the other. He thinks UConn will win the finale if Emeka Okafor is healthy.
“Sure I’ll pull for Oklahoma State,” he said. “A., They are from the league. More importantly it’s my alma mater. I’d love to see those guys do well.”
Thad Allender/Journal-World PhotoKansas City, Mo ? Kansas University’s men’s basketball players want to win tonight for their coach.
“Coach Self is like the general. We are like the troops. We’re going to fight to keep our general alive, basically,” junior guard Michael Lee said.
First-year KU mentor Bill Self leads the No. 4-seeded Jayhawks against 13th-seeded Illinois-Chicago in a first-round NCAA Tournament game in Kemper Arena. Tipoff is 8:55 tonight, with a live telecast on channels 5 and 13.
Bitter University of Illinois fans likely are hoping a tiny school from the Land of Lincoln will end former Illini coach Self’s season.
“We want to take care of our coach,” Lee said.
Thad Allender/Journal-World PhotoTo do that, the Jayhawks must beat a team that has won 12 straight games, including two single-elimination contests in the Horizon League tournament — at Butler and at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“I’m sure they are very excited about the draw,” Self said of the Flames (24-7). “They get a chance to play a team that’s done very well over time. Our guys better respect them in every area, because they can bite you.
“They are tough. They play the game the same way coach Henson played it at Illinois when Jimmy was an assistant there. They make it difficult for you to score.”
UIC coach Jimmy Collins assisted Lou Henson 13 years at Illinois before taking his first head-coaching job at UIC, an inner-city Chicago commuter school.
“We will go in with the mindset that we will not get overly emotional. We will go in doing the things we need to do to be in the game,” Collins said.
Those things include getting the ball to seniors Cedrick Banks and Martell Bailey.
Banks, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound guard, averages 18.5 points and 3.4 boards a game. Bailey, (5-10, 170) averages 7.7 points and has 245 assists against 107 turnovers.
“You could put Banks in the same group as the other wings in our conference, whether it be (Michel) Morandais, (Keith) Langford, (Rickey) Paulding, (Brandon) Mouton or (Andre) Emmett,” Self said.
“Banks is a scorer who would average 15 to 18 a game in our league. In some summer-league games he’s dropped 50 on some folks. He’s one of the best scorers to come out of Chicago in a while. He is the best-conditioned athlete we’ve played against all year. You’ll see when you see him play. He runs, and runs, and runs. With him, it’s constant motion.”
KU junior Keith Langford and freshman J.R. Giddens likely will defend Banks, who, like Bailey, is a graduate of Chicago power Westinghouse High.
“He’s the real deal,” Giddens said of Banks. “If I guard him I’ll have my work cut out. You’ve got to be aggressive and play him right. He’s good at taking it to the hole.”
Bailey, who has made just 36.6 percent of his shots, is second in the country in assists. KU’s Aaron Miles is fifth with 208 assists against 72 turnovers.
“Martell is like Aaron — one of the best point guards in the country,” KU associate head coach Norm Roberts said. “He is a pass first, run-your-team leader. He makes his team better. He’s as good as any point guard around.”
Self agrees.
“It’ll be a great matchup between two of the best assist guys in America,” Self said.
Last year, Bailey led the country in assists; Miles was 11th.
“He gets the ball to the right people at the right time,” Miles said.
The Flames’ weakness is inside. Their tallest starter is senior Joe Scott, a 6-9, 230 senior from Palos Hills, Ill., who averages 6.8 points and 4.5 boards.
“They don’t have as many guys with standing height like we do,” Self said. “But they play big, tough. They are a lot like the teams I had at Tulsa. They are undersized guys that can play. In Chicago, guys are athletic, can pass, catch and drive it.”
Two years ago, Oklahoma toppled UIC, 71-63, in a first-round NCAA contest — not exactly a blowout.
“We will be fired up,” Miles said. “We have to be. If we don’t rise to their level of intensity and enthusiasm, this tournament is one and done. We can’t afford that. This is not going to be a walk in the park.”
Self thinks it could resemble the KU-Iowa State games of this year. The Jayhawks lost to Iowa State in Ames, then beat the Cyclones in overtime in Lawrence.
“They might be like Iowa State the way their perimeter guys can break you down,” Self said. “Our guys respect them. They know it’s a talented team as hot as any team in the country.”
The winner of tonight’s KU-UIC game will meet the winner of the Providence-Pacific contest at 3:50 p.m. Sunday at Kemper Arena, with the winner of that game advancing to next week’s Sweet 16 in St. Louis.
The Jayhawks want to advance, fans in Illinois be darned.
“We want to take care of coach,” point guard Miles said, “but we want to win not just because of him. We want to win because we have some goals as a team.”
Kansas City, Mo ? Kansas University’s women’s basketball team could expect an easy victory tonight against Missouri-Kansas City in its season opener at Swinney Recreation Center.
After all, the Kangaroos’ 75-62 exhibition victory over St. Louis Goldstar shows UMKC struggled more than the Jayhawks did against the same team. KU crushed Goldstar, 79-28.
“Oh my gosh, we are so ready for this game,” junior forward Blair Waltz said. “That’s why we’ve been practicing for the past two months. We’re just ready to get out there and hopefully kick some butt.”
The Jayhawks won’t overlook UMKC. KU coach Marian Washington stressed her team wasn’t in a position to look past anyone, especially against the ‘Roos, who return three starters off a squad that beat the Jayhawks, 74-62, last season in Municipal Auditorium.
“The main thing I want them to do is focus on what we can do,” said Washington, who will begin her 31st season as KU coach tonight. “If we take charge of the things that we know that we can do,
I think, one, we’ll be able to be effective, and two, we’ll put the pressure where it needs to be.”
The Jayhawks have done that, outscoring their exhibition opponents, 171-94. Kansas also blitzed through four preseason games during an exempt trip to Monterrey, Mexico, at the end of August.
It will be tougher, though, for KU to continue that trend against a team that tied for second in the Mid-Continent Conference last season. UMKC coach Dana Eikenberg said she didn’t want to put extra pressure on his players, but it was exciting to open against the Jayhawks.
“It’s way too early to put any extra importance on one game,” said Eikenberg, whose team was 14-14 last season. “We’re treating it just like any nonconference game. It’s definitely special because its our season opener, and we’re playing a school that is geographically close to us.”
Washington said the Jayhawks were improving their halfcourt defense this week while letting a few injuries heal.
A few Jayhawks have been banged up during the preseason but only one, Sharita Smith, will miss the opener. Second-leading scorer Aquanita Burras will return, as will Waltz, who is OK after suffering a concussion during practice last week.
Even more exciting to Washington was the way her team had an early challenge of picking up its defensive pace.
“Our transition defense is what we’re focusing on, just getting the traps where we want them, and the rotations they way we want them,” said Washington, who is 9-2 all-time against UMKC and 13-5 in season openers on the road. “It’s really just a matter of communicating on defense and being ready to go.”
After two close exhibition victories, Kansas University women’s basketball coach Marian Washington has her team where she wants it.
Washington said the tight preseason games against the Solna Vikings and Fort Hays State University provided important opposition for her young squad before its season opener against Texas-El Paso at 2:05 p.m. today at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I’m really pleased with where we are right now,” Washington said. “I thought it was very good that we didn’t play two teams we were able to get by easily. I thought both teams challenged us to a good extent. That was important to us, as a young club, to have to work through things.”
The Miners won their season opener, 65-49, against the University of Denver on Friday in Denver. They will provide a different challenge to the Jayhawks with five international players, three of whom – forward Dragana Zoric and guards Vaida Zagurskyte and Kia Dowell – will likely start.
Washington said she expects UTEP to play an international style of basketball, focusing on passing, teamwork and solid shooting.
“When you bring international players in, there’s a different rhythm to their game,” Washington said.
“We expect that they’ll play man all the way, they’ll have an up-tempo style of play and they’ll be pretty good-sized players.”
Although each Jayhawk starter is as tall or taller than her Miners counterpart, UTEP has three other players 6-foot-1 or taller. Kansas has yet to face a team with that much height, but 6-2 forward Crystal Kemp said she welcomed the challenge.
“It’s always good to know you can play someone more of your size,” Kemp said. “It’ll really get me ready for the Big 12 and bigger players in general. It’s nice to start off facing bigger players, rather then all of them coming at you at the same time.”
Along with a wealth of international players, UTEP has numerous Kansas ties. Coach Keitha Green posted a .774 winning percentage in five years at Independence Community College, and five Miners played at Kansas junior colleges.
The two teams also have another connection heading into their first-ever meeting. Kansas was 5-25 overall and 0-16 in the Big 12 last season, while UTEP was 3-25 overall and 1-17 in the Western Athletic Conference in Green’s first season.
Despite the Miners’ struggles last year, Washington said she’s sure Green will have them prepared.
“She’s not going to be doing anything other than trying to get that program to be contenders in that conference,” Washington said. “She’s hard-nosed in terms of player-to-player defense, she’s relentless in terms of the up-tempo game.”
Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoKansas University’s football season is over, but the Jayhawks still have a lot of work to do.
“I’ll take a couple of days off at the end of February,” first-year KU coach Mark Mangino said Saturday after a 55-20 loss to Oklahoma State in KU’s season finale.
The 11 other Big 12 Conference schools all have at least one regular-season game left, and eight are bowl-eligible. Mangino hopes to turn that to his advantage by getting an early jump on recruiting before the contact period begins Dec. 1. Signing day is Feb. 5.
After a 2-10 season, which included an 0-8 conference mark, there are many holes to fill. The Jayhawks must replace 18 seniors, including 13 who started Saturday.
It also is likely that there will be some defections among KU’s underclassmen. Mangino said Nov. 2 after a 64-0 loss to Kansas State that there were “a few” players in the program who need “to get on with life’s work.”
KU ranks 115th out of 117 Division I-A teams in scoring defense (42.25 points per game) and ranks 97th in scoring offense (20.67). There were problems on special teams as well. The Jayhawks, for example, rank 106th in punt-return average (6.53 yards).
“To be honest, we need to improve in every area,” Mangino said. “There’s not one area of the game that doesn’t need attention and doesn’t need to improve :quot; offense, defense and special teams. As far as recruiting goes, we’re on some quality players from all over the place.”
Like the coaching staff, there won’t be any vacation for players who plan to return for the 2003 season. The Jayhawks will begin a rigorous offseason workout program this week with strength and conditioning coach Mark Smith.
“You’ve got to go out and prove yourself because there are going to be guys out there competing for your job every year,” said junior Curtis Ansel, who ranks 28th in the nation with an average of 42.1 yards per punt. “That’s just like life. If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, you’ll get replaced.”
KU already has at least four non-binding oral commitments – West Platte, Mo., quarterback Adam Barmann; Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College defensive lineman Michael Pruitt; Lawrence High running back Brandon McAnderson; and Oak Park, Mo., offensive lineman Reid Kirby.
Pruitt won’t be the only junior college player Kansas lands. Mangino acknowledged that KU will need to fill “immediate needs” with transfers. Those needs include offensive line, where KU loses five seniors who started at least three games.
The Jayhawks also lose their top two wide receivers – seniors Byron Gasaway and Marcellus Jones.
“We’ve got an opportunity for a lot of players to come in here and play, and a lot of players want to do that,” Mangino said of recruits. “That opportunity exists.”
Recruiting new players won’t be enough to turn the program around, though.
“We’re going to get some quality players in here, but we have to develop players in the program,” Mangino said. “We’re not going to go out and recruit a whole new team this year. That’s not going to happen. We have some young kids in our program who have to improve themselves from a physical standpoint in terms of power, speed, quickness and change of direction.”
The Jayhawks are eager to improve after being outscored 164-27 in their last three games.
Now what are they going to do about it?
“Just learn from this, and understand that we do not want to be in this position next year,” junior quarterback/defensive back Zach Dyer said. “We do not want to be on the losing side of the ball. We need to do whatever it takes to go out there and win. I think everybody has a bad taste in their mouths from losing, and they know that we do not want to be in that place again. Everyone’s fed up with it and has had enough. I think we need to translate that into hard work and put everything we have into this.”
Mangino will need more from his returning players than just hard work in the weight room and effort in spring drills. He also needs their help in recruiting.
“How you deal with your players becomes an issue when recruits are on campus,” Mangino said. “The overwhelming majority of the players on our team – probably everybody – sees that there’s progress, and I think recruits will have a good visit with our players. I don’t care how good or bad your program is, the contact those recruits have with our players are crucial. These kids can have a great impact on whether a kid makes a decision to come here.”
¢
Hurst home: Guard David Hurst was dismissed from Lawrence Memorial Hospital on Sunday morning after being held overnight for observation. The senior had a seizure Saturday in the locker room after the OSU game.
Earl Richardson/Journal-World PhotoDAYTON, OHIO ? Sick to his stomach on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jeff Boschee felt much better on Thursday.
That’s good news for Kansas University’s suddenly thin men’s basketball team, which starts what it hopes will be a long NCAA Tournament run tonight against Cal State Northridge.
Tipoff for the first-round Midwest Regional battle is 6:40 p.m., Lawrence time, at University of Dayton Arena with a live telecast on CBS.
“I was dehydrated,” explained Boschee, KU’s junior shooting guard who has felt “faint, tired, exhausted” the past couple days as he’s battled flu-like symptoms.
He didn’t practice Wednesday, but did on Thursday.
Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo“I didn’t feel too good. But I’m close to 100 percent now and think I’ll be 100 percent for the game. If my stomach starts to act up, there’s some medication I can take that should settle it down.”
That comes as good news for the No. 4-seeded Jayhawks (24-6), who face a guard-loaded Northridge team that boasts the country’s assist leader in Markus Carr.
“They are quick, athletic and play the same way we do,” Boschee said of up-tempo play. “Markus Carr looks pretty good on film. We’ll have to contain him and the big guy (Brian Heinle, 20.4 scoring average) on the high-low (pass).”
Already without Luke Axtell (back), Bryant Nash (knee) and Mario Kinsey (academics) the Jayhawks are down to walk-on Brett Ballard for backup play at the guard slot.
Ballard started on the Blue team (first team) at Wednesday’s practice. He still wore a blue jersey Thursday, but Boschee also shared time on the starting team.
Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo“I guess I can tell my grandkids: ‘One day at practice I started for Kansas,”’ Ballard said. “I don’t know if they’ll believe me.
“It was a little weird after being on the Red team all year. I’m ready to play, but I knew Jeff would be back. I think he’s OK.”
Ballard was asked if he felt he could start for Cal State Northridge a 22-9 team that has not received a lot of national attention despite winning the Big Sky regular and postseason championships.
“I’d say, ‘No,”’ Ballard said. “I don’t think I can start for many Div. I teams. They look like they have a really talented team. We’ve got to contain their point guard and also stop their big guys. If we make our big guys a big factor, it should be a big factor in the game.”
KU big men Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Eric Chenowith will tower over a Northridge team that pretty much plays four guards plus Heinle.
Just three players score in double figures Heinle, 6-3 John Burrell (14.5 ppg) and 6-5 Jeff Parris (13.9). Carr averages 8.6 points and 8.9 assists.
“Carr is the motor, the engine that makes the whole thing run for them,” KU coach Roy Williams said. “He’s sensational pushing the ball and getting it to the right people, to Heinle in areas he can score.
“Heinle presents matchup problems. You don’t want Eric chasing him around the three-point line.”
The Jayhawks have viewed parts of three tapes on Northridge and everybody’s impressed.
“I think it’s going to be a fun game,” KU point guard Kirk Hinrich said. “The tapes I saw they were pushing the ball and we push the ball. It definitely could be high scoring.”
The Jayhawks are not worried about lack of depth because of injuries. Remember, CBS schedules eight TV timeouts (each 2:40) during the tourney.
“We are fine. We are 20-years-old,” Chenowith said. “I think we’ll find some energy to play with. I think guys will be fired up and step up. And like coach says, those timeouts are very long.”
“At times you’d like to have more depth,” senior Kenny Gregory noted. Nine Matadors average 8.5 or more minutes while the Jayhawks, with Boschee, have seven true scholarship players to use.
“Unfortunately we have some injuries. You’ve got to be prepared to play. This time of year you go out there and you play as long as need be.”
The Jayhawks say they are hungry after a week of rigorous practices. On Thursday, KU worked out for about two hours at a high school gym then had a lazy shootaround for an hour before a handful of fans at Dayton Arena.
“You turn on TV: ESPN and College Basketball Tonight really don’t talk about us much,” soph forward Gooden said. “When the seedings were announced, you didn’t hear anything about Kansas. I think we have something to prove to ourselves and society.”
And a lot to prove after three straight years of winning one game, then losing the next in the NCAAs. The winner of tonight’s game will meet either Syracuse or Hawaii at 11:10 a.m. Sunday for the right to travel to the Sweet 16 in San Antonio.
“I feel more hunger than pressure,” Williams said. “I really do want this team to experience it. I want to experience it myself. It’s a lot of fun to continue in this tournament, a lot of fun to practice another week, getting to know you play the following weekend.”
With just over 21/2 minutes left in Kansas University’s last women’s basketball game, the Jayhawks held a 75-point lead.
More than a few fans scratched their heads when they saw two KU starters hobbled guard Jennifer Jackson and forward Jaclyn Johnson report to the scorer’s table to check back into the lopsided game.
KU went on to beat Mississippi Valley State, 116-34, the most lopsided victory in program history.
It might have seemed odd at the time, what with Kansas coach Marian Washington lamenting health problems for more than a few Jayhawks, but Washington insisted there was a method to her oddness.
“I don’t have a veteran ball club,” Washington said. “We have players who have to play. When you have an opportunity like this, you have to take advantage of it. It’s not like everything’s clicking for us.
“We have to get the personnel we have to work together right. I tried to mix it up and still play everybody. But our next game is against Arizona. We had to use this game. We didn’t bring them all the way up here to sit back.”
Whether Washington’s decision to take out the frustrations of a two-game losing streak on the Devilettes will pay off will be known tonight. Kansas (6-3) will face UA (9-2) tonight in Tucson.
Tipoff is 7:30 p.m., with a live telecast available locally on cable channel 50.
Arizona is no Mississippi Valley State.
The Wildcats, who, like Kansas, haven’t played in eight days, are coming off a 79-68 victory over Nebraska in the final round of the San Juan Shootout. UA’s only losses were to No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 14 Auburn.
Arizona, which is receiving votes in both national polls, is shooting 44.9 percent from the floor this season and is outscoring its opponents by 18.9 points per game.
Five Wildcats average in double figures in scoring. Veranda James, who did not play in San Juan, leads UA with 16.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Elizabeth Pickney (15.2 points per game), Reshea Bristol (13.5 ppg), Tysell Bozeman (11.0) and Krista Warren (10.5) also average in double figures.
Kansas, which has eight players averaging 15 or more minutes per game, has just two double-digit scorers Johnson, at 17.4 ppg, and Brooke Reves, at 14.4.
KU beat Arizona last year, 71-68, in Lawrence, and Kansas holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series.
After tonight, the Jayhawks will head to California Santa Barbara for a New Year’s Eve meeting with the Gauchos. Tipoff for that game will be 4 p.m.
Kansas will return home for its Big 12 opener on Jan. 6 against Baylor.
KANSAS (6-3)
F Brooke Reves, 6-0, Sr.
F Jaclyn Johnson, 6-1, Sr.
C Kristin Geoffroy, 6-6, Jr.
G Jennifer Jackson, 5-10, Sr.
G Selena Scott, 5-5, Jr.
F Krista Warren, 6-2, Soph.
F Elizabeth Pickney, 6-4, Jr.
G Reshea Bristol, 5-10, Sr.
G Tysell Bozeman, 5-8, Jr.
G Amiee Grzyb, 5-7, Fr.
Tipoff: 7:30 tonight, McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz. Live telecast: Cable channel 50.
6Sports video: KU men’s basketball meets with press
Hear Bill: Oct. 14 Media Day comments
NBA talk bothers Giddens
Sign up for cell phone updates
KU NCAA practice gallery
Jayhawks ready to fight
6Sports video: Lady Jayhawks open season
