Kansas’ success
surprises coach
Jayhawks have won
. eight straight without
injured star Vaughn.
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
These days the only thing slowing
down the Kansas basketball team is fi
nal exams.
Playing
without injured
All-American
point guard
Jacque Vaughn,
the Jayhawks
have surprisingly
rolled to a 7-0
record and last
week took over
the No. 1 spot in
. The Associated
Williams Press poll.
KU continued to prove its worth
beating George Washington (85-56)
Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse
in Lawrence, Kan. The game was the
final bump in the road before final ex
ams begin today.
Kansas Coach Roy Williams said
juggling practice time and studies has
been hard for his players. The
Jayhawks did not practice Sunday or
Monday before returning to the court
Tuesday.
“It’s extremely difficult to get ev
erything we want to get done at this
time of the season,” Williams said dur
ing the Big 12 basketball coaches tele
conference Tuesday. “With finals start
ing this is a difficult time for our team.”
So far this season the game-time
tests have not been difficult for the
Jayhawks.
Kansas had one of its most impres
sive performances of the season Sat
urday, beating UCLA 96-83 in Los
Angeles. ^
Against the Bruins, Raef LaFrentz
scored a career-high 3d points.
LaFrentz also had career-bests making
13 field goals, attempting 21 field goals
and having three assists.
Replacement point guard Ryan
Robertson showed Vaughn-like flashes
dishing out 11 assists against UCLA.
In Vaughn’s absence, Robertson has
seen increased playing time.
Robertson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore from
St. Charles, Mo., has averaged 32.4
minutes per game compared to just
nine minutes he played per game last
season.
He has become the Jayhawks’ ere
North Division
Iowa St 5-0
Colorado 4-2
South Division
Oklahoma 5-0
Oklahoma St 3-2
ator, dishing 45 assists compared to
turning the ball over 16 times in seven
games.
“Once the game starts he’s con
cerned with not giving it away,” Will
iams said. “I’m pleased with the way
he has filled in for Jacque, and I do
hope he continues to improve.”
This season, Williams has seen con
tinuous improvement out of his team.
After opening the year with a shaky
win at Santa Clara, KU picked things
up beating Louisiana State, California
and Virginia winning the Maui Invita
tional in Hawaii.
The Jayhawks beat San .Diego 79
72 Dec. 1 at Allen Fieldhouse in then
first home game of the season.
Last Wednesday, KU kept its mo
mentum rolling beating preseason No.
1 Cincinnati 72-65 at the Great Eight
Tournament in Chicago.
Last night’s win over the Colonials
was the first of a five-game home
stretch. The Jayhawks have won 31
consecutive games at Allen
Fieldhouse. KU plays North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina State,
Washburn and Brown at home before
opening conference play Jan. 4 at Kan
sas State.
By then a healthy Vaughn is ex
pected to be back in the lineup.
“I’ve never been one to look down
the schedule recordwise,” Williams
said, “but if you would have told me in
September when Jacque got hurt that
we would be 8-0,1 would have been
astounded.”
Russell continues
NU swimming legacy
RUSSELL jump from page 13
“I learned a lot about myself in the
water in the Olympics,” Russell said.
“I learned about tfhat I needed to do
and what 1 didn’t need to do to win.
“I learned so much in the Olympics,
it’s hard to put in words.”
NU Assistant Coach Jan Bidrman,
who coaches Nebraska’s breaststrokers
and coached Heyns on her journey to
gold, is a man of few words when it
comes to describing Russell.
• On her breaststroke: “She’s one
of the top eight in the world.”
• On her Slot at winning an NCAA
Championship: “She can win it all.”
• On her work ethic: “She is ex
tremely competitive. She really wants
to win.”
Before Russell began her Nebraska
career, Bidrman said one knock against
Russell was she lacked intensity.
“I’ve never seen that from her at
all,**. Bidrman said. “She was pretty in
tense from the day she got here.”
Living in Nebraska almost the en
tire year, Russell gets the chance to
return home oily once. She spent last
summer training and competing in
preparation for the Summer Games.
Still, Russell said Lincoln is her
second home.
“It hasn’t always been easy,”
Russell said. “But the people and the
team make you feel so good about be
ing here. It’s like a family.”
Another motivating factor has been
the presence of Heyns. Russell has
known Heyns since they were 12. The
two often worked out together in Lin
coln and pushed each other in Atlanta.
Heyns has been a major factor in
Russell’s development, Russell said.
“Penny has helped with the mental
part of racing,” Russell said. “She
taught me how to leam from each
race.”
Husker track teams ready
for tougher competition -
By Vince D*Adamo
Staff Reporter
In the Big Eight Conference,
Coach Gary Pepin’s Nebraska
men’s and women’s track and field
teams win conference titles more
frequently than congressmen get re
elected. Every year.
With the advent of the Big 12
Conference, the Comhuskers look
to continue their winning legacy.
Even though big-name track
schools like Texas, Texas A&M,
Baylor and Texas Tech have joined
the league, Pepin said NU’s goal of
being on top has remained the same.
“Our goals haven’t changed,”
Pepin said. “We still want to finish
in the top 10. We haven’t talked
about it with the team, but they
know.”
The Husker women’s team won
17 straight Big Eight indoor cham
pionships and had won 16 straight
outdoor titles before placing second
behind Colorado last spring.
On the men’s side, the Huskers
won the last three indoor champi
onships and the final two outdoor
titles in conference history.
Pepin said competition in the
Big 12 will simulate running in a
national championship meet.
“There won’t be very many easy
points,” Pepin said. “It’ll hrobably
be one of the top two or three con
ferences at the lowest.” )
Facing tough competition is just
fine with shot putter Tressa Thomp
son. Thompson, who nojds the
Husker indoor shot put record, said
the teams in the Big 12 will prepare
Nebraska for top-caliber NCAA
competition.
“Any meet that’s like a minia
ture national meet will help you a
bunch,” Thompson said.
Very few coaching changes will
also contribute to continued suc
cess, Thompson said. Pepin begins
his 17th season as the women’s
coach and 14th year as the men’s
coach.
“Leadership has been good for
our team because they know how
to prepare the athletes,” Thompson
said.
Besides Thompson, Angee
Henry, the defending NCAA indoor
long jump national champion, re
turns to lead the women.
Sprinter Charmaine Burton, a
transfer from Riverside Community
College and triple jumper Dahlia
Ingram from Liberal, Kan., figure
to contribute right away, Pepin said.
“Both have looked real good,”
Pepin said. “They^re^roven com
petitors who have won all kinds of
records and championships.
“They were gifted athletes be
fore anyone started coaching them.”
On the men’s side the distance
races should give NU an advantage.
Jonah Kiptarus, who finished sec
ond in the NCAA cross country
championships in November, will
compete in the mile and 3000-meter
run. Cleophas Boor, who placed
third in the cross country champi
onships, should contend for national
title honors in the 5000-meter run.
High jumper Shane Lavy and
long jumper Joe Laster are two field
athletes that figure to be strong in
the conference, Pepin said. Chris
Wright, a transfer from Kansas City,
Kan. Junior College, figures to push
Laster in the long jump.
The Huskers open the indoor
season Jan. 18 at the Kansas State
Open.
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