The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 30

D6 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2005 Sports SALINA JOURNAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL Chuck Long could be named San Diego State's football coach as early as today after spending the past four seasons at Oklahoma's offensive coordinator. The Associated Press COLLEGE BASKETBALL Shocks wrap up road trip Coming off loss to Michigan State, WSU faces UMKC By the Salina Journal KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Wichita State Shockers return to action tonight with a game against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Tipoff is 7 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium.

The women's game starts at 4 p.m. The Shockers (7-2) have had a week off since losing to Michigan State 83-64 Dec. 10 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit. The loss snapped WSU's four-game winning streak. Paul Miller led the Shockers with 21 points in the loss to Michigan State and leads the team in scoring (14.3 points) and rebounding (6.9).

Kyle Wilson averages 13.0 points, P.J. Couisnard 11.5 and Sean Ogirri 11.0. Miller, a 6-foot-10 senior, needs 12 points to reach 1,000 for his career. Tonight's game concludes the Shockers' three-game road trip that started with a victory over San Francisco on Dec. 6.

UMKC (3-4) has lost its last three games on the road at Penn State, Northern Iowa and South Dakota State and has lost four of its last five. The Kangaroos' latest setback was a 72-65 loss at South Dakota State on Monday. UMKC features three ers with double-figure scoring averages. Junior guard Quinton Day averages 19.7 points, junior forward Dee Aybua 16.1 and sophomore guard Tim Blackwell 14.1. Day is second nationally in- steals per game with a 4.3 av-.

erage, also averages 5.7 assists. Ayuba had 16 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to S.D. State. He also had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) in the Kangaroos loss to Missouri. Blackwell is- shooting 48.5 percent from 3- point range (16 of 33).

Kyle Spears, a 6-9 junior who played the past two seasons at Johnson County, is UMKC's starting center. The Wichita State women (3-2) defeated UMKC 71-60 on Nov. 29 in Wichita. Go west, Chuck Long Sooner expected to be new coach at San Diego St. 'CatS Martin the top SCOrer By BERNIE WILSON 77k' Associated I'wss SAN DIEGO Former Iowa quarterback Chuck Long is expected to become the next head coach at San Diego State after spending four seasons as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.

Long's hiring could be announced as early as today, barring any unforeseen glitches, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because a deal was still pending. In Norman, Sooners cfoach Bob Stoops said Long was in San Diego for a second interview, adding that a deal had not been finalized. Long, 42, has been on Stoops' staff for six seasons. He'll replace Tom Craft, who was fired on Dec. 5 after going 19-29 in four seasons, including 5-7 this year.

San Diego State athletic director Jeff Schemmel has refused to comment on dates, but said at the time of Craft's firing that he would hire a replacement "who can excite the community." This hire has Iowa and Kansas State connections. A month ago, after Kansas State's Bill Snyder retired, Long told reporters that he wasn't in a hurry to find a head coaching job because he was happy at Oklahoma, which played in the last two BCS national championship games. Long was recruited to Iowa by Snyder, then an assistant to Hayden Fry. Stoops, who played at Iowa and was an assistant to Snyder at K-State in the early 1990s, said he recommended Long to Schemmel, who was part of the management team that hired Snyder as the Wildcats' coach in 1989. Although this would be Long's first head coaching job, he has an extensive resume as a player and assistant coach.

While at Iowa, Long was runner-up to Bo Jackson for the 1985 Heisman Trophy in the closest vote in history. He guided the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl that season. He was Oklahoma's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach when the Sooners won the national championship in 2000, and was offensive coordinator when Jason White won the 2003 Heisman and when Adrian Peterson and White finished 2-3 last season. Long got his coaching start at Iowa in 1995 after playing eight seasons in the NFL, with the Rams and Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

He will inherit a program that hasn't had a winning season since 1998, when it went 75 and played in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Aztecs have played in only two bowls in the last 15 seasons. Coincidentally, Long will see plenty of San Diego in the coming weeks. Oklahoma will play Oregon in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 29, and the ers will practice at SDSU.

Hawk Hawkins knows Cali FROM PAGE D1 What Colorado needs as much as anything, though, is a football coach the school and community can rally around. Barnett became a divisive figure as his seven years at CU lingered, the memories of an unseemly recruiting scandal hanging over every move he made. Hawkins carries none of that baggage. What the 45-year-old coach does bring is a 53-10 record from Boise State over five seasons, four Western Athletic Conference titles, an exciting playbook that includes lots of long passes and trick plays and, to hear him tell it, a longtime desire to spend quality time in Boulder. "Some years ago, my children and I ran around and played catch down on the field down there," he said.

"I took my wife around here a little bit and we said, 'Yeah, we could do In words that he'll either revel in or be haunted by, he said Colorado should be shooting not just for the Big 12 title that seemed eons away in a 70-3 loss to Texas two weeks ago, but for the national title, as well. "1 think that definitely has to be the goal." Hawkins said. "To me, there are only two types of class first and none. You're either trying to be the best, or you're not." He said he wants to recruit the next Heisman Trophy winner and the next top pick in the NFL draft. Many at CU would be happy if he could simply land his own son, Cody, a star quarterback and national-caliber prospect up in Boise.

"I've always said the one key to recruiting is to recruit the mom," Hawkins said. "So I'm recruiting the mom hard right now." On one hand, Hawkins' task is formidable: He must restore confidence in a program that has suffered under withering criticism. He must do it in a community that is known to want a top-notch program but has been unwilling to accept the inevitable warts, or financial expenses, that come with it. On the other, his task is reachable: Colorado is only 15 years removed from its lone national title. Hawkins has established a solid foundation in California, a key recruiting area for CU.

The school, with the flatirons in the background, is beautiful. And, of course, the Buffs have shown how badly they want to sweep away the past and start over. "This marks a new day for the university," president Hank Brown said. Hawkins, who met briefly with the CU players Friday, will coach Boise State through its bowl game, Dec. 28 against Boston College.

He will officially become Colorado's head coach on Jan. 1. He hasn't hired his new staff, although it figures he'll try to bring some assistants from Boise State, where the offense led the nation in scoring in 2003 and the WAC in 2004. His offensive coordinator, Chris Petersen, was promoted to head coach Friday at Boise State. Bohn's search took only a week.

The only other person known to have interviewed for the job was Jon Embree, a former CU player and current UCLA assistant. Embree, who is black, had the support of many in the CU community, including former coach Bill McCartney. "I'm disappointed we didn't pick a black coach," said Milt Branch, who is on the board of directors of the alumni association. "I like Jon Embree, but I also have enough confidence in Mike Bohn to believe that his choice was the best available choice." Boise State promotes from within By CHRISTOPHER SMITH The Associated Press BOISE, Idaho Boise State promoted offensive coordinator Chris Petersen to head coach Friday, hours after Dan Hawkins left to take over at Colorado. The Broncos have been one of the top scoring teams in the country in the five years Peterson has directed the offense.

He also served as quarterbacks coach. Boise State led the nation in scoring in 2002 and 2003 and averaged more than 41 points this season. "Hawk always said that one of the reasons we got the things done here we have is the chemistry is just unbelievable," Petersen said, "and that will be my goal, to get that same mojo and chemistry going on with the staff here." When he officially takes over Jan. Petersen will receive a five-year contract worth $2.5 million, pending approval from the Idaho Board of Education. Hawkins will coach the Broncos in the MPC Computers Bowl against No.

19 Boston College on Dec. 28, a game played in Boise State's home stadium. He was in the first of a five- year contract extension worth $2.6 million when he left. "We are very fortunate to have the best person for this job be someone who has been on our staff for the past five years," Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier said. At a news conference at Bronco Stadium, where Boise State has won 31 straight games on the blue artificial turf, Petersen became emotional when he thanked Hawkins.

"There's certain people I can't say too much about because I might tear up too much and then you're going to think you have a wimpy football coach," he said, wiping his eyes. THINKING OF MOVING YOUR 40 IK? Rollover to Shelter Insurance 1 and ask about our tax-qualified Shelter IRA. Jean Curry, CLU, LUTCF 2737 Belmont Salina, Ks. 67401 785-823-5129 Shelter Life Umtnnce Columbia, MO www.shclteriniurance.com Shelter Toda; of Vernon 123 N. Sana Fe 785-825-0531 "ii FROM PAGE D1 "It's always a difficult time of year because of the pressures of finals and trying to get energy out of them on the floor during the day as well," said Wooldridge, noting that the Wildcats have had both good and bad practices during the break from games.

Bethune-Cookman, which has not played since falling 8858 at Florida on Dec. 9, is 2-2 in its last four games. The Wildcats also beat Savannah State and Florida at home and fell 61-48 at Central Florida during the stretch. Antonio Webb, a 5-foot-10 senior guard leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game, followed by 6-7 senior forward Michael Williams with 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds. Sam Barber, a 6-6 forward, adds 12.4 points a game.

Bethune-Cookman gave the Wildcats problems two years ago at Bramlage before the Wildcats rallied in the second half for a 66-52 victory. Get your Christmas t-shirt now! "It's all about us." Jim Wooldridge K-State coach "They're an athletic team," Wooldridge said. But he's more concerned about his own Wildcats than those from Daytona Beach, and the Mid-Eastern Ath; letic Conference. "As we always tell our team, it's not about the opponent, it's about us," Wooldridge said. "How we get ready to play and our energy level and execution and things like that.

"We've got to play well. We've got a team coming in here that has nothing to lose, so those are dangerous situations." The Wildcats have established three solid offensive threats so far in junior Cartier Martin (19.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and guards Lance Harris (13.6 ppg) and David Hoskins (13.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Junior Mario Taybron started at point guard in place of sophomore Clent Stewart in the Colorado State game and probably will again tonight, Wooldridge said. "We'll hope we got the rust off of us and we haven't lost anything in conditioning and we want to see if we're a better team than we were a week ago," he said. "We've got some guys who are really performing well and we need some more.

"I think that translates back to us again. It's all about us." After tonight's game, the Wildcats take their second and last nonconference road trip Tuesday to Northern Illinois. The players will then have three or four days off before reconvening for a Dec. 29 home game against Belmont. 108 N.

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