Hide Article Text (OCR)
Some LHS athletes stick solely to basketballWally Reed chuckles while recounting his one season as a Lawrence High varsity football player.“Last year, I figured I’d go out and give it a try,” smiled the 6-1 Reed, a member of LHS’ basketball team, which opens its season against Shawnee Mission East Friday night at the LHS gym. “I stayed out the whole year, but I didn’t play at all. I figured maybe I better stick with basketball.”»Henc4 Heed skipped football this year —' becoming one of several Lions cagers who participate in just one sport.“I love all sports,” said 6-6 center Kevin Armitage. “But it’s just thatwith academics and everything, it’s easier to concentrate on one — to have just one season.“I played three sports in junior high,” he added. “I decided this was the only sport where I could give the coaches back the same amount of time and energy they were givingme.SOME OF the non-football playing, basketball players worked out religiously during football season.“We played basketball every night — Kevin, Paul Johnson and myself,” said 6-3 guard Hobb Zinn, whose football career was cut short after he underwent knee surgery a fewGaryBedoreV/.“No matter what time of the year, you can get a game up,” said Armitage. “You get better each time you play.II*seasons back. “We lifted weights and got into shape.”“I got a chance to work on a few individual things,” added Reed. “By . playing a lot, I improved my shooting and dribbling skills. ’ ’It’s easy to find strangers willing to play basketball in Lawrence. Just take a peek at any of the crowded courts in town.THAT’S OBVIOUS enough. But one most certainly can’t blame several members of the LHS cage team — Jan Demby, Dane Griffin, Carlton Hamm, Fred Hunter, Jamie Steinhauser, Bret Morris and Scott Serratte — for also playing football.“Ever since grade school, I’ve played football and basketball,” said the 6-2 Hunter, an honorable mention Sunflower League football pick this past year.“If you play both, and give the same effort in both, you like bothequally. Some guys play just one sport all their lives,” he continued.“I couldn’t do that. I like staying active. I’ve got to be involved in sports somewhere.IIThe two-sport Lions do, however, begin basketball season at a disadvantage.“Yes, the football players were rusty at first,” said Zinn. “It helped the rest of us during the first few practices.Zinn, however, quickly added it didn’t take the gridders long to get their court skills back.“THOSE GUYS are talented athletes,” said Zinn. “A guy whoplays two or three sports has to be a great athlete or he's at a big disadvantage. There’s so much competition from guys who just play basketball.”Don’t tell the football players they suffered ANY handicap at all.lt;lt;No, I won’t use that as an escape,” said Hunter. “I gained a lot from the football season. As long as I live I’ll have that pain of losing (to SM Northwest in playoffs). That hurt is always there. Now we get another chance at them in basketball and another chance to have a winningseason.llIn other words, for Hunter, two sports are better than one.
Newspaper Details
Lawrence Journal World
Lawrence, Kansas, US
Thu, Dec 10, 1981
Page 23
Full Page
Clipped by
Fred S.
KS, USA 09 Sep 2021
Other Publications Near Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence Journal World
Journal World
Lawrence Daily Gazette
Lawrence Daily Journal World
Lawrence Chieftain
