ie$
ip and Tem
y have in lit
mpletely re-
exasmayslj
[on Bow],
VVC play las
By TONY GALLUCCI
Staff Sports Writer
Everybody has become obsessed
ith the slogan this year that goes
Next Year’s Here’. Most people
ronnect the slogan with the football
going to tie ;eam, while it, in fact, applies to the
; entirely« basketball squad also.
Coming off of a disappointing
15-11 season the Aggie hoopsters
the Ten!
A&M wim
ndtheHora are generally conceded to take the
wl. If the Ip'
Gator W the season of 1969-1970.
Cotton Bowl
e past, Te.«
p. As usual.
Your
Pick
3
;s vary fro®
1, business
school, *•
Ags picked to take SWC crown
THE BATTALION Page 7
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1974
‘Next Year’s Here’ refers to cage fortunes too
SWC crown for the first time since
A quick perusal of three
is in anotlei magazines shows quite differing
itorBowllil bpinions. “Basketball Action ’75” is
A&M. While less than inept in their preseason
ing the little picks and will be discarded from
consideration as an “expert .
“Action” gives Texas Tech the
10d as SWC champ, followed in
jrderbySMU, Texas, Baylor, A&M
andTCU. The magazine is not inept
brnot picking the Ags first, but be
cause: A) Most teams were given a
power’ rating by the magazine,
lech received no rating, SMU,
Texas and A&M were all given a
rating of 85, TCU received an 80
and Baylor a 76. Rice and Arkansas
were not rated. Baylor’s offense was
called poor and their defense good
while A&M’s offense was called
good and the defense very good.
Where’s the logic. The other two
magazines, “Popular Sports Bas
ketball 1975 ”, and “Cord Sportfacts
College Basketball Guide 1975’
both agree on A&M as SWC picks.
"Popular Sports” goes with
A&M, Tech, TCU, SMU, Texas,
Arkansas, Rice and Baylor. "Cord
Sportfacts” sees A&M, SMU, Tech,
Texas, Arkansas, Rice, Baylor,
1(1
^ V0 0 n a point basis we will go with
A&M, Tech, SMU, Texas, TCU-
Arkansas tie, Rice and Baylor. But
then we picked Baylor last in foot-
toll.
Here is how they shape up.
TEXAS A&M
Six of the top eight players return
and five excellent newcomers
hould make the team a genuine
las proven 1)
an compete,
the scholar
hie to geN contender.
them estal
:1 mature tie
i experience
ind gainint
Gray said
■ seniorclas
bat grpup.d.
provided jf,
dedicate
’leadership
le share®
e fellows.
Walter Robertson writes in
“Popular Sports”, “In Shelby Met
calfs dozen years as head basketball
coach at Texas A&M, he’s seen
more muscle than a Pennsylvania
truck stop. Give him just an ounce
or two of finesse and you usually
have a bonafide contender for the
Southwest Conference champion-
shit).'”
He goes on to say that since the
Ags are making noise they must
have a little finesse. But he denies it
saying Metcalf found something
better. More muscle.
The only heavy on the court loss
will be leading scorer Randy
Knowles. The big off the court loss is
team leader Joe Arciniega. Seniors
John Thornton, Cedric Joseph,
Jerry Mercer and Mike Floyd re
turn to add a base for Matcalf s bul
lies.
Thornton, the biggest surprise in
Metcalf s package in years, came on
strong the second part of the season
after gaining a starting berth to
finish second in scoring at 12.7 be
hind Knowles. His average was
helped by an amazing 53.6 per cent
accuracy from the field. Joseph was
the No. 3 scorer and leading re
bounder at 9.3 per game. Mercer
was also up there percentage wise at
55.5 from the field.
Floyd was the fifth Aggie to aver
age better than ten points per game
last year and led in assists with 83.
Top returning reserves are Ray
Roberts and Webb Williams.
Other veterans are Bruce Ott,
Steve Chambers, Leroy Baerwald,
Dale Donaldson and Kim Wiatt.
Chuck Tone returns after a year s
absence from the team. The top
newcomers which will vie for start
ing berths are freshman Doug
Mezger, Sonny Parker from Min
eral Area JC in Missouri, Barry
Davis from Hill County JC, Steve
Jones also from Hill County and
Gates Erwin from a JC in Florida.
TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders won more
games than any other SWC team
last year but were one loss back of
champ Texas. Coach Gerald Myers
has to come up with replacements
for Richard Little and Don Moore
both combination wizards. Of the
returning veterans, note Rick Bul
lock. One of the monsters of the
conference at 240-lbs., he averaged
21.4 points and 10.7 rebounds and
had a tough 58.7 percentage from
the field. Standing behind Bullock
will be William Johnson and Grady
Newton. Watch out for Randy Lig-
gins, aJC transfer. At shooting posi
tions, Tech’s most valuable asset
could easily be Phil Bailey, hailed as
one of the best pure shooters
around. Bryan Mauk, a ball hand
ler, could sub for Bailey as couls
Steve Dunn.
SOUTHERN METHODIST
UNIVERSITY
The Mustangs stormed to an
eight game winning streak at the
end of last season to finish tied for
second with Tech. SMU was picked
to give the Ags a go of it in
magazines which had to meet an
early deadline. The concensus was
that with four starters returning in
cluding preseason All-America pick
Ira Terrell the Stangs could do little
wrong.
But Big Daddy (NCAA) saw it
different by deciding that Terrell
could not play to add to the woes of a
University struck heavily with foot
ball problems. Terrell, a
junior, led the conference in scoring
and rebounding last year.
The other three starters will still
make a hefty contribution though,
with Oscar Roan leading the way.
Rusty Bourquein will add depth to
the lineup. Bourquein, like Thorn
ton, spent most of the early season
on the bench but came on strong for
the Mustangs in their last eight
games. John Sagehorn could do
something for the Raiders as could
any of several good recruits, the
most well known being Jeff Swan
son.
TEXAS
The Longhorns produced a sea
son last year that should fit some
where in Ripley’s believe it or not.
The team won the conference title,
had the top scorer and won the race
for best shooting percentage.
So what, you say? Well consider
this. The Longhorns finished with a
losing season. After going 1-12 in
andre’s bike shop
305 University Drive • 713/846-0951
sales • parts • repairs • accessories
gitane • jeunet -follis • motobecane
pre-conference, the Longhorns
turned the table at 11-3 during con
ference play to end at 12-15. With
Larry Robinson and Harry Larrabee
gone, the Horns should have about
the same record, only the wins and
losses will be spread out a little
more evenly over the season. Dan
Krueger and Hank Bauerschlag
must enlist transfer and freshman
and benchwarmer help to stay of!
the bottom of the ticket this year.
There is plenty of competition for
starting spots but very little experi
ence. Watch for Jeff Boothe, Ed
Johnson, Tommy Weilert, Gary
Goodner and Mike Murphy. A cou
ple of other possibilities are Mike
Lien, Brett Taylor and Rich Parson.
ARKANSAS
Despite the loss of Head coach
Lanny Van Eman (39-65) there will
probably be no improvement from
Fayetteville this year. Dean Tolson,
an alltime record holder at UA, and
Dennis White have departed leav
ing little more than remnants of a
high scoring (86.1) team. Jack
Schulte, Dan Pauley and Curtis
Drake must lead a bunch of fair
talented newcomers.
Remember the names, Charles
Terry, Marvin Delph, Jim Counce,
and Tom Maxwell. They may be
synonymous with Arkansas basket
ball this season. Ricky Medlock is
the only name left that is anywhere
near a household name and he
might not play. Medlock broke one
of the oldest of conference records
after recording a 92.9 free throw
percentage last year.
TCU
Johnny Swaim, probably the
most disagreeable coach in the con
ference, lost four seniors to gradua
tion. The Horned Frogs finished
last in the conference last year and
their only chance to move up this
year is the fact that the others below
have accumulated more problems.
Lynn Royal is the biggest hope,
providing he has recovered from
eye surgery. Wayne Wayman could
add a little depth. TCU walked off
with a couple of the state’s most re
cruited schoolboys in Dirk Hoyt.
But what they can do for the team
could be minimal. Look for Thomas
Bledsoe, Ted Jones. Gary Landers,
Alonzo Harpis, Rick Hensley,
Robert Hollie and Eddy Fitzhugh
also.
RICE
The race for last is apparently as
close as that for first and foremost
among contenders is Rice. It is most
likely that the sparse talent return
ing will make a happy winner out of
new coach Bob Folk.
The Owls bring back a lot of star
ters and a lot of familiar names but
each did little for the team. Return
ing will be Tim Moriarty, Charles
Daniels, Danny Carroll, Pete
Meyers, Howard Laidlaw, Mark
Keitel, Chuck Saus, Jeff Tunnell,
and Dwight Whitson.
Five super newcomers led by
All-America Frank Jackson might
add a little punch. The others are
Dave Louwerse, Doug Nally, Alan
Reynolds and James Simmons.
BAYLOR
The Bears have done little since
they won the title in 1950. But then
again how long has it been since
they were in competition for the
Cotton Bowl. Charles Dawson in his
second year as coach might get his
team to find .500 worth of competi
tion hut don’t bet on it.
Probably the best man on the
squad is Gary McGuire who takes
the place of departed Charles McK
inney. McKinney was the lone
spark in a smoldering log for the
Bears last year. Again, for the Bears
a squad of no-names will back up
McGuire. Listen for James Weaver,
Tom Hutchinson, Hay Downs, Tom
Rufus, Craig Bishop and on and on.
The Aggies first opponent will
enter the confines of rowdy G. Rol-
lie White Coliseum this Saturday.
The holidays will he about half
through, but the Ags could use a
show of confidence in their first out
ing. A good crowd could set the pace
for the season. TCU finished strong
last year with a 19-8 record. Leading
returnees are 6-8 Steve Porter and
6-3 Herbert Lee.
The JV’s first game of the season
will precede the varsity game at G.
Rollie. They will play San Antonio
College.
BEER BUST
Bonfire Night—Any Beer on Tap:
$1.25 A PITCHER
Lone Star—Schlitz—Michelob
Budweiser
r
311
University
846-1713
CURE “TERM PAPER FRIGHT’
ERROR-FREE TYPING
NYLON TYPING RIBBON
CORRECTION RIBBON
ERRORITE
™ AT YOUR
CAMPUS STORE
WITH ERRORITE!
John Thornton takes a jump shot in preparation
for Saturday’s opener with Texas Lutheran.
Lacrosse team loses
against San Antonio
By PAUL McGRATH
Staff Sports Writer
The Aggies came close hut not
close enough as the more experi
enced San Antonio LaCrosse Club
sent the Maroon and White back to
College Station with a 6-4 loss.
The lack of A team personnel ob
viously hurt the Ags as inconsisten
cies in teamwork were seen
throughout the game. Fast breaks
gave A&M good scoring oppor
tunities, however a foilure to pass off
to open men cost them key points.
San Antonio controlled the game
with their greater experience which
was shown in their superior passing
game.
A&M is now 1-1 with both games
having identical scores of 6-4. A&M
will face the University of Texas for
the second time, having beaten the
Horns previously, in Austin this
Friday just betore the football
game. The team will begin Texas
Lacrosse League play next semes
ter.
a
The Bank of A&M
Will be closed
all day Thursday/November 28
(for Thanksgiving)
and at noon on Friday/November 29
(to settle unfinished business in Austin)
18
Have a safe holiday
:
'' ■ ' ’ ki' M
■ : ■
Biff!
i®.
jr m
m
-
Touchdown at
McDonald’s
before and after the game
in Austin
McDonald's
6 AUSTIN LOCATIONS
1-35 North and South
UT Campus - 2 Locations