The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 12, 1979, Image 12

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 12, 1979, Image 12

Newspaper Page TextPage 12 THE BATTALION MONDAY. FEBRUARY 12, 1979 | the sports Disappointed Aggies host Longhorns From si ■rmer Tex. By MARK PATTERSON Battalion Staff Saturday night’s loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders was possibly the most disappointing defeat of the season for the Texas Aggies. Disappointing because the loss virtually ended this season’s South west Conference title hopes for the Aggies. Texas A&M’s conference record stands at 9-4, good for a third-place tie with Tech and two games behind league-leading Texas with three games remaining. At the beginning of last week’s ac tion Coach Shelby Metcalf said that the Aggies, if they hoped to win the SWC, had to win two out of their next three games, against Arkansas, Texas Tech and Texas, with one of those victories over the Longhorns tonight. At best, the Aggies can only win one of the three, having drop ped the first two ‘must’’ games. “As a team, we haven’t been ready to play these last two ball games,” Metcalf said after the 67-63 JX'S NO SUP£NMUM iS’S TEXAS IS THE ONLY TEAK THAT HAS WO N E.VERY HOWE GAME TH/S YEAR / MAKE 3=3 TIME Pay Off Help Supply Critically Needed Plasma While You Earn Extra CASH At: Plasma Products, Inc 313 College Main in College Station Relax or Study in Our Comfortable Beds While You Donate — Great Atmosphere - $ 10 00 Per Donation — Earn Extra — Call for more information loss to Tech Saturday night. “We brought 11 players out here and only nine were ready to play. “We just couldn’t get ourselves ready. If there are one or two players not ready they distract you. We have to have everybody going to win. We have some problems, but we ll take care of those.” For the second game in a row the Aggies came out ice cold in the first half, connecting on 8-of-26 shots from the field for a 30.8 percent shooting mark at the break. The second stanza was somewhat brighter with the visitors hitting on 42.1 percent from the field, hitting 16-of-38 shots for a 37.5 percent mark for the game. “I have to admire the guys for the way they came back in the second half,” Metcalf said of his players making up the 12-point deficit they faced at the half. “I was really disap pointed in our defense in the first half. But everybody looked good de fensively in the second half. Rynn (Wright) and Vernon (Smith) really worked their rears off.” As did Steve Sylestine, the junior two-year letterman who came off the Aggie bench to hit five-of-six shots and four-of-four free throws for 14 points, trailing only Wright’s 22 for the Aggies. “Tonight was one of those games where you found out who had it under their shirts,” Metcalf said. “I’m really proud of Sly’s play to night. He came in and played re laxed, good basketball. We got another basketball player back to night.” Sylestine discounted his perform ance when approached after the loss. “I’m disappointed with the team,” Sylestine said. “It’s been a frustrating year. “This was probably my best game of the year because I was so relaxed. I’ve been too nervous, but tonight I played comfortable. But what good it is; we lost. I thought we were ready to play tonight, but appar ently we weren’t. We were in the locker room before the game yelling and seemed to be fired up, but I guess it was just a front. Apparently we weren’t ready.” Rudy Woods was one of the Ag gies who appeared to be not ready to play Saturday night. Against the Red Raiders, Woods was held to six points and collected five rebounds in the game. It was the third straight game that Woods was ineffective on the boards, collecting only four in each of the last two games before the Lubbock trip. “I’m in a slump and can’t get out of it,” Woods said after the Tech loss. “The team was ready to play tonight and I wasn’t. Tech didn’t shut me down, I shut myself down. “This is the worse game I’ve played. I haven’t been dedicated enough. I need more work to break this streak. I have a day in between now and the Texas game and I’m going to work, starting tonight.” Vernon Smith is disturbed about the Aggies’ play of late as well. “We didn’t come out ready to play and I don’t know why,” Smith said. “Things aren’t going the way they ve been going, not like earlier in the year. And something’s got to happen to snap us out of it. “We have the best people and it’s up to those individuals. If want to win, we ll win.” The Aggies will try to salvage some pride when the Longhorns in vade G. Rollie White Coliseum to night at 7:30. It will give Texas A&M a chance to climb to within a game of the league-leading Long- Putting bread in someone’s mouth can be more rewarding than all the bread in your pocket. In VISTA. That’s the beginning of the end of a lot of the problems in America. And we need you to help. We don’t care about your age. Where there’s a problem, there’s a solution. And it could be you, in your community or someone else’s as a VISTA volunteer. VISTA is coming alive again. Come alive with us. Call VISTA toll free: 800-424-8580. Or write VISTA, Box A, Washington, m mm MV A D. C. 20525. W IW I #% H! A Public Service of This Newspaper & The Advertising Council ACTION CAMPAIGN NEWSPAPER AD NO. ACT-77-815 (2 Col.) horns and improve their chances for a third-place finish in the SWC race. “We’re going to have a lot of pride riding on that Texas game,” Metcalf said of tonight’s contest. “The school record for wins in a season at A&M is 21, so if we can win our last three games we’ll finish with 23. We still have a pretty good shot at finishing third this year. “A victory over Texas would give us some momentum goingi post-season tournament, \\|| afford another loss. We throw this (race) intoatieaiiJ| many as we can before thej ment. “We’ll be tired Monday but when those people start in G. Rollie we won’t feelth* We can’t afford to.” viewpoint U has b [all coach a »rsity soui jssissippi a news > in Starkv Hon of Be lunced. >llard vis Thursday [dered the host vacati jr fire of I [llard, wh( mid-sea mined he By MARK PATTERSON Battalion Staff | He said come f als. he peoph very gra this wee nents she Enough of that big band sound exai Basketball fans attending tonight’s game are going tobecha out of real entertainment during the halftime break. Instead of: Longhorn Loves (Texas’ answer to the Jollie Rollie Dollies) perfa ing for those in attendance, the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band some more songs that all sound the same. The Loves contacted officials of the University in an attend dance during the half, but somewhere along the line the offen refused. “I haven’t ever heard of the Longhorn Loves,’ Band Directoi Col. Joe T. Haney said of the offer. “But even if I had, 1 still w object to them coming here. The halftime is our chance toped# Perform? I question the expression. During the halftime of SMU game two weeks ago the band played five songs. Befort game the band played seven songs, including the War Hymn, Spirit of Aggieland and The Star Spangled Banner. That s a songs lor the nigVit and 1 would bave sworn that 1 heard tlie same two or three times. What is amazing is that the band is allowed into every basket game that they decide to attend free plus it has an entire section seats) reserved for members and their dates in a choice section of stands. Why? “It’s been like that ever since I came here in 1973, Haney soned. “It’s a tradition Tradition is fine to a point, but when it becomes unrealistic time to abandon tradition for more sound reasoning. Onesugges would be to put the band at one end of the court. The practice of placing the band at end-court is followed by conference schools. At SMU, the 96-member band sits at one and plays music throughout a game, good music that thefanseij And those of you who went to the Baylor game in Waco weretre I ard run: To colt, third, irst, 7-1 (me second, 1 first, 6.2 9 PE 7i to one of the best sounding hands heard all year. There wereonk musicians composing the group. Why can’t Texas A&M lead of the other conference schools? „ “I don’t care what the other schools do, Haney exclaimed, 'sMlrv what we want to do here at A&M. We do what our men want and continue to do so. “Texas has 150 members at their games. And 150 migtil adequate for what they want to do. But at A&M we (the bandit always done everything in a group. That’s the way it’s alwaysk done.” Traditionally, the band’s job at any sporting event has bees entertain the fans and help the team. Though the Aggie band mi be successful at one of its functions, it is lacking at the other. “Back when Col. Adams was hand director (preceding Haney band was worth one to five points a ball game for us,” Coach Sk Metcalf remembered. “He just had a knack of knowing when top when not to, when to speed up the tempo and when to slowitdff He was an asset.” Haney holds a different attitude on what the band shoulddodm a game. “I was told that we weren’t suppose to play during the game,) at time-outs, before the game and during the half, ’ Haney said. 1 I don’t want to get into the reasons why we quit playing during games. When questioned if the band helps, members of the Aggie b ball team, who wished not to be identified, were vehementlyag the band. “Let us listen to our own music,” one starter said. “Wewanttoj before a game. That’s why we made our own tape to play in ups. But when the band comes they start playing their stuff aid' can’t hear the tape. “Why don’t they just play the school song? All we need is support, not their music.” Every player who voiced an opinion, either pro or con, didaf on one thing: 252 band members plus their dates are too many to supply music in a 7,500-seat coliseum. “The band gets me fired up, but they have way too many peop< voiced one. One player seemed to sum up the attitude of the team when 1 spoke his thoughts on the subject. “We (the basketball team) have been talking about this for al time,” he said. “The main gripe is that some of our fans who been following the team four years, hack when we weren’t thisl aren’t able to see a game anymore. The band takes up an $ section, a lot of seats that fans could be better utilizing.” Which is the basis for this column. This isn’t a put-down of) Texas Aggie band. True, there is no finer band on or beside a f field than ours. But beside a basketball court the 252-piece Fightin’ Texas Band is grossly out of place. r COME LEARN TO DANCE SQUARE DANCING! AGGIE ALLEMANDERS FUN NIGHT FEB. 12 7-9 P.M. MSC 201 LAST NIGHT! FOR MORE INFO CALL JULIE DEITCH 845-6373 MELANIE HARRIS 846-9267 JU: Hug Of Si and boo St 1. 2. 3. 4. i

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

Texas A&M Newspaper Collection

The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 12, 1979, Image 12

Are you interested in including a title to our archive?

Follow us!