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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1980)
ni;i: Iggies watching lei iW 1 Iritton on court )5 By TONY GALLUCCI Sports Editor Men David Britton burst onto Aggie basketball program a year no one really knew what to do. do you handle a player from York who comes in, knows he play and isn’t afraid to tell any- ? Well, if he’s good enough, I you get to see him play. And , in his senior year, not only are jes watching David Britton play, they are enjoying the result. For vid’s sake, let’s hope the pro uts who have ventured unto [ieland are enjoying his play also. share of the load. “Then came conference and that was different. The first time around I didn’t do so hot against the confer ence teams. But I improved the second time around.” Britton pointed out the difference was in the style of play. lumber 30 in white to those who ow Aggie basketball via G. Rollie lite Coliseum, Britton comes to xas A&M from Potomac State dor College in Keyser, West Vir- lia. Prior to that he was all-city at nnedy High School in the Bronx ere he had 56 points and 29 ro unds in one game. As a junior last r he started 23 games playing it head coach Shelby Metcalf calls >cond guard He averaged 10.2 ints for the Ags, dispatched 124 lists and led the team in steals with In 16 games thus far this season is averaging 9.9 points (11.6 in VC play). “We didn’t get to play as wide open as we had earlier in the season against the bigger, ranked teams. And then Rudy was coming on and the other teams started to clog up the middle. My thing is driving and penetrating, and once that middle was clogged up I was mostly dishing off to Vernon (Smith) and Rynn (Wright). My game suffered a little but it was a transition and once I got through it I did better. I think I was getting back into my game in the NIT.” [f Britton did so well in the East iy would he come to A&M? 1 picked it, for one, for Academic Isons and when I came down here isited with a lot of the players and |y suited my style,” says Britton. 1 wanted to do was play basket- — the Southwest Conference is up and coming — and the sche- le was fantastic. I wanted to play re to show them what I could do. ” David’s really come around, he’s ying really good ball,” said Met- f "He has the respect of his team- tes and is willing to sacrifice for team." Sritton had to settle in lightly. Nigh. always thought I could come htinand play. I didn t think coach even think about putting me the bench unless I didn’t play up what I was supposed to. But I In’t realize Tyrone (Ladson) was aeworkingwith the team as a unit ! Dave Goff had been here for tee years. Tyrone got hurt right before Alas- and I got to start and things went i from there — I had a couple of )od games. I was scoring about 20 tints a game, getting some re- tinds — you know, carrying my As for this years’ teams’ fortunes? "Most of the teams are waiting for us. They’re so intent on beating us. Dur ing the tournaments we didn’t have the hunger we had last year. It was a combination of psychological and physical factors. “Vegas was a good test for us. We made some mistakes, but we won and that’s what’s important. We’re hungry for competition now. The seniors want to win the conference — we want those rings.” Britton feels the toughest part of the season is coming up. “The toughest games might be in Arkansas and in the Drum (Austin). SMU is a tough place to play, too, and don’t forget Tech.” Britton’s play has fluctuated from no points against Lamar to 30 against Nevada-Las Vegas. “I’d been having back problems up until we played at Brigham Young. Usually I’m just thinking about basketball, but for while I was having problems at home — thinking about that — thinking about school work and still trying to play basketball. Then all of a sudden we got to Vegas, and things cleared up and my mind was free. I was able to play better and show leadership on the floor. ” Metcalf is pleased with what Brit ton has added to the team and, "I think A&M’s been a good experience for him” said Britton, “A lot of people have been real good to me." The future of David Britton? He says he’d like to play pro ball. Met calf appraises him thus, T think he probably is a pro prospect. He knows how to play and he knows how to get along with other players.” United Press International Rice assistant football coach Tom ibehagen will become offensive coach at Texas A&M, Athletic irector Marvin Tate announced onday. Unbehagen, 37, who coached with ilson four years at Texas Tech, rved as offensive coordinator and ensive line coach at Rice. He will The Corps of Cadets gets its news from the Batt. B THE BATTALION TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1980 ^ L— MSC OPAS proudly presents Royal Winnipeg Ballet performing NAPOLI, DON QUIXOTE, WOMEN AND RODEO January 17/8:15 p.m. Rudder Auditorium/TAMU Tickets available at MSC Box Office or Telephone VISA/MASTERCHARGE orders & pickup at the door 845-2916 V» m »«-« »»» a a » m » xm Britton goes for a lay-up against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Photo by Lynn Blanco Sun Theatres I'Mil'MiilfliiTifl * NEED YOUR SUPPORT* 333 University o 4e The only movie in town Double-Feature Every Week 10 a.m.*2 a.m. Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m -3 a.wv Fri.-Sat. No one under 18 Ladles Discount With this Coupor. BOOK STORE & 25c PEEP SHOWS 846-980* ice s Unbehagen to be new ootball line coach for Aggies replace Dan LaGrasta, who will be assuming the position of recruiting coordinator. Unbehagen, a native of Brown- wood, Texas, played football at Texas A&I and coached at Westchester High School in Houston and Texas A&I before joining Texas Tech in 1971, leaving in 1975 for a job at Rice. 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