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By TONY GALLUCCI
Sports Editor
Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 29,
1979— Due to a mixup in the prac
tice schedule thirteen members of
the Aggie basketball team sat watch
ing Rutgers— stomped by Minneso
ta 98-59 the night before — as they
got in their final warmup prior to the
consolation final of the Pillsbury
Classic tourney. It gave them plenty
of time to ponder. By taking a shoddy
last-second 70-69 win over Chicago-
Loyola the Aggies had the good for
tune to be facing host Minnesota in
the finals of this tournament.
Coming into this game, the Aggies
had lost four games in the young sea
son, four more than some people had
expected.
After a rough opening act, howev
er, they had bounced back and taken
the title at the Rebel Classic in Las
Vegas. To do so they had to hand
Nevada-Las Vegas its first ever loss
in that go-round. Minnesota had
likewise never lost a Pillsbury Clas
sic game. After this night’s action the
Golden Gophers would still have a
perfect doughboy record.
All-Americans are not made at
home. Seldom are they made in one
season.
In the Southwest Conference it is
still hard to be recognized as a bas
ketball team — much less reap indi
vidual honors. And so it was that the
basketball world focused its atten
tion on Rudy Woods, the 6-11 sopho
more center from Texas A&M.
Sports Illustrated illustrated him.
Street and Smith’s prognosticators
called him Best in the Southwest, a
dominator’ Maybe it was a little too
much to ask of Rudy Woods that he
become great only two years into his
college career.
Last year the Aggies amazed
almost everyone by racing through
some perennial powers on the way to
their best season ever. Things may
have jelled just right at just the right
time although the loss of the SWC
title smarted a little. Nevertheless,
attention was focused on the handful
of young men from College Station
whoso disdainfully dispatched Ken
tucky and Indiana and San Francisco
and Nevada-Las Vegas and New
Mexico — who so casually stopped
most all comers with “The Wall” —
Woods, Rynn Wright and Vernon
Smith. And in looking for a reason it
was natural to look to the big man —
pnee the most “highly coveted” big
man in the country. He was awe-
iome in many of the team ’s j^rform-
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ances but to the extent that other
players should be overlooked? No.
Against Minnesota, Woods came
up against what most every pollster
considered a bona fide first team All-
American at the post, Kevin
McHale.
Woods told me before the eame
that he knew McHale s moves. In
deed he should — having played
alongside him on two national teams
last year. But McHale also knew
Rudy’s moves and took him to task.
McHale doesn’t have any of the
physical tools Woods has — which
points up the tremendous potential
in Rudy. McHale, though, benefits
from something Rudy has yet to
obtain — four years of experience.
Top that off with four years in the Big
Ten and you have two critical factors
which make McHale an All-
American. One, he is playing against
the toughest of all competition —
there is little doubt that the Big Ten
is the best basketball conference in
the nation — and two, those who
must vote are in contact every game.
Writers and coaches are as constant
ly aware of Big Ten basketball as they
are ACC ball and Pac-10 ball.
Rudy Woods certainly has the
right foot in the door, people are
watching him, and that is extremely
important. But he must also play
well. Now that the pre-season scram
ble is over, the conference must be
attended to. Following that is post
season play where even more people
are in tune. For Rudy, only time will
tell. Let us not hasten the judgment.
Time isn’t standing still for two
other Aggies, however; two who
have not gotten their due.Vernon
Smith and David Britton.
Britton is about to finish up his
all-too-short career at A&M and the
pros are looking. David has played
consistent ball lately and would like
nothing better than to get a chance to
strut his stuff elsewhere. Smith is
perhaps the best ballplayer to hit
A&M since Sonny Parker left here
four years ago. Vernon is a bonafide
All-American right now, but you
would hardly guess by the press he
gets.
There are 56 games remaining to
be played in the Southwest Confer
ence basketball race this season, but
one worth thinking ahead about will
come on Jan. 22 — a week from
tonight.
That is when Texas A&M and
Arkansas meet for the first time this
season, and after the events of the
first two weeks of the campaign have
been catalogued it appears those are
the teams to beat.
The Aggies, who have begun to
play well after a slow start, and the
Razorbacks, playing at their top level
of the season, emerged as the only
unbeaten teams in conference play
last week.
And they will be favorites to stay
that way this week.
Texas A&M reached the 3-0 mark
with its 63-60 win over Texas Tech
early last week and Arkansas became
3-0 with a 55-50 triumph over Texas
in Austin Saturday.
“If Texas A&M does not run away
with things we might have a chance, ’
Arkansas coach Eddie Sutton said
last week. “If things balance out and
everybody loses four or five games
we might be one of those in there
fighting.”
But with the road win over Texas
under their belts, the Razorbacks
now have a slight advantage over the
Aggies. The Razorbacks will almost
certainly be considered the favorites
in every other conference game they
play this year — with the probable
exception of their trip to Texas A&M
and the possible exception of their
visit to Texas Tech.
The biggest threat to either the
Aggies or the Razorbacks this week
will probably come Tuesday night in
Dallas, where the SMU Mustangs
will host A&M.
SMU, 1-3, is coming off a dis
appointing road loss to Houston — a
game in which the Mustangs led by
eight at the half only to collapse in
the second period.
Although A&M had an 11-5 con
ference record last year and SMU
was only 6-10, the Mustangs defe^
ated the Aggies in Dallas last season,
78-76.
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THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1980
Page 3B ?
Coach: send team to Olympics
United Press International
DALLAS — George McMillion,
coach of the most powerful collegiate
swimming team in the southwest,
said Monday if President Carter
wanted to punish the Soviet Union
for its invasion of Afghanistan he
should let American athletes com
pete in the Olympics and keep the
tourists home.
“Finances is the name of the
game,” said McMillion, head coach
at SMU. “If we didn’t let people go
over there and spend money it would
hurt quite a bit. But the athletes
should be allowed to go. ”
McMillion has served on the
American coaching staff at the last
two Olympics, his team is trying for
its 24th straight Southwest Confer
ence championship and at least four
members of his club have a chance to
make the Olympic team.
“I know that some of the best
times the youngsters spend at the
Olympics are when they visit with
athletes from other countries,”
McMillion said.
“Maybe some of these young peo
ple will grow up to be leaders in their
countries. And if they get along at
the Olympics they have a chance to
get along later in life. That increases
the chances for peace and that’s what
I care about.
“I don’t want to steaj the quote — I
heard it from former Olympic cham
pion John Nabor. He said, ‘they once
stopped wars to have the Olympics.
Now they want to stop the Olympics
because of a war.’
tough decision to make and I’m glad I
don’t have to make it. But we are
always talking about keeping politics
out of the Olympics and here we are
putting it in.”
“You’ve seen those commercials
that say, “America does not send
athletes to the Olympics, Americans
do. ’ Well if America doesn’t send the
athletes to the Olympics I don’t see
how America can stop them from
going. Of course, I know it can hap
pen that way.
“I know President Carter has a
McMillion said any threat of a
boycott would not slow down the
preparation of American swimmers.
“The swimmers won’t slow down
until it’s time to go to Moscow,” the
coach said. “They will never give up
hope of going. They will train as hard
as they can for the Olympic trials (set
for late June in Austin) because that
is a harder meet than the Olympics. ”
SMU Mustangs to try to break
Aggies’ unbeaten conference string
United Press International
Southern Methodist will try to
throw a roadblock in front of the
Texas A&M Aggies tonight and if the
rest of the teams in the Southwest
Conference could help the Mus
tangs, they would.
“If they beat us on our home court
they will be in pretty good shape,”
said SMU coach Sonny Allen.
Texas A&M goes into tonight’s
round of conference action tied for
the league lead with Arkansas, both
at 3-0. A&M’s trip to Dallas will be
its first major road test, having play
ed only TCU on the road in the SWC
season.
Arkansas has a slight edge in the
schedule since the Razorbacks own a
road win at Texas.
The Mustangs need a win badly to
keep alive any hopes of making a run
at the league title. After going 8-2 in
intersectional play, SMU has put
together only a 1-3 conference re
cord — losing at home to Texas and
on the road to Houston and
Arkansas.
SMU has won its home games with
Texas A&M the past four years,
however, including a two-point deci
sion last year when the Aggies were
ranked 19th in the country.
Arkansas will host Baylor, 1-2, in
the other feature attraction Tuesday
night while Rice, 1-2, will visit Texas
Tech, 3-1, and Texas, 2-2, will be at
home against TCU, 0-4.
Texas is expected to pick up its
first conference home victory of the
season, having lost at home to both
Texas Tech and Arkansas.
SMU scored 60 points in the first
half against Houston last Saturday
night, only to be held to 21 points
during the second half in a 96-81 vic
tory for the Cougars.
“We have played some good bas
ketball at times and I know we are
capable of doing so again,” said
Allen. “If we can beat A&M then we
are back in it. They have some very
good players, but if we play tough
against them we can handle them.
“A&M isn’t just good on paper.
They are good when you hit the
floor. What you have to do is just pull
that zone in tighter and fight it out.
They have lost five games so they
have weaknesses. But even if you
know what those weaknesses are vou
aren’t always able to anything about
them.”
The Aggies’ chief problems last
year, and early this year, concerned
their guard play. Because of incon
sistent play in the backcourt the
opposition could play a tight zone
and slow down A&M’s tall front line
of Rudy Woods, Rynn Wright and
Vernon Smith.
For the last two weeks, however,
A&M has played excellent defense
and has had quality performances
from Woods, the 6-11 center who
when on form is the most dominant
player at his position in the confer-
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