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The Battalion Sports
Friday, April 1, 1983AThe Battalion/Page 9
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Coogs, Akeem hope
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United Press International
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—
The legend of Akeem Abdul
lajuwon is growing so rapid-
that someday the folklore
may contend he actually
blocked out the dust which
sifted through the site of the
CAA basketball champion-
hip Thursday.
Unfortunately for those
pthering at the University of
New Mexico, neither Ola-
juwon nor anybody else could
Dam do anything about the clouds
of grit that turned throats
raw.
interet
Sew
dieschu
ied extensm
pons,
ceduresust
'g the set®
:)r gia, Floric
But it is going to take a little
more than dust to choke off
Olajuwon in his momentum
;athering outburst that could
ring the Houston Cougars
heir first NCAA title.
“I didn’t know how big the
NCAA was until we lost last
year," said Olajuwon, Hous
ton’s seven-foot center who
has become the dominant
name of this year’s Final Four.
“We could have won. We
had a good team. But we
didn’t realize it until after
North Carolina beat us. It was
too late then.”
Houston made it this far a
year ago before falling to the
eventual champion North
Carolina Tar Heels, 68-63.
This year Olajuwon has play
ed as if he knows what it takes
to win.
In three NCAA tourna
ment games Olajuwon has hit
26 of 35 shots from the field,
blocked 13 shots and grabbed
26 rebounds.
“For a player who has been
playing for such a short time,”
said Louisville coach Denny
Crum, “Akeem is one of the
best I’ve ever seen.”
Olajuwon will have a
chance to build on his new
found national publicity
Saturday when the Houston
Cougars face Louisville in the
second of the semifinal
matchups.
See COOGS page 10
r
>
The progn
care for
Lewis says Coogs need
to pass over L U press
United Press International
HOUSTON — Guy Lewis
elieves the best way to flaunt
lOuisville’s withering press is
lo pass over it, and it’s a good
ping he believes that for the
itke of the No. 1 Houston
lougars.
Lewis’ team dribbles with
Ihe worst of them.
Whether the Cougars can
mes, Wofll loas their coach admonished
bem in their final home prac-
ice Thursday may go a long
ty in determining one team
n the NCAA Tournament
|nal.
Houston plays the No. 2
Louisville Cardinals Saturday
in Albuquerque, N.M., in a
semifinal.
“I guess I’ve spoken at ab
out a thousand clinics on
presses,” he said. “I feel like I
know as much about it as any
body. And the way to beat it is
to pass.”
Lewis, 61, is a frequent
speaker at sports clinics. At
them he tells coaches the
safest route upcourt under
pressure from the opposing
team is found by passing. Pas
sing produces mismatches, he
See PRESS page 11
Staying alive
Aggies host Razorbacks this weekend in key SWC series
by Joe Tindel Jr.
Battalion Staff
When Texas A&M was falling
to the Houston Cougars for the
second and third times last
weekend, the Aggie outfielders
probably were wishing for
clouds.
But tonight, Aggie baseball
coach Tom Chandler no doubt
is hoping for weather more
characteristic of mid-spring.
Chandler said he thinks it may
take such weather to lift pitcher
Rick Luecken out of a slump
that’s seen him go winless in
Southwest Conference play.
Much is riding on the per
formances of Luecken and the
rest of Texas A&M’s front-line
pitching this weekend. The
Aggies will host the Arkansas
Razorbacks for three games —
one beginning tonight at 7:30
and two Saturday, with the
opener beginning at 1 p.m.
“We’ve been struggling, and
our pitching has been struggling
most of the year,” Chandler
said. “Rick Luecken started at
TCU (where the Aggies went 2-
1 against the Frogs) and didn’t
win. He started at Houston and
didn’t win.
“Last year, Rick, from mid
season on, was one of the best
pitchers in the league. I think
he’s just one of those kinds of
fellows that just take the warm
weather in the spring to kind of
get moving and come to the
front.”
But if spring weather includes
bright sunshine as most people
envision it, Aggie outfielders
may want to make a compromise
for Saturday’s daytime double-
header. That same bright sun
was responsible for a couple of
errors in the Aggie outfield last
weekend that put runs on the
scoreboard for the Cougars.
However, it’s Texas A&M’s
recent pitching woes that have
Chandler concerned as the
Aggies, 2-5 in conference play
Texas A&M
in a recent
shortstop Tim Cartwright tags a runner
game against the Minnesota Gophers.
photo by Peter Rocha
Cartwright and the Aggies will face Arkansas tonight
at 7:30 in a key conference match up in Olsen Field
and 21-8 overall, enter this
series.
“We’ve had to reach back,”
Chandler said, “and some of our
second-line pitching has really
improved. I think Luecken is
just in somewhat of a slump
right now.”
This weekend’s games are key
ones because the Razorbacks, 3-
6 in SWC play and 22-9 overall,
already have played enough
conference games to indicate
their relative position in the con
ference race.
They won’t be competing for
the top spot.
But they will be battling for
what appear to be the only two
spots in the SWC tournament
Houston and Texas will allow
anyone but themselves to have.
And the Aggies will be trying to
snatch the other spot.
Three victories for the
Aggies will set Arkansas way
back, and maybe give somebody
else a chance to slip into one of
those tourney spots in place of
the Hogs.
On the other hand, three
Hog victories also would make it
tough on the Aggies.
If Chandler’s assessment of
Arkansas’ strong points is cor
rect, the Aggies will need to
watch the short game when the
Hogs go to the plate.
“They have a» lot of speed,”
Chandler said. “They can run
the bases. They’ve already stolen
over 50 bases. So we’re going to
have to cut down their running
game and short game of bunting
and hitting and running.”
And while the Aggies are at
the plate, Chandler will be look
ing for some clutch perform
ances from left fielder Bobby
Beach, who’s leading Aggie bat
ters with a .468 average, center
See Aggies page 11
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