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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1983)
Texas A&M The Battalion Sports Thursday, November 3, 1983/The Battalion/Page 13 n Reaching goals JV< th ioi lie an Aggie basketball star Britton returns for degree; hopes to aid youth after graduation inted by Dave Scott Battalion Reporter When David Britton is asked iout his life in Harlem, New epresen.ork and the ghetto, he man- :ams m ^es to first bring out the fortun- mesen e aspects of his upbringing. :ationsa: “Harlem was a great political Pavilic: irum back in the 60s,” Britton lid recently. “The foremost olitical leaders always came icre first.” OpCH But there were unfortunate ipects of living in Harlem as ell. And Britton’s upbringing, o doubt, was an education he Sluder, ill not soon forget, inform Another education Britton •LL, ud jhe will not forget is the one rnceinfre learned as an athlete on a big- idsporme basketball team. That is, Jicah owjto cope with adversity, liriluali Britton, co-captain of Texas ,&M’s Southwest Conference hampion basketball team in 980, says he fell short of his 'iken asketball goals because he isted just 10 days in the NBA. Summing up his career, Brit- msaid: “I fulfilled my goals (of nd art caching the NBA) but I didn’t OS.K jstain them.” Now, four years after leaving i&M, the ghetto-born Britton is ack in school to finish his edu- 28-Dci adan and accomplish the new ilion oals he has set for himself, and me: Britton says he wants to corn- ion. lete his B.A. in journalism and o on to help young athletes as a .. onsultant/agent. Britton said !WDU e knows how some athletes are aisinformed and he feels he has ae right kind of experience to . elp them. tldHi To say the least. Britton has plenty of experi- nce, both on and off the basket- r studr.. e Colltp all court — you might say he eufferi /as born with it. rather talk about the future, cer tain events during his upbring ing in the ghetto are difficult to forget. “Looking out the window in Harlem, it was just as exciting as watching television, you can find action in both,” he said. Britton has memories of vio lence and abundant drugs, but there was a bright side. For inst ance, he had the opportunity to meet such personalities as Mal- com X, Muhammad Ali, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. But Britton said he remem bers “masses” of people stand ing on street corners, shooting up with heroin. Britton said he remembers seeing older friends succumb to this type of environment, yet he feels he was never seriously tempted by it — and he credits that to his parents. “I really don’t think I could have resisted on my own,” Brit ton says. From the time he was old enough to attend school, his pa rents made sure of that. Britton said his parents placed him in an open enroll ment program which meant he would be bussed out of Harlem to a predominately white school in the Bronx. It allowed him to be educated by better teachers but it also gave him the chance to come back to Harlem after school, Britton said, to “keep up his black cul ture.” And part of that “culture” in Harlem is basketball. Not your everyday basketball either — street basketball of the most in tense kind. It didn’t matter that baseball David Britton is back at A&M trying to finish his studies and earn a B.A. in journalism. And although Britton would was Britton’s first love, basket ball was a way of life in his neigh borhood. “The rule of Harlem,” Brit ton called it. “When you reach a certain height you are expected to participate.” Although Britton was only 5- 8 when he started playing, word spread of his incrediblejumping ability. “I’ve been able to slam since I was 16.” Britton grew to 6-2, but it was still his jumping ability and quickness carried him to his short stint in the NBA. Britton was playing in the Continental Basketball league when he was contacted by the Washington Bullets. It was dur- ing the 1981 season and Washington needed Britton to replace a guard that had been injured. The Bullets signed Britton to ly. Fori UT-Husker game ‘impossible’ he Batu United Press International DENVER — Officials of the -NClAA and the universities of Mebraska and Texas say there kill be no national champion- /^/>hip football game between the <VA wo schools next January. Barry Fey, a promoter of rock :oncerts and other events in De nver, had guaranteed the schools $1.5 million each to play v -he game at either the Super- mm Jome or the Rose Bowl in mid- [anuary. But an NCAA spokes- 0 savy man said the game between the was collation’s two top-ranked teams Mango Wou Id violate NCAA rules, and the gn officials of the schools said they )s. ped vvere n ° l interested. UTu! David Cawood, assistant ex port ofecutive director of communica- jgatjoaitions for the NCAA, said NCAA Division I schools are limited to 11 games and a postseason bowl t and game each season, investip “A game like this simply re not couldn’t happen without some - lawerspecial act of legislation by the itil the NCAA,” Cawood said Tuesday, them “I’d say it’s just impossible.” DeLoss Dodds, Texas athletic director, said he had written to 1 itional Fey saying the “game is contrary io wori to NCAA rules, and we simply ‘ unit aren’t pursuing it.” “As a fan, I’d love to see such a game,” Dodds said. “As an administrator, it simply won’t happen.” And Nebraska Athletic Direc tor Bob Devaney said the Cor- nhuskers “simply aren’t in terested in that one.” “I don’t care how much money he might guarantee or whether or not he gets approval from the NCAA,” Devaney said. “I’m not going to waste my time talking about it. “The national champion is decided at the end of the bowl season by the polls,” he said. “And besides, we’re No. 1, so why would we want to play the No. 2 team?” inveslif •ly gi iled to T Jan. e Ann!! osecuti lild "i!! scle rei ir’s offi ■d a cas 6 11 n a er cor icnts ir snd uiiifi^ don co 1 nit a? spiral E ain TC err Som^y^uej 2919 TEXAS AVENUE*BRYAN, TEXAS 409/779-0065 •AM/FM DIGITAL with clock CASSETTE $79.00 KENWOOD 2100 AM/FM AUTO REVERSE SALE $199.00 List 139 List 289 •Clarion 300EQB 80 watts - 5 Band SALE $149. Clarion 100EQB $89.00 MUST LISTEN TO BELIEVE! •6x9 400 Watts ^ Power Handling $1 89.00 List 249 X -Lifetime warranty- LOWEST PRICES •Clarion 7500R AM/FM Auto Rev 40 watts SALE $209.00 LARGEST SELECTION IN BRAZOS COUNTY $1795 & UP! ■A KEN WOOD-JVC-PROTON-LINEAR POWER-CLARION-KENWOOD- CONCORD-PANASONIC-BLAUPUNKT-MAGNUM-PIONEER-METROSOUND- MAJESTIC-BABB LAYAWAY FOR CHRISTMAS a 10-day contract — a fairly com mon practice in the NBA. He played in 5 games during that time, and by his own estimation, he held his own. At the end of those 10 days, Washington let him go and he wasn’t contacted again. “At the time,” Britton says, “I wasn’t real depressed, I didn’t realize that it was my last shot.” He thought he would go back to the CBA to wait and try to make a name for himself in the pro ranks. A few months later he was out of competitive basket ball forever. Britton already had a name for himself when he transfered to A&M in 1978 after 2 years at Potomac College in West Virgi nia. And at A&M his name and basketball skill continued to grow. Britton says the highlight of lis playing days as an Aggie was vinning the Southwest confer- ■nce championship in 1980. He was named most valuable player of the SWC tournament. But being a most valuable player was nothing new to Britton. Once in a championship game of a high school tourna ment, he scored 56 points when his team was down to 3 players because of fouls. Britton’s team won the game and the tour- namnet. “I usually play well in tourna ments and under pressure,” Britton said. “Before I play a game, I always believe that I’m going to win. If I believe that I’m going to lose then I don’t need to go out there. All I can do is hurt myself.” His stats as an Aggie tell the story. The 2 years Britton play ed for Texas A&M, the Aggies had a combined record of 50-17. “At A&M winning is the bot tom line,” Britton said when asked about how he got along with coach Metcalf, “so we got along. You can talk all you want before, but the bottom line is winning. And that meant talking more after the game.” After the SWC tournament Britton had nothing to do until the NBA draft in June. He was drafted in the 3rd round by the Dallas Mavericks. He lasted a little over a week be fore being cut. Britton said that was an emotional low point. “First, I had expected to be drafted before the 3rd round,” he explains, “and because Dallas was an expansion team, when I got there I was surrounded by players who had years of experi ence. They just didn’t need a rookie guard.” Britton didn’t give up. He tried the CBA until he tore car tilage in his knee and he was forced to quit. But basketball was the only thing he quit. >ei hi se re< m in s* I David Britton stares down a defender during his playing days as a guard for the Aggies. “I tried to get a job after the injury, but I was turned down. My resume looked pretty good for someone off the streets but I decided I needed something to back it up.” he said. So Britton’s decision was to come back to Texas A&M. MSC Great Issues General Meeting Thursday, November 3 8:30 P.M. Room 410 Rudder YOU'VE GOT TO PLAY HARDBALL WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR CAREER THAI S WHY NSA OFFERS YOU THESE EXCITING CAREER OPPORTUNITIES ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING There are opportunities in a variety of research and development projects ranging from individual equipments to very complex interactive systems involving large numbers of microprocessors, mini computers and computer graphics. Professional growth is enhanced through interaction with highly experienced NSA professionals and through contacts in the industrial and academic worlds. Facilities for engineering analysis and design automation are among the best available. 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