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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1989)
Irhe Battalion SPORTS 9 : riday, November 17,1989 Sports Editor Tom Kehoe 845-2688 Ag hoopsters start season Sunday S Former Seton Hall star Gaze leads Australian Olympic team By Clay Rasmussen Of The Battalion Staff ■The Texas A&M men’s basketball team opens its 1989 basketball sea- y to i [son Sunday afternoon in an exhibi- game against the Australian day 1: iOlympic Team. JtoJ'tip off is set for 3 p.m. at G. :lies f ; Rollie White Coliseum. ■The Australian team, which fin- itsd, isned fourth in international compe- and jtition at the Seoul Olympic games, dmif mas proven that it can compete with U,S. collegiate teams, beating the ! e | t |University Texas El Paso, Arizona llfLlbte and Arizona. nofM Arizona ^ as t> een ranked as high as No. 2 in preseasdn polls. [(djjBMetcalf knows the type of damage :w 'Be Australians can inflict. The Aus- -JBs, with former Seton Hall guard- /foi ward Andrew Gaze, are an excel lent oassine ream. Metcalf said. “Any team that beats Arizona and Arizona State is an outstanding team,” Metcalf said. “Gaze was a great three-point shooter at Seton Aggie Basketbaii m earn exhibition game Sunday af~ t. Plenty or tickets are avail* • Site: G. Rollie White Coliseum • Matchup: Texas A&M A host the Australian Olympic in an exhibition ternoon able. • Tipoff: Sunday at 3 p.m. • Records: A&M (0*0), Australian Olympic Team (4-3) • TV/Radio: The game will not be televised; No radio broadcast is planned Hall and will be exciting to watch.” The Australians are 4-3 on their U.S. tour and have games remaining against the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas before they bring their seasoned defense to College Station. “Because of their experience, they can change their defense while the ball is in play,” Metcalf said. “That’s something that is very difficult to do.” Metcalf will be relying on the ex perience of four returning starters and an offensive scheme that he in troduced midway through last year. With the new offense, the Aggies were 7-1 in Southwest Conference play, losing only to Houston. Senior guards Tony Milton and David Williams, along with junior guard Freddie Ricks and senior for ward Ray Little will provide the Ag gies with with some of the returning talent they’ll need to compete with the Aussies. Metcalf is also hoping for a strong showing from his group of newcom ers to provide depth to the Aggie’s game. Forward Dave Petersen, brother of Golden State Warrior Jim Peter sen, is a strong rebounder and Met calf expects him to see a lot of action early. “I like Petersen’s athletic ability and attitude,” Metcalf said. “Besides, I’m a big believer in heredity.” The Aggies’ home opener will fea ture a “Meet the Players” session in which A&M coach Shelby Metcalf and his players will be available for autographs and pictures on the play ing floor after the game. Children under 12 will be ad mitted to the game free if accompa nied by a parent or guardian. Tick ets for the 1989-90 season are as follows: • $8 for reserved and bleacher seats on the westside • $6 for reserved bench seats on the northside • $4 for general admission seats Photo by Frederick D. Senior guard Tony Milton leads the Aggies against the Australian Olympic Team Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. are should be frontrunner for Heisman for obvious reasons « The college football season is winding ;einiiBown, and so is the race for the Heisman ind •■rophy. K Regardless of who picks up the trophy in lies New York’s Downtown Athletic Club lo traBecember 2, it’s been a great season for on Southwest Conference athletes. The SWC lesrljstarted 1989 with three Heisman hopef uls, ■exas A&M’s Darren Lewis and Houston’s ■ndre Ware were favorites, while Texas nuniiBech’s James Grey was an outside shot. • Alan Lehmann Sports Writer I Grey has had a solid season, leading the SWC in rushing with 1,177 yards and 12 , _ r* touchdowns. However, the lack of national Media attention on Tech has all but [eliminated Grey from the list of contenders I Lewis came into the season as a preseason favorite for the coveted trophy, ■owever, he gained only 55 yards against Louisiana State and 52 against Washington ■ back-to-back nationally televised games, flj These poor performances in the national S otlight quickly dropped Lewis’ trophy ances, but it wasn’t all his fault. With all the attention focused upon him, other teams keyed on Lewis, opening up other facets of A&M’s offense, but keeping his totals down. Still, Lewis’ efforts haven’t been wasted, he’s led the Aggies in their Cotton Bowl chase, and is currently second in the SWC in rushing touchdowns (11) and third in rushing with 870 yards. Only ajunior this season, Lewis will no doubt be a Heisman front-runner next season. The SWC’s best hope for its first Heisman trophy since Earl Campbell (the 1977 winner) is Houston quarterback Andre Ware. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, an informal poll of Heisman balloters tabbed Ware as the leader in the Ware has certainly provided the stats of a Heisman champion this season passing for ‘ id < 3,824 yards and 40 touchdowns in nine games, even though he has played in the fourth quarter only twice this season. He’s broken so many SWC records this season that I’ll only mention his NCAA marks. He’s passed for 400 or more yards six times this season. He’s also set the records for most yards passing in a quarter (340 vs. SMU), half (517 vs. SMU) and most touchdown passes in a quarter (5 vs. SMU). With two games remaining, Ware is within reach of some of bigger marks. He needs seven more touchdown passes to tie the season mark, and 890 more yards of total offense to break the NCAA record. How can Ware not get the Heisman with numbers like these? Here’s how: • No national television exposure. Heisman voters are spread all over the nation, and few have an opportunity to see players outside their region, unless they can catch the games on TV. With Houston on probation. Ware’s only TV exposure has been news highlights and tape-delays of regional games at midnight on Home Sports Entertainment. Notre Dame quarterback Tony Rice is one example of a star who has been made by television. Over half of the Fighting Irish’s games have been on national television this season, and its kept him in the Heisman race even though his numbers aren’t nearly as impressive as Ware’s. • Ware is simply a piece of the Houston offensive machine. Some people say that Ware’s numbers are more of a product of the Cougars’ potent Run-and-Shoot offense than his ability, and cite multi-purpose quarterbacks like Rice and West Virginia’s Major Harris. In the Chronicle article, Gary Long of the Miami Herald said, “Andre is a tough call. He’s obviously a great player, but he’s also the product of a system. Ware has been great in the system, but several guys could make it work.” Houston coach Jack Pardee, a former All-Pro linebacker said that Ware deserves the award. “He’s done things no other quarterback has ever done,” Pardee said in the Chronicle. “I’ve been around the greatest quarterbacks in the game, and Andre has the right touch. You can’tjust plug in anybody and get that kind of output.” • Probation. Some Heisman voters surveyed said that they wouldn’t vote for any player on a team under probation. Steve Kornacki of the Detroit Free Press said that he could not vote for a player on a team under probation. It’s a weak argument, because Herschel Walker’s Georgia team was on probation when he won the Heisman in 1982. What about last year when Oklahoma State was placed on probation two weeks after Barry Sanders won the Heisman? Let’s face it, whether you like Ware or not, he should have the Heisman. He’s got the best numbers in the country, and he’s only ajunior. 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