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.
He shouldn’t be punished for Houston’s
probation, because he was in junior high
and high school when the infractions
occurred.
tk
;erv
ol
—At
cof
e
Italian Fashion for Adults
POST OAK MALL
764-0978
FREE
MUG
Purchase a Hot Fudge Sundae
or any other Ice Cream or Yogurt Sundae
and take home a HOT-MUG FREE.
BASKIN fji ROBBINS
ExpressWrive-thru
BASKIN
ROBBINS
603 Villa Maria
Manor East Mall
Bryan, Texas
601 University Dr.
Northgate
College Station, TX
©Baskin-Robbins Inc. Printed in USA
Offer good while supplies last.