The Battalion
sSPORTS 9
Monday, January 22,1990
Sports Editor Richard Tijerina 845-2688
Clay
Rasmussen
Assistant Sports Editor
ey, JD Crow:
eave my li’l
helby alone
■X exas A&M basketball wizard
Jhelby Metcalf is more than just the
ggies’ head coach, he’s an icon of
&M, a symbol of the University.
And now the symbol that has
epresented A&M for 27 years is in
jeopardy of losing a job that he holds
early.
“1 love this game and I love this
chool,” Metcalf said Saturday. “I want
|o keep coaching here.”
However, if rumors are any indication
|bf things, A&M Athletic Director John
avid Crow will have Metcalf
eassigned at the end of the season. And
|f that’s the case, Metcalf said he won’t
tay at A&M.
“I don’t think I would feel
oipfortable going to an A&M basketball
ame or football game,” Metcalf said. “I
ouldn’t even walk on campus.”
Strife long in coming
problems between Metcalf and Crow
Blared to new heights last Wednesday.
Wetcalf learned from sources during the
1 m&M-Texas game that Crow publicly
Biad criticized Metcalf not only on and
Brcmnd the University, but at the annual
rem NCAA convention as well.
| B “What I don’t know is why he would
■ pHl 0 this out in the open,” Metcalf said.
“Why would he go to the NCAA
convention and hammer a good man?”
Crow has denied any allegations of
publicly criticizing Metcalf although
ources in the athletic department
upport Metcalfs claims.
It seems to me that Grow is
ailroading Metcalf into an early
etirement.
In all honesty, Metcalf is having a
Kifficult year. The Aggies are 9-10 and
s E-3 in the Southwest Conference. In the
jpnference standings, A&M is in fifth
Blace behind rivals Texas, Arkansas and
e co: Houston.
But times haven’t always been this
10 '- hard for Metcalf and his Aggies,
them Metcalf came to A&M in 1958. He
I MStarted coaching the men’s basketball
Bam in 1963, taking the Aggies to their
lemsBjrst SWC championship in 41 years,
■shfttince then, Metcalf has had a long string
air. of winning seasons, SWC titles and
Bppearances in the NCAA tournament.
na ' > H Metcalf leads the SWC in coaching
w UI ' : |iiictories with 438. He is 16th on the
id^Binningest active NCAA coaches around
1 the country.
■ With such a list of accomplishments,
jg it’s no wonder that Metcalf is
Kicknamed, “The Dean of Southwest
^ ,Conference Coaches.”
|16I1r Crow might, just might, be justified in
Betting rid of Metcalf if the coach hadn’t
pad any type of success recently. But
Bletcalf claimed the SWC title in 1986,
,-j f / and in 1987 advanced to the NCAA
, ' Midwest Regionals before bowing out to
ISM eventual tournament runners-up Duke,
-- 79-72.
f 9 Metcalf is successful
ndri.
y ar.fBut you can’t look at success only in
sinpflerms of titles won.
Last year, Metcalf turned the Aggies
around after losing seven of their first
eight SWC games. Riding a five-game
ic ft
; a(k !
! 1 losing streak, Metcalf instituted a fast-
roa( j ; paced, attack-oriented offence in mid-
season.
f A&M responded by winning seven of
its last eight games, including a regular
—^ season finale thrashing of Texas, 106-
89.
K “Texas A&M was one of the best kept
secrets in the country last season,” Texas
Coach Tom Penders said last year. “If
they had been on (national) television,
they’d have been in the NCAA
tournament.
Metcalf also must be a well-kept
Secret here at A&M if Crow wants to
replace him as coach.
; With all the makings for a winning
team, Metcalf only needs what Crow
won’t give him ... time and a little
, Hpport.
I He has recruited strong and has a
|oaching staff that Metcalf refers to as
of the best he’s ever put together.
■ And coming from Metcalf, that’s not
just idle talk.
Shelby Metcalf already has
established his program as a successful
Be. Given some time and a little support
from the administration and student
body. Metcalf can continue to lead a
aasketball program that will make
Iggies around the country proud.
Metcalf: ‘The ball’s in their court now’
Aggie coach charges Crow wants him out
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
A&M Coach Shelby Metcalf reacts angrily to a referee’s call during Satur
day’s 100-84 loss to Arkansas. After the game, Metcalf told reporters that
he was being forced out of his job by Athletic Director John David Crow.
By Clay Rasmussen
and Richard Tijerina
Of The Battalion Staff
After Saturday’s 100-84 loss to Arkansas,
Texas A&M Coach Shelby Metcalf said he’d
be fighting for more than just the Aggies’
fifth-place standing in the Southwest Con
ference.
He might just be trying to keep his job.
Metcalf accused A&M Athletic Director
John David Crow in an emotional, one-
hour press conference after the game, of
publicly criticizing him and wanting to get
rid of him after this season.
“It’s obvious that I’m not going to be here
(as A&M’s basketball coach),” Metcalf said.
“I don’t know when it’s going to happen,
but I think I’m going to be gone. That’s
their privilege.
“I just hope everybody doesn’t feel like
he (Crow) feels because that would give me
a terrible inferiority complex.”
However, Crow denied Metcalfs accusa
tions in a statement released through the
A&M sports information department.
In it, Crow, who is in his second year
serving as athletic director, said he never
had “cussed” Metcalf locally nor at the re
cent NCAA Convention in Dallas
“As I said before, Shelby Metcalf is still
our head coach,” Crow said. “He will be
evaluated at the end of the season just like
every other coach at every sport at Texas
A&M.”
Crow’s statement was distributed to the
media prior to the game, but Metcalf stood
by his accusations.
Metcalf and Crow have been at odds with
each other since Crow took over as athletic
director after Jackie Sherrill resigned in
December 1988. A&M has suffered
through consecutive 16-15 and 16-14 sea
sons, and Metcalf was criticized for placing
too much emphasis on recruiting players
from junior colleges rather than from high
schools.
Metcalfs contract runs through Aug. 31,
1991 at $75,000 a year. Sherrill gave him
the new contract after the Aggies won the
Southwest Conference Tournament in
1987 and advanced to the NCAA Midwest
Regionals in 1987.
The contract was extended to 1991 so
Metcalf would qualify for his full teacher’s
retirement pension.
Metcalf earned a doctorate in philosophy
from A&M in 1974 with a dissertation enti
tled “Crowd Behavior at Southwest Confer
ence Basketball Games.” He’s been coach
ing at A&M since 1963, and holds a 438-
306 career record at the school.
Rumors about Metcalfs possible firing at
A&M have persisted for the last few years.
But Metcalf silenced some of those last year
when the Aggies had the best SWC record
in the second half of the season at 7-1.
Five freshmen were recruited last year
from high school, and the Aggies lost a 96-
94 heartbreaker to heavily favored, SWC-
leading Texas last week in Austin.
But Metcalf, who reportedly has been at
odds with Crow for what he considered too
much involvement in the A&M basketball
program, said he ju§t wished he could do
his job.
“I still think I’m capable of doing a great
job,” Metcalf said. “I would just like to be
left alone and do that job. I’ve got the best
staff I’ve ever had and we’re moving in the
right direction toward having the best play
ers we’ve ever had.
“In my mind, if given a chance, I will
have teams that A&M can be proud of.”
A&M President William H. Mobley, who
was present at the game, said his biggest
concern was that any problem between
Crow and Metcalf only is making the ath
letic department look bad.
“I would prefer that these discussions oc
cur on a person-to-person basis, and not in
the headlines on the sports page,” Mobley
said.
Metcalf said he wouldn’t let Crow, who
won the Heisman Trophy in 1957, force
him to quit.
“John David is a Heisman Trophy win
ner from this school,” Metcalf said. “He’s a
god here. How do you fight that? Ob
viously, I’m not going to be here. I know a
lot of things and I’m going to go down
fighting.
“And I won’t resign. I’m not a quitter.”
Metcalf said he would consult an attor
ney about the matter.
“Somebody like John David Crow can
come in and fix it where we (Metcalfs fam
ily) can’t get another job and can’t retire
comfortably in the place we spent over half
our lives ... I’m going to talk to an attorney
about this. I don’t imagine there’s any legal
thing I can do about this, but I owe it to my
family to talk to an attorney.
“A&M basketball isn’t a job for us, it’s a
way of life. We intended to retire here, but
I don’t think I would feel comfortable
going to an A&M basketball game or foot
ball game. I couldn’t even walk on campus.”
Metcalf, considered the “dean of SWC
coaches,” is the lowest-paid coach in the
conference. He is the winningest coach in
conference history, with a 239-158 SWC
mark. Under him, the Aggies have won six
SWC titles and have made five NCAA tour
nament appearances.
Metcalfs statements were in response to
a published story in Saturday’s edition of
the Dallas Times Herald that Crow told
A&M boosters in 1987, when he was serv
ing as associate athletic director, that he in
tended to fire Metcalf if he became the ath
letic director.
The story went on to say that Crow had
made statements to school boosters in re
cent weeks that Metcalf would be dismissed.
“Maybe I talk too much or people take it
the wrong way, because I have nothing in
my mind to say to Shelby or to hurt the bas
ketball program,” Crow told the Times
Herald. “I support him totally and fully.”
But Metcalf maintained he was on the
way out.
“What I don’t know is why he would do
this out in the open,” Metcalf said. “What
good could that do for Texas A&M or
A&M basketball ... I’m not going to resign.
But the ball’s in their court, hot mine.”
Aggies drop pair of bittersoooiet losses to Hogs
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
Lady Aggies’ Lisa Herner prays for a miracle in final moments of A&M’s 70-64 loss Saturday to Arkansas.
By Jay Peden
Of The Battalion Staff
The Texas A&M Lady Aggies had trou
ble finding the basket against the Lady Ra-
zorbacks Saturday night, as they lost 70-64
in a Southwest Conference basketball game
at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Lady Aggies hit only 21-of-63 field
goals for a paltry 33 percent and made 15-
of-26 free throws for an equally bad 58 per
cent-
The Lady Aggies did manage to hit
seven-of-15 three-point goals, setting a new
school single-game record for three-point
ers.
With eight minutes left in the first half,
Arkansas led 21-10 and was threatening to
run away. Junior forward Wendy Jennings
started the Lady Aggies’ trey-trend, hitting
three three-pointers in less than five min
utes.
Sophomore LaTanya Irving, who had a
game-high 17 points, also contributed a
three-point goal in this span, helping to
avert a rout.
Jennings’ third three-pointer brought
A&M back to within five points, but Arkan
sas continued to shoot well, converting 56
percent of its attempts in the first half. The
Razorbacks led 39-32 at the intermission.
“We didn’t have a good start,” Lady Ag
gies Coach Lynn Hickey said. “We weren’t
able to do anything inside scoring-wise.
Louise (Madison, A&M’s center) missed her
first few shots.”
Madison had several of them blocked.
The Lady Razorbacks had six of their eight
blocked shots in the first half. Starting cen
ter Delmonica DeHorney had five of those,
making it tough for A&M’s inside players.
“The way they were playing the zone, the
three-pointer was open,” Hickey said.
The Lady Aggies got off to a quick start
in the second half, with junior guard
Yvonne Hill scoring the team’s first four
points. An offensive rebound and lay-up by
junior forward Diane DeCree forced Ar
kansas to call a time-out after only 1:38 had
elapsed.
Soon after play resumed, Hill hit a three-
E ointer to tie the game at 43, breaking the
:ad Arkansas had held since the opening
minute of the game.
However, A&M was unable to gain the
lead as Arkansas scored six consecutive
points and maintained a small, wavering
lead for the remainder of the half.
But Arkansas point guard Amber Nicho
las missed a free throw with 1:15 left, and
Jennings atoned for traveling by hitting her
fourth three-pointer of the night.
Irving, followed with a steal, drove the
length of the court and was fouled. She hit
both of her free throws to cut Arkansas’
lead to three at 67-64.
Another Arkansas guard, Christi Wil
See Lady Ags/Page 11
Ags hang close;
fall to Arkansas
by 16 points
By Nadja Sabawala
Of The Battalion Staff
Forecasters predicted cold, drizzling
weather for this past weekend, but they
never said anything about it reigning pigs.
Texas A&M, coming off a close loss to
Texas last Wednesday, continued its down
ward spiral as it fell to Southwest Confer
ence leader Arkansas, 100-84.
In front of a crowd of 4,324 at G. Rollie
White Coliseum, Razorbacks Coach Nolan
Richardson received two technical fouls
halfway through the first period, motivat
ing the Arkansas bench.
Aggie guard Lynn Suber led the game
with 21 points in the first half, including
two three-pointers within one minute of
each other, but was held to only five points
in the second half.
“They played the whole game with a lot
of intensity but Suber kept them in the
game in the first half,” Arkansas guard Lee
Mayberry said.
Guard Tony Milton, who came into the
game averaging 20.3 points per game, had
only three in the first half, and finished
with 16 points.
Forwards Darren Rhea and David Harris
fouled out early in the second half, leaving
the Aggies without their big men.
“The difference was Texas A&M getting
into foul trouble early,” Richardson said.
“That stopped their big men, it didn’t stop
Suber. We couldn’t control him at all in the
first half.”
The Aggies hovered within one point of
the Razorbacks three times in the first pe
riod, but never caught them.
Arkansas scored early, getting the first
basket and slowly gaining a comfortable
lead. The Razorbacks were nine points
ahead with 12:42 left in the first period.
The Aggies followed with a strong run
midway through the first half with two con
secutive three-pointers by Suber, who was
3-of-5 from three-point range. This
brought A&M to within four points of Ar
kansas with 8:21 left in the half.
Richardson, unhappy with a foul called
on Mayberry, threw down his papers,
leaped to the floor and was slapped with a
technical foul by referees.
Suber converted only one of two free
throws.
See Hogs /Page 11