Friday, February 23,1990
The BattaHon
Page 9
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Thompson keeps going and going ...
ByNADJA SAB AW ALA
OfThe Battalion Staff
The Brooks Thompson War
ranty: It’s not the years, it’s the mile
age.'
Ihompson, a freshman guard for
Texas A&M, isn’t your average first-
year college basketball player, A&M
coach John Thornton said.
“At this point in the season,
Brooks is not a freshman because of
ihe number of games he’s played
in,” Thornton said.
Just last year, Thompson was the
pride of a Littleton High School Li
ons'basketball team, averaging 28.7
points a game on his way to being
named the Colorado Prep Player of
the Year.
But now he’s playing ball with a
team full of former high school
stars.
“It’s a lot more intense up here,
people are tougher, and a lot
stronger and quicker,” Thompson
said. “I knew it was going to happen.
I’m just a freshman, while these guys
have been here and they’re a lot
more experienced than I am.”
Thompson has seen playing time
in all 27 of the Aggies’ games this
season, including nine starts. He’s
scoring eight points a game in an av
erage of 20 minutes of playing time.
Not bad for someone who has
been playing college basketball for
only three months
“It was tough going from high
school to college, academically and
athletically,” Thompson said. “1
knew it would only take time.”
Thornton has confidence in
Thompson, and said he has sur
passed the average freshman level of
p!ay.
“The real thing you sec in new
comers is they don t really under
stand the intensity at whic h you’ve
got to play,” Thornton said. “ T hat's
what makes Brooks so special.”
As the Aggies wrap up the 1989-
BO basketball season, Thornton be
lieves Ihompson is building the en
durance he needs to play aggres
sively. As a result, Thompson has
been starting in place of junior Lynn
Suber, who’s averaging over 13
points a game.
“Brooks is an up-and-down play
er," Thornton said “He’s getting a
lot tougher in the periods in which
he plays hard.”
Thornton said he was pleased
with Thompson’s performance
against Arkansas Wednesday, in
which Thompson scored 13 points
ma 114-100 loss.
“He confidently put it up. made
some tough little moves around the
basket and defended well, Thorn
ton, said.
Thompson said he felt he has ad
justed well to playing college basket
ball, and he likes being part of the
team... and A&M.
"Mv whole background's been Ag
gie," he said. “I’ve grown up Aggie,
my dad came here and my uncle and
my grandfathers. I like it and that's
why I want to get in the thick of
things and be an Aggie.”
Thompson said former coach
Shplby Metcalf was another factor in
his decision to come to A&M.
He was recruited by several
schools, including the University of
California at Santa Barbara, Wyom
ing and Lousiana Tech. But Thomp
son’s father Neal played freshman
basketball under Metcalf at A&M.
Thompson at times this season
has shown the three qualities impor
tant for a guard: a deft shooting
touch, leadership and the ability to
see the court.
Those qualities may be put to the
test in 1991, when senior point
guard Tony Milton ends bis final
year of eligibility. Thornton said ei
ther Thompson or junior guard
Freddie Ricks will have to take over
Milton’s position.
Thompson played the point
guard position in Colorado.
“We’re just going to have to fill it
in,” Thompson said. “I think with
what we have now, with our depth in
the guards, we can all come together
and look out for each other.”
Thompson said the team’s main
problem this year has been consis
tency. Intensity also plays a crucial
role to the Aggies, who have been
playing with more emotion since
Metcalf was removed Jan. 22.
Playing on adrenaline alone has
its drawbacks, however.
“Sometimes we come out really in
tense, and sometimes we’re really
dead,” Thompson said.
When Metcalf left, both the team
and Thornton felt a certain bond
with each other, Thompson said.
It’s been lough, but we’ve han
dled it really well,” Thompson said.
“Thornton’s done a really good job
with our team, especially with what
we had to work with (emotionally).”
Although A&M’s 3-5 record since
Thornton took over won't win the
conference title, Thompson said he
believes the Southwest Conference
Tournament in March will be full of
surprises.
1 think we’re going to do well,”
he said. “1 think we’re going to sur
prise a lot of teams like 1 exas and
Arkansas. They’ve both beaten us
twice, and we should have won those
games.’
Depending on final conference
standings, the Aggies most likely will
face the Longhorns or Razoi backs in
the first round of the tournament.
Thompson said he’d rather play
Texas first because the two teams
match up W'ell with each other, and
that the Aggies could play t he Razor-
hacks in the finals.
Thompson will start Saturday’s
game against Rice — his third con
secutive start in SWC play. As a
freshman, he has a lot of basketball
ahead of him at A&M And as the
freshman keeps improving, Thorn
ton will keep hoping the Brooks
Thompson Warranty doesn’t run
out.
Photo by Fredrick D. Joe
Brooks Thompson has emerged as A&M s sharpshooter.
rp. • •
Tijerina
(Continued from page 7)
decided on Olajuwon, and the
Rockets were on theit way to an
eventual NBA Finals appearance
bejiind their Twin Towers
Indiana had the No. 2 pick, and
through a trade Jordan ended up in
bwly Chicago. The rest is history.
Sampson turned out to be a bust
hecause of a pair of knees that are in
die same condition.
The Rockets traded Sampson in
1988 to the Golden State Warriors.
Now he’s with the Clippers,
averaging less than four points a
game.
Jordan’s averaging 33.0 points a
game for the Bulls. Rony Seikaly
averages 16.8 for the Miami Heat.
But back then, Sampson was the •
laiig. The Rockets could have traded
him anywhere for just about anyone.
So here comes the dream
sequence. Olajuwon and Jordan as
teammates. Dream and Air, playing
together in the same Houston
Rockets uniform.
What if the Rockets had seen that
they’d have Sampson and Olajuwon
both fighting for room under the
basket, and decided to do something
about it ? Both were college centers, •
and now Fitch was committed to
converting Ralph into a power
forward. It didn’t work.
So, Fitch and general manager
Ray Patterson decide to ship
Sampson out of Houston and get as
much as they can for him, which
would be plenty. They don’t have an
established guard, and instead of
looking to pick one up in a trade,
they look to the draft
Get ready dreamers, here it
comes.
The Rockets trade Sampson to the
Pacers for their No. 2 draft pick,
some bench players and a whole lot
of cash. Armed with the No. 1 and
NOTES -N-QU OTES
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No. 2 draft selections, Houston gets
Olajuwon and Jordan. It’s as easy as
that.
Four years later, and the Rockets
would be the most dominating team
in the NBA. With Olajuwon ruling
the paint, Jordan would be running
the show with his high-flying
acrobatics. Championships would be
the talk of the tow'n.
But it’s time to wake up.
It sounds great now, but back
then the idea would have been
unthinkable. Sampson was on the
top of his game, and everyone
figured he’d be a force for years to
come. Olajuwon looked to be just
what the Rockets needed to get them
over the hump and becdme
championship contenders. Jordan
was a college junior coming to the
NBA early.
Hindsight is always 20/20, even in
dreams.
You may say I’m a dreamer.
But imagine.
Lady Ag netters
host SMU, UT
The Texas A&M women’s tennis
team will host Southern Methodist
University and Texas this weekend
at the Omar Smith Tennis Center.
Matches are set to begin at 1:30 p.m.
The Lady Aggies are coming oft
an 8-1 win over Notre Dame last
weekend in College Station, while
both SMU and Texas are unde
feated. Texas, A&M and SMU all
finished in the top three of the
Southwest Conference last year and
are expected to pace the conference
this year.
A&M women’s tennis coach
Bobby Kleinecke said this weekend
w'as pivotal for the Lady Aggies.
“This is an awfully important
weekend because we need to start
off well in conference play,” Klei
necke said.
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