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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1993)
Page 4 ale Sports friday, January 22,1992 The Battalion Page 5 7,1993 Hakeem has MVP look this season, but... /eich je 1 t, has been years and 2n you take flation and ent enroll- falls within tate budget itute, feder- lecision or is in a dif- se of other ?ing driven and such," esky said, one of the get that can ; why high- n the chin." lebate acation ?en 'e Ogden ersity Sys- fficials have e worst - a nt the state ?m and Uni- for By DAVID WINDER The Battalion I f Hakeem Olajuwon played in New York, Chicago or Los Ange les, he would be a front runner for the Most Valuable Player award. But Olajuwon plays in Houston, which at last count was just four games over the .500 mark. Even though it has nothing to do with the MVP, geography' will probably cost Hakeem the most cherished individ ual award in the NBA. This season, Olajuwon is averag ing 25.2 points a game, good enough to lead all other centers in that cate gory and place him sixth in the league. He is currently in the top five in rebounding and blocked shots, and in the top ten in field goal percentage. Hakeem is having a MVP year, but I have only read two articles about his slim hopes of capturing the award. If those were Patrick Ew ing's numbers, he would already be writing his acceptance speech. 1 have read tons of stories that Charles Barkley should win because he is having a great year and means the most to his team. There is also a lot of campaigning again for Michael Jordan because the Chicago Bulls would be only mediocre without him. So what would the Rockets be without Hakeem? Without Barkley, the Suns would still have Dan Majerle, Kevin John son and Danny Ainge. The Bulls would still have Scottie Pippen, Ho race Grant and John Paxson without Jordan. If you took Hakeem away from the Rockets, then you would have Kenny Smith, Vernon Maxwell and Otis Thorpe. If there was a three-on-three competition, I do not think that the Rockets would win many games. See Winder/Page 6 TCU next road obstacle for Aggies Barone, team hope to erase memories of near-misses By MICHAEL PLUMER The Battalion Last Tuesday night Texas A&M almost upset the University of Nevada at Las Ve gas, which would have ended the na tion's longest home winning streak at 55 games. But the Aggies came up on the short end of a 98-96 score in overtime and now they must turn their attention to Satur day's resumption of Southwest Confer ence play. The Aggies (5-9, 0-2 in SWC action) play Texas Christian University (3-10, 0-3 in SWC action) at 12:00 Saturday in Fort Worth. A&M head coach Tony Barone said that while he was disappointed with the loss to the Running Rebels, he was happy with the Aggies' effort. "We knew Vegas would come back like they did, and I think we handled it real well," Barone said Thursday. "The physical effort has been outstanding, and I could find no fault with it." The loss to UNLV was A&M's fourth consecutive close loss, but Barone said he thinks the team will learn from the de feats. "I think we can learn from losing, al though that is tough," he said. "We need to win those close games at some point." A&M forward Chuck Henderson agreed with Barone that the Vegas loss was a tough defeat, but one that could prove beneficial later in the season. "We were disappointed that we lost because we had the lead throughout and then let it get away," Henderson said. "We knew that we had played a great game, so maybe something good will come out of it. "The game is still in the back of my mind, but it is time to move on and play TCU." A&M forward Damon Johnson had a slightly different tone than Henderson Battalion file photo A&M forward Damon Johnson grabs a rebound in a game earlier this season. Johnson, who scored 22 points in Tuesday's overtime loss to Nevada-Las Vegas, is one of several Aggies hoping to end a string of near-misses against Texas Christian in Fort Worth tomorrow. concerning the loss. "After the game, I dropped my head between my hands and kept saying that this can't be happening to us over and over," he said. "In fact, I am still having a hard time putting this game out of my mind, because it was really frustrating for them to tie it up like that in the final five seconds." Johnson said that it is time for the team to win a close game, and that he is look ing forward to the TCU game. "This team is waiting to explode, and I think playing TCU on Saturday will give us the chance," he said. "TCU is a good team and, taking nothing away from them, if we come out and play the way we have in the past, it will be interest ing." For A&M to make it intriguing, the Aggies must contain Horned Frog point guafd Brent Atwater, who is averaging eight points and five assists, and forward Allen Tolley, who chips in 14 points per contest, Barone said. If A&M is successful in shutting down those two, Barone said he feels there are two other things that must occur. "First of all, we have to go in there confident," he said. "Confidence gives you tremendous enthusiasm, which is See Aggies/Page 6 A&M women look to continue streak at home By DON NORWOOD The Battalion Anyone who was witness to the 8-5 Texas A&M Lady Aggies' 58-57 win over Louisiana State Wednesday night would be hard-pressed to argue the fact that the contest was full of emotion. The two squads traded major scoring runs in the second half, carrying a thunderous G. Rollie White crowd along for a wild ride before A&M forward Beth Burket scored the winning layup with 24 seconds left in the game. As might be expected, A&M head coach Lynn Hickey was still keyed up Thursday about the Lady Ags' third straight home win, which could provide the type of confidence boost the Lady Aggies might need after blowing a lead in a 60-58 loss to the University of Hous ton Jan. 18. "I think we're going to know more Saturday night," Hickey said about whether her team will be able to keep a high confidence level. "I'm anxious to see how they react tomorrow in practice. "It should (build confidence). The danger is you don't want to rest on your laurels." Texas Christian might be able to pro vide Hickey's squad with the perfect op portunity to gain even more confidence when A&M hosts the Lady Horned Frogs at 7 p.m. tomorrow. TCU enters the game 7-7 overall, but is 0-4 in Southwest Conference play, com pared to A&M's 1-1 mark in the league. The Lady Frogs' latest SWC loss came Wednesday when they lost narrowly to Southern Methodist, 86-82. Despite their record, Hickey said that TCU has a few weapons, the most power ful of which are in the backcourt. "They have some guards that are real hard workers," Hickey said. "They're very scrappy. "It (TCU) is a team where you think, 'Well, we should win this one.' That gets dangerous." MSC AGGIE CINEMA THE FILM SOCIETY OF TEXAS A&M Admission to all features is only $2.50 (includes sales tax) All films screened in Rudder Theater Complex Next Week: BOB ROBERTS UNDER SIEGE DEAR DAD, SEND MONEY FOR] Whoopi Goldberg Leleti Khumalo She was their teacher. They were her hope. , >. VL L TV ent Associa- \inese New arday night, he Lutheran 315 College ailable. The ociation will orial Student a. today and i not have Aggies for »int offered t your face' ) should be :ed opposi- that at their nice about ted to sweep estrictions he e orders and bortion move- o losing those rders are like- roval of the tion pill from iministration oing to be in ■diately," said R-Ill, a long ideral restric BtrtMJC nunncn b A lAD D COMPANY RELEASE IN ASSOCIATION WITH SIR RUN RUN SHAW J,' HB u wioNtnanos O panavision « technicolor ■ , ‘ WAR NER C0MMUN , clI | QNS CCMpANV nnioCAHTSTEHEO | * I I©’982 Th« i»dd Company All Rightsfles«(v«d in stitCTCD theatres L_ The qirectqrs cut TONIGHT (Friday) 7:00, 9:30 & 12:00 WITH RKH GH. FROM GOOD FAMILY SARAHNA! The Sound ot Freedom [PG OlPAHMUHAOimtCAUTIOHEIX | Somt lUltlil M»y 6» InapproprUI* (or Chfldrtn Undt' © BUENA VISTA PICTURES DISTRIBUTION. INC TOMORROW (Saturday) (Don't Miss It!) 7:00, 9:30 & 12:00 COMING SOON: THE TEXAS FILM FESTIVAL Wednesday - Sunday, February 24 - 28, 1993 GUEST OF HONOR: SPIKE LEE Opening Night Lecture and a Career Retrospective beginning ivith Malcolm X (Complete program schedule and tickets available in February) Check out our table at MSC Open House next weekend for more information. • Committee meetings start next Monday, January 25 @ 7:00 p.m, in 212 MSC. • j w Questions? Call the Student Programs Office (MSC 216) at 845-1515, or... a ^ Rudder Box Office (845-1234) / Aggie Cinema Hotline (847-8478) i r A Memorial Student Center Student Programs Committee 4 F 1 i Conroe Nike Factory Store. 1-45, Exit 91, League Line Road. (409) 856-8228. Mon.-Sat. 10-9, Sun. 12-6. 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