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Monday, November 22, 1993
‘93-94 Basketball Preview
Page B3
Aggies, Lady Aggies climb one step closer
A&M back to full strength for '92-93, as
five starters return with ample backup
The rich get richer for women's basketball,
as Lady Aggies rebound amid high hopes
By Julie Chelkowski
The Battalion
The Texas A&M men's basketball
team will be shooting for a higher lev
el of play and status this sea
son as they try to break out of
their shell and into a more
competitive ring.
In his third year as head
coach, Tony Barone said times
have changed for the Aggies
that went 10-17 last season.
This year, he said will mark
the end of a rebuilding period
and the start of posing a more
serious threat inside and out
side of the Southwest Confer
ence.
"For the first two years, our team
was in a survival mode," Barone said.
"Now, our expectations are a little bit
different in that we want to compete,
and we want to win some games.
"We want to be a championship
program. I don't know if we're at that
level yet, but that's our goal."
Senior guard David Edwards said
the team has taken a more aggressive
stance.
"He (Barone) wants us to keep peo
ple on their toes instead of us being on
our toes all the time," Edwards said.
"He wants us to attack in
stead of being attacked.
We should be able to do
that this year."
SWC coaches have also
recognized A&M's poten
tial, picking them to finish
second in the league - a
big jump from their sixth-
place finish and 5-9
record in the SWC last
season. The Aggies have
not reached second or
higher since 1986 when
they captured a tri-cham
pionship with Texas
Christian and Texas.
Barone said the presea
son ranking means little
to him but provides a
confidence boost for the
players.
"There's a credibility
factor," Barone said,
"when the players know
the coaches have shown
in their poll that (we)
have a chance to be de
cent in this league. So,
the credibility factor tends
to motivate us."
The respect shown in
the polls may come from
A&M posting narrow
losses against tough com
petition last season, facing
teams such as Nevada -
Las Vegas, New Mexico,
Alabama, Rice, Southern
Methodist and Texas.
However, for this season
Barone and his troops are
looking to turn the small
losses into big wins.
Junior forward Damon Johnson
said the team is already on the right
track after an intense preseason train
ing regimen in which Barone demand
ed extensive strength and conditioning
work.
"We're already at a point
where we weren't at this time
last year in terms of being in
great shape,and knowing and
executing plays with intensi
ty," Johnson said. "So, I think
we've already taken that step
to win some of those close
games."
Barone said he was very
impressed with preseason
workouts.
"These kids have worked
harder than any team I've
been involved with," he said. "We
have worked hard, and the results
have been there because we have seen
dramatic improvement in our condi
tioning and our strength."
Also a plus for A&M is the increase
in the number of scholarships from
seven to 13, giving the team eight vet
erans and five newcomers.
Two top returners who have been
essential in leading the team are Ed
wards and Johnson. Edwards is a
See Aggies/Page 8
Mary Macmanus/The Battalion
Texas A&M junior forward Tony McGinnis is one
player the Aggies will be counting on to help them
reach the upper limits of the Southwest Conference.
Johnson
By William Harrison
The Battalion
The prospects for the 1993-94 Lady
Aggie basketball team may be best an
ticipated by surveying sopho
more guard Donyale Canada
and the world-class success
that she accomplished this
summer.
As a member of the United
States national squad, Canada
not only competed in the 1993
U.S. Olympic Festival, but
made the all-tournament team
for her efforts. She turned it on
in the Gold medal game, pac
ing her team as its leading
scorer with 14 points while
also dishing out five assists.
For Canada, the performance
helped put to rest a frustrating season
last year, when as a freshman she
struggled to make the change from a
high school point guard in Austin to a
college shooting guard at Texas A&M.
"Last year I just had a hard time
with the transition," Canada said. "I
wasn't able to find my shooting touch,
frustration set in and then confidence
went down, and it just really took me
out of my game."
And for the rest of the Lady Aggies,
last year also provided a rough period
of adjustment as six freshmen took
their knocks but still turned in a
fourth-place finish in the Southwest
Conference. That was the highest fin
ish in 17 years of women's basketball
at Texas A&M.
Expectations are even high
er with another bumper crop
of recruiting talent. A&M
head basketball coach Lynn
Hickey said last season will
fast become a memory with
what is in store this season for
the Lady Aggies, a team many
polls have picked to finish sec
ond or third in the SWC.
"With all these players
coming back not only this
Canada year, but for the next two
years, this program is built,"
Hickey said.
"I think everyone forgot what a
tremendous thing those kids did:
There was not another team in the
United States that put five freshmen
on the floor that were the whole depth
of the team.
"We've done the right thing, and
this is a very good team of young
ladies; there will not be many disap
pointments this year."
Indeed. The SWC Newcomer of the
Year, sophomore point guard Lisa
Branch returns to complete a formida
ble backcourt with Canada.
But where A&M has
the most sizable advan
tage is in its frontcourt.
The Aggies are the sec
ond-tallest team in the
country, behind only Van
derbilt, a team that made
the NCAA Final Four last
season.
Sophomores Martha
McClelland and Kelly
Cerny stand at 6 feet 4
inches, while senior Teri
Bartlett looks down from
6 feet 5 inches. This size
can be the main offensive
threat if the rest of the
team can do one thing:
Hit the outside shot.
"If you look at our
team on paper, and if you
look at them out on the
floor, you can tell our
strength is definitely in
the size that we have,"
Hickey said. "But in order
to be able to use the size,
we're going to have to
have the threat on the
outside."
"We've got to do some
'M things to make the defens
es respect our outside
shooting."
With Branch and Cana
da settled in after a year's
court duty and a recruit
ing class that scores high
on outside shooting cre
dentials, A&M's options
Kyle Burnett/The Battalion may have become
Texas A&M sophomore guards Donyale Canada C ° H^tey laid^he team
(foreground) and Lisa Branch (background) will give
the Aggies a potent combination in the backcourt. § ee ^ ac fy Aggies/Page 8