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‘93-94 Basketball Preview
Monday, November 22,1993
New faces bolster power and skill position depth
Barone enjoys first full scholarship season
By David Winder
The Battalion
Although the Aggie men's basket
ball team returns 99 percent of its
points, rebounds, assists, steals and
blocked shots from last season, the
1993 recruiting class is expected to
make a big impact for this season.
After having only seven scholar
ship players in his first two seasons,
head coach Tony Barone will start the
1993-94 season with 13 scholarship
players. Guard Chuck Henderson
was given a scholarship over the sum
mer, giving the Aggies eight returnees
and five newcomers.
"We started off trying to get a cer
tain type of kid," Barone said. "We
got we wanted, five student athletes
who are athletically tremendous."
The junior college ranks provided
two players: 6'9" forward Roy Wills
from Seward Community College and
6'6" forward Joe Wilbert from Tyler
Junior College.
The Aggies also signed three top
high school recruits, 1993 Mr. Texas
Basketball 6'1" guard Jimmy Smith
from Victoria, 6'0" Anthony Burks
from Fort Worth Dunbar and 6'6" for
ward Chris Pulliams from Fork Union
Military.
"The main reason I chose A&M
was Coach Barone. He was a big in
fluence on my decision," Pulliams
said. "I also felt that I could come in
and help the team become better and
win a championship."
Barone said he sees a lot of poten
tial in Pulliams, and that Pulliams will
see action at the small forward posi-
tjon this season.
"Chris really benefited from a year
at private school," Barone said. "He
had an excellent coach and fits
our system well."
Burks is another player who
fits the Aggie system, i
"I chose A&M because it was
a good academic school," Burks
said. "I wanted to help A&M
become a better team, and there
was playing time here.
"I really like Coach Barone
because every time he came to
mv house he motivated me and
told me a lot of good things as
far as basketball and acade
mics."
"WeTl be using Burks at the
point guard position - he's quick
and can stop on a dime," Barone
said. "The only drawback is his
size. He's going to have to gain
some weight."
Burks said this year will be a
learning experience behind se
nior point guard David Ed
wards.
"My style is running the fast
break, pushing the ball up and
shooting the three," Burks said.
"I still have to learn the whole
system, but I feel I should get
some playing time."
Wilbert, who was a basketball
star at nearby Bryan High
School, is also expected to see Texas
playing time : _ . Hams
come to A&M was because of my par
ents," Wilbert said. "Another reason
was that I feel I might be able to turn a
child's life around if they see me out
here playing for the Aggies.
"If they see Joe Wilbert out there
playing for a big university, maybe
they will believe they can play, too."
Wilbert is expected to give A&M a
boost in the rebounding department
and Barone said that he has surprised
the coaches with how fast he picked
up the Aggie system.
"I just want to make an impact on
the team - to come in and help on re
bounding and scoring," Wilbert said.
Barone has also been impressed
with the play of Wills and Smith.
"Roy is a great athlete and gives us
the shot blocker that we need,"
Barone said. "I think we are going to
be able to use Smith at both the point
and off guard positions.
"All the coaches have been really
impressed with his toughness."
Pulliams has been impressed by
how much assistance the upperclass
men are giving the newcomers.
"All the players have come togeth
er to help the newcomers," Pulliams
said. "Damon Johnson has been a re
ally good friend of mine since high
school and he's helped me a lot.
Corey and Chuck Henderson and
Tony McGinnis have been a big help,
also."
Barone has been pleased with the
1993 recruiting class so far.
"I don't really know where this re
cruiting class ranks in the conference,
but I'm happy with the five kids we
got," Barone said.
"We were more concerned with the
quality of the players than the quanti
ty-"
Williams, Miller highlight new Lady Aggies
By Matthew J. Rush and
William Harrison
The Battalion
The goals are simple.
Win 20 games, win the Southwest
Conference, and earn a berth to the
NCAA tournament, and on a team al
ready loaded with young talent, the
Lady Aggies will be aided by another
highly-touted recruiting class.
Helping them to achieve these goals
this season, will be the fresh new faces
of two impact players: Cami Williams
and Marianne Miller.
Williams, a junior college transfer
from New Mexico, and Miller, a fresh
man from Oklahoma, will both don
maroon and white jerseys this year in
hopes of bringing A&M the first SWC
women's basketball championship in
the school's history.
Williams, who led the Western Ju
nior College Conference in three-point
attempts with 182, will try to bring a
much-needed outside threat to the
squad.
A&M head basketball coach Lynn
Hickey, in her tenth year as head coach,
said that Williams is just the type of
weapon that the Lady Aggies can use.
"We needed a three-point shooter
really badly, and Cami just gets her
shot off extremely well and has great
range," Hickey said.
"I think she is going to give Beth
(Burket, a senior) some backup at the
forward position."
Williams said that she is eager to
meet the challenge of adapting to the
next level of college play.
"I pretty much know what it takes
to make that quality shot," Williams
said. "When I was a player in junior
college, I played against Division I ma
terial, so I know what it takes."
Williams looks to make an immedi
ate impact on the team and said that
she is setting her goals fairly high.
"My goal is to have one of the high
est three-point field goal percentages in
the conference," Williams said. "I'd
also like to make the SWC All-Tourna
ment team."
Williams, who led New Mexico Ju
nior College with 17.5 points per game
last season, said that she is confident
that the team can achieve their goals.
"A lot of our team goals will come
about with communication and as long
as we can communicate, then we will
be all right," Williams said.
"Not only that, but we are one of the
tallest teams in the nation, so we
should be intimidating."
Miller, who was the state of Okla
homa's Player of the Year last season,
could have some difficulty in making
the transition from high school to col
lege, said that she is ready to take her
part in making the team successful,
"The girls have helped me out in
trying to make the adjustments," Miller
said. "But I think as a whole, we all
click pretty well together."
Miller, who averaged 25 points a
game in her senior year, said that she
likes the team's chances for chasing af
ter Texas Tech, last year's National
Champion.
"They seem pretty intimidating, but
we're ready to face them," Miller said.
"I think that with our returning players
and our inside/outside combination,
we can achieve our goals."
Miller also said that she has an indi
vidual goal, an honor that teammate
Lisa Branch achieved after last season.
"Personally, I'd like to be the SWC's
Newcomer of the Year."
Hickey said that she has been
impressed with Miller's uncanny
ability to play wherever she is
needed.
"She has real good ability to
get up and down the court, and
she has a really nice shot," Hickey
said. "She's 6 feet 2 inches and
can play facing the basket, or we
can post her up."
Hickey said that the switch to
college from six man basketball,
which Miller played in high
school, will be tough. However,
Hickey said she expects Miller to
see ample playing time this sea-
'The first reason I chose to
bench
Kyle Burnett/The Battalion
A&M freshman forward Chris Pul-
is expected to provide size off the
for the Aggies this season.
"We have so much depth that
we're going to have a lot of people
getting playing time for us," Hick
ey said.
"That will be good for us be
cause we can keep everybody
fresh."
Hickey said that there may still
be some unknowns about how the
team will perform, especially in
the SWC.
"Looking back at last year, if
there is a question about us, I
think two questionable areas
would have to be our youth and
our ability to shoot from the out-
Kyle Burnett/The Battalion side," Hickey Said.
Shown in here in action against Vilnius, (But) I really believe that we
, , , * »■ • . , , have everything m place now to
freshman forward Marianne Mdier is look- answOTthoselw ° qu Ltions."
ing to contribute big for Texas A&M.