Quesada adjusting to
American basketball
□ Spaniard finds
home with Aggie
basketball.
By Jim Anderson
The Battalion
Most freshmen that come into
Texas A&M have a tough time adjust
ing to life during their first year at
school. Classes and a new environ
ment take a toll on many incoming
students. However, for Texas A&M
freshman forward Dario Quesada,
the biggest problem coming into col
lege were learning the English lan
guage and eating the food.
“I think the first couple of weeks I
had a hard time learning the lan
guage and adjusting to the food,” said
the 6-foot 9-inch freshman who is av
eraging 10 minutes, 3.9 points, and
2.9 rebounds per game so far this
year for the Aggies. “My teammates
helped me out tremendously as far as
adjusting to college life at Texas
A&M.”
There are other aspects of life on
the basketball court that Quesada
has had to adjust to, namely the
American style of play and the quick
ness and strength of the players.
These are the two areas where Que
sada has concentrated his game.'
“I feel that I need to run more and
build my strength to adjust to the
style of play in American collegiate
basketball,” said Quesada, who was a
member of the Spanish National
team before coming to A&M. “Extra
time in the weight room and running
after practice is helping me adjust to
the level these guys are on.”
This unique player’s Euro
pean background made him a
hot college prospect. As a
youngster, Quesada led his
prep team to five Spanish
championships and played
goal keeper on his youth soc
cer team. He was recruited by
such schools as Seton Hall
and Providence before decid
ing on Texas A&M.
“I made the decision pretty
quickly to come to A&M,” he
said. “The program really impressed
me and the quality of academics at
this school made it an easy decision.”
He is also the first European play
er to play basketball at A&M. This is
a fact that Quesada doesn’t think
very much about, citing the improved
quality of European basketball as the
main reason for the increased num
ber of European players in the college
and pro ranks.
“Europeans are beginning to catch
up to the Americans as far as basic
basketball skills,” Quesada said.
“That is why European players in the
NBA are becoming a more common
occurrence.”
Quesada’s contributions to the
team as a freshman this season have
been limited but noticeable. Against
Holy Cross, he scored eight points
and grabbed a career-high seven re
bounds in the 96-82 Aggie victory. He
had a career-high 15 points in the Ag
gies loss to Texas on January 14.
Still, Quesada said he realizes what
his role to the team is and what he
needs to do to contribute.
“Joe (Wilbert) and Damon (John
son) are the seniors so they deserve
the most playing time,” he said. “My
job is to work myself up to the point
where I will be at their level eventu
ally.”
Quesada’s goals also go well be
yond college basketball. While a pro
career is always a possibility, Quesa
da says that an even loftier desire for
him is to return home and play for
the Spanish National team in the
1996 Olympics.
“That is my ultimate goal,” he
said. “Everyone should have the right
to represent their country in the
Olympic games, whether they are pro
athletes or not.”
So, does this mean that Quesada
relinquishes the fact that he was not
able to play with the Spanish team
that lost to USA’s “Dream Team II” in
the World Championships in Toronto
last year?
“No, I’m glad I wasn’t there,” Que
sada said. “The thought of trying to
guard Shaquille O’Neal is not one I
like to think about.”
Obviously, Quesada has learned
the ways of America quite well, even
if he still prefers Spanish cuisine to
hamburgers and hot dogs.
"Europeans are be
ginning to catch up
to Americans as far
as basic basketbaii
skills."
- Dario Quesada
Ferguson’s hustle sparks Lady Aggies defense
By Chip Hanson
The Battalion
While it may be that point guard Lisa Branch is
the “straw that stirs the Lady Aggie drink,” there
is little doubting which player provides the fiery
spark to the A&M attack.
Whether she’s diving on the floor for a loose ball,
knocking down a three-pointer or verbally psych
ing herself and the crowd, there’s always one con
stant in her game: Junior guard Bambi Ferguson
is a competitor.
“Bambi is just a fighter, “ A&M head coach Can-
di Harvey said. “She has such spunk and fire, I
"Bambi is just a fighter. She has
such spunk and fire, I just love
that about the kid."
— Candi Harvey
just love that about the kid.”
Ferguson lists Charles Barkley as one of her fa
vorite players because her style of intense play is
similar to his. Much like Barkley, she admits to
having an attitude. Ferguson said she can be too
negative at times and is trying to work on being
more optimistic.
“Sometimes if things don’t go my way on the
court, I tend to get a temper.” Ferguson said.
The Lady Aggies have been in the Top 25 since
the beginning of the season but Ferguson believes
they have the capabilities of being a Top 10 team.
She said is disappointed about the season thus far
and has come to the conclusion that the Lady Ag
gies need to become more intense competitors, es
pecially at the beginning of the game.
“Coach Harvey has told us that the first three
minutes are the most important, “ Ferguson said.
“We need to go out there and get fired up.”
This season, Ferguson is shooting 37.5 percent
from the three-point arc and a solid 78.9 percent
Courtesy of Texas A&M Sports Information
Bambi Ferguson drives for a layup.
from the free throw line. She also averages 2.4 re
bounds per game and is contributing 6.2 points per
game.
Ferguson has set lofty goals for herself and the
team. She would like the team to win a Southwest
Conference title. As for herself she wants to work
on her positive attitude and defensive game.
The Lady Aggies are currently 1-1 in SWC con
ference play, losing a disappointing game to Texas
Tech. Despite the defeat, Harvey was very pleased
with Ferguson’s performance, which included 12
points coming off the bench.
“She had a great game against Texas Tech,”
Harvey said. “I think if everyone had played as ag
gressively as Bambi did, we would have had a good
chance to win that game.”
Ferguson is a junior education/kinesiology ma
jor from Jayton, Texas . She says her career ambi
tion is to coach at the collegiate level,' preferably
under Coach Harvey, the women’s basketball
coach.
As for the academics of this busy athlete, she is
a two-time recipient of the GTE academic achieve
ment award.
She is a member of Aggie Athletes Involved, she
also served as a volunteer at the local Boys and
Girls Club and The Big Event.
The Battalion
Special Sections Staff
Mark Smith, Editor-in-chief
Jay Robbins, Special Sections editor
Rob Clark, Asst. Special Sections editor
David Winder, Sports editor
Nick Georgandis, Sports editor
Zachary Toups, Page Designer
Robin Greathouse, Page Designer
Stew Milne, Photo editor
Reporters:
Kristina Buffin, Tom Day, Shelly
Hall, Robert Rodriguez, Jim
Anderson, Chip Hanson