Thursday • April 20, 1995
The Battalion • Page 9
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Hard work the philosophy or hrelong motivator Brjefs
□ Under David Kent's
direction, the men's
tennis program has
produced 14 SWC In
dividual Champions.
By Kristina Buffin
The Battalion
After spending 37 years in a
profession, most people are ready
to retire but not Texas A&M
men’s tennis coach David Kent.
“I’ve never had a real job,”
Kent said. “I came from an ath
letic family, I started coaching
right out of Texas Tech. I’ve
been involved in tennis all my
life, it’s in my blood.”
Kent, a native of Amarillo, be
gan his tennis collegiate career
playing for Tech where he fin
ished second in the Southwest
Conference in 1958.
After coaching at Amarillo
High School and Midland for ten
years, Kent began coaching Divi
sion I tennis at West Texas
A&M University. Kent recorded
a 200-62 match record and won
seven Missouri Valley Confer
ence titles.
After nine seasons at West
Texas, Kent came to A&M to
coach and has been here for 16
seasons.
“A&M is a great place to
coach,” Kent said. “It’s a great
place and team. It helps when
you have a supportive athletic
director.”
Kent, 1994 SWC Coach of the
Year, said that his longtime suc
cess has come from his coaching
philosophy of hard work.
“My first rule is that a player
should compete hard in every
match,” Kent said. “My second is
not to forget rule number one. I
don’t accept any excuses or
whining. We have been success
ful because we work hard.”
Kent’s philosophy seems to
work. In his career at A&M, his
teams have produced 14 SWC
Individual Champions and 17
NCAA qualifiers.
“At this level (college) you
don’t teach as much,” Kent said.
“You support, motivate and with
good players you just stay out of
the way.”
"I've never had a real job. I came
from an athletic family, I started
coaching right out of Texas Tech."
— David Kent
tennis head coach
One of Kent’s greatest
strengths is his ability to re
cruit talented players and give
them an opportunity to play for
a top program.
“I was living in Mexico City
when coach Kent recruited me,”
senior Ricardo Rodarte said.
“He recruited me on references
and gave me a chance even
though I never took a recruiting
trip out here.”
Another part of Kent’s suc
cess is his presence both on and
off the court. He motivates his
players to improve through en
couragement and persistence.
“I’ve had coaches that some
players did not respect,” senior
Bernardo Martinez said. “But he
has gotten that respect. He is al
ways wanting to help and is al
ways trying to give the best of
him to all the players.”
It is Kent’s love of the game
and positive frame of mind that
attracts players to his program.
“He is so energetic and posi
tive,” Martinez said. “That is one
thing that I will not forget. You
can tell how much he enjoys it
and because he has had so much
experience, he knows how to
handle certain situations.”
' In his 26 years
of coaching Divi
sion I, Kent is
ranks sixth among
active coaches
with a record of
482-206. Perhaps
Kent’s greatest
success came with
last season’s team.
A&M finished
with a school
record 23-4 overall record and
the SWC Championship.
“I want to do the same thing
that we did in 1994- win the con
ference” Kent said. “It’s the
same goal every year.”
Although his focus is on the
rest of the season, Kent said re
tirement might not be that far off.
“My thoughts (of retirement)
are in the near future,” Kent
said. “I enjoy coaching but every
one reaches a point. It’s nice
when you can stay for so long
and (athletic director) Wally
Groff has been very nice.”
Men’s tennis face
Tech in first round
Robyn Calloway/THE Battalion
Tennis head coach David Kent discusses this weekend’s SWC
tournament with assistant coach Charles Emley.
Who will wear the gold for
U.S. as Dream Team III?
Rockets fall apart against Jazz
□ Speculation begins
as to the makeup of
the team that will de
fend Dream Team I's
gold medal in Atlanta.
NEW YORK (AP) — Magic
wqjits to be there, but what
about Michael and Karl and
some of the other original
Dream Team members? Are
they showing up in Atlanta next
year for a shot at another
Olympic basketball gold medal?
With the world’s deepest tal
ent pool at their disposal, the
people who will pick and run the
U.S. squad at the 1996 Summer
Games were far from ready
Wednesday to say just who
might be chosen, even if their
names are Johnson and Jordan
and Malone.
“They will try to develop the
best team possible,” said Craig
Miller, spokesman for USA
Basketball. And when it comes
to hoops in America, the best
possible seems to get better
and better.
With pro players allowed in
the Olympics since 1992, the
U.S. team already has been all
but handed the gold in Atlanta,
but recent developments have
added intrigue to just who might
be on Dream Team III.
Just this week, the captain of
the ’92 Olympic winners. Magic
Johnson, said he wanted to go to
the Games again, even though
he hasn’t played an NBA game
in almost three years. Johnson
retired from the Los Angeles
Lakers in November 1991 after
contracting the AIDS virus and,
aside from the Barcelona
Games, has limited his competi
tion since then to his own in
ternational all-star tour.
And if Magic is in the run
ning, what about Mike?
Michael Jordan’s comeback
from a 1 1/2-year pursuit of
baseball means the man gener
ally considered the greatest bas
ketball player ever could be in
Atlanta looking for his second
straight gold medal and an un
precedented third overall.
“It’s too early to speculate
about any of that,” Miller said.
“I don’t think anyone (here) has
had contact with Michael or
Magic or anyone else. Certain
ly, if you are seeking to create
the best team possible, then
Michael would certainly be con
sidered. But I’m not even sure
he’d want it.”
Johnson’s inactive status does
nothing to affect his Olympic eli
gibility, however, Miller said.
“There is nothing to keep
Magic from playing,” he said in
a telephone interview from the
federation’s headquarters in Col
orado Springs, Colo. “Our selec
tion procedure says essentially
that any U.S. citizen is eligible
for consideration.”
Nor would concerns about
Johnson’s health or competitive
ness cloud the picture. Miller
continued.
“Magic’s playing abilities are
superb,” he said. “It’s not like a
comeback by an old boxer. He’s
still in an elite status. He’s
healthy and playing very well.”
Privately, U.S. Olympic lead
ers say they can’t imagine not at
least contacting Jordan to see if
he’s interested and building the
team around him if he is.
Also to be weighed are mar
keting pluses — and minuses —
for both His Airness and the
Olympic community; remember
that the Dream Team created a
nightmare for the U.S. Olympic
Committee in Barcelona when
individual sneaker and clothing
endorsements clashed with
those of the full team.
□ Rockets' coach Rudy
Tomjanovich ejected
after disputing call.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) —
Karl Malone scored a season-high
45 points, including 13 in the piv
otal third period Wednesday
night, as the Utah Jazz rolled to a
115-96 victory over the Houston
Rockets, their probable first-
round playoff opponent.
Malone hit 16 of 24 shots
and had 17 rebounds as the
Jazz evened their season series
with the Rockets at 2-2 and ex
tended their winning streak to
five games.
John Stockton had 19 points
and 15 assists, while David
Benoit had 19 and 13 rebounds.
Hakeem Olajuwon had 30
points and 10 rebounds for the
Rockets, who will try to avenge
the loss Sunday when Utah
travels to Houston for both
teams’ regular season finale.
Utah pulled within 1 1/2
games of the idle San Antonio
Spurs for first place in the West
ern Conference.
Clyde Drexler finished with
17 points for the Rockets, who
had won their three previous
games, while Mario Elie had 13
and Kenny Smith 12.
Breaking a halftime tie, the
Jazz used Hornacek’s basket
and Benoit’s 3-pointer to stake a
64-59 lead with 8:21 left in the
third quarter. Four minutes lat
er, another mini-run — capped
by Malone’s 10-foot jumper —
pushed Utah’s advantage to 10.
Then things really fell apart
for the Rockets. In the third
quarter’s final 1:45, coach Rudy
Tomjanovich was ejected on a
technical for coming out to mid
court protest a call, and Olaju
won collected both a flagrant
foul when he knocked Malone to
the floor and his fourth personal.
After the resulting flurry of
foul shots, the Jazz went into the
final period with an 89-73 lead.
The Rockets could get no closer
than nine points after that, clos
ing to 93-84 on Olajuwon’s fall-
away jumper with a little more
than five minutes to play.
The third-seeded Texas A&M
men’s tennis team will face Texas
Tech at 1 p.m. in the first round of
the Southwest Conference Men’s
Tennis Championship Friday at the
Omar Smith Tennis Center.
In the regular season matchup
between the two teams, A&M
handed Tech a 5-2 loss in Lubbock
on April 15.
“It’s great to play in the
conference tournament at the Omar
Smith Tennis Center,” A&M tennis
coach David Kent said. “I think we’re
very capable of winning this
tournament. The problem is that
there are several teams capable of
winning this tournament.”
Games against UTA
cancelled yesterday
The softball doubleheader
between Texas A&M and Texas-
Arlington scheduled for today in
Arlington has been canceled
because of weather. The games will
not be rescheduled.
The Lady Aggies will resume play
Saturday in a four-game series
against 13th-ranked South Carolina
in Columbia, S.C.
Blinn guard signs to
play basketball
The Texas A&M basketball team
signed Tracey Anderson of Blinn
Junior College to a national letter-of-
intent yesterday.
Anderson, a 6-2, 185-pound
guard, averaged 17.9 points, 5.7
assists and 2.5 steals in leading Blinn
to a 19-11 record.
“Tracey is a combination guard
who is a tremendous competitor,"
A&M coach Tony Barone said. “We
really like his leadership potential and
think he can step in and be a Big-12
player for us.”
Women open tourney
against U. of Houston
The second-seeded Texas A&M
women’s tennis team will open the
Southwest Conference tournament
against the Univeristy of Houston at 1
p.m. on Friday at the Omar Smith
Tennis Center.
The Lady Aggies handed the Lady
Cougars a 7-2 loss in College Station
during the regular season.
“The entire team is healthy and in
good spirits about the tournament,”
A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said.
“They know this is a great opportunity
for them and they’re excited about
playing at home.”
Age not a factor for freshmen athletes
F reshman success is hard
to come by in the world of
academia. But, in the
sports world, there are differ-
en t rules.
The 1991-92 Michigan bas
ketball team, starting five
freshmen, made national head
lines in their bid for the NCAA
championship only to fall short
in the finals.
Their success drew enormous
attention from across the nation
and an array of coverage from
Sports Illustrated and other na
tional sports media.
The successes of some local
freshman athletes give testimo
ny to this fact.
Names like Kyle Kessel,
Carey Owens and Kristie Smed-
srud have graced the headlines
at A&M and more than likely,
their hometowns.
Kessel came in and led the
Aggies at point guard, nailing
the three point shot and assist
ing his teammates to the bas
ket game after
game.
The successes
do not stop with
Aggie men’s
basketball.
The ladies’
squad dawned
their own three-
point specialist
in freshman guard Carey
Owens. The freshman standout
was solid behind the three-
point arc proving she could not
only play, but compete at the
collegiate level.
Basketball is not the only
sport where freshman Aggies
have displayed their talents
this year.
Last fall, Kristie Smedsrud
proved her athletic talents on
the volleyball team with her
contributions in the Lady Ag
gies’ playoff bid. She went on to
earn “Freshman of the Year”
honors, making a statement
that she can win on the colle
giate level.
These “new”
Aggies follow
greats from years
past who burst
on to the college
playing field.
Many remem
ber running back
Leland McElroy’s
freshman season.
The moves he made on de
fensive linemen opened the
eyes of several veteran players
and all Aggie fans. Not many
athletes can say they were
awarded the National Special
Teams Player of the Year by
Sports Illustrated because they
led the nation in kickoff returns
with a 39.3 average.
With all of these successes,
it’s no wonder that freshman
athletes, both present and past,
have had national recognition
for their accomplishments.
So, what is it that causes
many coaches and fans to
cringe when the rookie fresh
man is put into the game.
Perhaps, it’s their lack of ex
perience. Most coaches want to
develop and build on the talent
of standout high school athletes.
The freshman athletes who
get to wear the Aggie jersey and
sweat in it sometimes excel past
their veteran teammates.
Maybe it’s their attitude.
Freshman know the athletic tal
ents of their high school team
mates and opponents. Perhaps
the only exposure they have
had to the kind of competition
they will face at the collegiate
level is at slimmer camps.
Freshman also, many times,
have high expectations because
of their successes at the high
school level.
Whatever the reason, the
freshman athletes who have im
pacted Texas A&M are fast be
coming household names and
ones that will be associated
with A&M for years to come.
Your memory may fail you but your Aggieland won’t
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