The Battalion
: riday
October 6, 1995
SPORTS
Spurs sign top pick
Alexander to 3-year deal
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Spurs
have agreed to terms with top draft
pick Cory Alexander, the San Antonio
Express-News reported today.
Alexander, a point guard from Vir
ginia, was drafted 29th in the first
round. His signing was expected to be
announced today.
"It feels good to have all the pieces
in place and begin to prepare for even
abetter season than we had last year,”
said Spurs general manager Gregg
Popovich.
Alexander's three-year deal is
worth between $1.4 million and $1.7
million under the rookie scale.
The Spurs head to Austin today for
training camp, which begins Friday at
the University of Texas.
Taiwan officials won't let
Magic enter country
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Magic John
son's agent says there must be "mixed
signals" in Taiwan, where a govern
ment health official said the basketball
star has been barred from entering the
country because he has the AIDS virus.
"(Magic) has an official invitation
from the president of Taiwan to visit
with him there," agent Lon Rosen said
today. "So obviously there are some
mixed signals."
Johnson is scheduled to arrive in
Taiwan later this month with his All-
Stars basketball team for two exhibi
tion games.
Johnson retired in 1992 after an
nouncing that he had contracted the
AIDS virus and has since become a
spokesman on the disease.
Rangers designate two to
minor leagues
ARLINCTON(AP) — The Texas
Rangers have outrighted catcher John
Marzano and designated hitter Sam
Horn to their Triple A affiliate at Okla
homa City, the team announced Thurs
day.
Each player has the option to de
clare free agency but neither has noti
fied the club of his intention, the
Rangers said.
Marzano spent most of the season
with Oklahoma City, where he hit
.309 with nine home runs and 56 RBI
in 120 games. He went 2-for-6 in two
games with the Rangers in September.
Horn hit .308 with 12 homers and
42 RBI in 46 games in Triple A, but
went 1-for-9 in late-season action with
Texas.
The moves reduced the Rangers
roster to 38.
Rockets complete
training camp roster
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston
Rockets completed their training camp
roster Thursday with the addition of
four players: Ricky Blanton, Alvin Heg-
gs, Tony Watson and Tremaine Wing
field.
Blanton, 29, was drafted by the
Phoenix Suns in 1989 but did not see
NBA action until 1993 during a 10-day
contract with the Chicago Bulls.
Before playing briefly with the
Bulls, the 6-7, 215-pound forward
played for four Continental Basketball
Association teams: Grand Rapids, Wi
chita Falls, Sioux City and Rapid City.
He's averaged 10.8 points and 3.5 re
bounds per game in the CBA.
Heggs, a 6-8, 225-pound forward,
played in Argentina and most recently
in japan. The 28-year-old also spent
the 1990-91 season with Oklahoma
City in the CBA.
Watson, 24, a 6-4 guard, spent four
years at the University of Houston, av
eraging 7.8 points. Wingfield, 23, a 6-
7 forward, played two seasons at the
University of Texas, averaging 7.6
points. Neither has pro experience.
The Rockets open training camp
Friday in Galveston.
V.
Nguyen no fun for Aggie
opponents
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Texas A&M redshirt freshman linebacker Dat Nguyen gives Louisiana State University
quarterback Jamie Howard something to think about during the Aggies' 33-1 7 win.
□ The redshirt freshman has
started since Trent Driver was
sidelined with an injury.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
To many players, football is not a
game, but a job. Getting bruised and
banged up running your opponent into
the ground comes with the territory.
But to A&M inside linebacker Dat
Nguyen, football isn’t all blood, sweat
and tears, it is about having fun.
“Dat loves to play football,” A&M
Defensive Coordinator Phil Bennett
said. “He has fun on the field and
plays with great enthusiasm in prac
tice and in games.”
A redshirt freshman this season,
Nguyen has all the attributes to have
plenty of “fun” against opponents on
the gridiron. Blessed with a 6-foot, 1-
inch, 213-pound frame, Nguyen’s pow
erful build is his greatest asset.
But when first arriving at A&M last
fall, Nguyen’s size is what concerned
Aggie coaches. Weighing in at a stocky
240 pounds, he was considered a little
too heavy.
“A year ago, Dat was quite a bit
overweight,” Bennett said. “Everybody
was disappointed. But, he had a good
spring, and he decided he didn’t need
to be that heavy to be a successful col
lege football player.”
Nguyen said playing on the scout
team as a redshirt player last season
helped prepare him mentally and
physically to be a starter this season.
“I lost a lot of weight last season
and over the spring,” Nguyen said. “I
also learned a lot about the game sit
ting out a year.”
As a senior at Rockport-Fulton
High School in 1993, Nguyen posted
188 tackles and being named District
30-3A Defensive Player of the Year.
His hard-nosed play also made him a
Consensus Texas Top 100 linebacker
as the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
named him All-South Texas Defensive
Player of the Year.
“He has great awareness on the
field,” Bennett said. “He reminds me
of a guy I used to play with here in Ed
Simonini (an All-American A&M line
backer in 1975.) He’s very instinctive,
but he’s not going to overpower any
body with bone-crushing blows.”
Early on, Nguyen was not projected
to start at inside linebacker. However,
an early-season injury suffered by
Trent Driver opened the door of oppor
tunity to the freshman.
Although it is an honor, Nguyen
does not put too much emphasis on
starting.
“I started a couple of games because
Trent got hurt, but it really doesn’t
matter who starts,” Nguyen said. “I
don’t really think about it because the
coaches play a lot of positions two-
deep, so we get an equal amount of
playing time.”
“We knew it would be a good battle
between Dat and Trent for that posi
tion,” Bennett said. “Trent’s ankle in
jury has sort of lingered, so both play
ers have played about an equal num
ber of reps. They’ve complimented
each other nicely.”
Bennett said Nguyen’s role is cru
cial to the success of the team.
“He calls all the defenses and has to
align our front to different offensive
formations,” Bennett said. “He has a
lot of responsibility for a guy that’s
just a year out of high school.”
Nguyen said his only goal is to take
full advantage of every opportunity he
has on the playing field.
“I just want to be prepared and cov
er my assignments,” Nguyen said.
You only have so many chances, so
when I’m out there I want to do every
thing right and make as few mistakes
as possible.”
With consistent improvement, Ben
nett said Nguyen should have a bright
future.
“He is getting better every game,
and I think he will continue to do so,”
Bennett said. “He takes coaching well,
and he has a desire to improve.
“Dat’s having a good time right
now, and to think about some of the
plays he’s made this year just being a
freshman is very exciting.”
Confidence makes kicking easy on Kyle’s Field
□ The sophomore shattered
several A&\H kicking
records last season.
By Kristina Buffin
The Battalion
Most kids collect baseball cards or
posters. Sophomore placekicker Kyle
Bryant collected the souvenirs from
players at Aggie football games
when he was growing up.
“My parents graduated from
A&M, so A&M ran in the family,”
Bryant said. “At football games as a
kid, I would run onto the field and
ask the players for their pads and
sweatbands. I enjoyed those games
so much.”
Like most placekickers, Bryant
began his athletic career by playing
soccer. However, as he began to play
football, Bryant realized that kick
ing field goals and points after
touchdowns was not as easy as it
looked.
“Ever since I was three, I played
soccer,” Bryant said. “In eighth
grade I started kicking because of
soccer, and I thought it would be
easy.”
As a senior at A&M Consolidated
High School, Bryant converted 10-
of-11 field goals and 42-of-43 PATs,
He also set a state record of 19
field goals in one season during his
career at A&M Consolidated. It was
not easy qt first, but Bryant attrib
utes his high school success to an
excellent program at Consolidated.
“Playing at A&M Consolidated
was a big honor for me,” Bryant
said. “It was a good program that
was ranked among the top teams in
Texas A&M placekicker Kyle Bryant prepares to kick a field goal out of the hold of Stormy Case Texas. I wanted to be a part of that,
during the Aggies' 55-9 defeat of Tulsa University Sept. 1 6 and I enjoyed the challenge.”
Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion
Bryant burst onto the A&M
scene, after redshirting his first
year, with a 61-yard field goal
against Southern Mississippi. This
field goal was a NCAA freshman
record and is the second longest in
NCAA history. This set off a media
blitz which would affect most fresh
men, but Bryant said it did not faze
him.
“I don’t want to say that it didn’t
affect me, but it was in the back of
my mind,” Bryant said. “I did not ex
pect that much publicity. It was just
a kick and just as important as a 32-
yard field goal. I wish it did not get
as much attention.”
Special Teams Coach Shawn
Slocum attributes Bryant’s success
and consistency to the style in which
he kicks the ball.
“Technically, he kicks a straight
ball, which gives him consistency,”
Slocum said. “The straight ball gives
him better opportunity because
there is no big curve or arch. Psy
chologically, he feels more confident.
He is able to focus on doing his job.
He’s not nervous about factors such
as wind or distance.”
Bryant is not superstitious and
does not believe in a “sophomore
slump.” Bryant is 2-of-4 in field
goals this season and 14-of-14 in
PATs despite a quadricep injury
that limited his play in the first
three games this season.
“My goal this season is to get my
strength back to 100 percent,”
Bryant said. “I want to get back to
kickoffs. Ryan (Pillans) is a great
kicker with a strong leg, but I’d like
to do (kickoffs).”
Unshakable confidence is a key
part of being a successful kicker.
Bryant said he always goes into a
See Bryant, Page 8
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11! I'
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THE BATTALION’S 1995 STAFF PICKS ^
Suest-Plcker
Ihe Match-ups
Nick
Georgandis
Kristina
Buffin
David
Winder
Tom
Day
Lisa
Nance,
Philip
Leone
Robin
Greathouse
Rob
Clark
Sterling
Hayman
Stew
Milne
Kyle
Littlefield
Michael
Landauer
Gretchen
Perrenot
Stacy
Stanton
Jody
Holley
Toby
Boenig
Commentary
m A&M at Texas Tech
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M
A&M: SWC title run begins
Rice at #20 Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Texas
Rice
UT: No '94 miracle for Owls.....
Houston at TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
TCU
Houston
TCU
TCU
TCU
Houston
Houston
TCU
TCU
TCU: Great game choice, Raycom
Miami at #1 Florida State
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Florida St.
Miami
FSU: Hurricanes blown out
#3 Florida at #21 LSD
LSU
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
LSU
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
LSU
UF: Gators chomp on Tigers
#10 Tennessee at # 1 8 Arkansas
Arkansas
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas
Tennessee: Too many weapons..
#23 Notre Dame at ^ 3 Wash.
Notre Dame Washington
Washington
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Washington
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Washington
Washington
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
NO: Fighting Irish won't go away
* 23 Northwestern at ^ Mich.
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan: Northwestern a fluke
^ Ohio St. 2 Penn St.
Penn St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Penn St.
Ohio St.
Penn St.
Penn St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Ohio St.
Penn State
OSU: Penn St. on the way down
Oilers at Vikings
Oilers
Vikings
Vikings
Oilers
Oilers
Vikings
Vikings
Vikings
Vikings
Vikings
Oilers
Vikings
Oilers
Vikings
Oilers
Vikings
Vikings: Bad Moon Rising on Oilers
Packers at Cowboys
Packers
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Packers
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys: Aikman or no Aikman
Chargers at Chiefs
Chargers
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chargers
Chiefs
Chargers
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chargers
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs
Chiefs: Chargers fizzle on MNF
Last Week
5-2-2
2-5-2
4-3-2
5-2-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
3-4-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
4-3-2
2-5-2
Toby goes for
Nick C. wins week, stock market collapses
Cumulative
36-19-2
40-15-2
40-15-2
43-12-2
40-15-2
40-15-2
38-17-2
37-18-2
38-17-2
39-18-2
41-14-2
43-12-2
38-17-2
32-23-2
36-19-2
the upsets
Day makes a move on the top spot