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Page 5
Tuesday • February 4, 1997
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By Chris Ferrell
The Battalion
B
Stew Milne, The Battalion
reshman point guard Brian Barone looks to pass the ball off in Iowa
State traffic in a game at G. Rollie White Coliseum Feb. 1.
rian Barone always knew
Dec. 15, 1995 would be one
of the most memorable
days of his life.
It was a day he looked forward
to because it was his eighteenth
birthday. But it is also a day he
will always remember because it
was the day his basketball career
almost came to an end.
Barone, then a senior guard at
A&M Consolidated High School,
tore his anterior cruciate ligament
while trying to convert on a layup.
The events surrounding his in
jury remain as clear to him today as
they were on his birthday.
“There were about five min
utes left in the game; we were up
by 15,” Barone said. “I just went
up and my friend gave me a pass.
I hobbled it a little bit, and I went
up — I missed the layup.
“As I missed it, I was in traffic and
I got twisted. My head was facing
one way and my body was facing
the other. And I was upset because
I missed it and then as I landed, just
right then, I knew, I could hear it
(the ligament tear).”
Happy birthday Brian Barone.
Barone, now a freshman guard
for the Texas A&M Men’s Basketball
Team and son of Head Coach Tony
Barone, can now look back at the
injury and see a silver lining.
“Even before I was hurt, I knew I
could play at this level, but I wasn’t
sure that I was ready,” Barone said.
“There was stuff I was going to work
on over the summer and my senior
year of high school. But once I got
hurt, I think I almost spent more
time working on what I needed to
do to get better.”
Barone said his injury also
forced him to realize his capabilities
as a basketball player.
“I’m a better player now,” Barone
said. “I don’t try to do as much. I know
my limitations and try to concentrate
on the fundamentals instead of trying
to be a little more athletic.”
Coming off the bench, Barone
has played a key role for the Aggies
in his first season. Oftentimes, his
basketball skills are overshadowed
by his hustle on the court.
Barone ranks second in the Big 12
Conference in the assist/turnover
ratio but is perhaps more recognized
for diving out of bounds to save
loose balls.
“I know that I’m not as athletic,
not as strong, not as big, so I have to
do all the little things,” Barone said.
“Plus I want to win, and when you
want to win, you see that ball out
there and you just go for it.”
His father and coach, Tony
Barone, said Brian’s impact has
been evident.
“His emotional impact is pretty
obvious,” Tony Barone said. “His ef
fort impact is pretty obvious.”
Barone has been around A&M
basketball since the 1991-92 season
when his dad took over the program
— but coming to A&M was not a
cut-and-dry decision.
Born in Chicago, Barone enter
tained the notion of playing up
North, but in the end decided to con
tinue the Barone family tradition of
playing at A&M. His brother Tony Jr.,
played at A&M from 1991-94.
See Barone, Page 6
By Matt Mitchell
The Battalion
The last time the Texas A&M
Men’s Basketball Team played the
University of Oklahoma, the Sooners
spanked them by a score of 78-59 in
what A&M coaches have called the
team’s worst performance of the sea
son. It was the fourth loss in what
would eventually become an eight-
game slide that has left the Aggies
with a 2-6 conference record.
The Aggies get another shot at
OU tonight, as they
travel to Norman to
take on the Sooners
at the Lloyd Noble
Center. Tip-off is
scheduled for 8:07,
and the game will be
televised locally by
Creative Sports.
A&M Head Coach
Tony Barone said al
though a win over the
Sooners would help
even the score after
embarrassing
“We clearly did
not play well
against Okla
homa, and our
kids know that”
Tony Barone
A&M head coach
home loss to Oklahoma, revenge
should not be the motive for a win.
“Revenge is never an issue if you’re
going to play better,” Barone said. “I
think it’s a negative emotion. We clear
ly did not play well against Oklahoma,
and our kids know that.”
That may be a bit of an under
statement. In the Jan. 5 game, the
Sooners limited the Aggies to just 32
percent shooting, including 0-for-
nine from three-point range. The
Aggies were outplayed and out-
hustled from the opening tip, and
trailed 40-23 at half time.
“It was like we were impostors,”
Barone said. “Somebody else was
on the court—I don’t have any idea
who that was. That won’t happen
this time. We’ll play with more ag
gressiveness and we’ll play, I think,
more intelligently.”
Oklahoma should not have any
problem with aggressiveness. The
Sooners (12-6, 4-4) are coming off
an impressive win against the then
23rd-ranked Texas Longhorns. The
Sooners have been virtually un
beatable this season at home,
posting a 10-1 record, with their
only loss coming against 22nd-
ranked Texas Tech.
“They’re going to be fired up
because they beat Texas, but we’ve
had a good last
three games, so I
think our confi
dence is pretty
high,” junior center
Dario Quesada
said. “We know
they are playing
better than they
(the Sooners) were,
but we are are play
ing better as well.”
Playing well in
cludes good bench
play, something the
Aggies have found to be in short sup
ply of late. Senior guard Tracey An
derson is still plugging along with a
strained groin, and junior forward
Larry Thompson is still recovering
from a broken nose suffered during
the Kansas game two weeks ago.
“We’re still depleted,” Barone said.
“Larry’s about 40 percent right nowin
terms of what he can do on the court.”
Barone said Thompson will shed
the mask he donned against Iowa State
because he finds it uncomfortable.
“You can’t see sideways, and
sometimes peripheral vision comes
into play in basketball,” Barone
said. “If you can’t see the ball com
ing from that side, then you have a
problem catching the ball.”
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H From off the bench to on the court, Linder becomes a leader
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By Lara L. Zuehlke
The Battalion
in Athletes: There# '
etamorphosis is another word for
transformation, and anyone who
has seen the recent play of junior
am Linder, a center on the Texas A&M
Vomen’s Basketball Team,
an see a metamorphosis.
Linder has jumped off the
rship, small group;'* iench and sparked the Lady
;ers at 9 p.m. in 0 Aggie’s inside game. She has
ttntributed a total of 55
loints in the last four Big 12
onference games, including
ly: There will beaw«f career-high 18 points
at All Faith’s Chapeifgainst Kansas University.
Linder said her lack of
laying time and her ill
Service-MinorityS| ealth limited her perfor-
tiance earlier in the season.
“This is the first time I’ve
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“We have more
confidence in
Kim and we
know what she
can do.”
Melissa Rollerson
Senior guard
, n on fj rst come f 'een really healthy all year, and I think you
nformation call Dr.i 3se a lot ofconfidence when you’re sitting on
' lie bench,” Linder said.
The 6-foot finance major from Amarillo
:iub: Beginne,sc«li' sclb , 0 « e 1 d ^way through the paint grab-
: mg a total of 61 rebounds in 19 games, giv-
igher an average of 3.8 boards per contest,
inder also recorded a career-high 10 re
bounds against Oklahoma State University.
Senior guard Melissa Rollerson said Lin
der’s contributions have helped the team
when they were in a bind.
“We have more confidence in Kim and we
know what she can do,” Rollerson said.
“That’s really helped us, because we know we
can rely on her now.”
Linder’s soft-spoken voice
and easy-going disposition also
have changed, and she has tak
en reigns of the team, along with
the senior leadership of Roller-
son and guard Lana Tucker.
“Kim has more confi
dence in her game and she’s
much more talkative,”
Rollerson said. “She’s be
come more of a leader.”
This newfound leadership
has earned her the title of co
captain, along with Tucker.
A&M Head Coach Candi Harvey said Lin
der has played well and exemplifies the qual
ities of a good player.
“Last week I named her co-captain be
cause I felt she exhibited all the traits that
we’re looking for in a player,” Harvey said.
“She’s become more verbal and I felt it was a
good time to do it because she will be the lone
senior on the team next year.”
Although Linder has been blazing the
courts lately, she said the team as a whole has
to step forward, instead of just one player.
“I think any time you can come off the
bench,-score double figures and rebound
well, it’s going to help the team,” Linder said.
“But we need everyone to do that, because it’s
not just one player. (In) every game someone
different needs to step up.”
Linder has seen an overhaul on the Lady
Aggie squad in her three years on the team,
losing four seniors last year and senior
Marianne Sevin to back problems earlier
this season.
After a season which ended in a Southwest
Conference Championship, Linder said she is
not discouraged because of the trying season.
“We know we are a young team, but we
know that we have a good team,” Linder said.
“We knew coming into this year that it would
be hard, but we haven’t given up.”
Linder said she enjoys the competitive na
ture of the game and the sense of the accom
plishment that comes along with playing well,
but also stresses that winning is important.
"I’ve regained my confidence in my game
again, and I’m just having fun with it,” Linder
said. “The only thing that would make it bet
ter was if we were winning.”
Tim Moog, The Battalion
Junior center Kim Linder has exploded off the bench in the last four Big 12 games.
She has a total of 55 points, which includes a career-high 18 points against Kansas.
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Lady Ags ready for season opener
By Sara Duesing
The Battalion
It may be the beginning of Febmary but spring
is definitely in the air. And to kick off the spring sea
son, the Texas A&M Women’s Tennis Team will face
the University of North Texas at 1:30 p.m. today at
the Omar Smith Tennis Center.
For three weeks, the Lady Aggies have been prac
ticing and conditioning, propping themselves for
the regular season. Head Women’s Tennis Coach
Bobby Kleinecke said the team has been working
on confidence and control.
“Everyone is ready to go and is in good shape,”
Kleinecke said. “We’ve been working hard to get
more consistent and aggressive doubles.”
Although the Lady Aggies are favored to beat
North Texas, senior Julie Beahm, who won the
Southwest Conference No. 6 singles crown in 1996,
said it is important not to take any team lightly.
“We’ve usually dominated and done pretty well
in the past,” Beahm said. “But they (UNT) have
some new players so we have to be prepared.”
After finishing the fall season in the No. 23
spot, according to the Rolex Collegiate Rank
ings, A&M is prepared to face stiff competi
tion in the Big 12 Conference after finishing in
a tie for second place in the Southwest Con
ference last season.
Hoping to start off on the right foot for 1997
against the Lady Eagles, Kleinecke said the first
match of the season can still be scary.
“North Texas is a steady team, and they have
improved over the last couple of years,” Klei
necke said. “They’re the type of team that may
not beat you, but will put you in the position to
beat yourself. We’re just going to put it on the line
and see what happens.”
Beahm said the team is both excited and anx
ious to finally get to play and is looking to gain
confidence and momentum. Kleinecke said he
wants to get rid of any first-match jitters and find
what needs to be worked on during practice.
“We’re tired of practicing with just each oth
er,” Kleinecke said. “It’s been tough to stay moti
vated, and it’s time to get up and play.”
Individual players stepping up games
I t’s been a busy week for the Texas
A&M Men’s Basketball Team, with
two Lugh-profile programs visiting
the Holler House. University of Missouri
and Iowa State University may be gone
but here are some precocious passages
to quell those pre-exam anxieties.
In Big 12 play, Jones leads all con
ference newcomers in scoring 15
points a game, and is averaging 12
points overall for the season. He also
has nine three-point plays. There is an
intelligent, mature look to Jones that
showcases an outstanding work ethic,
belying his relatively young age.
“People look at him and think he
must be a senior—but he’s only a
sophomore,” A&M Head Coach Tony
Barone said of Jones. “He demands a
tremendous amount from himself. I
never, ever, ever question Shanne’s atti
tude, effort or his desire to play hard.”
Keeping Up with Jones...
Somewhat lost amid the plays of
his more heralded freshman team
mates, sophomore forward Shanne
Jones is quietly having a terrific year
and making a strong bid for Big 12
Newcomer of the Year Award.
Strength Training for Davis ...
After a recent string of excellent
games in conference play, fans might
be wondering why sophomore for
ward Calvin Davis was not able to
play at such a high level of consisten
cy earlier in the year.
The A&M coaching staff says that
the reed-thin Davis lacks the physical
strength to be a true inside banger
and is sometimes getting out-mus
cled under the boards.
“He still has to get stronger, and I
think when you see him having a
problem physically, it’s because of a
lack of strength,” Barone said. “Not
a lack of effort — he usually give us
the effort. But again, the physical
thing is something he’s got to get
better at.”
Never was that more evident
than Saturday night. Iowa State’s
Kelvin Cato was able to jockey for
inside position time and again to
grab 10 caroms. Though Davis fin
ished with a flurry, his skying for re
bounds and assortment of inside
moves were rendered largely inef
fective by the imposing center.
See Mitchell, Page 6
Xanalw
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