Page 7
Thursday • March 6, 1997
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Aggies' season of learning
make for an exciting 1998
O ne of Tony
Barone’s fa
vorite expres
sions is how a team or
player “stepped up to
the table." The animat
ed Head coach uses it
to describe a gutsy
performance from a
player on his team or
the team as a whole.
And while Barone’s
Bunch still has the
small matter of the Big
12 Conference Tournament to
play, it’s probably safe to assume
theAggies’ season is just about
over. But before the former
Dukey and his charges slide ever
so quietly into the off- season,
let’s see exactly who stepped up
to the table in this season which
began with such promise, as well
as who may be invited next year.
We might as well start at the
top. Though fans have often been
more interested in Barone’s side
line shenanigans than his coach
ing expertise, the much-criticized
attendance at G. Rollie White has
risen 23 percent from last year and
62.5 percent overall since Barone’s
arrival in 1991. Sure, it’s not any
where near the constant sellout
status of big boys Duke and Ken
tucky, but for a place with as little
roundball tradition as A&M, the
constant improvement is an en
couraging sign, especially with
Reed Arena wait-
Sportswriter
Matt Mitchell
Junior journalism
major
The Aggies will
return three of
their top four
scorers, but the
future is not quite
so rosy for their
Big 12 brethren.
ingto be filled.
Barone main
tains that he is
pleased with the
talent level and
direction of the
program, and it’s
hard to disagree
with him. What
most people don’t
understand or
appreciate is the
damage left by
Barone’s prede-
cessorKermit Davis, whose
tenure was marked by scandal
and NCAA rules violations that
pushed A&M hoops into the
DarkAges. Barone has had to re
build the program basically from
the ground up, with a dilapidat
ed stadium to play in for at least
one more season and a program
whose history is nowhere near as
rich as others.
As for the season winding
down, the Aggies have by far the
youngest squad in the Big 12, with
an average age of 20. Only four of
this season’s players were with the
team last year, and only one is left
from the ‘94 squad. Stack that up
against a team like Kansas, who
has three third-year seniors in its
starting rotation, and you begin to
see how much maturity and expe
rience matter in the Big 12.
Barone deserves credit for
keeping his kids competitive and
focused throughout a trying sea
son. The Aggies lost five games in
the final two seconds of regula
tion, and two more in overtime.
But the Aggies refused to quit,
showing a mental fortitude that
belies their young age.
The usual pattern for the Ag
gies was to get down early, then
fight their way back to put them
selves in a position to win. Ad
mittedly, that’s not the best way
to win games, but aside from one
or two exceptions, theAggies
were always in it near the end.
Barone warns the problem
with losing by such narrow mar
gins so often is that players start
to accept losing. But I have never
spoken to a player who didn’t
honestly believe the Aggies were
capable of winning any
night against any team.
Amid the defections,
injuries and continued
misfortune that have
been well-documented
in these pages
throughout the season,
Barone prepared his
team to be competitive
every night against the
best talent around.
That’s the mark of a
good coach.
Oklahoma Head Coach Kelvin
Sampson, himself a former Na
tional Coach of the Year, cites the
young Aggies’ never-say-die atti
tude in touting Barone “as good a
coach as there is in the Big 12.”
Turning our attention to next
season, we find the familiar adage
“wait ’til next year” indeed rings
true. Sophomore forward Calvin
Davis got the shaft when it came
time for postseason honors, as
did senior guard Tracey Ander
son. Davis, an honorable- men
tion All-Big 12 selection, should
be one of only five returning
sophomores to have been placed
on any all-conference team, as
suming Colorado’s Chauncey
Billups turns pro as expected.
The Aggies will return three of
their top four scorers, but the fu
ture is not quite so rosy for their
Big 12 brethren. With the Buffs
likely losing the services of
Billups, Kansas re
turning only one
starter, and Iowa
State losing its
starting five, the
Aggies should be
primed to make a
run as the upper-
echelon team in
the conference.
One thing is
certain: Barone is
one humdinger of
a recruiter. The
top-ranked Big 12
Aggies look to upset Sooners
A&M will tip-off against Oklahoma tonight in the first round
By Matt Mitchell
The Battalion
March is upon us. Let the Madness begin.
The first step for the Texas A&M Men’s Bas
ketball Team comes tonight against the Uni
versity of Oklahoma at Kemper Arena in
Kansas City in the first round of the Big 12
Men’s Basketball Tournament. The 1 Ith-seed-
ed Aggies are scheduled to tip off at 8:20
Stew Milne, The Batfaijon
Sophomore Calvin Davis works his way under
the hoop against a Texas Tech defender.
against the 6th-seeded Sooners in a game tele
vised by Creative Sports.
The members of the Big 12 will duke it out in a
four-day slugfest for the right to an automatic bid
to the NCAA Tournament. The top four teams in
the conference received byes to the second round,
leaving eight teams to play in the first round of the
tournament. Should the Aggies beat the Sooners,
they will advance to the second round to play the
Colorado Buffaloes Friday.
A&M and OU have clashed twice already this
season, with the Sooners emerging victorious
each time. On Jan. 25, the Aggies played what is
widely considered their worst game of the sea
son, getting blown out 78-59 at G. Rollie White
Coliseum. The rematch was a decidedly different
story, with the Aggies losing in overtime, 62-59.
While the focus for A&M (9-17, 3-13) is pro
longing its season and giving its young team a
taste of big-time tournament play, the Soon
ers have more important things on their mind.
OU (17-9, 9-7) is a candidate for an at-large
bid to the Big Dance if they don’t win the con
ference tournament, but its chances will drop
markedly without at least one win against
their Big 12 brethren.
“Oklahoma’s a bubble team for the NCAA
(Tournament),” A&M Head Coach Tony Barone
said. “Their approach to this is this is an opportu
nity to solidify their standing (with the NCAA Se
lection Committee).”
A Sooner win over the Aggies would do just
that. Oklahoma is a scrappy team that hustles the
entire 40 minutes, so maintaining focus will be a
must for the Aggies.
“They (OU) are a loose-ball team — they get
every loose ball,” Barone said. “If you are not
mentally consistent with your effort, the loose
balls will kill you in this game.”
One thing is certain. The Aggies have an op
portunity to make a big splash at one of the
most anticipated conference tournaments in
the country. The Big 12 Conference is consid
ered by most to be among the very best in the
country in basketball.
Ryan Rogers, The Battalion
Freshman guard Brian Barone is rejected by a
Missouri defender Jan. 28.
“It’s the biggest athletic event that this Uni
versity has been in in a long time simply because
of the environment and the interest in the tour
nament,” Barone said. “It’s the proverbial “one
game at a time.” The excitement is going to be
there. We’re just going to throw our hat in the ring
and see what happens.”
Anderson leaves mark on A&M
recruiting class from a year ago
that included Big 12 Freshman of
the Year Jerald Brown will be
joined by Barone’s second dyna
mite crop.
Having spurned 2nd-ranked
Minnesota, six-foot, five-inch
Canadian guard Michael
Schmidt will bring his Player of
the Year credentials to Aggieland,
including his 30 points per game
and 45-percent three-point per
centage. Kansas high school re
cruit T.J. Brown, named one of
the top 10 point guards in the
country, boasts 20 points, seven
assists, seven rebounds, and five
steals per game. TCU transfer
Chris Richards rounds out a re
cruiting class that should be con
sidered among the nation’s tops.
“I think Tony has got this thing
absolutely on track,” Iowa State
Head Coach Tim Floyd said.
“They’ve got the basis with a very
good young core of talent and
also great crowd involvement to
have a quality, big-time program.
None of the Big 12 coaches has
been dealt a tougher hand be
cause none of us have inherited
probations, and it takes time to
work through those things.”
Despite their poor record, the
Aggies were true to their name
sake and never gave up during
the course of a trying, tu
multuous season. Barone and his
coaching staff should be com
mended for putting the players
in a position to win, even as the
bench got shorter and shorter.
The table should be set for
next year. All that remains to be
seen is who will step up.
Senior Tracey Anderson
may be leaving but
his legacy will not
be forgotten.
T
Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion
Senior Tracey Anderson drives against Baylor at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
By Chris Ferrell
The Battalion
Iracey Anderson cannot be
replaced.
As the Texas A&M Men’s
Basketball Team’s season winds
down, so too does the career of one of
the school’s most productive players.
Anderson entered a program just
getting over the effects of NCAA pro
bation, but is leaving one on the
verge of exploding onto the national
scene, a change that could not have
happened without his contributions.
“I don't think you can replace
Tracey because he’s played through
pain,” freshman guard Brian Barone
said. “These two years have been so
unfair to him, losing so many close
games. [If] we turn those into wins,
he’s playing on a top 25 team.
“I think this team will be a top 25
team, but without him, it wouldn't
have had a chance.”
Two years after arriving at A&M
via Blinn Junior College, the senior
point guard will leave with his name
etched in the school’s record books.
This year, Anderson has estab
lished a new single-season three-
point percentage record, connecting
on over 43 percent of his attempts
from behind the three-point arc. Ca
reer-wise, he ranks fifth on A&M’s
three-point percentage list, and will
finish as the school’s fifth all-time
leading three-point shooter with 81
going into the Big 12 tournament.
In addition to being an offensive
threat, Anderson stands as one of
A&M’s all-time premier defensive
players. His two steals per game have
him entrenched in the third spot in
the A&M record books behind only
Darryl McDonald and former All-
Conference selection David Edwards.
However, Tracey Anderson is not
a player who can be measured by
box score alone.
This season, Anderson’s leader
ship has been monumental for the
Big 12’s youngest team. When
guard Derrick Hart was ruled aca
demically ineligible early in the
season, Anderson was left as the
team’s only senior.
“It’s been pretty tough,” Anderson
said. “I think there was a whole lot
more-responsibility on myself, and I
think them (the younger players) too.”
Head Coach Tony Barone said
Anderson’s leadership has been in
valuable to the Aggies.
“He’s the only senior on the bas
ketball team and it would be very
easy for him to become selfish,”
Barone said. “It would be simple for
him to become self-centered. It
would be easy for him to look out for
Tracey Anderson. Amazingly enough,
he never did one of those things.
“Seniors and freshmen very sel
dom get along; that’s not a match
that usually works, and Tracey, be
ing the only senior, went out of his
way to give those young kids an op
portunity to enjoy the season.”
His influence helped pave the
way for A&M’s newcomers to flour
ish. Freshman guard Jerald Brown
and Barone both credit Anderson for
much of their success. Brown was
named the Big 12’s Freshman of the
Year, and Barone, who spent most of
the season backing up Anderson at
the point, ranks third in the confer
ence in assist-to-turnover ratio.
See Anderson, Page 8
Aggie netters continue hot streak with 6-1 win over Spartans
By Chris Ferrell
The Battalion
The Michigan State Spartans came
marching into the Omar Smith Tennis
Center Wednesday afternoon, but were
turned away quickly by the Texas A&M
Men’s Tennis Team who put together a
convincing 6-1 victory to raise its record
to 2-3 on the season.
“It’s good for the guys,” Head Coach Tim
Cass. “We’re getting a little bit better in the
tighter matches. We’ve asked the guys to go
out and work hard. We’ve been working
hard on the practice court and I’m glad that
it’s starting to pay off.”
The Aggies jumped out to a quick
start, sweeping all three doubles match
es. The duo of sophomore Carlos Tori
and senior Robbie Krause
defeated the Spartans’
Chris Struck and Bob
Kenkingonga, 8-4.
A&M picked up a second
win in doubles competition
when freshmen Gonzalo
Anderson and Tony Young
put together an impressive
victory over the team of
Ivice Primoral and Fransis-
co Trinidad, 8-5.
“We’ve lost the doubles point the last
three matches,” Young said. “That was def
initely important for us.
The Aggies continued their dominance
in doubles play as freshmen Corey Hub
bard and Gonzalo Anderson
won their match, 8-4.
Michigan State had no an
swer for the Aggies in singles
action either, as five of A&M’s
six singles players brought
home victories.
The biggest victory of the
day belonged to Anderson.
The Lima, Peru native ran
off six consecutive sets over
Michigan State’s Mark Ja
cobson at one point in the match, win
ning the match 6-4, 6-1.
“It was a tough match,” Anderson said.
“This team is tough. I think we needed a vic
tory. We’re working hard every match.”
The Aggies continued to roll as
Krause defeated MSU’s Aaron Murray 6-
3, 6-4 and Aramburo beat Luke Lender
6-3, 7-5. Young and sophomore Brent
Horan each picked up hard-earned
three-set victories, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and 2-6,
6-4, 6-3, respectively.
A&M’s only loss came when sopho
more Carlos Tori lost a marathon three-set
match 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, to Michigan State’s
Trey Eubanks.
Mother Nature may have been the Ag
gies toughest opponent on the day, as both
teams had to battle strong winds through
out the matches.
“It affected both teams, so it didn’t re
ally matter,” Cass said. “We just need to
get used to playing in it. I’ve only lived in
Texas for four months and I’ve learned
one thing. You better get used to playing
in anything.”
Cass also said the victory was impres
sive because of distractions surrounding
the team. The Aggies will travel to Corpus
Christi for the H.E.B. Championships.
“It was a tough match to play because
we’ve kind of got spring break on the
mind,” Cass said. “We’re leaving tomofy
row, so we’re worried about that. It’s a
good mental test for us. I’m glad that we
were able to take some momentum down
to Corpus Christi.”