The Battalion
'uesday • April 7, 1998
tender, Majerus head
’exas’ candidate list
Dmmittee hopes to replace Penders
on before spring signing period ends
San Antonio heads NBA class
Spurs rank as hottest team in West; Houston’s defense worrisome towards playoffs
As the National Basketball Association cata
pults towards the playoffs, many teams like the
Rockets are experiencing untimely slumps.
Other teams like the Spurs and Bulls are hitting
their stride for the stretch championship run.
Houston Doesn’t Get the Point
The Rockets have been on a six-game slide,
partly due to the fact that they have no perime
ter defense, especially at the point. Forget the
fact that Jordan scored 40, as he often does.
The Mookie Blaylocks and Tim Hardaways
of the league are the problem. Both Blaylock
and Hardaway carried their teams to victory
against Houston.Clyde will get a head start on
his University of Houston job if the Rockets
have to face Seattle’s Gary Payton or Utah’s
John Stockton in the first round.
San Antonio Heating Up
The hottest team in the league (besides the
Bulls, of course) is the San Antonio Spurs. The
Spurs have won five in a row and eight of their
last 10. No one has been able to match up
with their front line except... the Suns?
Smallish Phoenix which uses a three-guard
lineup, has a 3-1 edge on San Antonio this
season which makes a possible first-round
matchup very exciting.
Not in My House
Dikembe Mutombo took his finger-waving
trade to Stephen Marbuiy in the first quarter of
the Hawks-Timberwolves game on Sunday and
recorded his 2,000th career block.Deke is only the
11th player in NBA history to reach that plateau.
That’s East, not Least
The Western Conference playoff spots are
not in doubt. Jockeying for position is all that
remains. However, take a look at the parity
laden East. Philadelphia is only better than
Toronto in that conference, but the 76ers would
be the ninth seed in the West above Sacramen
to if they were to switch coasts.
58-feet Out, Swish!
The fight is getting dirty at the bottom of the
Eastern Conference. New Jersey currently holds
the last spot, but you’ve got to figure the Wash
ington Wizards have one last surge left with all
of that talent. Washington made their state
ment with a three-point victory over rival Or
lando to push them into the ninth spot. Non-
All-Star Rod Strickland recorded a triple-double
in that game to help the Wizards.
Who is the man that is fending off the hard-
charging Wiz? New Jersey’s Sam Cassell, who
scored 30 against the Knicks, who are in danger
themselves of giving up their playoff spot with
recent sloppy play.
Bad Guy After All?
Before Saturday’s contest with the Spurs,
Golden State's Jim Jackson took about 15 min
utes before going into the locker room to sign
autographs for kids stationed around the court.
For a guy who gets such a bad reputation
and is the only visible star on a horrible team
with problems other than basketball, he
seemed happy to brighten some young faces.
Perhaps no one realizes that even the guys with
bad attitudes sacrifice hours of their days to
sign their name for the fans.
Texas Line of the Week
David Robinson
43 minutes, 6-15 FG, 12-15 FT, 24 points, 18
rebounds and 7 blocks
The undermanned
Golden State front line
used their fouls to play a
“hack-an-Admiral” de
fense, but unlike his friend
to the West, Robinson can
come through at the line.
Eric Dampier and Jason
Caffey both fouled out try
ing to guard the better half
of the Twin Towers.
Bagwell notches three RBI in Astros victory
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Utah’s
jk Majerus and Washington’s Bob
nder are heading a short list of
aches being considered by the
liversity of Texas to replace Tom
ndei s, according to a high-rank-
5 uni\ersity source.
Majerus has said that he’s hap-
atUtah after leading the Utes to
3 national championship game,
it he has yet to take himself out
the running for the Texas job as
did last week with Arizona State,
lich reportedly offered him just
er$l million per year.
Majerus, 50, was believed to be
mewhat of a longshot for Texas
cause school officials are unwill-
po pay the Longhorns basketball
ach more than the $750,000 that
>tball coach Mack Brown makes.
Bender’s stock is high among
xas officials, and he would not
considered a consolation prize
he search committee could not
ree to terms with Majerus, the
urce said Monday.
"Tiic committee is very excited
out Bob Bender,” the source said.
Bender, 40, who said that he ex-
Cted to meet with the committee
eai!\ ' as Tliesday, told The News
bum ofTacoma that the Texas job
,soi i lething that I want to look into,
■hey’ve had success. Tom Pen-
rrspas done a great job there, the
nd of success that gets your at-
ntibn,” Bender said.
“I think it’s worth it when you
okat what Texas can be and what
tm made it. But that’s not to say
s going to be better than where
e’re at with our program.”
Bender was an assistant coach at
like under coach Mike Krzyzews-
ifrom 1983 to 1989 before becom-
ighead coach at Illinois State.
Bender’s overall record in four
ears at Illinois State and in five
ears at Washington is 128-129, in-
luding 68-72 as coach of the
Huskies. But he turned both pro
grams around.
At Washington, his record has
improved each year — 5-22 in
1994; 10-17 in 1995; 16-12 in 1996;
17-11 in 1997 and 20-10 this year.
His Huskies have been to the
postseason three straight years, in
cluding two NIT berths in 1996 and
1997, and this year knocked off
Xavier and Richmond in the NCAA
tournament before losing on a
buzzer beater to Connecticut in
the round of 16.
The earliest Texas can name a
coach is late Tuesday afternoon be
cause of job posting laws. UT officials
hope to wrap up the search quickly
because the national spring signing
period begins
Wednesday.
Penders, the
winningest
coach in Long
horns history,
resigned last
week after a
month of con
troversy in his
program that
began when
four young players went to Texas
athletic director DeLoss Dodds to
complain about the coach.
Two of those players, Luke Ax-
tell and Gabe Muoneke, said earli
er that they intended to transfer.
But Muoneke told KVUE-TV
Monday that he now plans to stay
at Texas.
“A lot of people sent e-mail and
told me to leave, that I was a baby
for wanting to go,” Muoneke said.
‘‘Well, I’m going to stay, just for all
those people who wanted me to
leave. I’m staying.”
Axtell reportedly has been in
contact wi tli Kansas and Texas Tech
about a possible transfer. He did
not return telephone messages left
by The Associated Press Monday.
HOUSTON (AP) — Jeff Bagwell
drove in three runs with a grounder
and two-run homer, and the Hous
ton Astros overcame five hits by
Dante Bichette to beat the Col
orado Rockies 13-4 Monday.
Houston, which outhit the
Rockies 15-13, won three of four
games against Colorado, outscor-
ing the Rockies 37-13 and outhit-
ting them 51-38.
Colorado, 35-45 on the road last
season and 47-34 at Coors Field,
finished their first road trip 4-3 and
play their home opener against St.
Louis on Tues
day night.
Bichette was
5-for-5 with two
RBI, matching
his career high
for hits and rais
ing his average
to .531.
It was his
first five-hit
game since
June 30,1996, against Los Angeles.
Bagwell had an RBI grounder in
the first and hit his third homer of
the season in the sixth for a 9-2 lead.
Jack Howell added a two-run,
pinch single in a four-run seventh,
and Derek Bell went 3-for-5.
Mike Hampton (1-0) improved
to 5-1 against Colorado, allowing
two runs and nine hits in seven
innings.
Justin Thompson (1-1) was
pounded for nine runs and 12 hits
in six innings.
Craig Biggio and Bell led off the
game with singles, and Houston
took a 2-0 lead on Bagwell’s high-
bouncing grounder and Carl
Everett’s single.
After Vinny Castilla’s RBI single
in the second, the Astros made it
3-1 in the third on Brad Ausmus’
tripled and Hampton’s single.
Houston got three more runs in
the third on a throwing error by
Kirt Manwaring with a runner on
third and Richard Hidalgo’s two-
run homer.
Ellis Burk’s third homer of the
season made it 6-2 in the fourth.
Bell’s RBI single and Bagwell’s
homer increased the margin to 9-2
in the sixth.
Muonecke
Bagwell
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