e Battalion
league of
iheir own
wrmerA&M cagers
ilazed trail to NBA
BY MATT WEBER
The Battalion
As the National Basketball Association wrapped up
i pieseason schedule Monday, more than 360 play-
's ti'ere preparing for the lockout-shortened 1998-99
asbn.
Mure than 360 players, but not a single Aggie.
r »v Ip fact, in the 52-year history of the NBA, just 23
SiM players have been drafted, and of those 23,
iIm two played for any extended period of time. By
<^^■1 )m] arison, schools such as the University of North
HBlina. the University of Kentucky and UCLA can
yip^r^Hypast of dozens of alumni with NBA experience.
Big 12 foe University of Kansas had two players
fafjed in the first rounds of both the 1997 (Scot Pol-
^■and Jacque Vaughn) and 1998 (Raef LaFrentz
d Paul Pierce) drafts. Fellow conference members
niyersity of Colorado and Texas Tech University
so have produced NBA lottery selections in the
st two years.
Tne first Aggie to see major minutes in the NBA
as center Walter Davis, who was selected by the
iladelphia (now Golden State) Warriors in the
52 draft. Parker helped lead the Aggies to the
outhwest Conference co-championship in 1950-
951 as a junior, averaging a league-leading 12.2
oints.
As a senior, Davis raised his numbers, leading the
I ggjes in scoring (15.1), rebounding (10.6), shooting
rcientage (.453) and free-throw percentage (.634).
i member of the Warriors, Parker averaged 4.8
ints over five seasons and was one of the squad’s
frebounders, averaging 6.4 boards per game in
953-54, third-best on the team.
Almost a quarter-century later, forward Sonny Park-
O cows at the r> w | 10 pi a y ec | f or a&M from 1974-76, joined the
?d twice ada [g^ s ran k s j n i a j s ^ wo years with A&M, Parker dom-
latbd the Aggie record books. In his senior season,
arker scored 561 points for a team-high 20.8 points-
—l—Irkame average, the seventh-best single-season
JUY ROGERS [
Sports
Page 9 • Tuesday, February 2, 1999
Courtesy of A&M Sports Information
Former A&M forward Sonny Parker played six sea
sons with the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. Park
er, one of two Aggies to play five or more years in the
NBA, averaged 9.9 points during his NBA career.
mark in Aggie history. More than just a scorer, he also
led the Aggies in virtually every other statistical cate
gory, setting team highs in field goal percentage (.507),
free throw percentage (.767), assists (97), blocked
shots (20) and steals (66).
Parker became the only A&M player to be taken
in the first round of the NBA draft when the Golden
State Warriors made him the No. 17 pick in 1976.
Parker had his best season in 1978-79, placing sec
ond on the Warriors in steals with 144 while scoring
a career-best 15.2 points per game on 50-percent
shooting.
The next year, he led Golden State in steals with
173 for an average of 2.11 per game, good for eighth
in the league. In his six seasons in the NBA, all with
Golden State, Parker averaged 9.9 points, including
three seasons over 11 points per game.
The most recent A&M connection to the NBA was
shooting guard Brooks Thompson, who played two
see NBA on Page 11.
Aggie seniors recognized
Campbell, Nguyen lauded for efforts during college careers
MIKE FUENTES/Thp: Battalion
Senior tight end Dan Campbell was awarded the 1998-99 Aggie Heart
Award Saturday by his teammates. Campbell, who started the final 14
games of his career, also was named the offensive team captain.
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Dan Campbell, a senior tight
end from Glen Rose, Texas, was
named the Aggie Heart Award win
ner Saturday, the highest honor for
a Texas A&M senior football play
er. The award, presented to a senior
who has completed his eligibility
and the criteria includes intangi
bles such as effort, desire, determi
nation, competitiveness, leadership
and courage, was presented to
Campbell by A&M Football coach
R.C. Slocum at the Annual Texas
A&M football banquet. All of the
banquet’s awards are voted on by
the A&M football players.
“Dan Campbell is very deserv
ing of the Aggie Heart Award,”
Slocum said. “He was an out
standing leader on our team and
played with great determination.
Dan worked hard to become a
good football player.
“In the off-season, he was al
ways one of our hardest workers,
and during the season he gave
great effort in practice and in the
games. I can see why his team
mates selected him for this presti
gious award.”
Campbell, who started the final
14 games of his career, also was
named the offensive team captain,
for his on-field leadership, both vo
cal and by example.
Senior linebacker Dat Nguyen,
who won the Rotary Lombardi
Award and the Chuck Bednarik
Award as the nation’s top defensive
player, was named “Wrecking
Crew” Most Valuable Player for the
second consecutive year. Nguyen
leaves Texas A&M as the all-time
leading tackier in school history
with 517.
Nguyen led the team with 147
tackles this season, marking his
fourth straight year to lead the Ag
gie defensive unit. In addition to
the defensive MVP honors, Nguyen
also was voted the defensive team
captain. Nguyen started every
game in his Aggie career. In those
51 games, the Aggies compiled a
35-16 record.
The offensive MVP for 1998 was
junior running back Dante Hall,
who led the team in rushing with
1,024 yards and scored eight touch
downs. He also caught six passes
for 92 yards, returned eight kickoffs
for an average of 21.5 yard and re
turned seven punts.
The special teams MVP and spe
cial teams captain was senior Toya
Jones. Jones, usually the first man
down on the coverage teams,
recorded 18 tackles this season. He
recovered a fumbled punt in the
Aggies’ game against Missouri
which set up the game-winning
field goal.
The 12th Man MVP award was
given to junior Chad Frantzen from
Diana, Texas. Frantzen, the 12th
Man MVP last year as well, is a
walk-on who excels on kickoff cov
erage and also has worked his way
up to second-team inside line
backer. He compiled 28 tackles
during the 1998 season, including
one quarterback sack.
The 12th Man captain was ju
nior Drew Bridges from Odessa
Permian High School. Bridges
made three tackles on kickoff cov
erage this year.
Defensive safety Rich Coady, a
see AWARDS on Page 11.
VNYOli
il and agai'
GUILTl
or if an ^
lit orassW
i leadjoj
re ill
hWJ
Mill
February 2 @ 7pm @ The Brazos Center
Capitalizing on Engineering Opportunities
Career Fair
February 3
February 4
9am-4pin Exhibition
MSG, 2nd Floor
7pm Student Recruiter Social
9am-3:30pm Exhibition
MSG. 2nd Floor
■ •nTi''
Hosted by: the Student Engineers’ Council
For More Info, Contact Danny or Sara @ 847-8567