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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2000)
SPORTS Tea st ars rsday, January 20,2000 THE BATTALION Page 9 d looking at the future Guards Bernard King and Jamaal Gilchrist iMope to lead the Aggies to new heights i exaft a l > released l Healths! redder® BY JASON LINCOLN The Battalion T heir reason for coming to Texas A&M was selfish. They had the choice of attending many of the top re\ lav ^B^tball programs in the nation. Instead settled for a school without the u in- I a || numbers, without the established his- thc 19' a,1 d u ithout a big supporting class. "Itnas -m ^ 1C rcason Jamaal Gilchrist and dl. ' Be nard King are looking to establish the [9fli»mselves as the Big 12 Conference’s but 23y uar d combo and did not want any- g to o\ ershadow their efforts. Texas A&M proved to be the right e for such an effort as the two guards kly jumped into the starting role and m to dominate the Aggie baekeourt. Ii the Aggies coming off a 12-15 sea- and only having one returning rter. the opportunity for Gilchrist and ig to make an impact was at its prime. “I chose A&M because I wanted to r in a new program — be part of nething new,” Gilchrist said. “I lught iff came here 1 would be one of one’s that started it.” i.ne atrjB The guards knew that in A&M’s re- [. ounty bu ding state under coach Melvin t\ re Wil kins, they would be called on to per- ent apfswm early. tloam I ittle did lhc\ expect that in a matter I ouRtv. of few games, they would be called on m said to lead the team from game to game, ig that i It started w hen returning point guard eoplevt. C lift on Cook was declared academical- acrossi ly ineligible for the 1999-2000 season. Mcvkv | That left the Aggies w ithout an expe- nced leader to run the floor. The open- allowed Gilchrist to earn the starting : immediately. King would soon follow Gilchrist’s eases lend, taking over as the Aggies' top . c bee - slit toting guard. leitibe, J AfterbecomingA&M>mainleader- e acqKj the la!«; re heakf authle ship in the baekeourt, the two guards were immediately matched-up against seasoned collegiate baekeourts. In spite of the challenges, Gilchrist and King came in and not only per- formed, but excelled as two of the con ference’s top players. “We need to be leaders,” King said. “Like coach says — we're young, he wants us to grow up — he doesn’t want us to be freshmen anymore. He wants us to |play like] juniors and seniors. We just have to grow into each other every' game.” ‘The ball’s in our hands now,” Gilchrist added about the leadership and performance expectations. As Gilchrist and King have transi tioned into the spotlight, they have been matched against some of the NCAA's top guards and still came out on top. The most recent matchup was be tween the 1998-99 Big 12 Freshman of the year. University of Kansas point guard Jeff Boschee, and Gilchrist in Jan. 17 conference game. Despite the fact the Jayhawks won the game by 21 points, Gilchrist came out with the clear win in the point guard battle. Boschee was held to only one of six from the floor for only two points and two assists, an uncharacteristic low for the heralded player. Meanwhile Gilchrist had nine points, three assists and two turnovers. The performance of the freshmen guards has drawn a lot of attention throughout the conference, including the praise of Kansas coach Roy Williams. “These youngsters played extremely hard I thought,” Williams said. “They were very enthused to play us. To play on national television like that, you can tell they are going to do a lot of great things for Melvin [Watkins] and that team.” In the midst of matchups against a number of the conference’s top guards such as Boschee and University of Texas guard Ivan Wagner, the freshmen combo has seen nothing impressive that they do not see for themselves in the near future. “They didn't impress me that much,” King said about the guards he has faced this season. “They’re good players but I could see myself being better.” “A whole lot better,” Gilchrist added. The pair of guards have always been expected to perform well. In high school, Gilchrist and King led their respective teams to state championships in Virginia and Louisiana. Gilchrist came out of high school as See Future on Page 10. Head of the Gass ta just tresSman seastxw. King and Jamaaf Cdcrrtst are already 01 the Toy 10 (a Die 81 12 ir. rn^fer •KstHUcal cafegcatcj (Ttwcugh Monday) Scoring Free Throw Pet. Assists ttcfftaNj King Steals :mW; 4,00 zmm 3-point FG per Game With no time or room for a learning curve, A&M freshman guards Bernard King (left) have turned out to be solid performers for the Aggies in their first season. mm n CODY WAGES/1 in IIvi im ios and Jamaal Gilchrist • DAT ^ K'l LOCATION j WED. JAN. J9 2:00 P.M. | 502 RUDDER PRL JAN. 21 3:00 P.M, j 707 RUDDER TUBS., JAN. 25 11:30 All [ 502 RUDDER WED., JAN. 26 | 5:30 P.M. ] 342 ZACB.RY TOURS., JAN, 27 2:00 P.M. | 502 RUDDER ❖ ❖ <$> / ! ; THE BONFIRE BENEFIT CONCERT Lyle Lovett 79 & Robert Earl Keen 78 Sunday, February 6th 6:00 pm Reed Arena ALL PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE BONFIRE RELIEF FUND Tickets on sale Jan. 22 at 10am at Reed Arena, the MSC Box Office, and all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 268-0414 presented by TTie Association OF FORMER STUDENTS Persons with disabilities requiring special assistance are requested to call 845-1515 to communicate special needs. 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