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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2001)
Eium Vednesday, June 6, 2001 Sports Page 3 THE BATTALION iggins to lead Aggie men's golf team ormer New Mexico coach replaces Hall of Fame coach Ellis after 27 years at A&M » m ■ n ^ AO A /T ! J TT . T7' 11 A /T r ‘ 1 CC T T 11 • *1/^11 O . • Mark Passwaters The Battalion □FLUTE OJ U'RfO Replacing a coach who is a member of iie Golf Coaches Association of Ameri- la Hall of Fame with 27 years on the job h no easy task. Texas A&M thinks they lave found that man in University of ('Jew Mexico golf coach J.T. Higgins. I “I am extremely pleased J.T. Higgins :jbas accepted our offer to become the mens golf coach at Texas A&M,” said Ada- letic Director Wally Groff. “1 think he will I ie a tremendous recruiter and an excellent | it for our program. He was the choice of ur search committee and 1 had a good ;el for him after our interview.” “J.T. will do a fantastic job for Texas A&M,” said retiring coach Bob Ellis. “I’m very excited for him and the golf program.” Higgins became the Lobos head coach I'm thrilled to hove the opportunity to be the men's golf coach at Texas A&M.” — J.T. Higgins new A&M men's golf coach in 1998 after being the assistant coach at UNLV from 1991-97. Higgins’ New Mexico team never finished lower than fourth in the Mountain West Conference tournaments and advanced to the NCAA regionals in 1999 and 2001. In 1998 and 2000, the Lobos advanced to the NCAA championships. This season, UNM finished 17th na tionally in the Golfweek and the College Golf Foundation polls, and Higgins was named the 2001 Mountain West Confer ence Coach of the Year. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to be the men’s golf coach at Texas A&M. I had heard great things about the tradi tions and the pride in the school and the city,” Higgins said. “I was thoroughly im pressed with the facilities. And, to top it off, I fell in love with College Station.’ Higgins’ goals for the Aggie golf pro gram are not small. “We have a good nu cleus and a lot of young talent,” he said. “We can compete right away.” “If we can compete for the Big 12 championship, we’ll have a great chance nationally. In the long term, I want to win some national championships.” Higgins said that Traditions — the Jack Nicklaus designed course in Bryan, which will become the Aggies’ home course in 2002 — will be a great asset in recruiting. “The addition of Traditions will enable us to recruit the best players in Texas and will naturally be a great asset to the pro gram,” he said. The Higgins Record :; ^at New Named 2001 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Led UNM to its first-ever West Regional championship in 1998 UNM finished third at the WAC Championships in 1998 and 1999, second at the Mountain West Championships in 2000 and fourth in the MWC in 2001 Led UNM to four straight NCAA regionals and two NCAA Championship appearances RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion . Adriar ^ USE ;>NE OF > HOTS : THAI... tggie basketball fills out roster with new recruits r atkins optimistic about incoming junior college point guards, Bryan High School standout Daryl Mason lichael Blahoff andMatthew Thigpen we think we have addressed that with the addition versatile player who played all five positions, was team that has been lacking the last couple of years. The Battalion °f th e two junior college transfers.” the 13-5A MVP last season and the 16-5A MVP Gardener, a 5-foot-10 inch point guard, aver- “ £ ^ TTTTTT 1 i 7, 77 Watkins said he focused was on junior college this season, shooting 59.6 percent from the field. aged 13.4 points and 7.7 assists while leading Gar- “Daryl is a winner,” Watkins said. “I would think it’s going to be very difficult to keep him sit- wlib Michael Blahoff and Matthew Thigpen The Battalion During the 2000/01 basketball season, Texas t&M head coach Melvin Watkins realized that [he team would need a significant upgrade of [he guard positions to see an im Vovement. In order to see that im- jrovement, the Aggies have ligned Bryan High School ■tandout .Daryl Mason and lunior college point guards lichael Gardener and radley Jackson, three players /ho hope to improve the pro- Juction and depth of the ruard spots. “We felt like the guard spot was the Biot spot for us in terms of what our immedi- Bte needs were,” Watkins said. “We surely Biad some concerns, especially dth the point guard position and ruben deluna/7he battalion aryl Mason (Bryan'High) - SG 21.9 points 8.3 rebounds 4.3 assists 1.5 steals 16-5AMVP 59.6% FG Michael Gardener - PG Garden City Community College 13.4 points 7.7 assists Bradley Jackson (Southern Idaho) - PG 4.5 points 4.6 assists 3:1 assists to turnovers we think we have addressed that with the addition of the two junior college transfers.” Watkins said he focused was on junior college players because of their advantages over high school players. “We feel their skill level will make their transition a lot smoother than we probably could have gotten out of the high school ranks, and their ma turity level will hopefully make an adjustment a . shorter process,” Watkins said. Watkins said he saw a talent in Daryl Mason that he simply could not pass up. The 6-foot-6 inch Mason aver aged 21.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals while helping Bryan to a 3 3- 4 record and a berth in the state championship game. Mason, a ii We feel we have a chance to have what we would call a breakout season." WATKINS w ting beside me because I think he’ll do things that say, ‘Hey, coach, I need to be out there on the floor.’ We are very excited to have Daryl, and I think our fans will see why we’re excited.” In signing Michael Gardener, who will have three years of eligibility at A&M, Watkins hopes he has a player who will bring the leadership die team that has been lacking the last couple of years. Gardener, a 5-foot-10 inch point guard, aver aged 13.4 points and 7.7 assists while leading Gar den City Community College to a 25-6 record, earning second-team all conference honors. He was a high school teammate of Aggie forward Jesse King in Detroit. “[Gardner] brings a lot of energy to the game, and plays at a pace that we would like to get to,” Watkins said. “He plays very fast.” Watkins did not want to get caught short-hand ed at the point guard position and began pursuing Bradley Jackson late in the recruiting season. Coming out of high school two. years ago, Jackson was rated as the eighth best point guard in the nation. This past season, Jackson posted a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio while helping South ern Idaho to a 29-4 record. “The thing about Bradley is that he might not play as fast as Michael, but he’s just so solid in his play in terms of running the team and getting into See Basketball on Page 4. [college des fro^ Iso clotli' ?longin<J i scribed i id there is nofl' jul play in ^ 313 S. 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