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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2001)
lonilay, August 6, 2001 Page 3 Monday, A Utt PM P. Sports THE BATTALION Aggies in position to silence critics w; K you TO RE/ID Ttf WUSS COOKIE ^exr SEMESTER 1 he Aggies hope Mark Farris will lead the ffense to victory this 2001-'02 football sea- FILE PHOTO/The Battalion son. After the teafn struggled last season, some have overlooked its capacity to improve. 'hen the Texas A&M football team reports for practice this week, there will be a mood of consternation by current and former stu dents about the 2001 season. After hearing from football experts that the Aggies are in for a losing season while rival University of Texas Longhorns are a favorite to win the Na tional Championship, many fans have started to complain about head coach R.C. Slocum and his staff. Wait a minute. While the Aggies may not be up to lifting the Bowl Championship Series tro phy next Jan. 4, there is much these experts have overlooked, like the capacity to improve. Phrases such as “consistent” and “workman like” have been used to describe the 2001 squad. If certain players are able to step up their play, and if new additions to the team are as good as advertised, this Aggie team may be capable of repeating the 1997 “Shock the World” tour. Last year, nay sayers criticized quarterback Mark Farris’ inexperience and lack of a big- play wide receiver. Farris promptly broke vir tually every Aggie single-season passing mark while Robert Ferguson emerged to become the premier wide receiver in the Big 12. This year, those same cynics are harping on the loss of Ferguson and fullback Ja’Mar Toombs to the NFL draft. It is possible that the losses of Ferguson and Toombs will actually make the Aggie offense more diverse and effective. Much depends on the ability of Bethel Johnson or Dwain Goynes to assume part of Ferguson’s role as the primary receiver. With the 6-foot 5-inch Greg Porter, the Aggies have a fine possession receiver who consistently delivers well-run routes. The addi tion of freshmen John Roberson, who starred in last week’s high school all-star game, Bryant Sin gleton and Terrence Thomas might give the Ag gies a new batch of deep threats. The Aggies’ running game struggled for a good part of last season. This year’s offensive line, led by pre-season All-American center Seth McKinney, figures to have a far more co hesive unit. If highly-touted Jami Hightower is as good of a player as he is made out to be, he figures to be one of the better linemen in re cent A&M history. The running game, even with the loss of Toombs, likely will be better. Richard Whitaker showed flashes of excellence in his redshirt freshman year, and this season he will be pushed by Keith Joseph, a bigger (6-foot 2-inches, 221 pounds) and more bruising back. The surprise signing of Midland Lee’s Derek Farmer can only help A&M’s running game. Toombs has been replaced at fullback by for mer Parade All-American tailback Joe Weber, who is “Little Joe” no more. Slocum has spent most of the summer praising Weber’s successful switch of positions, saying he is more versatile and a better blocker than Toombs. For the first time in nearly a decade, some predictions question the effectiveness of the Wrecking Crew. This could be a terrible blunder. Ty Warren, who has spent his first two seasons playing tight end, has moved to nose tackle this year. He showed remarkable speed and strength in the Maroon and White game, sacking quarterback Mark Farris on one play and chasing down Whitaker the next — 13 yards downfield. Performances like these will merit All-American consideration for Warren. See Football on Page 6. ed from teachers] ten feel tlusej ence of a MEj ' top job, she educators] li lo speak out, ed as trouble! ng a chip on en's basketball schedule released Aggies set to compete in big non-conference games, controversial Las Vegas Invitational Mark Passwaters The Battalion ian educe The 2001-’02 Texas A&M nen’s basketball schedule was eleased on Friday and pits the ggies against several non-con- erence opponents. Included in the schedule are oad trips to the perennial pow- eel that 'll ,er North Carolina, Iowa State SDeok 0# nd MLsouri. Home games are r be labels femakeni ng a chip shoulder cheduled with Miami, George /Vashington and Kansas, as well ;as a controversial Las Vegas oumament. “Any time you have the likes f Miami at home, North Car- Jolina on the road, George Wash- Dr. Linda S' jngton at home and the Las Ve- ssistant profe^ as Tournament, it will definitely e a challenge,” said head coach elvin Watkins in a press re ease. “But playing good teams akes you better. Those tough tat part of the gender ined rom a mixture encour inon-conference matchups will intendents ; prepare us for a tough schedule down the road. The lone home matchup of the year against Texas Tech and new head coach Bobby Knight is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 9 — the middle of Christmas break. Kansas will arrive Satur day, Jan. 26, and the Texas Longhorns will make their sole appearance at Reed Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 6. nining for sell 1 » change a lo [ ociety sendt -s are best suit aid. ALItf empf i Chief -4726) is f ■ring the fall, 3ugh Thuisday drt' University holidays'; • M University. Perf- : . -ration, IX 77840. i* anges to The 8a®. 7AMU, College StaK' =partment is manaff 'ersity in the DM# 3f the Departing in 014 Reed 845-3313; Fa* S; : ■hotmail.com; Wei * The Las Vegas Invitational, which matches the Aggies against Cincinnati, Purdue, Illinois-Chicago, Louisiana- Monroe, Southwest Missouri State, Mississippi State and the University of Richmond will be u Any time you have the likes of Miami at home, North Carolina on the road, George Washington at home and the Las Vegas Tournament, it will definitely be a challenge.” — Melvin Watkins men's basketball head coach held Dec. 20 to 22, with the ex act site undecided. This tour nament, originally scheduled for Puerto Rico, was moved af ter the NCAA refused to sanc tion the event. The tourna ment was moved to Las Vegas and was scheduled to be played in a number of casinos. The event was sanctioned by the NCAA, which did not express displeasure about the location of the event until a July 26 ar ticle in The Washington Post criticized A&M, and football coach R.C. Slocum in particu lar, for claiming to oppose col legiate gambling in testimony before the U.S. Senate, while allowing their basketball team to play in a tournament held in a casino. “We’re relieved that they chose to change (the location of) it,” said A&M’s sports informa tion director for basketball, Col in Killian. “We were really con cerned. Coach Watkins was really upset about it when he found out. “One of the places (the Paris casino) we were supposed to play actually has a sports book in it.” Killian was confused by The PosTs criticism of Slocum, say ing, “The football coach doesn’t make the basketball schedule. That just doesn’t make sense.” The NCAA, when asked about their abrupt reversal on their sanctioning of the event af ter it became public knowledge, declined to comment. The Aggies likely will finish their season in the Big 12 bas ketball tournament, to be held at Kansas City’s Kemper Arena on March 7-10. Nov. a Exhibition College Station 7 p.m. Nov. 14 Exhibition College Station 7 p.m. Nov. 19 George Washington College Station 7 p.m. Novi 24 at Lamar Beaumont, TX 7 p.m. Nov. 26 Davidson College Station 7 p.m. Nov. 30 Long Beach State College Station 7 p.m. Dec. 2 Loyola Marymount College Station 2 p.m. Dec. 5 Southeastern Louisiana College Station College Station 8 p.m. Dec. 8 Miami (Fla.) 7 p.m. Dec. 14 vs. Tulsa Houston, TX 7 p.m. Dec. 17 Las Vegas Classic Springfield, Mo. 7 p.m. Dec. 20-22 at Southwest Missouri State Las Vegas Invitational Las Vegas, Nev. TBA Dec. 30 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. 6 p.m. Jan. 3 at Centenary Shreveport, La. 7 p.m. Jan. 5 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. TBA Jan. 9 Texas Tech College Station TBA Jan.16 at Missouri Columbia, Mo. TBA Jan.19 Baylor College Station TBA Jan.23 at Texas (ESPN Regional) Austin, TX 8 p.m. Jan.26 Kansas (ESPN Regional) College Station 3 p.m. Jan.29 at Iowa State Ames, Iowa TBA Feb. 3 at Baylor (ESPN Regional) Waco, TX 1 p.m. Feb. 6 Texas College Station TBA Feb. 9 Oklahoma (ESPN Regional) College Station 12:45 p.m. Feb. 12 at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. TBA Feb. 16 Oklahoma State College Station TBA Feb. 20 Nebraska College Station TBA Feb.23 at Texas Tech (ESPN Regional) Lubbock, TX 12:45 p.m. Feb.26 Colorado College Station TBA Mar. 2 at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla. TBA Mar. 7-10 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Kansas City, Mo. TBA RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion ADV ERTISI NG hits the right note for hundreds of satisfied customers and businesses. Your ads pre-sale your customers and bring them to your business ready to buy. Student Services^ =nt to pick up a j free, additional ccP ; ^0 per school year, i 17.50 forthesuf 3 by Visa, Masteift- nall 845-2611. 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