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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2003)
n NATION E BATTALIOnI wing JSt' Sports The Battalion Page 7 • Wednesday, January 22, 2003 £> u I Misplaced Loyalties? Slocum’s actions disloyal to team, warrant response from coaches, teammates average of 40> 2 sitting compare: l ies in 19%. , suggests betwee: X) calories per da i a person’s age tivity level, denson, the pres f executive of the turant Association, n’t have to go into itid eat everything offers.” n issue drug addict anc •riginally said she use she had beer lied. She put he: I years later four: suffered after the id the images the: tion clinics where r convinced of the remembered 2 to the recover langed her mine icy. look down at her s already over. ibout her expen- •n small ministry vhich tries todis- from considerinr n herself for one: miversary ofs involvement int what she sees as tion advocates to ncluding laws in 24-hour waiting id laws requiring n the consent of a >re getting abor- e measures as the to be seeing lot: ions, things strik- h of an American , we can save In his two seasons with the Texas ■&M men’s basketball team, Andy ■ocum proved himseli to be an impos- iig threat on the court. I Standing 7 feet tall and weighing in at i-ound 260 pounds, the junior center ■om West Monroe, La. provided the livel of rebounding support necessary for A&M to compete in a conference as di minant as the Big 12. I Unfortunately for the Aggies, it is npw uncertain whether Slocum’s servic ed will be available for the rest of the 21)02-2003 basketball season following ■1 alleged off-court incident that led to h s arrest this past weekend. I Even more unfortunate is the poten tial damage done to the trust between Slocum and the coaches and teammates Who frequently applauded his leadership nd hard work both on and off the court. The young center quickly became known within the A&M basketball pro gram for his strength and toughness, boast ing multiple strength records and returning to the court from injuries to both of his hands, his left shoulder and his back. Still, Slocum’s arrest for allegedly possessing steroids will likely overshad ow many previous accomplishments in the eyes of most. Oddly enough, it would appear that this view has not spread to Slocum’s coaches and fellow players. For the time being, those within the men’s basketball program have chosen to remain relative ly quiet, for better or worse. While it is no doubt important to show a certain level of loyalty to some one who has given no previous reason for concern, attention should be paid to just how detrimental actions outside the sports arena can be to a team that is working diligently to improve. Despite only possessing a 1-2 confer ence record thus far, head coach Melvin Watkins’ Aggies (9-5 overall) have shown significant improvements from a year ago. The last thing the team needs at this point is an outside distraction and the loss of a key player. In his defense, Watkins suspended Slocum following the weekend arrest but seemed to sidestep the greater issue at stake, as evident in a quote from the Big 12 coaches conference. “Athletes are not immune,” Watkins said. “You talk to your team about it and stay clear of things, but they’re students and they’re teenagers, and you know dealing with teenagers can be tough.” Certainly, dealing with young people involves challenges, but an alleged felony possession of steroids has to out weigh the everyday problems of a young person. While it might be true that athletes should not be held to a level of expecta tion beyond that of any other student, they should at the very least be held to the same level of expectation. Andy Slocum is a young, college-aged individual being accused of a serious crime. He doesn’t deserve to be aban doned entirely by those around him — to imply such would be ridiculous. On the other hand, it is doubtful that the incident will be fully overcome without the A&M basketball program honestly and publicly acknowledging the severity of the situa tion at hand. JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION Center Andy Slocum playing against UT on Saturday hours before being arrested on felony drug charges. exas Tech coach Knight closing in on 800th career victory By Doug Tucker THE ASSOCIATED PRESS E If Bob Knight had stuck with his best sport instead of the sport he most enjoyed, somebody else might be leading the basketball revival at Texas Tech. || Knight, meanwhile, would be packing up the bats and balls and preparing to head for spring training. ‘/ grew up in a town that from a sports stand- int was almost exclusively football- and base ball-oriented,” said Knight, the winner of three NCAA championships. “But when I first started playing basketball, it was a game I enjoyed more than all the others. 1 actually played baseball better than I played basket ball,” Knight said. “But (basketball) just fascinated me, and it still does. As long as it does, I don’t see any reason not to be involved with it.” It’s a natural time for the 62-year-old Knight to be looking back over a colorful, successful coaching career that started at West Point in 1965 and brought him to Texas Tech in 2000. Heading into this week, he needed just two wins to reach 800. “Really, I have not given it any thought,” Knight said Monday during a conference call with Big 12 coaches. “I can remember the first game my team ever won. I have no idea who my team beat for No. 500 or No. 700 along the way. It just never meant any thing to me,” Knight said. “I’ve gotten upset when I lost. When we won, that’s just kind of what I thought we were supposed to do.” After a falling in overtime to Oklahoma Monday night in a nationally-televised game, the Red Raiders will host Oklahoma State on Saturday. And while he may scowl and glower and get upset, Knight will be doing what he loves. “I just really enjoy the game. I enjoy basketball,” Knight said. “I’ve always enjoyed what can be done with bas ketball. It’s like something you can continually kind of tinker with and fiddle around with and think about and work with.” Coming in with Oklahoma State will be a very familiar face to Red Raider fans. James Dickey, who was fired two years ago to make room for Knight, 1 is now a Cowboys’ assistant coach. 4^ Do you think you have the ¥ best band in town? $ Try your luck at Kappa Delta's Battle of the Bands. Grand prize up to $100011 Gign up at the MSC: £ January 21, 22, 23 !> or email for an application KappaDelta_8hamrock@yahoo.com Battle of the Bands is March 29 at The Palace Theater in Bryan from 4-8 pm. Goto acta also welcome to apply! ^ ^ Student Health Services Do Your Parents Bleed Maroon??? Health Education presents If they do bleed maroon, then why not come by the WeigM Management S&tm Parents' of the Year informational to learn how you can nominate them for Texas A&M’s Parents’ of the Year for 2003-2004!!!! Meeting Stats: Cwsses Offenev even* monp/w ok Tuispw FOR 6 Date: Wednesday, January 22 Location: Rudder 50! JanUAR* 27 * m/WCM M, 200? Time: 6 p.m. *4:00 - 5:00 P.m. Nomination Criteria: To register call 847-8910 or come by room 008 You must attend the informational in order to nominate your parents! You do not only have to nominate your parents’. of A.P. BeuteJ Health Center. Feel free to nominate someone else’s parents!!! Enrollment is limited and available for A&M students only. Any ??????’s Deadline to register is Friday, January 24. Call Jesse-LaRou Walsh Home: 693-2766 Cell: (512) 587-7532 SEARS, A PEOPLE-FOCUSED FORTUNE 30 COMPANY, HAS BEEN REINVENTING RETAIL SINCE THE 1880s. 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