THE BATTALl
reak
mtinued from pagel
urance, if possible.
For students who aret
for spring break, s
asures can be take
ure safety. Barone said®
its should stay togeil
ile traveling to popii
ing break destinations.
The biggest mistake si
its make is not staying
ir groups,” he said.Tln
v people get into
Before leaving, make si
icles are serviced and
g well and always ki
ere you are by taking
he closest city in case
tkdown, he said.
Barone said that if theal
iks down, pull over
■ of the road, turn the
on and wait for a ln|
)rcemerit official fo:
Police officers, s
uties and highway
;ers all have uniform sW
patches identifying ik
icies they serve," he sal
ok at these closely to vei
are police officials."
he number for Tea
dside Assistance, whicii!
he back of all Texas drivis
ices, is 1-800-525-5555,
'olice also said student
ild let someone they tms
w of their arrival anl
irture times in case ofn
rgency.
You can't control tin
ins of others," Bart*
, “(but taking these pre-
ions will) reduce crimimi
munity and increase
[y as well as enjoymentoi
ig break.”
Sports
The Battalion
Page 3 • Friday, March 7, 2003
Antoine has Aggies on the Wright track
Downtown Bryan
in the Brazos Valley
rn) Bryan
h the Best Mexican Food"
jr 19 Years
at: 7am-9pm Sun: 7am-2pm
ALIGN
» Chief
»h Friday during the fall and springsem#
it University holidays and exam periods)*
, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send
Station, TX 77843-1111.
is A&M University in the Division of Stude'’ 1
014 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom
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fled'advertising, call 84 5-0569. AdvertisiS
m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-2o •
s A&M student to pick up a single copy®
is are $60 per school year, SSO forthe’*
charge by Visa, MasterCard, Discover,
A&M boasts one of nation’s elite young players
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
MM freshman Antoine Wright leads the Aggies in rebounds per game and
ssecond on the team in scoring, behind senior Bernard King.
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
He’s only a freshman, but
forward Antoine Wright has
already made an impact on this
year’s Aggie basketball squad,
which will finish with a .500
record or better for the first time
since 1994.
Wright has been one of the
biggest factors in revitalizing the
pulse of basketball at Texas
A&M this year and leads the
Aggies (14-12, 6-9 Big 12) with
6.6 rebounds per game and is
second in scoring with 15 points
per game behind senior guard
Bernard King.
The 6-foot-7 forward from
San Bernardino, Calif., was
ranked the No. 1 prep shooting
guard in the nation and the No.
4 overall prospect in the country
out of high school last year by
ESPN.com after leading
Lawrence Academy in Groton,
Mass, to the state championship.
Wright was also a member
of the gold medal-winning
2002 USA Basketball Junior
World Team, which he said is
his most memorable experience
as an athlete.
“It’s always an honor for any
one to represent their country,”
Wright said. “Just to be asked to
try out was something special.”
Athlon rated Wright among
the top 10 freshmen in the coun
try and ESPN long-time college
basketball analyst Dick Vitale
named him a “Diaper-Dandy.”
As one of the top recruits in the
nation, Wright was courted by
some of the top basketball pro
grams in the country, including
No. 1 Arizona, No. 4 Texas and
No. 12 Maryland. So, why did
he choose A&M?
Wright’s Amateur Athletic
Union basketball coach from
California, El vert Perry, said that
he contacted A&M Assistant
Coach Lew Hill, who he grew up
with in New York, to tell him
about Wright.
s4
w
Saturday, 12:45 p.m.
Gallagher-lba Arena
Stillwater, Oklahoma
“I told him I had a kid that’s
gonna be a great one and they
needed to get on him early,
which they did,” Perry said.
“(A&M) recruited him the
longest, they were on him as
early as his sophomore year and
it was an ideal situation. (A&M)
had good players, they just
needed a great player and he fits
right in.”
Perry said that he told Wright
that anyone could go to a school
like Arizona or Texas and play
with five or six McDonalds’ All-
Americans, but it took someone
special who could go anywhere
and make a difference.
“I told him A&M will not
stop him from going to the
(NBA), if anything it will help
you get into the (NBA),” Perry
said. “(A&M) was 12th last year
and now they are sixth or sev
enth, great players can go any
where and get it done.”
Wright said that the coach
ing staff at A&M was the main
reason he chose to play for the
Aggies, along with the fact
that he would get to start as a
freshman.
“At a lot of other schools I
would have had to come off
the bench,” Wright said. “(At
A&M) I had the chance to
start right away.”
With that chance to play
early came high expectations,
See Wright on page 4
Softball team to spend break in Florida tournament series
By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
After traveling to play the University of Texas at
Arlington only to have its game rained out, the No.
21 Texas A&M softball tehm will visit the Sunshine
to compete in the Tallahassee Democrat
invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. This will be the
’ourth tournament the Aggies have played in in as
many weekends.
A&M is shooting for its fourth tournament
championship in a row. The Aggies will start off the
tournament facing the Georgia State Panthers and
Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday night. On Saturday.
they will face the Florida A&M Rattlerettes before
heading into bracket play Saturday night and
Sunday afternoon. National powers Florida State
University and University of Michigan may face the
Aggies in bracket play.
For Aggie Head Coach Jo Evans, the tourna
ment will present the Aggies with a number of
opportunities to improve their play against tal
ented competition.
“I am really looking forward to playing in this
tournament,” she said. “I know we play Iowa, who’s
ranked and who has a great program. They’ve been
to the World Series many times, and facing them
should provide for a really competitive atmosphere.”
The Aggies 'will face a veteran team in the
Hawkeyes (6-5), led by junior first baseman
Amanda Hentges. Hentges has hit an impressive
.556 with runners on base. i
The Aggies should come into
this tournament with momentum,
having beaten some talented
teams in the Stanford Classic last
weekend. The Aggies put away
host team No.. 11 Stanford
University and No. 12 University
of Georgia.
A&M junior pitcher Lindsay
Wilhelmson led A&M to the tour
nament victory and was named Big 12 Pitcher of the
Week. Wilhelmson was the winning pitcher in three
WILHELMSON
of the Aggies’ four wins last weekend and knocked
in the winning runs in the championship game of the
Stanford Classic to notch her third win.
“I’ve just been trying to go out there and trust my
defense because I’m not a strikeout pitcher,”
Wilhelmson said. “I know as long as I’m relaxed
and having fun, it will all work out. We should play
some great games this weekend and hopefully come
back with a few more wins under our belts.”
After finishing the tournament in Tallahassee, the
Aggies will get to spend their spring break in south
Florida, taking on the likes of Florida International,
the University of Massachusetts, Florida Atlantic
University and Syracuse University in the Florida
International Tournament in Miami.
Spend your Spring Break with ns!
LL Cool J Ashanti
Friday, March 7, 7 p.m.
Black Heritage Day
sponsored by Kroger
/Soft Jcvc
Wednesday,
March 12, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 13, 7 p.m.
Miller Lite presents
Pat Green
Saturday, March 15, 4 p.m.
Rockin' Roadhouse Tour,
featuring
Joe Diffie, Mark Chesnutt
and Tracy Lawrence
Wednesday, March 5
Ford presents
Toby Keith
Thursday, March 6
Clay Walker
Saturday, March 8
Phil Vassar and
Jamie O’Neal
Sunday, March 9
Intocabie and
Los Ires Amigos,
featuring
Little Joe,
Roberto Pulido
and
Ruben Ramos,
with special
guests
Johnny and
Rocky
Hernandez
Go Tejano Day
sponsored by
Houston Chronicle
Monday, March 10
Clint Black and
Jerry Jeff Walker
Tuesday, March 11
Brooks & Dunn
Friday, March 14
Ray Charles and
Ronnie MHsap
Sunday, March 16
Target presents
Alabama
Ride the Rodeo METRO Express, sponsored by Ford and Your Texas Ford Dealers,
from 8 locations around Houston. Rodeo METRO Express ticket is
$2 for ages 13 and older, and FREE for ages 12 and younger.
(Weekday Parking, Monday to Friday, is available on-site at Reliant Park.)
Check out rodeo ticket availability at rodeohouston.com - updated daily.
Rodeo tickets and season passes are
available at ALL Ticketmaster locations, on the Internet at
www.ticketmaster.com, and by phone at 713.629.3700.
FORD HIDEOUT HEADLINERS
9:30 p.m. daily (ages 21 and older only)
March 5 - Clay Farmer
March 6 - Luther & The Healers
March 7 - Mel Waiters Revue with special guest Patrick Green
March 8 - Dave Alexander and His Big Texas Swing Band
March 9 - Los Desperadoz
March 10 - Jennifer Hanson
March 11 - Emerson Drive
March 12 - Two Tons of Steel
March 13 - Cooder Graw
March 14 - Radney Foster
March 15 - Pinmonkey
March 16 - Ezra Charles and the Works
2003 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™
You've never Seen it Like This!
For more information:
rodeohouston.com or hlsr.com
Thanks to Our Heritage Partners:
Reliant Energy, Ford, Coca-Cola, Gallery Furniture and Miller Lite