The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, December 03, 2003, Image 5

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Self enjoying first
season at Kansas
By Stephen Hawkins
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT WORTH, Texas —
Kansas coach Bill Self is still
learning a lot about his
SELF
a tot aoout ms new
team, which
has made a
quick rise to
the No. 1 spot.
While Self
doesn’t think
the top ranking
means too
much right
now, he likes
what he’s seen
— even if things aren’t perfect.
“I know that we don’t play as
smart as we should all of the
time, but it was a good win,”
Self said after the Jayhawks beat
TCU 85-66 Monday night in
their first game as No. 1. “We’ve
got to be a much smarter team,
but I do like our team a lot.”
With the post players virtual
ly forgotten against a heavy
pressure defense in its first road
game, Kansas (3-0) got big per
formances from a pair of young
guards and an impressive home
coming by Keith Langford.
Forward Wayne Simien and
center David Padgett were held
to just one basket each, and
Simien had just six points com
ing off a career-best 28 against
Michigan State. The guards
made up for that.
“Coming on the road, and
your two starting big guys com
bine for two baskets ... it gives
us confidence knowing guys
can score from the perimeter,”
Self said.
Sophomore Jeff Hawkins had
19 points on 7-of-9 shooting,
including five 3-pointers.
Freshman J.R. Giddens, starting
in place of injured guard Michael
Lee (broken collarbone), had 12
points on 5-of-7 shooting.
“He made a lot of great plays
and there’s no substitute for
good shooting,” Self said about
Hawkins. “And J.R. in his first
college start, he’s one of the
unsung heroes. That’s something
we can build on.”
Not to mention the 24-point
showing on 9-of-10 shooting in
24 minutes by Langford, playing
in his hometown against the
TCU coach who helped recruit
him. He missed most of the first
half after two early fouls.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
Men's basketball
loses season opener
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)-
Scooter McFadgon scored 23
points and Brandon Crump
65toH ladded 18 Tuesday night to lead
Tennessee to a 108-84 win
over Texas A&M.
The Volunteers (3-0) never
trailed in the second half in a
rematch of last year’s meeting
the Aggies (3-1) won 83-66
using 3-pointers to stymie a
1 late Tennessee run.
Texas A&M, playing its first
road game of the season, was
led by Acie Law’s 19 points.
LaKeith Blanks had 12 and
Kevin Turner added 10.
Crump scored three baskets
during a 13-2 run at the begin
ning of the second half that
Tennessee used to take a 58-46
lead and control of the game.
The Aggies got as close as
seven again, the last with
12:22 left, before Tennessee
started an 11-1 run.
Sports
The Battalion
Page 5 • Wednesday, December 3,
Blair, Ags open home slate
By Rob Phillips
THE -BATTALION
The Texas A&M women’s basketball
team has set a lofty goal for its final month
of non-conference action — perfection.
The new goal seems attainable to the
Aggies (2-2), who start a seven-game
stretch at Reed Arena Wednesday against
the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
“We want to go into conference 9-2,”
said senior A&M guard Toccara Williams,
who leads the Aggies in points, assists,
steals and minutes played. “That would
have our confidence up extremely high.”
The Aggies hope to shed tire inconsistent
play that hampered them last week at the
“Junkanoo Jam” in the Bahamas, where
they trailed by as many as 32 in an 88-72
loss to No. 9 Minnesota and had to rally
from a 20-point halftime deficit to slip past
Seton Hall, 54-52.
Junior A&M guard Charlette Castile said
the Aggies can’t afford to piece just one
solid half together against the Trojans.
“We’ve talked about coming out hard the
first half instead of waiting until the second
half and trying to come back from a deficit
of 20 like we did last game,” Castile said.
A 9-2 start would be a landmark
achievement for an A&M program search
ing for its first winning season in seven
years, but its first test during this home
stretch won’t be a pushover.
The Trojans (2-1) have started strong this
season with a new coach and cast of play
ers. Little Rock coach Joe Foley is loaded
with a bevy of freshmen and sophomores
who average a combined 46.7 points per
game. Freshman point guard Heather
Morris leads the team with 17.3.
“Texas A&M is a very athletic team and
has an explosive guard in Toccara
Williams,” Foley said. “They will be a good
test for us coming from the Big 12, which is
one of the best conferences in the nation.”
First-year A&M coach David Blair, who
spent the past 10 years coaching the
University of Arkansas, said he is familiar
with Arkansas-Little Rock’s roster from his
days coaching in the state.
“The majority of the kids on his team 1
JP Beato III • THE BATTALION
Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair talks to A&M guard Toccara Williams during an exhi
bition game in November. A&M opens its home schedule tonight at 7 p.m. against Arkansas-Little Rock.
saw play more than the kids on my team,”
Blair said.
A&M will look to muscle the Trojans
inside with its superior size, an advantage
it’s lacked this season. Opponents have out-
Tebounded the Aggies by nearly seven
boards per game this season.
“I think this is one of the few teams we’ll
be able to rebound with if we don’t let our
selves get boxed out like we’ve been getting
boxed out,” Blair said. “Hopefully we can
get the ball inside and do a little bit better
job of scoring in there.”
The Aggies will also provide some full-
court pressure against the Trojans, which is
a customary trait of Blair-coached teams.
“A key to the game will definitely be
pressuring the ball,” Williams said. “When
we’ve turned up the pressure, that’s when
we create turnovers.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Wednesday at Reed Arena.
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