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Show e Thursday, November 29, 1 979-Peg- e Sportsfacular These imew Cdds' gnve Xartls uirweaD deptilh) Hey, whos the new kid on the block? Or as Weber State basketball fans would put it, whos the new guys in town? The Wildcats have six new players in the line-u- p this season, all gifted and ready to contribute to Coach Neil McCarthys game plan. With five seniors, Bruce Collins, Mark Mattos, David Johnson David Penilton, and Richard Smith all saying goodbye after this season, McCarthy and his staff have worked overtime in recruiting and attracting talent to the Big Sky school. The six new guys include Eric Watson, a 0 sophomore guard from Detroit, Michigan; Tim Doolan, a junior guard from Peoria, Illinois; Joe Stafford, a 6?4 junior guard from Detroit, Michigan; Travis Salem, a 66 freshman forward from El Paso, 6 freshman forward from Texas; Royal Edwards, Sacramento, California; and Brian Devincenzi, a 68 freshman center-forwar- d from Sevier, Utah. Eric Watson Eric enters Weber State as a sophomore after just one season at Schoolcraft Community College where he averaged 17 points and eight assists a game on a team that went 21-- 7 and averaged over 100 points a game. He honors and was and earned a starter in the Michigan Junior College game. As a senior at Cass Technical High, Watson was listed as the number one high school guard in the state with a 23.0 point per game average. He led his team to the Detroit city championship and lost in the state championship game. The Detroit Free Press, the leading newspaper in the city, called him the best point guard to come out of the area since Eric Money who starred at the University of Arizona and later joined the NBA. One nationally known scouting service said Eric is certain to make it as a e college point guard and plays his best in a disciplined offense, which he will see a lot under Coach McCarthy, so it should be a good 6-- tually own his own construction company. He is the son of Mr. James D. Salem of El Paso. Royal Edwards Very quiet and Royal should take to the hearts of Wildcat fans right-of- f because of his intense play on both ends of the court, especially his defensive prowess. at John F. Kennedy High Royal was in Sacramento under coach Roger Otte. He was Northern California Player of the Year and was the Most Valuable Player in the Sacramento game last June. He also was Optimists All-Stselected to the team in the Sunshine Invitational held in San Jose last May. He averaged 21 points and 16 rebounds a game and was regarded by many as the best high school player to come out of the Sacramento area in the last four years. Highly regarded by his classmates as well, Royal received the award as the Outstanding Student as JFK High last year. He is the son of Mrs. Barbara A. Johnson of Sacramento and plans a major in Finance while at soft-spoke- n, or ar . Weber. A Brian Devincenzi real sleeper in the Utah prep ranks, Brian was not the attention of many collegiate recruiters, but could end up being one of the brighter stars at Weber in the near future. e at South Sevier High Brian was a in Monroe, Utah where he played under Vernon Roundy. He was named the Utah Class 2A last year and scored over 30 points twice in the state playoffs where his team finished fourth. Originally from California, his parents. Dean and Earlene moved to the peace and quiet of central Utah to get away from all the people and problems there. Because of his great quickness and body strength, Brian will see action as the back-u- p center to Richard Smith, but must also be considered a strong candidate to play some at forward. Brian was selected to play on the Utah High School team that annually opposes the best preps ters from Arizona, which is pretty good considering most players chosen for the team come from 3A and 4A teams. He also was selected to play for the Utah County Basketball Congress International team (BCI) under the guidance of Provo Highs outstanding coach, Jim Spencer. Majoring in Zoology, Devincenzi is planning a career in marine biology after graduation. two-tim- All-Stat- er Player-of-the-Ye- All-St- ar All-St- ar big-tim- marriage. Tom Doolan Tim has been in the junior college ranks the past two years with two different teams. He started out at Blackhawk East JC in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois where he averaged 18.6 points per game. He then transferred to Dodge City CC (Kansas) the next season and was a strong factor in his teams making it to the finals of the Kansas JC Tournament with a 31-- 2 overall record. Tim averaged 11 points and seven assists while shooting extremely well from the field (.590) and free throw line (.890). He will battle with Mark Mattos and Watson for a starring bid at the point guard position. Tim is a Physical Education major with high hopes of entering into the coaching ranks upon graduation. Joe Stafford One of two players entering the Wildcat program from Schoolcraft CC in Livonia, Michigan just outside Detroit, the other is Eric Watson. Joe, like Tim Doolan, played for two junior colleges. His first season was spent at Allen County CC in Kansas where he earned honors and later came to Schoolcraft. Joe earned four varsity letters in basketball under coach John Agby at St. Marys of Bedford High. He was First Team First Team his senior season. He and Honorable Mention Ball Classic in Round in the Michigan participated o, All-Sta- te 1976. At 64, he plays the big guard position out front and his great range from 1517 feet out, but is facing stiff competition from lettermen Todd Harper and Bruce Collins for a starting spot., The son of James and JoAnne Stafford of Detroit, Joe is a Business Management major at Weber and plans to own his own business after graduation. Travis Salem letterman and a three-yea-r Travis was a starter for Serio Guerreo at Coronado High in El Paso. team He was named to the coaches 4A averaging 17 points per game on a team that averaged just 51 a contest. His average of eight assists a game clearly indicates that his passing ability is above question. teams this Travis played on three different team Texas the playing for summer including the North Squad. With the array of big man talent at Weber this season, Salem may not see much action on the varsity, hut like so many other Weber stats of the past, may have to take his turn with the Jtai.or vanity to gain playing time and to learn the system. She A rnnsirwct'fln maiir. Ttevis .Us to four-ye- ar All-Sta- All-St- ar All-St- ar iirjtra.vi f s iron nrsdu.iii " 7 f (Of Wild cot cogo pfayort. Top row, (loft to right). Jo Stafford. Brian DovinconzJ. Travis Solom and hood cooch. Noil McCorthy. Bottom row. Royal Edwards. Tim Doolan and Eric Watson. THS |