OCR Text |
Show 1 C14 Spor ExtrFriday, October 27,. 1955. jTHE DAILY HERALD, Prove, jUfcu r- Page 3 Cougar's begin the season, for once, as a darkhorse By DICK HARMON Daily Herald Sports Editor Those who are favored to win the Western Athletic Conference S basketball race are those blessed with returning stars. And in that regard, the caliber of those starts and numbers returning, push the University of Utah to the tront of the line. Following behind will be Colorado State and New Mexico. Fresno State and BYU will be the darkhorse programs to watch tor. 1. UTAH Rick Majerus returns the bulk of his squad which finished 28-- 6 a year ago. And the head of the class 0 s junior Keith Van Horn. Once a skinny 210 pound freshman, Van Horn is bulked up to 238 Jpounds and his shooting touch is ithe best in the league. "I 11 put it this way," said BYU BYU: (Continued from Page 2) lcnls from live fantastic basket- all players who will be with us in ears 10 come and I'm very excited bout the future." Bin this season still looms head. Most experts predict the oiiL'ars will finish fourth or filth the WAC. "I don't mind being picked lerc. We've been picked No. I lor :veral years and that is a show of sped. But we'll take whatever jiey want to throw at us as see hat happens." For one ol the lirst times in eid's seven-yea- r coaching career t BYU. the Couars will not be iking on a big national exposure pe tournament like the Great tlaska Shootout or the Maui Clas- c. It will be more normal. BYU's ome schedule will be somewhat shtwcichl in the preseason, but le preseason road trips will be rutal. "That probabiy will be a good ling for a young team we are Lbuilding. We want to give them a hance to have success and work n playing together." said Reid. The Cougars' first official ome game will be against Boise late Nov. 25 following exhibi-on- s with Marathon Nov. 10. and adar (Croatia) Nov. 17. The Cousars then travel to Reno fid play Nevada before taking off Mississippi State in Starksville. his is the Mississippi State team le Cousars defeated in the Mar- tl Center a year aao which went n to whip Utah in the NCAA uirnamcnt and returns most all ol starters. The Cougars get Utah State in d e Marriott Center Dec. 5. which Classic a by Cougar eludes Louisiana Tech. Stephen Austin and Cal Northridgc. Alter a home game with a buildina Weber Slate, the wears travel Texas Tech in Lub- ck. The Red Raiders are favored nong the top in the Southwest 1 coach Roger Reid, the closest WAC team in proximity to the Utes. "A year ago the first WAC player taken in the NBA draft was Theo Ratliff of Wyoming who went No. 18 to Detroit. But he was not the player of the year in our league, Van Horn was." The Utes, who have been listed as high as No. 4 in the country by Street and Smiths, return forward Michael Doleac and center Ben Melmeth on the front line. Utah lost 9 Alex Jensen to an LDS mission, but he is the only major loss. Back is 6 Brandon Jessie and Terry Preston in the backcourt. And they will be joined by freshman redshirt Andre Miller, one of the most sought after guards in Los Angeles two years ago. Miller and Jessie were the focus of shoplifting charges last June which was a major distraction for the Utes. But according to reports from the , The Sale Lake Tribune, neither player will miss any games due to suspensions from the incident. 2. COLORADO STATE Colorado State returns all five starters from a team that made the WAC Tournament finals on a shot over BYU by guard Delmonte Madison. Back are guards David Evans, Bobby Sellers, center Joe Vogel, and forwards Matt Bamett and Lorenzo Johnson. In addition CSU coach Stew Morrill will welcome redshirt guard Jameal Mahmud. Madison played 22 games as the sixth man for the Rams, so CSU has extensive experience and firepower returning from a team that 4 last year. went 3. BRIG H AM YOUNG Picking the Cougars to finish third is tough because they always seen to be a contender under Roger Reid who has never not won 20 games a year. But major rebuilding is a question mark for the Cougars who must find somebody to replace leading scorer Russell Larson and point guard Robbie Reid, 6-- 6-- 6-- 5-- last-seco- 23-fo- ot 17-1- and starter Mark Dur-ran- t. Reid, who is in Greece on an LDS mission, was the most tenacious defender in the WAC last year. The Cougars could benefit from the lofty position of traveling partner Utah who will get the majority of the attention when the two make their swings through the league. "On paper, we are probably a four or a five pick," admitted coach Roger Reid. But he adds with the Reid look: "You don't win games on paper." Look for junior college transfer Bryon Ruffner to provide a scoring punch, and senior guard Randy Reid will likely look to the basket more this year than any of his previous three seasons. Back is center Ken Roberts and a solid nucleus of lettermen who have hungered for minutes behind Larson, Shane Knight and Mark Durrant who are gone. 4. FRESNO STATE The Bulldogs had the most talent of any WAC team last year. But they were a squad in rebellion through the preseason and WAC play. That led to the departure of Gary Colson. Now the talent has the winningest coach in NCAA history in Jerry Tarkanian. FSU should be the No. 2 or 3 pick in this league, and No. 1 if you just counted talent. We will get to see FSU early in the preseason NIT against Weber State Nov. 15 on national four-ye- ar All-WA- C TV. Back is sophomore guard Dominick Young, one of the fastest players in the league, 6-- 5 Darnell McCullough, and 6-- 8 Darrnaryl Stamps. Tark the Shark also recruited 6-- 8 forward Terrance Roberson, who was headed for UMass and junior college transfer Kendrick Brooks, and Boston College transfer Chris Herren. 5. NEW MEXICO The Lobos return three starters in Charles Smith, David Gibson and Clayton Shields, the nucleus of the three-poishooting barrage that has been effective at times. nt Daily Herald PnotoPatrick J. Krohn Rick Majerus returns ago. At the head of the bulk of his squad which finished 28-- a year the class is junior Keith Van Horn. Once a skinny freshman, Van Horn is bulked up to 238 pounds and his shooting touch is considered the best in the league. 6 0 210-pou- They also welcome highly touted Albuquerque freshman, 9 Kenny Thomas. The Lobos will get a big boost from 0 transfer Chris Paddock. Generally speaking, the Lobos are an up and down team. But come tournament time and playing on their home court for the WAC tournament this March, New Mexico is a weak No. 5 with potential. 6-- 7-- lol-we- ' nt (SeeYAC,PaSe4) Your Watchdog on City C ounci - imtTTerKer' 6. UTEP The Miners and Cougars are always in contention for a league title. But like the Cougars, the Miners are rebuilding once more. Two starters return in Mark Ingle and forward Kevin Beal. Ingle was the schools most accurate three-poishooter a year ago. The Min- - Provo City Council . |