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Show -- 9 JC 1 IS The Sail Lake Tribune Thursday, February m"i Tpruin 3, 1983 Full Circle Murray Assistant Basketball Coach Comes ',' after when Tribune Staff Writer graduated from high school, but a did talk to Craig Hammer may have gone couple of junior colleges full circle in his basketball travels me," Hammer said. I guess nobody really wanted a skinny but it certainly wasn't planned. forward." The former Murray High School Neil Roberts wanted him, and the basketball star is now coaching at Dixie College coach got him. It was his alma mater. He graduated from in St. George that Craig met his high school in 1978, and now only 44 wife, grew two inches, gained 20 in he is later years again working pounds and received playing time Spartanville. and confidence. It was those 44 years in between Does Heckuva Job' stints on the Murray basketball "He (Roberts) does a heckuva job floor that were unpredictable and exciting. They included a run at the down at Dixie, he really is a good national basketball championship, a coach," Hammer said. "I had a lot of fun down there and we had some marriage and a learning experience real good teams." on a losing basketball team. Hammer estimates that during But it all started in Murray. Durhis two years at Dixie the Rebels ing his junior year, the Spartans record. His first were respectable, losing to Pleasant compiled a he there in of the state the semifinals Grove played with Ron Ence, year who is currently at Utah State, Eric championships. The next year MurSlaymaker, the former Skyline basray lost to the Devin Durrant-le- d Provo Bulldogs again in the ketball and football star, and Dave Rose who is now playing for highly semifinals. rated Houston. Dixie finished third Life of My Story in the National Association of Junior "After my junior year in college I tournament in Hutchinson, Colleges was in semis the decided that losing that Kan., year. the story of my life, Hammer said He showed well enough during his stint at Dixie to create a lot of interThe Spartans never really did est at major colleges in Utah and those play much defense during around the country. years, but they did score a lot of All Recruited Me' and forward points. Hammer played schools in offense. told "I motion the Murray's guard More than once he led the team in that I wasn't interested early on because I wantpd to play close to scoring. 4 "I wasn't highly sought By Kurt Kidman I ' ft r,;,n, St rr o U: ,y ' A On all Sclroccos y t; Delivery Price figured after the factory rebate and dealer discount BUY ONE for ONLY c nnuui ni AruiurnTiDl VVV VV11 Vtni luuia I O 4-- Dr. Sod Factory Rebate Dealer Total Discount Savings $1000 $1100 $2100 k'V' s Tribune Start Photo by Heather Nelson It wasnt very long ago that Craig Hammer, left, was get- the instruction and lessons at Murray High School in- home. Hammer explained. "Weber State, Utah State and the University of Utah all recruited me and it was difficult to decide where to go. a taste that he liked. Recruiting puts a lot of pressure on young guys, he said. "The recruiters make every college sound so good and you can become very confused. The final considerations for me was playing close to home, and playing on a good team. The U. offered both. The Utes needed a forward to come off the bench to spell Karl Bankowski and fill in where needed. Hammer was just that man, plus he was a local product with two years of college experience. It was a perfect match. Good Year for Utes That first year was one of the best in the history of the U.s basketball team. Led by Tom Chambers, Danny Vranes, Scott Martin and Bankowski the Utes tied for the Western Athletic Conference championship with Wyoming, and were ranked in the top ten in the nation. wasnt going to start on your role is and you accept it. he explained. After a while I really grew to like it because it was the first time that there wasnt a lot of pressure on me. There is a lot more pressure starting than there is coming off the bench. As a sub you just try to come in the game and get something going to help the team. The Utes breezed into the national tournament and in the first round they beat Northeastern like a drum. In the semifinals of the Western Regional, Utah came home to play North Carolina. We played one of our worst games of the year against UNC, we just never got going, Hammer said with more than a little disappointment in his voice. It was a situation where we were trying too hard because we were at home and we wanted to win so badly. If we had played them some place else maybe we would have played better. Only Five Points Despite the poor performance the Utes only lost by a five points. No team stayed very close to the Tarheels until they were beaten by Indiana in the national championship. That was the toughest defeat Ive ever had to experience, Hammer said. It was very sad in the locker room. None of the players wanted the season to end that way. Its tough for your season to end after a game that you know you should have won. There were a lot of losses ahead for Hammer the next year. He was the only senior on the team, and the Utes didn't have a dominant big man. Rocky Mountain Gymnastics By Kurt Kidman Tribune Staff Writer The Third Annual Saltos Invita- tional Gymnastics Meet was a complete success except for the fact that a Nevada team came in and stole the show. In the Class I division, which was the highest class in which events were held, the Sparklers Gymnastics Club, Las Vegas, Nev., went home with the first place trophy. The Sparklers just beat out the team from Salt Lake City, to Jn.the Class II category, another Nevada team. Flips Academy, Reno, ended up in first place. The Sparklers took second in the Class II 138.40 137.25. division. The meet went very well," said Blake Starr, coach of the host USA s team Gymnastics which operates out of Bountiful. There were 60 participants in each World-Salto- session, and there were about 400 700 !1000 Total Saving! 1700 41MPG CITY dudes hair cut, shampoo, remoisturizing treatment, blow dry or hair set. Cut indudes shampoo and blow Chidry or hairset. ldren's Cut Half Price Clipper Cut and Cellophane now available. When you call tor an appointment, please mention and bring in this ad. onar axplrw M. , IMS often not oviflablo with Tony. INTRODUCING MARTIN HEARD A JUNE HANSEN HYON CHU CROMEENES MARSHA H. WILSON JUDY LOYD hair stylist. Tony's special not available these hair stylists. with credit USE YOUR REBATE INTERMOUNTAIN , beat the single-handedl- y Cougars. Defeating the Cougars A lot of people have asked me if the BYU game made up for the rest of the year, he said. The game was personally one of the biggest thrills of my life but there is no way it made up for a losing season. Hammer finished his college sports eligibility and sat down and analyzed himself. He felt he could if not in have played some place the NBA then overseas. But making it as a pro player takes a lot of work and a lot of luck. He decided getting his degree, getting into coaching and his marriage were more important than taking a chance in the pro wars. One of his class assignments in college was to go to a Murray School District Board of Education meeting. Unbeknownst to him one of the items on the meeting's agenda was filling a vacancy at Murray High School. The Spartans needed an assistant basketball coach. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I heard of the opening, Hammer said. They asked me if I wanted the job and I immediately accepted." At Murray, Hammer is working under head coach Mike Evcans. Its a relationship that is working well. He always listens to my ideas and sometimes uses them. Hes giving me every possible chance and I owe him a lot, he said. Hammer is finding out just how hard coaching can be. It isnt just holding onto a towel and screaming and yelling from the sidelines. He would like to spend a few more years learning the ropes at Murray before taking a head coaching job. After that he's not sure, but would consider a job at a junior college, but probably not at a major college. Isnt the Pressure really like the high school level because there isnt the pressure of winning at all costs, he explained. I don't like recruiting, and I dont think I'd be very good at it. Those "I guys put a lot of pressure on and Im not sure thats right. I don't know if people should be allowed to mess with kids heads like that." Hammer has more than a few ideas on how major college basketball should be run. He maintains that the game should be for the betterment of the kids, not for the university. He is not saying that the University of Utah or any other local college is at fault, but he does say that the local colleges arent any different than any other university in the nation. "You have to have the right kind of personality to make it in college ball, he said. "If I had to do it all over again, Id do it because I made it through the system OK. Some others dont come out all right, and that's wrong." spectators for the Saturday meet. It went well enough that we will do it again next year for sure." The Saltos team is the only one in Utah that conducts an invitational meet. The team is just one of many clubs in Utah that has good talent, and performs at invitationals throughout Utah, Idaho, Washington, Nevada and other states. Club gymnastics compete directly with high school gymnastics teams, and there is some tension between the two. Many girls who are on club teams could really help out high school teams and A team such as Saltos has about 300 members, but only a fraction of the girls actually compete in meets. It takes at least a year of working in the beginner program before a girls is able to contribute to the team, said Starr. Every year in Utah the teams get better, and in time we will compete with any teams in the nation." Unilversitys Program a Plus Part of the reason for the rise in popularity of gymnastics in Utah is the University of Utahs program. The Utes have won the national championship the past two years, and are strong contenders again this year. People in Utah are very about the sport, and some a. parents or girls might see the U. perform and think Gee, I'd like to do that,' Starr explained. Many girls on club teams get scholarships in colleges. That, and ultimatly the Olympics are the goals for many of the gymnasts. The highest level in club competition is Elite. Girls earn the title of Elite when they score a 9.0 or better average on the four compulsory events and the four freestyle events. Long, Hard, Expensive "When a girl is at that level she is a year spending between on gymnastics, and works out at least 25 hours a week," said Starr. The Class II final standings in the meet were: 1. Flips Academy; 2. Sparklers; 3. Gem State Academy, Boise Idaho; 4. Utah Academy of Gymnastics; 5. Saltos; 6. Gate City Cymnastics, Pocatello, Idaho. final The Class II standings were: 1. Racheal Townsill, Flips; 2. Deanna Austin, Flips, 3. Stephanie Webb, Sparklers. In Class I. the final team totals were: 1. Sparklers; 2. Rocky Mountain; 3. Puget Sounds Rainbows; 4. Gem State; 5. Gate City; 6. Saltos. In the the standings were: 1. Kris Takahasi, Rocky Mountain; 2. Marilyn Reimcr, Sparkler; 3. Darlene Jensen, Rocky Mountain. Cut & Style by Tony. Makeup by Sue McCarty. SCULPTURED NAILS AVAILABLE COMPLETE FACIAL OPEN t FACIAL MASSAGE MON.-SA- FOR MEN, WOMEN A CHILDREN 4645 Holladay Blvd. (4645 S. 2295 E.) W vr,4 v HAIR TRADES ACCEPTED BANK TERMS with approved most "The hardest thing for me so far was going from shooting the ball to watching them shoot it. I still want to go out there and do it for them." d (count Independent . . . PURCHASE YOUR VOLKSWAGEN FROM ONE OF AMERICA'S LARGEST VOLKSWAGEN DEALERS The highlight of his senior year came at the Special Events Center against Brigham Young University. Hammer canned 11 of his 14 shots and ended up with 22 points to al- know-ledgabl- e CALL TONY'S STYLISTS TODAY 57 MPG HWY, WHY PAY MORE g I vice-vers- WHITE VELVET BY L'OREAL QUANTUM PERM BY HELENE CURTIS PANTENE BY PANTENE CO. 7TH DIMENSION BY ZOTOS ZOTOS TEXTURED FOAM DESIGN FREEDOM BY ZOTOS VCM BY ZOTOS APPLE PECTIN PERM BY LEMAUR CELLO PERM BY SEBASTIAN II you have a favorite perm, let us know a week ahead. Perm in- SALON SPECIAL Dealer Discount stead of giving them. Currently an assistant coach, Ham-tinmer hopes to be a head coach at a high school in future. Nevada Teams Take Invitational Honors Just bring in their Ad- - (offer not available trom Beauty Schools) Factory Rebat I - WE WILL MATCH ANY OTHER HAIR JETTA with DIESEL ENGINE w'4 -- TONTS PRESENTS VW QUANTUM . i ri r; "At first sitting on the bench was tough but then you understand what YOU CAN j, j the team but I did see opportunity for a lot of playing time, Hammer said. That year I averaged about 18 minutes a game which was the most of anybody on the bench. It wasnt easy for Hammer to sit on the bench. All his life he had been a starter and sometimes the star. our Inventory I r,,, f I knew I In i r wasnt REBATES! - KWkMrilM high-pressu- FAjCTORY j a-, i ' It was during this period that Hammer got his first taste of major college recruiting. It GENDO fjj4 V - rowt 52-1- 1 te y- CALL Mastercard 278-449A 7 vl0' Visa Approved RECEIVED 20 CALLS BELIEVE SOLD THE I I VERY SAME DAY." MR C. SOLD HIS FURNITURE THE SAME DAY HIS AD RAN IN Sit THE NEWSPAPER GET RESULTS WITH WANT-AD- S . . . 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