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Show S8 THE THURSDAY, SUN SWAC Banks, from page SI the court, where he has punished slower opponents by using blazing speed to pene- trate to the basket. He was the SWACs leading scorer as a freshman and finished second in that catego- ry as a sophomore. Banks is a candidate for SWAC Most Valuable Player and a likely choice as an All- American Besides basketball, Banks likes sleeping and, surprisingly, school. He believes his quiet disposition sets him apart from others. Banks loves everything about basketball except losing. He says the team is doing just fine winning, we just have to win region and go to nationals next. After Dixie, Banks has signed to play for UNLV, so he can return home to his parents, brother, and three sisters. Like his favorite player, Michael Jordan, Marcus Banks hopes to eventually play for MARCH 7, 2001 Tournament the NBA. Only two former Dixie players, Lionel HolIins Keon Clark, have reached the NBA- Banks however aPPears to have 30 excellent shot at reaching that level. note: Two other Rebeb couH urice Mo" Baker a shot at the NBA 6lm junior, now at Oklahoma State, is a scra a candidate for Big XII newcomer of the year, as averaSed 19 7 Pmis 6'7 rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Cowboys, while the The other shoocinZ 52 PCTCent ft player, Fred House, may be a long shot for the but he has had a tremendous career at Southem Utah where was Poised t0 be named w the Mid' Continent Conference First Team or the second in a T0W- House kd the T'Birds in xorinS. averaging 17.3 points and m 67 rebounds a contest. In Houses drerr two best seasons two ears- SUU m xhol fust0T' ft" Banks were PW sure that kid has as bright of a future ahead of flim " as any player at Dixie in a long - P' k - - Dixies Jaime Lloreda, left, and Coty Bundy (in street clothes) celebrate a Dixie basket late in the Rebels 80-6- time). 3 win at Snow College. photo by Stanton Rose man SWAC, from page SI the cross country is reduced to three teams: Valley State College, North Idaho Coland Flathead Valley Community College, lege, Mont, (cross country is the only sport in which FVCC competes in the SWAC). Track & Field currently features five teams, but it will be reduced to four when Ricks departs. UVSC sports information director, D.J. Smith, whose office runs the SWACs website, said he was unaware of any plans to realign the sport. Smith, however, pointed out that in golf, in which just two SWAC teams, UVSC and Dixie compete, the teams are integrated into an Arizona league. In a similar situation, Dixie, Snow, and Ricks the SWAC schools which play football also align themselves with the Arizona schools in the Western States Football League. A decision to use a similar approach for cross country and track would have to be made by the athletic directors of the SWAC institutions. In other sports, softball would be the one mainstream sport that is most affected by the decision, as it would drop from eight programs to six programs. to be traveling partners for basketball, volleyball and baseball), the only team north of the Utah-Idah- o border in the "new" SWAC does not have a softball squad. As for expanding the SWAC, one team that has been rumored for joining the SWAC is the Community College of Southem Nevada. However, The Las Vegas school, which is the nations fourth largest community college with an enrollment of 35,000, only started intercollegiate athletics last season, and in just two sports: baseball and womens soccer The SWAC does not currently have a womens soccer division (although it does have the national champions of that sport, Dixie State College), and adding Southem Nevada just for baseball does not seem viable, considering that the Pirates presendy play in Region 1 of the NJCAA. (Not that the SWAC is anxious to allow CCSN in that division, as SWAC schools are against the Pirates this season, and only win 2 Southem Nevadas one game has been close). over CSI DSC athletic director Dexter Irvin told The Dixie Sun last month that Southem Nevada would need to add more sports before that option can even be explored. We love our girls. We care so much about them and would do anything to help them. It takes a lot to worry about, care for and love your team. For the last six months, I got to walk into the Bums everyday and see 20 or so people made up of managers, trainers, our practice guys, players and coaches. All coming and working together for three hours to achieve one common goal. To succeed, but not only with a basketball and a couple of rims, but in school and in life. I'll be sad when it's all over, but I can always remember how wonderful it has been. I think that is the greatest thing and biggest difference about it. Phil Jackson said, " It's not what you do, but how you do it that matters." As a playei; you care about your game. As a coach, you get to care about a person. I never wanted to be a coach, but now, through the coaches that I know and the awesome girls with whom I have the opportunity to work, I have found something to love. Utah 3 in Ephraim. photo by Brooke Hansen Come support the Rebels! ! Hansen, from page SI hits the hardest in for Women, whose birthday is next, is Lake Havasu the best idea for a vacation, to why is poetry class so cool. I am learning how to literally care for a team; not only how to help them on the court, but also off. I know how to talk like a coach, too. Coach LaVetter's words of motivation are the greatest: "When adversity pounds you down, you have to be resilient like a rubber ball to bounce back higher" And to the posts one day he said, "When you're fighting with the gorilla, you don't quit when you get tired, you quit when the gorilla gets tired." I am not out there playing any more, but I still get goose bumps when someone hits a three or drives the lane. I have learned so much and it has been an incredible journey, but I still feel inadequate because I think that the greatest responsibility lies with the coach. North Idaho would also be stranded in Coeur d'Alene without a traveling partner; as Southem Idaho (NIC and CSI are expected 0-- 13-1- |
