News Scrapbook 1985

Los Angeles CA (Lo Angeles Co) Times (San Diogo Ed.I (Ctr. D 50,010) (Cir. S 55,573) D C

1985

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f" 1888

16 Part III/Saturday, December 14, 1985 J RIVALRY / r I Cont nu fr&m Pase 1

se on criticism. "When you're m the public sector, it's always like that. You'll always be in the micro. cope. That's the thrill of victory and _the agony of defeat, I guess. Youiust do the best you can do." Egan is trying his best with a ve inexperienced backcourt. Pete Murphy, an off-guard who aver- aged 18 minutes last season, is the only one returning. Thus, the of- fen e hasn't been smooth.

There is one controversy to be found here, however. USD 19 al- ways the road team in this series and _Eg~n doesn't know why. H~ al~o isn t too pleased that his squad will only get one workout in the Sports Arena, a morning shoot- around today. 'Tm up for the game, though " Egansa1d. ' Is anyone else?

'We're really Oand4½. We won the first half(Thursday) against Arizona ... but USD's team is better than ours. They've got more seniors and have a bigger team. We've had problems with big lineups this year.'

But _Egan said his players don't bump Ill~ San Diego State players, except this one night a year. Egan said he and Gaines don't bump into each other when they recruit either. ' "'Well, that's because the aca- demics are different," he said, al- luding to USD's higher entrance requirements. Games agreed. "If we recruited the same kids they'd go to USD because it's said that's a better academic school " Gaines said. "And it's a small~r school, an~ they think they can get more md.iV1dual teaching. And it's a pnvate school. But I say a kid can get his degree from Oshkosh or wherever. It's if he wants to do something with it ... that's what matters." So, in essence, neither team has much to gain, other than a victory. USD (.f-3) might normally have more incentive because it has not defeated the Aztecs since the 1976-77 season. The fact that San Diego State is 0-5 tends to even things out. ·:we're really O and -4½," said Games, whose team has yet to play a home game. "We won the first half (Thursday night) against Ari- zona • • but USD's team is better ~han ours. They've got more sen- iors and have a bigger team. We've had problems with big lineups this year. They usually play harder in

-Smokey Gainea

the game than we play."

Still, i~ there can be a pressure g~me this early in a season, San Diego State has one tonight. A loss to USD would add insult to their mJunes, and 6-9 center Gerald Murray and 6-8 Steffond Johnson are still out with mjuries. "When you live m a fish bowl, ev_eryone can take shots at you," said Games, responding to early

THE

pect Fireworks: SDSU vs. U DGame's Safe and Sane

Don't

Univcr ltY of San Diego at 7:30 tonight at the Sports Arena. It's really quite sane. Usually these neighborhood games aren't. That's because players tend to bump into each other on the local play- grounds, and then it is important for them to b able to say. "We got you this yer., so hut yourface " Plea e eeRIVALRY,Pa e16

Co ch 'mok y Gaines-waiting, waiting, w IL ng for VlCtory-said: "Th are no bragging rtght (m San Diego)." So1t1siu tagame,perhapsju ttheway It hould b . In anoth r place d town, thl kind or hoops would brin hoopla. K ntucky v Lou1sv1lle? Georg town vs. ryl nd? mphis State vs. Tenne ee? h C rolln vs Duke' And then th re' San Diego tate v

D, Tim a taff Writer

By TOM FlU

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454)

4 1985

DEC

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/Still winless, Aztecs hope to rebound against crosstown rival USD Five games, Smokey Tn/JuneSportsw II r ''Yeah, well, five," he said. "Actually it's only 4½ be- IS '11' :"II ·tncken with an 0-5 record and threat- cause we won the first half against Arizona (Thursday Pnmg to make th school annals under Crummi- night). Hey, things could be worse. Besides, we've played c t Basketball swrt Ever, Smokey Gaines con- well in our losses. We've played hard and as well as we ducted a clo cd Winnebago meetmg last night with his can with the people we have. given our injuries. But it's San Diego Stale player like a baseball player who's in a slump. The harder he "I told 'em •t's not go crawl in a hole and die about tnes to snap out of it . . " this," aid Ga1 e , who zters meet crosstown foe USO Gaines conducted his half-hour fire and brimstone tonight in a 7.30 game t U,e Sports Arena. "The gays are "' team meeting in his cozy campus RV office, and it came down. I tned to rermnd them to keep things in perspec- on the eve of the 20th duel between the Aztecs and the 4-3 hve. I mean, 11 is only a game, isn't it? A plane crash kills Toreros. The Aztecs have won 14 of the 19 matchups and ~50 people and 're hanging our heads for losmg a haven't lost to USO since 1976. game or two" Gaines, whose team is without key rebounders (6-8 forward) Steffond Johnson and (6-9 center) Gerald Mur- ray (both out with injuries) has passed off the USO game as just that - another game. Like most, Smokey isn't ready to label it a rivalry yet. "It's just another game, another W or another L," he said. ''It becomes a rivalry when 12,000 emotional fans come out to watch. We'll probably get 5,000 for this one. "Bragging rights? Maybe. But most genuine rivalries are made when the players involved are competing against each other all year long. They are playing each other during summer leagues, too. That's not the case ere. Sure, our players and the USO players might run mto each other during the summer. But it's probably at the beach on a boogie board." How important is this game to the Aztecs? "It's very important, but only because we need a win very badly," Gaines said. "One win would do a Jot for our confidence, maybe get us turned around. But we have our hands full. USO is a good team, Hank Egan is a good coach, and we're playing hurt." The major problem this season for the Aztecs, who last year ,reached the NCAA tournament, has been rebound- ing. Tney've been outrebounded in every game so far and State's leading board man - John Martens - carries a comparitively dainty average of seven a game. "That (rebounding) and our free throw shooting have killed us," said Gaines, the third winningest basketball coaclt in ' Please see AZTECS, B-11

*Aztecs-+---------- Continued From B-1 ,,. _L Aztecs history. ;2',lf.e1 /

chute. "That doesn't bother me as long as the guys keep playing hard," said Smokey, who led the Aztecs last season to their best-ever Di vision I record. "I'm not particularly frus- trated. But the important thing is that the players don't get that way." Perhaps Gaines, a former standout player, can put himself in the shoes of the Aztecs and relate to having lost five in a row. What does that do to your confidence, Smokey? How did you handle it? "Man, I honestly don't know," he said. "I was lucky to play on all win- ning teams. I never played on a team that lost five straight." ,,.

"I have no explanation for our bad free throw shooting (tne Aztecs are hitting about 56 percent from the line and made only 55 percent Thursday night in a six-point loss to Arizona). Our rebounding problem has been the direct result of our injuries. With Murray and Johnson in the lineup, I honestly believe we'd probably be 4-1 right now, and certainly no worse than 3-2." As it is, tne Aztecs are within a loss of matching tne 0-6 start of the 1923-24 team, which ranks as the rockiest-ever Aztecs effort out of the