8B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW
WEDNESDAY, NOV.7, 2001
OKLAHOMA
Junior college transfers may make Sooners stronger
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
For the second year in a row, Oklahoma coach Calvin Sampson has six new faces to work into the lineup. Three of those players are junior college transfers who will complement junior Hollis Price at the guard position.
Price led the team in assists, steals and minutes last season. Price tore his tricep in last year's NCAA tournament.
"My shot is getting a lot stronger, and it all seems to be going well," Price said. "I would say in a range of one to 10, I am at a level nine.
Joining Price in the backcourt will be Quannas White, Ebi Ere and Jason Detrick. White played with Price in
Ere averaged 25.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season at Barton County Community College in Kansas where he was a second-team All-American. He is the preseason choice for Big 12 Newcomer of the year.
"He's been a pleasant surprise,"
Sampson said. "He is a gym rat and loves to play."
Detrick averaged 23 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at Southwest Missouri State-West Plains last season where he was a firstteam All-American.
In addition to the wealth of talent on the perimeter, the Sooners could rotate five players in the post, led by senior forward Aaron McGhee.
"I had a really up and down season last year but this summer I worked really hard," McGhee said. "I know that this is my last year and I really want to finish strong."
Contact Brox at 864-4858
OKLAHOMA STATE
Old and new players will help Cowboys' challenging season
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
The Oklahoma State Cowboys have plenty of players returning from a team that finished fifth in the Big 12 Conference a year ago, and the Cowboys have added some extra fire power.
Senior guard Maurice Baker is the leading returner this year, having
averaged 19.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last season.
He's a preseason pick for the All Big 12 team and a major reason Oklahoma State is ranked 18th by the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and picked to finish third behind
Kansas and Missouri in the Big 12.
"I'm just trying to help my team get some victories," Baker said.
Senior forward Fredrik Jonzen said Baker did that and more for the team.
"Maurice leads by example, and everyone else sees how confident he is out there on the court, which helps everyone else out there on the court," Jonzen said.
Jonzen averaged 15 points and
6.5 rebounds per game last season.
Oklahoma State added sophomore guard Aaron Hill, a transfer from Salt Lake City Community College, to the roster. Also eligible this year is sophomore forward Ivan McFarlin. Academically ineligible last season, McFarlin averaged 15.9 points, 14.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game as a senior at Wil-
Jowridge High School in Texas.
Coach Eddie Sutton has a bright outlook for his team but cautioned that the Big 12 would be competitive.
"Talent-wise we can be a good team," Sutton said. "No doubt with everyone returning, we're going to be a deeper club. The one concern for me is if we have the right chemistry."
Other key returners for Oklahoma State are junior guard Melvin Sanders, 8 points, 4.4 rebounds per game; junior guard Victor Williams, 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds per game; and junior forward Andre Williams, 6.8 points, 7.7 rebounds per game.
Contact Brox at 864-858
TEXASA&M
Staying healthy key if team wants to end streak of losing seasons
By Ali Brox Kansan sportswriter
Texas A&M is the only team in the Big 12 Conference that has yet to win a game in the conference tournament. Adding insult to injury, the Aggies have seven consecutive losing seasons, but they are poised for a better season this year.
Texas A&M lost sophomore starting center Andy Slocum to a season-ending shoulder injury last year. The Aggies also went without sophomore forward Tomas Ress, who took a medical redshirt. This year Slocum is back and Ress could also earn be one of the starting forwards.
"Tomas still has his talent," said coach Melvin Watkins.
"He is one of the most skilled players that we have. He is not quite 100 percent recovering from his injury, but he will have NBA potential."
Sophomore center Nolan Butterfras will add to the front
cal teams in the Big 12. The added depth inside should also help junior guard Bernard King, who averaged 18 points and 4.8 assists per game last season, and sophomore forward Nick Anderson, who averaged 10.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
"We have more than just
nernard this year," Watkins said. "He will have some help. I think he will be a better player this year because he does not have to do as much."
The Aggies need a consistent point guard, and the likely starter would be junior Michael Gardener, who averaged 13.4 points and 7.7 assists last season at Garden City Community College. Bradley Jackson, another junior college transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, could share time at the point
Texas A&M is picked to finish 11th in Big 12 in the preseason poll, but if the team stays healthy, it could end its streak of losing seasons.
COLORADO
Contact Brox at 864-4858
Brothers to lead Colorado attack
By Ryan Malashock Kansan sportswriter
Colorado senior guard D.J. Harrison torched the Kansas men's basketball team for 26 points last season on Jan. 22, but he might not be the most dangerous Harrison for this year's Buffalo 22.
That's because Harrison's brother David, a highly touted 7-
foot freshman center and Big 12 freshman of the year candidate, will be on the team this season.
Colorado won the recruiting battle for the younger Harrison last year, but the older Harrison didn't play as big a role in the recruiting process as one would think.
"I really wanted him to go wherever he would be happy." D.J. Harrison said. "Me being at Colorado was an influence, but if he was playing somewhere else, I would cheer for him just as much."
DJ. Harrison said Colorado ended up being good for his brother. And coach Ricardo Patton said David Harrison had assimilated into Colorado's system quicker than he had expected.
"The first couple weeks of practice he's been really solid." Patton said. "Each day he's gotten a little bit better and been able to go a little bit longer."
Last season, the Buffaloes sprinted out to a 10-3 start and received votes in both national polls. But bad team chemistry tore the team apart during the Big 12 season, a problem that
won't affect this season's team,
said senior Nick Mohr.
"We've worked on building together as a team before school even started," Mohr said. "We wanted to get things started on the right foot. We've said the last two years that we had a good team, but it didn't happen."
That said, Colorado's team chemistry and fate rests with Mohr, the Harrisons and junior forward Stephane Pelle. Mohr, D.J. Harrison and Pelle are the three returning starters from last year's underachieving team, which finished ninth in the Big 12 with a 5-11 record. Pelle played center last season, and the addition of David Harrison will allow the 6-9 Pelle to shift back to his normal position of power forward.
Contact Malashock at 864-4858
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