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Wednesday, March 6, 1996
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SWC basketball legacy a dim one
By Mark Bablineck The Associated Press
DALLAS — There were plenty of eulogies to mark last year's passing of Southwest Conference football. As the league dribbles into basketball oblivion, the memories are much fewer and further between.
Face it. There weren't many glory days on the men's SWC hardwoods.
Unless there's a March Madness miracle, the conference will die without ever winning an NCAA championship, the only notable sport in which a conference team didn't win at least once.
Texas, led by Johnny Moore, won the 1978 NIT for the league's only postseason tournament championship.
There were some great teams and some great names, including current and future Hall of Famers. But by and large, SWC schools always appeared hesitant about playing with a ball without stitches.
The league was colorful. Patrolling the sidelines were Guy V. Lewis and his polka-dot towels, silver-tongued Abe Lemons, jut-jawed Gerald Myers and the ageless Shelby Metcalf.
ANALYSIS
Akeem Olaijuwan (he wore his H-less first name on his jersey), Clyde Drexler, Michael Young, Larry Micheaux, Rob Williams and Greg "Cadillac" Anderson all played together at Houston where they came to be known as "Phi Slama Jama, Texas' tallest fraternity."
Lewis' Cougars made the NCAA Final Four from 1982-84, and the 1983 team is considered one of the finest in college history. But they were upset in the title game by North Carolina State when Lorenzo Charles slammed home a last-second Derek Whittenburg air ball.
Before the 1970s, the league labored mostly in anonymity, content to rest on its football laurels while the state's basketball powers existed at Texas Western (now Texas-El Paso) and Houston, which joined the SWC in 1975.
The brightest spot before then came in 1956 when Jim Krebs led Southern Methodist to a 26-4 record before losing to Bill Russell and San Francisco in the national semifinals.
Stars of the mid-70s to the mid-80s included Vinnie Johnson and Terry Teagle at Baylor; Sidney Moncrief, Joe Kleine and Alvin Robertson at Arkansas; Ricky Pierce at Rice, and John Koncak at SMU.
But prospects like Dallas' Larry Johnson and San Antonio's Shaquille O'Neal found greener pastures outside the league.
Arkansas had the SWC's last hurrah when Todd Day, Oliver Miller and Lee Mayberry took the Razorbacks to the 1991 Final Four after beating Texas in the regional finals.
It was all downhill from there.
Myers left Texas Tech after 20 1/2
seasons, one year after Texas A&M's Metcalf, who was the conference's winningest coach at 438-306. Arkansas defected for the Southeastern Conference.
There was also trouble.
"The great thing was we'd go into a game as friends, battle as hard as we could, and when the game was over we were still friends," Metcalf said. "I think that may be the big difference in coaching these days. You don't have the camaraderie anymore. Those days are gone."
Kermit Davis resigned at Texas A&M under a cloud of NCAA violations. A similar scenario played out at Baylor two years later when Darel Johnson quit. A federal jury later convicted three of his assistants on fraud charges involving transcript improprieties.
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By 1959, the SWC received its ultimate slap in the face when the NCAA Tournament Committee bypassed co-champion Texas Tech.
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Colorado names Patton as its permanent coach
The Associated Press
BOULDER, Colo. — Ricardo Patton, who stabilized a fragmented Colorado men's basketball program after taking over as interim head coach at mid-season, was given the job on a permanent basis yesterday.
Patton, elevated from assistant coach on Jan. 16 following the resignation of Joe Harrington, guided the Buffaloes to a 4-8 record in 12 games, including a 3-8 Big Eight Conference mark.
Patton, 38, was signed to a one-year renewable contract -- a standard agreement at the university -- for $110,000 plus TV, radio, camps and consulting agreements, athletic director Bill Marolt said.
"His package is exactly that of Joe Harrington, and compares favorably with Ceal (highly successful CU women's coach Ceal Barry)," Marolt said.
Marolt said his observations of Patton since mid-January led him to an inescapable conclusion.
"Over the past seven weeks, Ricardo's approach to the job and the way the players reacted to him were very impressive," Marolt said. "He's a classy guy. There's nothing false about him. He has clearly demonstrated his ability to lead. He has the team playing hard and believing in themselves. We've gotten better and better every game."
"I told him it would be tough to judge him on wins and losses, because we haven't had much success in our program, but he has delivered some wins."
Initially, Marolt said he hoped to name a permanent coach by mid-March. When it became apparent Patton was his choice, Marolt waived the formation of a search committee.
ST. LOUIS — A little banged-up but accompanied by rousing applause at every move, Wayne Gretzky made his home debut with the St. Louis Blues' 2-0 victory last night.
The Associated Press
Gretzky recovers from injury
Gretzky came through his morning skate smiling and then passed a final medical test that cleared him to play against the Florida Panthers.
A sellout crowd greeted him with a standing ovation when he stepped on the ice and again with even more thunderous cheers when he was the final starter introduced, a reception that visibly affected hockey's scoring king.
Gretzky sustained a mild concussion when he was elbowed in the face by Edmonton's Kelly Buchberger on Sunday, and there was some concern he might be in street clothes for his scheduled home debut.
About an hour after he left the ice and about seven hours before the Blues played the Panthers, he got the good news.
Not that general manager and coach Mike Keenan had doubted it.
Linemate Brett Hull drove Gretzky to an undisclosed location to get medical clearance. Keenan said the tests, which he called "some kind of neurological evaluation," were not extensive.
"I didn't have to," Keenan said. "He said he was ready to play before he went out, so that's good enough for me. He looks healthy and ready to go."
"From that point I'm feeling a little bit dazed, but not by any means hurting at all," Gretzky said. "I'm so ecstatic to be here and so thrilled to be part of this that right now it's all kind of a blur."
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