*
tion and he was a major factor, too."
Houston Baptist packed its bags and
headed back to Texas, while the Braves
headed to Lincoln, Neb., for a
showdown with Kansas in the NCAA
Midwest Regionals. If history were to
be made by the Braves, it would have
to be made against one of the biggest
lineups the team had seen all year; the
Jayhawks' guards were bigger than the
Braves' forwards.
"We're going up there to try to do a
good job," Whitney said before the
Kansas game. "It'll take a tremendous
effort on our part to beat them, but
I've seen stranger things happen."
To some, the strangest thing that
happened in the Alcorn-Kansas game
was the relative ease the Braves had in
handling the Jayhawks, who have the
distinction of being college basketball's
winningest team ever.
The Braves jumped on Kansas
quickly, led by as many as 14 points at
one stage and by 11 at the half, 30-19.
After holding on to a steady lead of
as many as eight points throughout
most of the second half the Rravec'
dream began to shatter when Ron
Kellog hit a layup with 6:44 to go to bring
the Jayhawks to within five points
for the first time since the opening
stages of the game.
That deficit was cut to three points,
49-46, wh^n Kellog connected again on
a jumper from the right corner at the
5:27 mark.
Kansas, which had never led in the
game, took its initial lead at 55-54 on
another Kellog layup at the 1:34 mark
but Alcorn bounced right back when
Brandon hit a 25-foot jumper with 55
seconds left.
Black College Brie
USFLTo 4
NEW YORK - The United States
Football League, still mired in a
deep controversy over how to deal
with undergraduates, plans to consult
college coaches, athletic directors
andtteam doctors on the problem.
There was no word, however, on
whether Cher
black colleges on the board.
Recently, a federal judge ruled a
player could not be prevented rom
playing in the USFL simply because
he has not graduated from college
or still has college Dlaving eligibility.
The ruling opened the door for
former University of Oklahoma star
Marcus Dupree to join the New
Orleans Breakers.
Dupree, who had transferred to
the University of Southern
Mississippi, could have played two
= 11 A
f
The Braves led 56-55 and were less
than a minute away from
pandemonium.
But it wasn't to happen.
KU's Carl Henry snuck underneath
for a layup with 14 seconds to go to put
his team up for good at 57-56. An
Alcorn jumper by Michael Phelps with
five ticks to go careened off the rim
and a last-second shot by David
Claybon was blocked.
Alcorn State's season had ended at
21-10 with one of the team's most
disappointing losses ever.
There were tears, lots of tears, shed
in the Alcorn locker room following
the game. But the Braves had made
their point in the NCAAs, and won lots
of admirers in the process.
The telegrams, letters and phone
calls keep coming.
"Not many people up here knew
much about your basketball teapi, but
you sure did educate us very, very
quickly," wrote Bill Hamill, a junior
high school coach in Kansas. "In this
era of 'sour-faced' players, your bunch
was a breath of fresh air. You created
some new fans up here in Kansas."
Dr. Felix Dunn, a Gulfport, Miss.,
physician, added, "When Alcorn State
beat Mississippi Stale in the NIT in
1979, people all across the United
states ceieorated. When Alcorn lost to
Kansas in the NCAA Tournament this
year, people all around the world
wept."
But don't weep too long for Alcorn.
The entire ASU starting lineup will
return from a squad that featured only
two seniors. That spells trouble for
next year's opponents.
"That loss to Kansas should be an
Consult Coll
more seasons of college ball. I
?aid IJSFT Cnmmi<;*inn<?r Ch<?t
Simmons: "The board would review
a kid's possible application to come
out early. If they determined he was
ready, they would endorse the petition.
If they turn it down and then
he still petitions us ? and we also
tiuto him dr>w?.aurt hc^ucs tre?thrn
at" least Wl g' ufr i i?n nfw fiu> ;
the courts. *
Jackson Honored
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -Alabama
^tat#? fr\r\i/arH I f>u/ic
Jackson, ignored by the nation's allAmerica
teams, has been named
Player of the Year in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Jackson, the second-leading scorer
in the nation with a 29-point average
Sky-High
Aaron Brandon soars as Huskies ?
show (photo by Joe Daniels).
inspiration," Whitney said.
"Our players found out this year
that they can play with some of the best
eges On Un
this vear. helned Alahama State to a I
22-6 record.
Despite Jackson's year and
Alabama State's record, the
Hornets were not invited to participate
in the NCAA or NIT tournaments.
Still, Jackson is expected
to be a first-round NBA draft choice
thrs-yemv
??Ja<nhift?ii wflgn'ti tha tmly, Hornet ^
baiw
State Coach James Oliver was named
the SWAC's Coach of the Year
for the second straight season.
The War Rages On
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida
A&M has returned Fire in the continuing
media war between FAMU
and arch-rival Bethune-CSbkman
College.
17
PCCTf H\irH
KiTj^^^EVEiv .ra
L m^tB^S^JH * JBi#
f VI a> rtt. I ?"
SS KSt" gt
ind fellow Braves alike watch the
teams in the United States. We'll he
back next year and we'll be a little
wiser."
idergrad s
B-CC recently charged FAMU
with backing out of an agreement to
play a football game in 1984. None
will be played, as FAMU has announced
its 11-game schedule.
FAMU athletic director said no
agreement was ever reached. Said
Wilson: "Not only has the integrity
of FAMU and its athletic director's
office fieen chaJteiigeiU but my per- I
We have never had an agreement to
play in Tampa in 1984."
Wilson says the Rattlers are willing
to play B-CC in 1985, but it remains
unlikely that FAMU would
be willing to return to Tampa,
where its game with B-CC was
played for five years before large
crowds. FAMU now play its Orange
Blossom Classic game in Tampa,
and has said it will not play two
games a year in the city.
^==55=5555=3 April, 19S4-Pag? 19