Jimcs50
03-21-2007, 08:06 AM
Men's basketball: Aggies' first time around
Web Posted: 03/21/2007 01:36 AM CDT
Mark Wangrin
Express-News
In December 1979, the British rock group Pink Floyd released a concept album. It told the fictional story of Pink, an alienated young man who built a wall around himself to protect him from the pain and suffering society inflicted.
The quartet called the album "The Wall." It quickly rose to No. 1.
At the same time in bucolic College Station, a place where Pink Floyd was far from a household name, an unheralded basketball team was putting together a season that would stand for more than a quarter-century as the best in school history. It boasted a versatile and talented front line that inflicted it's own brand of pain and suffering on opponents.
A Dallas newspaper reporter, apparently influenced by the Pink Floyd album, nicknamed that frontline — center Rudy Woods, forwards Rynn Wright and Vernon Smith and super-sub Claude Riley — "The Wall."
Though that quartet never reached No. 1, it took the Aggies to the Sweet 16, a ride that hadn't been duplicated until this season.
At the time, Woods didn't know Pink Floyd from Floyd the Barber, but he didn't care — the nickname fit.
"It was coined by a sportswriter and was kind of comical to me," said Woods of the trio that averaged 39.9 points, 22.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks a game. "We didn't think of that. We just believed that if you came in our house, came in our square, then God bless you — you had a price to pay."
Wright was the best athlete, a 6-foot-6 junior whose build and physical play would later remind his teammates of Charles Barkley. The 6-8 Smith, who like Wright was a junior from Dallas, was a smooth outside shooter and team joker, whose tendency to lace their jock straps with analgesic balm belied his always serious court demeanor.
Woods was an agile, shot-blocking 6-11 sophomore, a Parade All-America pick at Bryan High and one of the top recruits in the country. Kentucky wanted him, but Woods listened to his grandfather, Alex McMurray, who had raised him and had recently had a heart attack. McMurray asked him to stay close so he could see him play.
"That meant more to me than any accolade," said Woods.
In the fall of 1979, Riley — "The Crockett Rocket" enrolled. His arrival inspired the Dallas writer — whose identity the players can't recall — to invoke the title of the No. 1 single from the Pink Floyd album — "Another Brick in the Wall."
The nickname was born.
"There was no 3-point line then, so there was no incentive for teams to bomb away," guard Dave Goff said. "Teams tried to work the ball inside. If you had good interior defense, you could go places."
The Aggies' backcourt provided the perfect complement. Goff led the team in free-throw shooting and assists. Point guard David Britton was a junior-college transfer from New York City who added the right grittiness to the mix of Texans.
"You had a street baller with country bumpkins, but we could play," Woods recalled. "If you can play, respect is automatic, no matter if you're from Timbuktu."
The year before, the Aggies had gone 24-9, finished third in the Southwest Conference and reached the NIT's third round.
The Aggies, again coached by Shelby Metcalf, began the 1979-80 season with back-to-back losses to Iona and Lamar in Alaska. They were 5-4 in December when they headed to Las Vegas, where they beat the host Rebels in a tournament.
Once SWC play began, A&M lost only twice, at Texas Tech and at Arkansas on a last-second half-court shot by Scott Hastings.
The Aggies beat Bradley 55-53 in an NCAA tournament first-round game in Denton, then faced North Carolina to advance to the Midwest Regional in Houston.
Woods remembers hearing all about Dean Smith and the vaunted Tar Heel tradition.
"All the people were saying that the Southwest Conference was a football conference," Woods said. "That tripped me out because it wasn't like that. We had basketball talent."
"We saw we're as talented as they were, if not more so," said backup guard Steve Sylestine, now the girls' basketball coach at Stevens High. "We saw we belonged there."
A&M won 78-61 in double overtime — each team used the four corners in the first overtime and combined for one possession each and zero points — and advanced to play Louisville.
Britton and Cardinals star Darrell Griffith traded dunks to start the game, and the Aggies forced overtime, but Louisville pulled away to win 66-55.
"That was a game we should have won but didn't" Goff said. "It was nice to get there, but it left a sour taste. We'd have like to have played them best three out of four. I think we had a better team."
Goff wasn't the only player from the 1980 team to note that the 2007 Aggies got some revenge against Louisville.
"I'm proud of the Aggies," Riley said. "It brings me back. I think they have the team to do it."
Woods can't contain his pride.
"I have my chest out proudly," he says, almost yelling. "Not just out, but way out. I don't care what else they do this season, I'm proud of them. They brought back déjà vu."
* * *
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
F Rynn Wright: In management for a beer distributorship in Dallas.
F Vernon Smith: Shot to death in his car in Dallas in July 1992 by a man who allegedly mistook him for someone with whom he had argued over a dice game.
C Rudy Woods: Equipment operator for Schlumberger in Bryan.
G David Goff: Vice President for OB Sports, a golf course management firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.
G David Britton: Believed to be living in New York City.
RC Buford was on that team as well, for all you Spurs' fans out there.
Web Posted: 03/21/2007 01:36 AM CDT
Mark Wangrin
Express-News
In December 1979, the British rock group Pink Floyd released a concept album. It told the fictional story of Pink, an alienated young man who built a wall around himself to protect him from the pain and suffering society inflicted.
The quartet called the album "The Wall." It quickly rose to No. 1.
At the same time in bucolic College Station, a place where Pink Floyd was far from a household name, an unheralded basketball team was putting together a season that would stand for more than a quarter-century as the best in school history. It boasted a versatile and talented front line that inflicted it's own brand of pain and suffering on opponents.
A Dallas newspaper reporter, apparently influenced by the Pink Floyd album, nicknamed that frontline — center Rudy Woods, forwards Rynn Wright and Vernon Smith and super-sub Claude Riley — "The Wall."
Though that quartet never reached No. 1, it took the Aggies to the Sweet 16, a ride that hadn't been duplicated until this season.
At the time, Woods didn't know Pink Floyd from Floyd the Barber, but he didn't care — the nickname fit.
"It was coined by a sportswriter and was kind of comical to me," said Woods of the trio that averaged 39.9 points, 22.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks a game. "We didn't think of that. We just believed that if you came in our house, came in our square, then God bless you — you had a price to pay."
Wright was the best athlete, a 6-foot-6 junior whose build and physical play would later remind his teammates of Charles Barkley. The 6-8 Smith, who like Wright was a junior from Dallas, was a smooth outside shooter and team joker, whose tendency to lace their jock straps with analgesic balm belied his always serious court demeanor.
Woods was an agile, shot-blocking 6-11 sophomore, a Parade All-America pick at Bryan High and one of the top recruits in the country. Kentucky wanted him, but Woods listened to his grandfather, Alex McMurray, who had raised him and had recently had a heart attack. McMurray asked him to stay close so he could see him play.
"That meant more to me than any accolade," said Woods.
In the fall of 1979, Riley — "The Crockett Rocket" enrolled. His arrival inspired the Dallas writer — whose identity the players can't recall — to invoke the title of the No. 1 single from the Pink Floyd album — "Another Brick in the Wall."
The nickname was born.
"There was no 3-point line then, so there was no incentive for teams to bomb away," guard Dave Goff said. "Teams tried to work the ball inside. If you had good interior defense, you could go places."
The Aggies' backcourt provided the perfect complement. Goff led the team in free-throw shooting and assists. Point guard David Britton was a junior-college transfer from New York City who added the right grittiness to the mix of Texans.
"You had a street baller with country bumpkins, but we could play," Woods recalled. "If you can play, respect is automatic, no matter if you're from Timbuktu."
The year before, the Aggies had gone 24-9, finished third in the Southwest Conference and reached the NIT's third round.
The Aggies, again coached by Shelby Metcalf, began the 1979-80 season with back-to-back losses to Iona and Lamar in Alaska. They were 5-4 in December when they headed to Las Vegas, where they beat the host Rebels in a tournament.
Once SWC play began, A&M lost only twice, at Texas Tech and at Arkansas on a last-second half-court shot by Scott Hastings.
The Aggies beat Bradley 55-53 in an NCAA tournament first-round game in Denton, then faced North Carolina to advance to the Midwest Regional in Houston.
Woods remembers hearing all about Dean Smith and the vaunted Tar Heel tradition.
"All the people were saying that the Southwest Conference was a football conference," Woods said. "That tripped me out because it wasn't like that. We had basketball talent."
"We saw we're as talented as they were, if not more so," said backup guard Steve Sylestine, now the girls' basketball coach at Stevens High. "We saw we belonged there."
A&M won 78-61 in double overtime — each team used the four corners in the first overtime and combined for one possession each and zero points — and advanced to play Louisville.
Britton and Cardinals star Darrell Griffith traded dunks to start the game, and the Aggies forced overtime, but Louisville pulled away to win 66-55.
"That was a game we should have won but didn't" Goff said. "It was nice to get there, but it left a sour taste. We'd have like to have played them best three out of four. I think we had a better team."
Goff wasn't the only player from the 1980 team to note that the 2007 Aggies got some revenge against Louisville.
"I'm proud of the Aggies," Riley said. "It brings me back. I think they have the team to do it."
Woods can't contain his pride.
"I have my chest out proudly," he says, almost yelling. "Not just out, but way out. I don't care what else they do this season, I'm proud of them. They brought back déjà vu."
* * *
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
F Rynn Wright: In management for a beer distributorship in Dallas.
F Vernon Smith: Shot to death in his car in Dallas in July 1992 by a man who allegedly mistook him for someone with whom he had argued over a dice game.
C Rudy Woods: Equipment operator for Schlumberger in Bryan.
G David Goff: Vice President for OB Sports, a golf course management firm in Scottsdale, Ariz.
G David Britton: Believed to be living in New York City.
RC Buford was on that team as well, for all you Spurs' fans out there.