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Sunday, October 24, 1999
High-octane Isles show they can score
Defense still a concern to Arrow after 20-minute intersquad scrimmage
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times
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| John Kennedy/Caller-Times |
| Damian Kirkaldy (left) pulls down a defensive rebound in front of Dustin Sturtz in the A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball scrimmage Saturday. |
First the good news: The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team scored a combined 94 points in a 20-minute scrimmage Saturday afternoon.
Now the bad news: The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team scored a combined 94 points in a 20-minute scrimmage Saturday afternoon.
From a fan's perspective, that may not sound so bad. From head coach Ronnie Arrow's standpoint, it's a mixed blessing.
"I was able to see some positive things; we got some good things out of it," said Arrow of Saturday's scrimmage, in which Team White defeated Team Green, 51-43. "But needless to say, we've got a long way to go."
Arrow was obviously pleased with the way the Islanders ran his up-tempo offense, which led to numerous fast breaks and easy baskets. At the same time, he was less than ecstatic about his team's execution of its pressure defense system, which is designed to create turnovers and lead to more offensive opportunities.
"We're going to score some points," Arrow said, "but if we play better defense, we're going to score even more."
Junior guard Lee Denmon led all scorers with 19 points for Team White, followed by junior swingman Michael Hicks (17). Forward Aaron Eneas led Team Green with 14 points.
Played under actual game conditions, the Islanders' barrage of scoring would equate to more than 100 points over an entire 40-minute game, a mark the Islanders said is not out of question this season.
"We have a lot of good offensive players, with myself, Mike, Damian (Kirkaldy)," Denmon said. "So yeah, I think it's possible."
Hicks, expected to be one of A&M-Corpus Christi's top offensive threats, got off to a slow start Saturday - he was the second-to-last member of the team to score a point. But a 3-point play on a thunderous slam dunk and subsequent free throw started Hicks off on a scoring spree. His 17 points all came in a span of about 10 minutes, catapulting Team White down the stretch.
"I think you saw a little bit of what Mike Hicks can do," Arrow said. "He was the difference in the game, because his team was down."
The 6-foot-5 junior from Panama also showed his athleticism in pulling down numerous rebounds, several on the offensive glass.
"That's something I've been working on ever since I started playing basketball," Hicks said. "My coaches have always told me that I can be a good rebounder."
INJURY UPDATE: Freshman point guard Tra Arnold and sophomore center Pate Diene both sat out Saturday's scrimmage, Arnold with a bruised knee, Diene with shin splints. Both are expected back at practice within a few days.
FUNDRAISING HEA HIRED: Arthur Haas, a former director of revenue management for Omni Hotels both in Corpus Christi and Atlanta, has joined the Office of Institutional Advancement at A&M-Corpus Christi, where he will oversee direction of the Tarpon Foundation, the primary fundraising vehicle for Islander athletics. Haas, a Corpus Christi native, formerly worked in sports as Director of Operations for the Barracudas of the Texas-Louisiana Professional Baseball League.
Staff Writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com
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