Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Islanders land a 6-7 power forward

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Wednesday, April 18, 2001
Islanders land a 6-7 power forward
Private school product Sean Cole is the team's newest member
From staff and correspondent reports
The latest addition to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team jumps out of the gym and usually lands in the weight room.
   That's what Sean Cole's high school coach, Scott McDowell, said are qualities that define his best player, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound power forward who signed a letter of intent to play next season for the Islanders. Cole's signing was announced Tuesday by the university.
   Cole played last season at St. Monica Catholic School in Santa Monica, Calif.
   He averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots.
   "He's a monster," McDowell said. "He's the perfect power forward because he's so big and strong. We brought him away from the basket a little. He showed a good 10-foot jumper from the baseline, and he drove to the hoop extremely well from the foul line. And he loves to go to the glass."
   St. Monica competes against other private schools in Division IV of the California Interscholastic Federation. The Mariners advanced to the CIF championship game and earned a berth in the state tournament against other public and private schools in Division IV. Cole led St. Monica to the Division IV state semifinals and 22-9 overall record.
   Coaches placed Cole on the All-CIF first team for the second consecutive year.
   "We weren't sure we were going to take a big man out of high school because we had been looking hard at the junior colleges," Arrow said. "But we had a chance to get a player of very high caliber, who also has a great work ethic and great skills in the classroom. He's the total package. He's the type of kid we want to build our program around."
   Arrow said the Islanders have two scholarships remaining, and the coaching staff is searching for one more inside player and the best wing player available. A&M-CC loses five seniors from a team that finished 14-14 last season.
   BASEBALL: Tomball's Ryan Clyde led an 11-hit attack with a four-RBI effort to pace Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a 13-6 victory over St. Mary's in the second game of a doubleheader. The Rattlers took the first game 9-7.
   A&M-Corpus Christi, 15-29 on the year, sent 14 batters to the plate in a nine-run first inning and were never threatened the rest of the way. Michael Shandler (Wichita, Kan.) highlighted the frame with a three-run homer the second time around in the frame.
   Leading 9-2 heading into the top of the third, the Islanders tacked on three more runs, which included Clyde's first of two homers, a two run shot to right. The senior belted his team-leading 17th of the year in the seventh.
   Josh Wilson (West Des Moines, Iowa) joined Clyde and Shandler with a multi-hit game by going 2 for 3 with 1 RBI.
   Corpus Christi's Larry Olivarez scattered eight hits in four innings of work en route to picking up his first win of the season. Ryan LaFleur got tagged with the loss after giving up five earned runs without registering a single out. He fell to 6-2 on the year.
   Brandon Bippert drove in three runs and Jeff Wigdahl knocked in two more to pace the Rattlers in the first game.
   St. Mary's jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings, which included a four-run first. Bippert knocked in two of his three runs with a two-out triple to center in the first off Islander starter Danny Contreras. He tripled for the second time in the game the following inning, plating another run.
   A&M-CC got on the board in the top of the third. Marcus Hernandez (Corpus Christi) led off the frame with a solo shot, his eighth of the year. Shandler also knocked in a run in the inning.
   TENNIS: The Islanders match against the University of Texas was rained out Tuesday. The match will not be made up, signalling the end of the A&M-CC tennis season.


Staff writer Darrin Scheid contributed to this report. He can be reached at 886-3747 or scheidd@caller.com

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