Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Islanders look to regroup as halfway mark looms

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Thursday, January 4, 2001

Islanders look to regroup as halfway mark looms
More lineup changes in store for A&M-CC men
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - When the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team steps onto the court tonight against San Diego State, it will mark the halfway point of the season for the Islanders.
   And as far as head coach Ronnie Arrow is concerned, it's time for his team to start coming together.
   "We've given everybody an opportunity to come in and play," Arrow said. "I keep going back to the word 'accountability.' We've got to win ballgames, and we have to find somebody who's going to be competitive out there."
   With that in mind, Arrow has decided to shake up his starting lineup today for the Islanders' (6-7) game with the Aztecs at Cox Arena:

Out is senior shooting guard Lee Denmon, who has averaged just 5.3 points in his last four games.

Out is senior forward Damian Kirkaldy, who has picked up an average of 4.3 fouls per game this season.

And out is sophomore forward Dustin Shultz, who has one basket in his last five games.

In their place are a pair of seniors, guard Arunas Drasutis and center Pathe Diene, and a freshman, forward Brian Hamilton, who has had a huge impact in recent weeks as the Islanders' top man in their full-court press package.
   The reason for all the changes, Arrow said, was simple: the three new starters have been playing well, the three new bench players have not.
   "Nobody in the post has really come out and played well enough to start," Arrow said. "I think Brian Hamilton has shown he deserves to start. And Pathe will be in there because we need someone to guard their big men."
   Which the Aztecs (8-3) have plenty of.
   Second-year head coach Steve Fisher, who won a national championship in 1989 at Michigan, has turned around a San Diego State program that went 5-23 last year. Through the first half of the 2000-2001 season, Fisher's team has victories over New Mexico State, Arizona State and an 87-64 shocker over Oklahoma State last Saturday (which represented a 57-point turnaround from last year's 97-63 loss to the Cowboys).
   Following a successful homestand which resulted in wins over Portland State and Birmingham-Southern and a 4-point loss to Cleveland State in the championship game of the Koch Petroleum Islander Invitational, A&M-Corpus Christi now heads back on the road for an extended period of time. Following tonight's game, the Islanders head to Provo, Utah, for a Saturday night tilt with BYU, then finish up at Cal Poly on Monday.
   Nine of A&M-Corpus Christi's next 11 games will take place away from the friendly confines of Memorial Coliseum, where the Islanders are 5-2 this year (as opposed to 1-5 elsewhere).
   "Our schedule, if it's not ranked, somebody who ranks them ought to try to play it," Arrow said. "The schedule we have this year is much harder than last year. The road is never friendly. Last time (against Texas Tech), we were fortunate enough to beat a good team. And it's going to take the same effort to win the games on this trip."


Staff writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com

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