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Trendsetters win big, earn respect By Steven Gilley Guest Writer wizardhack9o2lo@yalu>orom The Trendsetters have been overlooked all season, despite being the defending intramural basketball champions. This lack of respect may stem from playing in the Thursday League, where they haven't faced any tough competition. On last week, they looked to continue their undefeated season and take a step further to getting back to the championship game. However, they had to face their toughest match-up thus far, the young and exciting Dream Team, who were also undefeated. Both teams exchanged baskets early but defense became a factor as the Trendsetters turned it on, playing the passing lanes and exhorting a relentless full court press. The Dream Team guard duo, shake and bake, was non-existent in the first half. NBA midseason awards By Greg Hurd Guest Writer theatreofthegreg@hotmailjcom 1 know it's not the NBA All-Star Break yet, but look at the standings...the season is already half over. Here are my top three contenders for the major awards at the midway point of the 2006- 07 NBA season. Most Valuable Player—Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards. (29.7 ppg, 6.2 apg) The popular may be for Steve Nash to win this award for the third straight season. But where would the Wizards be without “The Hibachi?” They would definitely not be the highest scoring team not called the Phoenix Suns. This is a really down year for the Eastern Conference (or as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith calls it “the JV conference), but Arenas has led the Wizards to the second best record in the East. If he wins the award, he will be the first second-round pick to win since Willis Reed in 1970. 2. Steve Nash, Phoenix (19.6 ppg, 11.8 apg) 3. Lebron James, Cleveland (27.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 6.0 apg) Defensive Player of the Year—Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats (11.4 rpg, 2.9 bpg) Second in blocks and fifth in rebounds, Okafor is becoming a premier defender in the NBA. His best performance of the year? On January 12 against the Knicks, Okafor had a franchise record 10 blocks, nine rebounds and three steals to go along with 20 points. He’s also had a career-high 25 rebounds against the Lakers on but great outside shooting by Philip Thomas helped keep them in reach. Nevertheless, Trendsetters continued to dictate the tempo and dominate the first half, leading 32-23 at halftime. Turning it up in the second half, the Dream Team came out with energy aid looked to cut into the deficit, but Trendsetters made a run of their own, hitting three consecutive three-point shots. Captain Akeya Etchison was playing with a chip on his shoulder and wanted this to be a statement game. “A lot of people have counted us out, because we lost key players from last year's team but we are still the champions, says Etchison. In order to be the champions you must beat the champions ” Controlling the rest of the game. Trendsetters increased their lead and overmatched the Dream Team. Earning their respect, they easily won 63-44 to remain undefeated on the season. Akeya Etchison led till players with 24 points. December 29. 2. Shawn Marion, Phoenix (8.0 rpg,2.l spg. 1 ..6 bpg) 3. Marcus Camby, Denver (12.4 rpg, 2.9 bpg) Rookie of the Year- Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers. (14.7 ppg,4.4 rpg, 3.0 apg) No rookie has really impressed this year, and Roy has only played in 23 out of 42 games this season. But he is the second leading scorer for Portland http:llhealsporl24.com behind Zach Randolph and an apparent cornerstone as Portland continues to rebuild the franchise. He is also in the top five among rookies in points, rebounds, and assists. 2. Adam Morrison, Charlotte (13.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg) 3. Andrea Bargnani, Toronto (10.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg) Most Improved Player- Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings (20.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg) Martin has proven to be the scoring machine that he was at Western Carolina. The third year player leads the Kings in scoring and has taken a load off of Mike Bibby on offense. He also has an outside chance Judo club earns twelve medals By Steven Gilley Guest Writer wi:aniiuick9o2lo@yalu>oi-orn The West Georgia Judo Club has competed in five tournaments this season, improving each time. They have won a total of 37 medals and two team trophies since their last tournament in November. Adding to the medal count, they sent 13 competitors to the WakaMusha Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia, winning 12 medals and the first place senior teiun trophy. Sensei Hap Wheeler won first place in the Men's Master Division. Not far behind, Elizabeth Skolrood and Mitchell Davis both won first place in their respective divisions. Rigorous training and patience catapulted both competitors to victory. Some competitors have the task of competing in two different divisions. Nearly flawless in her matches, Jessica Russell won first place of making the All-Star team this season. Martin averaged 10.8 points per game last season. 2. Luke Walton, L.A. Lakers (11.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.2 apg) 3. Josh Howard, Dallas (19.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg) Sixth Man of the Year- Ben Gordon,Chicago Bulls (21.6 ppg. 3.6 apg) Gordon won this award as a rookie in 2005, the first to do so. I’m picking Gordon because I don't know of any other player that can score 41 points off the bench, like he did against the Suns on January 2. The team’s leading scorer is the second Bull to win the award (Toni Kukoc, 1996) and could be the third player to win it twice (Kevin McHale, Detlef Schrempf). 2. Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix (16.2 ppg, 4.1 apg) 3. Kyle Korver, Philadelphia (14.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg) Coach of the Year- Jerry' Sloan, Utah Jazz. The longest tenured coach in the league has Utah first in the Northwest division after missing the playoffs the last three seasons. Who’s on that team anyway? The most underrated power forward in the league (Carlos Boozer), a point guard built like a linebacker (Deron Williams) and a Russian nicknamed AK -47 (Andrei Kirilenko). I thought Sloan would disappear like the days of Stockton and Malone, but you don’t win over 1,000 games if you don’t know the game of basketball. 2. Avery Johnson, Dallas 3. Phil Jackson, L.A. Lakers Sports I m I ft* ■Hil Photo h\ Kevin Harris Jessica Russell, blue gi, and Billy Ransdell, white gi, practice their Judo technique. in both of her divisions. "The competition was tough but I waited for the operative moment to attack, says Russell. Patience was a big factor and I took advantage of my opponent's aggressiveness to win the matches.” Zachary Brown, Chris Wolves take two in one weekend ■ AM**-y&r jH| (Ml 1 f ‘ f v f’f ! v 0 IgK' )-, v , 1 Photo h\ Kevin Harris A Kentucky Wesleyan batter grounds out to Wolves pitcher Jordan Towns in Saturday’s win at Cole Field. The Wolves face off against Georgia College at home on Wednesday, February 21st at 2:00 pm. Upcoming UWG Wolves Baseball Schedule February 21 • vs GEORGIA COLLEGE , 2:00 pm February 24 • vs CLARK-ATLANTA, 1:00 pm February 25 • vs STILLMAN , 2:00 pm February 28 • at COLUMBUS STATE, 3:00 pm Sports Writers Needed We're looking for writers wanting to cover different sporting events here at UWG. Have your interest in Wolves athletics published in the West Georgian by emailing Erik Waters at erikwaters@bellsouth.net Arthur, and Celeste Mason won second place medals in their divisions. Brown competed in two divisions and won a third place medal as well. Jacob Davis, Lee Davis and Mike Davis won third place medals to round out the competition. The West Georgia Judo * Club's next tournament is March 3,2007. They will be competing at the Mississippi State Judo Championships in Clinton, MS. Although the season is in progress, the club is still open for anyone interested in joining. No experience is necessary.