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Clark Atlanta University Panther
March 5, 1992
SPORTS
Panther Men Face Final Test
After a 12-15 regular season finish, playtime is over
PHOTO BY CURTIS MCDOWELL
The Panthers will look
to Dalton Greene #14
(left) for his three point
shooting accuracy and
Mike Nowell #44
(right) to play tough
under the boards as the
Clark Atlanta Univer
sity Panthers head to
the SIAC Tournament
March 4, 5, and 7.
PHOTO BY CURTIS MCDOWELL
By Lewis Pryor
Sports Editor
'We’re on a Mission," is the motto
for this year's Clark Atlanta Univer
sity men’s basketball team, and it
will be put to the test as they head
down Interstate 85 to Birmingham,
Ala., home of this year’s Southern
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(SIAC) Tournament.
The tournament will be held at
Fair Park Arena on March 4, 5, and
7 where the 11 SIAC institutions
square off to crown the best team of
America’s oldest post-season bas
ketball tournament.
The Panthers are seeded third in
the Eastern division of the SIAC
behind Paine College and Albany
State College, after experiencing a
roller coaster season. The Panthers
started the season with a 6-1 mark
with their only lost coming to the
hands of Georgia State University,
a Division I member, but since then
CAU has lost close games due to the
lack of mental preparation.
On March 4, the Panthers head
into a contest against LeMoyne-
Owen College to begin what may be
the end of their season if they can’t
prove to be consistent.
“All this week I have stressed to
the players the importance of play
ing with cohesiveness,” said head
coach Michael Vickerstaff. “If we
play together no one can stop us.”
The Panthers (12-15) started the
week off by reviewing films from
previous games against LeMoyne-
Owen and other opponents to de
tect their weak points and to see
what needs improvement. CAU then
moved into light workouts in the
middle of the week anticipating go
ing hard for a couple of days as they
head into the most crucial part of
the season.
“We aren’t going to do anything
different than we’ve been doing,
because the offense and defense
that we have been running is work
ing for us and that doesn’t need to
be changed. Right now it’s all about
if we want it (SIAC crown) bad
enough,” said Vickerstaff.
Despite the comments of
Vickerstaff, something will have to
change if the Panthers plan to be
successful in this year's tourna
ment. LeMoyne-Owens seems to
have CAU’s number as they have
defeated them twice during the regu -
lar season, the last time being Feb.
10 in Bruce Hall Gymnasium in
Memphis, Term, by a score of 100-
92.
In attempting to capture the SIAC
Championship the Panthers will
mainly use the services of six to
seven players who have carried them
to their present status. “I have used
the same players throughout the
course of the year and there is no
reason for me to change what I have
been doing just for the Tourna
ment,” said Vickerstaff.
In response Vicderstaffs testi
mony, many of the players agree
with their coach citing lack of player
unification as the main reason for
the up and down season.
'We just need to play good de
fense, have unity on the court, and
eliminate our sporadic offensive
spurts and we should fine,” said
forward Michael Nowell. “If the
players can make smart decisions
on the floor that will carry us a long
way.”
Junior forward Jimmy Smith
agrees, “We have a few players who
will get upset at the team if certain
plays are not executed properly,
but we just need to forget that and
play over our heads because we
only get one shot.”
Smith is right, there is only one
chance to capture the title. One
loss ends the season, while three
victories would bring the trophy
back to CAU.
"We just need to
play over our heads,
because we only get
one shot" - Jimmy
Smith.
The Panthers will rely nn a rnm-
bined team effort to bring the tro
phy home, but throughout this
season Dalton Greene and Nowell
have carried CAU through crucial
moments.
Greene is CAU’s leading scorer
averaging 26 points a game while
leading the conference shooting 46
percent from three point range. “If
Dalton can let the system work for
him and not force his shot he is a
very effective player.” Vickerstaff
said. Greene missed two games
late in the season due to an ankle
injury, but should be 100 percent
by March 4 and if he can duplicate
performances like he did against
Morris Brown College, where he
scored 45 points, he could cause
nightmares for opposing teams.
While Greene led the way early in
the season, the surfacing of Nowell
has raised the team’s level of play to
another plateau. Nowell has come
on strong averaging 20 points and
11 rebounds during the last 11
games of the season. Coach
Vickerstaff labeled him “the life-
saver” as he has played behind the
shadow of All-American candidate
Greene. Nowell has played the role
of the unsung hero who as
Vickerstaff has said, “doesn’t even
realize his potential."
The Panthers will also look to
Smith (11 ppg), Edward Ward (10
ppg), Tito Parker (15 ppg) and Ar
gent Steele for team leadership.
“We may move to a three guard
set so that will mean we"ll need
Argent to come off the bench and
run our offense,” said Vickerstaff,
“and we also need to get the emo
tional support from Ward.”
The Panthers quest for the crown
will most definitely be determined
by the “players coming together
and developing a team chracter
while setting aside individual player
aspirations,” said Vickerstaff.