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PI2 The Panther
February 20, 1995
Panthers Fight To
Turn Slump Into
Conference Victory
By Dionne Reynolds
Contributing Writer
Despite the current slump the men’s basket
ball team is in, the Panthers are currently 5-7 in
the SIAC Conference and in 2nd place in the
Eastern Conference.
With the Conference just a few weeks away,
Panthers’ Head Coach Anthony Witherspoon is
determined to be at the SIAC tournament.
“We want to win the Eastern Conference
Championship and be very competitive in the
SIAC tournament,” Witherspoon said.
The coach described the problems the
Panthers’ are experiencing as a “slump.” “We’re
not taking care of the basketball,” he said.
Witherspoon said there were too many
turnovers occurring in each game. “Their shoot
ing percentage is not as good as I would like it to
be.”
Despite the talented players on the Panthers’
team, Witherspoon said, “No one has stepped up
like they did the first part of the second half of
the season, no one has been consistent.”
But the coach said one of the team’s best attrib
utes is its depth. “There are at least eight, nine
or 10 guys that I can count on,” said
Witherspoon. He added that the team is more
unified than it was in the beginning of the sea
son.
“Adversity has a way of unifying or separat
ing a group of people, and in our case, made us
more unified."
Witherspoon expected tough competitions
from both the Morris Brown and Alabama A&M
(Photo by Clarence Rolle)
A mighty Panther soars over the
Albany State Golden Rams dur
ing the Feb. 13 game where CAU
was victorious, 92-17.
games. He predicted the face-off with Morris
Brown would be a challenge and said, “We
knew they were going to be tough.”
The Panthers lost to Morris Brown 84-75
and to Alabama A&M 88-62. Despite the loss
es, Witherspoon expects to see Alabama in the
SIAC tournament.
The coach said the team’s performance has
not been affected by the many road-games.
“We actually won our first game on the road. It
is a matter of us focusing and playing good
defense while on the road.”
Fans have also helped the team.
Witherspoon said the CAU Booster Club
helped inspire the team at the Savannah State
away game.
“If it weren’t for them showing up, we
would not have won that game,” Witherspoon
said.
CAU Tennis Headed For Number One Slot
By Mya McGary
Contributing Writer
Coach Oliver McClendon
assures Clark Atlanta
University that the men’s ten
nis team is gearing up for an
excellent 1995 tennis season.
Currently, CAU’s men’s
tennis team is ranked number
two in the nation.
McClendon said, “The
team’s main objective is to
maintain their current rank
ing, but they’re always striv
ing for the number one slot.”
Anthony Smoake is the
team’s current number one
player. “The other players
have yet to prove them
selves,” McClendon said.
The coach said he picks
his players according to the
team’s individual rankings
which are based on the posi
tion played, as well as the
performance on the court.
Although the team lacks
players with tournament
experience, McClendon said,
“The team’s strong points are
their ability to be ready and
consistent on the court.”
Moreover, McClendon
said the team will most defi
nitely be ready for its first
three games against Savannah
State, Alabama College and
Mercer College.
Track History Continued From PI 1
a 3.0 GPA and is fluent in
several languages, includ
ing German, Dutch and
Portuguese.
He is a mass media arts
major with a concentra
tion in radio, television
and film and said he
enrolled at CAU for three
reasons. “I came for the
(Host Broadcast) Olympic
training program. I want
ed to see what it’s like at
a historically black col
lege and I came to see the
famed CAU girls,” Jarrett
said with a laugh.
CAU senior Cheryl Jones
said she looks at Jarrett as
just another member of the
team. “He’s instrumental to
our team. He’s a potential
good runner,” Jones said.
Jarrett said he was sur
prised to find the atmosphere
so pleasant at CAU.
“I expected it to be more
hostile. I had friends who
were beaten up in the Atlanta
riots (following the Rodney
King verdict). If there are
any repeated riots I know I
would be the first attacked,”
Jarrett said.
Jarrett said he understands
how some black students
must feel toward him.
“I am to them what a
Yankee is to me...
Southerners hate Yankees.
Yankees used to burn down
their farms,” he said, refer
ring to the Civil War.
However, Jarrett said it
hasn’t always been easy.
Compiled By
Krystal Hunter
Sports Editor
SIAC MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
(As of Feb. 13, 1995)
(CONFERENCE) (OVERALL)
EASTERN REGION W L W L
MORRIS BROWN
8
6
13
10
■CLARK ATLANTA
6
7
7
FORT VALLEY ST.
5
8
7
13
PAINE
5
8
10
14
ALBANY ST.
4
8
5
16
SAVANNAH ST.
4
9
6
16
(CONFERENCE) (OVERALL)
WESTERN REGION
W
L
W
L
ALABAMA A&M
11
1
20
1
MOREHOUSE
8
3
16
4
LEMOYNE-OWEN
8
5
14
7
MILES
7
5
15
7
TUSKEGEE
3
9
7
15
SIAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
(As of Feb. 13,1995)
(CONFERENCE) (OVERALL)
EASTERN REGION
W
L
W
L
SAVANNAH ST.
9
2
19
3
ALBANY ST.
8
2
15
4
FORT VALLEY ST.
7
4
18
4
■CLARK ATLANTA
4
7
11
PAINE
3
8
11
12
(CONFERENCE) (OVERALL)
WESTERN REGION
W
L
W
L
ALABAMA A&M
9
3
13
9
LEMOYNE-OWEN
6
7
10
11
TUSKEGEE
4
7
8
13
MORRIS BROWN
4
8
8
13
MILES
3
9
4
15
A few days after he arrived
at CAU, Jarrett said he was
harassed two times by other
students.
“A couple of boys who
were driving by called out
‘f—k you white boy,’ when I
was passing by the library,”
Jarrett said.
Jarrett recalled another inci
dent in the Robert Woodruff
Library involving a female
student.
“She said she came here
because she wanted to be
around black students and that
I don’t understand how they
feel.”
Jarrett said he knows he has
to go through a few harass-
ments before he is accepted.
Bom in Marietta and raised
in Fairburn, Jarrett said he ran
three to five miles every day on a
gravel road. He used to run
cross-country track with his fam
ily and maintains this is the first
time he’s been on a school’s
track team.
Track team Head Coach David
Edwards said Jarrett just showed
up one day at their meeting and
asked if he could come to prac
tice and has been with them ever
since.
“He brings character and
humor to the team,” Edwards
said. “He has a lot of heart and
he’s dedicated.”
Assistant Coach Pamela Page
said there are more sprinters than
distance runners at CAU so
Jarrett is a welcomed addition to