Fans get first glimpse at teams
Hot shooting and slam dunks
entertain fans at the annual Red/White scrimmage
Joseph Vasquez
/ The Collegian
Above: Transfer Quinton
Hosley has no problem dunking over 6-9 Renato Cesar. Below: Paige
Diggs, going up against newcomer Stevie Hagemeister, played guard
with the returning starters on the red team.
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By Chhun Sun
The Collegian
The annual Red/White scrimmage
has a simple purpose for fans.
It’s a cheap and entertaining way for them to spend an evening at
the Save Mart Center to watch the men’s and women’s basketball
teams in action.
The fans got that and more on Wednesday night.
They saw a three-point contest disguised as a coed two-ball competition.
Donovan Morris and Toni Atherly earned 105 points — which were shots
from beyond the arc that were worth five points each — to help a
fan win a G-Mini MP3 Player.
They saw a dunk contest where transfer Dominic McGuire leapt over 5-foot-10
Kevin Bell for a slam, getting the most cheers from the crowd.
They even got autographs from the players before the scrimmages.
But for the coaches and the players, the scrimmage was more than a public
display of what’s in store for the 2005-06 season.
With exhibition games less than a week away, the event was also a way
for the new coaches to see what their players can produce in a game-like
environment.
“We played well offensively, but our defense was bad. Well, it wasn’t
bad. We were timid,” women’s head coach Adrian Wiggins said.
Coach Steve Cleveland wasn’t too happy about his players’
performance either.
“We’re not going to be ready,” Cleveland said when asked
if his team is prepared for the team’s home exhibition game against
Master’s College on Nov. 9.
“I think we didn’t play as well as we should, like we have
the past two weeks in practice,” he said. “[The scrimmage]
was more a demonstration than a competition.”
And a demonstration it was, giving fans new names and faces to remember.
One player who fans shouldn’t have a problem getting used to is
Lamar Community College transfer Quinton Hosley.
The junior guard/forward had a game-best 15 points in the men’s
scrimmage, including two dunks from offensive rebounds.
“Definitely it feels good to be recognized by the audience,”
Hosley said, referring to the cheers he received after his dunks. “It
makes me want to play even harder.”
The second of the two men’s scrimmages gave fans a reason to get
in the game, with guard Bell, who was on the white team, stealing the
ball and taking it back for a lay up to put the final score 26-25.
The women’s scrimmage did not have a dramatic outcome, but it was
an opportunity to let fans see a team that finished 20-11 last season.
But the simple scrimmage didn’t come without pain. Amy Parrish,
a 2005 first-team all-Western Athletic Conference, left three minutes
into the scrimmage with a hamstring sprain.
Her teammates were still able to put on a show without the senior forward,
who was representing the red team.
But the reserves on the white team got the edge, handing the red team
a 33-25 loss.
“Our goal first and foremost this season is to be the WAC champ.
That’s the biggest thing on their minds,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins said the feat won’t be easy, though.
“It’s going to be a long season. The toughest challenge is
probably ourselves. We gotta constantly keep doing better on the court,
in the classrooms and socially.”
The women’s team will start its season with a home exhibition game
against Fresno Pacific on Nov. 7.
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