University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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TEXAS BASKETBALL I It can only get better thought we continued to play hard although we didn ' t always get what we wanted. We never quit. But that ' s going to have to be the nature of this team their understanding that for us to get better, they are going to have to keep playing harder, said Texas head coach Bob Weltlich. The season saw the departure of players, some on their own initiative, others as the result of prompting by Weltlich; the arrival of several walk-ons and in the midst of this unrest, the setting of a school record of 22 losses in a single season. At one point during the season, walk-ons numbered seven. The team returned five lettermen, but only two survived the season. Mike Wacker, who had not played since his 1982 knee injury against Baylor in Waco, was redshirted for the year to let his knee recuperate further under therapy. James Booker injured his finger and ended his college career missing the last eight games. Only Bill Wendlandt and Carlton Cooper manged to endure the season. I certainly don ' t feel cheated, said Wendlandt. I ' m honored to play for Texas. What happened to us is unfortunate, but everybody has problems. The ' Horns started the season Nov. 27 against North Carolina Wesleyan. The 53-42 win was Texas ' 63rd season opening victory in 77 seasons. The win was also one of the few the team would encounter. The non-conference schedule brought five of the Longhorns ' six wins. Besides beating North Carolina Wesleyan, the ' Horns beat Biscayne College, Harvard and Missouri Western State in Austin and North Carolina-Charlotte in the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic. Heading into SWC play with a 5-5 record, the ' Horns faced the Frogs of TCU on Jan. 3. The Frogs left Austin with a 70-54 win. Against TCU we appeared disorganized a lot of the time and we weren ' t nearly as competitive on the backboards as we needed to be, said Weltlich. Whatever the reason, and I ' m sure immaturity had a lot to do with it we just didn ' t have the poise and patience we needed to have. The ' Horns did not taste victory again until the meeting against the Rice Owls Jan. 19 in Austin. Texas had lost to Kansas State, Texas Tech and Houston. Texas won its only SWC game over the Owls by the score of 47-45 in which the ' Horns only had eight players suited out. It was a critical game for us because of all the adversity we had undergone in the previous two or three days, said Weltlich. We threw three new kids in there and had a couple come off the bench. I can ' t say enough about the performance of our players. It wasn ' t a well played game but it was a game they won with character and pride, he added. Texas experienced a shuffle of personnel before the Rice game when letterman Jack Worthington decided to leave and trans- ferred to Southwest Texas State. Injuries to freshman Karl Willock and junior Don Ellis left the team with two starters. When things don ' t go well, we sit back and say, ' Here we go again, ' said Weltlich. That happpens when you lose a lot. k - . F, lew;; ' FIRST ROW: Bubba Simpson, Spanky Stephens, Jimmy Carlson, Mitchell J. Parrish, Karl J. Willock, Brett D. Smith, Jack Roland Worthington, David Bradley Willett, Donald G. Ellis, Blake Edward Patterson, Brett S. Kalbfleisch, Michael Clark Ebey. SECOND ROW. Deloss Dodds, Bob Weltlich, Pan Peterson, Eddie Oran, Carlton Dewayne Cooper, William Barry Wethington, James Grant Booker, David Seitz, Michael John Wacker, William George Wendlandt, Michael Scott Bond, Robert Lee Hughes, Douglas Ronald Moe, Leroy McClendon, Dana LeDuc, Greg Bistline. 244 Texas Basketball

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glas Mercer, Garry Day, Scott Cole, Martin Luecke and Jose Martinez perform their backward-flip routine before an enthusiastic home crowd at the Utah football game. BASKETBALL CHEERLEADERS: FIRST ROW: Mark Jeffrey Williams. SECOND ROW: Leslie Ana Scott, Carajane Garner, Traci Leigh Bransford. THIRD ROW: Joseph William I Center, Patrick Wendell Goudeau, Joseph Charles Ford. Texas Cheerleaders 243

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' --:- h rfp - MM] obtain K StR In|o :,- wlldi t During the 13-game losing streak, the orns lost to Texas Tech, Rice, Houston and TCU; twice to Baylor, Arkansas and Texas A M and three times to SMU. Texas headed into the SWC Basketball tournament as the cellar team March 7, to face the Mustangs of SMU. It was the sec- ond meeting in three days between the two teams. SMU beat Texas 95-67 in Dallas March 5, ending conference play and send- ing the two teams into tournament play. SMU was projected to repeat its 28-point victory of two nights earlier over Texas and advance in the tournament. But the Longhorns showed the Mustangs what to expect in years to come by taking SMU to a last second tip-in play by Texas ' Cooper. The basket was ruled invalid and SMU squeezed by with a 49-48 win. I heard the buzzer when I was on the [ground, said Cooper. I saw two refs under i the basket say it was good, but the other one I was waving his hands. The Longhorns finished their 77th year of basketball with only six wins. But the die- hard play of the squad members on the court showed the crowd that they would not lose without putting up a fight. When two guys start out even, our guy falls a step behind, he ' d better dive for it, because that ' s the only way he ' s going to get it, said Weltlich. It ' s (the season) been wearing on the team for some time, said freshman David Seitz. We ' ve kept a decent attitude. We ' re not going to quit. by Reuben Galceran ' Mitch Parrish dribbles by a Rice defender to lead the Longhorns to their only SWC win. Mitch Parrish (34) guards the Texas A M ball handler as Doug Moe (22) tries to regain his stance. The Aggies went on to win the game, defeating Texas 64-52. ball 245