Garden City Community College - Broncbuster Yearbook (Garden City, KS)

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SPORTS lllf Keys to winning season Strong bench, leadership Bringing the student body and community together-I think that's what athletics is all about, Head Coach Jim Carey said. New facilities and a winning team helped do just that. The new gymnasium had a capaci- ty of 2200 and the enthusiasm of the fans was evident at every game. The team came away with a perfect home record in the new gym and an overall season record of 26-7. According to Carey, the pre- season schedule helped prepare the team for upcom- ing regular season and con- ference play. Being able to survive a tough pre-season schedule had to have a lot to do with our success, he said. Another factor contributing to the success of the team was the presence of a strong bench. Derek Williams, Nor- man Schippers and Robin Ogletree were all strong players off the bench. The only real weaknesses were depth and free throw shooting, Carey said. The three-point shot was good for us. Both Ty Walker and Horace Chaney were especial- ly effective from the three- point line. The team lacked ex- perience, but Carey felt they would be ready for another tough season next year. l'They've ffreshmenj been through the war, he said. What the team didn't have experience-wise, they made up for in leadership and size. Ackles was a 6'10 from Manteo, N.C. George freshman He made the difference in re- bounding and blocking. Ty Walker, a sophomore transfer from Kansas State University, contributed his ex- perience as a former Wildcat. Walker felt that the move from a four-year school to a junior college wasn't as hard as people thought. I enjoyed this year, it wasn't that hard for me, he said. He commented that the toughest move was his first, the one from Ingalls to Manhattan. The biggest tran- sition was from Ingalls to and si e K-State. K-State to Garden Ci- ty wasn't that hard, Walker said. I really enjoyed being here, I don't have any regrets about leaving K-State, he said. He felt the experience of starting in every game helped to improve his overall game. Horace Chaney had a great year scoring-wiseg Ty Walker solidified our team, George Ackles made a great deal of progress and we had two good point guards fMelvin Herring and Brace LoweJ, Carey said. According to Norman Schippers, the highlight of the No way out-Freshman Norman Schippers, 42, and Ty Walker guard, Hutchinson's Reggie Morton. ' Autographs anyone-Horace Chaney, sophomore, autographs miniature basketballs for young fans. The basketballs were provided by Garden City Automart. Farewell-Head Coach jim Carey reluctantly bids farewell to Sophomore transfer Ty Walker dur- ing introductions at the last home Lgame. I l:....n.:n- . , , , ,,.N.,,M .. ...,.,,,,,s,, M ,,i,.. W .,,, ,N.WM,,,,.r,,.,

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SPORTS Mr season for him was shooting the winning free throws in the first game of the season. He felt the transition from high school to college was hard to get used to. Everything is at a faster pace at the college level,'l Schippers said. Highlights of the season in- cluded the win over the Hut- chinson Blue Dragons. The win put GCCC in 2nd place and gave the team a play-off berth with a home court ad- vantage. They won the first play-off game against Pratt and then lost to Hutchinson. According to Carey, the team had the most wins in a season, on the road and in the Jayhawk Conference and it was the first time GCCC plac- ed 2nd in the conference. The Busters were undefeated in games played in the refurbish- ed gym. Carey also felt en- thusiasm was stronger than it had been in earlier years. I thought we had great fan Winning season support, great student body support, Carey said. The fans looked forward to the conference games, Carey said. They fconference gamesl determine how far you'll go in the year, he ex- plained. Carey believed that the new facilities and the winning record would entice possible recruits. Recruiting has been difficult because of our loca- tion, he said. The new gym will help especially with in- state recruiting. Many sophomores transfer- red to Division I and four-year schools after GCCC. Several major college coaches, including Bobby Knight of Indiana, came to Garden City to scout potential transfer players. Former Buster standout Keith Smart started for Knight's NCAA Champion Hoosiers and was named Most Valuable Player of the championship game against Syracuse. 'rr I I 10 Men's Basketball!Sports Season Record GCCC Opp. 90 Howard 95 I 1 1 Grayson 91 75 Barton Co. 70 100 Malcolm X 85 73 Odessa 80 79 Seward Co. 62 69 Colby 65 65 Fort Scott 50 88 Coffeyville 68 70 Johnson Co. 56 67 Northeast 70 85 Dodge City 87 98 Colby 77 80 Northeast 72 92 Claredon 71 Panhandle Lamar Dodge City Barton Co. Pratt Seward Co. Butler Co. Hutchinson Dodge City Barton Co. Central Pratt Seward Co. Butler Co. Hutchinson Pratt Hutchinson We did it-Members of the team and Numbef 0716-S0Ph0m0fC DC1'f1Ck their fans celebrate the win, marking Haffis displays 3 Sign 0fV1Cf01'Y at the the road to the play-offs, first play-off game against Pratt