[Rice University Athletics Scrapbook: 1985-1986] Page: 4

                                
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Monday, August 5,1985
Brown
Pierce's NBA star on the rise
Continued from Page IB
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1
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ame for three seasons, Pierce was the
lo. 18 pick in the 1982 draft, going to
e
departure from the last three seasons,
a a a
around last year, though, Pierce suf-
1982.
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By NICK WOLDA
Houston Chronicle
Owl veterans are due on campus
Sunday for physicals. Two-a-day drills
will start Monday for seven days.
- Houston Chronicle News Services
- -----------------------------------
to Houston, a place he still calls home.                .
-----fered a setback, stretching ligaments in
AP Laserphoto
Rice Head Coach Watson Brown
A flock of speedy newcomers made a
lingering impression on Rice Coach
Watson Brown as the Owls began fall
workouts.
Brown welcomed 25 scholarship
freshmen Tuesday. The group included
heralded receivers Melvin Turner and
Chris Nixon, along with defensive back
William McClay and quarterback
Quentis Roper.
“The overall quickness of this group
is outstanding," said Brown, beginning
his second season, as Rice coach.
“Nixon really stood out in the crowd.
His times in the 40 were really quick.
But the speed people always look bet-
ter in early practices.”
In two 40-yard sprints, Nixon, from
Beaumont South Park, ran 4.6 and just
less than 4.6, Brown said.
McClay, from Marian Christian, was
successful in one-on-one drills against
receivers, and Roper, from Dallas
Pinkston, threw crisp passes and
showed quickness on the option that
Brown lacks in returning quarterbacks
Mark Comalander and Kerry Overton.
I
1
Tight end Dan Decker will be lost to
Rice this season and his football career
could be over because of a tumor that
was removed last week. Decker, origi-
nally a quarterback, transferred to
Rice from Michigan last season. He
currently is in Michigan, where he is
undergoing treatment, and the tumor is
being tested for malignancy. At the
family’s request, no other details were
revealed. Decker will not be enrolled at
Rice during the fall, but Brown said he
could return’ in the spring Decker was
listed on the preseason depth chart as
the No. 4 tight end ... Strength coach
Keith Irwin administered a body-fat
we’re a lot more experienced team right now for doing that than
we would have been.”
Brown said the Owls played better in losses to Arkansas and
Southern Methodist and closed out the season with a 46-40 loss to
Baylor and a 38-26 loss to Houston.
“It kept getting a little better near the end and I guess that’s the
high point,” he said. “Our kids left the season losing yet with their
heads up because they got better and learned that they can com-
pete in this league.”
The Owls, who face five 1984 bowl teams this season, have lost a
record 25 consecutive Southwest Conference games.
Before trying to snap that string, the Owls start the season with
non-conference games against Miami, Air Force and the Lamar
Cardinals, who represented Rice’s only victory last season
a busy day Aug. 31. He’ll be involved in a noon
scrimmage, then get married at 7:30 that night .8 •
The Owls will have names on the back of their
jerseys this season for the first time in severalyears. .
The last time they had them was for one game in .
the Detroit Pistons. But Pierce was not
a mainstay there, averaging only 2.2
points while playing in 39 games.
As he was about to begin his second
season with the Pistons, Pierce was.
abruptly dealt to the San Diego (now
Los Angeles) Clippers for 1986 and 1987
second-round draft choices.
At San Diego, Pierce played in 69
games, increasing his scoring average
Ricky Pierce
Kenny Fields, Sidney Moncrief or John
Doe, everybody has to come out in
training camp and make his breaks.
“Nobody’s going to let newcomers
come in and take over. Sidney’s not
going to back off and I'm not going to
back off. You have to make your own
breaks.”
And that’s what brings Pierce back
F
Ricky Pierce is best remembered for
his college heroics in Houston.
But the man who once graced this
city with his basketball skills as a
member of the Rice Owls is coming to
life in the professional ranks.
Pierce, currently playing with the
Milwaukee Bucks in the National Bas-
ketball Association, is in Houston this
* summer sharpening his skills on the
J court while rehabilitating his knee at
Rice in preparation for the 1985-86 sea-
son.
The 6-foot-5, 25-year-old guard is fi-
nally receiving the recognition in the
NBA he once enjoyed in the Southwest
Conference. Once the main man at
Rice, Pierce has quietly found a home
in Milwaukee.
“The Bucks' style of play is my style
of play,” Pierce said. “They like to run,
play hard, aggressive defense and go at
it on the offense.”
But Pierce, even though coming off I
his best second half of basketball in a i
three-year pro career, says in the NBA
a place on the final roster is never   ।
guaranteed. You have to earn it every   ,
year.
“There is going to be strong competi- I
tion at the beginning of each season,”
he says. “Whether it’s Jerry Reynolds,
4
Surgery to keep Deckeroff Owls' roster
g The Rie Owiovllost junior transfer Dan Deck- percentage among freshman with 5.8 percent, while.-,
er for tiegaopeker who sat out last season after
"transfertingsfrom Michigan,' underwent surgery to
ew om-wIC w-T aeotatue 1   1"       -                  --- ■
-
Speedy Owls impress Brown during opening workout
To improve his game, he is playing in
summer leagues and working out at
Rice on the other days. He’ll report to
the Bucks’ training camp late this
month.
“Ricky is the best player I’ve ever
coached,” says Tommy Suitts, Pierce’s
coach at Rice. “Not only is he the best,
he also works the hardest He’s in the
gym all the time working out. Whether
on weights, different shots or defense,
he’s always working. His work habits
are unbelievably good.”
And the hard work paid off for
Pierce. He has made his breaks in the
NBA even though it was difficult get-
ting there.
Coming off successful years at Rice
in which he averaged 22.5 points per
2,200-pound linebacker, had 6.1 percent
"I d take ,a recruiting class like this    body fat. Biggest improvement from
every year,” said Brown. “We’ve got a   last year was interior line coach Mark
lot of good linemen and everybody   Brad lev’s dip from 35 percent body fat
looks like they are in good shape. I just   in 1984 to 12.8 percent this fall. Bradley
hope not many of them have to play in   has lost 60 pounds in the' past year ...
the season opener.”                      Rice players will have their names on
the backs of their jerseys this year, a
his left knee. He suffered more from
the injury because he says any little
injury in the NBA goes a long way.
“I just couldn’t go 100 percent with
the nagging knee,” Pierce says..“You
can’t make certain cuts. It just slowed
me down.”
And Pierce was traded again, going
to his third team in less than three
years. This time he, Terry Cummings
and Craig Hodges were dealt to the
Bucks in exchange for Marques John-
son, Junior Bridgeman and Harvey
Catchings.
“Had Ricky been well, he would have
. been good all along,” Suitts says.
Pierce never slowed down at Rice.
He finished his college career as the
most valuable player in the SWC. He
scored the most points in Rice history
along with holding all the other Rice
career scoring records.
“He’s just a great, great player,”
Suitts says. “He was such a tremendous
player here. I never had to tell him
when to shoot, what a good shot was
because he already knew.”
But Pierce and the Rice teams strug-
gled to a 34-49 record in his three
years. If there was any consolation, the
Owls finished 15-15 in the 1981-82 sea-
son, the first and only Rice non-losing
record since 1971.
Pierce, now, is satisfied to be on a
winning team. A playoff team. He liked
becoming the Bucks’ No. 6 man last
season. Playing for Coach Don Nelson
has strengthened his desire to stay at
Milwaukee.
“My goal, and everybody’s (goal) on
the Bucks, is trying to win a champion-
ship,” Pierce says. “That’s the highest
accomplishment in this game. Training
camp is for winning the championship.
Just thinking about having the ring on
my finger excites me.
“Some of the best guys in the league
have been traded and they get used to
it,” Pierce says. “It’s a tough adjust-
ment going from team to team. You
are always learning something differ-
ent.
“I knew I would eventually land on a
team and settle in. I didn’t think I
would move Isiah Thomas (of Detroit)
out when I came into the league.”
And Pierce keeps playing basketball
the old-fashioned way on his ascent in
, the NBA. He keeps earning his way.
g, test to freshmen. Roper. a 165-pounder,
5%4, NO 1 5 v?4/95 proved to be the leanest. His percent-
--—--------—-— age of body fat was 5.8. Ed Freeny, a 6-
The Owls return Seven offensive and eight defensive starters but
Brown says that won’t necessarily be an advantage. “It seems
everybody had seven offensive and eight defensive starters back,”
he said. ‘-‘It’s a senior league this year.”
The defense will be headed by defensive tackle Dwain Turner
and strong safety Ernest Evans.
Turner says the Owls will be better this season because they are
much stronger.
“With the new equipment and the new program,.! think all of us
have benefitted," Turner said. “Overall, we were a weak team.
Now, I think we are if not the strongest, one of the strongest teams
in the conference and I’ll put my money where my mouth is on
that’     jOT
Brown says a priority will be stiffening the defense that yielded
432 yards and 34.7 points per game last season.
“We weren’tlast, we were dead last,” Brown said. “There was
po one close to us, Weswere the wgrst.I said when I came here that
you can’t win consistently without a good defense. We proved that
last year.”
Brown said the most crucial. coaching decision came in the
Texas A&M game when the coaching staff decided to go with,
young players.
“We started playing a lot of younger people in the A&M game
and there was a lot of confustion,” Brown said. “But now that it’s
done, that was the critical decision we made as coaches because
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to almost 10 ppg. He had an .861 per-
centage at the free-throw line that
year, his best ever.
As the exhibition season rolled
Freeny was the lowest among larger players with 6.1
percent . . . Owl assistant coach Mark Bradley is
much slimmer and trimmer this season. Bradley has
lost 60 pounds in the last six months and he’s down to
about 178. Bradley’s secret is a modified version of,
the famous Eat To Win diet... Reserve quarterback
Travis Williams, a transfer from Blinn JC, wilf’have
Brown hoping OwMi^am control
One of a Series
HOUSTON (AP) - Rice head football coach Watson Brown kept
telling the media and super zealous alumni last season that he was
not a miracle worker. He said it would take time to end Rice’s str-
ing of 20 straight losing seasons.
Now they believe him.
After talk about Brown’s lucrative and highly publicized six-year
contract subsided, Brown’s Owls went out and got themselves a 1.
10 record and now it’s 21 straight losing seasons
The Owls had moments of sparkle with an offense Brown called
controlled Chaos.”
4 "We got the chaos part down fine, now we need to learn the con-
trol,” Brown, said.
w We moved the ball last year but it was on big plays too much.
We d punt, punt and then we’d score. But we didn’t have enough
control to keep our defense off the field the way I’d like ” ' ‘
The Ow! offense was most potent with freshman quarterback
Mark Comalander. After missing much of the season with an inju-
ry , he closed out the season with a freshman-record 357 yards pass-
ing against Southwest Conference champion Houston.
Now a sophomore with more savvy following spring drills Com-
alander hopes for an injury-free season.
“In the spring, I started to understand the offense better,” Comb
aander said. "We showed we could put a lot of points on the board
(66 in their final two games) but the key will be consistency.
Any team in the conference can ring up a lot of points on a
given day.
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Freeny, Manning
try new positions
Pos} gg
Watson Brown and his Rice staff continued to take
early looks at their freshmen class Wednesday during
a 90-minute practice. Brown did have two players in
different positions Wednesday as Conroe’s Ed Freeny
(6-2, 193) went from defensive end to linebacker and
Ron Manning (6-3, 235) from Katy Taylor got a look
at defensive end. If he had his choice, Freeny said he
would rather play lineback- ______________________
er, but added, “they can   g-Ac A
play me at linebacker. de-   TNGk MOeS
fensive end, even nose "TT-g
guard. I just want to help any way I can. I’d even
play waterboy.” Freeny, one of the freshmen expect-
ed to contribute quite a bit this season, chose Rice
over TCU, Oklahoma State and Arkansas and said
Brown was the reason. “On my trip, he introduced
me to everyone here,” Freeny said. “That wasn’t the
norm. He made me feel at home.” After 48 hours at
Rice, Freeny said he’s adjusting fairly well. “The
practices are hard, but the coaches make it seem
simple compared to high school,” Freeny said. “The
coaches take a lot of time to work with you.”
Defensive back William McClay sprained his ankle at
the end of practice Wednesday. It is not known how
bad the injury is .. . Linebacker Will Hollas from
Lamar Consolidated hasn’t even gotten started. Hol-
las sprained his ankle before reporting and will be
sidelined until next week ... McClay, tight ends
Chris Nixon and Melvin Turner and offensive tackle
Courtney Hall continued to impress Brown. Hall is
exceptionally quick for his size (6-3, 230) .. . The Owl
freshmen will work through the weekend. Veterans
report Sunday night and will practice Monday.
— MELANIE HAUSER
remove a tumor 10 days ago at'his home in Roseville,
Michi ate . being L con- ------------------------
'ducted 6stheWfms ahd ircaAye AAac
Deckeriiwiuviindergo wreanismMmV-em
ment immedratel/OHi fam-
ily would1 ft relea So liny further information. The 6-
foot-2; 300 pouhdltOws a quarterback at Michigan
but suffered nerve damage if his throwing arm last
fall-Through a glass door while
taking a shower. He was moved to tight end during
the spring. “It was very sudden,” Rice Coach Watson
Brown^aid. “Itjust came up in the last few days. He
won'td5 back thifall4 . .. Brwn likes the look of
his newfreshman Ss. “I’ll take that bunch four
mre times,” said Brown of his 25 scholarship play-
ers and two walk-ons. The players, who have been on
campusisinceMonday,went through their first work-
out'Tuesday afternoon, Brownasaid he was pleased
with mostgoithe plays but indicated that several,
a including wide receiver GhriseNixon, linebacker Ed
Freeny and defensive back William MeClay, stood
out. “Ifyqu swant hhe know%which one jumped out at
me, it wouldthaye to be Nixon,” Brown said of the 6-2,
178-pound freshman from Beaumont South Park. “He
ran very good 40s (yards). He was under 4.6 (sec-
onds) on the first one and 4:6 on the second. Then he
went out and1 caught the ball well.” Freeny is a 6-foot
220 pounder from Conroe, while McClay, from Marian
Christian, is 6-foot, 180. Austin Anderson running
back Lorenzo Cyphers (6-0, 220) and quarterback
Quentis Roper (5-10, 165) from Dallas Pinkston also
caught some eyes . . . Roper had the lowest body fat
fl
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Page 10, Section 3     ★ Houston Chronicle