The News-Star from Monroe, Louisiana • Page 23

Inside: Aml and Capristl keep visaing at Wlsbledon, 2C 918 N. Washington Bastrop 1-800-726-9930 The Nam-Star FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2003 www.ttienewsstar.comsports Zimmerman selected III i I i hi 3o He started in all 31 games for the Bulldogs, which finished the season 21-10. Mississippi State center Mario Austin, who skipped his senior season to enter the draft, was taken in the second round by the Chicago Bulls. Austin, a powerful 6-8 post player, was the 36th pick overall. And a Mississippi State signee, 6-9 forward Travis Outlaw of Starkville High School, was chosen 23rd overall by the Portland Trailblazers.

Story, 4C to take the best player, and it happened to be a power forward." With George Lynch and Robert Traylor also on the roster, the Hornets would be flush with strong reserve forwards if Brown and Moiso remain. However, Lynch showed last season he can be effective filling in at shooting guard, especially on defense. team and was the leading vote-getter last season. He was three-time Atlantic 10 Conference player of the year as well. Before the draft, the Hornets said they were looking primarily for a center or a point guard in light of their stated intention to retain free-agent forwards P.J.

Brown and Jerome Moiso. But Hornets vice president of basketball operations Bob Bass had said the Hornets would be flexible and take another big man if they felt that player was the best available when New Orleans picked 18th. "We took the best player available regardless of what position," Bass said. "We're happy with the guy we got. We think he's going to be able to play right now." With their second-round pick, 48th overall the Hornets selected James Lang, a 305-pound, 6-10 center out of Central Park Christian High School in Birmingham, Ala.

Bass stressed that picking West "has no bearing" on the Hornets' Sports Hns La. Tech-Mich. St. to fcs televised Louisiana Tech's Sept. 13 game against Michigan State in East Lansing will be televised on ESPN Regional as well as Cox Sports Television in Louisiana.

Coach Jack Bicknell's squad opens the season Aug. 28 in a nationally televised game pp" against the Ifive-time I (national I Co champion t. 8 Hurricanes and former Shreveport native and starting Miami quarterback Brock Berlin at Independence Stadium in Shreveport. Two weeks later, Tech travels to Spartan Stadium to face Big 10 foe Michigan State in the first meeting ever between the two programs on the gridiron. The contest is set to kick off at 11:10 a.m.

Louisiana Tech opens fall practice Aug. 4 in preparation for its season opener. SW Texas changes name on Sept. 1 Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed the university's name-change bill.

changing Southwest Texas State University's name officially to Texas State University-San Marcos on Sept. 1. The Bobcat football team, under the direction of first-year head coach Manny Matsakis, will play at New Mexico in the season opener on Aug. 30. The home opener is Sept.

6 against Angelo State. The volleyball team kicks off its season Aug. 29-30 in Ogden, Utah, at Weber State's Tournament, while the soccer team begins its 2003 campaign Aug. 29 at Tulane. Xavier's David West was New Orleans' first pick Thursday in the NBA Draft.

mi New Orleans takes the best player, available, no matter what position, exec says. Associated Press NEW ORLEANS The New Orleans Hornets selected David West out of Xavier with their first-round pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, adding another power forward to a roster that could be four or five deep at that position if free agency goes as the team plans. The 6-foot-9 West was The Associated Press college player of rss wm11 year lfsi ViSs63500. aver- just 20 and 12 I over L. mmmmmA POUltS nearly rebounds.

"It's a great opportunity that I'm going to a playoff team," West said. "I had a good workout and I thought 1 could fit in there and play. I know I can help them in West was the first Xavier player to represent the Cincinnati, Ohio, school on the AP All-America first Ex-Dallas Cowboys star from West Monroe didn't like football while growing up. By NICK DERISO nderisothenewsstar.com The fact that he made it is a wonder in itself. Billy Joe Dupree never wanted to play tight end.

He never even wanted to play football. But a gritty work ethic not only earned him a decade-long roster spot at tight end on the Dallas Cowboys, it's gained him admission into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Dupree played in three Super Bowls winning against Denver in XII. He never missed a game in his career, playing in 159 consecutive regular-season contests. "I never was a football fan as a whole, even through college.

I loved basketball," said Dupree, a West Monroe native. "So I never thought about how I was being used just the fact that I was earning my keep. I really didn't understand the significance." Dupree attended Richardson High in West Monroe then Michigan State before being taken by the Cowboys in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft 20th overall. This was news to Billy Joe. "Football in college was paying for my education," he said.

"I didn't realize how well I was doing until my last year. I was leaving campus, frying down to Montgomery (Ala.) for the Blue-Gray All-Star Game and guys on the plane were talking about potential draft picks. My name came up: 'It looks like this guy Dupree could they said. I was eavesdropping." Dupree is now a member of the Blue-Gray Football Hall of Fame, too. Associated Press NEW YORK Former Wossman High standout Derrick Zimmerman of Mississippi State was chosen by the Golden State Warriors.

The 6-2 senior guard shot 47.6 percent from the field last sea Zimmerman son, averaging 8.9 point per game. Draft ffst, 3C intention to retain former Louisiana Tech standout Brown, a veteran power forward who led the team in rebounding last season and is popular in part because his permanent home is in suburban Slidell. "We're going to make every effort to sign P.J." Bass said. "This has nothing to do with it We had Clayton Dupree and Elizabeth Nettles but maternal grandmother Mary Singleton and neighbors also chipped in. "Everybody in that neighborhood was a brother or a sister of my grandmother," Dupree said.

Football was his job. And like any job, he worked at it what ii. wmn kh-fX -v-', jf4-r rr The Hornets have only two point guards under contract for next season starter Baron Davis and seldom used backup Bryce Drew. Kenny Anderson and Robert Pack are free agents. Bass and new head coach Tim Floyd said they liked the fact that West played all four years at Xavier and likely would have the year I didn't have a tight end, so I moved Billy Joe there," said Elvin Spears, who coached at the all-black Richardson High in West Monroe from 1963 until the school closed after integration in 1969.

"That's why he was a good blocker, because he had already been an offensive lineman," Spears said. "And then, he was 6-4. At that time, 6-4 was a giant on campus. Then he had good hands and he had speed. I put maturity to make a contribution right away.

"I think he 5 got a mean streak about him. I think he's able to compete at the NBA level right now," Floyd said. "He's got a knack for finishing around the basket and he also can stretch out a defense by stepping out to 18, 19, 20 feet and knocking down that shot." News-Star file photo him out on tight end, around his senior year. That became his natural position." The Bears lost their first state championship try in 1965-66, falling to Southern Lab. Richardson returned to the Class 2A championship in 1966-67 and 1967-68, however, and won both.

During the second of those playoff seasons, a play devised by Donnell Cowan called for the See DUPREE 4C West Monroe's Billy Joe Dupree, who starred at Richardson High School, said he never was a football fan growing up. News-Star file photo Billy Joe Dupree was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1973 in the first round as the 20th pick overall. LOUISIANA SPORTS HALL OF Seven new athletes and coaches will become members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame In Its 2003 Induction class. They are Jim Cason, Mel Didier, Joe Dumars, Billy Joe Dupree, Dick McCluskey, Jim Mora and Lee Smith. The Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies are at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday at Prather Coliseum In Natchitoches. Cost is $25. Call (318) 841-9808. TV Up ESPN2, 6 a.m.: Tennis, Wimbledon, early rounds. AP Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa blows a kiss skyward as he crosses home plate after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.

The Brewers won 5-3. Page 2C Scoreboard American League Red Sox 6 Tigers 4 White Sox 5..... Twins 1 Yankees 4..... Devil Rays 3 Royals 4 Indians 1 Blue Jays 13 Orioles 8 A's 13 Rangers 0 Mariners 10 Angels 6 National League Brewers 5 Cubs 3 Marlins 6.... Mets 1 Phillies 8 Braves 1 Cardinals 11 Reds 7 WNBA Los Angeles 67..

Antonio 58 Indiana 94 Connecticut 90 To reach us To comment on a story, offer news tips, report sports results, make a correction or speak to an editor cad: Sports 362-0236 Preps Fax. 362-0279 sportsthenewsstar.com Our team editor for the sports section is Nick Deriso. This section was edited and designed by Buster Wolfe, Kristian Hasse and Theron Johnson. MM iwAirh ever the assignment. "You've got to understand my mindset: I knew my parents couldn't afford to send me to college and I understood that wherever you want to put me, I will play.

The rest takes care of itself." As a prep player in West Monroe, Dupree was originally playing on the line defensive end and offensive tackle. "Billy Joe was my offensive tackle for two years, then one Growing up In West Monroe That easy approach to his legacy was borne out of a childhood growing up poor and playing nothing but basketball in West Monroe, near where the City Hall is located now. Dupree lived with his parents, Track meet, baseball tourney start Jr. Olympic schedule ISM. Multi Events Finals 8 a.m.: Decathlon.

8:15 a.m.: Heptathlon. 9 a.m.: Triathlon. Running Event Trials 2 p.m.: Hurdles, relays, dashes. Running Event Finals 7 p.m.: walk and run and run. Field Event Finals 2 p.m.: Long jump.

3 p.m.: Javelin. 4 p.m.: Discus. SATURDAY Running Event Finals 8 a.m.: Hurdles, relays, dashes. Field Event Finals 9 a.m.: Long jump, high jump, triple jump. 10 a.m.: Pole Vault Citgo Tournament TODAY At OCS 7 p.m.: Ouachita vs.

Bastrop. SATURDAY At OCS 10 a.m.: Bastrop vs. OCS. 12:30 p.m.: Magnolia vs. West Ouachita.

3 p.m.: Warren Central vs. Ouachita. 5:30 p.m.: Lakeside vs. McGehee. 8 p.m.: Warren Central vs.

OCS. At St. Frederick 12:30 p.m.: McGehee vs. St. Frederick.

3 p.m.: Bastrop vs. West Ouachita. 5:30 p.m.: Magnolia vs. Ouachita. 8 p.m.: Lakeside vs.

St. Frederick. By BREJSDA Y0UKS byoungthenewsstar.com The Peak Performance Track Club will play host to the USATF Southern Association Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships at Louisiana-Monroe's Brown Stadium today and Saturday. Also beginning today is the Citgo Invitational Baseball Tournament at Ouachita Christian School. More than 800 track and field athletes 6 to 18 years old from Louisiana and Mississippi are scheduled to compete in the Junior Olympic meet The top four qualifiers in each event move on to regional competition in Nashville.

"I think it is great that the community can be involved in this," Peak Performance Track Club "It's like a summer league," West Ouachita coach Mitch Thomas said. The nine teams will begin pool play with Ouachita meeting Bastrop at OCS at 7 p.m. today. On Saturday, competition will be held at both OCS and St. Frederick ballparks.

At Eagles Field, Bastrop plays OCS at 10 a.m., Magnolia meets West Ouachita at 12:30 p.m., Warren Central takes on Ouachita at 3 p.m., followed by Lakeside against McGehee at 5:30 p.m. and Warren Central gears up for OCS at 8 p.m. At Warriors Field, McGhee takes on St Frederick at 12:30 p.m., Bastrop meets West Ouachita at 3 p.m.. Magnolia plays Ouachita at 5:30 p.m. and Lakeside plays St.

Frederick at 8 p.m. in the nightcap. coach Dennis Groll said. Today's events include the decathlon, heptathlon and triathlon starting at 8 a.m. as well as running and field events.

Groll said his club produced 10 entrants for regional competition last year. Among some participants to watch are: Matthew Perry in the and runs; Kyle Humphries in the decathlon; Joey Black in the javelin; and Lauren Lee in the high jump. Meanwhile, the Citgo Invitational Baseball Tournament will feature area teams Ouachita, Bastrop, West Ouachita, St. Frederick and OCS and also include Magnolia, Lakeside, Warren Central and McGehee. The event is a chance for each school's coaching staff to watch the personnel for next spring..