Journal and Courier from Lafayette, Indiana • 15

4' JOURNAL AND COURIER SPORTS EDITOR JIM LEKO Phone 420 5235 ax 420 5246 Email sportsjandcmdncom Sports WEBHESDAYMARCH271996 INSIDE: Scoreboard 2 NBA 2 Purdue 1 3 Classified 4 YV rAn 'K C'4' s' '''4f Jf SA' Pacers survive injury rally Balanced scoring results in 103 96 win By The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana Pacers found a cure for their recent woes but Reggie Miller had some pain of his own Miller scored 18 points be fore colliding with Todd Day Lakers end Magic streakC2 late in the third quarter of 103 96 victory over Boston on Tuesday night Miller did not return after getting five stitches to close a cut over his right eye Team doctors said that Miller should be able to play in game at Wash ington be Miller said felt a little woozy But I would have been ready to go if they needed me But everybody did a good job of hanging in there after I went It was the second straight game Miller did not finish In loss to San Antonio Miller was ejected in the third quarter after receiving his second technical for slamming the ball on the court Indiana which had lost five of its previous seven games used a balanced scor ing attack to overcome 113 pointers by the Celtics Antonio Davis scored 15 points Dale Davis Rik Smits and Mark Jackson had 14 each and Ricky Pierce had 12 Dale Davis also had 13 rebounds to help Indiana sweep the season series 4 0 Boston playing without Dino Radja and Eric Mont ross (ankle sprains) fell be hind by 25 in the first half before using the 3 point shot to climb back Indiana led by eight after the first 12 minutes and ex tended the lead in the second quarter with its inside at tack going on a 14 0 run to lead 54 29 with 3:58 left Boston got hot from long range in the second half making it interesting David Wesley who scored 15 third quarter points hit five as part of his 27 point effort Todd Day hit a pair of 3 pointers in scoring 22 and Dana Barros added 16 also hitting three put a bunch of little guys in and that made it tough for Pacers coach Larry Brown said got us into a street game But we ended up winning and this team needs to win more than worry about how we first 15 points of the fourth quarter came on 3 pointers A 3 pointer by Bar ros pulled Boston within 92 85 with 3:36 to play But Antonio Davis answered with a rebound basket Eric Wil liams was fouled on the other end and hit one of two free throws cutting the lead to eight with 2:52 to play But the Celtics get any closer until Day hit an other 3 pointer in the closing seconds did a lousy job in the first half But we went after them aggressively in the second the way this Celtics team should Boston coach ML Carr said Said Wesley: were trying to play catch up very difficult for us to win like Watson inherits Alston legacy By Tom Kubat Journal and Courier Edwin Watson knows it will take some getting used to for Purdue football fans to watch the Boilermakers play next season without No 40 lining up at fullback After three seasons as most valuable player and breaking all of the major rushing records Mike Alstott is mov ing on to the pros Replacing him be elementary my dear Watson But No 36 is going to give it a try making the switch from tailback think any said Watson a junior to be from Pontiac Mich might be a lot tans wanting me to live up to their pectations of what Mike was but all I can give them is all of me what going to try to give them every game Hopefully that will be enough If not try to give them a little bit Giving his all is one of the first things Leroy Keyes no ticed about Watson last year Keyes former Boilermaker All American voted all time greatest player was beginning his first season as coach of the running backs Alstott obviously got his at tention But so did Watson comes to Keyes said Tuesday following the third of 20 spring practices and first in pads for Purdue year when I first saw Ed I said to myself this kid has his game face on at all While Alsott was the focal point of the running game last season with 243 carries for a school record 1436 yards Watson was no slouch He carried 102 times for 553 yards (54 average) ullback entirely new to Watson who at times flip flopped with Alstott with See WATSON Page C3 0 07 7 I Ready wins UN award Staff Reports Gene Ready has raked in another na tional honor This time United Press International choorng the Purdue mentor as its basketball coach of the year UPI cited the Boil three peat un players and the personal ordeal he endured this season as factors In addition to ChevroletCBS and the Henry Iba Award Ready has earned national honors from Basketball Weekly College Sports Maga zine Sports Illus trated and ESPN BACK AND ORTH: Switching between point guard and shooting guard probably help Stephanie shooting I 1 1 1 1 1 By Tom CampbellJoumal and Courier SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Jannon Roland (left) the only semor to be wants next Boilermakers to work hard 1m Jt HMk ''vVW 4 BBgM fW By tom CampbellJournal and Courier Boilermakers learn lesson the hard way Women discover hard work is needed to win By Mike Carmin Journal and Courier When the 1996 9 7 basketball season begins Purdue is scheduled to have one senior two jun iors and four sophomores on its roster The Boilermakers also will try to work in four or maybe five incoming freshmen while attempting to rebound from a dis appointing 20 11 season and a first round knockout in the NCAA Tournament More importantly the program will try to accom plish new goals under new leadership after the univer sity fired head coach Lin Dunn on Saturday following nine successful seasons The makeup of the team could change depending on who Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke and associate athletic director Joni Coms tock hire See WOMEN Page C3 Recruits successfulC3 Letter of intent rule makes it tough to escapeC3 inal statisticsC3 amily allows Johnson to enjoy life deal with winning and losing Earvin Johnson Comentaiy those things are in my favor My sights are set on being here for a long time Things are different now though not the same person I not afraid anymore I was scared when they first told me about the HIV but not since then I know what this is all about but always been posi tive and never been the type of person to be afraid of things been doing well My cells are good and my immune system is strong never been a sickly person or a stressful person either All of was before and everything that has happened has affected me Being a father and a husband has settled me down and taught me how to relax and en joy the other real professionals and how this game should be played and how they should love it and do all they can to help it always tried to be an ex ample for the younger players and really important now I think crucial that we as ath letes do all we can to to help revi talize our communities especially the underserved inner city areas one reason so excited about my movie theaters We just opened a new one in LA and opening another in Atlanta and one in Houston The Califor nia Pension und Jias also just invested $50 million with my development company to help fund retail shopping centers in inner city areas throughout the state the businessman in me talking but these are things I really believe in Earvin (Magic) Johnson who helped revolutionize basketball with his entertaining style show manship and will to win led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA championships in a 12 year career before retiring in 1991 after he tested HIV positive Two months ago at 36 he returned to the Lakers as a player let me vent my anger on And then she makes me relax Before I would go home and sit in the dark when I lost Even when we won I had no one to share it with Cookie and the kids have given me that and it makes everything so much better In the last 412 years sur prised at how popular re mained all over the world amazing even to myself I never expected that In some respects that makes it tougher being me now because I have to fight a lot of different battles and there are a lot more things in my life now Besides basketball I have my family and my businesses and fighting for people who have HIV and AIDS You also have to try to show the I young guys in the NBA how to be things in life When I was playing before and I lost I know how to accept it and I would go crazy Now what my wife Cookie has been able to do is give me a release for letting all that out somebody to listen to me and putting yourself above your team I love to play and a student of the game and trying to teach our players we have to be smarter at it and we have to do the little things to be successful a lot more to this than just rolling out the ball and just play ing Guys today want to say I can beat him I have all this It happen that way though You might beat him but be somebody else waiting on you? I used to be Buck now they call me Uncle Buck like the old man but I can still teach them things You see not about how old you are or how young or how high you can jump about us ing your smarts I had no doubts about my ability See JOHNSON Page C2 a big difference between player and the player back when we and the Celtics were dominating in the 1980s Talent wise player is probably better but skill wise he He do as many things You have guys who can move all around and make a pass a re bound and set a pick and you have as many unselfish players as you' did in years past You have a lot of guys looking for theirs and no really thinking about the team funny they said it was a lot like that before Larry Bird and I got here and then when we left it went right back But I think with Michael (Jordan) and myself returning we can show these young guys more to it than just doing some spectacular individual thing or 4 i DBHBHMB BK3BiB HIBMfaMBVvBBJWMl ML T0 I BSpwi5 Jpa At vw '00' BH 0 Wl i HBHAk wih MBTy CampbellJournal and Courier I' SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Jannon Roland (left) the only senior: nwHnr to be wants next Boilermakers to work hard Boilermakers learn lesson HMBk 1MMOO the hard way Women discover Recruits successfulC3 I I Letter rule makes hard work IS it tough to escapeC3 aMtefc aK needed to win 0 a 0V0 5 By Mike Carmin WlillM andcou basketball season glKi begins Purdue is scheduled to have one two iors and four sophomores on fllO'M Its roster raked iini flfft 11 The Boilermakers also ggtmhallgKqOB will try to work in four or 1 maybe five incoming 1 InternationalO6Bmggl freshmen while attempting to rebound from a dis appointing 20 11 season and a first round knockout in i st 01 the NCAA Tournament three peat program 10to leadership after the umver llOOpiBB 0 ity head coach Lin Dunn on Saturday following rn aJfpnn74 nine successful seasons The makeup of the team IJgJoSieMW A could change depending on who Purdue athletic director Morgan Burke and associate 04 0 0r 0 lV01 athletic director Joni Coms zi Sports Ulus By Tom CampbellJoumal and Courier tock hire traded ad ESPN BACK AND ORTH: Switching between point guard and shooting guard probably help Stephanie shooting See WOMEN page C3.