ee ee ee a eT # & oF WSC Defends Big Sky Crown by John W. Peterson The beginning of a new calendar also marks the start of this season’s Big Sky Conference basketball wars, and the defending champion Weber State Wildcats are expected, as always, to be right in the thick of the skirmish. The team has an interesting year with new faces, new playing locations, and new competition. In fact, the only thing that looks to remain constant is the great tradition of winning which has been established. One of the new faces on the team will be on the bench where baseball coach Blaine Sylvester has been added as an assistant to Coach Gene Visscher. This move puts the Cats on parity with other major colleges, who all have three-man coaching _ staffs. Sylvester’s primary responsibility will be scouting opponents, in-state recruiting, and generally aiding Coach Visscher in the management = and development of the team. xin also in his third year. Coach McCarthy’s many and important duties include defensive coordinating, taking major responsibility for out-of-state recruiting, and for the junior varsity program. Several faces on the court are new this year also. Only two returning starters, guard Dan Dion and forward Steve Fleming, will be suited up, although three other lettermen are expected to see action. Tom guard; DeVita, a junior Brad Tausheck, a junior forward; and sophomore to be Jimmie Watts, a center, are expected the nucleus of this year’s Wildcat team. A trio of sophomores from last year’s jayvee team are seeing action and contributing to the Cats’ cause. They are Al DeWitt and Paul Marigney at center and flashy Don Collins on the guard line. One redshirt, Scott Gardner, will add scoring ability at the guard line; and two blue-chip transfers, Bill Lewis and Kim Vernon, are also aiding the Cats. Ten Games Third Year ‘‘In terms of- talent, this year’s Head Coach Gene Visscher returns for his third year at the helm of the Wildcats with impressive credentials. Visscher was named Coach of the Year in the Rocky Mountain area each of the preceding two seasons and piloted the Cats to back-to-back league championships. Chief assistant to Coach Visscher will be Neil McCarthy, squad is probably better than any Weber State team has ever been,”’ Coach Gene Visscher stated. “But we will have to play together and get consistent performances from everyone before we can lay claim to the title. I’m especially pleased with the progress that our younger players have made, and I like the team balance very much.”’ WEBER STATE FORWARD basketball victory. ° Jimmie Watts sails Of the ten games played at the time of this writing, five were at home and all resulted in wins for the Wildcats as they extended their home winning streak to 17 straight. In fact, over the course of the previous 58 games played in Wildcat Gym, Weber State has been on top of the score 57 times. The season opener was a heartstopping one-point loss to Brigham Young University at Provo. The game most interesting clash in what rivalry. The was promises two the initial to be a intra-state schools will oy e . pee 3 A alternate hosting the early game with BYU visiting Weber next season. Vacation Break Over the Christmas vacation break, the Wildcats were busy representing both the school and the intermountain area at the prestigious All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City. The Cats came away with a sixth place finish and an invitation to return to the tournament in 1978. Along the way, they defeated defending NIT champ Virginia Tech and just missed the upset of the year before losing to powerful Oral Roberts by just three points. Three non-conference games ee Pe ioe es to score in a pre-season ef 34 | oo aK on : Er remain along with the Big Sky slate--a home-and-home series with Utah State and a game at San Jose on January 19. As was the case with the Colorado State game, the California clash will be the scene of an alumni reception, and all Wildcat alums in the Northern California area are invited and will be contacted concerning details of the affair. The Wildcats team Sky ever are the only NCAA com- to represent the Big Conference in petition. They have carried the banner for the last six seasons and were the overwhelming choice of the conference coaches to repeat again. 1973-74 WEBER STATE basketball team: seated (from left)--co-captain Dan Dion, assistant coach Blaine Sylvester, Coach Gene Visscher assistant coach Neil McCarthy, co-captain Steve Fleming; standing--Tom DeVita, Kim Vernon, Steve _ Gemelos, Brad Tausheck, Jimmie Watts, Paul Marigney, Al DeWitt, Willie Jackson, Don Collins, Scott Gardner, Bill Lewis. This year the league shapes up as a dogfight if the Wildcats continue to suffer from the in-— consistent performances of their pre-season play. Idaho State and Gonzaga have both looked impressive early in the year, and either of the two Montana schools could also be counted on as a darkhorse contender. :