Star-Telegram.com: College Sports

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback learns from his mistakes

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:06 CST

By LORI DANN

Jerrod Johnson probably won’t have many fond memories from his first season as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback.

Although his numbers have been mostly favorable — including a school-record 20 touchdown passes — Johnson’s positives have been lost in a string of humbling losses, costly turnovers and injuries.

The lowest point may have been Saturday at Baylor when the sophomore threw four interceptions and lost a fumble in a 41-21 loss, just the second in the past 23 meetings in the series for the Aggies (4-7, 2-5 Big 12).

Afterward, Johnson took responsibility for his mistakes but said his confidence had not taken a hit despite his seven turnovers in the past two weeks. He never worried about being benched in favor of senior Stephen McGee.

"I have confidence in what the coaches are doing and confidence in my abilities and what I can do," the sophomore from Humble said. "I really can’t worry about if they’re going to keep me in or pull me."

Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said pulling Johnson was never a serious consideration, adding that the quarterback shouldn’t be blamed for a couple of the interceptions.

"If I thought he was lacking in confidence during the game as a result of turning the ball over, I would have made a change," Sherman said Monday. "But he came off to the sideline and told me exactly what he did wrong. He was pretty poised and never seemed really shaken. He just had some unfortunate things happen.

"I know five turnovers is a lot, and it’s certainly tough to overcome, but he didn’t seem to be shaken confidence-wise. It takes a lot for him to lose confidence."

Since taking over for the injured McGee in the second game of the season at New Mexico, Johnson has completed 60.3 percent of his passes despite playing through a sprained throwing shoulder and a sprained knee. He ranks 26th in the nation in passing yardage, 31st in passing efficiency and 41st in total offense heading into the season finale against Texas on Thanksgiving night.

In addition to the single-season touchdown passes mark, Johnson also set a single-game mark by completing 79.5 percent of his passes against Iowa State. He already owns two of the top four passing games in Aggies history, including a school-record 419 yards against Kansas State.

However, for as many big plays as he’s delivered, Johnson also has committed mistakes at critical times while trying to make a big play. In his eight starts, he has fumbled 10 times, losing five, and has thrown nine interceptions.

He has had four multiple-turnover games and only two turnover-free starts.

As a team, Texas A&M has turned the ball over 26 times. Only nine teams in the nation have committed more turnovers.

Ironically, Johnson tied a Big 12 record earlier this season by throwing 213 consecutive passes without an interception, a streak that ended against Oklahoma. Since then, he has thrown six interceptions in seven quarters.

However, Sherman said this season has been a great learning experience for Johnson, and he expects him to have more positive performances in the future.

"His experiences this year, both positive and negative, will contribute significantly to his success next year and the following year," Sherman said. "As he learns the offense and learns himself as a quarterback, what he can and cannot do, these are great steps he’s taking. Even when it’s a bad situation, in the big picture as you’re building a program, he will learn from this and be better for it."

Turnover troubles Jerrod Johnson has struggled with turnovers this season. A breakdown of the miscues in his eight starts:

Fumbles-lost		Int.
vs. Miami	5-1	1
at Oklahoma St.	1-1	2
vs. Kansas State	0-0	0
vs. Texas Tech	0-0	0
at Iowa State	1-1	0
vs. Colorado	1-1	0
vs. Oklahoma	1-0	2
at Baylor	1-1	4

Mike Leach has quite a history with Oklahoma

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:05 CST

By DWAIN PRICE

Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is very familiar with the landscape at Oklahoma. His last assistant coaching job before becoming the head coach at Tech in 2000 was with the Sooners.

Leach spent the 1999 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for OU in Bob Stoops’ first year as head coach of the Sooners. With Leach calling the plays, the Sooners went from last place to second in the Big 12 in scoring and improved by 134 yards per game in total offense.

Stoops and Leach talked strategy all the time back then.

"Bob would come through the hall and we’d sit down and he’d tell me defensively what he’d be looking for and various different things, so I did think it was valuable," Leach said. "I coached defense at the College of the Desert [in 1988], so I think that was probably really helpful in my career as far as developing as an offensive coach.

"It was a great program [at OU] in that it was exciting to combine what we did offensively with what Bob Stoops did defensively."

Leach and Stoops will face off at 7 p.m. Saturday when the second-ranked Red Raiders (10-0, 6-0 in the Big 12) meet the fifth-ranked Sooners (9-1, 5-1) with all sorts of conference and BCS implications on the line.

Leach was in his second season as the Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach when he got the call from Stoops to join his staff.

"I was pretty surprised," Leach said. "It all happened pretty fast, though, because he got the job pretty quickly.

"I didn’t have any idea that he’d call me. But I knew him a little."

With Stoops and Leach in ’99, the Sooners won seven games and advanced to a bowl game — the Independence Bowl — for the first time in four years. The next year, Leach left for Tech and OU went 13-0 and won the national championship.

"What I really appreciated with Mike is he does what he does and he does it well," Stoops said. "He’s always been very emphatic to be really excellent and good at what you do.

"Not that he doesn’t look for different wrinkles, because he always has added little things. But the meat and potatoes of what he does is still there [today] that was here when we started in ’99."

Leach has never won in Norman

The challenge of beating the Sooners in Norman, Okla., will be a tough one for the Red Raiders,.

Since Bob Stoops became OU’s coach in 2000, the Sooners are 59-2 at home. The losses came against Oklahoma State (16-13) in 2001 and against TCU (17-10) in 2005 when OU was ranked fifth in the country.

"Going in there is a tough place to play, with 90,000 screaming at you," Tech defensive end Jake Ratliff. "I like playing up there, and it’s fun."

Tech is 0-4 at Norman under Mike Leach, losing in 2000 (28-13), ’02 (60-15), ’04 (28-13) and ’06 (34-24).

However, the Red Raiders won last year (34-27) and in ’05 (23-21) in Lubbock, and have won two of the past three games in the series.

"You just go in and play the best you can," Leach said. "I think everybody is more comfortable at home, and then also I think the noise is more of a distraction to the [visiting] guys."

Prince pays homage to McNeill

Mack Brown in favor of an eight-team playoff

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:05 CST

By JIMMY BURCH

Texas coach Mack Brown offered emphatic approval Monday to president-elect Barack Obama’s endorsement of an eight-team playoff in college football and expressed hope that White House support would generate more playoff discussions within the NCAA.

Obama made his comments on an episode of 60 Minutes that aired Sunday. Brown, a longtime playoff proponent, said change is needed within the current system, which allows only two teams from any conference to compete in BCS bowl games.

Texas (10-1) is No. 3 in this week’s BCS standings and joins No. 2 Texas Tech (10-0) and No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1) on the list of Big 12 teams ranked among the nation’s top five. But only two of the three can play in BCS bowls, a situation Brown wants changed. Specifically, he’d like to abolish the limit on BCS berths for each league and let the top teams settle matters on the field.

"Send the best eight teams and let them play it off," Brown said. "There’s a lot of good teams that are going to be left out of the BCS this year. What I would welcome is more conversation [about changing the BCS system]. I really wish we could hammer out some ideas and get it down to what’s workable ... whether we do it now or three or four years from now. In most years, there are going to be six to 10 teams better than the others and it’s tough to say who is best without a playoff."

Better preparations

Mack Brown said he will tweak the way the Longhorns (10-1, 6-1 in Big 12) handle their time off between now and a Nov. 27 matchup against Texas A&M (4-7, 2-5) in the regular-season finale. Texas has lost its last two meetings against the Aggies and Brown said he has "not handled this game well the last two years." Brown did not offer specifics but said he intends for Texas to "prepare better" before the teams meet on Thanksgiving night in Austin (7 p.m., ESPN).

Youth is praised

Because of injuries to starters, Texas has had to rely more on its depth in recent weeks. Mack Brown cited key contributions Monday from five young players who received extensive playing time in Saturday’s 35-7 victory over Kansas. The list included safety Christian Scott, center David Snow, defensive tackle Kheeston Randall and defensive ends Sam Acho and Eddie Jones.

"This team, right now, is getting better because the young guys who didn’t play a lot early are stepping up now," Brown said. "That was one of the major differences in the ball game against Kansas."

Weekly honors

Baylor linebacker Joe Pawelek was selected Monday as the Big 12 defensive player of the week. Pawelek had two interceptions, including one in the Bears’ end zone, during a 41-21 victory over Texas A&M. He also made seven tackles. For the season, Pawelek leads all FBS linebackers in interceptions with six.

Other weekly honors went to Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz (offensive) and Kansas State receiver/kick returner Brandon Banks (special teams).

Mackey semifinalists

Three Big 12 players are among eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top tight end, organizers announced Monday. The list includes Missouri’s Chase Coffman, Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham and Oklahoma State’s Brandon Pettigrew.

Other semifinalists include South Carolina’s Jared Cook, Houston’s Mark Hafner, Western Michigan’s Branden Ledbetter, Brigham Young’s Dennis Pitta and Arkansas’ D.J. Williams.

TCU preparing for tough Air Force run game

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:02 CST

By TRAE THOMPSON

There’s a lot about Air Force that stands out to TCU coach Gary Patterson.

With his team off before this Saturday’s regular-season finale with the Falcons, Patterson got a chance to watch Air Force play BYU. The Cougars won 38-24.

"They ran over 300 yards didn’t they?" Patterson asked about Air Force. "They blocked them, they sacked. I think they had three sacks by halftime. I think us and Air Force are the only teams who’ve been able to do that [to BYU]."

The Falcons are fourth nationally in rushing offense, averaging 279.7 yards per game. TCU has the nation’s No. 1 rush defense, allowing 39.5 yards per game.

"The good thing for us is we run a lot of similar stuff to what they run," Patterson said. "They mix in the power game, with the triple option. It’s a combination of Wake Forest’s offense and the old Air Force offense. The key is if you want to just try to maintain, like a lot of people do, or stop them. The key for us is to try and stop them. It’s a very difficult thing to try and do."

Early signs

TCU players saw things that gave them a good feeling about this team early on in the year.

"We had a really solid group of seniors," defensive end Matt Panfil said. "I’m just one of many. We had such a good group of seniors. It’s funny. Sometimes we come in the huddle in the middle of the game and everybody’s yelling at everybody else, but everybody’s trying to be a leader. We just laugh at that sometimes."

Gary Patterson said this team has had "as good a chemistry as we ever had."

"That’s why we wanted that Utah game so bad," he said. "That’s why we’re going to try to win this Air Force game. This [senior] group’s got a chance to win 40 games. It’s just hard to do."

Final push

The Horned Frogs went through an extended Sunday practice, which was more like a Tuesday practice. Patterson said the team practiced hard all last week, adding he was pleased with the defense Sunday but probably not as happy with the offense.

"Nobody likes to be out practicing this late in the year," he said. "But good teams find a way to get through it."

Sweet 16

This is the third straight year that TCU has had a 16-day break following a Thursday game against Utah. TCU beat Army 31-17 in 2006 after the Utah game and beat New Mexico 37-0 last year.

Texas Tech trying to maintain focus for Oklahoma

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:02 CST

JIMMY BURCH

It is tempting, even as an outsider, to spend idle moments wondering where Texas Tech’s magic carpet ride will carry the Red Raiders by the end of the 2008 football season.

The chance to celebrate the school’s first national championship and first Heisman Trophy winner seem more like realistic opportunities, rather than distant dreams, with each passing day. Believe me, I think about it. I have to believe most college football fans do.

So it only seems natural that Tech players would enjoy an occasional "what if" conversation in the locker room, contemplating how great life would be if No. 2 Tech (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) remains undefeated and brings the BCS’ crystal football back to Lubbock.

The mere suggestion of such a conversation drew a menacing look from Tech free safety Darcel McBath, who made it clear there would be serious repercussions for the first teammate who looked past Saturday’s game against No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1, 5-1). McBath assured me he would "take an active role" in squashing such talk. How active?

"I’d probably throw you in the cold tub and tell you to cool off," McBath said. "You’re getting ahead of yourself. And that’s not what we’re about around here."

Instead, McBath said the Red Raiders’ mantra of "one game per week" has been a driving force in helping the team stay focused and achieve milestones never before reached in Lubbock. Among them: Tech has posted its past three victories over Top 25 teams, a program first, and has taken down three Top 10 teams in the past calendar year, another fresh wrinkle for a team that could reach 11-0 for the first time in school history by knocking off the Sooners in Norman, Okla.

"Taking one game per week means so much to all of us," McBath said. "That’s why we’ve been so successful and we know it."

Tech coach Mike Leach calls McBath, a fifth-year senior from Gainesville, "the man" in his secondary. Other players, said Leach, rely on McBath’s leadership skills because he "adds stability and maturity" to a defense that needs it.

Offensive tackle Rylan Reed, a senior who turns 27 on Tuesday, has a similar impact on the Tech offense. Reed, a cancer survivor, spent four seasons pitching in the Chicago White Sox organization before enrolling at Tech in 2005.

The Red Raiders have other leaders, but those two jump out in helping impart the type of focus that has been missing at Tech during past seasons marked by wildly inconsistent performances. Instead, these Red Raiders have been as steady as a metronome. They’ve improved each week, and played their best game in their most recent outing, a 56-20 rout of then-No. 8 Oklahoma State on Nov. 8.

With last week’s bye, that performance has triggered two weeks of build-up to Saturday’s showdown against OU. A victory over the Sooners would clinch Tech’s first berth in a Big 12 championship game. It also would allow the Red Raiders to defeat Oklahoma and Texas in the same season for the first time in school history.

Another week, another chance to make history. That’s been a recurring theme since Tech knocked off then-No. 19 Kansas 63-21 on Oct. 25 and followed with a 39-33 upset of then-No. 1 Texas on Nov. 1.

As the stakes get higher for the Red Raiders, who boast two Heisman Trophy hopefuls in quarterback Graham Harrell and receiver Michael Crabtree, the need to block distractions increases. That’s where the "one game per week" mantra, preached by McBath and other team leaders, must continue to rule the day instead of being replaced with tempting daydreams of what might unfold.

Harrell dismissed concerns about players looking ahead to BCS glory or being spooked by the fact that no Tech team has beaten OU and Texas in the same season.

"Not at all," Harrell said. "We’ve got to finish. This is a tough conference, with the toughest teams in the country ... In the past, we got down to those teams and would lose the mentality. There was more doubt on the sidelines. Now, we know we can compete against teams like that. We’re confident in any game. We are proving we can play with anyone."

With one more piece of evidence, furnished Saturday, Tech would be in position to play Dec. 6 in Kansas City, Mo., for its first outright conference title since 1955, when it was a member of the Border Conference. To provide that proof on the road, in a hostile environment, Tech must match or exceed the focus it has shown in its first 10 games.

That’s why McBath said he wants teammates to "stay motivated and play with a chip on our shoulder" Saturday. Anyone who falls short, from all indications, could face an unexpected session in the cold tub.

TCU’s rally falls short against Charleston

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:22 CST

By MERCEDES MAYER

CHARLESTON, S.C. — TCU men’s basketball coach Jim Christian doesn’t believe in giving up — no matter the score — and he’s trying to pass that philosophy along to the Horned Frogs.

So the first-year coach doesn’t believe in moral victories, even if his team trimmed a 21-point deficit to five before losing.

The Frogs came out flat and didn’t have enough left after a furious rally, losing 86-75 to host College of Charleston on Sunday night at Carolina First Arena in the final game of the ESPN Charleston Classic.

"The mentality of this team is that that’s not acceptable for us," senior Kevin Langford said. "That’s not TCU basketball. That’s not how we play."

Langford scored 27 points, just four shy of his career high, on 10-of-14 shooting, and Edvinas Ruzgas scored 12 points for TCU, which plays Nebraska in its home opener Wednesday.

The Frogs outrebounded Charleston 37-27, but they had 16 turnovers and allowed the Cougars to shoot 54.1 percent.

"We’ve got to learn from this," Christian said. "We have to learn that you have to be prepared to play every day. We just didn’t do that. We didn’t come out and compete, and Charleston did. They took it right to us."

Charleston led 51-30 early in the second half, but TCU (1-2) cut the deficit to 62-57 with 8:42 to go by going 7-of-14 from the field while Charleston (2-1) went scoreless for nearly seven minutes, missing eight straight shots.

TCU was still down five with 7:36 to play, but the Frogs made only four field goals — none after the 2:05 mark — the rest of the game.

Dustin Scott’s alley-oop dunk with 2 1/2 minutes to play gave the Cougars a 79-66 lead and put them firmly in command.

Christian wasn’t happy with his team’s lack of energy heading into the game, its third in three days, and it resulted in turnovers and lax perimeter defense early.

Those mistakes during a six-plus-minute stretch in the first half turned a 15-14 Frogs lead to a 41-22 deficit with 3:48 remaining in the half.

Charleston scored 13 straight points, ending with Antwaine Wiggins’ fast-break dunk, and TCU attempted just four shots and had eight turnovers.

"We’re not that talented to make up for things like that," Christian said. "We have to come to play every day."

Lady Frogs shake letdown, grind out victory

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:22 CST

By TRAE THOMPSON

The energy level just quite wasn’t there before the game, and it was noticeable.

Coming off an 80-68 upset of No. 3 Maryland on Friday, the TCU women’s basketball team fought through a sluggish outing for a 73-60 victory over UT-San Antonio on Sunday at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.

"It was a struggle most of the afternoon," TCU coach Jeff Mittie said. "We didn’t have quite the energy we had on Friday night. We just kind of grinded one out today. Short turnaround, and we knew that was going to be an issue, but we were able to grind one out today."

Guard Helena Sverrisdottir had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and was two assists shy of a triple-double for the Lady Frogs (2-0), who had three players score in double digits.

TCU’s bench scored 18 points, mostly from sophomore guard Emily Carter, who had 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal.

With five posts combining for just three total rebounds in the first half, Mittie went with a smaller lineup, moving Carter to the post in the second half, a position Carter at which hadn’t had lots of reps.

"What coach wants me to do, or anyone in general, is come in and give the team a spark," said Carter, who had 12 points and 8 rebounds against Maryland. "I just try to come in, take good shots, play good defense, rebound. Just do all the little things."

For the second consecutive game, rebounding was a problem for the Lady Frogs. Maryland outrebounded TCU 50-37 on Friday, and UT-San Antonio prevailed as well (41-32), especially on the offensive glass (16-7).

"What we struggled with was we’d force them to take bad shots and then we wouldn’t get the rebounds maybe on the first try," Carter said.

The Lady Frogs were challenged by the Roadrunners’ up-tempo offense that spread out TCU with its movement and passing.

That set up guard Monica Gibbs, who was able to slash to the hole consistently for easy baskets. Gibbs had 14 points and 11 assists.

"We had trouble stopping her all day long," Mittie said. "We let her get to the rim way too much."

The Lady Frogs were shooting 33 percent from the field early and had a small lead over UT-San Antonio (1-1) until an 8-0 scoring run put them ahead 34-22.

TCU kept a 12-point lead entering the second half, and appeared to have the game in hand, twice leading by 16 points. UT-San Antonio kept making shots, and trailed 59-47 with a little more than seven minutes remaining.

"I didn’t feel we had the same killer instinct as we had on Friday night," Mittie said. "We delivered some knockout punches Friday night that we failed to deliver today. We’ve got to learn from that."

ONLINE: gofrogs.com

Carter gives Aggies some distance in opening win

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:02 CST

By LORI DANN

COLLEGE STATION — A little extra distance didn’t seem to bother Josh Carter.

Texas A&M’s senior shooting guard, who led the nation in 3-point shooting accuracy as a sophomore, was ahead of that blistering pace in Sunday’s season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Carter scored a game-high 23 points by going 5-for-9 from beyond the 3-point line, which has been moved back a foot to 20 feet, 9 inches this season, and 7-for-11 overall in the Aggies’ 76-47 victory over the Golden Lions in front of 7,354 at Reed Arena.

"Josh was good today," Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "He played like a senior out there today, and we needed him to shoot well."

Carter’s performance helped offset a poor shooting day from the other Aggies guards, who were a combined 5-for-26 from the field. It also opened things up on the inside for Bryan Davis and Chinemelu Elonu, who combined for 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Texas A&M started slowly, missing its first three shots and turning the ball over twice in the first two minutes. Turgeon quickly called a timeout, made a few stern points about sharing the basketball, then watched the Aggies go on a 27-6 run that started with a driving, one-handed dunk by Elonu.

"We were getting good looks, we just weren’t making shots," Carter said of the slow start. "We were a little jittery, just kind of looking around. Then Junior got that dunk and it was like, 'All right, it’s time to play.’ After that, we just started clicking a little bit."

Texas A&M’s defense was also instrumental during the run, holding the Golden Lions scoreless for almost seven minutes at one point. Arkansas-Pine Bluff shot just 29 percent from the floor and committed 13 of their 20 turnovers while falling behind 36-19 in the first half.

The Aggies went on to push their advantage to as many as 33 points in the second half with their reserves on the court.

Lebaron Weathers and Tavaris Washington, who combined for 40 points and 17 rebounds in the Golden Lions’ season-opening 76-56 loss to Colorado on Friday, weren’t nearly as effective against the Aggies. Weathers was held scoreless, going 0-for-7 from the field, while Washington was the only Arkansas-Pine Bluff player in double figures with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

"We’re going to be a good defensive team," Turgeon said. "We talk about it a lot. We emphasize it. We’ve got defenders, and we’ll hopefully be a great team defense as the year goes on."

Turgeon wasn’t as pleased with his offense, and it wasn’t the paltry 37 percent shooting performance that bothered him most.

"This year we’re running an offense where guys should share the basketball more," he said. "Everybody has a chance to score every time down the floor. I love what we’re running, but we’ve got to pass the darn ball, and I couldn’t get them to do it.

"I’ve been begging them now for about 10 days. We’re going to start doing it or we’re going to play different people."

Texas A&M will have to make adjustments quickly. The Aggies host Stephen F. Austin, which won 26 games and knocked off Oklahoma last season, on Tuesday and SWAC favorite Jackson State on Friday.

"These are really good teams coming up," Turgeon said. "It’s a perfect matchup for [Stephen F. Austin]. We’re playing some young guys and they’ve got all veterans. That’s why I wanted to play everybody today."

UNT men, women in action tonight

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:22 CST

UNT women at Marshall

6 tonight, Cam Henderson Center, Huntington, W.Va.

Radio: KNTU/88.1 FM

Records: UNT 0-0, Marshall 1-0

Notable: Marshall won 82-70 at UNT last season. Shanice Stephens will make her head coaching debut for UNT, and she’s depending on seniors Amber Jackson, Tricia Lee, Jo Hall and Yari Escalera for early stability. Junior guard Brittney James is a streak scorer Stephens wants to see be more consistent. Freshman forward Brittani Bailey should see a lot of playing time.

UNT men at Oklahoma State

7 tonight, Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.

TV: Fox Sports Southwest

Radio: KWRD/100.7 FM

Records: UNT 1-0, OSU 1-0

Notable: A year ago, UNT had two 25-point scorers, Keith Wooden and Josh White, in an 82-73 victory over Oklahoma State in Denton. White is back to help lead a deep guard rotation that could give the Cowboys trouble again. Byron Eaton scored a career-high 27 points in Oklahoma State’s season-opening 76-57 victory over UT-San Antonio.

Basketball coaching great Pete Newell dies at 93

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:48 CST

By JANIE McCAULEY

Pete Newell, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who won an NCAA championship and Olympic gold medal and later tutored some of the game's greatest big men, died Monday. He was 93.

His death was confirmed by the University of California, the school Newell coached to a national title in 1959. Newell, who had been living near San Diego, had a serious lung operation in 2005.

He died at about 10:45 a.m. in Rancho Santa Fe at the home of retired Dr. Earl Shultz, who played for Newell at Cal and had watched over him for the last several years.

Shultz said Newell had a meeting scheduled with Jerry West and a writer who was working on a book on West, who played for Newell's 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team.

"He's 93. He had a wonderful life, and it was just old age," Shultz told The Associated Press. "His health was not good, because they had removed two-thirds of his lung and he had smoked for many years. It was starting to be a real struggle for him physically. He was getting more weak and dwindling away a little bit."

Newell coached for 14 years at San Francisco, Michigan State and California before doctors advised him to give it up because of the emotional toll. His final coaching job came in the 1960 Olympics, when he took a U.S. team led by Oscar Robertson, West and Jerry Lucas on a dominant run to a gold medal in Rome.

Newell later returned to prominence with his famous "big men" camps. He instructed some of the game's greatest stars, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Shaquille O'Neal and Ralph Sampson.

Among Newell's biggest admirers was Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight, whose teams practiced Newell's style of patient, disciplined offense and tenacious, hardworking defense.

"I just don't think anybody has contributed more to my life in more ways than Pete Newell did," said Knight, Division I's all-time victory leader and coach of three NCAA champions and an Olympic gold medal. "Jerry West and I had a very tearful conversation about an hour after Pete had passed away this morning and I think Jerry felt exactly the same about Pete as I did. Pete was a second father to both Jerry and myself and while I think that we're awfully saddened by the passing I think that we can both feel extremely good about the relationship that we had with this basketball giant over most of our entire careers. Nobody contributed more to the game and its history than Pete."

Newell was born in Canada but grew up in Los Angeles. His mother envisioned an acting career for her son, and he appeared in several movies including "The Kid," which made a star of Jackie Coogan.

He attended what is now Loyola Marymount University and served in the Navy during World War II.

In 1946 he took a job at a small Roman Catholic school, the University of San Francisco, coaching basketball as well as baseball, golf and tennis. The Dons won the National Invitation Tournament in 1949, when it was considered at least the equal of the NCAA tournament.

Following four seasons at USF, the last concluding with another return visit to the NIT, Newell moved to Michigan State. His best season there was 1952-53, when the Spartans went 13-9 overall and finished third in the Big Ten.

In 1954, Newell was hired at California. The Bears won four consecutive conference titles and made two trips to the Final Four, capturing the NCAA tournament in 1959.

The starless Bears had to beat two future Hall of Famers on their way to the championship. In the semifinals they defeated Robertson and Cincinnati 64-58. Then in the final, Cal beat West Virginia, which was led by West.

Showing it was no fluke, the Bears beat both teams again the following season with West and Robertson still in college. Cal topped West Virginia 65-45 in a holiday tournament and knocked off Cincinnati 77-69 in the Final Four.

Cal lost the 1960 championship game 75-55 to Ohio State, which was led by Lucas, John Havlicek and Knight.

Emotionally high strung, Newell lived on coffee, cigarettes and little else during the season. He was told by doctors to leave full-time coaching, which he did in 1960 at age 44. His overall record was 234-123, and he beat UCLA's John Wooden the last eight times they met.

Newell ended his coaching career in the Olympics, when the U.S. team won every game by at least 24 points.

Newell served as athletic director at Cal from 1960-68, a turbulent era on the Berkeley campus. He worked for several NBA teams in a variety of capacities. He was general manager of the Rockets when they were in San Diego and orchestrated the trade that brought Abdul-Jabbar to Los Angeles when he ran the Lakers. He later was a consultant to the Warriors and a scout for the Cavaliers.