GIVING
continued from page 7
Sica's life, but one lucky young man
was able to see a completely different
side of him. Sica presented the boy,
who was paralyzed at age 10 in an au
tomobile accident, with a racing
wheelchair at halftime of last year's
spring football game.
The money was raised in last year's
inaugural Birdie-a-thon, where Sica,
members of his family and fellow
teammates were sponsored by Cham
bers Communications to make
birdies during the golf season. By the
"(Mike Sicas) worked
quite hard on different
projects that we've
done.... He will always
have a soft spot in my
heart for what he was."
Steve Nosier
Oregon head coach
* end of the season, more than $3,200
dollars was raised.
"That is something that I am pretty
- proud of," Sica said. "I just went to
high school and grew up in a family
where charity work was pretty im
portant."
Sica also is involved with the Stu
dent-Athlete Advisory Committee,
which does community service work
throughout the year.
"We have days were we invite, like,
10 elementary schools and we get all
the athletes and play with them over
at the Moshofsky Center for the day,"
Sica said. "It's fun to be able to give
back, because we are so lucky to be
athletes here at Oregon, and it's nice
to showr the community that we're
thankful for what they do for us."
This year, with help from the Spar
row's Club and Chambers Communi
cations, Sica again will head the
Birdie-a-thon to raise money for a 3
year-old boy with leukemia.
"He needs a bone marrow trans
plant and his insurance won't cover it,
so we're trying to raise money for
him," Sica said.
Sica's mother, Joan, was one of the
jSStSMi,
Mike Sica
Before Oregon: Sica was a three-time West Catholic Athletic
League selection for San Francisco's St. Ignatius High School. Won
16 prep tournaments and also captured the 1999 Robert O'Brien
Junior and the California Golf Tour Amateur. He holds the course
record (66) at the Olympic Club’s Ocean Course.
At Oregon: Redshirted in 1999.
2000- 01: Played in five events. Tied for 17th at the Western
Intercollegiate (76-73-69-218) with a career-low 69 in the final round.
Tied for 49th at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships.
2001- 02: Came on strong in the spring as Oregon's No. 5 golfer.
Tied for 29th at the PING/Arizona Intercollegiate. Top 50 finishes at
the Cleveland Golf Classic, the Duck Invitational, the U.S.
Intercollegiate and the Pac-10 Championships.
2002- O3: Oregon’s No. 4 golfer with a 74.7 stroke average. Eleven
biggest influences for him.
"I grew up just helping her out,"
Sica said. "I can remember in middle
school, going to wrap presents for un
derprivileged families. It's nice to be
able to give back." '
Nosier said Sica's willingness to
volunteer helps him stand out on the
team.
"He's worked quite hard on differ
ent projects that we've done as far as
community service projects, and he
has always been willing to do that
type of thing," Nosier said. "He will
always have a soft spot in my heart for
what he was."
A soft spot, indeed. One that most
hope will continue wherever Sica's
travels take him.
Brian Smith is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
BRIEFS
continued from page 8
Gordon expected to leave
UConn for NBA
STORRS, Conn. — After UConn
defeated Georgia Tech for the na
tional championship, Ben Gordon
stood on the ladder and cut his own
piece off the Alamodome net.
From the UConn section, fans be
gan to chant, "One more year."
Gordon looked at them and
shook his head.
Gordon will hold a press confer
ence at 3 p.m. EDT today at Gampel
Pavilion and add words to his gesture.
Neither Gordon nor UConn
coach Jim Calhoun has said Gor
don is leaving but it does not take
an abacus to do this math.
The junior guard is being pro
jected as a Top 10 pick in the June
24 NBA draft — some mock drafts
have him going as high as No. 6 —
and he already has accomplished
everything he can on a college bas
ketball court.
Gordon led the I luskies in scor
ing this season (18.5) and was even
better in the NCAA Tournament. In
six games, he was UConn's leading
scorer (21.2), was named most out
standing player of the Phoenix re
gional and, along with Emeka
Okafor and Rashad Anderson, was
one of three UConn players named
to the all-tournament team at the Fi
nal Four.
This is likely only the first such
press conference in Storrs this
spring. Okafor, who will graduate in
May but has another season of eligi
bility available, is also expected to
make the jump to the NBA.
To be eligible for the draft, an un
derclassman must send a letter to
the NBA by May 10.
If a player with eligibility remain
ing has not signed with an agent, he
can return to his college team if he
withdraws from the draft by June
17. Gordon said in San Antonio last
week that if he were to enter the
draft, he would begin looking for an
agent immediately.
Okafor is being projected as the
first pick in the draft.
There was a time this season when
it was uncertain whether Gordon
would be able to join his old room
mate. Then down the stretch he ban
ished the image of "Gentle Ben" and
became a forceful scorer in the
clutch.
He hit the winning hoop against
Pittsburgh in the Big East tourna
ment final and carried that momen
tum into the NCAA Tournament.
He helped the 1 luskies reach the Fi
nal Four with 36 points, one shy of
his career-high, against Alabama in
the Phoenix Regional final. 1 le had
18 points against Duke and 21
against Georgia Tech.
After winning the national cham
pionship, Calhoun seemed to signal
this day in his postgame press con
ference.
"1 do think (Ben and Emeka) are
ready for the NBA," Calhoun said.
"If they're in position, they should
leave because they're both incredi
ble basketball players and have ac
complished so much in college bas
ketball."
Gordon accomplished much in
three years. The 6-2, 195-pound
guard from Mount Vernon, N.Y.,
evolved from a sixth man as a fresh
man on a team that was eliminated
in the Elite Eight into one of the
mainstays.
Along the way, he scored 1,795
points and was part of 85 wins, two
Big East championships and a na
tional championship.
There were so many highlights.
He hit big threes against Arizona in
a thrilling overtime win his fresh
man season. Six weeks later, he
stuck one of the biggest shots of
UConn's season — a three in the Big
East tournament against Villanova
— and this caused Caron Butler to
start calling Gordon "the next one,"
a prophecy Gordon fulfilled this
season.
Gordon's draft position isn't sta
ble — it rarely is for guards — but
he is unlikely to drop in any indi
vidual workouts because of his
speed, skills and leaping ability. And
NBA teams are not as willing to take
risks on young guards the way they
might for a big man.... Okafor was
named Sports Illustrated's Player of
the Year. He'll be featured in the
April 19 issue.
— Matt Eagan
The Hartford Courant (KRT)
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