The Clackamas Print ^7
Wednesday, January 31,1996 /
Sports
Cougars claim road victories, #1 rank in Northwest
Freshman post Robin
Barchus scores 20
points in the Cougars'
win against Lane.
Jesse Sowa
Sports Editor
photo by LoraWahrgen
Clackamas post Robin Barchus shoots for two during
practice. Barchus led the Cougars in two road victories
last week against Portland and Lane.
* The Clackamas Women’s
Basketball team continued to roll
through the competition in the
Northwest Athletic Association of
Community
Colleges
(NWAACC) Southern Region
with two more convincing wins.
Clackamas claimed the num
ber-one spot in the NWAACC
Poll on Monday after previously
top-ranked Chemeketa fell to
Umpqua on Saturday and to the
Cougars several weeks ago.
The Cougars improved to 8-
0 in Southern Region play with
wins on the road against Portland
Community College on Jan. 24
and Lane CC in Eugene on Mon
day.
Clackamas defeated Lane 81-
65 on Monday in a make-up game
rescheduled from Saturday night
because of the weather.
The Cougars led big at half
time (46-22), but had to hold off
the host Titans, who attempted a
comeback with about five minutes
remaining. The comeback fell
short as the Cougars made their
free throws.
“We played a great first half,’’
Clackamas Head Coach Karen
Twain said. “We got it up the floor
and got some great shots.
Twain credited freshman re-
- Sports Opinion--------- —---- --------—----------------
Johnson's return after short
retirement should be Magical
Jesse Sowa
Sports Editor
He left the National Basket
ball Association four years ago
on someone else’s terms, twice.
Now he wants a chance to com
pete and then leave on his own.
On November 7, 1991,
Earvin “Magic” Johnson retired
from the NBA after announcing
that he had tested positive for
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
His news conference shocked the
league and the world.
Johnson returned for the
NBA All-Star Game in Febru
ary, 1992. He scored 25 points
and was named the game’s most
valuable player.
Johnson attempted a come
back on Sept. 29, 1992 that
ended on Nov. 2 of the same year.
Magic left because many in the
league were against Johnson
competing.
Magic returned several
weeks ago to begin practice with
the Los Angeles Lakers, the team
he lecf to five NBA Champion
ships in the 1980’s, to show that
he still has what it takes to be a
superstar.
Johnson returned to the
court last night at The Great
Western Forum in Los Angeles
for a game against the Golden
State Warriors.
, Some will say it’s an ego
trip, but I would call it the come
back of a legend.
Those opposing Johnson’s
return will point to Magic’s dis
ease and the fact that he could
spread HIV to another player. It’s
not often that an NBA player gets
a cut, and even more rare that
Johnson would get a cut and not
take care of it right away. The
NBA would not allow Johnson to
return if they didn’t think that
everything would be safe.
Others will say that Magic
could cause turmoil on the Lak
ers squad and disrupt the chem
istry. If there was ever a player in
the history of the league that
brought chemistry to a team,
Johnson would be that player.
When Magic entered the
NBA in 1979, he carried a good
Lakers team to the Finals and
helped them to the NBA title.
With Los Angeles center and
future hall of fame player Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar sidelined with an
injury, Johnson moved from his
regular point guard spot to the
post position in Game 6 of the
Finals with the Lakers leading
three games to two in the best-of-
seven series. Magic scored 40
points as the Lakers won the title.
Johnson was named the most
valuable player for the series.
Johnson has averaged 19.7
points during his career and was
the all-time assists leader with
9921 when he retired before John
Stockton later passed him.
During his 12-year career,
the 6-foot-9 Johnson won the
NBA Finals MVP three times in
the nine years that he led the
Lakers to the Finals.
Some critics will say that
Johnson doesn’t have the
strength, skills and stamina to
compete in the NBA. Magic has
played off and on over the past
four years and most recently
played with a group of former
NBA players in Europe. Some
NBA experts say that Johnson
is as good as he ever was.
Johnson has put on nearly
30 pounds since he first retired
and will likely play the power
forward position. This will al
low Magic to show some of his
other skills that rarely used at
point guard.
Johnson has related to the
Lakers and to the media that he
feels physically able to compete
at the level that it takes in the
rough and tumble NBA.
The Lakers will pay
Johnson $2.5 million for the
remainder of the season, but it's
not the money Magic is after.
Magic’s return will spark
fan interest that has lacked in
Los Angeles since he left. There
is also no doubt that his return
will help to fill seated in arenas
throughout the league.
The comeback of one of the
game’s best players should be a
positive one. A new version of
“Showtime” will bring people
out of their seats and prove to
them that anything can be over
come.
serve post Robin Barchus with a
strong game against Lane. “She
came in and had a solid game,”
Twain said.
The Cougars were led by
Barchus, who scored 20 points
and grabbed eight rebounds. Lisa
Sorenson scored 18, Clair Cox 11,
and Lindsay Hatch 9. Melanie
Sharp added 11 rebounds
Clackamas easily defeated
Portland, 96-49.
Twain emphasized that her
team use the Portland game to
work on their offense and defense
as well.
“We wanted to execute and
work on our plays,” Twain said.
Twain praised sophomore
guard Leslie Knudsen for a good
effort over the past few weeks.
“She’s really picked up her inten
sity and is playing great ‘d’ (de
fense)”.
Clackamas travels to
Gresham tonight to play Mt. Hood
.The Cougars host Umpqua, the
number three ranked team in the
Northwest, on Saturday. Both
games begin at 6 p.m.
photo by Lora Wahrgren
Lisa Sorenson drives to the hoop on teammate Leslie
Knudsen last week on practice.
The Clackamas Men's and Women's Basket
ball teams travel to Gresham tonight to take
on Mt. Hood Community College. The
Cougars play host to Umpqua CC on Satur
day night. Both women's games begin at 6
p.m., and the men at 8 p.m.
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