FW: True Orange E-Mail/Fax #103

----- Forwarded by David M Gagliardi/TTG/HouInd on 10/24/01 08:35 AM -----

"Gagliardi,
Michael" To: "'dgagliardi@reliantenergy.com'" <dgagliardi@reliantenergy.com<,
<mgagliardi@un "'david.ricks@spotplus.com'" <david.ricks@spotplus.com<,
ocal.com< "'tony.a.rogers@fritolay.com'" <tony.a.rogers@fritolay.com<
cc:
10/24/01 07:11 Subject: FW: True Orange E-Mail/Fax #103
AM

< -----Original Message-----
< From: TruOrange@aol.com [SMTP:TruOrange@aol.com]
< Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2001 9:16 PM
< To: TruOrange@aol.com
< Subject: True Orange E-Mail/Fax #103
<
< True Orange E-Mail/Fax Service
< Volume 9, E-Mail/Fax #104, Tuesday, October 23, 2001
< Jerry Scarbrough's True Orange, P. O. Box 26530, Austin, Texas 78755 -
< Phone
< 512-795-8536
<
< Buckman Picks Horns over Heels; Browns Says UT Has "4-Game Season"
<
< Brad Buckman, a 6-9, 235-pound power forward from Austin Westlake who is
a
<
< national top 50 recruit, picked Texas over North Carolina Tuesday, saying
< the
< Longhorn basketball program is on the upswing and he wants to be a part
of
< it.
< He had said earlier that the lure of the ACC, where basketball reigns
< supreme, was very strong, but he told me today, "I've always wanted to go
< to
< Texas. This is where my heart is." His father, Brent, played on two
< national
< championship golf teams at UT and his mother, Tammy, also is a Texas
< graduate.
< But he said he also used his head in picking the Horns over the Tar
Heels.
<
< "After looking at it closely," he said, " I think Texas basketball is
< really
< on the upswing. They've signed two McDonald's All Americans (freshman
< point
< guard T. J. Ford of Fort Bend Willowridge and sophomore forward Brian
< Boddicker of Duncanville) in the last two years."
< They could make it three in three years because Buckman's stock soared
< this
< summer when he played in several top AAU tournaments and more than held
< his
< own against some of the nation's heralded big guys.
< Dave Telep, a national recruiting analyst, said he probably is one of the

< nation's top 25 recruits. "The reality is that while there are 25 guys
< with
< larger names, there probably aren't 25 better players in the class,"
Telep
<
< said. "He is athletic, can handle it some, he blocks shots, he shoots to
< medium-range and he scores in the post."
< Clifton McNeely, his coach at Westlake, also says he also works very hard
< to
< get better. "He's a very gifted player with a lot of talent to start
< with,"
< McNeely said, "but the best thing about him is his strong heart and work
< ethic. I don't think you could find anyone who works harder than he
does."
< McNeely also said he thinks Buckman "is the best player in Texas." There
< are
< some guards in the Dallas area who ranked higher nationally, but Buckman
< is a
< national top 50 recruit who is the kind of blue-collar inside player UT
< coach
< Rick Barnes loves to coach.
< Buckman averaged 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks for Westlake as a
< junior
< and was recruited by other top basketball programs across the country,
< including Missouri, UCLA, Kentucky and others.
< He is the first recruit to commit to Texas for the early signing period
in
<
< November. Barnes and his assistants are recruiting several other players,

< most of them in other states, and hope to sign a sharp shooting guard
and
< a
< wing.
< * * * *
< Coach Mack Brown said Tuesday he and his assistant coaches have told the
< Longhorn players they "start a four-game season this Saturday at
< Missouri."
< He said the Longhorns, at 6-1 and with a No. 6 ranking in the BCS, have a

< chance to rise if they keep winning because a lot of the teams above them

< play each other or play other unbeaten teams. Oklahoma is No. 1 in the
BCS
<
< rankings and Nebraska is No. 2. They play Saturday in Lincoln, so one of
< them
< is destined to drop. UCLA is No. 3 in the BCS, but has to play at
< undefeated
< Washington State later this season, and Miami and Virginia Tech are No.
4
<
< and 5, but they play in the final regular-season game for both teams.
< For those of you who still want to think about a national title this
< season,
< it is a long, long shot. First, OU would have to lose to Nebraska and
< either
< Texas Tech or Texas A&M, and then Texas would have to beat Nebraska in
the
<
< Big 12 title game. Then all but one of the major unbeaten teams would
have
< to
< lose a game so it wound up like last year when OU was the only unbeaten
< team
< and played once-beaten Florida State for the national title.
< It could happen, but don't bet on it. I think the Horns have a great
< chance
< to finish 10-1, but I doubt that all but one of the unbeaten teams will
< lose.
< INJURY NOTE: It looks like LB Lee Jackson and DE O. J. McClintock, both
< fourth-year seniors, will redshirt and return next year. Both have been
< out
< with injuries all season and Brown said Tuesday there are no plans to
play
<
< them. He said Jackson is still having troubles with his toe and his leg.
< He
< said McClintock "could have played Saturday, but we're not going to play
< him
< unless we need him."
< RECRUITING NOTES: The Longhorns are still recruiting WR Robert Timmons of

< Flower Mound Marcus who committed to Florida Monday, and LB Michael
< Williams
< of Lindale, who ways he is a "soft commitment" to Oklahoma, but who has
< scheduled an official visit to Texas the Dec. 14 weekend.
< * * * *
< My next e-mail/fax will be whenever events warrant.
< * * * *
< The True Orange E-Mail/Fax Service includes at least 99 fax/e-mails a

< year and costs $99 ($79 by E-Mail). The True Orange Newsletter includes
< 26
< newsletters and is published weekly during football season and twice
< monthly
< during most of the other months. It costs $45. Save by subscribing to
both
<
< for $130 (or $110 if you take the faxes via E-Mail or $99 if you take
< both
< services via E-Mail). Send check to address at the top of page. I also
< update my 900 number - 1-900-288-8839 - daily with recruiting news. My
< E-Mail address is: truorange@aol.com.