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News Nuggets, 07.06.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Owls' St. Clair chosen for Team USA baseball

Rice left-handed pitcher Cole St. Clair is the lone player from Conference USA selected to the 22-member United States national team.

St. Clair, used primarily out of the bullpen by the Owls during a 57-13 season, compiled a 7-2 record with a 1.82 earned run average in 2006.

Rice lost in its bracket final to Oregon State in the College World Series. The Beavers, who are represented by shortstop Darwin Barney on Team USA, went on to win the championship over North Carolina, which has catcher/first baseman Tim Federowicz on the national unit.

Repeat selections included Tennessee catcher J.P. Arencibia, Virginia pitcher/infielder Sean Doolittle and Vanderbilt left-handed pitcher David Price.

Team USA plays the Japanese Collegiate All-Stars in a five-game series at various U.S. sites in late July. The World University championships are in Havana, Cuba, in late-August.

Complete list of Team USA players:

• Vanderbilt third baseman Pedro Alvarez
• Tennessee catcher J.P. Arencibia
• Texas Christian right-hander Jake Arrieta
• Florida right-hander Bryan Augenstein
• Oregon State shortstop Darwin Barney
• Tennessee outfielder Julio Borbon
• Texas catcher Preston Clark
• Mississippi infielder Zack Cozart
• UCLA shortstop Brandon Crawford
• South Missouri State left-hander Ross Detwiler
• Virginia pitcher/infielder Sean Doolittle
• North Carolina catcher/first baseman Tim Federowicz
• Rutgers infielder/outfielder Todd Frazier
• Army lef-hander Nick Hill
• Alabama right-hander Tommy Hunter
• Texas Tech outfielder Roger Kieschnick
• Clemson left-hander Daniel Moskos
• Vanderbilt left-hander David Price
• Cal State Fullerton right-hander Wes Roemer
• Rice left-hander pitcher Cole St. Clair
• Arkansas left-hander Nick Schmidt
• Miami infielder Jemile Weeks.

Houston, Rice rookies make all-frosh team

Houston has another award-winning versatile baseball performer in addition to national player of the year Brad Lincoln.

Multi-talented Luis Flores has been named to Baseball America's All-Freshman first team. He is joined on the unit by Rice outfielder Aaron Luna.

Flores was previously named to the Louisville Slugger All-Freshman Team by Collegiate Baseball magazine, becoming the first Cougar since 2002 to be honored as a freshman All-American.

In 2006, the Corpus Christi, TX, native emerged as one of the Cougars' most versatile players, seeing playing time at six different positions — catcher, pitcher, first base, left field, right field and DH.

At the plate, he batted .288 with eight home runs and 30 RBI's and was the only Cougar slugger to blast two home runs in a game twice during the season. Flores accomplished that feat at Texas A&M and Southern Miss.

Flores also established himself as a solid performer on the mound, breaking into the Cougars' weekend rotation early in the 2006 campaign. Flores finished the year with a 6-3 record with 67 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA in 87.0 innings of work.

Luna's resume already included freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball as well as second team All-Conference USA and selection to the C-USA All-Freshman team. Luna hit .322 with 16 home runs in 2006.

His 16 round-trippers were among the most of any freshman in the country and he set the new Rice record for home runs by a freshman. Luna had a .638 slugging percentage.

Case-era Pack hoops legend Dickey passes

Dick Dickey, a three-time All-America for N.C. State in the early years of the Everett Case era, died Monday night at Indianapolis' St. Vincent Hospital from complications of recent lung surgery. He was 79, according to an account by Tim Peeler at gopack.com.

Born Oct. 26, 1926 in Rigdon, Ind., Dickey was a diminutive, 5-foot-9 guard when he entered the Navy near the end of World War II, hardly the material of a college basketball player even then. But during his two years military service, he grew by five inches and added 35 pounds to his lanky frame.

Dickey caught the eye of then-lieutenant commander and Navy basketball coach Case as a member of a California-based Navy team. When Dickey finished his military commitment, Case approached him about joining his new program in Raleigh.
Dickey had intended to go to Purdue, but was offered no scholarship money. So he signed on with Case, becoming part of the famed 10-player, all-Indiana recruiting class called the "Hoosier Hotshots," which also included Vic Bubas and Norman Sloan.

"When I first got to Raleigh, there wasn't that much activity," Dickey said in a 2002 interview. "It was just after the war and people didn't care about basketball that much. Plus, we were all new. Nobody recognized anyone."

That soon changed for the red-headed forward for the Red Terrors.

As a member of four consecutive Southern Conference-champion teams and a three-time All-America, Dickey had one of the most decorated careers in N.C. State basketball history, thanks in part to his famous one-handed jumpshot.

He was part of the 1947 team that introduced cutting down the nets — an Indiana high school tradition — to college basketball, following its Southern Conference tournament championship. He was also a member of the 1950 team that was the first to play in Reynolds Coliseum and the first State team to advance to the Final Four, losing to Baylor in the semifinals in New York City.

Dickey, with his flashy style, won All-Southern Conference honors in each of his four years in Raleigh, becoming the only player in State history to earn all-conference honors in four consecutive seasons. He was also the Most Valuable Player in the 1949 Dixie Classic and the winner of the Alumni Athletic Trophy.

In the spring of 1950, Dickey became the first State player drafted into the National Basketball Association, going to the Baltimore Bullets in the third round.

A lifelong fan and supporter of his alma mater, Dickey had a far-reaching impact on the program, long after his playing days were over and after receiving his degree in Agricultural and Life Sciences in 1950. He remained close with Sloan, his former roommate, throughout Sloan's coaching career and often scouted players for him in and around Indiana.

When Sloan sent Dickey out to scout a high school hotshot named Steve Ahlfeld, Dickey came back raving about a different player, one that he thought would be the point guard the Wolfpack needed to go with Tommy Burleson and David Thompson. Even though he was short, this player from Oak Hill High School in Dickey's adopted hometown of Marion had a certain flair and demeanor that Dickey believed would more than make up for his 5-foot-5 stature.

Dickey was so sure that Monte Towe would fit in at N.C. State that he drove him to Raleigh for his recruiting visit. He eventually convinced Sloan to take Towe, and the gritty guard was an integral part of the Wolfpack's 58-1 record from 1972-74, back-to-back ACC Championships and the school's first NCAA title in 1974.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:49 PM