Oct. 13, 2004

It's basketball time again, as another season starts on the campus of West Texas A&M University. Thursday, October 14 marks the beginning of it all, as the men's and women's basketball teams celebrate with Midnight Madness, starting at 9:30 p.m. with the Lady Buff volleyball team taking on Tarleton State University at the WTAMU Event Center.

Midnight Madness is the traditional start to the basketball season across the nation, marking the opening of the practice/season of play. The NCAA regulates when teams can start practices and no practice can be before October 15, which is why Midnight Madness is celebrated as soon as possible on this date.

WTAMU's Midnight Madness activities will begin right after the volleyball match with a slam dunk contest, 3-point shootout, Alumni vs. students game, along with many student games and giveaways and tons of fun.

The Buffs, under the direction of head coach Rick Cooper, and the Lady Buffs under head coach Bob Schneider's direction, will take to the court for practice at the stroke of midnight signalling the beginning of the 2004-2005 season.

The Lady Buffs were 25-6 last season, reaching the NCAA-II South Central Regional Semifinals. WTAMU returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last season's squad that was ranked No. 21 in the final WBCA Top 25 Poll. Headlining the returners is 5-10 senior forward Celeste Stevenson, who averaged 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last year. Stevenson received first-team All-LSC and first-team Daktronics All-South Central Region accolades last year, marking her third-straight season receiving All-LSC honors. She is the WTAMU record holder for both Career Free Throws Made and Career Free Throws Attempted records and is No. 5 on both WTAMU's all-time Scoring list and Career Rebounding list.

Also returning is 6-1 senior forward Vasha Adams, who tallied 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest, earning honorable mention All-LSC South accolades last year. WTAMU has five newcomers on the roster, including local talent Dixie Bell (5-7, forward, Canyon, Texas/Canyon High School).

Schneider is inching closer to a milestone that some coaches can only dream about and few coaches actually achieve: 1,000 career victories, as his overall coaching record is 996-280 (.781).

WTAMU finished the season with an 18-10 overall record, the Buffs' 11th-straight winning season under Cooper and 18th-consecutive winning season overall. The Buffs return three starters and six five letterwinners from last year's squad, led by 6-2 senior guard Carl Lamb, an honorable mention All-LSC South selection last season, who is the leading scorer returning, netting 12.5 points per contest last year, as well as 6-7 senior forward Richard Higginbotham, who led the team with 6.3 rebounds per contest last year. WTAMU also has eight new faces on the roster, including local prospects Tyler Cooper (6-4, forward, Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo High School) and Kyle Shields (6-0, guard, Amarillo, Texas/Palo Duro High School).

The men's team opens the season with a pair of road games, beginning on Nov. 19, when the Buffs head to Conway, Ark. to face the University of Central Arkansas. On Nov. 22, WTAMU will tangle with Oklahoma Panhandle State University at Goodwell, Okla. WTAMU's home-opener is Nov. 26-27 with the Coca-Cola First United Bank Buff Thanksgiving Shootout.

The women's team tips-off the season Nov. 19-20 at Emporia, Kan., competing in the Emporia State University Tournament. The Lady Buffs have their home-opener on Nov. 27 against University of Colorado-Colorado Springs at 2 p.m. at the WTAMU Event Center.

-WT-