We got the latest press release from the Pete Newell Challenge organizers and thought we'd pass it along:
Tickets for the fourth-annual Pete Newell Challenge, presented by TiVo, went on public sale Saturday, Oct. 21, through all Tickets.com outlets in the Bay Area, and at The Arena in Oakland box office. The tickets are priced from $15 to $55, with a limited number of premium seats available for $100. The college basketball doubleheader, honoring Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell, takes place on Thursday, Dec. 21, at The Arena in Oakland, and includes two outstanding intersectional matchups: Preseason top-ranked Duke (29-5 last season) vs. defending Pac-10 co-champion Stanford (27-4) at 6 p.m., followed by Georgia (10-20) vs. Cal (18-15). A ceremony honoring the 40-year anniversary of the gold-medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team, coached by Pete Newell, will also take place during the evening.
Fans can purchase tickets by logging on to www.tickets.com; by visiting any Wherehouse or Tu Musica music store in the Bay Area; through select locations, including Gottschalks, SolariÂs or RaleyÂs stores, or by calling any of the following Tickets.com numbers: (510/925) 762-2277, (415/650) 478-2277, (916/530) 766-2277, (408) 998-2277, (707) 546-2277, (800) 225-2277 (Central Valley and outside California). The Arena in Oakland box office is located at 7000 Coliseum Way. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. Or phone: (510) 569-2121.
FOR PETEÂS SAKE: A record 48 college players attended the 23rd annual Pete Newell Big Man Camp, Aug. 14-18 at the Kamehameha School in Honolulu. Among the group were eight players who figure to have a reunion at this yearÂs Pete Newell Challenge: Sean Lampley, Solomon Hughes and Nick Vander Laan of Cal; Jarron and Jason Collins of Stanford; GeorgiaÂs Robb Dryden and Anthony Evans, and Carlos Boozer of Duke. Other college standouts in attendance included Troy Murphy of Notre Dame, UCLAÂs Dan Gadzuric, Eric Chenowith of Kansas, Kaspars Kambala of Nevada Las Vegas, Souleymane Wane of Connecticut, Hondre Brewer of the University of San Francisco, Jason Heide of Oregon State and Matt Baniak of Saint Louis.
THE PROFESSOR: Having celebrated his 85th birthday on Aug. 31, Pete Newell shows few signs of slowing down. Besides conducting his weeklong Big Man Camp for both college and professional players last summer, Newell continues to be a popular figure at coaching clinics that allow him to stay active doing what he loves best: teaching the game of basketball to both coaches and players. Last weekend, Newell and Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Tex Winter were headliners in Reno--at the Wolfpack Fall Basketball Clinic at the University of Nevada. Other coaches participating included CalÂs Ben Braun, Tom Asbury, Lynn Nance and former Stanford assistant and current Nevada Coach Trent Johnson. One of the young players who caught NewellÂs eye over the weekend was 6-11 David Padgett, a sophomore at Reno High. Padgett is the son of former Nevada standout Pete Padgett, and the grandson of ex-Cal coach Jim Padgett.
PETE NEWELL CHALLENGE NEWS AND NOTES: The first wave of college basketball magazines have hit the newsstands, offering even more evidence of the magnitude of the Duke-Stanford game. Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook has the Blue Devils ranked No. 1, with Stanford No. 3. The Sporting News has Duke No. 1 and Stanford No. 4. ESPNÂs Dick Vitale College Basketball Preview picks Duke No. 1, Stanford No. 5. LindyÂs has Duke No. 2, Stanford No. 7Â
Duke: 6-8 senior forward Shane Battier, a consensus second-team All-America last season after averaging 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds per game and leading the Blue Devils in three-point shooting at 44.4%, appears primed for a run at national player of the year honors. He was the top vote-getter among the preseason list of candidates for the James Naismith Award, and joined sophomore teammates Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer as selections on the top 25 list for the John R. Wooden Award. Battier, also an Academic All-America selection, is looking to win his third consecutive National Defensive Player of the Year award. He shared the honor last season with CincinnatiÂs Kenyon Martin. Battier led Duke with 70 blocked shots (sixth-most in school history), 20 charges taken and 68 steals (second on the team)Â
Stanford: 6-6 sophomore swingman Casey Jacobsen and 6-10 senior forward Jarron Collins have been selected to the preseason watch list for both the Wooden and Naismith awardsÂ
Talented 6-11 sophomore Curtis Borchardt had surgery during the summer to remove bone spurs from his right foot. In his first college game last season, Borchardt grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots in 11 minutes to help Stanford upset Duke, 80-79 in overtime at the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in New YorkÂs Madison Square GardenÂ
Cal: Athlon magazine chose Ben Braun as its Pac-10 Coach of the Year, with 6-7 senior forward Sean Lampley a first-team All-Pac-10 choiceÂ
Three former Cal basketball standouts competed at the Sydney Olympic Games: Jason Kidd and Shareef Abdur-Rahim of the gold-medal-winning U.S. team, and Sean Marks (New Zealand)Â
Lampley and 6-2 senior Morgan Lingle have been chosen co-captains for the upcoming season. Lingle was also awarded a scholarship after three years as a walk-on in the programÂ
Georgia: Coach Jim Harrick will rely heavily on a freshman point guard with great promise, 6-1 Rashad Wright. Two other newcomers-- 6-4 sophomore wing Ezra Williams, a partial qualifier who didnÂt play last season, and 6-7 forward Chris DanielsÂalso figure to play key roles this season.