Tuesday, March 3, 1970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven _ J Tomjanovich lauded as cage season ends on this and that Rudy Tom janovich, what more can you say. erie siegel JH NAME OF Rudy Tomanovich has appeared often on these pages during the past three years. Win or lose, good game or bad, Tomjanovich has been the man to analyze, to talk to, to write about. In three varsity seasons, he has completely dominated the sport of basketball at Michigan and has added a second story to The House That Cazzie Built. So much has been written about the big man from Ham- tramack that, with one more home game in his career left this Saturday against Indiana, it almost seems superfluous to say anything more. All the superlatives have been exhausted by now: great rebounder ... . tremendous competitor . fantas- tie shooter .. . real All-American ... In a sense, though, the superlatives don't really tell the story of the college career of Rudy Tomjanovich. The same words have been used to describe the.college career of countless other basketball players; in some cases they have been justified, in other cases, the players simply 'haven't'warranted that type of praise. No one can say that the praise 'hasn't been justified in Rudy's case, though. Just look at the stats. Tomjanovich has scored 1743 points in 70 games over a three year span, an aver- age of almost 25 points a game. IN ADIATION TO his scoring, Tomjanovich has pulled down 1009 rebounds, 28 shy of the Michigan career mark held by two-time All-American Bill Buntin. Last year, Rudy was second in scoring in the Big Ten be- hind Rick Mount, but he also led the conference in rebounding. That combination of scoring and rebounding is something that Mount for all his 61 point games, or, for that matter, few other college players, never achieved. But one doesn't have to measure Tomjanovich's achieve- ments against those of Mount or anyone else to get an indica- tion. of his greatness. Rudy can stand completely on his own merits, thank you. Again, look at the stats. This year he has been scoring at a 30 point a game clip, and has also been cred- 'ited with over 15 caroms a contest. Only once all season has he pulled down less than 10 re- bounds; in every game, he has been the team leader in that category. He' has also scored 30 or more points in 13 games this season; only once has he failed to lead the team in scoring. Tomianovich has played so well this season that during one three game -stretch, when he scored 65 points and hauled down 47 rebounds, everybody, including Rudy, was talking about The Great Slump. COMPARED TO SOME of his other games, though, it was a great slump. Against Notre Dame, he collected 30 points and 17 rebounds; against Utah, it was 42 and 11; Princeton, 33 and 16; Iowa, 37 and 12; Purdue (here), 30 and 16; at West Lafayette, 36 anld 21; 37 and 24 against Minnesota; 35 and 19 against Wis- consin. As impressive as these figures are, they do not represent the finest efforts of Rudy's career. Those efforts came further back in his career. Against Indiana last year, he hit '21 of 31 field goals and added half a dozen free throws to tie Cazzie Russell's mark for Most Points, One Game. And way back on December r 2, 1967, when he was "just" a sophomore, Rudy showed that oldr Adolph Rupp doesn't know everything about keeping a big man away from the basket, as he dragged down 27 rebounds from the Events Building backboards. Happily, Rudy's talents have not gone unnoticed. He was a second team All-American selection his sophomore year, and a unanimous choice for the conference's first team last year. He was named to the All-American teams announced by Sporting News, Basketball Weekly, Basketball News and the Helms Foun- dation, and he received honorable mention in the AP poll. STILL, THE STATISTICS and paper placards do scant jus- tice to the job Tomjanovich has done in his three years in a Wolverine uniform. For all their impressiveness, they simply can't capture the way Tomjanovich has blocked a shot at one end of the court and then come down to the other end in time to pop in a 30 foot jump shot. Or the number of times lie's missed one of those 30 footers, but has still moved up in time to tap the ball in the basket over the heads of taller opponents. At this point, a few -days before the final home game of Rudy's career, it seems ridiculous to recite the old standbys "Think of how much more publicity he would have gotten if ." and "Think how many more points he would have scored if only ., Those comments seem as superfulous as a reiteration of the superlatives that have, been applied to Rudy over the years. They seem as superfluous as trying to sum up his three year career by saying, When former Michigan basketball coach Dave Strack first saw Rudy play and said, "He's got a great future ahead of him," he knew what he was talking about. They seem as superfluous as trying to condense three years of basketball brilliance by saying, It's a long way since Rudy's first intercollegiate game as a freshman, when he was pulled from the line-up midway through the first period because of cold shooting. Let's just say Rudy Tomjanovich is a great basketball play- er, and leave it at that. M' five closes with Minnesota, Indiana By ELLIOT LEGOW All chances are gone for a win- ning season, or a first division Big Ten finish, but Michigan basket- ball goes on for two more games this week. Tonight the Wolverines travel to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota, and Saturday the Blue close out their somewhat disap- pointing season with a home game against Indiana. The one remaining item of in- terest for Michigan fans is the continued assault of Rudy Tom- janovich on Michigan records. Tomjanovich pulled into second place in all-time scoring, trailing only Cazzie Russelll, with his 35 point performance last Saturday. Now within Rudy's grasp is the career rebounding mark, present- ly held by the late Bill Buntin. Only 29 more rebounds separate Tomjanovich from the record, and with his 15.6 rebounding average, that mark should fall Saturday in his final game. MINNESOTA, on paper, 1 o o k s like a team that could hold down Rudy's rebounding figures, as the Gophers boast a front line of 6-7, 6-6, 6-6. However, Tomjano- vich had his top rebounding per- formance of the season with 24 against Minnesota in the Wolver- ines' 95-87 thumping of the Goph- ers ten days ago. For the Gophers a finish as high as third place in the Big Ten is possible so they may be "up" for today's game. They would also like to avenge their earlier loss to the Wolverines. The Gopher's scoring attack is Rudy in action see p. 8 led by a pair of hot.shooting guards, Eric Hill and Ollie Shan- non, who combined for 48 against Michigan. Hill, who scored 33 in that game, is the Gophers' leading scorer. The junior has great moves, great shooting ability and can also hit the boards. Hoping to contain Tomjanovich on the boards will be Larry Over- ski, Jerry Pyle, and Larry Mikan. Mikan, who is Minnesota's lead- ing rebounder, probably will again have the difficult chore of de- fensing Tomjanovich. Rudy man- aged 37 against the Gophers in Ann Arbor in one of his b e s t shooting performances of the sea- son. TO MAKE Michigan into a win- ner this year, a prime factor was always considered to be the de- velopment of a consistantly high scorer to complement Tomjano- vich. No such player ever devel- oped. Bird Carter, Rod Ford, and Dan Fife have all hit for 20 points on occasion but none has been consistent enough to take the of- fensive burden off Tomjanovich. These same three, along w i t h Mark Henry, will again join Tom- janovich in the starting lineup to- night, and hopefully, a balanced attack can be generated. Against Indiana Saturday Tom- Rudy All-Big Ten, NBA All-American By The Associated Press Rudy Tomjanovich, Wolverine superstar, for the second straight year, headed up the list of athletes named to the Associated Press All-Big Ten basketball team yesterday. Also named to the team were Purdue's sharpshooting Rick Mount, Iowa's Jerry Johnson, MSU's Ralph Simpson, and Ohio State's Dave Sorenson. Tomjanovich, Mount, and Johnson each missed being a unanimous choice by one vote. Both Mount and Tomjano- vich were unanimous picks on last season's All-Big Ten squad. -Daily-Sara Krulwlch Rudy-the plaudits keep on coming janovich will be making his final appearance in a Michigan uni- form, but certainly not his last on a basketball court. The Big 'T' has already been offered $300,000 by the Los Angeles Stars of the ABA and an equally high bid is expect- ed from the NBA team lucky enough to draft him. FOR FIVE other graduating seniors, Saturday will mark the close of their basketball careers. Carter,_! Henry, Rick Bloodworth, Bill Fraumann, and Steve Fi s h- man will all be wearing the maize and blue for the last time. Saturday will also provide the Wolverines an opportunity to avenge one of their earlier losses. They were downed by Indiana 102-93 in a wild scoring battle. Neither team showed any defense in that game and the same can be expected in their return engage- ment. Indiana had four players with 19 or more points in that game, and generally rely on a balanced at- tack. Their top scorer against Michigan was Toby Wright with 24, followed by Jim Harris and Ken Johnson with 22 each, and Rick Ford who netted 19 with only three field goals and 13 of 13 from the charity stripe. Saturday's game will get under way at 8 p.m. Big Ten Standings Simpson, Tomjanovich, a n d Mount are among the top ten scorers nationally. Tomjanovich, the 6-7, 220-lb. forward from Hamtramack, Mich., is Michigan's second leading all- time scorer behind the New York Knicks' Cazzie iRussell, and the Wolverine captain is rapidly zero- ing in on the all-time Michigan rebounding record. He is also the' leading rebounder in the Big Ten, and seems certain to retain the title he won last year. Mount, currently third in the nation in scoring, is a 6-4 senior guard from Purdue and holds the Big Ten three year scoring record with 1,402 points. His 61, points against Iowa last Saturday set a Big Ten single game scoring record. MOUNT IS closing in on the only other Big Ten scoring record left, Don Schlundt's all-time four year scoring record of 1,451 points. Mount needs only 50 points total in his next two games to eclipse that mark. MSU's Ralph Simpson, the only sophomore named to the team, recently broke the Spartans' sin- gle season scoring record. He is currently sixth in the nation with a 30.1 scoring average. Hawkeye star Johnson, the 6-7 forward from Milwaukee, is cur- rently pacing Iowa to the Big Ten championship for the first time since 1956 and perhaps the first unbeaten season for a Big Ten champ since Ohio State in 1961. If they manage to beat Ohio State and Northwestern in their finali two games of the season, it will be only the second time it has been accomplished since Illinois' "Whiz Kids" did it in 1943. In addition to being named to the All-Big Ten team, both Tom- janovich and Mount were picked for the NBA All-America team. Rounding out the squad are "Pis- tol" Pete Maravich of LSU, Bob Lanier of St. Bonaventure, Char- lie Scott of North Carolina, and Dan Issel of Kentucky. Lanier and Maravich were unanimous choices, while Tomjanovich and Issel tied for the fifth spot. MARAVICH, who recently set a new all-time major college scoring mark, was named for the thirdi time to the team, and along with Mount, were the only repeaters from last year. He sports a 47.6 scoring average. The Bonnies' Lanier, known as "Buffalo Bob,'' is currently eighth in scoring. Former Wolverine and NBA All-America Russell says of Lanier, "Lanier could hold his own in our league now." Issel leads the No. 1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats at the center position with a 33.4 average. Scott, a 6-5 guard from North Carolina, was one of the stars on the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1968. daily, sports NIGHT EDITOR: LEE KIRK j i. Iowa Purdue Illinois Ohio State Minnesota Wisconsin MICHIGAN Mich. State Indiana Northwestern V 12 9 7 7 6 5 4 4 3 3 L 0 3 5 5. 6 '7 8 9 9 Pct. 1.000 .750 .583 .583 .500 .417 .333 .333 .250 .250 TODAY'S GAMES MICHIGAN at Minnesota Illinois at Indiana Ohio State at Iowa Northwestern at Wisconsin Purdue at Michigan State SATURDAY'S GAMES Indiana at MICHIGAN Michigan State at Illinois Iowa at Northwestern Minnesota at Purdue Wisconsin at Ohio State '"}",. : ^ . .A'..i .s.'. .:K'k..,"',i ' S,,' ". ~'~rA v :0 1 . . Professional Sta ndings 1 d:V -Daily-Thomas R. Copi Bird Carter AND THEN TO NATIONALS New York Milwaukee Baltimore Pitiladeiphi, Cincinnati Boston Detroit NBA Eastern Division W L 54 15 49 22 43 29 ia 37 34 31 39 30 40 29 45 Western Division Pct. .783 .890 .597 .521 .431 .429 .392 GB 6 12'A 18 23Y2 24Y2 27h Pittsburgh2 Miami l Western i Denver3 Dallas3 Washington3 New Orleans Los Angeles2 Yesterday'sB No games scheduled. 21 40 17 46 vision 35 25 35 26 35 29 31 29 28 35 Results .344 ,270 .583 .574 .547 .517 .444 241/ 29% 2 4 81/ Gymnasts seek Big Ten title Atlanta 40 33 .548 - Los Angeles 39 33 .542 2 Phoenix 34 40 .459 6% Chicago 32 40 .444 7Y/ Seattle 31 41 .431 84 San Francisco 27 44 .380 12 San Diego 23 44 .343 ,14 Yesterday's Results Baltimore vs. Cincinnati at Memphis, inc. By BOB ANDREWS The Wolverine gymnasts finish-t ed on top in Big Ten competition this year with a perfect 7-0 rec- ord, with their nearest rivals be- ing Illinois (6-1) and Iowa (5-2). All of this is just fine, but is now only history and this Friday night, all records except one will be dis- carded as these three teams in ad- dition to f i v e other Big Ten teams, will compete in the Big Ten Championships to be held at the University of Minnesota.- The one record that is still con- sidered is the team's won and lost record in dual meet competition. The team with the best record has already won half the competition and a first or second place fin- ish in the tournament would wrap up at least a tie for that team. It just so happens that Michi- gan has won every dual meet this season (and 32 straight during the last three years) and a first or second place finish, which ap- pears likely,pcould very well give the Wolverines the title and an opportunity to compete in the Na- tional Championships which will be held at Temple University in Philadelphia April 2-4. The Wolverines, who will be out to avenge their loss to Iowa last year, have an attack which ap- pears strong on all fronts except in the side horse competition. ALL-AROUNDERS Sid Jensen, who was a inember of the Can- adien Olympic team in 1958, and Rick McCurdy have consistently been a powerful one-two punch for the Wolverines and are the principal reason for the h u g e amount of success t h a t Coach Newt Loken and his team has en- foyed this season. Consistently they have scored 53 or 54 points per meet which is very welcome, as in the case of last week when the Wolverines just squeaked by Iowa in their last regular season meet. Besides the all-around perform- ances by these two men, the team is staffed, with many individuals who score nine-plus in their spe- cific event. In t h e floor exercises, which possibly is Jensen's strongest ev- ent, George Huntzicker consist- ently breaks the nine point bar- rier. His work along with Jensen's has made the Wolverines virtual- ly unbeatable in that event. In the parallel bars, there is nothing more that can be said about Captain Ron Rapper than "Wow!" He runs through his rou- tine with a minimum of flaws and This Week in Sports TODAY BASKETBALL-at Minnesota, 9 p.m. (radio-WUOM, WAAM) F RIDAY HOCKEY--Minnesota at Colesium WRESTLING-Big Ten Championships at Crisler Arena GYMNASTICS-Big Ten Championships at Minnesota SWIMMING-Big Ten Championships at Indiana TRACK-Big Ten Championships at Michigan State SATURDAY BASKETBALL-Indiana at Crisler Arena, 8 p.m. HOCKEY-Minnesota at Coliseum, 8 p.m. WRESTLING-Big Ten Championships at Crisler Arena GYMNASTICS-Big Ten Championships at Minnesota NHL East Division W L T Pt. GF GA Boston 34 13 14 -32 231 177 New York 34 14 13 81 211 144 Montreal 31 16 13 75 196 153 Chicago , 33 20 7 73 -92 140 Detroit 30 18 11 71 183 155 Toronto 24 25 11 59 184 191 West Division, St. Louis 29 23 8 66 175 143 Pittsburgh 22 29 8 52 146 188 Philadelphia 15 25 20 50165182 Oakland 17 34 9 43 132 198 Minnesota 11 30 -18 40 164 202 Los Angeles 9 42 8 26 126 231 Yesterday's Results No games scheduled. I Indiana Kentucky Carolina New York * * * * ABA Eastern Division 46 16 32 28 30 31 33 35 .738 .533 .492 .485 13 15Y2 16 has averaged close to 9.5 this sea- son. Another strong p o i n t of the Michigan team is the high bar. Murray Plotkin, Ed Howard and sophomore Ted Marti have given the Wolverines a distinct edge in this event against any opponent. Marti began the season slowly but picked up speed and has become a mainstay in Loken's attack. ALTHOUGH t h e Wolverines send a strong team to the com- petition, all will not be easy go- ing. Illinois and Iowa, the defend- ing national champions, won't be push-overs; and after the fall of the Buckeyes last November, any- thing can happen. BAGATTAWAY!!: Stickmen open spring tour By RANDY PHILLIPS To be right to the point, La- crosse is a grueling sport that involves "the hitting of foot- ball, the finesse of basketball, and the excitement of ice hock- ey." That's how offensive coach Skip Flanagan evaluates this spring sport that opens its 1970 season on Thursday, March 5, against VPI. For those interested in an- cient Indian history, it should be noted that lacrosse had its origin in warfare. between In- dian tribes. The object was to carry a human skull in the la- crosse stick and throw it into the enemy chief's hut. The win- oia. ,nmlr yadthf +i llca arnd major powers include John Hopkins, West Point, Maryland, and Yale. THERE ARE two types of la- crosse widely played. Bax la- crosse is an indoor game play- ed on a hard wood floor about the size of a hockey rink. This game is very popular in Can- ada. Field hockey, which Michi- gan competes in, is played out- doors on a field similar to a soccer field. Michigan has been compet- ing in lacrosse for four years now as a club sport, but this year marks the first time that it c a n actually be considered a varsity snnrt ThP schedule has the UM-MSU victor. The trophy will be called the 'Bagattaway' trophy after the Indian name for the game. PROSPECTS look g o o d for this season as Coach Flanagan expects the best season in his- tory. This year there are six players returning from last year's team, but more import- ant is the increased interest in the sport. At first practice, 43 players showed up, and a cut in the squad had to be made. The Wolverines are 1 e d by captains Bob Gillon, attack- man; Dick D e a n, midfielder; and J o h n Synhorst, defense- 'Mtramp men place one-twol Former Michigan gymnast Wayne Miller and present Michi- gan gymnast George Huntzicker placed first and second respective- ly in the qualification trials to decide who will represent the United States in the World Tram- poline Meet. The meet, which will be held in Berne, Switzerland. in mid-June is comparable to the Olympics in the Trampolines There were 35 participants in the first qualifying trials which were held in New Orleans this past weekend. Of those 35, the top 20 qualifiers will go on to Mem- phis, Tennessee to compete in the final trials. From those twenty, three men, three women, and a synchronised team of two men and two women will be chosen. The trials at Memphis will be held April 18. In the last four out of five years, Michigan has had a qualifier go III +nmh S~rdM ppf ns r ...na.-m l .AUTO INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE CANCELLED * REJECTED * DECLINED INSURANCE CERTIFICATES IMMEDIATELY FOR 1970 LICENSE PLATES SPECIALIZING IN FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Low Monthly Payments-j Illinois, which only los t one A nnouncercontest this year, that to Michi- gan, is led by Ken Barr, who has performed unbelievingly in the side horse averaging 9.8. Som e other stars for the Illini are Bob Swonick, Tom Kalin, a n d all- arounders Ed Raymond, and Lar- ry Butts. The Hawkeyes, who just lost out LAKE FOREST, Ill. (P) - Paul to the Wolverines this past week- Christman, former All-American end will be out to repeat as both football player from Missouri and Big T e n champs and National well-known television commenta- champs. The men who will lead ter, died of heart seizure in Lake the Hawkeye charge are R i c k Forest Hospital yesterday. Scorza, Barry Slotten, Tom Liehr' Attendants said the 51-year-old and Phil Farnum. Christman ehtered t h e hospital 482-9533 214 E. MICHIGAN, YPSILANTI ARLAN'S DEPT. STORES 483-85~24 665-3789 2456 STADIUM BLVD. ANN ARBOR I