THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Thursdby, February 6, 1969

THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, February 6, 1969



Dan
By ROBIN WRIGHT
There are those who give and
know not pain in giving, nor do
they seek joy, nor give with mind-
fulness of virtue.
-Kahlil Gibran
The act of giving is a vital in-
gredient for success on a teamI
sport, and Dan Fife gives in ev-
erything he does.
Only a sophomore on the bas-
ketball squad, he is already one
of the hardest workers in con-
tributing to the team effort.
He modestly shrugs it off. "I'
work hard because I'm an incon-
sistent player. By practicing extra
hard I hope I can avoid rookie
mistakes."
Fife's "giving" attitude extends
from sports to his lifetime ambi-
tion, which is "to be able to work
with little kids - to bring them
up playing ball."
He explaines, "Today so many

Tife:

He

gives

and

kids aren't given a chance to com-
pete. I think a lot more opportun-
ities would open up for young peo-
ple if they had a chance to de-
velop skills.
"Most boys want to play ball,
but too many parents aren't in-
terested or else don't have t h e
time. People are too busy. I'd like
to help coach and train children."
HELPED BY FAMILY
Fife explained the influence of
his family on these plans. "My
parents - even my sisters - were
always my big pushers. They'd
either be at my games or working
out with me.
"I appreciated them so much
that I feel that I kind of owe it
to other kids not so lucky. I think
it's important for a kid to feel
someone is behind him. Having
somebody interested in you can

make the difference,' he added.
Fife's family has been so in-
volved in his career that when his
father changed jobs and was only
home on weekends, h i s mother
played ball with him.
One of his sisters even became
so proficient at the sport that she
set a high school record for points,
scored in a single game.
All this work paid off as Fife
took high school All-State and
honorable mention All-American
honors at Clarkston High School
in basketball, All-State honorable
mention in football and All-Coun-
ty awards in baseball.
After captaining the basketball
team for two years and the foot-
ball team his senior year, a n d
earning 11 letters in the mean-
time, Fife's biggest reward came
vyhen his number was retired and
a whole edition of the Clarkston
paper was dedicated to him,

A sensitive person, Fife is not I
at all spoiled by his achievements.i
It still makes him "feel very spec-
ial" when two busloads of Clarks-
ton fans come to each game.
He also feels very deeply about
the wholesomeness of the com-
petitive spirit. He adheres to the
B o b Richards philosophy that
when the going gets tough, it is
important to keep going. Fife
added, "when you're down, that's
the time you've gotta play th e
hardest."
Fife accredits his accomplish-
ments to this discipline. "I never '
needed to be disciplined because
dad would shape me up if I goofed
off. He trained me to work to
win."
WORRIES OFF COURT
This year discipline has meant
practicing two extra hours aday
and earning a bleeding ulcer as a
reward.
But his concern for basketball
extends beyond practice. After1
working out, Fife likes to discuss
the day's events with roommates
Rudy Tomjanovich and basketball,
manager Bill Lyle.
He explained, "We stay up and
go over the game or what hap-
pened at practice. Lyle is espec-
ially helpful because hecan watch
us both and tell us what we're do-
ing wrong or how we've improved.1
It's like having another coach -
a private advisor."
Fife is also a pitcher on the
Michigan baseball team. A key

goes
man on the squad, he will leave
for the spring trip to Arizona a
week after the basketball season
ends.
When discussing where his sport
preference lies, he explained. "I
don't know which I really like
best. During basketball season I
like it best, but then I change my
mind when baseball starts."
Interested in playing profes-
sionally and eligible for both the
baseball and basketball drafts,
Fife hasn't decided on his future.
'It would be a real compliment
to have an alternative, but I don't
know which I'd choose," he ex-
plained.
Drafted out of high school by
the Tigers. Fife turned the offer
down in order to play college ball.
HOPES FOR TITLE
But Fife's immediate concern is
basketball. He modestly explained
his performance this year, "I
haven't made.the usual sophomore
mistakes because of the help of
the other guys."
He went on to praise the team,
"I haven't seen a team better than
we are, man for man. I think the
win over State might give us some-
thing to start off with again.
"I hope we can comeback in
the last part of the season. I know
we have the ability to win." I
He added, "I've always wanted
to win a NCAA watch- and I want
to do it while Rudy's here."

A'

DAN FIFE

Wolverines pick up prize prospect)

By BILL CUSUMANO
While the basketball season ap-
proaches its finish and teams bat-
tle for championships, coaches are
involved not only with present
games but with future contests.
For February and March are the
months of the recruiting wars,
and yesterday Michigan won its
first battle of the year in that ar-
ea.
John Lockard of Pershing High
School in Detroit became the Wol-
verines first recruit for next year's
freshman team. Lockard is a 6-7,
210 pound forward who has put

smiles on the faces of Michigan's1
coaches. Head coach Johnny Orr;
says, "He has good speed, is an
excellent jumper and a great re- 1
bounder. He should be, a great
cornerman."
ACE REBOUNDER '
Assistant Fred Snowden put the
matter more succinctly when he
said, "Lockard is going to be a 1
real stud. He is as good a rebound-
er as any senior high school play-1
er in the country."
Lockard's statistics give weight

,---- i

I

If War, Poverty,

to such statements. As a senior he
averaged 23.5 points per game and
snapped in an average of 19 re-
bounds. In addition, as high jump-
er he has cleared 6-7. Lockard
also carries muscle with his jump-
ing ability, having been' a tight
end in football, and should be a
tough man on the boards.
Pershing High mentor Will
Robinson calls him "my best re-
bounder this year," and Snowden
commented that Lockard's re-
bounding statistics w e r e really
the most impressive thing about
him.
A Pershing graduate, Lockard,
of course, will be compared to
Spencer Haywood and Ralph
Simpson, his super teammates of
two years ago. Robinson says, "He
is a shade behind Haywood and
Simpson, but that still makes him
real good." _*
Lockard is still young, though,1
Just 17, and Snowden feels that he
may grow a couple of more inches
and put on some extra pounds.
Should that occur, he would have
the proportions of Haywood.
SUMMER STAR
Despite his youth and Robin-
son's rating, Lockard has already
shown an ability to stay with the
likes of Simpson. While playing
at Kutsher's Country Club in New
York last summer he proved to
be one of the better players in the
league. In the championship game,
while playing against Simpson,
Lockard hit for 37 points and 23
rebounds.
The Wolverines were able to
sign Lockard at this early date be-
cause he, is a mid-year graduate.
,However, he will not enter the

University until August. Snowden
describes him as "a good student
in the upper third of his class."
Lockard was a prize catch fori
Michigan as he had about 40 of-i
fers and such schools as Iowa,i
Kansas, New Mexico, Detroit and
Michigan State were highly in-<
terested in him. The Michigan'
coaches say that, "He was one of
our six blue-chippers."
At the present time, the plan
is to use Lockard in the corner.
The coaches feel that he has the
essential factor of quickness, to go
along with his size, that will en-
able him to do the job.
Robinson says, "I think he can
make good in the Big Ten." The
Michigan coaches think the same.
As a matter of fact, there seems
to be no doubt in their minds.

BIG TEN STANDINGS

-Daily-Thomas R. Copi
MICHIGAN'S FLOOR LEADER Dan Fife (24) dribbles toward
the Michigan State basket in the Wolverines' recent 75-70 victory
over the Spartans. Fife led the Michigan fast break that' de-
molished the Spartans in Jenison Field House,

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I

Hentson
By ERIC SIEGEL
Most four year olds are happy if
they can walk back and forth from
nursery school without falling flat
on their face. ,
However, when Geoff Henson,
the Wolverines' 137-pound grap-
pler''was four years old, he had
his picture in newspapers all over
the world as a result of one of his
earliest athletic endeavors.
The occasion for the interna-
tional publicity was a boxing tour-
nament held for the sons of the
faculty members of the Naval
Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Henson, the "pride of the Navy,"
was wearing a sweatshirt with
NAVY emblazoned across the
front. He was photographed
"crawling- up the ropes, trying to
get away from my opponent."
The picture was picked up by
the AP and ran with the caption
"Any Port in a Storm." As a re-
sult, Henson has news clippings
from all over the world.
"You might say my career peak-

ed early," comments Henson, who
is undefeated so far this season.
"As a result of my dad's asso-
ciation with the Navy, I've lived
all over-France, Cuba, the Canal
Zone, and all over the States,"
remarks Geoff.
WRESTLING FAMILY
Wherever he went, Geoff's ath-
letic. prowess went with him. One
of his greatest honors came while
he was in France, where he wres-
tled with the Versailles Athletic
Club and won the national tour-
nament. As a result of that vic-
tory, he received a medal from
the mayor of Versailles for "bring-
ing honor to the city."
Henson also made the All-
France all star baseball team for
members of the Babe Ruth
League, and further served as the
official family tour guide of
France.
"Friends would visit us and I'd
show them the sights," Geoff ex-
plans. "I think I'm the only per-

remains atop early peak

UPCOMING GAMES
/ Saturday, February 8
Iowa at Illinois
Minnesota at Indiana (TV)
Mich State at MICHIGAN (2:00 p.m.)
Purdue at Northwestern
Ohio State at Wisconsin
Tuesday, February 11
Northwestern at Iowa
Illinois at MICHIGAN
Wisconsin at Minnesota
Purdue at Ohio State

rf


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son besides the elevator man who's
been to the top of the Eiffel Tower
six times."
However, all Geoff's time in
Europe wasn't spent on the top
of a tower. In 1960, he went to
Rome for the Olympic games.
"My dad was a mat chairman,
and I workeadas an interpreter,
translating from French to Eng-
lish and English to French," says
Henson.
But the 1960 Olympics were by
no means Geoff's first glimpse of
an Olympic wrestler, as his father
was a bronze medal winner in
wrestling in the 1952 Olympics.
In fact, you might say he comes
from a wrestling family. His un-
cle was a national champion at
Oklahoma and his brother, Josh,
wrestles on the freshman team
here.
"We used to have a big rivalry,"
Henson comments. "Dad and Josh
and I would all wrestle on the liv-
ing room in a kind of cutthroat
affair where everyone would try
and beat everyone else."
Henson, however, moved off the
living room rug and onto t h e
wrestling mat often enough to
win the National Prep School
Tournament at Lehigh University
twice. The first time he won that
tournament, in his junior year,
he defeated Wolverine teammate
Lou Hudson in the finals.
NEW ADDITION
But perhaps Geoff's biggest Vic-
tory came after he got to Michi-;
gan, where he met his ,wife, Ann
when they were both freshmen.
"She couldn't stand me at
first," recalls Henson.
"But I finally succumbed," Ann'
chimes in; "to a case of love in
the quad."
The Hensons have a new addi-
tion to the Wolverine cheering
section-seven month old Kelley.
"If she had been a boy, she de-
finitely would have been a wrest-
ler," intones Ann.
"But we're turning Kelley intoI
a real fan," Ann, a pretty avid fan
in her own right, continues. "She
went to the Northwestern meet,
and we'll be'at Eastern Saturday."

GEOFF HENSON

It's so easy to get involved talk-
ing to Geoff about his interests,
which include bridge and raising
fish, his family, his travels, his
major (English), his part-time
summer job as a chef at Thano's
Lamplighter, and his past
achievements, that you almost
forget to ask him about wrestling
at Michigan. But you can tell he's
thought about it.

.

0

"Michigan fans like a winner,"
he says emphatically. "We've had
fantastic teams in wrestling," he 0
continues. "In the last nine years,
we've only lost four dual meets.
He has also thought about the
personal value wrestling has giv-
en him through the years.
"I've thought about that," Hen-
son says. "It's true that you don't
get a $600,000 contract, but you
do get a lot of confidence in
yourself. You get to know what
you can do, to have a sense of
your own capabilities."
Geoff Henson's fifteen plus
years. in competitive sports should
give him a good sense of his cap-
abilities, and his record over the
years should give him a good rea-
son to be proud of those capabil-
ities.

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