THE MICHIGAN DATIl
.UCIAL SERIES:
cers To Meet Cornered MSU-
tate in Fourth Place Battle
ShortestCenter Has Biggest Surprises
4
Ir t
V
By ED HEISEIt
Michigan hockey travels to East
ansing tonight to face the Mich-
;an State Spartans who will be
attling all out to hold on to
urth place and a position in the
VCHA play-ofs.
To date the Spartans have never
een able to finish above fifth
lace in league standings. This
ear, however, they have their best
Nance to take fourth and thus
ualify for the playoffs which will
e held in Ann Arbor March 1-3.
The home-and-home series,
ith the first game at East Lans-
ig tonight and the second at the:
oliseum tomorrow night, will be
1e second such meeting between
ie two teams.
Off the Pedestal
The first time the Wolverines
ced the Spartans earlier this
onth, the ,Up-staters were rid-
ig high on a 6-1-1 league record
nd were beginning to look like
ie surprise team of the year. Aft-
the Wolverines stopped them,
3 and 5-1, however, the Spar-
ns seemed to loose their impe-
is and since then, they haven't
en able to win a league game.
heir record has dwindled to 6-7-
just good enough to stay in
urth place ahead of Minnesota
ho has a 5-8-1 record.
The Spartan pucksters have to
win both games of this series to
insure their playoff berths, unless
Minnesota loses one or both of its
games to North Dakota in anoth-
er league series this weekend.
State cannot afford a tie with
Minnesota because according to
WCHA rules, the playoff position
would be awarded to "the team
Ticket sales for next week-
end's WCHA hockey champion-
ships will begin at the ticket
office at 8:30 a.m. Monday. All
seats will be reserved for the
four games and will be $2.00 for
each game.
having the largest average margin
of goals scored, over goals scored
against," and looking at the lat-
est statistics, the Spartans would
not be that team.
One Flame of Glory
Oddly enough, the Spartans
have never had a winning team
except in the 1958-59 season, the
one year that there was no west-
ern league because of a transition
period between the old Western
Intercollegiate Hockey League and
the WCHA. That year the Spartan
icers had a 17-6-1 record and fin-
ished second to North Dakota in
the NCAA Championships. ,
At the beginning of this season,
the Spartans had a total of thir-
teen returning lettermen to build
their team around including eight
of their top nine point makers of
the year before. At mid-season
this year's team had won more
than it won the entire season be-
fore with an impressive 12-2-1
overall record.
State's high scorer this year is
wing Claude Fournel, who has
scored 10 goals and has a total of
19 points. Goal tender John
Chandik was runner-up for the
WCHA top goalie last year and so
far this season has sparked the
Spartans defense with some 422
saves in fifteen games.
Turn of Events
The total record for the Michi-
gan-Michigan State series shows
the Wolverines with a command-
ing lead of 46 wins to only 10 loss-
es. Nevertheless, last year was the
first time that the Wolverines had
won more than they had lost
against the Spartans since Al
Renfrew became head coach.
"They've always been tough for
us," soid Renfrew, "and this time,
besides the traditional rivalry,
they (the Spartans) will be fight-
ing for that playoff position and
will be plenty rough."
The Wolverines, who have al-
ready clinched second place in the
WCHA, are reported to be in good
shape.,
ANCHOR INN
DANCING SATURDAY
NIGHT featuring
Ray Louis Quartet
Sat Nite only
PORTAGE LAKE
For Reservations
Call HA 6-8183
By JERRY KALISH
Donning a Michigan basketball
uniform for the first time, John
Harris scored 17 points and pulled
'down 13 rebounds against Ball.
State in the first game this sea-
son.
And it has been like that ever
since.
The transfer student from Al-
corn College in Mississippi sat out
his sophomore year under the Big
Ten rule requiring a transfer to
wait a year before participating in
athletics on the varsity level.
Penn Praise
Harris' first performance as a
Michigan cager prompted Jack
McCloskey, Pennslyvania coach,
who was scouting the game, to
say, "We have nothing like Harris
for rebounding. He is very impres-
sive-he looks like he has got
great springs in his legs."
Skeptics held before the season
began that Harris was too small,
and too light, 6'5", 185 lbs., to
play center. But he has completely
dispelled these beliefs:'
He now stands as second leading
rebounder on the team, behind
6'7" Tom Cole, and third leading
scorer with a 12.2 average for the
season.
Though playing better than
average in the pre-season warm-
ups, Harris has really been out-
standing in Big Ten competition.
The smallest center in the con-
ference, he has gone up against
such giants as Jerry Lucas of Ohio
State (6'10") and Bill Woislaw of
Northwestern, and as Coach Dave
Strack said, "The does more than
hold his own."
Against Bowling Green for ex-
ample, Harris was pitted against
6'10" Nate Thurmond, second lead-
ing rebounder in the country last
season, but still managed to hi t
12 points and grab 13 rebounds.
An impressed Bowling Green
coach Harold Anderson said of
the rebounding of Harris, "He is a
big 6'5"; he really jumps."
Great Improvement
But as Strack noted recentk',
"John has come a long way sincl
the beginning of the season. He
really came into his own in this
Big Ten season."
For "B.J.", as his teammates
call him, went right to work in
the Big Ten opener against Illi-
nois. Bill Burwell, 6'8" proved no
obstacle as Harris out-rebounded,
12-9, and out-scored, 18-9, his
taller opponent.
And last week Wisconsin tangled
with B.J. with disasterous results.
They were upset by the Wolverines
for the second time, 84-65, and
Harris played a major role.
Not performing too well in the
first half with the Wolverines
down by one point at the inter-
mission, he suddenly reversed him-
self and paced a Michigan 49
point second half that led to the
Badger's undoing. He scored all
his 16 points in the second ,half
and wound up as top rebounder
with 17.
He followed this fine perform-
ance with an even finer one
against Indiana last Monday night
when he tossed in 29 points which
is high this year for a Michigan
player. Despite a sinking zone
defense that the Hoosiers threw
against the Wolverines and the
presence of 6'7" Charlie Hall and
6'11" Winston Fairfield harrassing
him, Harris chipped in with 21
of his total in the first half. But
he didn't receive enough help from
the rest of his teammates as the
Wolverines fell, 86-77.
Wisconsin's Best
When asked in which game he
has played the best this season,
Harris replied, "I did my best
scoring, against Indiana, but I am
prouder of my second half per-
formance against Wisconsin be-
cause of my rebounding."
A "small" center by Big Ten
standards, Harris naturally takes
pride in his ability to pull the
ball off the boards. An unusually
high jumper for his height, ne has
great spring in his legs, and takes
as much delight in blocking an
opponent's shot as he does scor-
ing a basket. He does both ire-
quently.
Some players do all sorts of
exercises and lift weights to im-
prove their jumping, but Harris,
who has no trouble getting off
the ground, grins modestly and
says, "I have never worked out
specifically to jump higher. I
guess it's natural."
But Harris has not been just
a natural, ordinary ball player
to opposing teams. Rival, coaches
have expressed their regard and
respect of Harris to Strack. Col-
cerning his collegues', opinions
Strack said, "Harris is probably
the most feared man on our team
by coaches in the Big Ten."
Nelson's Tough
B.J. has a few views of his ,own
about players he has been matched
against in the conference. EX-
cluding, Jerry Lucas, everybody's
all-American, he thinks that
Iowa's Don Nelson "gave him the
roughest time and is the most
trouble to guard because he has
such great moves."
But then John Harris doesn't
have such bad moves either.
--Daily-Bruce Taylor
NO SPRINGS-HONEST: Short for his abilities, but generously
endowed with talent, Wolverine center John Harris got what he
came for-two points, despite the efforts of Wisconsin center Pat
Richter (51). Michigan forward Tom Cole stands by should Harris
need a hand.
__
PETITIONING
for GENERAL CHAIRMAN and
2nd ASSISTANT GENERAL CHAIRMAN
of MUSKET
February 19-March 2
Petitions available at
STUDENT OFFICES, The Michigan Union
For Further Information,
Call Steve VanderVoort, NO 8-7352
I-M BASKETBALL:
PRS, P0 Pace Professional Fraternity Action;
Nakamura Gains Close Win over Rockets, 29-25
By MIKE BLOCK
Last night's action in intra-
mural basketball marked the fin-
al games of the regular season for
the professional fraternities, and
the initial playoffs for some of
the independent squads.
In the professional fraternity
circuit, Phi Rho Sigma put on a
fine exhibition of fast-break bask-
Fra
I.J
- _-
etball to whip Alpha Kappa Sig-
ma 43-22. The winners led by just
one point at the halfway mark,
but then held their opponents to
one basket in 10 minutes while
piling up their score. Chief con-
tributor to the attack was tall
Kent Gillingham, who not only
tossed in 22, points, but hauled
down most of the rebounds as
well. Bruce Klopschot's hook shot
accounted for 10 markers for AKS.
Not Too Close
Elsewhere in fraternity play, Al
Dangerman's 16 and Fred Bur-
gett's 14 paced a well-balanced
attack as Psi Omega ripped Al-
pha Omega 62-12. High man for
the losers was Harold Hutensky
with eight points.
In? a torrid, high-scoring free-
for-all, the Law Club, behind Jon
Rosengren and Emmett McCarthy,
blasted Phi Delta Epsilon 64-35.
It was. quarterfinals night in
the independents' loop, and a key
battle for third place saw Naka-
mura edge the Rockets 29-25.
Jumping off to a 6-0 lead, the win-
ners played ball control and were
never headed, although their lead
was cut to one point several times.
Hitting on set shots from out-
side, Tom Dunne and Jerry Hous-
ler provided Nakamura with 15
and nine points, respectively. Bob
Hofstetler's 12 tallies and fine ball
handling led the Rockets, who
were never out of the game.
In another 29-25 contest, ASPE
bested AFIT. Tied at 16 apiece at
the half, the winners crept ahead
in the final minutes to reach the
first plateau in their drive to-,
wards the fourth place champion-
ship. Ed Rooney led the surge with
14 points.
PROFESSIONAL FRATERNITIES
Phi Rho sigma 43, Alpha Kappa
Sigma. 22
Law Club 64, Phi Delta Epsilon 35
Psi Omega 62, Alpha Omega 12
h
Phi Delta P1 35, Epsilon Kappa Nu 13
Nu Sigma Nu 55, Gamma Alpha 15
Phi Delta Chi over Delta sigma
Delta, forfeit.
INDEPENDENTS
Nakamura 29, Rockets 25
ASCE 28, AFIT 25
Fletcher 44; GOE 27
Trust 43, Evans 36
Newman 38, Sportsmen,12
Owen 46, Actuaries 42
Latylans over ELI, forfeit.
Lawyers over Linden Lepens, forfeit
S
IS
This Weekend in Sports
TODAY
HOCKEY-Michigan State, there
GYMNASTICS-Michigan State, here, 8 p.m.
TOMORROW
HOCKEY-Michigan State, here, 8 p.m.
BASKETBALL-Iowa, there
WRESTLING-Minnesota, here, 3 p.m.
TRACK-Wisconsin, there
SWIMMING-Ohio State, there
MONDAY
BASKETBALL-Indiana, here, 8 p.m.
to
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11
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