THE MICHIGAN -DAILY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1963 I - , - -.- Strack Has Cautious Cage Hope 40 By BILL BULLARD While national magazines, Wol- verine fans, and assorted other basketball "experts" are all raving about the fantastic collection of athletes Michigan will be able to place on the basketball court this season, Coach Dave Strack is at- tempting to interject a little cau- tion onto the scene. "Our team hasn't done anything to deserve these ratings," Strack says. "We've yet to win a game. We don't even have a winning tradition to fall back on." Despite these words of caution Strack is the first to admit that he is hopeful of improving on Michigan's 16-8 overall record and 8-6 Big Ten mark of last season.- Starting his fourth year as head coach, along with his assistants Jim Skala and Tom Jorgensen, Strack has guided a skyrocketing rise in basketball fortunes at Michigan. With records of 6-18 and 7-17 in his first two seasons here, Strack's squad improved to a 16-8 effort last season. Maximum Potential "What I hope to do this season is get the maximum potential out of this team," Strack says. 'We hope to reach this goal by the time the Big Ten season opens. "We'll have an exciting team to watch. But I'm making no pre- dictions of either greatness or of failure for the team.", One thing about the growing optimism surrounding the Mich- igan basketball team this season which Strack finds highly pleas- ing is student interest. Says Strack, "You can't measure how valuable this student enthusiasm is. "I'd take a six-point deficit at the start of a game rather than give up crowd support. I've coached here when the field house was empty and when it's been full. Believe me, there's a tremendous difference." Three Sure Starters Getting down to personnel, Strack disclosed that he had three starters settled on with four oth- ers in contention for the two re- maining spots. The starters are senior Captain Bob Cantrell (5'10", 165 pounds) at guard, junior Bill Buntin (61", 232 pounds) at cen- ter and sophomore Cazzie Russell (6'5", 218 pounds) at the other guard. Juniors Larry Tregoning (6'5", 195 pounds) and George Pomey (6'4", 190 pounds) and sopho- mores Oliver Darden (6'7", 215 pounds) and Jim Myers (6'8") 200 pounds) will fill in at the two for- ward positions. Cantrell, a little play-making sparkplug from East Chicago, Ind., has been a regular for the past two seasons. Averaging 10.3 points a game in 14 Conference contests last season, Cantrell was also sharp on defense. Buntin was the most pleasing surprise for Strack last season. Virtually unknown in high school at Detroit Northern after break- ing a leg and sitting out his senior year, Buntin came on to be the top sophomore in the Big Ten and one of five All-Conference selec- tions. He finished fourth in scoring among Big Ten shooters with a 23.5 per game average. In re- bouding, he was tops in the con- ference, hauling in 15.4 rebounds per contest. Soph Star?.. Russell, a high school All- American, was one of the most sought after ballplayers during his prep career. He has been men- tioned as one of the best sopho- more prospects in the Big Ten this season as well as in the na- tion. After Buntin's great sophomore year, some observers have been speculating on Michigan's chances of again having the best sopho- more in the Big Ten, meaning Russell. "Sure, Russell has the potential to be one of the best or the best sophomore in the Big Ten," Strack said. "He is much more heralded than Buntin ever was. "But you can never be sure about these things. I wouldn't have said before last season that Buntin would have been as good as he was. "The Big Ten is not an easy league for a sophomore. A sopho- more is always a question mark. You have to see how he reacts to playing in Yost Field House and the other arenas. For every Buntin there are dozens of Jimmy Rayls (former Indiana star) who have terrible sophomore seasons." With the graduation of starting forwards Tom Cole and John Harris and substitute John Oos- terbaan, Strack has two openings at the corner spots. Harris was injured part of the season so Tre- goning and Pomey gained valuable experience although Pomey gained a lot of his at guard. Darden and Myers are the inexperienced con- tenders for the jobs. "Each of the forwards has cer- tain attributes that we like," Strack says. "I had hoped that five starters would emerge like last season. But this hasn't hap- pened, "One player will impress me as an outstanding rebounder, an- other as a good shooter, another as alert on defense. But we just haven't had anyone consistent enough as an all-around player to label a starter yet." Good Bench Besides these starting candi- dates, the Wolverine bench is deep with players who should see ac- tion this season. At guard, senior lettermen Doug Herner (5'10", 160 pounds) and Tom Ludwig (5'11", 168 pounds) and sophomores John Clawson (6'3", 180 pounds) and John Thompson (6'0", 155 pounds) are ready. Herner was a starting guard last season after seeing much ac- tion also as a sophomore. Ludwig, a reserve guard last season, saw some service and was valuable to the team in several instances. Clawson and Thompson are a pair of All-Staters from Illinois. Both have shown abilities as sharpshooters and as fast, aggres- sive players on both offense and defense. Three football players are pos- sible additions to the squad. For- ward Steve Smith (6'6", 225 pounds) has indicated that he will turn out for basketball prac- tice next Monday after football season is over. Forward Bill Yearby (6'2", 220 pounds) and guard John Rowser (6'0", 175 pounds) are possible additions to the team, although neither has been approached by the basketball coaches nor have they indicated their intention yet. With this kind of a team, Strack says that it's a definite possibility that he may substitute more than in the past. "I think maybe we played Buntin too much last sea- son," Strack commented. "We might rest Bill more this season now that we have adequate re- placements. "Who we'll replace him with depends on whether we want to substitute a forward or a guard into the lineup. If we want to put a forward into the game we'll! move Meyers over into the pivot. If we want a guard substitute we'll move Russell up to center. Darden has also been working at center." Michigan had the best rebound- ing team in the Big Ten last sea- son. Now with Cole, the fifth lead- ing rebounder in the Conference gone, the forward replacements will determine how well the Wol- verines are at grabbing the ball off the boards. Strack points out that how good Michigan's rebounding at any one point depends on who's in the game. If two good rebounders are on the court at the forward spots then this aspect of the game will be going good for Michigan. The same goes for shooting or defense or any other part of the game. The same type of offense and defense will be used that Strack has taught here for the past three years. Strack says that he hopes to utilize the talents of the players to a greater extent in trying for improvement. Old Philosophy As to the possibility that the team may run more and use the fast break more frequently, Strack says, "We'll use the same philoso- phy as we have in the past and that is to keep the ball under control. We could use our strong rebounding and fair team speed at times on our fast breaks. "It's important to utilize the fast break to our advantage. But I don't consider it our primary offensive weapon." Strack says that the team has looked better in shooting this year than last when it was third from the bottom in the Big Ten with a .404 average from the floor. "Our shooting has been better so far in practice. But that's because we've been getting the shots clos- er in," Strack said. Asked to name the teams to watch in the Big Ten race this season, Strack answered "the nine others. The bottom few teams from last season have been strengthened and there's no clear cut favorite for the champion- ship," Strack said. "Ohio State has the best player in the Confer- ence in Gary Bradds but all the other teams are ;tough. "We had nine league games last season that went down to the last minute or 30 seconds before they were decided. I look for many such traumatic moments this season. "I'm a believer in Big Ten bas- ketball. Play in the Big Ten is of high caliber. If you let up for one game, you lose. I don't think our conference takes a back seat to anyone." GRID SELECTIONS Twenty-seven shopping days left 'til Christmas. Twenty-three school days left 'til the end of final exams. But-shed a tear-there is less than ONE day left in the year's last grid picks contest. Yes, believe it or not, football season is almost over, and with it go another sterling grid picks year. Remember when: Gerry Lurie, of 2015 Washtenaw Ave., gained campus-wide recognition as the win- ningest-losingest grid picker (with a 4-16 record last week)? Dr. Hazel Losh, Michigan's famous astronomy professor and football fan, topped all but one of the Daily sports staff with a 16-4 record? The Daily Libels crumbled the Michigan Densians and the Union Mal- contents? Well, it's all history now. But wait! Never fear! You still have until 9 p.m. tonight to go into the record books as this week's top grid picker. Not only that, but you'll also receive two free tickets to the Michigan Theater, which is currently show- ing "Take Her, She's Mine," in its held-over feature. The place to pick up and submit your entries? As always, it's the historic Daily office, 420 Maynard St. This week's guest prognosticator is Ron Kramer, editor of the 'Ensian. As usual, the last big football weekend of the season features many traditiopal clashes. Tomorrow's grid picks games are no ex- ception, as all but four contests are big rivalries. THIS WEEK'S GAMES Consensus Picks in CAPS (Consensus, 108-72-.600) ,} 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Ohio State at MICHIGAN ILLINOIS at Michigan StateI WISCONSIN at Minnesota4 PURDUE at Indiana! Notre Dame at IOWA Penn State at PITTSBURGH Dartmouth at PRINCETON Harvard at YALE Oklahoma at NEBRASKA North Carolina at DUKE 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Florida at MIAMI (FLA.) S.M.U. at BAYLOR RICE at T.C.U. Oregon State at OREGON U.C.L.A. at S. CALIFORNIA. California at STANFORD Wash. St. at WASHINGTON Utah at UTAH STATE Tennessee at KENTUCKY MISSOURI at Kansas Just got in a new shipment of Cotton }TURTLENECK SHIRTS For Guys and Dolls " All Colors Sizes S-M-L $1 69 RON KRAMER (Guest Selector, 117-63-.650)-Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Dartmouth, Yale, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Miami, SMU, TCU, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, Washington, Utah, Kentucky, Missouri. STAN KUKLA (115-65-.639)-Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Yale, Oklahoma, Duke, Florida, Baylor, Rice, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, Washington, Utah State, Kentucky, Mis- souri. CHARLIE TOWLE (98-62-.619)-Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Harvard, Nebraska, Duke, Miami, Baylor, Rice, Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford, Washington, Utah.State, Kentucky, Missouri. TOM ROWLAND (110-70-.611)-Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Pur- due, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Dartmouth, Harvard, Nebraska, Duke, Miami, SMU, Rice, Oregon State, USC, Stanford, Washington, Utah, Kentucky, Missouri. BOB ZWINCK (Contributing Sports Editor, 110-70-.611)-Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Harvard, Nebraska, Duke, Miami, Baylor, TCU, Oregon, Southern California, California, Washington, Utah State, Tennessee, Kansas. MIKE BLOCK (Associate Sports Editor, 109-71-.606)-Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Yale, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Florida, Baylor, Rice, Oregon, Southern California, California, Washington, Utah, Kentucky, Kansas. DAVE GOOD (Sports Editor, 109-71-.606)-Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Harvard, Nebraska, North Carolina, Flori- da, Baylor, Rice, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, Washington, Utah, Ten- nessee, Kansas. PERRY HOOD (108-72-.600)-Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame, Perin State, Princeton, Yale, Nebraska, North Carolina, Miami, Baylor, Rice, Oregon State, Southern California, California, Washington, Utah, Tennessee, Missouri, JIM BERGER (Associate Sports Editor, 107-73-.594)-Michigan, fllinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Harvard, Oklahoma, Duke, Florida, Baylor, TCU, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, Washington, Utah State, Kentucky, Missouri. BILL BULLARD (104-76-.578)-Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Dartmouth, Harvard, Oklahoma, Duke, Florida, SMU, Rice, Oregon, Southern California, California, Washington, Utah State, Kentucky, Missouri. GARY WINER (100-80-.556)-Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Yale, Nebraska, North Carolina, Miami, Baylor, TCU, Oregon State, Southern California, Stanford, Washington, Utah State, Kentucky, Kansas. LLOYD GRAFF (100-80-.556)-Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Penn State, Princeton, Yale, Nebraska, Duke, Miami, Baylor, Rice, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, Washington, Utah State, Kentucky;, Kansas. I SAM'S STORE r Levi's Galore 1 122 E. Washington Open Mon. and Fri. Nites GOT YOUR NUMBER-Bill Buntin, 6'7" rugged junior center, grabs a rebound during last year's Michigan-Wisconsin game in Yost Fieldhouse. Mike O'Melia, Badger guard, seems to be check- ing Buntin's number. The big Wolverine pivotman led the Big Ten in rebounds last season. a.. I U_______________________________ -, ______________________ ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH FOR MONDAIN? U flo frnrrrnnr^A nor r 4z flltr 1 I Uv J FROM FRANCE... MONDAIN SPECIAL -4- q/ r .y Z r , a ,_ s t C '' --' ,, .b .. 'e. . ,ra i , . i f .." . "'4 It : . i iV 1 ...,, , :...; ... 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