The Michigan Daily-Thursday, Novembe Page 10-Thursday, November 30, 1978-The Michigan Daily LOUISVILLE,'BAMA BIGGEST CHALLENGES Pre-season toughies test cagers SCORING ACE SAYS HE'S STA YING: McGee: Stay or sway By ERNIE DUNBAR Most college basketball coaches have all they can handle with their conferen- ce schedules let alone a tough slate of non-conference opponents. But it is during the non-conference games that an inexperienced team can jell, a new player becomes accustomed to his teammates and a coach learns the weaknesses of his current team. WITH THAT in mind, Michigan Coach Johnny Orr went out and arranged a competitive schedule of non-conference games. "I don't think anyone in the country has a tougher one than we do," Orr said of his pre-conference schedule. What prompts the 11th-year coach to make such a statement is the fact that among the 10 non-conference opponents Michigan will face, only three had losing records last year. Combined, the ten schools compiled a 160-118 won-lost mark, a .582 winning percentage. Heading this list are Notre Dame and Louisville, both of which are consisten- tly ranked in the top ten in the pre- season polls. After tonight's game with Central Michigan, Michigan must face Alabama, then travel to Louisville and Dayton between December 2 and 9. WESTERN MICHIGAN visits Ann Arbor on December 16, followed by a trip to Texas for the Sun Carnival with Clemson, Texas-El Paso, and Texas Tech December 28-29. Eastern Michigan ventures in on New Year's Eve, with the big Notre Dame Cage guessing game: Who's Number One? By RICK MADDOCK Give the top 50 or so teams in the country a number, put the numbers in a spinner, give it a whirl and start selec- ting. Predictions of who will be in the NCAA's final four, which will be held at Salt Lake City this year, are next to worthless, unless there's someone who can foresee injuries, disappointing stars, and surprising newcomers. Looking beyond the Big Ten, there are several teams that stand outas good bets to at least make the NCAA's expanded 40-team tournament. Whether these pre-season favorites succeed in the tourney depends largely on the luck of the pairings. THE team tabbed as the favorite is the ACC's Duke. Last year the Blue Devils lost to Kentucky in the NCAA finals, but they have all five regulars returning along with six top reserves. Not bad, eh? Duke is led by Captain Jim Spanarkel, who averaged 20.8 points last year. He's the catalyst on the team. Mike Gminski, 6-10, is the team's out- standing center. He dumped in 20 points a game and averaged 10 rebounds. Another key player, and possibly the most talented of the three, is sophomore Gene Banks. He contributed a 17.1 average and grabbed 8.6 reboun- ds per game. Probably the other non-Big Ten team that is a clear-cut favorite is perennial power UCLA. The Bruins lose only star- ting guard Raymond Townsend (14.7 point average). What they have left is All-American David Greenwood and guard Roy Hamilton. Greenwood, a 6-9 forward, averaged 17.5 points a game and 11.4 rebounds. Hamilton, a 6-2 guard, netted 17.2 points a game while setting a UCLA record for shooting per centage by a guard at 54 per cent. He also led the Pac-8 in assists with 167. ONE PROBLEM the Bruins have is at the center spot. They use two 6-9 juniors, Gig Sims and Darrell Allums. Sims started most of the games last year, but only averaged 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds. Allums' averages were lower than that. See NCAA's, Page 14 game in Pontiac after the conference games on March 4. "Those are hard games. I don't see any easy games," said Orr. "We like to do that. That's good for us. It gets us ready for the teams we have to play in the Big Ten." Tonight's game is no easy season opener. After posting a 16-10 record last year, Central Michigan established a nucleus of four players which have some predicting a Mid-American Con- ference championship for the Chip- pewas. Alabama is the first real powerhouse Michigan must face. The Crimson Tide fell to 17-10 and fourth in the Southeast Conference last season after winning at least 22 games a year for five straight years. They still managed to beat Michigan, 78-63 in Birmingham. 'BAMA SPORTS one of the finest players in the country in 6-6, 225-pound forward Reggie King. As a junior, King was fourth in the nation in rebounding with a 13.3 average and contributed 21.1 points per game to the Alabama attack. He made three All-American teams and was the SEC player of the year. "I think it's (the team) going to have a chance to be a better team than a year ago," said Alabama coach C. M. Newton, "But they won't be as good as early." Regarding only the second meeting of the two teams, Newton said. "Both of us will be quick up the floor and get after it real good. Our two teams are a lot alike. John (Orr) and I are not as concerned with size. We emphasize speed and quickness. Against Michigan, we'll probably usethree or four freshmen, but they probably won't start." Four days after the Alabama game, the Wolverines travel to Louisville where they face a team many people say had the best recruiting year in the nation. "This is the youngest team I've ever had," said Louisville coach Denny Crum, whose team was 23-7 last year. "We only have one senior. Nine of our top 13 players are freshmen and sophomores. "WE'LL BE feeling our way for a while. We have good players and good talent. We'll have a good team - I just don't know if it will develop quickly" he said of the defending Metro 7 conferen- ce champions. With the loss of guard Ricky Wilson and center Ricky Gallon, Crum has a few holes to fill. But Louisville returns 6-3 Darrell Griffith (18ppg) at either forward or guard,s6-4 Bobby Turner and 6-8 Larry Williams at forwards. Louisville holds a 1-0 career mark against Michigan, posting an 88-85 vic- tory at Crisler Arena last year. But that wasn't enough to convince Crum that the Wolverines are an easy opponent. "Tough, tough," Crum said of Michigan. "I don't ever remember them being easy against anybody." Three days after Louisville, Michigan will find themselves playing on the road at Dayton. The Flyers went 19-10 last year, but fell to Michigan 71-61, to give the Wolverines a perfect 6-0 career mark in the series. "Dayton is the number-three ranked independent," said Orr. "They have a veteran team." INDEED THEY do with four starters returning. They're led by 6-5 senior guard Jim Paxson who tossed in 17.4 points per game, and had 160 assists last year. Next comes Western Michigan. There's not a whole lot to say about a team which went 7-20 and finished tied for last in the MAC. If Orr is still looking for an easy game, he need look no further. After a trip to the Sun Carnival, Michigan entertains Eastern Michigan. Last year, the Wolverines established a Crisler Arena scoring record with 117 points against the Hurons. It doesn't look much better for Head Coach Ray Scott this year, coming off an 11-15 season. After 18 Big Ten games, it's out to the Silverdome in Pontiac where Michigan takes on Notre Dame in March before a national television audience. The Irish finished 23-8 last year and will give the Wolverines a battle in their final game of the season. 1978-79 Schedule Nov. 30 CENTRAL MICHIGAN, 8:05 pm EST Dec. 2 ALABAMA, 2:05 pm EST Dec. 6 at Louisville Dec. 9 at Dayton Dec. 16 WESTERN MICHIGAN, 2:05 pm EST Dec. 28- at Sun Carnival (Michigan, 29 Clemson, Texas-El Paso, Texas Tech), 7:05 or 9:05 pm CST Dec. 31 EASTERN MICHIGAN, 7:35 pm EST Jan. 4 MINNESOTA, 8:05 pm EST Jan.6 IOWA, 2:05pm EST Jan. 11 at Purdue Jan. 13 at Wisconsin Jan. 18 at Northwestern Jan. 20 OH10 STATE, 2:05 pm EST Jan. 25 MICHIGAN STATE, 8:05 pm EST ,Ian. 27 at Illinois Feb. I at Indiana Feb. 3 ILLINOIS, 3:30 pm EST Feb. 8 at Ohio State Feb. 10 INDIANA, 2:05 pm EST Feb. 15 NOR THWESTERN, By BRIAN MARTIN Perhaps the most pleasant surprise to step on the hardwood of Crisler Arena last year was a relatively unknown youngster from Omaha, Nebraska. While everyone's attention was focused on another freshman in East Lansing, Mike McGee stepped forward to set the Big Ten record for most points scored by a freshman, averaging 19.7 points a game. Indeed, as 18 year-old rookie, McGee surpassed everyone's expectations. Out of last season's 27 games, he was high Michigan's scorer 16 times. Regarding the Big Ten campaign alone, the 6-5, 190 forward led Michigan scorers 14 out of 18 contests. THE STRANGE thing about McGee's successful initial season is that none of it would have occured had not McGee essentially recruited himself. "I've always wanted to come to Michigan since I was a sophomore in high school. I would see them on TV, and they were good then," McGee said. "You always want to come to the best team, if that's possible." McGee's high school coach asked him where he would like to play college ball, and he said Michigan. So from there the recruiting should be easy, right? It was, except for the fact Omaha is a long way from Ann Arbor, and the name Mike McGee didn't exactly trip off the tongues of too many people here. In McGee's junior year in high school his coach and mother continued writing le wcill play all four years in a Michigan jersey, a smile creeps across his face as he says i. 'I'll prolbalbi be here all four years, probably all four nears. (Pause.) ll >e here four Years.' Mike McGee I Mike McGee's Varsity Record: Yr. G FG-FGA Pet. FT-FTA Pet. Ast. Ppg. Fr. 27 217-139 .391 97-122 .795 39 19.7 letters to Michigan, and adminsitrative assistant Dan Fife began sending McGee the usual letters, brochures and team stats that go to all recruits. AS THE post-season tournaments rolled around, so did assistant coach Jim Boyce. "I guess he gave me a good report or whatever," McGee surmised. When McGee says that 1 977- 78 Results Ni 97 117 845 7! 63 92 194 XII 66 {' ! it 92 67 1i1i 85 f62 fix )9 1 07 7S 99 Western Kentucky Eastern ;Michigan Fordham~ LO U ISV.ILLE:. Central Michigan TOLPIEDO)(O (T) Northw~estern Minnesota lo"I a W~iscons5in 4)111(1S'i'A1'FE Michigan State PU1)U*: (Phio'Sta3te Wiscotnsitn Illinotis 1IN\IKMt' '. N irt Iix esters~t VCI. A OPppsite 841 A 69 II 62 \* 141 If 61 If 794 \= 79 11 91 If 65 If 65 If 56 A 65 A 61 11 811 A 73 1 7ip II 63 A 75 A 66 A 71 1 96 11 6 11 x1 A k$5 . 96i a Ml FG;% .19:3 .192 192 *.532 *1684 .11 .631 ..,111 167I' .31x Opp FG% .169 .571 .3x45 .1231 .5801 129 156; 192 .3011 .6031 .51101 .121I .179 .512 -132 . 193; .61 ti Hii M Scorer 28 Baxter 22 Thompson 211 Baxter 29 Thompson 184 Baxter,. Mc(;ee 19l McGee 24 liardy 2?0 Thomnpsoni IS Thompson,. hardp 27 Miclee IS Hardy 22 McGee 21; Mic(ee 20 Mcee 2!1 hlardx 23 Mcee 29 Mcedee 4.Tho. 3d Mc(ee . >.i Baxter Ix 'iii ;r. Hard! 28 M 2Thmson Rebounder 8 Thompson 9 Thompson 1"" Thompson s 1 Thompson 12 Thompson I I Thompson 131 Thompson 7 Hardy 91 Thomipson 9 Hardy ti Thompson Tompson 12 Hardti !i H;ardyX tIA Thompson .1 McGeeH AJ((;ee. Ilardl 9 ihomnipson 9 T""m""on 9 M "e " 7HardyN io i'homnipsoni 9 Thompson)~.ii I I Thompsonj).ii Ii Btaxter Attend. 11, 51N)1 1:1.579 .1, 9 13,61095 1:1191 14.341 13,5916 12, 227 13,5317 13I :$69S 13,11N) 84, 75 I13.61195 13'. 1489S I13.60S I1:1,609S !0,886S I1l1 23s I :3,il0s I13,609~s 51909 Iti, . i5s I13,5St9 I 2.64i5S 16. 577I :3,271 12.11 S sellott Whatever the verdict, again it took Mrs. McGee to get the ball rolling. In January of McGee's senior year, his mother called Fife at home on a Sun- day morning to see if they were still in- terested in her son. Fife had been trying to contact McGee for some time, but hiscontinued unsuccessful bids led him to believe that McGee was headed elsewhere. Fife told Mrs. McGee that Michigan was still interested-very interested. "I didn't sign my letter of intent until April sometime. It was pretty late," McGee admitted. "It was a hard choice for me to make because I wanted to come to the Big Ten and come to the best team, and right then it was bet- ween Michigan and Minnesota. They (Minnesota) were on me kinda heavy." NOW MIKE McGEE is here playing basketball at Michigan, the place he has wanted to shoot hoops at since his sophomore year in high school. But now the question is, for how long? McGee's statistics from last year are certainly impressive. He scored a team high 531 points, hitting 49.4 percent from the field and 79.5 from the foul line. He tossed in the most points for a single game last season, 38, against Northwestern in the Wildcats barnyard of a basketball court. All of these numbers, along with his aggressive style of play under the of- fensive boards, lea McGee will head t business of profe before his four yea expired at Michiga: But McGee sa definitely be b definitely," McGee ds definite about he'll be a junior, v senior. He's not so year. FOR MICHIGAN to see McGee kee number 40 on his b strong ally on ti Olympics. "Right, I would Olympics). If I'm give it a shot," Mc him through the 1 he already promise But his stateme makes some Wolve his assessment of even less convincin McGee realistica ready for the pros "has a lot to learn defense." But professional ath glamorous on the si pay day. When McGee say four years in a Mih creeps across his fa probably be her probably all four y here four years." HE SAYS IT so seems to be trying more than anyone John Orr admits t that McGee will le year, and McGee earlier. It depends on ho convinces Mike Me play at Michigan fo COPY TYPII PRIN TRANSCRIPTIC STAPLING - LAI OFFICE SUPPLI ENLARGING / R Pickup & Deive Fast & Frien Full Service- Professional S 1202 South Un 662=6 211 South State 662-3 7days ...... SOPHISTICATED ART OF TRIBAL CULTURES baobab 123 W Washington 663-3681 M-F 11-9 Sat. 10-6 Sun. 12-6 Feb. 17 Feb. 22 Feb. 24 Mar. I Mar. 3 Mar.4 8:05 pm EST at Michigan State WISCONSIN, 8:05 pm EST PURI)UE, 4:05 pm EST at Iowa at Minnesota NOTRE DAME, 4:05 pm EST (at Pontiac Silverdome) at M1adlison Squar CIr~(den at htsi ingh. m idiii( ictienter MMEENNWM NOON FOR RUNNERS & JOGGERS fMAD2E INENAD 0 PHIDIPPIDES NORTH RUNNING SHOES: SILK KIMONO . 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