Page 2-Thursday, November 29, 1979-The Michigan Daily The Michigan Daily-Thursday, Novembe No Hubbard, little rebounding- How far can Michigan go? ... so what else is n By DAVE JOHNSON And at center, in his fifth year at Michigan, the Wolverines' fifth all-time scorer with 1455 points and third all- time rebounder with 979, Michigan's six-foot seven-inch co-captain and Olympic gold medalist from Canton, Ohio, number 35... Phil Hubbard... Oh, what a season this could have been. What a team Michigan could have been. Had Hubbard elected to return to Michigan this fall for his final season of college eligibility, the Wolverines, most assuredly, would be Big Ten title con- tenders. Together with Keith Smith's playmaking, Mike McGee and Marty Unfortunately for Michigan, Hubbard elected to leave the Wolverines last June in favor of a lucrative three-year contract with the Detroit Pistons, taking Michigan's title hopes with him. NEEDLESS TO SAY, Hubbard's sudden departure left Orr with a huge hole to fill. After losing prep All- American Clark Kellogg to Ohio State in last spring's recruiting war, Orr was counting heavily on Hubbard's scoring and rebounding strength for the up- coming year. Now, for the second time in three years, Orr is forced to go with a pair of relatively inexperienced centers to fill in for Hubbard. Two years ago, Joel Thompson filled in admirably at the pivot while Hub- bard sat out the season with a knee in- jury suffered in the 1977 summer World University games. This year, Orr hopes either 6-8 junior Paul Heuerman or 6-9 sophomore John Garris will rise to his calling. Although Orr's assistant coach Bill Frieder believes Heuerman or Garris 1978-79 Michigan Results Opp Site Hi M Scorer Rebounder 87 99 84 66 104 85 60 86 88 79 67 66 53 69 49 56 62 74 60 60 78 57 65 59 61 69 62 Central Michigan . .......78 Alabama ..............84 LOUISVILLE ...........86 Dayton ...............61 Western Michigan .......73 TEXAS TECH ...........87 Texas El Paso . .........54 Eastern Michigan . ......73 Minnesota ............ 75 IOWA . . . . . . . . 85 PURDUE............77 WISCONSIN.........77 Northwestern ..........51 OHIO STATE ...........78 Michigan State .........48 Illinois ................54 INDIANA ..............68 Illinois ................65 OHIO STATE ...........63 Indiana ...............59 Northwestern ......67 MICHIGAN STATE 80 WISCONSIN . ... 66 PURDUE 67 Iowa 53 MINNESOTA.. 78 Notre Dame .. .. . 59 H 30 H 27 A 28 A 27 H 36 N* 24 A* 15 H 25 H 33 H 18 A 19 A 26 A 18 H 21 H 13 A 25 A 19 H 25 A 21 H 18 H 22 A 17 H 19 H 16 A 21 A 23 N# 16 McGee McGee McGee McGee McGee Hardy Hubbard McGee McGee Hardy McGee McGee Mt Bodnar McGee Hubbard McGee McGee McGee Hubbard Hubbard Smith Hubbard Mt Bodnar Mt Bodnar McGee McGee McGee 14 15 19 13 11 11 6 81 12 101 51 71 71 14 12 10 10 8 14 4 8 7 4 14 15 13 6 Hubbard Hubbard Hubbard Hubbard Hubbard Hub, Hardy S 5 Johnson, Hardy Garner McGee Hardy McGee McGee Hubbard Hubbard Hubbard Hardy Hubbard Staton Hubbard Hub, Har, McGee; Hardy McGee Hub, Hardy Hubbard: Hubbard Hubbard McGee, Heuerman Attend. 13,489 s 13,609 s 16.613 12,518 13,219 11,832 10,942 10,203 13,135 13,315 s 14,123 7,711 2,392 s 13,609 s 13,609 s 16,473 13,702 s 13,609 s 13,489 s 13,609 12,801 s 10,004 13,009 s 13,609 s 13,365 16,834 37,283 Junior guard Marty Bodnar is probably the best pure shooter on the team. Last season, Bodnar led the Big Ten in field goal percentage at a 60 per cent clip-mostly outside set shots. His enthusiasm and leadership draws praise from Orr. "MARTY IS ONE of those players you can rely on no matter what the score," said Orr. "He's never out of the game, he's always mentally prepared for anything and will give his all." Michigan's other top gun is junior forward Mike McGee, having led the Wolverines in scoring during each of the last two years with averages of 19.7 and 18.9 respectively. Last year the Associated Press seleted McGee to the All-Big Ten second team. Orr goes one step further, saying that be "can't believe there's a better offensive (for- ward) in the country than Michael McGee." Starting at the other forward spot will be Thad Garner. The 6-7 sophomore averaged only seven minutes of playing time per game last year, but with Heuerman's switch to center, Garner should see considerable action. IF GARNER DOESN'T live up to Orr's expectations, Orr will probably start 6-5 freshman Joe James. Michigan's top recruit this past spring, James was a fourth team prep All- American hitting on 64 per cent of his shots and averaging 15.6 rebounds per game. Two other freshman who should see spot duty are 6-7 Ike Person and 6-8 Leo Brown. Michigan's strength is at guard. Although Bodnar and Keith Smith currently hold the starting positions, three other guards will see con- siderable action: senior co-captain Mark Lozier, and juniors Johnny John- son and Mark Bodnar. THE WOLVERINES in comparison to the rest of the Big Ten are relatively small. Such size limitations as well as the loss of Hubbard's expertise leaves the Wolverines vulnerable around the boards. Consequently, the Wolverines will be forced to first, play a little tighter man-to-man and second, run a more deliberate offense. Michigan has the shooters to score from the outside-there's no question about that. McGee, Smith, James, Heuerman, Johnson and the Bodnars all have excellent outside shots. But without rebounding, particularly See CAGERS, Page 4 What caused the remarkable skid? Henson doesn't have any definite an-' swers, but he thinks that having all five of those starters back in the lineup will ensure some better times for the Illini. "I feel we'll be stronger," Henson said, "but the competition may not let our record reflect that improvement." The Illini actually have more problems than that. The lack of a prolific scorer hurt them down the stretch last winter, and Henson will need more offensive punch from 6-7 guard-turned-forward Mark Smith (13.5), the team's leading scorer. The other returning starters are all steady but unspectacular players. 6-6 senior Neil Bresnahan (8.3/7.9), 6-8 junior Eddie Johnson (12.1/5.7), and 6-6 senior Levi Cobb, along with Smith, form a solid nucleus at forward, probably the deepest in the conference. In addition, Henson can count on reliable play from 6-11 center Derek Holcomb (7.4/6.6). Although not an of- fensive threat, Holcomb is an in- timidating pivotman who averaged almost three blocked shots per game. 6- 10 James Griffin is an excellent backup to Holcomb. Smith's conversion to the front line leaves the floor leadership in the hands of 6-2 senior Rob Judson (9.4), a good shooter and defensive player. He'll be joined at guard by either 6-2 Reno Grey or 6-4 sophomore Perry Range. A pair of highly-regarded freshman, Kevin Bontemps and Quinn Richardson, will give Illinois more quickness. Defensively, the conference boasts no better than the Fighting Illini. Unfor- tunately for Henson, that's only half the game. This season, he'll try and find the other half. 5. Iowa The bad news for Iowa's Big Ten opponents comes in two words: Ronnie Lester. Lester, the 6-2 All-America guard from Chicago will be back to haunt his conference foes again this year following a season in which he averaged more than 18 points and six assists a game. His quickness and con- sistent play helped give the Hawkeyes a share of the title with Purdue and Michigan State. The main objective for Coach Lute Olson is to replace three important graduation losses, forward William Mayfield (12.9/8.0) and guards Dick Peth and Tom Norman. Despite Mayfield's departure, the frontcourt should be fairly strong with 6-10 juniors Steve Krafcisin (7.2/5.6) and Steve Waite (6.4/4.5) and 6-6 sophomore Kevin Boyle (11.9/6.5), a plesant surprise in his freshman year. Waite will probably alternate with Krafcisin in the pivot, leaving a for- ward spot open for either 6-5 Vince Brookins (3.8/2.8) or 6-9 Mike Henry (1.5/1.5). Olson's lineup was given a blow of sorts when forward Clay Hargrave, the team's leading rebounder two years ago, failed to reclaim the academic eligibility he lost before last season. Nonetheless, the Hawkeyes have plenty of quickness and rebounding to stay in the thick of a title chase. 6. Michigan St. Jud Heathcote is the first to admit his national champion Michigan State Spartans have some rebounding to do. The departures of Earvin Johnson and Greg Kelser will certainly pose some personnel problems, and leave MSU without much depth for the upcoming season. The remainder of that starting corps isn't such a bad lot, however. 6-4 sharp shooter Mike Brkovich (7.0) will probably move into the backcourt, joining forces with 6-2 senior Terry Donnelly (6.6). The pair should make an excellent combination. Up front, some question marks emerge. 6-8 junior Jay Vincent (12.7/ 5.2) is consistent although unspec- tacular. Vincent will probably play the first few games on a tender foot, and that may slow down MSU's running game. Trying to pick up the slack will be 6-7 senior Ron Charles (8.9/5.1) and 6-7 sophomore Rob Gonzalez (1.7/0.9). A pair of transfers, 6-2 guard Kevin Smith and 6-10 center Steve Bates, are being counted on by Heathcote to add some badly-needed depth. Otherwise, the Spartans are extremely thin down the bench. No national title this time around, but probably a middle-of-the- pack finish resemblant of Spartan teams of the mid-1970's. 7. Wisconsin The reason for the failue of Big Ten teams to vie for a conference title is usually lack of talent or experience. Wisconsin, however, has a different ob- stacle in its path to a championship- discipline. Attitude problems and academic ineligibilities have plagued Bill Cofield's squad since his arrival in Madison four years ago. At least the return of all five starters from last year should offset the personal problems and produce a more team-oriented style of play. The Badgers' strength lay in their tremendous rebounding strength. Cen- ter Larry Petty (9.9/6.9), and forwards Joe Chrnelich (10.6/8.2) and Claude Gregory (15.1/8.7) provide consistent play off the boards and a balanced scoring attack. Petty, in particular, has come a long way after losing forty pounds the summer before last. Wes Matthews, a 6-1 guard, comes off a season in which he led the Badgers in scoring (18.5) and assists. The light- ning-fast Matthews will receive adequate assistance from Arnold Gaines (6.9) and Dan Hastings (4.1), although Matthews will have to main- tain his high scoring output. 8. Michigan Every good basketball program suffers through a recession of sorts, and the Michigan cagers are currently suf- fering such a recession. It will take not only this season, but perhaps the next one, for Johnny Orr to rebuild his team following the departure of center Phil Hubbard and two other seniors, Tom Staton and Alan Hardy. The speed with which the rebuilding takes place depends upon two factors. To begin with, John Garris and Paul Heuerman must mature into legitimate Big Ten centers, both in the rebounding and scoring departments. Equally important will be the development of Mike McGee into a complete player. McGee, not renowned for his passing or defensive skills, will be counted on to progress in those areas. Beyond that, Orr can only hope his young team improves with age and game experience. 9. Minnesota Minnesota entered the previous season with the finest group of fresh- men in the country. For all their efforts, the Gophers finished ninth. That tells you something about the level of com- petition in this conference. Taken as a whole, Minnesota lacks the talent, especially in the backcourt, to make a run for the NCAA's. The one player who may elevate them to respectability is 6-11 forward Kevin McHale (17.9'9.6), an All-America candidate who picked up some valuble experience at the Pan Am Games. The remainder of the front line is young but has potential. Trent Tucker (9.9/3.4) and Gary Holmes (5.4/6.3), a pair of sophomores, join McHale, while coach Jim Dutcher has some giraffes, 7-2 Randy Breur and 6-10 Brian Peder- son, waiting in the wings. The guard situation may improve if Dutcher can find a floor leader. Mark Hall (8.5) and Darryl Mitchell (7.8), two more sophomores, can win some games by feeding the agile McHale near the bucket. Their outside shooting Keri ..one-nm play well off the in during foul Gophers alive. tually devoid of 10. N"1 Northwestern "we are close an And indeed th( VERY close to e ference cellar. Of course, the 2onsidering the year's attack. R thwestern's leac than-startling 10 Falk can prid '4 three starte Mike Campbell In addition, fort after missing ma knee injury. Pri had averaged 15 Beyond these cat roster is sho mission standar athletes. Falk earth-shaking f hope that his classroom intell ball court. He'll could also mal ranked fourth in goal percentage On the bench perience and Zebedee Howel] goon1((111 rr Bodnar's outside shooting, Thad Gar- ner's slam dunks, Hubbards's superior rebounding and inside play could have made the Wolverines one of head coach Johnny Orr's most exciting teams in his 12 years at Michigan. *at Sun Carnival, El Paso, TX # at Pontiac Silverdome s - sellout could develop into a credible collegiate center with a little playing time, the lack of a Phil Hubbard-type center will be Michigan's achilles heel. "WE LACK THE one guy who can consistently get you 18 points and 12 rebounds," said Frieder. "Heuerman might do that some games and Garris is capable of doing it, but we don't have a proven player.- "With Hubbard you knew you had 18 or 20 points a game and double figures in rebounding," added Frieder. To Michigan's credit it does have two of the Big Ten's outstanding shooters. 1 1 I FREE PINBALLI This valuable coupon entitles - Souto 50C worth of free pin- * 1 buall or video games with I j presentation of your ID. 1 1 * Limit: 1 per customer per day 1 1 * no Th ress-yed Moose Tomm's Holiy Cp I 1 613 2. Libsrty 32 Puckerd I L. - - - Expireg1 J]Q79 - -i . -i'i -Yj Jogger . Pacer SWEATSH IRTS "MUPPET" Michigan Shirts (They're adorable) CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS for £iIvcvFl l L IN and MUCH MUCH MORE.. moe frrt 711 N UNIVERSITY BUD VAN DE WEGE 4 NO-86915 COMPLETE ATHLETIC OUTFITTERS An'n'Arbr , MiahigQn ,