The Michigan Daily-Thursday, Nov Page 14-Thursday, November 29, 1979-The Michigan Daily A ti ht Big 10 race,. McGee hopes to top sophomore campaign With 42 of 50 starters returning to a conference which claimed both the NCAA and NIT championships last year, the Big Ten once promises another exciting basket- ball season race. Ohio State and Indiana, both of which are vastly improved, shouldn't walk away with the title; talenr at Iowa, Pur- due, Illinois, and Wisconsin runs thick, while Minnesota, Michigan, and Northwestern try and build from a youth movement. On the following two pages, Tipoff '79 editor Alan Fanger analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each conference team, in a predicted order of finish. 1. Ohio State Last season, the Big Ten coaches regardedt the Buckeyes as a legitimate threat to win the conference title. Now they're living in fear of them. Eldon Miller took Ohio State to the semi-finals of the NIT last March following a successful 17-10'campaign. Although he was disappointed about not winning the title, Miller knew the future was bright with four starters returning. The former Western Michigan coach then added some icing to his delicious cake by signing 6-8 Clark Kellogg out of Cleveland St. Joseph High School. Kellogg, who averaged 28 points and 17 assists per game his senior year, is regarded as the best cager to come out of the Ohio high school ranks since Jerry Lucas. Kellogg will undoubtedly earn a star- ting berth in the frontcourt with the rapidly improving pivotman Herb Williams (19.9/10.4) and forward Jim Smith (7.4/6.5), both of whom are juniors. Senior Tony Hall and freshmen Mitch Hass and Granville Waiters provide some much-needed depth in the Buckeye frontcourt. The backcourt situation shapes up equally well with the return of All-Big Ten guard Kelvin Ransey, who averaged over 24 points per contest last year. "He's easily the best player I've ever coached," said Miller of his point guard. Joining Ransey will be 6-2 junior Carter Scott (9.4 ppg.). After two years on the front line, Scott should feel more at ease in his natural position.- Early in the conference schedule, the Buckeyes should know how well they're maximizing their talent. The face In- diana, Purdue, and Iowa in a seven-day span in early January. 2. Indiana Don't count on the Hoosiers to pull any late-season heroics this time around. They'll probably start as fast as they'll finish. he gained at the Pan American Games, while 6-9 sophomore Landon Turner (5.5/3.4) is a steady performer. Junior Steve Risley (6.6/3.4) plays the role on- ce held by John Laskowski, that of "Super Sub." His presence will undoub- tedly ease any worries about foul problems. Knight has a welcome situation at guard-too many fine players battling for starting berths. Thomas, who ear- ned a spot on the Pan Am squad, is called by Knight: "the most important player I ever recruited." Thomas has the potential to crack the starting five, complemented by either the improving Butch Carter (8.5),. a fine outside shooter, or sophomore Randy Wittman (7.1). There's no question the Hoosiers have the ingredients to win it all. What they need to do is find success on the road. That means winning in unfriendly places like Columbus, West Lafayette, and Iowa City. It won't be easy, even for Bobby Knight. By STAN BRADBURY A certain portion of the Michigan basketball media guide describes Mike McGee as having suffered through a "sophomore jinx" last season. This assessment was made in spite of the fact that McGee led the Wolverines in scoring and finished second -in reboun- ding during the 1978-79 campaign. McGee received plenty of negative coverage and fan reaction throughout the entire season, but Michigan Coach Johnny Orr found most of it unjustified. "I wish all my players had had that disappointing a year. I guess after the last year, he does not plan to hold back a shot when a good opportunity arises. "Why would I change my game? I came out of high- school averaging 38 points, so naturally, I'm a shooter so I'll be shooting this year,' McGee said. WITH THE LOSS of Phil Hubbard to the NBA's Detroit Pistons, the Wolverines will be counting even more on the scoring of the pre-season (honorable mention) All-American gunner. And Orr believes McGee can deliver. "Mike looks just tremendous. I've never seen him as quick and in as good "I think I shiould(Iharej (lne better bItiti iwsn'tI really (1 s4),)i- morre .jin..I1(1 er(Igedlorer 183 pints" and1(1that11s 1no1 badI. I guiess p)eople were( expect~ing 1mlore 1than1 SWEATERS From England, Scotland, and Ireland in 100% wool. Coach Bobby Knight has all of last.3 Purdue Lee Rose must wonder what it takes to receive a bid to the NCAA tour- nament. His Boilermakers finished in a tie for first with Michigan State and Iowa, yet the Spartans and Hawkeyes were selected on the basis of head-to- head competition. Rose faces a similar problem this year. His squad clearly belongs in the first division, as four starters return from the NIT finalist team. Now all the Boilermakers have to do is knock off a few of their more highly-regarded con- % ference foes. The possibility of that occurring depends on the help the rest of the > squad gives 7-1 center Joe Barry Carroll. Carroll, the Big Ten's leading scorer and an all-conference selection, Mike lWood.'.otadominated opposing pivotmen last season, as he averaged 22.1 points and ... fourth year the dream? 10.1 rebounds per game. year's starting NIT championship con- Another problem lies in the tingent back, plus 6-1 freshman sen- replacement of guard Jerry Sichting sation Isiah Thomas. Included among (13.6), who Rose described as "the con- that group is All-Ameican forward summate player."'6-5 sophomore Kevin Mike Woodson, a four-year starter who Stallings, a junior college transfer, is tossed in 21 points per game last year. the leading candidate to move into that But it won't be just a one-man show spot. Another transfer, 6-2 Lee Cum- up front. 6-9 postman Ray Tolbert mings and 6-5 Keith Edmondson, are (11.9/7.8) should show the experience also possible starters.y The other three spots are adequately 4 filled. Up front, Carroll is joined by 6-7 * A* senior Arnette Hallman (8.0/5.0) and 6- S* 5 junior Drake Morris (7.9/4.0). Their * improvement is paramount to Purdue 's * '0 * title hopes. S* Sichting's graduation creates some * problems in the backcourt, particularly * in the experience, department. Junior S* Brian Walker (4.3) set a school record 4for assists; he will be counted on for # * more scoring punch. The others will hve to make a quick adjustment to Big Ten play. ** The Boilermakers can't win the title on the performance of one man. Carroll is an All-American candidate, but he'll need a supporting cast. Judging from the LAI[ST * both past performances' and present * D BLeCaronic cGmel * talent, he may have one. 504 FREE : 4. Illinois Among the list of all-time "flashes in You can play 50C worth of a pan," the '78-79 Illini ranks up there *pinball or video games * near the top. Lou Henson's squad with your U of M student caught fireearly, streaking to victory ID PLUS this coupon e in their first 15 contests. Then the roof hcoupon.* caved in-Illinois dropped 11 of its last -- EXPIRES't2 ,6. .' .1.15 game s t6.finish'SeveitTh i.the Cofl- y .RY y" " [ ( Y y ..y..,( ..,"" y y.-( yy~y, py> r . * *.pn . A ' .. , . , ., , .:4, .. 4... 4, 4 T YTT T~l[[TVY r VT .Ty TT T. fY RaezI 4. / 4" { R" Y "4, I f 9 like W("(pCW great year te had as a freshman they expected him to score 700 points instead of 500." AS IT WAS, McGee "only" scored 18.9 points per game while averaging 5.6 rebounds per contest. During his freshman campaign McGee averaged 19.7 points per game and 4.9 rebounds. "I think I should have done better but it wasn't really a sophomore jinx,' McGee said. "I averaged over 18 points and that's not bad. I guess people were expecting more than my freshman year, so they were looking for 20 to 22 points a game." McGee fell under a barrage of criticism for his woeful shooting per- centage, which fell to a mediocre .456. Poor shot selection helped lower that mark, but Orr said McGee has cleaned up his offensive act for the upcoming season. "He doesn't take nearly as many bad shots as he did last year," said Orr. "I THINK I'm improved over last year," McGee said. With more ex- perience and knowing the system a lit- tle better it helps you out a lot. "Shot selection just comes with maturity in the game. When you're young you might do some things that you wouldn't do when you're a little older. When I was a freshman and sophomore, I was shooting from anywhere and I wasn't thinking about it that much, but as you get older, you kind of think about it more," said McGee. . Even with all the boos McGee heard a condition as he's in right now, and his attitude is phenomenal," Orr said at the pre-season media luncheon earlier this month. "He's got a great attitude. You know, Mike has had some problems in the past. He's a great talent and I look for him to have just a super, super year. I can't see anyway, unless it's an injury, that he won't be just an outstanding basketball player. "HE'S ALSO a different person - personality-wise. He'll say things to the players, not just calling for the ball," Orr continued. "He does things that are good for the team and morale. I've never seen the guys more receptive to Mike." And with those words from Orr, will the new Mike McGee please stand up? "I think we're going to have a good team," said McGee, the new team player. "I think we'll be much better than people think we'll be. Everybody's working harder and we're all pulling for each other. I'd say the whole team has been doing really well in practice." EVEN WHEN asked about his goals for the upcoming season, McGee could only think of team goals - winning the Big Ten and getting a tournament bid - rather than individual ones, such as a place on the All-Big Ten team or at the top of the conference scoring heap. And McGee doesn't see the loss of Hubbard as putting extra pressure on him personally. "We have a lot of people that can score," said McGee, "So we should be pretty balanced." See Ann Arbor's largest and most of sweaters. comprehensive selection TIPOFF Supplement to the Michigan Daily EDITOR: Alan Fanger ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Geoff Larcom, Mark Mihanovic STAFF WRITERS: Stan Bradbury, Dave Johnson, Scott M. Lewis, Billy Neff ADVERTISING COORDINATOR: Arlene Saryan SALES REPRESENTATIVES: Sue Guszynski, Leslie Harris, Kris Peter- son, Linda Solomon,, Nancy Stempel, Bob Thompson, Dan Woods Center spread.photo by David Harris Cover photo courtesty of Michigan Sports Information Department Styled in V-neck, Crew-neck, Cardigan, and Sleeveless models. In an array of exclusive colors. All Styles in plain colors. Many styles in cable and fancy knits. pan IRovtn 0 State St. at the Arcade, . w ,.