Page '-Saturday, February 3, 1979-The Michigan Daily
HOLCOMB HEALTHY FOR 'MUST-WIN' GAME:
Blue cagers face improved Illini
Soluk optimistic
for cager rebound
By BRIAN MARTIN
The second half of the Big Ten season
officially begins today, and the con-
ference picture is anything but clear.
About the only thing in focus is a
playoff picture without a supporting
cast of Wolverines. After Thursday's
loss to Indiana, Michigan dropped to 4-5
in the conference, four games out of fir-
st place with only nine games yet to be
played.
Since only two teams from a con-
tied for fourth place but only two games
behind second place Iowa. Second place
will certainly be an at-large bid to the
tourney.
Illinois definitely needs a win today to
stay in contention'for the playoffs. The
Illini rebounded from a three-game
losing streak Thursday night with a
convincing win over Minnesota.
A big part of the resurgence of the
14th-ranked Illini has been two-fold: the
recovery of 6-11 center Derek Holcomb
and the improved play of former reser-
ve forward Levi Cobb.
HOLCOMB CAME DOWN with a foot
infection the night of Illinois' win over
Michigan State. He sat out two games
and saw only limited action against the
Wolverines last Saturday (18 minutes of
play), which Michigan won 56-54 on
Marty Bodnar's last second layup.
During those Three games Illinois'
record was 0-3. But Holcomb returned
against the Badgers and helped record
another notch in the win column.
"Holcomb is a lot better than the last
three weeks," Illini coach Lou Henson
said yesterday. "He hadn't worked out.
at all prior to the Michigan game (last
week) and is much stronger now."
THE OTHER REASON for the Illini's
return to winning ways has been the
play of Cobb. His 19 point performance
against Minnesota moved him into the
starting lineup in place of Eddie John-
son. Johnson is the man who hit the
winning bucket against MSU a few
weeks back. "Levi has played excellent
ball for us," said Henson, who racked
up his 300th career win Thursday.
With the exception of Holcomb, who
is known as "The Incredible Hole"
around Champaign, there are no
established stars on the squad. Rather,
the Illini have flourished on team play
this season.
Defense is the biggest attribute for
Illinois, who lead the Big Ten in holding
opponents to the lowest field goal per-
centage (.421). Michigan is fifth in this
rebound average in the league.
In a strange twist of the norm, Illinois
may have an advantage today with the
game being played at Crisler. The Illini
have been phenomenally successful on
the road this year, having lost only one
THE LINEUPS
By ELISA FRYE
Gloria Soluk is a coach who looks to
the future. She doesn't need a
horoscope or a palm reader, she has
confidence in her basketball team.
Her optimism keeps her from
dwelling on such events as the loss
against Central that the women's team
suffered Wednesday night, and instead
has her looking forward to the game
with Calvin College this afternoon in
Grand Rapids.
of the year for me," Soluk added.
So Soluk has been busily preparing
the cagers for this afternoon's contest.
"We're working on rebounding and
blocking out," she said. "We're
working on the things that we do well.
As for Calvin's abilities, Soluk said,
"Every team we play is good com-
petition now."
Soluk will not decide on the starters
until just before the game. In an ipjury
update, she reported that sophomore
guard Deb Allor, who separated her
shoulder in a game against Adrian, has
had her cast removed. But her status as
a player this year remains ulcertain.
6-7
6-5
6-6
6-0
6-3
MICHIGAN
Phil Hubbard
Mike McGee
Alan Hardy
Keith Smith
Tom Staton
..... C .....Derek Holcomb
..... F ..... Levi Cobb
..... F .....Neil Bresnahan
..... G ..... Mark Smith
..... G ..... Rob Judson
6-11 "We're going to win the Big Ten tour-
6-6 -nament and the state championship,"
she said. "One loss to Central is not
6-6 going to stop that. It was the worst loss
ILLINOIS
6-7
6-2
full court
1.js
i-
t
Lai
category at .461. Illinois' exact field
goal percentage for the season. The
Wolverines are hitting at a .456 clip.
ONCE AGAIN Michigan will be out-
sized on the frontline. Illinois' starting
lineup has a 12-inch advantage over
Michigan's starters, who rank eighth in
road game. The problem has been win-
ning at home, where they have dropped
three of five.
"We usually play pretty well on the
road," Henson said. "It will be another
top game, as games with Michigan are
always tough."
Big Ten mid-terms.
... Grades are in
Levi Cobb
I
ference are permitted to participate in
the NCAA's, and since Michigan is tied
with Indiana for fifth place, hopes for.
the runnerup spot look anemic.
THE FIGHTING ILLINI come to
Crisler Arena this aftern-oon .(at 3:30,
not 4:05 to accommodate the NBC
camera televising the contest as the Big
Ten Game of the Week) still in the race,
MAKES NBA EAST TEAM
By DAVE RENBARGER
Lanier 's a 'Star'
Entertainment omes..
to the Stage Door!
Magic
Right before your very eyes, ilusionistj
Lee Dorrow performs every Sunday from C
5 p.m. until closing ... possibly right at
your very toblel Bring the entire familyl a4
Children's menu featured until 8 p.m. No
cover charge. Drinks at regular prices. &
Starting Sunday, Feb. 4, 1979.
300 S. Thayer Acro s from Hill Auditorium
iNIS ADl
DINNER
More than fifty percent of the world is starving.
Another twenty percent, just plain hungry. And yet, in the
face of starvation, they have hope. Hope that the rains will
return to the African Plain. Hope that the Asian rice crop
will be bigger this year. Hope that someone, anyone, with
anything to offer will come to help them fight the battle for
life. Someone in the Peace Corps. They'd like to stand up
for themselves, these prisoners of fate, but they're just
too weak to stand up. But with the Peace Corps a flame
begins to flicker. They've seen other like you before. Seen
the changes you can bring. Two thousand wells on the
parched earth of Sahel. Seen how their knowledge helped
reduce the grain losses. Who are they? They're people
pretty much like you. People with commitment and skills
who've assessed their lives and decided there must be
more than just having a job. They looked into themselves
and knew it was time for the talk to end and the work to
begin. They're very specia1 people, these people. Totally
prepared to give everything they've got. And getting back
even more than they give. That's the beauty of the Peace
Corps. The work is hard and the pay is
lousy, and the progress comes a drop
at a time. But the rewards are infinite.
Join the Peace Corps and then
take a good long look in the mirror.
.h.You'll never look the same to
yourself again.
rv The Peace Corps is alive and
well. Call toll free:
800-424-8580. Or write: The
Peace Corps, Box A,
Washington, D.C. 20525
DETROIT (AP) - A record crowd of
30,000 is expected to assemble under the
Pontiac Silverdome for the National
Basketball Association's 29th annual
All-Star Game Sunday, and they'll have
a hometown hero after all, thanks to
league Commissioner Larry O'Brien.
With Philadelphia guard Doug Collins
sidelined by a foot injury, O'Brien
named Detroit center Bob Lanier to the
East squad yesterday
LANIER'S APPEARANCE should
help Houston's Moses Malone, who
before Friday was the East's only cen-
ter against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of
Los Angeles and Chicago's Artis
Gilmore for the West.
Lanier won't be the only local hero.
Pontiac's own Campy Russell of the
University of Michigan and the
Cleveland Cavaliers is a reserve for the
East team of Washington Coach Dick
Motta.
Also on the East team are starters
Rudy Tomjanovich of Houston and
George Gervin of San Antonio. Tom-
janovich was a star at Hamtramck
High School and the University of'
Michigan, while Gervin was a prep star
at Detroit King and college standout at
Eastern Michigan.
"IT'S THE showcase of the stars,"
Gervin said. "Anybody can ignite it.
I'm not coming in to steal the show. I'm
just coming to be one of the stars."
Tomjanovich said he's had better
seasons and wasn't chosen.
"This year I thought I had no chan-
ce," he said.d
Russell said: "It probably won't hit
me until the day of the game as to what
it all means."
The crowd will be some 12,000 more
than the previous high for an NBA All-
Star Game, a turnout of 18,422 which
watched the 1968 game in New York's
Madison Square Garden.
A DETROIT brewery bought a block
of 4,000 tickets Wednesday, making the
game a virtual sellout and prompting
the local TV blackout to be lifted.
Other East starters are Julius "Dr.
J" Erving of Philadelphia and Pete
Maravich of New Orleans.
The West team, coached by Seattle's
Lenny Wilkens, will counter with Ab-
dul-Jabbar, -David Thompson and
George McGinnis of Denver, Marques
Johnson of Milwaukee and Paul West-
phal of Phoenix.
IT WILL BE the seventh All-Star ap-
pearance for Lanier, who was the most
valuable player of the 1974 game,
scoring 24 points.
He remembers that game vividly,
and not just because he was MVP.
"What makes that game stand out
was playing the high and low post
together with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,"
Lanier recalled. "Larry Costello, coach
of the West team, had us on the floor at
the same time and that was something.
It was a strange experience to have
somebody on my team taller than I am.
T had to look up to Kareem who is 7-2.
The way we were flipping the ball
around, it was awesome."
IT'S MIDTERM TIME. But don't panic. This midterm evaluation only
concerns the Wolverine basketball players, whose Big Ten season is
exactly halfway down the drain.
The grades are in.
Tommy Staton-A-minus-Tommy gets straight A's in categories like
defense, enthusiasm, leadership and quotable quotes. But his questionable
offensive skills coupled with his extended absences cost him a half a grade.
Still, Staton's value to the team is difficult to understate. With him going at
full tilt all year long, Michigan could very well be 6-3 instead of 4-5 right now.
Phil Hubbard-B-That's fair enough, I suppose. You just can't be too
harsh on a guy who has had to endure as much as Hubbard has for the last
couple seasons. Never much of an extrovert, Hub is so sick pf everybody
wanting to know how his knee is feeling that he has withdrawn deeper into
his shell of silence. The real extent of the frustration he must feel is thus left
to the imagination.
Alan Hardy-B-plus-After three and a half years, "City Al" is finally
becoming a consistent player from game to game. His shots have been going
in a lot more often lately, but it seems like the better he shoots, the more he
sits on the bench. I never knew making baskets was so exhausting.
Smith needs some polish
Keith Smith-B-I was tempted to give the little guy an A-plus on the
sole basis of one shot he sank 'against MSU, but one shot does not make a
season. Give him another year or so of polish, and Keith is a good bet to
make the grade. This seasoi, however, his frequent mistakes and poor out-
side shooting counteract his often brilliant play. And, no, I won't consider
changing the grade, no matter how many late papers he turns in.
Mike McGee-C-So how is it possible that the team's top point producer
gets stuck with the lowest grade? Simple. The problem is, that Mike's many
mistakes on the court often more than make up for his bushels of baskets. All
too often, the trigger-happy "Geeter".confuses Michigan basketball with
I.M. basketball, unloading those patented 22-footers. As a result, he has
missed more shots than anybody in the Big Ten, and owns the worst shooting
percentage (.405) of all the conference scoring leaders.
Marty Bodnar-A-minus-He's the most pleasant surprise on the team,
the steadiest and most consistent performer over the entire year. Marty
commits few errors on the court and makes a lot more shots than he misses.
Thad Garner-B-minus-He's a hard worker, he's enthusiastic, and he
does many things well. But he is also very prone to make rally-killing
mistakes at the worst possible times. Still, it's tough to get down on a guy
who probably writes home at least three times a week.
Paul Heuerman-B-plus-"Drink" has been doing everything you would
expect from a decent back-up center. He can't dominate a game like a star-
ting center, but then again he does a lot more than just take up space like
a Tom Bergen.
JJ needs another chance
Johnny Johnson-B-An untimely injury stalled a JJ's emergence as a
bona fide Big Ten player a few weeks back. Now Johnny finds himself at the
crossroads. If he gets another opportunity pretty soon and produces, he
could be just what Michigan needs. If he blows the chance, or, worse yet,
doesn't get one, he just might end up elsewhere.
Mark Lozier-C-plus-I'll admit it. That's just a guess. It's not based on
anything Mark's done this year, because he really hasn't done much of
anything. As fifth guard, the only junior on the team has developed into
Michigan's forgotten man.
Mark Bodnar and John Garris-I (as in a incomplete)-This pair simply
hasn't done enough to pass any sort of judgment on. They do both show up for
practice every day, but, at the games, they might just as well be sitting in
the stands.
Johnny Orr-??-C'mon now. The guy's like a professor with tenure. I
can't touch him.
I suppose you're wondering about the team GPA. It figures out to be just
about a 3.0. I suppose the median for a tough conference like the Big Ten
would be a shade over a 3.0. All of this, I suppose, serves to explain
Michigan's current sixth-place standing, just a shade under the median.
See how easy it is?
4
f
f
a
7 days to
MICHIGRAS '79
Sat., Feb. 10-8 pm
THE MICHIGAN UNION-$1
It's Gonna Be A
"SUPER PARTY"
Carnival Games o Movies
Live Bands * Casino " Prizes
Free Bowling & Billiards " Food
Drink " 21 Club " Great Acts
Sponsored by Union Programming/UAC 763-1107
-
i
PD Where can you get a six
pack that costs as little
as8C a day, and will
last a whole week?
ju ----a / . 11
BILLBOARD
The Department of Recreational
Sports announces that the filing
deadline for paddleball teams in the
Residence Hall, Fraternity, Graduate,
and Independent divisions is Monday,
February 5. All entries can be turned in
at the old IM Building on Hoover St.
between 8:30 and 4:30 on Monday.
Hoop fans who didn't read the story
above carefully enough should be war-
'4