Poge 8-Wednesday, February 21, 1979-The Michigan Daily THE PHANTOM OF THE ARENA Hopeful Boyce recruits and waits By JAMIE TURNER There is a phantom at Crisler Arena. Helurks around the basketball team during Monday practices and then whisks away for a week or so before he appears again, occasionally positioning himself on the Michigan bench next to Johnny Orr. Orr and assistant Bill Frieder know the identity of the Phan- ton, as well as every member of the Wolverines, but hardly anyone else does. Jim Boyce didn't mean it to be this way. If one turns to page five of Michigan's game program, you can find that Boyce grew up in Detroit, won all-state honors at Northwestern High School and all the other typical historical information one would ex- pect. But still no mention of what Boyce does. SO HE'S AN assistant coach ... all right, but what does he do? Well, Jim Boyce is the man primarily responsible out there laying the groundwork, knowing the families; learning names. It's kinda like a courting procedure, just doing all the little things." This "courting procedure" has paved the way for every present Wolverine to s ,o Y i/ r --the most comfortable chairs Sin the Union UMtUyIs at the UNION sts N for the recruitment of high school talent, he's the Wolverines' talent scout. "I'm the one who's on the road making the contact," says Boyce. "I'm '3 r I pQ o We serve only r he abest at Try our delicious PIZZA and GRINDERS 5. State and Packard 995-0232 Sun-Wed open til 1 am Thurs til2 Friday-Saturday tit 3 am FREE DELIVERY doily after 4:30 come to Ann Arbor. From Phil Hubbard to Keith Smith, Mark and Marty Bod- nar to John Garris, Boyce was the man who initiated the contact that ended with letters of intent to enroll at Michigan. IT IS NOT an easy job. Boyce spen- ds four to five days away from home canvassing the countryside for prospects. For every Tim Andree that can be found locally, there's a Charles Hurt in Kentucky or a Clark Kellogg in Ohio. So Boyce, when not scouting other teams for the Wolverines, keeps a con- stant watch for outstanding seniors. And there's no secret as to what Michigan still desperately needs. "We need some big people who can jump, rebound and score," states Boyce. "All the kids here say to get someone in the middle, no matter who it is. They just want someone who will stand in the middle and take up a lot of room. What we want is a guy who can get the ball off the boards without really jumping (laugh)." For a while, it was hoped that Andree would be the answer to those hopes. The big man from Birmingham Brother Rice had been courted by Boyce, Orr and Frieder for the last two years, and they felt they had a better than even chance to sign him. "We liked Andree. He's local and we felt he'd be much more successful in our program than any other. He lives close to here and his parents would be able to see him all the time," added Boyce. UNFORTUNATELY for Michigan, Andree informed the media after the UCLA-Notre Dame game last week that he would be going to Notre Dame in- stead,yet another example of a good big man spurning the Wolverines for an out-of-state school. BeforeAndree, there was Bruce Flowers, who was heavily sought after following a .fine high school career before he decided to go to South Bend. And before that, there was Tommy LaGarde, who decided that Chapel Hill and North Carolina would be more to his liking than the big school practically next door. Boyce sees the players involved as not respecting Michigan and it's basketball program. "What happens is that they (Andree, Flowers and La Garde) tend to go to the programs like Notre Dame, Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke rather than have some state pride. "Look at Flowers," he continued, "he was a great player in Michigan and we wanted him badly. We feel that he would have been a star here, there he's just another player. As soon as Digger (Phelps, ND head coach) signed him, they went out and got another big cen- ter." AFTER FOUR years as head recruiter, Boyce is now looking forward to the day when he gets a steady job as head coach somewhere. The only black coach on Michigan's staff, Boyce came to Ann Arbor after Jim Dutcher left the assistant's job to become head man at Minnesota. "After two years at the University of Detroit, I was assistant athletic director at Kettering High in Detroit when Dutcher left. Bill (Frieder) moved into his (Dutcher's) role and they asked me to come here and move into (Frieder's) role. "My goal is to be a head coach somewhere, maybe at one of the Mid- American schools," commented Boyce.. "A LOT OF people feel it's a black- white thing (about getting a job) but it's really political," he added. "Getting in the right clique, seeing and being seen around people. It's just a matter of being around and paying your dues. And I think I've done that." Although Boyce has spent his entire life in Michigan, it doesn't mean he wouldn't leave the state for a job. "If I got the opportunity, I would go anywhere as long as it was a good basketball opportunity. It could be down, it could be a loser, I wouldn't care. It's been a super opportunity to come to Michigan, and it's been a real learning experience for me, working with two great coaches like John and Bill." By The Associated Press A quick 100 UNIONDALE, N.Y.-Tick off the names of hockey's greatest scorers- Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Phil Esposito and the rest. None of them reached the 100-goal plateau as quickly as Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders. Bossy hit the century mark Monday night in Los Angeles, helping the Islanders to an 8-3 victory over the Kings. The goal came in Bossey's second season and his 129th National Hockey League game-the fastest pace ever maintained by any NHL player. The old record for the fastest first 100 goals was set by Rick Martin of Buffalo, who needed 178 games to reach that plateau. Bossy, 21, now has scored in eight consecutive games-the second time this season he has put together an eight-game string. He needs goals against St. Louis Thursday and Detroit on Saturday, both at home in the Nassau Coliseum, to match-the modern NHL record of 10 straight games set by Andy Bathgate in 1962-1963 and tied by Hull in 1968-69. The current streak was san- dwiched by the all-star series against the Soviet Union when Bossy scored two goals and assisted on two others as the NHL's leading scorer. "I hope the next 100 come as fast as the first 100 came," said Bossy, who was the Islanders' No. 1 selection in the June 1977 amateur draft and has never played a minor league game. Humorous Hex There are two morsels in the Red Wings' brochure which should enter the Irony Hall of Fame. The first is on the page reserved for Dennis Hextall, who started the season with Detroit. Red Wings Coach Bobby Kromm is quoted as saying the following of Hextall: "He's strong defensively, kills penalties and takes the important faceoffs. He's done everything we've asked. The second is on the page that involves Kromm. That page quotes General Manager Ted Linsay as saying Kromm, ".... has the respect of the players." That statement got something of a laugh out of Dennis Hextall, who now plays for the Washington Capitals because the Red Wings, in fact, fired him. "Kromm," Hextall said Sunday, "I have no respect for at all." Hextall seemingly did everything Kromm asked of him-with one ex- ception. He wouldn't blindly accept every one of Kromm's precepts. "I said I thought he was playing the wheels off five players," Hextall recalled. "I didn't ask for more ice time, but I said, 'If we're going to win as a tem, let's get everybody involved.'" The next night in Montreal, Hextall was scratched from the lineup. The Red Wings got hammered 8-3 while Hextall sat in the press box. He played the next game, a 7-1 home victory over Boston on Nov. 11, then funny things started to happen. First, Hextall said, he was told a trade to Buffalo had fallen through when Sabres General Manager Punch Imlach was fired Dec. 4. Then another deal fell through, prompting Hextall's version of a conver- sation with Red Wings General Manager Ted Lindsay. "I said, 'What do you want me to do? Do you want me to practice with the team?' And he said, 'No.' "With me, it was a personality'conflict with Kromm," said Hextall. "But I don't have to like the coach to play my best for him. "I think my record in Detroit speaks for itself. I was the captain. I did 50 percent of their fighting for them and looked after the other guys," he said. "What more did they want?" After reading that quote in the press guide-"He's done everything we've asked"-the answer isn't clear. 7 wonder the pay ousy,the benefits are sogreat. As a volunteer, you'll get to help America stand a little taller. And you'll stand a little taller yourself. America needs your help or we wouldn't be asking. Your community needs your help. People eighteen or eighty: we don't care as long as you do. VISTA is coming alive again. Come alive with us. VISTA. Call toll free: 800-424-8580. Or write VISTA, Box A, Washington, D.C.