NBA STILL INTERESTED
The Michigan Daily-Saturday, March 17, 1979-Page 7
Flubbard
noncommittal on hoon future
By DAVE RENBARGER
Maybe, just maybe, Phil Hubbard
has already made up his mind.
But, if Michigan's star center is
already dead solid certain to reject any
offer the pros might throw at him this
year, he's doing a good job keeping his
decision to himself.
However, given the unique yet
precarious circumstances surrounding
Hubbard's basketball future, nobody
can blame him for wanting to take his
time while examining all the options.
As a senior whose class graduates
this spring, Hubbard automatically
qualifies for the NBA draft this June.
As a senior who had to sit out an entire
year after undergoing knee surgery,
Hubbard automatically qualifies for an
extra year of collegiate eligibility.
BUT THIS choice isn't as simple as it
sounds. Hubbard's slow and uncertain
recovery from the serious operation
has stamped a giant question mark on
his NBA potential in the minds of the
professional talent-hunters.
"I really liked Phil before he got
hurt," said Chicago Bulls General
Manager Rod Thorn. "I thought he
was among the top five players in his
class. But I truthfully think he hasn't
come back from his injury. His game
was a finesse game - a quickness
game. And now he can't get away from
anybody with his loss of quickness."
Seven other NBA GM's, coaches and
scouts expressed similar views on Hub-
bard's comeback progress.
Nionetheless, there was still a consensus
among those interviewed that he would
certainly be a high choice in the draft,
most likely a first-rounder.
ANOTHER near-consensus was that
Hubbard would benefit - both finan-
cially and physically - from his final
year at Michigan.
Boston's Red Auerbach put it well.
"He'd be better off in the long run han-
ing in there for one more year and get-
ting his knee all straightened out," said
the Celtic GM. "If he turns pro and his
knee's not 100 per cent, he won't make
it. If he is 100 per cent, he'll make an
excellent pro."
On the home front, everyone is
naturally hoping to see Phil Hubbard
continue to practice his trade in Crisler
Arena, not Madison Square Garden or
the Fabulous Forum. With Hubbard
going all out for an
ientire season next
year, Michigan would be an automatic
Big Ten contender. Without him, 1979-80
would likely be another mediocre year.
"I THINK he will definitely be back
next year," said Blue assistant coach
Bill Frieder. "He's been telling most of
the recruits we're after that he'll be
back."
As Frieder put it, generally only the
"high first round picks" sign pro con-
tracts for real big money. And he feels
that by playing with the Wolverines
next year, Hubbard will erase that
shoo-in for the pros. He was the first
player in Michigan history to score
more than 1000 points prior to the end of
his sophomore season, and his
quickness, outside shooting touch, and
ferocious rebounding had the pro teams
all but drooling.
BUT THE past season was one of in-
consistency and doubt. There were
some definite flashes of his previous
brilliance, but nothing sustained until
late in the season.
Detroit Piston scout Will Robinson,
the highly-respected and longtime ob-
server of area cage prospects, scouted
Hubbard throughout the season.
"After the Alabama game (where
Phil scored 24 points and grabbed 14
rebounds), I said, 'Hub's back.' But
then in the next ballgame, he didn't
play the same way at all.
\"He'd be better off in
the long run 'hanging in
there for one more year
and getting his knee all
straightened out. "
-Red Auerbach
"HE DIDN'T play with the reckless
abandon consistently this year that he
did in the past," Robinson continued.
"Monetary-wise, I don't know who is
going to take a risk on him."
Emphasizing that the draft is still a
long way off and that things are subject
to change, Robinson added, "At the
moment, there isn't much conversation
about him being a high choice for us.
(Detroit has three first round selections
in this year's draft.) Hubbard's chance
as a first round draft choice was put in
jeopardy because he wasn't consisten-
tly a great ballplayer."
Robinson's contention was by no
means unanimous around the league.
Auerbach called Hubbard "definite fir-
st round material," and Bill Sharman
of the Los Angeles Lakers agreed.
NEW YORK Knicks GM Eddie
Donavan and Phoenix Suns GM Jerry
Colangelo appeared to be the most
familiar with Hubbard's current
situation. Both agreed that he would be
wise to return to Michigan.
"We've always followed the
philosophy that if a player has another
year of eligibility, it would be to his
benefit to use it," said Donavan. "He
(Hubbard) has the potential, and you
hate to see a guy give that up. All of a
sudden the pride takes over and the guy
starts favoring the bad leg and ruins the
good one."
Calling Hubbard a probable second
round pick, Colangelo said, "I don't
think there's any question he'll go back
to school. And the team that takes him
this year will just have to hope to sign ,
him next year."
IN THIS respect, Hubbard's situation
is similar to the one that Larry Bird
faced last year. Bird opted for a final
year at Indiana State, and certainly
enhanced his bargaining position by
earning Player of the Year honors.
Joe Axelson, GM of the Kansas City
Kings, recommended that Hubbard
return to Michigan for more than
basketball polish. "I think he should
stay in school and get a degree," he
said. "A degree's a nice thing to have
these days. It's a cold world."
Hubbard is certainly aware of that
fact. His college world for the last two
years hasn't exactly been a warm, cozy
existence. Two seasons ago he suffered
through the agony of inactivity. Last
year's comeback process was ham-
pered by occasional knee flare-ups plus
frequent and sometimes flagrant
criticism in the press.
"BUT YOU learn from that, man,"
said Hubbard of the experience. "You
learn that everything isn't peaches and
cream. It makes you realize that
there's more to sports than just fun and
games and winning."
And there is more to his decision than
just the NBA, its money and a degree.
At least two other considerations are+
involved - the Olympics and the;
Michigan record book. 1
By retaining his amateur status and
playing on the U.S. Olympic team in'
1980, Hubbard can become the first
basketball player to ever win two+
Olympic gold medals. Earlier in the1
year, Hubbard indicated interest to do+
so.
AND, AS the third-leading rebounder
in Wolverine history Phil needs i
more caroms to pass Rudy To
janovich as Michigan's top boardmar"
With an extraordinary year, Hubba
could challenge Cazzie Russell's career.
scoring mark. Phil is currently fifth on,
the list with 1,455 points, trailing Henry,
Wilmore (1,652), Bill Buntin (1,725) y
Tomjanovich (1,808) and Cazzie's 2164.
Although the considerations seem
endless, Hubbard his certainly
them all firm in his own mind. Since
decision isilis and his alone, it will.
made according to his own priorities.
And, for the time being, he's keeping
thn nrinrities tn himself.
r . +.J. ..
Phil Hubbard
circa '77-78
question mark and end up with such a
deal.
As the principle actor in this drama,
Hubbard remains firmly non-
committal, obviously content to test the
NBA waters for a few months before
coming to a decision. After all, the draft
isn't until June 25, so Phil really isn't in
any great hurry.
"I JUST have to wait and see how
things turn out," he said. "I really
haven't made up my mind yet. I'm
looking forward to whatever I do.
"It's just a matter of time, I guess,"
Hubbard continued. "It's a sticky
situation. You can't predict the future.
(I) just have to wait and see what they
(the pros) do."
After his first two seasons with the
Wolverines, Hubbard was considered a
Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERC
HUB DRIBBLES past 'Bama's Reggie King, showing the skill that's being ham-:
pered by his knee condition. The big question is, will he go pro or will he stay for
another year?
Q UAKERS SHAKE ORANGEMEN, 84-76:
Irish crush Toledo's hopes,
,79-7,11
Grades force Bell,
Smith from gridiron
By GEOFF LARCOM
The artificial turf at Ferry Field once again became a Rice Krispies
of football sounds yesterday, as the Michigan football team began outside ~
practice for this spring in full equipment.
Conspicuously absent among the barked coaches' comments and whistle
shrills were Blue reserve tailback Roosevelt Smith along with last year's.
starting wolfman, Gene Bell.
The two were declared academically ineligible for this term and will not
be practicing with the Wolverines this spring. According to Bo Schem-
becher, there's a chance the two will be back in the fall, if the work can be
made up over the summer. Schembechler isn't counting on either's presence
then however, and is proceeding accordingly.
The Wolverines stuck to just four plays in getting the winter kinks out of
their offense, which had speedster Butch Woolfolk, a freshman this year,
running out of the first tailback slot, alongside junior Lawrence Reid at
fullback.
Behind Woolfolk and Reid were Tony Leoni, a junior from Flint, and
freshman Dave Brewster. Stanley Edwards, who was redshirted last year
after seeing considerable action the season before, is out for a few days with
a pulled muscle according to backfield coach Don Nehlen.
Veteran reserves B.J. Dickey and John Wangler were calling the prac-
tice signals, along with freshmen Gary Lee and Jim Paciorek. Missing, of
course was number seven, Rick Leach, who was three hundred yards and
another world away, swatting baseballs in Fisher Stadium.
What's it like now without Leach? Nehlen sighed, "You just gotta keep
going, one goal during the spring will be to have a quarterback come to the
fore."
The first day of outdoor work marks the beginning of the 30 days period
allotted Michigan to practice in the spring. Whichever comes first, 20 outside
workouts or 30 days, will signal the end of spring drills.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, no recruits are able to practice with
the team at present, as linebacker Ron Simpkins was able to do preceding
his freshman season. Simpkins graduated a semester early, permitting him .
to attend practice then.
"That's a problem," said Nehlen. "We try to establish a two deep align-
ment during the spring, yet you still can't be sure what's going to happen in
the fall."
Momentarily sidelined along with Edwards is defensive tackle Curtis
Greer, nursing a sore shoulder. Last year's starting safety, junior Mike
Harden, will bt forced to sit out all spring as he recovers from knee surgery.
By The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Fourth-ranked
Notre Dame, led by Kelly Tripucka's 24
points, defeated upset-minded Toledo
79-71 last night in the semi-finals of the
Mideast Regionals in the NCAA
basketball tournament.
Notre Dame freshman Mike Mitchell
hit a 12-foot jumper from the left side
with 7:05 remaining in the first half to
snap a 25-25 tie and start the Irish on an
18-8 tear that gave them a 43-33 half-
time lead.
Tripucka, the most valuable player of
last year's Midwest Regional, had six
points in that spurt and 14 in the first
half as Notre Dame blistered Toledo's
2-3 zone by shooting 58 per cent from the
field.
Toledo chipped away at the lead
through the second half until a steal by
Dick Miller led to a layup by Jim
Swaney that cut Notre Dame's advan-
tage to 62-61 with 4:54 left to play.
But Tripucka bulled his way to an of-
fensive rebound and a layup, and then
I
Notre Dame put the game away at the
foul line, hitting 11 of 12 free throws in
the final 3:51. Bill Hanzlicl added 14
points for the Irish, 24-5. Orlando
Woolridge scored 11 and Rich Branning
10.
Swaney led 19th-ranked Toledo,
which finished at 22-8, with 26 points
and Miller scored 18.
* * e
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Tony Price
scored 20 points, and Ivy league cham-
pion Pennsylvania took control with a
24-6 surge during the first half to edge
eighth-ranked Syracuse 84-76 in the
NCAA East Regional basketball tour-
nament last night.
St. John's met Rutgers in the second
semifinal battle Friday night to deter-.
mine Penn's opponent in the regional
title game Sunday.
Price led a balanced attack for the
14th-ranked Quakers, who led 50-37 at
halftime before they were plagued by a
series of bad passes throughout the
second half.
Syracuse, which once trailed 46-29,
never got closer than five points the
rest of the night. The Orangemen never
recovered after a 69-64 deficit suddenly
bulged to nine points on four straight
free throws by the Quakers.
The officials had failed to recognize a
bonus foul shooting situation 30 seconds
earlier, and they rectified the mistake
on another bonus foul situation against
the Orangemen.
Price hit the two free throws from the
earlier foul and sophomore Ken Hall
added two more with 5:25 to play to give
Penn a 73-64 lead.
Penn, 24-5, scored 13 of its last 15
points at the free throw line with Hall
hitting seven of them.
Tim Smith added 18 points and James
Salters 14 for the Quakers.
Dale Shackleford scored 16 to pace
Syracuse, which finished at 26-4.
Michigan State defeated
Louisiana State in the regional
semi-finals of the NCAA playoff
fs last night, 87-71.
MSU will face Notre Dame
tomorrow in the regional finals,
and St. Johns, which defeated
Rutgers 67-65 last hnight,_does
up against Penn.
Arkansas and unbeaten In-
diana State are contending in
the Midwest regionals aid
DePaul and UCLA match up in
the West this afternoon.
MICHIGAN IN THIRTEENTH PLACE
Tankers floundering in AlAW's
Special to The Daily
PITTSBURGH - As the second day
of the AIAW National women's swim
meet drew to a close yesterday in Pit-
tsburgh, the Michigan contingent found
themselves in thirteenth place with 69
points, just one point behind the eleven-
th place teams of Arizona and Pitt.
FLORIDA IS in the lead with 349
points, while Arizona State is trailing
right behind with 348. One of the pre-
meet favorites, North Carolina, is down
in fifth place with 186 points.
The Michigan tankers showed much
improvement over their first day
performance, setting three new
Michigan records along the way. In the
400-yard medley relay, the team of
Barbara DoriCarlos, Marie Palko, Lin-
da Kendall, and Mary Rish set one of
the school records with a 3:55.52, good
enough for a tenth-place finish.
A second school record was set by the
200-yard freestyle relay team of Kim
Olson, Katy McCully, Sue Collins, and
Mary Rish. Their time of 1:37.21 gave
them an eleventh place finish in the
National meet.
M cCULLY WAS in her best form all
year, finishing thirteenth in both the 50
and 200-yard freestyle events, with
times of 24.29 and 1:51.96, respectively.
Her time in the 200-yard freestyle set
the third new school record.
DonCarlos, in the only other event
Michigan swam yesterday, finished fif-
teenth in the 100-yard backstroke, with
a time of 59.15.
Before the meet, and for the whole
year, the women tankers have been
aiming for a spot in the top ten. "It's
going to be hard to get in the top ten
now," assistant coach Paul Hesse ad-
mitted. "But we're improving as the
meet progresses. We probably will
finish between eleventh and thirteen-
th."
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SPOR TS OF THE DAIL Y
Tumblers trip i tourne
Special to The Daily Southern Illinois and Indiana State their eyes on was Ohio State's Donna as Larry Galofano chippe
I
i
ed in an Alan
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - An in-
jury-plagued Michigan women's gym-
nastics team came up sour in two even-
ts last night, and their Cinderella
season ended in a sixth-place showing
at the AIAW Midwest regional, tour-
nament here last night.
On the sidehorse vault and the uneven
parallel bars, the Wolverines looked
like the technically sound team they've
been all season, hitting their routines
fear season-high totals of 33.90 and 33.70,
respectively.
BUT THE Blue tumblers found
nothing but trouble on the balance
were far back at 131.65 apiece. Bowling
Green and Ohio State also finished
ahead of the Wolverines.
In what could be termed a mild sur-
prise, Michigan State, the second-
seeded team in the meet, stumbled to a
seventh-place showing. The Spartans
carried an undefeated record, Big Ten,
and state championships into last
night's contest.
THE EVENING was not a complete
loss for the Blue tumblers. Co-captain
Mia Axon earned her highest all-around
score of the season, 33.10, and qualified
for today's individual competition in
Silber. Silber, the Big Ten all-around
champion for two years running, ac-
cumulated 36.00 points to take the
regional individual title.
Trojans 4, Pioneers 2
Special to the Daily
FLINT-Trenton's Trojans got two
third period goals last night from cap-
tain Rob Smith and Phil Taitlan to
break a 2-2 deadlock and upset the
number two ranked Ann Arbor
Pioneers 4-2, in the Michigan State High
School semifinal game at Flint's I.M.A.
Togrance slapshot after only one
minute of play. Mike Weymouth an-
swered that for Pioneer at the end of the
first period when he split the defense
and slid a power play goal past Trenton
goalie Doug Buck, just at the buzzer.
The second stanza saw Trojan Jim
Dunn sweep a Jim Crandall pass into
the net for a 2-1 Trenton lead that held
up through the period.
Trenton plays Sault Ste. Marie
tonight at 8 o'clock at the I.M.A. Arena.
-Tom Stephens
Graduate Assistantsh,,ip Available
UNVIVERSIT7Y
English Department
Earn $1575 per semester while working
towards an M.A. and gaining Good Teach-
cfnort