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By JIM ECKER
Michigan's Big Ten basketball season is but
one game old, yet already preseason visions
of gloom and disaster have yielded to a bright-
er picture of title contention and possible post-
season play.
The fiery Wolverines, who tangle with the
Minnesota Golden Gophers tomorrow, exude
an aura of confidence and enthusiasm which
alone could spell the difference between win-
ning and losing.
Coach John Orr is smiling these days, an
expression absent from the head man's visage
during last year's painful campaign. But Orr's
smile doesn't portray vindication, although
he's obviously pleased with the recent trend
which has returned a measure of self-respect
to the entire Michigan basketball program.
John Orr smiles these days because he
has a baliclub which reflects his coaching
philosophy. The Wolverines hustle, play to-
gether as a team, and give an honest effort
every game. Michigan still lacks the over-
all team depth and individual talents of
conference favorites Wisconsin, Indiana and
Purdue, but the Wolverines' particular
brand of play makes them a definite dark-
horse threat.
"I'm not saying we'll win it," cautions
Coach Orr. "But we'll definitely have a say
in who does." Who will win the Big Ten
crown? "Come back in February and I'll tell
you," quipped the former Beloit ace.
Like everyone else, Orr thinks Indiana, Wis-
consin, and Purdue have the ingredients for
a championship club. But that doesn't mean
he's picking the Hoosiers, Badgers and Boiler-
makers one-two-three.
"I'm a lot more confident now (about our
chances). That's for sure," Orr affirmed. "But
I said at the beginning of the year that this
year's team would be better than expected.
Nobody believed me."
"Campy Russell just had to get better
from last year," advised Orr. "We thought
Joe Johnson would play and shoot better
o Johnny'
this year, and he has. And we knew C.J.
Kupec would play as well or better than
(Ken) Brady.
"Ken didn't have a bad shot, but he had
to be six or eight feet from the basket with
it. Kupec won't be as flashy as Brady. Kenny
would block three or four shots a game, or
get way above the basket and grab a re-
bound, and the crowd would go crazy.
"Well, C.J. won't do that. He can't jump
as high. But nobody gives us 40 minutes of
defense like Kupec does."
Orr maintains that the current crew of
Wolverines is better schooled in the funda-
mentals of basketball than the squad Mich-
igan fans suffered with a year ago. Whether
in shooting, dribbling, passing, or playing de-
fense, Michigan's director of hardcourt ac-
tivities gives the 1973-74 players higher grades
than their predecessors.
"I have nothing against the guys on last
year's team. They're friends of mine,"
admitted the man of many friends. "But
we take a look at films of last year's
Georgia Tech game and we see Ernie John-
son had six clear layups off the fast break,
and lost the ball every time.
"If a team pressed us, we couldn't pass to
Ernie or Lock (forward John Lockard) be-
cause they'd walk with the ball. That doesn't
happen this yeart" Orr intoned.
Although Orr is pleased with his players
and their performance to date, he is *not
happy with Michigan's Big Ten schedule.
"It's definitely unfavorable," he moaned.
"We're at a real disadvantage there."
Michigan must play all three title contenders
on enemy territory before hostile crowds,
with two of the confrontations (Purdue and
Wisconsin falling on a Monday evening after
a Saturday contest.
Another factor which could hurt the Wol-
verines this year is a lack of bench strength.
Although freshman guard Lionel Worrell
has played well as Michigan's sixth man,
face
he's prone to rookie mistakes and not an
effective outside shooter.
Seventh man Chuck Rogers doesn't make
many mistakes, but he's not t strong re-
bounding forward Michigan will need the day
extended foul trouble plagues the Wolverines'
frontcourt.
What Michigan needs is another big man,
somebody who can come off the pines and
hold his own in a pressure situation. The
Wolverines made it through the Indiana game
with Worrell and Rogers. Whether they could
do it again remains to be seen.
There are three willing bodies around who
could help out, but as yet none have had the
opportunity to show his stuff. 6-6 forward
Johnny Robinson just turned 18 and is still
learning the game; 6-5 forward Rick White
needs more work in completing his transition
from cleats to sneakers; and 6-9 center/for-
ward Randy McLean just recently rejoined
the club with the start of the new semester
and is 'working with the varsity reserves.
One or more of this trio of freshmen
frontcourtmen must develop before Michigan
rates a real shot at the top.
But a conference championship is not the
only plum up for grabs this year. Besides the
automatic NCAA berth awarded to the loop's
leader, there is also a tournament in St. Louis
for eight league runners-up, and potential NIT
bids to the conference's other representative
outfits.
Michigan's mentor thinks a 16-8 mark (8-6
in Big Ten) would be good enough for an
NIT invite, with a shot at the other two
tourneys resting on intra-league develop-
ments.
Michigan has a way to go yet before any
post-season traveling plans can be finalized..
The Wolverines' year may well end March 9
with the Michigan State game. Then again,
it might receive an extension. It will be in-
teresting to see what develops.
,_
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or
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Daily Photo by DAVID MARGOLICK
MICHIGAN'S LIONEL WORRELL goes up for a shot against
Xavier earlier this year. Worrell, freshman swingman between
guard and forward, has been a pleasant surprise for the Wolver-
ines this year, providing them with a fiery and reliable sixth
man in their so far quite successful season.
Sioux
By BRIAN DEMING
Snow, ice and frosty air - the
season is ripe for hockey. And
tonight and tomorrow night the
aged and hallowed beams of Yost
Ice Arena will e c h o t h e
excitement emulating from this
popular winter sport. The feature
for the weekend will pit the home-
town Wolverines against the
Sioux from North Dakota.
There are a number of sim-
ilarities between these two
squads. The most obvious is their
place in the WCHA standings.
Both are wallowing precariously
close to the bottoi of the heap.
Michigan sits in eighth place with
a 4-7-1 mark while North Dakota
holds ninth, 3-9. Only lowly Min-
nesota-Duluth, which has won
only two, has a lower place in the
standings.
ANOTHER common situation
of these two clubs is their youth.
Both the Sioux and the Wolver-
ines boast an abundance of fresh-
men. Ten freshmen people the
rosters of each team making in-
experience a subsequent excuse
for each squad's losing record.
A third factor in common is the
abilities of the respective goalies.
Sophomore Robbie Moore of
invade
Yost
SPORTS
NIGHT ED)ITORS: GEORGE HASTINGS & CLARKE COGSDILL
Michigan and freshman Peter
Waselovich of North Dakota both
have quickness that have earned
each a reputation for stinginess.
Waselovich, a heavily recruited
all-stater from Minnesota, has
played in twelve WCHA games
this year and sports an unim-
pressive 5.4 goals per game
average. However, the freshman
has made 'nearly 34 saves per
game.
Meanwhile, Moore, in twelve
games has given up 4.7 goals per
contest while averaging 36 saves.
The outcome of this weekend's
contests will heavily rest on the
abilities of the respective net-'
minders. Both Michigan and
North Dakota have had troubles
scoring and against Moore and
Waselovich the troubles are mag-
nified.
Goaltending is not North Da-
kota's only strength. "They're a
tremendous skating team," com-
mented Michigan coach Dan Far-
rell about Coach Rube Bjork-
man's Sioux.
The men from Grand Forks
have combined their fine skating
and goaltending talents in earn-
ing their five victories this sea-
son. The Sioux have scalped Lake
Superior State twice quite han-
dily, Minnesota-Duluth twice, and
Denver with a 5-4 score in over-
time.
BUT THE NoDaks have also
lost twelve and the primary rea-
son is its inability to score. The
Sioux average 3.2 goals per
game, worst in the WCHA.
Leading the meager North Da-
kota scoring attack is winger
Tom Evans with five goals and
six assists in twelve games.
Second on the squad is Terry
Dennis with four goals and four
assists, and third is Dave Gawley
with two goals and six assists.
North Dakota will attempt to
skate away its scoring woes
againstaMoore and theBluewde-
fensemen with the line of fresh-
Ice
man Roger Lamoureux, center,
junior Larry Drader, left wing,
and sophomore Rick Clubbe,
right wing. In the second line are
Dennis, Evans, and Dave Gawley
-all freshmen.
Top defensemen for the Sioux
are Allen Hangsleben and Ken
Gibb-both juniors.
The NoDaks have just come off
two heart-rending defeats to Mm-
r 'sta, both by the score of 2-1.
Victories this weekend are vital
if the Sioux hope to keep up with
the WCHA pack.
Michigan, of course, has every
intention to dispatch North Da-
kota from the WCHA race. "If
we win, we'll pretty well knock
them out of it," remarked Far-
rell. "If we don't win, we're in
trouble."
THE WOLVERINES need vic-
tories as desperately as the Sioux
and their scoring problems have
been almost as severe. Michigan
is last in the WCHA in getting
shots on goal.
But, with one exception, the
Wolverines are healthy and
should be able to handle the
Sioux. Doug Lindskog, a fresh-
man forward, will miss the action
because of a broken finger.
Michigan will attempt to re-
verse the losing trend they estab-
lished against Denver last week
when they suffered 4-3 and 6-4
defeats. Michigan's. scoring con-
tingent, which has been led in
WCHA action by Don Fardig,
six goals and seven assists, Kris
Manery, seven goals and five
assists, and Angie Moretto, six
goals and five assists, will be out
to re-establish Michigan in the
thick of the WCHA race.
Ii
IIF
Ili
Sports of, The, Daily
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State Street on the Campus
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
HOME OF THE RED CARPET TREATMENT
Gymnasts host Invitational
The Michigan gymnasts hope to continue on their winning
ways tonight at 7:30 as they host Michigan State, Indiana and
Ohio State in the Michigan Invitational at Crisler Arena.
Coach Newt Loken's squad began their defense of the Big
Ten championship with a victory over Ohio State last Saturday
in Columbus. The team is reported to have been working
extremely hard lately and is hopeful that the home crowd will
have much to cheer about in the two-day event.
The meet is scheduled to begin tonight at 7:30 and will
resume tomorrow morning at 10:00. Finals in the various
events are set to begin at 2:30, Saturday afternoon. Admission
charge for University students is 50c.
* * *
MICHIGAN G O A L I E Robbie
Moore, shown here plI a y i n g'
against North Dakota last year,
will be a key figure again as the
Wolverines take on the Sioux to-
night at Yost Ice Arena.
ISCOUES
NBA
Chicago 116, Atlanta 104
Seattle at Golden State, inc.
NHL
Buffalo 7, New York Rangers 2
Boston 2, Chicago 2
Philadelphia 7, Minnesota 4
Daily Photo
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Walton's back hurts
LOS ANGELES - UCLA super-
star Bill Walton, still suffering
from a back injury incurred last
Monday night against Washington
State, will probably not play to-
night against California. Although
X-rays of. the affected area proved
negative, daily whirlpool treat-
ments have not improved Walton's'
condition to the point of allowing
him to practice with the team,
Sophomore R a l p h Drollinger,
who stepped in when Walton got
four quick fouls against North'
Carolina State, will make the first
start of his collegiate career as the
Bruins put their 85-game winning'
streak on the line against the}
Bears.
Purdue coach ill
WEST LAFAYETTE - A mild
case of pneumonia has relegated
KCING PLEASURE
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