I HE MICHIGAN OAILY Pac S e ;,:! 7 i,! 1 717 4 , ! . i . 1, 1 1 1 1 1 utj. u .,cvci I A Upstart cagers restore hr smile t 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. ,_ U or I L' 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 A "Wild" SALE' from The, Varsity Shop All Casual Slacks 20% OFF *(except corduroys, denims) Open Monday thru Saturday, 9-5:30 Friday Nights 'Till 8:30 tiE AA WAL ILDS 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 SUMMIT E l MEDICAL CENTER Free Pregnancy Testing PROBLEM PREGNANCY COUNSELING NO CHARGE BIRTH CONTROL INFORMATION Approved by National Organization for Woman 7(N..W.) (313) 272-8450 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 presents THURS., FRI., SAT. Jan. 10, I1, 12 DOC WATSON & MERLE WATSON Coming: DIZZY GILLESPIE THURS., FRI., SAT., JAN. 17, 18, 19 THURSDAYS: REDUCED COVER I I OMEGA PIZZA Free Fast Delivery: SUBS . SALADS . t CHICKEN . BURGERS - F 769- 3400 SHRIMP RIES 9 COKE nI :: "I ../'s . r a"""'v ilia'' :'" 1.: I