THE MICHIGAN DAILY 'Page Nine THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Nine ...,. I... BY GEORGE! George Hastings Basketball season . . ..Orr can smile DURING ALL the basketball hoopla of the past two weeks, with Michigan going on to the finals of the NCAA Mid-east regional and then the long-awaited match-up of the two giants, North Carolina State and UCLA, in the semi-finals, a vote taken by the basketball writers and broadcasters of the Big Ten was somewhat obscured. But for Michigan head basketball coach Johnny Orr, it was a vote which meant a great deal. For only a year after what he admits was one of the low points of his life, Orr was named the Big Ten's Coach-of-the-Year. Anyone who knew John Orr during the year prior to the opening of the 1973-74 basketball season must realize how sig- nificant that award, symbolic of the great season the Wolver- ines had this year, must be to him. When his team of the year before began its swift descent from the top ranks of the country to a second-division finish in the Big Ten, Orr became the target of a stream of criticism and abuse that would try any man. Orr, for a year, became a different man, a depressed, withdrawn, nervous individual devoid of his normally delightful wit. But Monday night at the annual Michigan basketball bst, hometown Wolverine fans got a taste of the old Johnny, a happy, humorous guy. As he did a week ago at Tuscaloosa, Orr had the audience in stitches, spinning stories in his southern Illinois drawl, poking fun at himself and his team, and laughing robust- ly at his own lines on everything from expense accounts to superstars. "I told my guys to go out and live it up on the expense account this year," he joked, "because either I wasn't gonna be back next year or else we'd have had such a great year that Canham wouldn't care how much we spent." He talked of the UCLA game, where "I knew we were in trouble when the referee asked for Bill Walton's autograph." He kidded about "making appointments" to see his present and past superstars, and mentioned the time "Campy called me in to his office and told me that 'Coach, you just sit back and relax, we're gonna make a great coach out of you."' Then he explained why he wasn't going to let his efferves- cent assistant coach Bill Frieder talk at the bust. "Hell," drawled Orr with a grin, "if we got him up here to talk he'd go on all night and we'd never be able to shut him up." All in all, the performance was a fitting climax to a season that has done a lot for Orr, and the standing ovation he received was a well-deserved one. The coaching job done with this year's Michigan team by Orr and his assistants Frieder, Jim Dutcher, and Bird Carter was a truly magnificent one. Picked for about an eighth-place finish in the Big Ten, the Wolverines went on to win the title, defeat Notre Dame in the Mid-east regional, and finish an outstanding 22-5. Those who wit- nessed the team performance this year knew that it was not only an extraordinary group of players, but a well-coached one. At the bust Monday, that group of players got together for the last time of the year and passed out the individual awards for the season. The Rudy Tomanovich Award for the most Im- proved player, which really could have gone to anybody on the starting five, was voted to guard Joe Johnson, who came back from an inconsistent sophomore season to quarterback the team to victory. The Bill Buntin Award, given to the team's most valuable player, not surprisingly went to Campy Russell, who gathered in the trophy with a long arm and thanked everybody in sight, especially "Billy Ayer and Don Johnson, for working me over in practice." Finally, Orr announced that the Basketball Writers Assso- ciation had released their All-American picks, with Russell on the first team. This sent the capacity crowd at Weber's into another ovation and will also send Campy to Las Vegas for five days to collect the award. And, oh yes, the BWA also announced Monday their choice of Coach-of-the-Year for the nation. By two points, the award went to Al McGuire of Marquette. But from this vantage point, it could just as easily have gone to a happy, funny guy named Orr. TKO IN SECOND: Foreman By Reuter CARACAS, Venezuela - Heavy- weight champion George Foreman, showing tremendous power with both hands knocked out challenger Ken Norton with a barrage of punches in the second round of a scheduled 15-round fight at the new Poliedro Arena last night. SHOWING NO effects whatso-, ever from a reported knee injury that for a time yesterday had left the status of the fight in doubt the 224 pound Foreman wasted little time in finishing off Norton once -he stunned his opponent with a left hook about mid-way through the second round. Another left-hook sent the chal- lenger crashing into the ropes near Foreman's corner. Although he quickly bounced up from a seating position on the lower rope strand, referee Jimmy Rondeau ruled it a knock down and gave Norton a, mandatory eight-count before mo- tioning the boxers to continue. Another left-hook stunned Nor- ton, who appeared dazed, and Foreman went after him with a dai sport NIGHT EDITOR: FRED UPTON flurry of lefts and rights head and body. A tremendous left-hook chin spun Norton sideway right-cross sent him spraw his back. NORTON STRUGGLED t and made it to his feet count of eight. But the ch fell into the ringpost of corner and referee Rond naled that he was stopj fight. The referee ruled that was unfit to continue and a technical knockout. T was 2:00 of the second rot Foreman was a 5-2 fav drops N his relatively easy victory made the bookmakers look good as he scored the 40th straight win in a perfect professional career.; Norton, who gained the title] chance after splitting in two bouts1 against former champion Muham- mad Ali in 1973, now has a record of 30 victories and three defeats. Norton, outweighed by 12 pounds at 212 held his own in the first round. Both boxers were wild at to the the start, missing frequently. THE CHALLENGER fought con- to the fidently in the opening round, giv- s and a ing no hint as to what was to hap- ling onto pen to him in the next chapter. In the second round, every punch thtForeman landed to head or, to get up body made Norton grimace. at the The impressive performance of ' iallenger sheer punching power by Foreman his own was reminiscent of the way he de- eau sig- stroyed Joe Frazier and won the ping the title in January 1973 at Kingston, Jamaica. Norton Foreman's ponderous blows had called it Frazier on the floor six times be- he time fore the referee mercifully halted und. the slaughter at 1:43 of the second orite and round. orton The 25-year-old champion, from Hayward, Calif., now can look for- ward to earning possibly the big- gest purse in boxing history when he defends against former cham- pion Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire (formerly the Belgium Con- go) in the fall. The contracts for the Foreman- Ali fight have purportedly already been signed. The terms guarantee Foreman and Ali purses of $5 million each. FOREST TERRACE 1001 SOUTH FOREST Fall Rentals Modern Two-Bedroom Apts. * fully furnished & carpeted 0 etch apt. equipped with its own burglar alarm system " private parking-free 0 garbage disposals @ 24 hr. emergency maintenance service Slive in resident manager 0 Cable TV-free * 8 or 12 month lease available See Randy or Andy Young Apt. 211, 769-6374 Y Piston By GEORGE HASTINGS Special To The Daily DETROIT-The Detroit Pistons ended their finest National Bas- ketball Association season ever last night on a winning note, downing the Atlanta Hawks 109- 108 in a thriller at Cobo Arena. Four straight free throws in the final O s e c o n d s sandwiched around a crucial Atlanta turn- over gave the Pistons their vic- tory, which left them with a final season mark of 52-38, sur- passing by seven wins the pre- vious best mark by a Detroit team. The Pistons, finishing third in the NBA's tough Midwest Divi- sion but possessing the fourth GRAND FINALE s s nip) best mark in the NBA, will open the playoffs on Saturday after- noon against the second-place Bulls in Chicago. Bob Lanier and Don Adanrs were the clutch charity line shooters for the Pistons, who were forced to make a late comeback to defeat the Hawks after the visitors pulled out to a 100-95 lead near the end of the contest. With 20 seconds left, Lanier drilled in his two free throws to put Detroit ahead, 107-106. Then Herm Gilliam, driving the lae for Atlanta, lost control of the ball and saw it sail out of bounds. When the Hawks fouled Adaris with 13 seconds left, he calmly Ia wks dropped in two more free shot:, putting the game out of reacn. The win needn't have been so narrow for Detroit, however, as the Pistons took advantage of some very good defense along with tough inside scoring and rebounding by Curtis Rowe to take a big 52-35 haiftime lend. But the Hawks found their cf- fense in the third quarter, tak. ing advantage of some lenraargic Detroit play to score twu more points in the third peri d than they had in the first two com- bined to cut the margin to 81-72. Atlanta, playing withut st:'r forward Lou Hudson and with Pete Maravich sitting of the bench most of the secctnd half, kept coming on strong to take the ledmidway through the fut stanza, at 90-89. With usual benchwarmers John Brown and John Wetzel leading the way, the Hawks moved out to a five-point advantage, but could not hold it in the face of a strong Detroit onslaught in the final minutes. Lanier with 25 points, Stu Lantz with 21, and Dave Bing with ^0, topped the Piston scoring. Mara- 2 vich was high for Atlanta with 22, despite playing only six min- utes in the last two periods. r } :.:i.'7N~a :, . 1rr{+..7.".+::+.Y:;"r_.......:.+ i.::f.. '>r:rf:":.:t...,.:.i",:...: .. . ..i::'w i : lg Professional League Standings NHL NBA a 7 '. UIV'h icirnU wetr.. .«n ..o .«.,«.,e East Division x.Boston Montresl N. T. Rangers Toronto Buffalo Detroit Vancouver N. V. Islanders West W L 49 14 41 22 38 211 32 25 30 31 27 35 20 41 17 37 Divisio T P 9 1 9 13 15 10 12 17 ts GF GA 07 327 197 91 M67219 89 278 223 79 249 209 71 225 235 64 235 213 51 200 276 51 170 229 01 242 145 93 242 147 72 210 217 67 193 221 60 223 246 59 188 223 58 217 252 35 184 316 x-MIlwauk Chicago Detroit T.C.-O Oma x-Los Ang Golden St Seattle Phoenix Portland x-clinche Western Conference Midwest Division Kee 59 23 54 28 52 30 ha 33 49 Pacific Division eles 47 34 ate 43 37 34 46 30 51 26 54 d division title .720 - .659 6 .634 7 .407 26 .580 .538 .425 .3701 .325 Philadelphia 45 15 11 1 ChIcago 36 14 21 Los Angeles 30 31 12 Atlanta 27 32 13 Minnesota 23 33 16 St. Louis 24 37 11 Pittsourgh 25 38' 8 Ciliternia 13 50 9 a-clinched division title Yesterday's Games Montreal at Vancouver, Inc. Minnesota 5, Los Angeles 1 Yesterday's Games Detroit 109, Atlanta'108 New York 117, Philadelphia 90 Capital 126, Boston 108 Houston 119, Buffalo 96 Milwaukee 118, Kansas City-Omaha 98 Chicago 104, Cleveland 98 Portland at Golden State, inc. Seattle at Los Angeles, Inc. I $ 100 except Fri., Sot., Sun., $1.50 Art 1 ends Tues., Apr. 2 Our Officer Selection Officers are looking for a few good college men- maybe 3 out of 100-who will make good Marine officers. If you're one of them, we'll give you a chance to prove it during summer training at Quan- tico, Virginia. Our program is Platoon Leaders Class, PLC. With ground, air and law options. You might even qualify for up to $2,700 to help you through college. But if money is all you're looking for, don't waste your time. The challenge is leadership. If you want it, work for it. If you've got it, show us. It's one hell of a challenge. But we're looking for one hell of a man. The NCP 3.74 Th M arineS Please send me information on Box 38901 Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Los Angeles, California 90038 Class. (Please Print) TICKETS are on sale NOW for the U of M Men's Glee Club "Funny Car Summer" Weekdays, 7, 9; Fri., rSt., 7, 9, ; Sun., 3, 5, 7, 9-rated G Art 2 ends Tues., Apr. 2 university cellar APRIL FOOLS BOOK SALE Thursday through Monday .see tomorrow's Michigan Daily for details Ili SPRING CONCERT SATURDAY, March 30 HILL AUDITORIUM-8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $1.50, $2.50, $3.50 at the Hill Box Office, 9-5 (764-8350) DERANGED rated R Week, 7:15, 9; Fri., Sat., 7:15, 9, 10:45; Sun., 3:30, 5:30, 7:15, 9:00 31 N. Washington Ypsilanti 482-3300 Name__ Address City. School State .Age z of .Class of Phone Social Security # If you are a senior, check here for information on Officer Candidates Class Q. .b ma m m = on, m 11111 ilE IN m ili I= w on , Es l m M, nodillll U- r ' 0 VOTE IN-RACKHAM STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS TO BE ELECTED: President, Vice President, 15 Representatives ELIGIBLE TO VOTE: Every student enrolled in Rockhorn bATES: March 25-29 and April 1-5, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. LOCATION OF POLLS: Mon., Mar. 25-Rackham Building Tues., Apr. 2-Gi*.d Library Tues., Mar. 26-Grad Library Wed., Apr. 3--Fishbowl Wed., Mar. 27-Fishbowl Thurs., Apri. 4-Kresge Librery Thurs., Mar. 28-Engin. Arch Lobby Fri., Mar. 29-Education School Fri., Apr. 5-Rackham Building Mon, Apr. 1-Rackham Building For information, call 763-0109, weekday afternoons WORLD'S CAN CAMPUS STUDENT GROUPS SURVIVE? ...ONLY IF THEY KNOW HOW TO! FORUM FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF ALL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS, GOVERNMENTS, AND GROUPS I I FAIR '74 TONIGHT! Wed., 27 March 1974 7:30 P.M. '--- ____ . 1 Everyone started early and are working extra hard in order to make this World's Fair exciting and wonderful. The Belly Dancer is here again, the res- taurants, sponsored by 4 nationality groups are here again. And because of the extensivepains taken by Tay, Georgette and Stan, the Variety Show will be stupendous. Each booth will offer wonderful things to buy, eat, and look at. R.C. PLAYERS present: Approaching SIMON by MEGAN TERRY --AND-- BERTOLT BRECHT'S 3rdFlor0nUno OFFICE OF ORGANIZATIONAL SERVICES and Sponsored by; STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS BOARD OF SGC TOPICS WILL INCLUDE: " Guidelines for use of major Univ. Facilities-Revamping recognition of student groups. " Rights and responsibilities of, and services available to student organizations. * Organization accounts and the Office of Student Auditor. I Check out the World's Fair BURNS PARK SCHOOL 11 I I I I II I