9
The Michigan Daily-Thursday, February 23, 1978-Page 9
RECORD SHOULD FALL AGAINST ILLINI:
Baxter
By DAVE RENBARGER
It should happen right around halftime during
tonight's basketball game between Michigan and
Illinois.
David Baxter, penetrating the Illini defense, will
dump the ball off to Joel Thompson for a slam. Or
maybe 'Bax' will pass it off to Mike McGee or Alan
Hardy for the bucket.
Regardless of the details, Baxter's fourth assist
of the evening will be his 140th of the year, establish-
ing him as the top single-season assist man in Wol-
verine basketball his ory. The current record
holder, Michigan Administrative -Assistant Dan
Fife, piled up 139 assists during the 1970-71 cam-
paign.
The senior co-captain, who averages eight
assists per outing against Big Ten competition,
naturally covets the record - a realization of a
season long goal.
"Breaking the assist record was my original
goal I set at the start," said the unselfish guard. "It
was the only goal I felt I could reach, with all the
other scorers we've got."
Even more than that, the record represents Bax-
ter's successful transition from a prep scoring
machine (29 ppg) to a collegiate playmaker.
"When I left high school (Detroit Lutheran
West), I had all the scoring records," he explained.
"At Michigan I found myself playing with talented
players. It's very gratifying to me to make the
change."
Unfortunately for Baxter, most basketball fans
only remember the player who puts the ball through
the hoop, and not the guy who sets up the oppor-
tunity. As a result, not everyone at Crisler Arena
tonight will even be aware that Baxter is zeroing in
on Fife's mark.
"Not a whole lot has been said about it," he ad-
mitted. "If they do stop the game and announce it,
assists'A
quite a few people will be surprised."
But Baxter has learned how to cope .with things
like that over the course of the season -- the most
trying and disappointing of his career.
Things weren't so tough at the outset, as Baxter
lead the Wolverines in scoring in the early going.
But, as forwards McGee and Hardy developed of-
fensively, Baxter found himself on the fringe of the
Wolverine attack, taking fewer and fewer shots.
And when his accuracy began to fall as fast as his
shooting frequency, confidence problems cropped
up.
THE LINEUPS
MICHIGAN
ILLINOIS
fichigan
Wolverines in a post-season tourney.
"I'm looking to end my career the same way I
started it here. I came in a winner and I want to go
out a winner."
Baxter and his mates will have the opportunity
to begin their eleventh-hour heroics against the
Illini, who toppled the Wolverines 65-61 in Cham-
paign last month. Michigan, ironically now the top
free throw shooting team in the Big Ten, connected
on but 3 of 12 freebies in that contest.
It was their the first conference loss of the season
after three victories, and the turning point of the
year. Since then, Michigan has alternated winning
with losing and now stands 8-6.
Meanwhile, Lou Henson's Illini are 6-8, tied for
sixth in the middle of the pack. Senior guard Audie
Matthews paces the balanced Illini attack with 12.3
ppg followed by center Rich Adams and freshman
forward Mark Smith (10.8 and 10.7 respectively).
FHenson is never reluctant to go to his bench, per-
ferring to keep fresh players in the game. In Cham-
paign eight players saw at least 12 minutes of
playing time, while nobody got over thirty. Forwar-
ds Levi Cobb and Eddie Johnson plus guard Reno
Gray will most likely be Henson's first relief men.
In plotting his team's revenge, Baxter wants to
include himself a bit more on offense and improve
upon his 4 for 13 shooting effort at Illinois.
"I'll be more active on offense and look for my
shot more," he said. "I've got to take few chances
and create some situations - by penetrating I can
create mismatches underneath.
"I've got to do more than just move the ball and
play quarterback."
If Baxter can follow through on his suggestions
and help topple the Illini, then he will come out of
the ballgame with something more than the new
assist record. As long as his team can keep winning,
the ever-so-faint possibility of Baxter's fourth
straight tournament appearance will linger on.
Mike McGee (6-5). F .Neil Bresnahan
Alan Hardy (6-6).. F..... Mark Smith
Joel Thompson (6-8)C .... Rich Adams
Tom Staton (6-3).,. G .Audie Matthews
Dave Baxter (6-3). G..... Rob Judson
(6-6)
(6-7)
(6-9)
(6-5)
(6-2)
v;'r: y t.. ::: { .v:; .. ::
These problems combined with the fact that his
team has been losing a lot more ballgames than
they ever did in the past three years sent the former
'super-sub' into a frustrating slump.
"It's been a disappointing season, but also a
valuable experience," Baxter said. "Ever since
I've been here I've seen only one side of the coin. We
were always winning.
"Now I've seen the other side of the coin. The
media can say some disturbing things ... but then
you realize all basketball is is a game. You still play
to win, but when you don't win, it's not the end of the
world."
But Baxter hasn't resigned himself to a failing
season just yet. He figures that a four- or five-game
winning streak should be good enough to place the
Doily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
MICHIGAN C0CAPTAIN David Baxter eyes his teammates in search of yet
another assist while Indiana's Jim Wisman applies the pressure. Baxter collected
seven of them against the Hoosiers in the Wolverines' 92-73 romp at Crisler
Arena last month. On the year the senior guard has 136 assists already, four shy
ofMichigan's all-time single-season record.
Big Ten Conference leading scorers
Player
G FG/FGA
Reb PF
Pct. Avg. Avg.
Pts
Pts. Avg.
Pct. FT/FTA
Hi
TANKER TABBED 'A THLE TE OF THE WEEK'4
1. Thompson, Minn.....1
2. McGee, MiCH........1
3. Johnson, MSU .......1
4. Lester, Iowa........ .
(tie) Woodson, Ind....1
6. Ransey, OSU.......
7. Jordan, Pur.........1
(tie) Radford, Ind....1
9. Gaines. Wis.........
10. Keiser, MSU.........I
11. Allen, NU..........1
12. Parker, Pur.......
13. Williams, OSU .......1
14. Page, OSU..........
15. Lockhart, Minn.......I
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
13
14
'4
14
14
137/247
123/245
92/197
92/195
115/213
112/219
91/260
84/145
89/200
91/ 167
79/204
87/161
81/189
77/186
74/147
.555
.502
.467
.472
.540
.511
.455
.579
.445
.545
.387
.540
.428
.413
.503
49/79
50/64
100/118
85/112
39/51
31/46
55/74
69/85 ,
37/59
30/51
36/46
27/34
32/45
38/47
43/59
.620
.781
.874
.759
.765
.673
.743
.812
.627
.526
,783
.794
.711
.808
.729
11.6
5.0
8.5
2.7
4.9
3.6
7.9
4.1
2.7
8.6
4.3
3.6
10.3
6.2
1.7
3.4
2.9
2.6
2.4
2.9
3.2
2.2
3.1
3.1
3.8
3.2
1.6
2.1
2.3
1.0
323
296
284
269
269
255
237
237
215
212
194
201
194
192
191
23.1
21.1
20.3
19.2
19.2
18.2
16.9
16.9
15.4
15.1
14.9
14.4
13.8
13.7
13.6
34
34
32
31
31
28
26
30
27
2s
22
21
24
23
25
Canales,
By TOM STEPHENS
Fernando Canales throughout the
year has been a ' dynamic performer
for Michigan's men's swimming team.
Ever since his initial double win per-
formance against Toronto in the
season's first meet, Canales has proved
his worth time and again with crucial
performances that have helped ythe
Wolverine freestylers dominate nearly
every meet.
Yesterday the Big Ten chose to honor
Canales as its Athlete of the Week. The
award is in recognition of the Puerto
Rican freshman's most brilliant per-
formance so far ini last week's meet
with Michigan State.
Last Saturday Canales came out of
Matt Mann Pool with two more vic-
tories in pool record times. His 1:39 in
the 200 freestyle was topped only by a
45.6 in the 100 free that was also a var-
sity record.
As the first Michigan athlete to be so
honored this year and the first
Michigan swimmer ever in the memory
of tanker coach Gus Stager, Canales
exhibited what Stager called a
"typical" reaction to the news. "He
wasn't very excited," said the coach,
"but I think it kind of sunk in along the
way.".
grabs c(
"I was surprised," commented
Canales, "because I didn't even know
the Big Ten had an athlete of the week
award. But I'm very happy and maybe
I can even improve my times in the
league meet next week. These little
reinforcements are good because they
give you something to look forward
too."
Stager had several good words for his
young sprinter: "He's probably one of
the toughest competitors on the team
although I can't really say how tough he
is because he hasn't been to akcham-
pionship." He went on to make com-
parisons with Michigan's NCAA cham-
pion diver Matt Chelich and sophomore
Mr. Everyting Paul Griffith, "two
competitors who I have the greatest
respect for."
"Fernando knows what he's doing
and he believes in himself," Stager
went on. "His goals are to be the best
swimmer in the country if possible and
those kind of swimmers are always
coachable. He has a great deal of inter-
national experience, and his total per-
formance throughout the year has been
the most outstanding on the team. He
definitely deserves the recognition."
Next week the Wolverine tankrs will
head for Columbus and the apex of their
inference honor
season at the Big Ten conference
championships. As usual, Indiana
would seem to have a firm hold on first
place but the struggle for second shoudl
be a very close contest between
Michigan, Wisconsin (who edged the
Wolverines by a single point in
January), and possibly Ohio State.
Whatever happens, Fernando Canales
and the FF (for frosh freestyle) corps
will be there and ready.
Bowie to-the bench?
ine owner
By The Associated Press
NEW YORK-A bloc of baseball
owners is working slowly behind the
scenes to send Commissioner Bowie
Kuhn back into the full-time practice of
law.
An Associated Press survey indicates
that nine of the 26 owners today would
vote in a secret ballot to fire Kuhn, who
has five years remaining on a seven-
year term.
The private lobbying against Kuhn
hasn't reached the roll call stage yet,
but owner Brad Corbett of Texas is
known to have approached several of
his colleagues about dumping the
commissioner.
Corbett had Kuhn's head in his hands
three years ago in a meeting in
I SC~ORES1
College Basketball
Detroit 121. St. Francis, Pa. 89
Duke 78, Clemson 62
Yale 74, Brown 57
S. Carolina 67,William & Mary 54
Toldeo 64, Kent St.58
Seton Hall 87, St. Peter's 73
Miami, Ohio 78. Central Michigan 74
Transylvania 94, Centre 77
Maryland 91, Wake Forest 89
Syracuse 70, Niagara 69
Slippery Rock 71, Ashland 70, OT
NBA
Detroit 119. Houston 108
Portland 105, Washington 97
Seattle 94, New Jersy 83
NHL
Pittsburgh 2, St. Louis 2
rs hope so
Milwaukee when the commissioner's
contract came up for renewal. The
Rangers' owner was one of four
American League executives aligned
against Kuhn at the time.
But in an 11th-hour gambit, Walter
O'Malley came flying in from the West
Coast to convince Corbett and New
York Yankees owner George Stein-
brenner to change their votes.
The other nay-sayers in 1975 were
American Leaguers Charlie Finly of
Oakland and Jerrold Hoffberger of
Baltimore. Ray Kroc of San Diego was
adamant in his opposition, but was
coaxed to change his National League
vote at the last minute for the sake of
unanimity.
Contacts with several ownership
sources have provided a list of at least
nine owners who are opposed to Kuhn
today. They are Finley, Corbett, Hof-
fberger, Steinbrenner and Kroc-the
same owners in oppositon in 1975-plus
four more: Gene Autry of California,
Bill Veeck of the Chicago White Sox,
Ted Turner of Atlanta and Bob Howsam
of Cincinnati.
:u
f'
The Crusaders
TONIGHT at
SECOND CHANCE
Appearing through Saturday:/
OWN.4~
,
1.
£$pr'rt4 '( the ik)ai4
Casals excels
By The Associated Press
DETROIT-Fifthe-seeded Rosemary Casals of Sausalito, Calif. beat Australia's
Leslie Hunt 7-5, 6-3 last night in the second day of the $100,000 Women's
Professional Tennis Tournament's six-day Detroit stop.
A Cobo Hall crowd of 3,486 watched the continuation of first-round play and
saw a competitive, aggressive battle between Casals and Hunt.
In the biggest upset of the day, Caroline Stoll of Livingston, N.J. defeated six-
th-seeded Sue Barker of England after leading the first set 5-3 when Barker
became ill and retired. Barker's trainer said she recently recovered from the flu
and appeared to be suffering a relapse.
In the afternoon's only doubles match, Romania's Virginia Ruzici and
Yugoslavia's Mimi Jausovec defeated Nicole Lorenzetti of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
and Hanna Strachonova of Czechoslovakia 2-6, 6-1, 7-6, winning the last set tie-
breaker 5-4.
Pistons shoot off Rockets
DETROIT-Bob Lanier and Chris Ford led a fourth-period surge that enabled
the Detroit Pistons to fight off the Houston Rockets 119-108 last night in their-NBA
game.
Ford had six baskets and Lanier four baskets and three free throws in the
closing period to ward off a Houston rally. The Rockets had come back from an 82-
72 third period deficit to pull within 96-92 with five minutes to go on the hot shooting
of Mike Newlin. He had 16 points in the last period.
A three-point play by Lanier, four free throws by Money and a Ford basket
quickly restored the Pistons to a nine-point bulge and they had no trouble the rest
of the way.
Houston played without center Moses Malone, who injured his foot in a victory
over Boston on Tuesday night.
Ford finished with 22 points and Lanier 21, while Calvin Murphy topped the
Rockets with 28.
CHALLENGING THE ESTABLISHED
. CONCEPTS OF DEVELOPMENT
A unique series of iconoclastic studies on development-in the Third
World, in the ghettos, in rural areas.
Refreshingly candid. Provocative. a must for professionals and. students. Establishes the basic
principles/lows of development; answers the questions: What is development? What determines
development? Why is development not achieved?
--*"How Humanitarianism impedes Third World Development" -
Sunday: Cyp&~cr
!MUSIC AND MEAL DEC1
I Dine at the restpurant after 4:00 P.M. and
receive FREE admission to Nightclub that eve- r= -
ning. SUN.-THURS.
EXCEPT NIGHTS OF SPECIAL CONCERTS.
516 E. Liberty 994-5350
Sunday: Monday:;-
PITCHER NIGHT TEQUILA NIGHT
We're Chopping Prices
We specialize in
ladies's and children's
hairstyling
DASCOLA STYLISTS
" 615 E. Liberty-668-9329
" 3739 Washtenaw-971-9975
* 613 N. Maple-761 -2733
* 611 E. University-662-0354
H A V E A
St9
at FIRST DOWN
" All COLORADO COMFORT
JACKETS And PARKAS Are Now
At Reduced Prices-SAVE $5 to $30
" $5 Off Every COLORADO COMFORT
VEST
" 50% Off AllSWEATERS, Junior
Sizes, and Remaining Skiwear
s
s
sx
v.
A
L
* SAVE $$ on SKI CAPS, GLOVES, MITTS,
THERMAL UNDERWEAR, TURTLENECKS,
And Much More.
" ASSORTED VESTS in Polarguard, Holofil,
and Down Fills were regular $27 to $50
NOW $19.95 to $25