Page Ten THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page e'en THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, September 17, 1975' I MONTREAL MEDAL-WINNER: Hubbard: Good By KATHY HENNEGHAN Last spring, three Michigan basketball players were invited to the Olympic try- outs-Rickey Green, Steve Grote and Phil Hubbard. The speedy All-Big Ten guard didn't make the team. Neither did the rugged re- liable three-year starter. But the skinny 19-year-old kid made the trip to Montreal, and has a gold medal to show for it. "RICKEY should have made that team," said Michigan coach Johnny Orr. "It's a shame he didn't make it." Grote was re- portedly doing well in camp until he suffered a collapsed lung. But if Hubbard's selection came as a surprise to many, it did not surprise Hub- bard himself. "I had a feeling I had a "I'm his guy," acknowledged Hubbard with a grin. chance," he said. Quiet, affable and hard working, Hubbard impressed Dean Smith, Olympic coach and head coach at North Carolina. "Phil's a nice young man," said Smith. "My assistant coaches said he was teach- er's pet." "WELL, HE WASN'T," said Smith, "but it's true that I really appreciated a lot of the things he did that so often go un- noticed. Hubbard's very much a team player. He's an excellent rebounder for his size. He comes up with the intercep- tions defensively, and shot it in when we needed it. 'Phil has great quickness," Smith con- tinued. "He has overall savvy-by that I mean a knack for the basketball. He's an outstanding rebounder and a very good passer. Hubbard should be just tremen- dous for Michigan this year." Hubbard saw limited action in the Olym- pic games, but performed capably coming in off the bench. He scored ten po*nts in one span in the championship game against Yugoslavia. For his efforts, Hub- bard earned an Olympic gold medal- which he keeps in the top drawer with his socks. "THE OLYMPICS were all right," said Hubbard. "I made some decent relation- ships. Me and Kenny Carr (of North Carolina) were pretty tight." Right now, Hubbard is hampered by a severely sprained left ankle, sustained while playing basketball at home (Canton, Ohio) two weeks ago. He has been wearing a cast, which hopefully will come off next Wednesday. Hubbard should be in fine shape by the time practice rolls around October 18. Hubbard feels he improved over the course of the summer, and that stands to reason. As well as playing in the Olympic games themselves, the Olympic team played exhibition games against both American and European pros. "I PLAYED against Dr. J (Julius Erv- ing), Nate Archibald, a lot of guys," said Hubbard. "The Olympic games were rough, but those exhibition games were the roughest. It was dirty-holding, pushing, a lot of dishonest tactics going on. But Hubbard is used to being pushed and shoved. Last season, playing center, Hubbard faced a taller and bigger op- ponent in 29 of Michigan's 32 games. Standing 6-7, Hubbard weighs "exactly 202," the same as last season. He made the best of the situation, leading the team in rebounding (11.0 ave.) and coming in second in scoring (15.1 points a game). Hubbard will undoubtedly start at cen- ter again this season, due to the Michigan as gold coaches' inability to recruit a big man. Hubbard is the first to admit that he'd rather play forward. "YES, I'D RATHER play it. Why not? I played forward in high school," said Hub- bard. "There's nothing wrong with play- ing center, but I'm not the biggest guy in the world. I've wanted to play forward for as long as I've been here. "But you like to play," he added, "so! you just go along with what's- going on. I'll do what I can to help the team out. That's what I'm here for." Despite his size, apparently most Big Ten officials felt Hubbard dished out at+ least as much punishment as he took. Hubbard was in foul trouble as often as not. "THAT'S ALL in the past," said Hub- bard. "I hope I don't have as much foul trouble this year. I think the refs made some bad calls-they - just wouldn't let you play." Indiana's Kent Benson gave Hubbard more headaches than anyone last season, and he's still around. But Hubbard denies giving him a second thought. "Nope, I haven't thought about playing him," he said. "You don't have to think about that. You think about just playing, period." Hubbard says his goal for the Michigan team is "to win games, most likely. As long as we have a good team and do all right, that's what's important. We should have a good team again." Dean Smith feels Phil Hubbard will make a great pro someday. "Who?" Hubbard said in mock disbelief. "Me? Right now I'm just thinking about getting through with school. I'm glad to be here. I think we've ' got a good team agaip." PRETZEL LOGIC By RICK BONINO ^ Daily Photo by ALAN BILINSKY PHIL HUBBARD shows off his gleaming gold medal represen- tating his participation in the Montreal Olympics. Hubbard impressed many people with his effective play, including Olympic coach Dean Smith. Smith predicts stardom for the Michigan sophomore. THE RUDOLF STEINER INSTITUTE OF THE GREAT LAKES AREA AN INTRODUCTION TO RUDOLF STEINER'S ANTHROPOSOPHY A series of weekly single lectures and group discussions at the Rudolf Steiner House, 1923 Geddes Avenue. by PROFESSOR E. KATZ TUESDAYS, 8 P.M. No charge Beginning September 21, 1976 GOOD MORNING, ANN ARBOR! Why Pay More for Breakfast: SPECIAL BREAKFAST $1.29 2 EGGS ANY STYLE WITH SAUSAGES, HAM OR BACON So join us for breakfast, 7 a.m.-1 1 am. 7 days a week. CHANGES IN TENNIS AND GYMNASTICS Women hire two new Greek & American food A Specialty ---" ___. = ___- , . '" - :::