Wednesday, November 24, 1976
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Poage Eleven
WednedayNoveber 4, 176 TE MIHIGA DAIY P-I-Elv en
F
Rickey
behind
If there was a star on the Michigan
team last year, it was Rickey Green. A
high school teammate of co-captain John
Robinson, Green originally planned to
come to Michigan straight nut af high
school.OBut academic probems forced him
to Vincennes (Ind.) Junior College, where
Green was a two-time All-American.
At Michigan, Green was an instant suc-
cess. Leading the team in both scoring
and assists,Green was a unanimous All
Big Ten pick and is everyone's pre-season
All-American.
Green sank a lot of shots last season,
bht the biggest one had tobewagainst
Wichita State in the NCAA Midwest Re-
gionals. With six seconds left, Green's
chat wan it 14-73.
Green, along7with Phil Hubbard and
Steve Grote, was invited to the Olympic
tryouts. surprisingly, he was eliminated.
The speedy guard gate Michigan tans" a
scare by considering leaving for the pros
a year early, but decided to return to
Michigan fr one more shot at the na-
tional championship.
Daily staffers Kathy lHenneghan and
Don IflacLachlan talked to Green recently.
THE DAILY: Everybody seems to
think Michigan's going to be great
this year. How do you feel about all
the publicity?
GREEN: Great, because almost every-
)ody's back and we want that national
ranking. We know we're going to be up
here, so I think everybody's working
larder.
THE DAILY: Some people think the
team will miss Wayman Britt a lot
this year.
GREEN: Oh, that's going to hurt. On
:he other hand, last year the team didn't
even know each other. We've been to-
gether a year now, and that's got to
selp. And the seniors, me, John (Rob-
inson) and Grote, want to go for it now
Green: The little guard
the olverine machine
that we don't have that next year to
depend on.
With Staton, if he starts, I guess the
thinking is that they've had success in
,the past with a small forward, and they
think he may be like Wayman. Staton
likes to run. He really works hard. But
it doesn't matter to me who starts at
that forward-we'll all get along.
THE DAILY: How do the members
of the team get along off the court?
GREEN: Good. When it's tense, you
can get your' mind off of things and
have fun. But when it's time to get
serious, you get serious.
THE DAILY: Do you expect bigger
crowds this year?
GREEN: Do you think our games will
be sold out? The football stadium holds
100,000 so it seems like we could just
pinch 13,000 out of there.
THE DAILY,- How did you feel about
playing in front of 6000 last year?
GREEN: 6000 was a lot of people for
me. In high school, we had a small gym.
With three or four hundred people, the
place was jam-packed. If we could get
13,000 that ought to help us as a team.
The more people yelling, the better it
makes you feel. You feel more at home.
I would think people would get their
money's worth if they came to check
out the Wolverines this year.
THE DAILY: Is there any one player
that you model yourself after?
GREEN: Oh, I like a lot of players. I
model myself after anyone. I think you
grow out of that. Now I'm just myself.
I don't know too many pros . . . but
I hope to get to know some sooner or
later.
THE DAILY: What do you think is
the best part of your game?
GREEN: I like running the break,
"trying to get everyone involved in the
offense.
THE DAILY: Is there any part of
your game that gives you more trouble
than the rest?
GREEN: I can't think of any faults,
really. I probably have some, but a
player can't always be thinking about
what his faults are. That's up to the
coaches.
THE DAILY: What do you think of
the way Coach Orr handles the team?
GREEN: He's a good coach, a nice
man. Orr treats everybody fair. He's
easy to get along with. He never really
gets on you, but if he doesn't like the
way you're playing, he'll tell you. If
yo'i're doing good, he'll tell you that too.
THE DAILY: Does he say a lot to
you?
GREEN: That's his job. You can't
keep it inside, you have to let the players
know. He never really singles you out
or really gets on you bad, like a lot of
coaches might.
THE DAILY: Like Bobby Knight?
GREEN: Bobby Knight: I've never
had a coach like Bobby Knight. I don't
know if I'd like it or not, but I could
adjust to Knight's coaching style for
the time I was there.
THE DAILY: Speaking of adjusting,
does it make any difference to you
who plays the other guard? Do you
adjust the way you play?
GREEN: No. I just go out and play
my hardest. The name of the game is
concentration. You shouldn't be think-
ing about who the other players are,
just what the coach wants you to do. If
you've got it, you've-got it. Confidence-
that's all it takes, whether you're start-
ing or coming in off the bench.
THE DAILY: Do you think you'll
dink a lot on the fast break this year?
GREEN: If I'm all alone and I'm not
too tired to jump up there, I think I'll
try to throw it through. It puts excite-
ment in the game. The crowd can pick
'o' snu. I'm kind of glad they brought
that back.
THE DAILY: It seems you're trying
to take the charge more often in
o-tiee lately.
GREEN: Well, if yo's can get in front
of a man, if you can find out his fakes
and stuff-studying the films is good for
that-you can get some charges on him.
My thinking last year was, "Well, if
he's coming my way, I'll just let him
charge me." I wasn't really concentrat-
ing on the charge-I'd usually just play
my man straight up. This year I think
I will get them if I can.
THE DAILY: Do you ever get tired
of basketball?
GREEN: Oh, I get tired of practicing
sometimes, of running, but I don't go
langer than a week without playing
somewhere, It's something I've done all
my lif'. It's like a part of me.
THE DAILY: Is it hard for you to
stay in shape on your own in the off
season?
GREEN: You play at home, but it's
j"st enough to sweat a little. You don't
really put out as much as you would
you jst enjoy yourself. In practice,
(assistant coach Bill) Frieder always
keeps you in line. During wind sprints,
near the end yot always think about
cheating a little but then he screams
and you think you migh just as well do
them the right way. But at home you
don't have someone pushing you all the
time.
THE DAILY: When did you start
playing basketball?
GREEN: In the seventh grade at Ava-
lon Park Grade School. Then I moved
to the Park District team, then JC, then
here and hopefully pro.
THE DAILY: What was your high
school like?
GREEN: We didn't have the facilties,
Other than that, it was nice. We didn't
have weight rooms and stuff like that.
It wasn't really a good school that way.
Chicago high schools don't put a lot
into the programs. I don't know why.
I didn't know what high schools were
Rickey Green
supposed to have, really, until I went
over to (Ann Arbor) Pioneer for my
student teaching. Man, glass backboards
and weight rooms and all that stuff.
THE DAILY: What are your friends
from high school doing now?
GREEN: Well, nobody got scholarships
but me and John. It seems like other
players from our high school should
have. I don't know why they didn't. A
lot of them are still working for their
degrees.
THE DAILY: Why did you decide on
Vincennes Junior College?
GREEN: Well, I originally wanted to
come to Michigan with John out of high
school, but my grades didn't work out
soA went to JC. I had heard about a lot
of ball players who went there-Foots
Walker, Bob McAdoo-and it had a good
program. I played with a lot of good
players, but we just couldn't play to-
gether as a team. We should have won
more.
THE DAILY: How would you com-
pare JC ball to the Big Ten?
GREEN: There's a big di.'ference be-
tween JC and a major college. It's a lot
rougher. Last year when I went to the
basket, I -was getting bumpd and I
wasn't used to it. In JC if you got
bumped, they called a foul. In the Big
Ten they don't very often. I think I
missed a lot of shots last year Lecause
I wasn't expecting that bump. JC ball
is much easier.
THE DAILY: It must have been like
a dream to watch the NCAA finals on
TV one year and to play in them te
next.
GREEN: Yeah, Marquette was out
there, with Bo Ellis. John and I playe-
Bo's team for the city championship to
advance to the states in high school. I
thought, 'Damn, I wish I was out there'
when I saw Bo Ellis out there. Well, it
came true, and I hope it comes true
again.
THE DAILY: Yos may be playing
Marquette and Bo Ellis in the tourna-
ment.
GREEN: If we just get to that tourna-
See GREEN, Page 16
Rickey Green the Wolverine