Wednesday, March 24, 1976
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Seven
tee... . .. ..
Wednesday, March 24, 1976 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven
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MWAMM"
full court
EPRES S
BLUE TO FOLLOW FOOTSTEPS?
A
blast
from
the
past
:a
Aides are top notch ...
..,.but Orr runs the
By BOB MILLER
show
By KATHY HENNEGHAN
MICHIGAN assistant coach Bill Frieder is reportedly one of
three top candidates for the head coach at Fordham Uni-
versity. Whether or not Frieder would take the job if it is
offered is open to speculation, and Frieder is not sure himself.
If Frieder takes the plunge, he would become the third
Michigan assistant under Johnny Orr to assume a head coaching
position elsewhere. Fred Snowden is now head coach at Arizona
(andis reportedly under consideration for the job at Michigan
State), and Jim Dutcher just completed his first year at Min-
nesota.,
"They were all good," said Orr of his former assistants,
"but none were as good as this guy Frieder. He's the hardest
working guy, just a tireless, tireless worker. I've never asked
an assistant to stay with me before-never. This is the first
time I've ever asked one to stay."
Regardless of what comes of the Fordham situation, Frieder
had a few points to make at practice yesterday afternoon about
the Michigan basketball program, in general, and about Johnny
Orr in particular.
History it is said, like a bad
pizza, will repeat on you. And
Michigan, it is known, would
like nothing better than to make
some history of their own.
When the Wolverines hit the
hardwoodton Saturday, they will
attempt to become only the
second team ever to win the
NCAA championship without
winning their conference.
Only once before, in 1940, has
a team taken the national title
despite being a bridesmaid.
Ironically, that team was the
Indiana Hoosiers, whose 9-3
record placed them directly be-
hind Purdue.
The Boilermakers won the
Big Ten with only two defeats,
both against the Hoosiers. t
But, according to Tom Mil-
ler, Sports Information Direc-
tor at IU, "It was only the
second year of the tourna-
ment, and it didn't have the
prestige it does today. Pur-
due just declined the ivita-
tion."
S PO.TS
NIGHT EDITOR:
RICK MADDOCK
"I honestly feel, and felt going
". finto this season that John Orr
is the most underrated coach in
the nation," said Frieder. "How
many coaches can match his
overall record at Michigan the
last eight years (124-72), or even
short-term, the last three years
(65-19)? Not many." (Orr be-
came the winningest coach in
Michigan basketball history with
No. 114 over Southern Illinois,
December 19th of last year).
"An indication of his coaching
ability was not only this year,
but last year when we lost
3E ~C a m p y Russell," continued
~ ...*** Frieder. "Everybody thought it
was going to be a down year,
but we finished second in the
Big Ten and we went to the
JONCAAs. That was a result of
teamwork. We were determined
it was going to be a team effort, and that's a credit to John.
"I'm a little bitter about the fact that everyone has given
all the credit to the assistants. Fred Snowden did a good job,
and Jim Ducher did, but everyone gave them all the credit.
I've even heard it about me a little bit.,
"Hell, the first year Dutcher was here," said Frieder, "they
had a relatively bad season, 13-11. You didn't see anyone pin the
blame on Dutcher.
"My point is this-John Orr runs the basketball program.
"I'm a little disappointed," Frieder admitted, "that not
only the media and other coaches across the nation, but also the
local people have not given him the credit he deserves. No one,
else will come out and do it, so I will.
- "Orr is well-liked, he's a humorist, he has qualities that
nike him a successful person as well as a successful coach.
He's not Bobby Knight-that's not his style," said Frieder. "I
can definitely say that he, is the nicest person I've ever met.
"As a coach, his record is 65-19 the last three years. All
I can say is that I've been around a guy who's a winner.
"Why do you blame a guy who goes out and hires good1
men for assistants? Instead of drawing criticism, the guy
should be given a compliment," said Frieder. "John hasj
given a lot of credit to his staff, and I think it's come back
to haunt him. He's the guy who's always made the final
decisions on everything."
Nothing speaks like success, and Orr's results this past
season have turned some former cynics into believers. Hopefully,
those who are hopping on the bandwagon at tourney time will
remember to show up at Crisler next December.
"That's a problem at Michigan," said Orr, referring to the
relative lack of fan support. "The football team has been good
for years. Michigan doesn't have a winning tradition in basketball,
unlike ,some other schools-that's what we're in the process of
establishing. Out of all those years, basketball's been good maybe
seven out of seventy.
"The reason I like to see us ranked high in the polls is
to draw a big crowd," said Orr. "See, if we were ranked up
there at number one, we'd fill the arena. The polls create
interest, they really do. They're good in that respect-not
that they're right, because I don't think they are.
"I like coaching at Michigan, and I don't plan on coaching
anywhere else," Orr added. "I enjoy it when I have good kids
and they play hard. I don't know what it is-I don't say much to
them, and they don't say too much to me, but they play
hard. The people at Denton and Louisville couldn't get over how
hard this team worked in practice.r
"Grote's been here three years, and he's been to the NCAAs
three times. Britt's been three times out of four. I think the way!
they practice has been infectious to the other guys..
"Hell, we're in he final four," said Orr. "We could win it all."j
Jim Van Valkenburg of the
NCAA headquarters in Shawnee
Mission, Kansas, concurs "Back
then the NIT tournament was
as big as the NCAA is today.
"Conference play wasn't as
<big a deal in those days," said;
Van Valkenburg. "It was really
up to the selection committee
to decide who would be asked."
Many parallels can be drawn
between the 1940 Hoosiers, and
this year's version of the Wol-
verines. Today, Michigan has]
a comparatively small team,
with center Phil Hubbard the!
tallest starter at 6-7.
Indiana boasted an outstand-
ing center of their own i
'Bill Menke. But, despite be9
ing 6-4, Menke was his squad's
3bigmn
can be detected in the twoj
teams' style of play. With the
other starters all having good
speed, Menke, Bob Dro, Herm
Schaefer, Paul Armstrong, and
team captain Mary Huffman
utilized the fast break, which
the 1976 Michigan quintet is
reminiscent.
"They were a good shooting
club," said Miller, a former
sportswriter at Indiana, who
covered the basketball team in
1940.
Indiana made the finals of
the NCAA with a 17-3iregular
season record. In the first round,
of the tournament, held in In-;
dianapolis, the Hoosiers crush-
ed Springfield (Mass.), 48-24.
Advancing to the East Re-1
gional Finals, Indiana repelled'
Duquesne, 39-30.I
In the first few years of
the tournament, only eight
teams were selected to com-
pete. After two consecutive
wins, IU found itself in the
finals.
Their opponents were the
powerful K a n s a s Jayhawks,!
winners over Rice, and South-
ern Cal.
It was a classic matchup,
down to the coaches. Kansasf
was led by Phog Allen, disciple
of Dr. James A. Naismith, in-
ventor of the game. Allen coach-
ed perennial championship qual-'
McCracken, an equally legen-
dary mentor. McCracken coach-
ed Indiana to their only two na-
tional titles, and four confer-
ence crowns. His 364-174 life-
time totals and .677 winning per-
centage are all time IU records,1
for coaches with five years of
service or more.
The 1940 finals were held in
Kansas City, Missouri. The
result was Indiana 60, Kansas
42.
A team that normally would
not have been invited, now
reigned as the best team in the
land.
That is only one example of
an oddity occurring during the,
NCAA tournaments of the past.
Jim Van Valkenburg remember-t
ed some others.
"In 1944-45, d u r i n g the
depths of the war, everyone
was gone," said Van Valken-
burg. "You had to be a freak
of some kind, a giant or a 4F
to play."
There was tragedy in the 1944 I
tourney. Arkansas was invited,'
but two of their players suffered
critical injuries in an automo-
bile accident, causing the Raz-
orbacks to withdraw.
Utah was chosen as a last
minute replacement, and in-
credibly enough, won it all in
a thrilling 42-40 overtime de-
cision over Dartmouth.
But 36 years ago it was a dif-
ferent game, Miller recalled.
"For one thing, the ball was not
rubberized, it was leather. It
got slippery after a while, and
was not blown up, it was laced.
The laces made a lot of odd
bulges.
"The lighting (in the arenas)
was bad, and the arenas them-
selves were not so great."
Today a team like the Wol-
verines runs and guns for an
average of 86 points a game.
Indiana, also employed the fast
break, and yet their high game
was the 60 they scored to win
the championship game.
"Coach McCracken's style
was better suited for his day,"
said Miller, "he didn't put de-
fense first like Bobby (Indiana
coach Knight) does."
Versatility, good coaching and
some luck, attributes common
to both teams, gave Indiana a
chance for the NCAA champion-
ship in the first place..
In that regard, the 1976 Mich-
igan Wolverines should pay at-
tention to this history lesson,
so that Monday night they can
pass the test.
Daily Photo by PAULINE LUBENS
WOLVERINE FORWARD John Robinson (45) makes his
move in the December Michigan 91-82 victory over South
Carolina. Trying to guard him is the Gamecocks Mark Greiner
(50). Robinson's next challenge is Saturday afternoon against
Rutgers in the NCAA semi-finals.
BUFFALO WINS BULLFIGHT:
Hot Money paces Pistons
f ig man.ity teams. NEW YORK (UPI) - Eric Curtis Rowe chipped in 20 Thec
Another striking similarity Indiana, however, had BranchI Money, who averages 12.5 points points for Detroit. the sec
per game, collected 14 third * * * Buffalo
4: .}}:.:: .i:: Al :{<JS}}J{}r":44}: Er"S....... quarter points in a six minute BUFFALO (P)-Randy Smith points
span and 25 overall to give the scored 30 points and Jim Mc- again.
Blue part of the Spectrm Detroit Pistons a 122-116 victory Millian added 28 as the Buffalo Smit
last night over the New York Braves defeated the Chicago pointsi
MICHIGAN (24-6) Knicks. Bulls 122-109 last night and Smith
F(-A PCT. FT-A PCT. REB. AVG. PTS. AVG. Bob Lanier added 28 points moved into a tie for second last 10
Green 252-510 .494 100-128 .781 105 3.5 604 20.1 and Spencer Haywood had 29 place with Philadelphia in the by th
Hubbard 196-360 .544 64-108 .593 328 10.9 456 15.2 for the Knicks. The victory kept' Atlantic Division of the NBA. charge
Robinson 161-281 573 98-117 .838 240 8.0 420 14.0 Detroit on the heels of the Kan- The Braves took the lead in Bob
Britt 143-311 .460 40-52 .769 127 4.2 326 10.9 sas City Kings in the Midwest the final minute of the first rookie
Grote '126-243 .519 59-83 .711 91 3.0 311 10 4 Division fight for second place quarter and stayed in front the points,
Baxter 78-157 .497 45-54 .833 42 1.4 201 6.7 and a playoff spot. rest of the way. They moved falo.
Thompson 42-86 488 10-17 .588 63 2.4 94 3.6 Detroit's cadse was aided in from a 34-33 advantage in the Bob'
Hardy 40-21 .494 10-19 .526 42 1.5 90 3 3 the second period as Lanier second quarter to a 57-47 half- cago w
Bergen 24-42 .571 15-17 .882 35 1.3 63 2.3 made eight straight points in time lead. and N
Jones 2-2 1.000 1-2 .500 0 0.0 5 1.3 less than three minutes to give- - -
staton 11-28 .393 1-4 .250 11 0.6 23 1.2 the Pistons a 59-48 halftime lead. EXOTIC
Schinnerer 1-3 .333 4-6 .667 4 .0.4 6 0.6 The Knicks reduced the defi-I
Lillard 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 3 0.8 0 0.0 cit to six, trailing 81-75, with DELICACIES
TOTALS 1076-2104 .511 447-607 .736 1252 417 2599 86.6 3 2% minutes remaining in the LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
third period but a Piston burst AT THE
Good ni ht - the're 31-0? of 9-2 gave Detroit a 13 point
nr t y 3 -* lead, 90-77.r
RUTGERS (31-0) The Knicks flared up in the,
FG-A PCT. FT-A PCT. REB. AVG. PTS. AVG. final quarter and Earl Monroe,1
sellers 230-509 45.1 140-190 73 7 317 10.2 600 19.4 who had 28 points, converted!
Dabney 258-538 47.9 82-105 78.1 138 4.5 598 19.3 two foul shots with two minutes
Jordan 177-361 49.0 86-107 80.4 94 3 0 440 14.2 to play to pull New York toMARCH 26
Copeland 181-361 50.1 31-60 51.7 202 6.5 393 12.7 within four points, 114-110. But
Anderson 105-197 53.2 81-107 757 134 4.3 291 9.4 the Knicks could not draw any Fri.: 6 p.m.-] 1 p.m., Sat.:1
Bailey 117-227 51.5 35-61 57.4 222 7.2 269 8.7 closer. Sunday: Noon-6
Hefele 49.111 39.6 16-40 40 0 77 ?.6 104 3.4
Kleinbaum 29-61 47.5 16-35 45.7 25 0.9 74 2.7 EU J P E COMMUNITY H IGI
Conlin 23-41 56.1 18-25 72.0 25 0.9 64 2.1 1 401 North Division,
S Palko 17-33 51.5 7-14 50.0 62 2 8 41 1.940 Not Dison A
Scherer 12-29 413 4-5 80.0 23 1.8 28 2.2 1 ADMISSION: Adults $1.00;
Nance 6-25 24.0 4-9 44.4 10 0.7 16 1.1 y y VARIETY SHOW: Adults 50c:
TOTALS 1199-2490 48.2 519-761 68.2 1487 48.0 2917 94.1 tolee800-325-4867 Tickets can be purchased at the door
.J t::f::?''t "": .;ti"ti"t :. .' i..{':":;':: Ch 1ers Center- 764-9310.
closest Chicago came in'
cond half was 95-90 beforeI
o ran off six straight
and never was in danger
h's total gave him 96
in his last three games.
had eight of Buffalo's
points in the game, butI
en the Braves were in'
McAdoo added 27 and
John Shumate had 18
and 15 rebounds for Buf-
Love was high for Chi-,
with 23. Mickey Johnson
orm Van Lier added 19'
CULTURAL
DISPLAYS
- 28
11 o.m.-11 p.m.
p.m.
H SCHOOL
Ann Arbor
Children 50c
Children FREE
r or the International
each.
Buffalo and Philadelphia each
have 40-32 records. The 76ers
minus injured George McGinnis
were idle last night
SSCORES
NHL
Kansas City 5, washington 5
NBA
Detroit 122, New York 116
Chicago 122, Buffalo 109
Kansas City 106. Washington 101
Boston 101, New Orleans 97 (ot)
INTERNATIONAL
VARIETY SHOW
The International Association
of Eastern Michigan Univer-
sity is sponsorin a show by
the end of this month with a
number of different presenta-
tions from a variety of cul-
tures- American folk doncinp,
Arab belly dancing, comedy,
classical and folk music and
song, a fashion show, and
other representative aspects of
different cultures.
If your group, class or de-
partment would like to parti-
cipate,
CALL 487-2466
Program co-sponsored by EMU
Student Government, and stu-
dent assessment fee.
BILLBOARD
I
E
t
F
kf}
7
{
i
t
The Ann Arbor Figure Skat-
ing Club will host the first
annual Tri-State Open Preci-
sion Skating Competition this
Saturday, March 27 from 1-4
p.m. In Yost Ice Arena. 17
teams from the U.S. and Can-
ada will compete, along with
Ann Arbor's own Hockettes,
the Tri-State champions for
the past sixyears, now seek-
ing their first international
title. Admission is $1.00.
i
I
you coul'd' be on
scholars.&,hip.
An Air Force ROTC 2-year scholarship. Which not only pays your tuition,
but also gives you $100 a month allowance. And picks up the tab for your
books and lab fees, as well.
And after college, you'll receive a commission in the Air Force...go on to
further, specialized training...and get started as an Air Force officer. There'll
be travel, responsibility, and a lot of other benefits.
Q##.4*- i I ~r n .& aL ---;"% tt*- r nlrrr i knAr ~ A : *--D/"\T"r Thi.rr
Now
1-800-447/4100
Answered.24 Hrs.Per Day
1-800.322/4400
Illinias Residents
We
Meet and Beat
Every Price!
~ Legitimate Quote
and
Ship at Once!
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