Wednesday, March 24, 1976 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven tee... . .. .. Wednesday, March 24, 1976 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven - -- *,r- - w- 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