Page Twelve THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, August 4, 1977
Fieder: capable character
By KATHY liENNEGHAN
To Bill Frieder, coaching is
more than a joh. It's an obses-
sion. The Michigan assistant
thinks basketball 24 hours a
day, summer and winter. This
week, for example, he's out on
the West Coast watching AAU
games, with an eye out for po-
tential recruits.
FRIEDER IS AN unlikely-
looking haskethall coach. A
small, slight man, he never
played the game in college as
did so mane coaches. He
watches practices in Crisler
Arena often clad in bright yel-
low warmups resembling over-
sized pajamas.
"When I first saw the guy,"
said a player Frieder recruited,
"I thought, 'No way!'."
But if he doesn't look the
part, doggedness and enthu-
siam usually win over the skep-
tics.
Frieder came to Michigan
in 1973 with sparkling cre-
dentials as a high school
coach at Flint Northern. His
teams won back-to-back Class
A state titles, and a state re-
cord of 37 consecutive wins
still stands.
Prior to that, Frieder actual-
ly PLAYsED basketball at Sagi-
nasw High School, a Class A
powerhouse. "I was the last of
the white horses there," he
quipped. "I played with some
great players. I scouted for
them in '62, the year after I
graduated, when they won the
state championship."
Frieder earned a degree in
business administration at
Michigan in 1964 and picked up
his Masters Degree a year Iat-
er. Still, he always had coach-
ing in the back of his mind.
"I HtAD ALWAYS LIKED
sports, and by my sophomore
or junior year I knew coaching
was what I wanted to do," he
explained. "So I took the edu-
cation hours in addition to my
regular program. I carried a
tough load - some semesters
I had up to 21 credits.
"When I got out, I applied
for every job I could. I didn't'
have a head start for a coach-
ing job like a lot of players do.
I took the JV job at Alpena. I
had decided I wanted a JV job
at a Class A level or a head
job at a lower level."
At Alpena, Frieder worked
for Dick Dennis who later
took the head coaching job at
Flint Northern. Frieder was
offered the head job at Al-
pena but chose instead to go
to Flint as Dennis' assistant.
"I wanted to get back to the
Saginaw Valley," said Frieder.
"I thiuk I actually talked him
into taking the job."
Frieder was the JV coach at
Flint for two years before he
got out of coaching altogether
for one year. "It was basically
becasse of the unions," he said.
"I refused to strike. The board
wouldn't pay me, but I just
showed up for work every
morning. Then I resigned in
ctetober of"'1969 and sold mutual
fsinds in insurance for a year."
WHEN THE HEAD JOB, op-
ened at Flint Northern in the
string of 1970 the same board
offered it to Frieder, who had
enormous success.
"When Dick Dennis went to
Flint the program was really in
bad shape. When we turned the
prograt around we were really
respected," Frieder said. "Then
I got lucky and won the state
finals tvo years in a row. The
players believed in me. I've at-
ways been fortunate in being
around successful basketball.
"I've never had a problem
with black kids in Flint or any-
where. Black or white, I think
kids look for someone who is
hard-working and sincere. And
when we won, I had no prob-
lems.
Frieder's players at Flint
included Wayman Britt, the
former Michigan captain now
trying out with the Pistons,
and Terry Furlow of Michi-
gan State and the Philadel-
phia 76ers. Much was made
of the Britt - Furlow match-
ups in college - Britt was
the calm, cool defensive spe-
averaged 12 shots and 15
points a game for me. Of,
course at State .he was a 30
point man ,under a very dif-
ferent type of system.",
Frieder was instrumental in
sending Britt to Michigan. He
admits to tearing up an Iowa
tender because it arrived dur-
ing the state tournament, and
Frieder didn't want Britt dis-
tracted. Although Britt had
wanted to go to Iowa, the
school was allowed to send just
one tender. Since that was in
Frieder's wastebasket, the
choice came down to Michigan
or Michigan State.
"It really helps to have the
high school coach in your cor-
ner when you recruit," said
Frieder f(in somewhat of an
understatement). "I wish Ear-
vin Johnson's coach had been
a Michigan man."
F R I E DV E RFOLLOWED
Britt to Ann Arbor a year later.
Johnny Orr calls Frieder the
hardest working assistant he's
ever had, over the likes of Jim
Dutcher and Fred Snowden..
The persistent rumor is that
Bill Frieder, not Johnny Orr, is
the real coach. Of course, those
stories circulated when Dut-J
cher and Snowden were here
too, and Orr has had to fight
them far most of his tenure at
Michigan.
But the "Frieder as head
coach" theory gained more ad-
herents last winter by way of
a Sports Illustrated story
which contained some partic-
ularly damaging quotes from
Frieder.
"That was an unfortunate
thing," said Frieder. "I apolo-
gized to Coach Ore and his fam-
ily. I stilt think about that star
almost daily because I think it
was unfair to John. And when
he's so nice about the whole
thing that makes it worse. Peo-
ple who know me well know I
wouldn't say those things,
"If I had been in Orr's posi-
tion, I probably would have
fired the guy."
ORR DIDN'T go that far, of
course, but it's doubtful that
Sports Illustrated will get the
red carpet treatment next year.
And Orr sarcastically informed
a group of reporters that he
"had consulted Coach Frieder
and Frieder decided I could keep
zny job for another year."
Eventually, Frieder wants to
move into a head coaching job
but he is in no hurry to leave
Michigan. He seriously consider-
ed the job at Fordham over a
year ago, but decided against it
once he saw Fordham.
"It's not the class place Mich-
igan is," he explained. "I dont
have a timetable. I want to get
a major college job where there
is a successful basketball pro-
gram. I'm not going to leave
jsst for the sake of leaving. I'm
at the greatest athletic and aca-
demic institution in the coun-
try.
Frieder's enthusiasm applies
to all aspects of his job,
something the players don't
necessarily appreciate. Take
the matter of curfews on road
trips, for example. When
Dutcher left for Minnesota,
Frieder started enforcing the
rules.
He patrols hotel halts so thr-
otghly that he was soon dubbed
"Snoopy" and "Columbo." And
the guy never seems to sleep
"If yost hear he's' gone to bed,
don't you believe it," grumbled
one player. "You look up frcrns
the pool table at three in thr
morning and Frieder's righls
there beside you."
Nor do his jokes always msee't
with player approval. Ie once
watched a line of players gss in
for slam dunks at the end of
practice, yelling, "Get up these.
Joel . ..-Thataway, Rickey ..
Don't hurt yourself, Grote,
Very fitny, eh, Steve?
But the grumbles are ansl
surface deep. He may be a
character, but he's proven him
self as a coach. A school could
do a lot worse than to tap irie
der for a head job, and he may
not be in Ann Arbor much
longer,
hot Hand and at times, a
hot head.
"When tley were juniors,
Fsurlow was my most talented
player, no question about it,"
said Frieder. "He was a great
athlete, but he could also be a
mouthy kid and he didn't do a
lot of the things I, asked him
to do.
"I HAD TO DO ONE of two
things, because he was not go-
ing to be on the varsity until
his attitude improved. Either
I could kick him out, or I
could put him on JV," Frieder
explained. "He led the JV in
both scoring and rebounding.
"I brpught two kids up from
the JV for the state tourna-
ment but he wasn't one of
them. When we won the state
title, I think it was an inspira-
tion to Furlow. In the summer
he really matured.
"The next year he became
a starter," Frieder added.
"He Was a very disciplined
player within my system. He
Frao wire Service Reparis-
Sabres select Marcel
BUFFALO - Rene Marcel Pronovost, a 21-year veteran of the
National Hockey League, became the fourth head cach in the
seven-year history of the Buffalo Sabres yesterday.
"The main ingredient I was looking for Was a man strong
enough to make the players play as a team and not how
they wanted to play," Imlach said,
"Pronovost is a winner, and that's very important," Imlach
said. "He has lots of experience, knows the game and is bilin-
gual, Our French players won't be able to put anything over on
him."
Pronovost, 47, spent 16 seasons as an all-league defenseman
with the Detroit Red Wings and five seasons with the Toronto
Maple Leafs.
Make way for Hennessy!
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills Wednesday ac-
quired veteran defensive end Billy Newsome from the New York
Jets for an undisclosed future draft choice. Newsome, a 29-year-
old, 6-foot-5, 250-pound nine-year National Football League vet-
eran, was drafted third by the Baltimore Colts in 1970 and was
traded to New Orleans in 1973 for the Saints' No. 1 draft choice.
He went to the Jets in 1975 in another trade for a No. 1 pick.
Newesome played in only two games for the Jets last sea-
son because of a mild knee fracture. He did not require sur-
gery. Newsome, who lost his starting job this season to sec-
ond-year man Lawrence Pillers, was scheduled to arrive
Thursday at the Bills' Niagara University training camp.
"Billy is a good football player," said Jets Coach Walt Mi-
chaels, "but he was expendable because of the development of
Lawrence Pilfers and rookies John Hennessy and Greg Murphy.
Hennessy, from Michigan, and Murphy, -formerly of Penn
State, have performed well in training camp.
Reds nip Cubs in 10th, 5-3
Oy The Associated Press
CINCINNATI - George Foster slugged a
towering game-tying home run in the eighth
and Dan Driessen drilled a two-run homer in
the bottom of the 10th to power the Cincinnati
Reds a 5-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs last
night.
DRIESSEN'S HOME run, his 13th of the sep.
son, followed a one-out single by Foster against
loser Willie Hernandez, 5-4. Pedro Borbon,
7-4, picked up the victory in relief.
Foster's 36th home run in the eighth drove
in Joe Morgan, who had singled, and gave
Foster 105 runs batted in. He leads the majors
in both categories.
Cubs starter Rick Reuschel, tied with Steve
Carlton for most victories in the National
League with 15, left the game in the seventh
inning with aan ailing back.
Bucs blanked
IIOUSTON--Joe Niekro scattered nine hits
for his second consecutive shutout and Jose
Cruz drove in two runs with a fourth-inning
double as the Houston Astros blanked the
Pittsbisrgh Pirates 3-0 last night.
NIEKRO, 7-3, posted his third consecutive
complete game as the Astros jumped two full
games ahead of fourth-place San Francisco in
the National League Western Division,
Pittsburgh starter Bruce Kison, 6-6, suffered
the loss.
Cesar Cedeno singled to center'and Kison hit
Bob Watson with a pitch before Cruz smacked
his two-run double. Cruz, however, was caught
in a rundown trying to stretch the hit into a
triple for the third out. _
Hot Cards roll
ATLANTA-Eric Rasmussen hurled a four-
hitter and Jerry Mumphrey had four hits,
scored three runs and drove in another as the
St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game
sweep of the Atlanta Braves 5-1 last night.
IT WAS THE 11th victory in 13 games for
St. Louis, which completed its season series
against Atlanta with an 11-1 record.
Rasmussen lost his shutout early when Gary
Matthevs lined his 12th home run of the sea-
son over the left field fence in the second
inning.
Tigers killed
BLOOMINGTON-Craig Kusick and Lyman
Bostock knocked in three runs apiece and
rookie right-hander Paul Thormodsgard fired
a seven-hitter as the sizzling Minnesota Twins
romped to an 11-1 victory over the Detorit
Tigers last night.
THE TWINS, who have won four straight
games and 14 of their 18, kayoed Detroit start-
er Fernando Arroyo with a four-run blast in
the first inning. Arroyo, now 6-10, allowed a
walk, two singles and two doubles before de-
parting without retiring a Twins batter.
Thormodsgard, 9-8, scattered six singles and
Ben Oglivie's fourth-inning RBI double.
Boastock, Butch Wyneger and RodCarew had
three hits apiece'in the Twins' 17-hit attack,
which included Dan Ford's 11th homer of the
season. Carew went 3-for-S to raise bis eague-
leading average two points to .384.