I
Page 12-Thursday, October 22, 1981-The Michigan Daily
oAIKIDO
Fighting the odds
J.J. shooting for a spot on the Celts
4
OPP'
J
-. r
Martial Arts
Dem onstration
Friday, October 23,1981,7 pM
UM Sports Coliseum, Fifth Ave at Hill St, Ann Arbor
With Sensei Takashi Kushida, 8th dan,
highest ranking Aikido master in North America
By MARK FISCHER
Of the three Michigan hoopsters
chosen in last spring's NBA draft, only
one - forward Mike McGee, now a Los
Angeles Laker - has been assured of a
spot on his team's roster. Paul Heuer-
man, the Wolverines' center last year,
was cut by the Phoenix Suns Monday.
But Johnny Johnson, Michigan's 6-4
shooting guard and second leading
scorer of a year ago, is yet another
story.
At the moment Johnson is trying out
with the Boston Celtics, and he "doesn't
know what's going to happen" to him.
The Celts chose "JJ" in the third round
of the draft, behind Charles Bradley of
Wyoming and Notre Dame's Tracy
Jackson, both of whom are also guards.
Considering this backcourt surplus and
the fact that only two spots are still
open on the Celtic roster, Johnson isn't
exactly an odds-on favorite to follow
McGee into the NBA.
JOHNSON IS HIMSELF well aware
of his situation. "I'm hanging in there,
but it's rough," he said in a phone con-
versation Wednesday. "I don't know if
I'm going to make it."
Johnson has only played in two of
Boston'a four preseason exhibition con-
tests so far, for a total of six minutes of
"Yeah we go out when we're on the
road - there's some serious ladies.
You tell them you're the World Cham-
pion Boston Celtics and they go wild -
like groupies. But I've been layin' low
because I have a girlfriend."
BY THIS TIME mext week, Johnson
will in all likelihood have learned
whether or not he'll have to endure that
life on the road. Boston still has to trim
its current squad of 17 players down to
the 12-man NBA limit before the season
opens at the end of this month.
Tickets: $3 Adults, $1.50 Children
Available at Michigan Union and at the door
O AIKIDO YOSHINKAI ASSOCIATION
OF NOR TH AMERICA
l'C #
'The one and two draft choices are both ahead of me and
he's (Celtic coach Bill Fitch) playing them all the time in the
preseason games. It looks like the writing's on the wall.'
-Johnny Johnson, on his chances
of making the Celtics
Johnson
... hanging in
Attention every
anlaneand stereol
playing time. Bradley and Jackson
logged considerably more action in the
same'stretch of games.
"The one and two draft choices are
both ahead of me and he's (Celtic coach
Bill Fitch) playing them all the time in
the preseason games," said JJ. "It
looks like the writing's on the wall."
UNDERSTANDABLY, Johnson isn't
happy with what that "writing" says,
especially because he believes that Fit-
ch "didn't even give me a chance" in
the preseason scrimmages. "If they
played me more, maybe I could play better.
Y
i
,,
... scores two for Wolverines
~T U- - -
devotee, aficionado,
I
maven
and admirer.
They just didn't give me a shot."
J.J. said he thought he deserved a
better shot, however, because in his
opinion he's "just as good as the other
two. (Bradley and Jackson).
I can do more than them; play point
guard, I handle the ball better, shoot
better, and pass better," claimed John-
son. "But 'they (the Celtics) paid
money to them already - they're
already signed, so they figure they
might as well go with them."
JOHNSON IS learning that trying out
with an NBA team is no bowl of cherries.
Two-a-days (two practices a day) can
get a little tiresome, in more ways than
one, according to J.J.
"Man, he's killing us. He (Fitch) had
us playing defense all day today," said
an exhausted Johnson, who added that
he hasn't seen much of Boston because
he's too tired to go out at night.
"It ain't easy," continued J.J. "It's
rough, dog-eat-dog out there. The
coaches make it so hard. Mentally, it's
a lot tougher (than at Michigan)."
WHEN THE TEAM isn't running
around a gym, it's flying around the
country, and Johnson is also finding out
that life on the road can be rocky.
"I hate it, man," he said at first when
asked about his travel with the Celts.
"Well, actually it's not that bad. If you
were secure (on the team) it would be
good. But it's living out of suitcases.
If he doesn't make the Celtics, all is
not lost for Johnson, however, "I'll take
it as a learning experience," said the4
Buffalo, N.Y. native. "Why get down?
My next camp I'll know. I know I'm
good enough to play with somebody.;
Maybe I'll get the right break next
time."~
That next time will have to be next
year, said J.J., because it will be too
late to try out with another team this
year. "I've got a few plans...I'll call my
agent and take it from there," he said.
"I'll probably play ball somewhere -
for at least two years. ,If nothing hap-
pens then, I guess I'll just go nine too
five, like everyone else.. .As soon as this
is over, I'll leave Boston."
However his future will turn out, it
seems that Johnson's present situation
could be happier.
SCORES
I
For two sa
everything a
is on. sale.
only
; Highland
I
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World Series
New York 3, Los Angeles 0
(New York leads series 2-o)
) NHL
Los Angeles 5, New York Rangers 2
Quebec 6, Washington 3
Buffalo 2, Winnipeg 2
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