I I 0,; The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, November 11, 1981-P'oge 9 H e Turner could be best guard in Big H Tepecotastns: Ten some tie says coach Frieder _ _____ _ _xv f }IY 9 CAi t IA t n.f cn na.w :.ea . - --..,......-'r ntiparrI~~~A~L Anti . ~tWAChanni By RON POLLACK During the latter part of last Thur- sday's Michigan pre-season basketball press luncheon, many of the Wolverine cagers were either aimlessly walking about or shooting jump shots, when highly touted freshman Eric Turner came out of the locker room. Up to this point, the media had paid on the court, engaging in small talk amongst themselves instead. But the appearance of Turner caused the previously complacent press to swarm about the 8 guard, writing furiously to capture his words. SUCH A receptionwas for a player who has never scored a point in college,, or fed a Wolverine teammate for a layup. But this attention was also for an individual who could become the most dangerous point guard at Michigan since Rickey Green donned a maize and blue uniform (1976-1977), and who Michigan head coach Bill Frieder hopes can spark a squad that lost four of last year's starters to graduation. "I think Eric has the potential to be the best guard in the Big Ten, some time," said Frieder. "That might not happen his freshman year and it may not happen his sophomore year. Now when that happens depends on how fast he comes along and how fast he emerges." Frieder proceeded to qualify this vision, saying that star status will not be handed to the 175-pound guard out of Flint Central High School. "He's got to work harder than he's working in order to be a great player, and he's got to play better defense to be a great player," said the Wolverines' menfor. TURNER ALSO indicated that defense is something that he must work on. "To be able to perform on both ends of the court will be difficult," the freshman said. "You really have to be in good shape to play defense the full. game. "'I thought I worked out hard over the summer. But no matter what I did, I've been sucking ' air (in practice)." 'When not gasping for breath in prac- tice, Turner has been trying to acquire as much knowledge as he can about his teammatest style of play. "I think the hardest thing has been to find where: everyone likes the ball when I pass it and find out where they'll be in a position to be most effective,", said Turner. ACCORDING TO Turner's new teammates, the freshman point guard has indeed learned how to get the ball to them. "He's a good penetrator, and if you're open he'll hit you," said Ike Per- son, who has the inside track on the starting center spot. "So he'll give all the big men a lot of layups." - -- . a._ caYs.. _...t_ "When he first came here he was throwing passes no one could catch," said team captain Thad Garner. "You wouldn't even see them. Now he's throwing those passes and it looks like there's no room for them to get through, but they do." "He has good vision," said Dean Hopson who would start alongside Tur- ner if the season started now, according to Frieder. "If you're open, he'll get the ball to you and it's just automatic to put the ball in the hoop then." THIS PRAISE aside, Turner has become more selective when it comes to how often he passes the ball. "The biggest problem I had in high school was passing when I should have shot," he explained. "'Now I've improved to where I shoot whenI should." As the Wolverines' point guard, Tur- ner will be a center of attention when Michigan has the ball. "I'm looking to run things, control the offense and make sure everyone keeps his head," said Turner. "I'll be like a coach on the court." THI$ ROLE, along with all of the pre-season hoopla surrounding the freshman guard, could well result in a N great deal of pressure being placed on him. "I think he's got a lot of character and charisma and I think he can handle (the pressure)," said Frieder. "I do think expectations are gonna be high. I think he's gonna have a load on his shoulder if we expect him to run the 'team at the point with such an inex- perienced team. A lot of things just are not gonna work, because passes that he made in high school that (led to) baskets will get rejected or intercepted in our conference." Turner said that he has yet to feel the tension.' "It's more excitement than pressure for me," he said. LAST SEASON, Tim McCormick found himself in the same situatibn as Turner insofar as pre-season expec- tations are concerned. But the 6-11 cen- ter did not have the banner season that many predicted he would. Frieder does not believe that the same circumstan- ces will befall Turner. "Eric's come from a much better league," said the Michigan coach. "He had much better competition in high school and I think he's much more ready to play at this level than Tim." But the key word nFrieder's com- ment is "think." So it remains to be -seen whether Turner plays in such a manner to cause the media to continue to take note, or instead engage in trivial, chatter when the 6-3 point guard joins his teammates on the court in the future. SOON FRISCHER HARDWAhE ".. HOUSEWARES _______ SPORTC CENTER WE RENT TOOLS L\WE FIX WIDGETS 221 E.WASHINGTON ATFIFTHAVE.1769.4210; .-CALL FOR OUR THANKSGIVING SPECIALS. -Choose from small economical cars to fine luxury cars. --Special weekend rates. -Pick up services upon request. -We accept cash deposits. ECONO-CAR438 W. Huron - . . 761-8845 A GEr..CO COMPANY MICHIGAN FRESHMAN cager Eric Turner engages in some aerial acrobatic antics near the basket during the McDonald's All-American Game played April 11, in Wichita, Kansas. GRIDDE PICKS* What is the difference between Pur- due, Minnesota and the rest of the Big Ten? Give up. Well, these schools have grass playing fields and they also have the best won-loss percentage in the Gridse picks. Scientists are still debating if there is a correllation bet- ween grass and better Gridde results. If you would like to compete with the fans from Minneapolis and West LaFayette, in the name of science, then drop your' Gridde picks at the Daily by midnight, Friday. The winner gets a chance to compete with the 'artificial turf'experts of the Daily sports staff, and also gets a one item pizza from Pizza Bob's. 1. MICHIGAN at Purdue (pick score) 2. Iowa at Wisconsin 3. Indiana at Illinois 4. Minnesota at Michigan State 5. Northwestern at Ohio State 6. Alabama at Penn State 7. USC at Washington 8. Arizona State at UCLA 9. Oklahoma at Missouri 10. Maryland at Clemson 11. Auburn at Georgia. 12. Brigham Young at Hawaii 13. Iowa State at Nebraska, 14. 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