tE Grjegct By GREG DeGULIS The Michigan Daily -Tuesday, March 24, 1981-Page 9 Michigan basketball ... ... loss of national prestige The scene after the Indiana - St Joe's game had to formulate a few smiles on the faces of older Michigan basketball fans. There stood Steve Grote, now a rising color commentator on NBC, interviewing Bobby Knight after yet another lopsided Indiana victor'y in the NCAA's, Predictably, the topic of past Hoosier-Wolverine classics arose and verbal barbs passed between the two, bringing sheepish grins on both faces. Michigan was good to Indiana, Grote recalled in reference to the three Hoosier victories over Michigan in 1976 including the championship game. The championship game? Yes, five seasons ago Michigan was the leader in the Big Ten, and a national power. But to today's seniors who migrated to the Ann Arbor campus in 1977-78, the tradition and excellence associated with Wolverine basketball in the early and mid-seventies must seem far away, as evidenced by the following table: Year Big Ten Finish Big Ten Record Overall 74-751 12-2 225 15-76 2 12-6 19-8 76-77 2 14-4 25-7 1 16-2 26-4 77-78 4 11-7 16-11 78-79 6 8-10 15-12 79-80 7 8-10 17-13 80-81 7 8-10 r19-11 - The statistics point toward a definite slip in Big Ten and national power for the Michigan basketball program. The senior starters on the 1980-81 team have not been invited to the NCAA tournament and have reached the quar-' terfinals of the NIT two years in a row. Any four year trend invites examination of the players who have been around-namely the seniors. How can anyone point a finger at the seniors in 1980-81 for some of the decline in Wolverine basketball? Many experts believe Michigan to be short on talent in comparison to the other Big Ten squads, and that only the gritty performance of the seniors gave Michigan some of the glory it enjoyed the last four years: Mark Lozier's winning shot at MSU in 78-79, Keith Smith's free throw to beat eventual NCAA champion Michigan State in 79-80, and the four over- time victories at home in 80-81 including a win over Finl Four entry In- diana. Yet, after these tremendous victories, human nature may have it to remember the four years as the only NCAA drought in Michigan history. To some, however, the past four years will be remembered as 'The Mike McGee Era' in Michigan basketball, and to many that label creates a lot of grum- bling. End of McGee era A visitor to this campus would probably be surprised at the average student's comments about McGee. For a player with all of the credentials of the senior forward- " 1978 All-Big Ten . 1979 Big Ten Honorable Mention " 1980 All-Big Ten (2nd team) * 1981 All-Big Ten, Honorable Mention All-American' " All time Michigan scorer " All time Big Ten scorer one wouldn't expect these typical statements - "McGee travels too much," "He doesn't know when to stop shooting," McGee's great when we're up by 20," "He doesn't concentrate on his free throws,"etc. The visitor would ask the question-why isn't McGee popular with the basketball fans in Ann Ar- ' bor? One of the reasons may be the fact that Michigan hasn't been in the NCAA's in McGee's four years and the senior forward may be a symbol of ; the faltering record. In addition, McGee has not been a game winner-that role belongs to Marty Bodnar. Fans get upset when McGee misses the free throws - the '80-81 :675 average signals lack of concentration. The below 50 percent shooter also irks fans at times, as does the number of shots he attempts. As Mary Albert mentioned before the Syracuse game, McGee has taken more shots than any other two Wolverines combined. The question arises-can teams with great scorers also be winners? ; In the Big Ten this year, Jay Vincent, McGee, Claude Gregory, Clark Kellogg, and Rod Roberson were the top five scorers-all representing teams - which finished in the second division of the conference, and a combined Big