SPORTS
The Michigan Daily Friday November 7, 1980 Page 9
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ROOKIE COACH SHOOTING FOR NCAA BERTH
Frieder,
By SCOTT M. LEWIS
The mood was, as expected, one of guarded op-
timism yesterday as Michigan coach Bill
DFrieder addressed the local media at the annual
pre-season basketball luncheon.
",Our goal is to make the' NCAA tournament,"
said Frieder, the seven-year assistant coach who
was elevated to the head position in March when
Johnny Orr packed his bags and transferred to
Iowa State. "Our goal is always to win the Big
Ten, but realistically, that's going to be tough to
do."
FOR THE PAST three-and-one-half weeks,
Frieder has put his team through rigorous three-
hour practice sessions in preparation for the 27-
game regular season. "Things have been going
farywell," he said. "The kids have been
working hard; I think they're doing a nice job."
But he hastened to add that the Wolverines (17-
13 overall, 8-10, in the Big Ten last season) are
not yet prepared for the season opener, a home
game against Eastern Michigan two weeks from
tomorrow. "I'm not entirely satisfied. I think we
have a long way to go, even though there's been a
:'Big Te
lot of improvement," said Frieder.
If the season were to begin tomorrow, the
Wolverine starting lineup would look like this:
Mike McGee and Thad Garner at forward, Paul
Heuerman at center, and Johnny Johnson and
either Marty or Mark Bodnar at guard.
SOUND FAMILIAR? It should. This cast of
characters is the same one which started the
final ten games last season. Garner is a junior,
while the rest are seniors.
"Our nucleus of veterans.. . do give us some
experience to really work with," Frieder said.
"They give us some basic stability in our prac-
tices in that they've been around for some time
and know what to expect and what's expected of
them.
"And yet, even though they are a fine nucleus
back, they're a nucleus that's back from a team
that's in the middle of the pack (seventh place
last year) in our league. If we're going to move
up in the standings, they've got to play better and
we've got to get some help from
somewhere-and that's hopefully where the
freshmen and the younger kids will contribute."
When Frieder mentions the freshmen, the first
tough t
name which comes to mind is Tim McCormick,
the 6-10 forward-center from Clarkston who was
the target of an intense recruiting battle last
spring. McCormick has been hobbled during
practice with bursitis (hip) and minor knee in-
flammation, but is reported to have returned to
health in recent days.
"I THINK he's been doing a great job," said
Frieder. "He's approaching 100 percent now. He
does have some knee problems-jumper's
knee-and he's gonna have to learn to play with
some pain. There's nothing really wrong with his
knees-no cartilage damage, no ligament
damage."
The other four freshmen-Jon Antonides (who,
at 7-2, is the tallest player in Wolverine history),
M.C. Burton, Dan, Pelekoudas and Dean Hop-
son-"liave got a ways to go," according to
Frieder. "When they (highly-publicized fresh-
men) get here, it's a big adjustment because
they're walking into a situation that is com-
pletely new to them. It's a big jump from high
school ball to the Big Ten conference," he said.
The freshmen aren't the only ones who will
find the going rough in the Big Ten. Frieder
o tackle
speaks in almost reverent tones of the conferen-
ce, which sent a record seven teams (including
Michigan) to post-season tournaments last
season.
"THE BIG TEN is awesome; it's the best in
the country," he remarked. "When Joe Barry
Carroll (of Purdue) went number one in the
draft, it marked the sixth straight year the num-
ber one draft choice came from the Big Ten con-
ference. That's proof enough that the NBA is
looking to our conference for the best players.
"That's what bothers me-the conference. I
think we'll hold our own against non-conference
teams. But I think every conference game will be
one helluva battle."
Another potential area of concern for Frieder
is his team's lack of quickness in the backcourt.
The Bodnar twins and Johnson are accomplished
shooters, but none possesses the quickness which
has characterized Wolverine teams during the
past decade.
"It's the first time in a long time we don't have
a really quick guard," Frieder said. "That's
going to cause us some problems when other
teams put the pressure on us."
GRIDDE PICKS
Be sure to get your picks over
to the Michigan Daily at 420
Maynard by midnight tonight
becuase a free one-item pizza at
Pizza Bob's awaits the winner.
1. MICHIGAN at Wisconsin
(pick score)
2. Illinois at Ohio St.
3. Iowa at Purdue
4. Northwestern at Michigan St.
5. Indiana at Minnesota
6. LSU at Alabama
7. Houston at Texas
8. Georgia at Florida
9. Arkansas at Baylor
0. SMU at Rice
1. Southern Cal at Stanford
2. Arizona at Washington
3. Wake Forest at Duke
4. Air Force at Army
5. Colgate at Bucknell
16. Grambling at Alabama St.
17. S. Dakota St. at S. Dakota
18. Illinois St. at Eastern Michigan
19. Shippensburg St. at Slippery Rock
20. DAILY LIBELS at Electoral
College
CLOSES OUT X-COUNTRY CAREER:
Setior Weidenbach turns to track
By JOHN KERR
Crosse Pointe North High School, located in the
quiet suburban community of Grosse Pointe,
Michigan, has a reputation for producing some of the
best distance runners in the state of Michigan. Its
cross country team is a perennial challenger for the
state championship; what's more, four of the eight
Michigan varsity cross country runners, are
graduates of the school.
Eight years ago, Bill Weidenbach decided to take
up running "just to lose some weight." The following
year he entered Grosse Pointe North, where they
have a "good distance program," he said. Guess
where he is now. Yep, it was almost inevitable.
Weidenbach, a senior in LSA, has been running on
the Michigan varsity cross country team for the last
W hree years. This season he has 'become the team's
i"steady fifth man," according to coach Ron Warhur-
-st. He has finished fifth (on the team) in every race
this year except the Central Collegiate Champion-
ships, where he was the sixth Wolverine to cross the
finish line, and in Michigan's dual meet with
Michigan State, where he placed fourth.
Besides cross country, Weidenbach also rung track,
and he admits that he gets "much more enjoyment
out of track. I like cross country, but I guess that I
just don't get a feel for running on grass."
Warhurst is the first to agree. "Billy is not really a
cross country runner; he's much better in track.
We're just hoping that Billy can really pop one for
us," he said, referring to Michigan's two important
tests ahead, the District IV Championships on
November 15 and the NCAA championships on Nov.
24.
Weidenbach is also looking forward to Michigan's
final meets. "I've had my ups and downs," he said
about his running career at Michigan. "I'd like to
pop one before the year is out. I've liked it a lot up
here, and I might as well make the best of the last
part of my career."
Although Weidenbach will graduate this year, his
running career will not end right away, not if he can
help it.
"I plan to keep on running after I graduate," said
Weidenbach. "I'd like to get club-sponsored and keep
running for three or four more years."
But first things first, and Weidenbach thinks that
the Wolverine harriers can do well at the NCAA's. To
qualify for that tournament, the Wolverines will have
to finish in the top four at the districts next weekend.
"It will be Illinois, us, and Indiana in the districts,"
is how Weidenbach views the favorites. "Then we
want to finish in the top eight in the nationals."
The Michigan outfit has a good shot at fulfilling its
goals at the districts and nationals. That is, unless
Grosse Pointe North is holding some sort of a reunion
on the day of one of the races.
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:To the Daily:
I would like to comment on an
apparent misunderstanding between
myself and Dan Newman concerning
the article about Elliott House and their
0'domination of Residence Hall IM foot-
ball (Daily, October 23), Mr. Newman
reported me as saying that Elliott
House has no "real athletes." This is
not true. Elliott House has many ex-
cellent athletes, and if it weren't for
those excellent athletes, we would not
have as fine a record as we do. What I
said was that Elliott does not house
varsity athletes-yet we do as well or
better overall than the houses who do.
The article as printed does a great
disservice to the many fine athletes
who play and have played for Elliott
House the last four years. Thank you
for letting me clarify this error.
-Bill Harder
To the Daily:
In thdhe days of hystrionic vigilantes
and irresponsible journalists, I found
Mark Mihanovic's column (Daily, Oc-
tober 21) regarding the hockey hazings
reassuringly balanced, thoughtful, and
fair.
Your effort was appreciated.
To the Daily- -N.E. Lohr, Ph.D.
Congratulations and thanks to Gary
Levy for an excellent column about the
hockey team (Daily, October 31). It's
great to see a Daily staff member
defend them ! And Canham deserves to
have his attitude stated in public.
-Isabel Reade.
(FAN-FARE appears in the Daily
every other Friday. Submit your let-
ters to the Michigan Daily-Sports,
420 Maynard, Ann Arbor, MI
48109. Letters should be less than
250 words in length. Unsigned let-
ters will be published only in
unusual circumstances).
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A! L.
ecpseRAY
CHARLES
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and the
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Special Guest:
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November 12
Wed. 8:00 p.m.
Hill Auditorium
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reserved seats
tickets
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in Ann Arbor:
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