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The Michigan Daily-Saturday, Decer
Page 4-S turddy December 6, 1980-the Michig6i Doily
Freshman
firepower
'M'
picked for fift
McCormick heads newcomer list
By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE
On the morning of April 5, 1980, coach
Bill Frieder received a telephone call.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, coach," said
the voice on the other end. Frieder's
heart stopped. "But you're going to be
stuck with me for the next four years."
No predicament could have made the
newly-appointed head coach happier,
for the voice on the other end of the line
belonged to Tim McCormick, a 6-10 All-
American from Clarkston and the most
highly-recruited player in the state.
McCormick's decision to bring his
talents to Ann Arbor was the highlight
in what turned out to be an excellent
recruiting year for Frieder.
THE OTHER members of Michigan's
largest freshman class in four years
are 7-2 Jon Antonides of Sarnia, Ont., 6-
7 Dean Hopson of Albion, 6-6 M.C. Bur-
ton of Grand Rapids, and Dan
Pelekoudas, a 6=1 playmaking guard
from Downers Grove, Ill. Michigan's
freshman class is considered by exper-
ts to be one of the finest in the country.
The arrival of McCormick and An-
tonides marks a milestone in recent
Wolverine basketball history. A bona
fide "big man" has been absent from
the Blue squad in recent years, but it
appears that height will not be a
problem for Michigan for the next few
seasons.
As a senior at Clarkston High, Mc-
Cormick led his team to a 26-1 overall
record and the Class A semifinals,
averaging 25 points and 18 rebounds a
game. His services were coveted by
numerous schools, particularly Ohio
State and North Carolina, but he says
that he chose the Wolverines over the
others because, "ever since I was a lit-
tle kid, I've wanted to plaiy at
Michigan.''
McCORMICK, ACCUMULATED
numerous honors during his high school
career, among them being named to the
Class A All-State and Parade Magazine
All-American'teams. Despite these ac-
complishments, McCormick says that
he still has a bit of learning left to do.
"It's just incredible the things we have
to learn still," said McCormick. "The
MICHIGAN HAS long sought a legitimate "big man" to confront the sky-
scraper centers of the Big Ten. This year, the Wolverine roster features two
such players, 6-10 Tim McCormick (left), and 7-2 Jon Antonides. The landing
of McCormick last spring is expected to pay immediate dividends, while An-
tonides' major contribution most likely will be made in the seasons ahead.
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seniors and juniors have so much more
experience than me and the other
freshmen. We're just like little kids
now."
At his size, McCormick is far from
being a "little kid," but he says that he
discovered how far he has to go when
last year's starting center, Paul
Heuerman, stayed with him and An-
tonides this summer.
"Paul showed us moves we should
work on and helped us with our defen-
se," said McCormick. "When we first
started playing against him, Paul just
destroyed me and Jon, because he knew
so much about how to use his body; how
to block out. Paul's a great example of
all the work that has to be done."
FRIEDER HAS said that if McCor-
mick comes along well enough to start
for the cagers this season, it would
enable the coach to use a front line of
McCormick, Heuerman and Thad Gar-
ner, moving scoring machine Mike
McGee to the backcourt along with one
of Michigan's other guards. "That
would make us more of a threat offen-
sively," said Frieder. "But we would
lose some of our quickness, so that's
good and bad."
Michigans other tower, Antonides, is
the first seven-footer ever to wear a
Michigan uniform. But having never
played against competition the caliber
of the Big Ten, Antonides admits that
he won't be a factor right off. "This
year for me is going to be a building
year," said Aitonides. "It's a really big
jump from Canadian high school
basketball to the Big Ten."
HOPSON HAILS FROM Albion, but
played his senior year at Ann Arbor
Huron last season, where he was named
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to such honor squads as the Class A All-
State and Parade Magazine All-
American third team. Hopson has good
speed and quickness, assets that are
generally lacking on the Blue squad this
year, so that could make him a factor
right off.
If the name M. C. Burton sounds
familiar, it should. Burton's father, also,.
named M.C., played for the Wolverines
from 1957 to 1959, and currently sits in
12th place on the all-time Michigan
scoring list. This year's M.C. averaged
17 points and 14 rebounds a game last
year at Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Burton has displayed a flair for dunking
in practice, and could provide help for
the Wolverines this season at the for-.
ward position.
PELEKOUDAS IS the least-
publicized of all the Wolverine recruits.
However, he will most likely be a major
factor for the Blue cagers in the near
future because next season he will be
the senior member of the guard corps
when Mark and Marty Bodnar, Johnny
Johnson and Mike McGee graduate af-
ter this year.
Pelekoudas, who was the .valedic-
torian of his 712-member class at
Downers Grove South High School,
will hopefully provide help for the
Wolverines in the backcourt this year.
"I think that coach Frieder expects me
to come off the bench and help with the
ball-handling duties, help against
presses and provide some leadership on
the floor," said Pelekoudas.
With a solid group of veterans and a
promising crop of newcomers adding to
the cause there is definitely cause for
optimism among Michigan fans.
championship. One guard spot will be
filled by the 6-2 senior Scott (10.2), a
versatile performer whose talents were
often overshadowed by Ransey's
scoring exploits.
The other position is up for grabs:
Todd Penn, Nate Sims, Larry Huggins,
and junior college transfer student Ed
Major are vying for a starting berth,
while veteran 6-5 swingman Marques
Miller will also see action at guard.
-SCOTT M. LEWIS
3. Illinois
Last year, the only deficiency which
kept Illinois from being a more
dominant factor in the Big Ten was its
backcourt situation. The Illini had an
excellent forward tandem and an
adequate center combination, but the
guard spot would usually spell disap-
pointment for head coach Lou Henson.
No More.
Henson plucked from the high school
ranks Derek Harper, considered by
many to be the best freshman guard
coming into college basketball this
season. In the 6-3 playmaker from
Florida, Illinois will be getting a player
with lightning-quick speed and enough
moves to keep opposing defenses on
their toes.
Other members of the Illini fresh-
man contingent include 6-5 guard Mitch
Arnold, another highly-recruited
guard, forward Andre Allen and guard
Craig Tucker, a junior college refugee.
When you talk about a powerful for-
ward combination, you need not look
any further than the Illini. They take
great pride in their two 6-8 seniors, Ed-
die Johnson and Mark Smith, and well
they should.
The center spot is shared by junior
James Griffin and senior Derek
Holcolm. Neither one is devastating of-
fensively, but with Johnson and Smith
proficing most of the offensive punch,
it's not really necessary.
Derek Harper IS the guard spot for
Illinois. He will definitely be an instant
starter. Alongside him will be the four-
th returning starter from last year's
group, Perry Range. Other guards
hoping to play a role in the Illini attack
this year are sophomores Kevin Bon-
temps, Quinn Richardson, and Sherrod
Arnold.
-DREW SHARP
4. Iowa
Quiz question: Name the team which
comprised the Final Four last year in
Indianapolis? If you named the Iowa
Hawkeyes as one of the teams, give
yourself an 'A' for retention of Big Ten
knowledge. With'the return of the top
five scorers on the 1979-80 Hawkeyes'
23-victory, Final Four team, Iowa
emerges as one of the legitimate con-
tenders for the Big Ten crown.
Despite the loss of oft-injured All-
American guard Ronnie Lester, the
Hawkeyes will remain strong due to a
balanced arsenal. Four players scored
between 11 and 14 points last year, so
the opposition will not be able to con-
centrate on one 'main' man.
Junior guard Kenny Arnold (13.5),
senior center Steve Krafcisin (12:3),
junior forward Kevin Boyle (11.8), and
senior forward Vince Brookins (11.0)
formulate the Iowa foursome.
Complementing the Hawkeyes'
collection of steady but unspectacular
players are center-forward senior
Steve Waite 0 ), guard-forward
sophomore Bob Hansen (5.6), and for-
ward Mark Gannon (5.6).
Coach Lute Olson, of course, provides
Iowa with expert guidance proven by
his award as college Coach-of-the-Year
in 1980.1
-GREG DeGULIS
5. Michigan
For the Wolverines-to move into the
first division of the Big Ten, they have
to receive some help from the
newcomers-that is, from the freshman
corps led by Tim McCormick.
Michigan lost only three players from
last year: Mark Lozier, who graduated,
and Keith Smith and John Garris, who
transferred to ,San Diego State and
Boston College, respectively. None
played a determining role in the team's
fortunes.
The Michigan lineup features the
same cast which played its heart out
last year and won the affections of fans
throughout the region. Remember,
however, that this starting unit-Paul
Heuerman, Thad Garner, Mike McGee,
Marty Bodnar and Johnny John-
son-finished seventh in the Big Ten
last season, five games behind first-
place Indiana.
Where Michigan needed help most
last season was in the area of reboun-
ding (it was eighth in the conference in
this category, ahead of only North-
western and Michigan State). Coach
Bill Frieder filled a void in this area
last spring by landing McCormick, the
Clarkston product who at 6-10 and 230
pounds will give the Wolverines the
height and bulk they sorely lacked.
A key to the Wolverines' success this
season will be the play of Johnson, who
at times displays a magnificent, sweet
shooting touch but whose overall play
has been somewhat inconsistent: If
Johnson can put together the kind of
year of which he's capable, Michigan's
long-range offense will be devastating.
But offense wasn't the problem last
year-rebounding was. The
Wolverines, gritty performers though
they were, simply couldn't match up
under the boards against many of their
larger conference rivals. If they can
shore up this deficiency, Frieder and
his team may earn themselves a NCAA
berth come next March.
SCOTT M. LEWIS
6.Minnesota
The Golden Gophers return four of
their starters from last year's team,
Eddie Johnson
but the one va
McHale was
pick and the tt
year's NBA
player of that
has to take son
Even though
coach Jim Du
returnees to w
Darryl Mitche
game last seas
all-NIT team.
Dutcher will r
offensive leade
Joining Mit<
be 6-2 juniorP
second behind
Minnesota wit
backcourt app
area of the Go
guards are ni
backup streng
Carl Dale, 6-1
and 6-3 freshni
The Minnes
of towering 7-2
and juniors (
Trent Tucker
With height lik
appear that t
lose too many
In addition t
to the Minnea
freshman Jin
Wiley, a junior
See B1
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