Page 12 -Wednesday, November 30, 1983 - The Michigan Daily
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1. Michigan St.
Coach: Jud Heathcote
Top players: Center Kevin Willis,
guards Sam Vincent and Scott Skiles,
forward Ken Johnson.
Heathcote on Michigan State: We have
a solid center and an excellent
backcourt. But we have no
proven offensive forwards and
poor guard defense.
Heathcote on Michigan: They have a
proven center and the best point
guard in the conference. I
question the shooting range of
their inside players.
2. Iowa
Coach: George Raveling
Top players: Center Greg Stokes, for-
ward Michael Payne, guard Steve
Carfino.
Raveling on Iowa: We have good in-
terior players but we're weak at
guard.
Raveling on Michigan: From one to
15 they probably have as good a
team as there is in the league.
Their weakness is too many good
players.
3. Michigan
Coach: Bill Frieder
Top players: Guards Eric Turner and
Leslie Rockymore, center Tim Mc-
Cormick.
Frieder on -Michigan: Our size and
depth are the team's strengths,
while a lack of proven players
who have won is the main
weakness.
4. Ohio State
Coach: Eldon Miller
Top players: Forward Tony Campbell,
guards Troy Taylor and Ron Stokes.
Eldon Miller speaks: I don't get into
making predictions. That's not
my style. We have 27 teams to
beat this year. The top team is the
team you're going to play that
night. All I'm concentrating right
now is practicing hard so we
could be successful.
By JEFF BERGIDA
Seven-footers are a precious com-
modity these days in college basketball.
It seems some NCAA coaches will go
anywhere to find one.
Houston's Akeem Olajuwon is a
product of Nigeria, while Pat Ewing
came to Georgetown by way of
Jamaica via Cambridge, Moss. Coach
Tom Penders of Fordham University
went deep into The Sudan to find Dud
Tongal, an 84-incher whose first name
turned out to be prophetic.
TIM McCORMICK arrived in Ann
Arbor from, the far-off land of
Clarkston, near Detroit. The seven-
footer has overcome his past injuries
and, if his coach's words mean
anything, the 1983-84 season may be the
year he becomes a dominating pivot
man.
"McCormick is probably playing the
best that he's ever played," said
Wolverine mentor Bill Frieder. "Men-
tally, he's over the hump when it comes
to those knees. Physically, he's sound.
It took a long while for Tim to get into
the flow of things last year but he really
got going in the last (10) games of the
season. I look for Tim to have a great
year.''
The senior had a productive off-
season and is anxious for the season to
get underway. "I worked hard this
summer and I think it has really payed
off. I feel quicker, feel stronger and I'm
really confident of having a very fine
season. I know that right now I'm
playing better than I have at any time.
since I've been here."
WITH HIS troubles .apparently
behind him, McCormick can look back
on last season as a maturing process.
He averaged 12.6 points per game
shooting 55-percent from the floor, and
his 6.4 rebounding average led the
squad. However, during the early part
of the schedule, McCormick seemed
tentative and unsure of himself.
"The main problem I had at the
beginning of the year was that I was not
very confident. I was a little bit heavy
from lifting weights all 15 months
that I was out and what I did was work
my way back into shape. I gained con-
fidence and really came on at the end of
the year."
Michigan had no reason to have con-
fidence in its foul shooting last year.
The Wolverines as a team shot a weak
69-percent from the line, while guards
Eric Turner and Leslie Rockymore had
more than their share of problems each
putting in only 65-percent. Centers are
not known for prowess at the line, but
McCromick hit on 81-percent of his at-
tempts.
A healthy McCormick
optimistic about season
'84 Big
g
Ten preview .
I'VE ALWAYS been a bettern-than-
average free throw shooter and I had a
chance to work on my free throws quite
a bit when I was out," he noted. "He
(Frieder) is always on us tp improve
our foul shooting."
McCormick has some big individual
efforts last year, including the Min-
nesota game at Crisler Arena in which
he scored 24 points and outplayed 7-3
Randy Breuer in the second half to lead
the Wolverines to a come-from-behind
victory over the highly-regarded
Gophers. But the center recalls a dif-
ferent contest as the year's highlight.
"I really enjoyed the Indiana game,"
said McCormick. "'We were very strong
defensively, the crowd got into it and
we beat the fourth-ranked team in the
nation at that time."-
McCORMICK'S TOUGHEST com-
petition last year? "Russell Cross was
without a doubt the best center in the
Big Ten. That's why he's playing in the
pros right now."
Entering his fourth season with the
Wolverines, McCormick, will have a
new role. His teammates elected the
center co-captain (with Eric Turner)
and he takes the position seriously.
"It's our job to respond with leader-
Tim McCormick stuffs one home over
the back of Michigan State's Ben
Tower. McCormick started slowly last
season but played well down the stret-
ch. He finished the year with a 12.6
scoring average.
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5. Illinois
Coach: Lou Henson
Top players: Center/forward Efrem
Winters, forward Anthony Welch,
guard Bruce Douglas.
Henson on Illinois: 'We have a very
strong first five, but we lack dep-
th.
Henson on Michigan: They are strong
in all areas, but they need more
experience.
6. Indiana
Coach: Bobby Knight
Top players: Center Uwe Blab, guard
Steve Alford, forward Mike Giomi.
Bobby Knight did not respond to
the survey.
9. Wisconsin
Coach: Steve Yoder
Top players: Forward Cory Blackwell,
guard Ricky Olson.
Yoder on Wisconsin: We're a year
older, but we still don't have a
senior class. Physically, we're a
lot stronger.
Yoder on Michigan: I'm so concer-
ned about our own team that I
haven't really evaluated
Michigan.
7. Minnesota-
Coach: Jim Dutcher
Top players: Guards Tommy Davis and
Mard Wilson, forward Jim Petersen.
Dutcher on Minnesota: We have good
guards but lack experienced big
men and have questionable for-
ward depth.
Dutcher on Michigan: This team has
size, speed, experience and depth.
It's a definite contender for the
Big Ten championship.
8. Purdue
Coach: Gene Keady
Top players: Guards Steve Reid and
Ricky Hall.
Keady on Purdue: Shooting and
passing are our strengths.
Rebounding is a big weakness.
Keady on Michigan: They have great
shooters and no weaknesses.
10. Northwestern
Coach: Rich Falk
Top players: Center Andre Goode, for-
ward Art Aaron.
Falk on Northwestern: We will be big
and strong with inexperience at
two positions (both guards) as our
biggest weakness.
Falk on Michigan: The youth of last
year's team was a weakness, but I
see Michigan enjoying a fine,
winning season.
Doily Photo by JEFF SCHRIER