4
Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 7, 1984
MIDDLETON CONTROLS THE BOARDS
Freshmen cager shows
By BARB McQUADE
Jerene Middleton is in a class all by
herself.
As the only freshman on the Michigan
women's basketball team, Middleton
has emerged as one of the few bright
spots on a disappointing Wolverine
squad.
INDEED, the 5-11 forward has
become one of Michigan's most ver-
satile players, ranking among the team
leaders in eight offensive categories.
Her accurate shooting touch has earned
her the team's second highest shooting
percentage at 44 percent.
Middleton has received most of her'
playing time off the bench, but head
coach Gloria Soluk puts the Utica,
Michigan native into the game every
chance she gets. Middleton has started
just two games, but only four players
have seen more playing time.
Despite ranking as Michigan's fourth
leading scorer, Middleton sees that
statistic as highly overrated.
"MOST PEOPLE look only at
scoring, but that's only one aspect of
the game," said Middleton. "I want to
be an all-around player."
Scoring has never been a problem for
the Betsy Barbour resident, yet Mid-
dleton's passion lies in rebounding. Also
among the team leaders in that
category, her skills do not go unnoticed
by Soluk.
"I'd say she's our top offensive
rebounder," Soluk said. "She really
goes at the boards."
AT 5-11 , Middleton finds rebounding
in the Big Ten a bit more difficult than
it was in high school.
"It's a little tough," said Middleton.
"I'm usually going against girls who
are bigger than I am, but ...a lot of it is
just having it in your heart."
Middleton's success on the court
should come as no surprise to those who
know her high school credentials. As a
four-year starter at Utica Eisenhower,
Middleton compiled an impressive list
of honors, including All-State on three
separate polls and All-America. Her
high school accomplishments led to
over 100 scholarship offers throughout
the country. Middleton actually made a
verbal commitment to Wichita State
but changed her mind when the
Shockers' coach moved to an
assistant's spot at Iowa.
THE FRESHMAN,, who is con-
sidering a concentration in physical
therapy, is happy with her decision to
come to Michigan.
"At first I was really looking out of
state, but I wanted to be near my
family," Middleton said. "I'm really
happy here."
Middleton established herself in the
promise
Big Ten early in the season when her 19
points led the team in scoring in
Michigan's game against Iowa. The
Wolverines lost the game, but Mid-
dleton's performance earned her a
nomination as the Big Ten player of the
week.
ALTHOUGH SOLUK prefers to use
Middleton off the bench, she sees a
bright career for the freshman cager.
"She's a good athlete," said Soluk.
"We're really looking for a great future
from her in the Big Ten. Hopefully, she
and Wendy Bradetich can complement
each other at forward."
If Soluk's expectations are putting
any pressure on Middleton, the 19-year-
old doesn't mind a bit.
"I like the competition," said Mid-
dleton. "It makes it all the more en-
joyable. In high school you've got your
spot. Here, you've always got to be
working because you're never guaran-
teed your spot."
If Middleton can keep performing the
way she has, keeping her spot should be
no problem. She's already at the head
of her class.
Quick on the Draw
By Mike Mc~raw
Middle ton
... sporting sharp stats
QB Smith close to
Concord(e) with CFL
By PAUL HELGREN
Steve Smith may be saying "Oui" to
the Montreal Concordes of the
Canadian Football League bientot
(very soon).
The former Michigan quarterback
met with Concorde coach and general
manager Joe Galat this past weekend
for contract negotiations. The Concor-
des' offer pleased Smith, who said he
would probably return "very soon" to
sign on the dotted line.
"WE'RE VERY close (to signing
with Montreal)," Smith said yesterday..
"I guess it's a matter of waiting and
seeing if we hear anything from any
(NFL) team."
Smith is still hoping an NFL team will
express an interest in him as a quarter-
back before the draft in April. Despite
being Michigan's all-time leader in
passing yardage, Smith has been ad-
vised by NFL scouts to switch to run-
ning back or defensive back, a change
he balks at.
"It's nice to know that someone wan-
ts you as a quarterback," said Smith. ".
.. for most of those (NFL) teams it's
not a question of whether I can play
quarterback. For them, I can't play
quarterback."
SMITH WOULD not discuss terms of
the proposed contract but said it was
"better" than the offer he received
from the USFL's Michigan Panthers.
The Panthers' interest in their
territorial draft pick diminished when
first-string quarterback Bobby Hebert
settled a contract dispute. Smith said
he has ruled out a deal with the Pan-
thers.
The CFL's wide-open style of play is
another reason Smith is interested in
playing up north. The league features a
larger field and three downs, which
creates a lot of passing and scoring.
"It might be the type of game that's
better for me. It's a wide-open game,
which fits my style."
Even if Smith signs with Montreal, he
may have a hard time cracking the
starting lineup. Last month the Concor-
des signed Nebraska's star quarter-
back, Turner Gill.
Blue icers in the red...
...program melting away
IF YOU TOOK all the dollar bills the Michigan hockey team cost the
athletic department this season and stretched them end to end, they
could reach from Yost Ice Arena to Belleville, Michigan (Belleville is sort of
on the way to Metro Airport).
That's not too far to drive, but if you picked up all the cash, you'll come up
with the $180,000 entry in the hockey loss column. The last year that Notre
Dame played before dropping the sport, it lost only about $20,000 more than
this year's Wolverine team.
There certainly isn't any immediate danger of dropping the program that
once won six NCAA championships in nine years, but things haven'it been
looking green for the Blue in recent years. Just three years ago, Michigan
averaged 5,179 a game at home, its best mark ever. But this past season,
only 3,032 fans on the average frequented the basketball team's former
home.
There are two glaring reasons for the drop in the hockey squad's support.
One is that it now plays in the CCHA instead of the WCHA, so instead of
Wisconsin and Minnesota visiting Ann Arbor every year, the fans are treated
to Ferris State and Lake Superior. The other is that the team has been
terrible the last two seasons, each time failing to finish in the top eight of the
conference and missing the playoffs.
The NCAA set the limit on the number of hockey scholarships that can be
given out at 20, but Michigan only grants 17. In the whole CCHA, only Miami
(17) and Ohio State (15) don't give out the maximum.
"Our total dollars spent is more than anyone in the league (in hockey),"
said athletic director Don Canham. "Hockey has the greatest deficit of all
our sports and we're not going to plow any more money into it."
It is understandable that Canham only give 17 hockey scholarships,
because the NCAA allows only 70 scholarships for all sports other than foot-
ball and basketball. Thus none of the minor sports at the University get the
maximum number.
"We don't want to overemphasize anything, we try to be good in
everything," Canham said. "MSU is putting all its money into hockey, but
look at their track team. If you have a good coach, you can do the job with no
scholarships."
Canham could make a decent investment by hiring a second assistant
coach to help out with the recruiting. The Wolverines have had only one
assistant in past years, while all but two teams in the league, Miami and
Lake Superior, carry two.
One example of a school that doesn't make much money but is in the
process of building a nationally competitive hockey team is Western
Michigan. WMU, playing almost entirely freshmen and sophomores, has
advanced to the CCHA semifinals this season.
It has 19 varsity sports to take care of, only two less than Michigan, but ac-
cording to Tom Wonderling, the Bronco's athletic director, Western still puts a
lot into the hockey program. "How can you develop a good (hockey)
program without giving 20 scholarships?" Wonderling asked.
Even though Ohio State has proven that you can win without that many
scholarships, you need an above average coach to be able to do so.
Based on his record with the Wolverines, coach John Giordano doesn't ap-
pear to be the man Michigan needs.
After being named national Coach-of-the-Year in his inaugural season,
Giordano's teams have done progressively worse until this season when the
Wolverines looked promising at mid-year, only to nosedive at season's end
and again miss the playoffs.
The team was hit with an incredible amount of injuries, but has - followed
in the tradition of recent squads by not being able to win a game on Friday
night and slumping to a poor record the second half of the season. There
have been arguments raised that Giordano works the players toohard in
practice during the week, the result being a poor performance on Fridays,
an end-of-the-year slump, and maybe even the high amount of injuries the
team sustained.
But in a way, its good that the Wolverines missed out on post-season action
this year. Think of the money they saved.
L
.I
Boilers
4
YOUR BSN IS WORTH AN
OFFICER'S COMMISSION
IN THEARMY
Your BSN means you're a
professional nurse. In the Army,
it also means you're an officer.
You start as a full-fledged
member of our medical team.
Call your local Army Nurse
Corps Recruiter. Or stop by.
CPT JOSE RIVERA
23400 Michigan
Suite T44
Dearborn, MI 48124
Call collect: (313) 562-4160
v
P
r
i
gyp' ' P
o
Q ti
blast
Badgers
MADISON, Wis. (UPI) - Steve Rei4
scored 23 points last night to lead 11ti-
ranked Purdue back into sole
possession of first place in the Big Ten
with a 61-48 victory over Wisconsin.
The Boilermakers, now 14-3 in the
conference and 21-6 overall, moved a
half-game ahead of 7th-ranked Illinois
which plays at Minnesota Thursday
night. Mark Atkinson scored 12 points
for Purdue and Jim Rowinski, the
Boilermakers' leading scorer, was hel
to 9 points.U
Wisconsin, 4-13 and 849, was led by
Cory Blackwell's 18 points and Scott
Roth added 14.
i -
RAMSEY
CLARK
FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL
Will Speak On
"The 1964 Civil Rights Act:
Twenty Years Later"
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 1984
r