4
Pro lossesI
hampe
By PAUL HELGREN
It was supposed to have been the
year.
The ingredients - talent, the ex-
perience of the NIT championship, a
returning starting five - were there.
Despite a couple of early detours last
season, the road appeared firmly paved
for Michigan's first run at the Big Ten
basketball title since a puffy-haired
guard (Ricky Green) teamed with a
cat-like center (Phil Hubbard) to lead
the Wolverines to a sizzling 16-2 mark in
1977.
BUT ALL that changed on a fateful
Saturday last May when it was learned
that another frontcourt/blackcourt duo
- 6-11 center/forward Tim McCormick
and 6-3 guard Eric Turner - would
forego their remaining year of college
eligibility and enter the NBA draft.
One could almost hear a collective,
silent groan emanate from the empty
halls of Crisler Arena. There goes the
Big Ten, it said. There goes the
NCAA tournament. There goes
what might have been.
Michigan coach Bill Frieder heard
the melancholy drone all the way from
Europe, where he and his team were
touring at the time. But like a proud
skipper he maintained his ship was still
sea-worthy.
"OUR PROGRAM," said Frieder,
who is entering his fifth year at the
helm, "is to the point where even if we
have some adversity - an injury, a kid
going pro - we're gonna have suc-
cessful years. We've recruited pretty
well now for two or three straight
years. From that standpoint I think
we're gonna maintain and stay in the
upper-division (of the Big Ten) and be
in contention for an NCAA tournament
berth."
In other words, the Michigan basket-
ball team is hardly a sinking ship.
But the treacherous Big Ten could
keep the Wolverines struggling just to
tread water. They finished in fourth
place in the Big Ten last year, well
behind Illinois, Purdue and Indiana.
And while it appears the Purdue
Miraclemakers might finally drop in
the standings, the Illini and Hoosiers
have essentially their entire teams
r
NIT Champions
4
returning.
OTHER TEAMS - perhaps Min-
nesota and Iowa - are sure to rise.
Take away two starters from the
Michigan lineup and even a third-place
finish is optimistic.
Nonetheless, Frieder sees a silver
lining in the departures of McCormick
and Turner.
"Anytime you have losses like that it
gives some of your guys a shot in the
arm," said Frieder, who also lost the
steady play of guard Dan Pelekoudas to
graduation. "(Robert) Henderson,
Garde Thompson, (Butch) Wade -
they're probably happy. They see an
opportunity for themselves. It renews
enthusiasm."
ADDITIONALLY, Frieder will no
longer have to worry about the enigma
of Eric Turner. Mysterious as an extra-
terrestrial, "E.T." could play out of
this world one night and then look like
his mind was off on another planet the
next. His numbers took a tumble last
year, down to 10.8 points per game and
42 percent shooting, as compared to 14.7
and 47.5 as a freshman and 19.2 and 48.1
as a sophomore.
More importantly, the vibrancy and
spark that Turner once ignited on the
court came in irregular spurts last
season. Back spasms accounted for
early-season erratics. A brief hot
streak popped up in the middle of the
Big Ten season but after that Turner's
play-especially his shooting -
wallowed in inconsistency.
There's no definitive answer for
Turner's problems. Perhaps he never
adjusted to his new non-scoring role.
Perhaps his contention that he was
stifled by Frieder's methodical style of
coaching was true. Rumors even sur-
faced that he was disenchanted with
his coach.
WHATEVER the case, it should come
as nc shock that Frieder made no
protest when the skittery backcourter
from Flint Central High decided it was
time to move on.
"It got to the point where I felt that
since it (going pro) was on his mind
that much he probably should do it,"
Frieder said shortly after returning
from Europe last May.
Joubert
... European leader
Frieder won't know for sure how
badly Michigan will miss Turner's ball
handling and quickness until the season
gets under way. But if Antoine Joubert
steps in and restores order, then
Wolverine fans may soon forget all
about passing wizard who passed up his
last season with the Maize and Blue.
"ANTOINE provided a lot of leader-
ship in Europe," commented the 41-
year-old coach, in reference to the
Wolverines' European tour.
With the Big Ten adopting the 45-
second shot clock Joubert will get a real
opportunity to strut his open-court
stuff. If the 6-5 sophomore lives up to
anything near the all-everything hype
he received out of high school a year
ago, then look for the ball to be solidly
in his hands this season. Look for his 9.0
scoring and 3.1 assist averages to rise
accordingly, too.
A helping hand in the backcourt from
fellow sophomore Garde Thompson and
fellow Detroit Southwestern High grad,
senior Leslie Rockymore, wouldn't
hurt. Rockymore's shooting completely
collapsed last season (42.5 percent).
But his experience will earn him
another shot at starting. His limited
ball-handling abilities means he must
score, or else Thompson or newcomer
Gary Grant will get the starting nod.
GRANT, FROM Canton, Ohio's
McKinnley High School (the same school
that gave us Hubbard) led his team to
the AAA championship, while earning
Player-of-the-Year honors for himself.
He made the Parade Magazine and
the McDonald's All-American teams
and was rated among the top 10 recruits
in the country by virtually every
scouting service. The 6-2 guard
averaged 23 points, seven rebounds
and, according to Frieder, is that most
rare of species - a freshman who '
played excellent defense in high school.
"Grant's a great one," saidFrieder.
"The thing is, in high school he played
good defense (Grant averaged over
three steals per game). Most high
school players don't play a lot of defen-
se."
So while it's easy to see why Frieder
isn't fretting over the loss of Turner, it's
just asobvious why he did everything
he could to convice McCormick to stay.
THE WOLVERINES' will miss Tall
Timber's bulk and steady play around
the hoop. Without a definitive big man
Michigan will find itself bullied out of
rebounds and easy buckets.
"No one will ever know all the good
things that Tim did for our basketball
team," Frieder stated, leaving out the
logical conclusion, until this year.
What bulk Michigan does have comes
in the presence of 6-7, 230-pound junior
Butch Wade. Wade's a good rebounder
but a poor outlet passer, which will hurt
if Michigan is going to run. Wade will
definitely need help in the trenches.
FRIEDER DOES have scorers up
front, however. Svelt junior center Roy
Tarpley is pure dynamite from within
10 feet ofsthe basket but will still lose
bounds to the bumpers andgrinders.
His team-leading scoring average of
12.5 could easily rise to 15 or more.
The Wolverines' resident sky-walker
Rich Rellford, also a junior (it's hard to4
believe these guys are juniors, isn't it?)
is mighty explosive himself but must
learn to hang on to passes and rebound
with authority.
Other wingmen - Robert Henderson,
Paul Jokisch, freshman Steve Stoyko -
are question marks at best. Jokisch will
play football for Bo this fall, so even if
he does return to the basketball team
his role will be limited. Henderson,
chosen "Mr. Basketball" in the state of
Michigan in his final year of high
school, looked simply dreadful last
year. Whether he has anything left to
contribute remains to be seen. Stoyko
comes from Bay Village, Ohio, and is
rated only a fair recruit. But he might
get a chance to play, nonetheless.
Clearly then, Frieder has a big job
ahead of him. Key ingredients have
been removed from Michigan's cham-
pionship recipe. But a skillful re-
mixture of what remains could make
for a palatable season, after all.
Daily Photo by CAROL L. FRANCAVILLA
Roy Tarpley, last season's Most Valuable Player for the Wolverines, will be
called upon to lead the defending NIT Chamns this year because of the losses
of Eric Turner and Tim McCormick to the NBA.
IT'S THE CHOICE
OF THE COACHES
4
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1984 Big Ten
Standings
Conf
W L
Illinois ............ 15 3
Purdue..........15 3
Indiana..........13 5
MICHIGAN........10 8
Ohio State .......... 8 10
Michigan State....8 10
"Minnesota .........6 12
lows . ........... 6 1'
Northwestern ...... 5 13
Wisconsin .......... 4 14
Overall
w L.
26 5
22 3
22 9
23 10
15 14
:15 13
15' 13.
13 15
12 16
8 20
5
10
12
17
19
24
31
OHIO STATE
at Illinois
at Purdue
MINNESOTA
IOWA
MICHIGAN STATE
at Northwestern
1984-85 Schedule
November
26 DETROIT
December
1 GEORGIA
5 YOUNGSTOWN STATE
8 Dayton
10 WESTERN MICHIGAN
12. EASTERN MICHIGAN
15 NORTHERN. MICHIGAN
17 ALCORN STATE
22 RUTGERS
29 Tennessee
January
2 INDIANA
February
2 at Wisconsin
7 PURDUE
9 ILLINOIS
14 at Iowa
16 at Minnesota
21 WISCONSIN
21 at Michigan State
28 WISCONSIN
March
2 NORTHWESTERN
6 atOhioState
9 at Indiana
Bud-ding coach leads women
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By PHIL NUSSEL
With only eight wins in two years, the
women's basketball team has been, to most
observers, a joke. But with a new coach
and a host of improving young players
returning, the 1984-85 edition of
Michigan women's basketball could be
more than a gag.
Taking the reigns of the team from the
much-maligned Gloria Soluk is Bud
Van De Wege, Jr., a 1980 graduate of
Michigan. Van De Wege, 26, has been
an assistant on the men's basketball
team for the last four years.
"THERE'S A LOT of question
marks," Van De Wege admitted when
asked about his new position. "It's a
new area for me and there's a lot I have
to learn about."
Without a doubt, Van De Wege is
going to make a lot of changes in the
program. As far as the team's playing
style goes, Van De Wege made no
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predecessor failed to do.
Thenew coach said he believes he has
a lot of capable athletes to work with
this coming season. The most capable
is surely last year's most valuable
player Wendy Bradetich.
BRADETICH, a junior forward from
Oregon led the team in scoring with
over 18 points a game. Her 120 rebounds
also led the squad. On a few occasions,
she literally carried the team, scoring
29 points in two different games. She
was the only player to start in all 26
games last season.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT returner
will be junior guard Orethia Lilly. The
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East Cleveland, Ohio native was one of
the team's better outside shooters and
was second on the team in scoring,
averaging 8.5 points a game.
Jerene Middleton, a sophomore for-
ward, was one of last season's few
pleasant surprises. As a freshman, she
led the team in shooting percentage
(46%), was second in rebounding (119),
and was third in scoring (7.4 points per
game). Middleton, 5-11, only started
three games, but saw considerable
playing time, averaging over 20
minutes a game.
JUNIORS Amy Rembisz and Sandy
Svoboda will return and most likely bat-
tle for the starting center position. Both
players showed improvement during
last season, especially after 6-7 center
Lynn Morozko was declared
academically ineligible. Morozko, ac-
cording to Van De Wege, is not expec-
ted to return.
Four new faces will be on this year's
squad. They are Sara Basford, Loria
Feldman, Shawne Brow, and Kelly
Benintendi. All are shorter than 6-0,
with Brow being the tallest at 5-11.
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