Gymnastics Wolverine Invitational Saturday and Sunday Crisler Arena The Michigan Daily SPORTS Hockey vs. Western Michigan Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Yost Ice Arena Thursday, December 6, 1984 Page 7 Walk-on McE By BARB McQUADE He's young and he's raw, but Brad McCaughey has the talent to be a dominant force in the CCHA. The freshman icer has racked up 14 points in 15 games this season and is Michigan's third-leading scorer. His nine goals include a hat trick in a win- ning effort at the University of Illinois at Chicago. AN ANN ARBOR native, Mc- Caughey's high school career flourished at Huron High School. Last year the former River Rat captured honors as one of the state's premier players, earning a spot on the All-State team as well as being named league MVP. So why does his success at the collegiate level come as a surprise? "He's coming from a league where he wasn't really challenged," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "He was the dominant player in the league. His skating was a question, and in this league, where skating is em- phasized, we wondered." "I DIDN'T expect him to be netting goals this early," said assistant coach Mark Miller. "It's not that he couldn't do it, but coming out of the program he did... But he just stepped right in and made the adjustment." McCaughey himself is somewhat surprised with the role he has played on the team. "I didn't expect to be playing much," said the walk-on right wing. "(Former Michigan head coach John) Giordano guaranteed me some ice time. But when we got a new coach, I didn't know what to expect." Despite the early skepticism, the 6-1, 182 lb. McCaughey has silenced any critics he might have had. His aptitude at handling the puck and intense style of play have been some of the solid elements of an inconsistent Wolverine offense. "BRAD'S PLAY has been positive," said Berenson. "With his hustle and his ability to put the puck in the net, he's been effective. And he's improving." "I'm very happy with his play-the aughe at center. We're going to experiment and see how he handles that position." McCAUGHEY played center throughout his high school career. During his senior year, however, Gior- dano advised his coach to move him to right wing to better prepare for college. "He's got the skills to play any of the forward positions," Miller said. Growing up in Ann Arbor, Mc- Caughey is one of those "Born to be 'You can get into a fight in high school and not worry about anyone killing you. Here, you've got guys who can put you up in the stands.' -Brad McCaughey y skates to success way he's started and the improvement he's made," said Miller. "He's going to continue to improve because he works hard all the time." With the temporary loss of Michigan's leading scorer, Brad Jones, due to injured knee ligaments, Mc- Caughey may be called upon to fill the void. "I'm pleased with his progress," said Berenson. I'm going to look at him Blue" athletes. From the first time he stepped onto the ice at Yost Arena in a high school game, he knew where he wanted to play. "I USED to love playing in this rink," said the prospective business major. "Last year I scored four goals here." Indeed, McCaughey scored the hat trick plus-one at Yost twice during his high school days. Daily Photo by DAN HABIB' Freshman right wing Brad McCaughey, shown here in last Saturday's game against Ohio State, is Michigan's third leading scorer with nine goals and five assists. Despite making a smooth transition to college play, McCaughey does note a difference at this level. "It's more physical and the skating is a lot quicker," said the Wolverine icer. "Everyone is a lot stronger. You can get into a fight in high school and not worry about anyone killing you. Here, you've got guys who can put you up in the stands." The freshman admits that he enjoys playing in front of the hometown crowd. His friends and family are strong in at- tendance at the home contests. "My mom is nuts," McCaughey said. "I can hear her yelling in the stands." While many college players may en- tertain hopes of playing in the NHL, McCaughey keeps his thoughts in per- spective for now. "I'm just thinking of getting through Michigan." Person-ally, Ike likes Sweden By PHIL NUSSEL Somewhere in the frozen, wind-swept lands of northern Scandinavia, where virtually no human beings exist, Is a man known as Ike Person. No, he's not a hermit or an eskimo, he is a Swedish professional basketball player. Person, a center for Michigan from 1979-83, plays for Skelleftea, a city of about 50 thousand people, located just 125 miles south of the Arctic Circle. "WE GOT too much snow up here," Person said. "It's like living in Alaska." Along with the cold, there is "q also no sun during the winter months. "It gets dark here around 2:30 and it stays that way," he added. About the only thing hot in Skelleftea is Ike Person himself. The 6-7 center is averaging 35 points and 15 rebounds per game, in addition to a ton of blocked shots. His team is 4-4 at this point in its 18-game season. "It's not easy, but I work hard and I get my points and nobody in the league can stop me at all," Person said. While he's not the tallest player in the league, Person may be the most ver- satile. He plays all three positions in a league that only permits one American per team. "I pretty much do what I want to do," Person noted. "I still play team ball. I'm still staying in the offen- se." MOST OF THE Americans in this ten- team league are from much smaller schools than Michigan. The only two "name" players are Reginald Hanna, out of Alabama, and Poncho Wright, who played on Louisville's 1980 national championship squad. Basketball, along with American culture in general, has become in- creasingly popular in Sweden. Although hockey and soccer are still the top sports, Person believes that roun- dball will be successful in that country and he enjoys promoting the sport. "There's really a lot of curiosity," he said. "It's not like in America where everyone thinks they know everything. Here they listen to you. It's really gratifying, personally, because when you talk, they listen." PERSON noted that the only thing he can't get in the Swedish backlands that he could get in the states is live televised basketball-he has to send away for films. Otherwise, he has ac- cess to American radio, TV shows, and various commercial products. Swedes even follow American sports. "They tell me what's going on," he said. "Everything over here is American. I really don't have a chance to miss America because America is over here in sorts." Swedish sports fans, especially basketball fans, have a love for Bobby Knight. Person claims that his coach reads all of Knight's books. Unlike the Bob Knight style, however, the Swedes play nothing but run-and-gun offense. "They just get the ball and go," Person explained. "All the teams break pretty much. It sur- prised me, but they do." THE MONEY involved in Swedish basketball is not fantastic, but that is not one of Person's top priorities. He explained, "Right now I'm not making big money, but it's in my pocket and I'm saving, plus I get to travel a bit. Who knows, maybe next year I might be able to make good money someplace. But that's not important right now. I just want to have a good time." Skelleftea has asked Person to return next year, but right now he is undecided about his future plans. He is con- sidering playing in Italy, France, or England where the competition and the money are better. He did not mention any plans of returning to the States, saying that he couldn't be better where he is right now. ALONG WITH his playing, Person also coaches a minor league basketball team (there are two minor leagues in Sweden). Additionally, he goes to to make the trip to Europe after he was cut by the Pistons. Despite being "marooned" in the Scandinavian wilderness and despite being thousands of miles from home, Ike Person is a happy man. "I love it up here," he concluded. "I'm not homesick." SingTosgK*~ce Take-out & Delivery 995-0422 A IKew App'w&c ix Ckime eFTN 355 North Maple Maple Village Shopping Center Mon.-Thurs. 10-9 Fri.-Sat. 10-10:30 Sunday 12-8 THE DAILY CLASSIFIEDS ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET FAST RESULTS CALL 764-0557 Person ... hot hand in cold land schools introducing the sport to Swedish youths. Language is no problem with English being the second language. Person credits another ex-Wolverine, Leo Brown, for getting him interested in Swedish basketball. Brown played in Sweden last year and convinced Person Sports Information Former Michigan center Ike Person, pictured here during the 1982-83 season, now plays professional basketball in Skelleftea, Sweden. Person also coaches a Swedish minor league team. Bear1s sign Lan dry; ~Hump hries sidelined CHICAGO (AP)-The Chicago Bears, devastated by injuries to their top two quarterbacks, yesterday signed 17-year veteran Greg Landry as an emergency backup. Landry, who spent the last three seasons in the United States Football League, will be eligible for Sunday's National Football League game in Chicago against the Green Bay Packers, said Bears spokesman Ken Valdiserri. TERMS OF Landry's contract were, not disclosed, Valdiserri said. To make room for Landry, 37, the Bears placed rookie offensive guard Stefan Humphries on injured reserve, Valdiserri said. Starting quarterback Jim McMahon is out with a lacerated kidney and replacement Steve Fuller suffered a shoulder separation last Monday in Chicago's 20-7 loss against Dan Diego. Third-string quarterback Rusty Lisch is scheduled to start against the Packers, and star running back Walter Payton was the only reserve before Landry was signed. NADI The. High End is now RENT-A-BYTE. INC. HOLIDAY WAREHOUSE SALE FRIDA Y, DEC. 7 - 9 to 7 SA TURDAY, DEC 8 - 10 to 5 Limited quantity of LIKE NEW off-lease personal computers: APPLE Ilc $590, APPLE MONITOR $110. DEC RAINBOW PC's $1795 with FULL WARRANTY Plus over 200 other items including: !! DEC and Diablo printers !! !! LA36 printing terminals!! !! CRT terminals (as low as $50)!! !! PLUS much more!! CASH IN ON THESE SAVINGS AT OUR HEADQUARTERS: D1171T A DVTV 11IMP Affordable! $A7r*Oo SATURDAY n,. 0