T rne w V V V. V V . (Contioued from Page 3) club has the talent to play the Wolverines even. Dayton (19-9) will be playing on its home floor. Michigan toppled the Flyers, 76-67, on that court early in the year but both teams have improved since then. Don Donoher's starting five doesn't have the size to match-up with the Wolverines' front line of Tarpley, Rellford, and Butch Wade but, then showed a national television audience how good it is-at the Jayhawks' ex- pense. Led by a stunning performance by Grant, the Wolverines rolled, 96-77. On that day, there was no question who was the better team. Purdue and Notre Dame are two teams in the Southeast region who are more than capable of pulling a surprise. No one else is. Will the upstart Wolverines be happy with three or four tournament wins. No way, says Antoine Joubert. "I feel if we get halfway and lose, the goal is not finished," the sophomore said. "So going all the way is my goal." It may not be likely but maybe it's time to stop doubting. Rellford was talking "all the way" two months ago. the high school All-American commit- ted to Michigan in 1982. Relationships between the two programs have been strained ever since. The Terrapins feature second-team All-America Len Bias and high-scoring guard Adrian Branch. Maryland coach Lefty Driesell is always entertaining as he often makes little or no sense in the manner of Sparky Anderson. 1 -1 j/ /J?- ,^/L / y / ,I V full court PRESSI By JEFF BERGIDA Richard Rellford said it after a victory over Michigan State in January. At the time, Michigan's basketball team was 13-3 (5-2 in the Big Ten) and was not even considered a remote national contender. Asked how good his team could be, the loquacious Rellford responded, "Hey, I'm talking Big Ten title. I'm talking Kentucky. If this team plays together, we can go to Kentucky." BACK THEN, the people who heard him laughed. They're not laughing anymore. Bill Frieder's Wolverines followed up the MSU win, their fourth in a row, with 12 more W's. Michigan left the rest of the league in its dust, taking the Big Ten crown by four games. It enters today's first-round -NCAA tournament game at Dayton against Fairleigh Dickinson ranked second in the nation. If the tournament's selection commit- far I I cani g 'I never heard anything about Harley Dicker- son. Are they a good team?' -Michigan center Roy Tarpley again, nobody expected Dayton to upset Oklahoma, LSU, and Washington in last year's tourney. IF THE Wolverines advance to the round of 16 in Birmingham, Alabama, they will likely face either LSU or Maryland, seeded fourth and fifth respectively. Both pairings would be interesting. Louisiana State coach Dale Brown engaged in some questionable recruiting tactics with Relford after On the other half of the Southeast region, the favorite is Dean Smith's Tar Heels, 1982 National Champions. Despite losing Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins to the NBA, Smith's team has won 24 times against eight losses. Carolina's starters include center Brad Daugherty, guard Kenny Smith and three guys named Moe. THE THIRD-SEED, Kansas (25-7), may still be suffering nightmares about January 27. That was the day Michigan SYSTEMS ANALYSTS MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE We are seeking individuals with experience in microcomputer softwear analysis. You will work on enhancements to current microcomputer products for decision support as well as de- velop new DSS products. Comshare, Inc. is a 17 year old, $73MM international com- puter software and services corporation. Our decision support products are available on a full range of computers from micros to mainframes. These positions are in our corporate head- quarters in Ann Arbor. The people we hire will program in "C" and/or assembly lan- guages. Products maintained and developed will be financial modeling, spreadsheet and graphics (including foreign trans- lations for international customers). For these positions we are-looking for individuals with a B.S. in Computer Science (or equivalent experience( PLUS 2-5 years programming experience. At least 2 of these years must be programming microcomputer software in a structured language. For immediate consideration, send your resume to Lucille Platt, Project Manager, at Comshare, Inc., P.O. Box 1588, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. We are an equal opportunity employer. M/F. Li w OMSHARE . Te surprise of success*... .. ,in-Grainy's itself in minds By TIM MAKINEN H E WAS CALLED "Grainy" because of a certain coarseness in his nature. Definitely a likeable guy, no one ever intended harm to Grainy by hanging such a demeaning label on him. But a few years ago when he went without shaving and showering for a week and a half just to see what it was like, the nickname stuck. At 5-9 and 220-plus pounds, Grainy did not have the physique to play basketball. The legs werecsurprisingly skinny while the enormous midsec- tion protruded over shorts constantly in need of being pulled up. It was a body designed, or rather conditioned, for sitting on the sidelines, slurping down an icy brew, and certainly Grainy did enough of each. Yet every Wednesday evening in the refreshing air of Spring or the balmy haze of Summer, he would also show up at the gray cement court determined to play some hoops. Except perhaps for comic relief; no one really wanted Grainy on his team. One simply couldn't expect much good to occur no matter how hard the scrubby wonder tried to play. Until one day that is. The game was tight, tempers were becoming mildly frayed, and the long shadows of the setting May sun gripped the court. Then came Grainy. Charging the length of the court, he nabbed a pass, twisted, and literally flew to the basket where his off balance shot rattled the steel backboard, clanged around the rim, and fell through the mesh net. The game ended. The "Flying Grainy", as it became known, had defied physics. The man had gone higher and faster than thought possible, and nothing was left to do. In the soft Spring breeze a bond had been created between everyone on the court the evening of Grainy's magic. If Winter comes... It is the dead of Winter and the Michigan basketball team walks off the court. The skyscraping athletes are feeling mighty low. Above, the stadium scoreboard flashes the depressing news of a humiliating loss to Indiana. A week later the Wolverines lose their second contest in three conference games. Plans are made for a trip to Florida over the Spring Break, figuring that by late February Michigan may be fighting for fifth or sixth place in the dense midsection of the Big Ten standings. Florida is an artificial haven to all but those who live there, a false Spring whose warmth and sunshine lack the inspiration and hope of the changing seasons. But in the gloom and slush of January, nobody wants their Spring break to depend on an unpromising Wolverine basketball team. No matter how hard Michigan tries, nothing good can come of its efforts. The trip to Florida was never made. It became-unnecessary as the Wolverines generated their own warmth and joy on the springy wooden floors of the Big Ten arenas.' Gelling together into a cohesive unit the likes of which has rarely been seen even in Michigan's vaunted athletic tradition, the players have defied the logic and predictions of the critics and fans. Like Grainy, the Wolverines have climbed higher and farther than thought possible. Already the coveted Big Ten title carries the Michigan name. An extended winning streak casts its fiery glow into the hearts of players and fans alike. No national poll escapes the brand of Michigan upon its higher reaches. A bond has been farmed between the players and those who witnessed the Wolverines turn theirmagic on the court, the same bond that joined the stunned onlookers who saw Grainy defy gravity. All has not been completed yet. The Wolverines now enter the NCAA playoffs in pursuit of loftier goals, a Final Four berth or perhaps even a national championship. The laws of physics rarely break down though, and there may be limits to how far this squad, a team which no one thought could possibly perch atop the Big Ten, can go. Regardless of whether Michigan bows out in the first rounds or makes it to the finals in Lexington, however, the cold and dreariness of Winter has become a distant thought, replaced by memories of warm evenings in Crisler Arena. And by the time this magical basketball season ends, Spring and "Flying Grainys" cannot be far behind. "I DON'T know anything about them," echoed superfrosh Gary Grant, the man who was the final piece in the puzzle, "but they must be good. They're in the NCAAs." You don't necessarily have to be good to make the tournament. FDU com- piled a 21-9 record in winning its league championship but nobody is confusing the ECAC Metro with the Big Ten or even the Midwestern City. Two previous NCAA representatives from this league, Robert Morris and Long Island University, exited quickly the past three years.- Frieder, naturally, is "taking them one at a time." "WE'RE NOT going to overlook them," he said at Sunday's press con- ference. "I know from experience that when teams get in the NCAA tour- nament, it's a new lease on life. They're ready and they shoot for the teams that are rated in the country." tee is accurate in its seedings, the Big Ten Champions will be spending the last weekend 'of March in lovely Lexington, Kentucky, right where Rellford said they couldtbe. The number-one seed in the Southeast region, Michigan will have to oust a number of quality teams to make it to the University of Kentucky campus. Stiff competition will be provided by the likes of North Carolina, Kansas, Louisiana State and Maryland. THE Wolverines clinched their school's first NCAA berth since 1977 when they defeated Wisconsin on February 28. That victory sealed the Big Ten title and the automatic berth that goes with it. Even before that, there had been quite a bit of speculation about where the team would be playing once post-season action got going. The guessing came to an end on Sun- day when the 25-3 Wolverines stepped off their plane at Willow Run Airport, still basking in the glory of a 73-71 win at Indiana. Frieder got off the plane and onto the team's bus just in time to grab a battery-operated television and watch Brent Musburger and Gary Bender of CBS slobber over the NCAA field of 64. "We were scared we'd lose the recep- tion if we moved so we didn't (move)," said the national coach-of-the-year candidate. "We listened to it and I called out each pairing as they went. "OUR KIDS were quiet on the plane... But when I hollered Michigan-Fairleigh Dickinson, they really cheered." And rightfully so. Fairleigh- Dickinson, located in fashionable Teaneck, N.J., is the champion of the ECAC Metro conference. The Knights will show up for their execution but the Wolverine players' lack of familiarity with the team demonstrates the humor of this "match-up." "I never heard anything about Harley Dickerson (sic)," said Roy Tarpley, the heavy favorite to be Big Ten player-of- the-year. "Are they a good team?" Logically, Michigan will beat the hell out of Fairleigh. It will then have a much tougher second-round opponent, the winner of the Villanova-Dayton game. The Wildcats (19-10) have been in and out-of the top twenty all year and took number-one Georgetown into over- time when the two clubs met in January. Led by Easy Ed Pinckney and Dwayne McClain, Rollie Massimino's See TOURNAMENT, Page 11 The Numbers Overall: 25-3 Big Ten: 16-2 Streak: 16 games* r *(Longest in Michigan history) Bill Frieder got his share of the blame during But his efforts in leading an unacclaimed team forth praise from his peers and the media. First Round March 14.15 Second Round March 16-17 West . Mid west St. John'sn""gn Southern owa 1985 Division i Arkansas8en'sBasketba Washington- Kentcky --Championship eadauLkyBracket San Diego St. Denvr Dlas, IMrc22 24 March 21 a 23 Texas-El Paso NevadaReno Alabama--- - Arizona Va. Comm MarshalMarch 30 arch 30 Georgetown Virginia Tech. AMF C PMIP S.M.U.Lexington. Old ominiontucky April1 Loyola (I1.) ona Providence. Brmigham, Geora RhodeIslandAabama i i i I gv~m March 21 & 23 Wichita St. Illinois Northeastern Syracuse DePaul Georgia Tech. Regionals Mrc 22 & 24 Southeast Regionais 14 Weekend/Friday, March 15, 1985 Weekend/Frii