Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 6, 1986 I THE SPORTING VIEWS By CHRISTIAN M. MARTIN Now that the NBA season is almost three-quarters over and the playoffs seem right around the corner, one would hope that we would have some answers about the league and its workings. Instead, all we are left with are a lot of unanswered questions. *Is the New York Knicks' Hubie Brown really the best bench coach in the NBA? 'Is Brown always jinxed by drug problems and in- juries because he rides his players hard during the season until they are worn down or need a break half- way through? Witness Bill Cartwright, John Drew, Eddie Johnson, and Bernard King as examples. *Why doesn't John Long play? *Could Ralph Sampson be a dominating center if he wasn't forced to play power forward? -Is there anything more annoying than a Celtic fan? *Why does the league force teams to take back two- time drug offenders when it is obvious that their physical presence is more of a detriment than an ad- vantage? Observe Michael Ray Richardson and "San" Quintin Dailey. *Are the Lakers still the best team ever? *Are stress fractures the most dibilitating of all NBA injuries, given the fates of Bill Cartwright, Michael Jordan, Andrew Toney and Darrel Griffith? *Why do the Warriors have the worst record in the NBAwhen they have one of the most talented teams? eGiven George Gervin's recent play in Chicago are they still calling him Snowman, or is he the N Iceman again? *Will Dick Motta ever be able to win at Dallas, or is he still just a "decent big man away," after five years of saying the same thing? e Will Red Aurebach insure the Celtics' bright future for another . .. Hubi NBA's questions ... . . . still unanswered ten years by getting into the draft lottery with the Sonics pick and grabbing Walter Berry or Kenny Wal.-\ ker? -Has anyone bothered to tell Kareem Abdul-Jabbar he should be in the twilight of his career instead of scoring 24 points a game? -For the last two years have the Knicks served us anything except an NBA showcase for players who couldn't make a CBA roster? Just look at Bob Thorton, Ron Cavanall, and Eddie Lee Willkins as proof. eIs Detlef Schrempf still the next Larry Bird? -Will Bill Wennington or Uwe Blab ever develop? -What ever happened to Kenny Green and Alfrederick Hughes? -What ever happened to the 1985 draft, supposedly the best ever? -Could the best trade of the season have been Terry Tyler for an option to switch first round picks with Sacremento? 'Wasn't San Antonio supposed to be washed up this year? ' What would Don Nelson be able to do if he didn't have to play Ran- dy Breuer, Alton Lister and Paul Mokeski in the pivot? Are the NBA "superscouts" still predicting Roy Tarpley and John Salley to go one-two in the NBA draft? ' Do the best players in the NBA really come from the basketball factories or do they come from the Indiana States and high schools of Maryland? o Hoosiers destroy State EAST LANSING (UPI) - All-Big Ten guard Steve Alford and freshman _ Rick Calloway combined for 49 points last night and Indiana defused Michigan State, 97-79, with defense to set up a Saturday showdown for the Big Ten title with defending champion Michigan. The Hoosiers, a half-game ahead of the Wolverines, fashioned a 48-35 half- time lead and the Spartans could never get inside eight in the second - half. ALL-BIG TEN choice Scott Skiles became Michigan State's all-time - leading scorer with a game-high 33 points but played the second half with a pulled muscle in his left side that limited him to 12 points. Michigan State cut the lead to 73-65 with 5:58 left but Skiles slipped on his next trip down the floor, lost the ball and gave Alford an easy layup. The 14th-rated Hoosiers, 21-6 overall and 13-4 in the Big Ten, made 10 straight free throws after the 18th- rated Spartans again shaved their lead to eight, 81-73, with 3:23 left. ALFORD HAD 31 points and the willowy Calloway 18 while Daryl 35 - Thomas added 14 and Andre Harris 10. Darryl Johnson scored 15 points for ,. Michigan State, 20-7 overall and 11-6 s;in the league. Ralph Walker had 14 for the Spartans. Indiana really won it in a 6:15 stret- ch of the first half when it held Michigan.State without a field goals going from a 13-10 deficit to a 29-16 lead. ALFORD HAD 11 points and Calloway six in the 19-3 Indiana spurt Associated Press that led to the Hoosiers snapping a Andre Harris grabs a rebound over a dumbfounded Larry Polec. Indiana four-game losing streak against the dominated all the way winning 97-79. Spartans. Calloway and Harris scored on several high feeds inside the Michigan State defense and controlled the of fensive boards in the first half. Who knows? Maybe in the last fourth of the season, the playoffs, the draft, or maybe during the off- - season hiring and firing period for coaches we will be able to find the hnlsonanswers to some of those e's victim questions. Shockers fire coach WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita State basketball coach Gene Smithson and his staff were fired yesterday in the wake of a 14-14 season, a duplicate of Smithson's career worst. Smithson, 47, came to WSU in 1978 and recorded a 14-14 year his first season, which was his lowest win-loss percentage in his career as a head coach. The Shockers finished their 1985- 1986 season with a 78-70 loss Monday to Illinois State in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference post- season tournament in Tulsa. At an afternoon press conference, WSU Athletic Director Lew Perkins said the firing of Smithson was "probably one of the most difficult professional decisions I've had to make in my life." He said he became concerned abou a decline in the basketball program last year and became convinced as this season wore on something had to be done. Perkins said he decided to opt for a new coach because players were leaving the basketball program at an unacceptable rate, home-game atten- dance was down and there was apathy in the program and among fans and the media. Gophers look for coach MINNEAPOLIS (UPI) - The University of Minnesota yesterday named a five-member search com- mittee to select a new men's basket- ball coach to replace Jim Dutcher, who resigned in the wake of the arrests of three players. Frank Wilderson, vice president for student affairs, appointed the com- mittee, which will begin accepting applications immediately until March 24. Dutcher resigned after 10 1-2 seasons following the arrests of Mitch Lee, Kevin Smith and George Williams for allegedly raping an 18- year-old Madison, Wis., woman Jan. 24. The three are charged with 12 counts of sexual assault and are scheduled to stand trial May 5. Clinton Hewitt, associate vice president for physical planning at th university, will chair the committee. Other members include men's athletic director Paul Giel, university adminstrator Richard Heydinger, law school dean Robert Stein, and student representative Douglas Lahammer. Think You're Pregnant? Free Pregnancy Test Completely Confidential Pregnancy Counseling Center 529 N. Hewitt, Ypsilanti Call: 434-3088 (any time) PIZZA HUT Now accepting applications for Cooking and Waiting day- time and evening help. * Higher hourly wage ha arlnn n v' tib