Page 8 -The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, March 15, 1988 GRANT, RICE NAWD TO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM Big Ten honor role kind to 'N' CHICAGO (AP) - Michigan superstar Gary Grant, a repeater from last year and a unanimous selection this year, headed the 1988 Associated Press All-Big Ten Basketball team announced yesterday. Grant was the only unanimous choice on the team but the other four players selected also dominated the voting by a panel of 18 sportswriters and sportscasters. Glen Rice of Michigan missed being unanimous by one first-team vote and Dean Garrett of Indiana missed by two first-team votes. Rounding out the team were Troy Lewis and Todd Mitchell, both of Purdue. A player received two points for a first-team vote and one point for a second-team vote. Grant had 36 points, Rice 35, Garrett 34, Mitchell 33 and Lewis 31. B.J. Armstrong of Iowa topped the second team as he pulled down 18 points. Joining Armstrong on the second team were Shon Morris of Northwestern, Everette Stephens of Purdue, Nick Anderson of Illinois and Jay Burson of Ohio State. Rice led the Big Ten in scoring with a 22.9 average and Grant was second with a 21.3 average. It marked the first time since confer- ence records have been kept that two players from one school finished one-two in scoring. Grant led the league in assists and steals and Garrett was No. 1 in blocked shots. Grant was also voted Big Ten Player of the Year and Jay Edwards of Indiana was selected Freshman of the Year by the voters. Grant re- ceived 12 votes to four for Rice. Mitchell and Lewis received one vote each. Edwards, who led the league in three-point goals, won first-year honors by a landslide. He received 16 votes to two for Steve Smith of Michigan State. Grant Granted Supremacy of Big Ten The All-Big Ten Basketball Team First Tearr: Gary Grant Michigan Senior Glen Rice Michigan Junior D an G.ar.ett..ia... Senior Todd Mitchell Purdue Senior troy LUwisPurdue Senior Second Team: B3J. Arm strong Iowa Junior =,hlon Morris Northwestern Senior Everette Stephens Purdue Senior Nick Anderson Illinois Sophomore Jay Burson Ohio State Junior "Player of the Year: Gary Grant Michigan Sreshman of the Year. Jay Edwards Indiana ,-onorable Mention: Kden Battle Illinois Junior Jay Edwards Indiana lFrt-year K.611 Smart Indiawa Senior Roy M~arble Iowa Junior Kent Hill Iowa Senior Terry Mills Michigan Sophomore Wllie Burton Minnesota.Sophomore Ricard Coffey Mlinnesota Sophomore Jeff:Grase Northwestcrn Junior Jrry Francis Ohio Sltte Junior Curtis Wilson Ohio State Senior Mel McCants Purdue Junior D nny Jones Wisconsin Sophomore Trent Jackson Wisconsin Junior Byton Robinson Wisconsin First-yea THE SPORTING VIEWS Knkherbockers are still missing pieces to puzzle By RICHARD EISEN Just last weekend, there were cheers emanating from Madison Square Garden in New York. In March, there was cheering. Unbelievable. Yes, people were cheering at the Garden for their favorite Big East team. But on Saturday night, there were also cheers for the home basketball team - the New York Knickerbockers. The Knicks getting cheers? Isn't this the team whose lineup has been adorned with such All-Stars as Chris McNealy, Ken "the Ani- mal" Bannister, Ron Cavenall, Eddie Lee Wilkens, and Bob Thornton? The list is endless. ISN'T THIS the team that, in the past, needed an act of divine providence to win fifteen games? Yes. Is this the team, for the first time in four years, has a chance to make it to the playoffs? Yes. Can you believe it? ...No. To everyone's surprise, the Knicks have turned it around. During the off-season, the Knicks changed coaches and general managers. Rick Pitino replaced Bob Hill (who?) and has the Knicks playing exciting basketball for the first time in years. Scotty Stirling, the brainchild of such trades as two first-round picks for Jawann Oldham and Gerald Henderson, was fired in favor of Al Bianchi. Bianchi has already cut the fat, leaving the Knicks with a decent nucleus and a lean chance at making the playoffs. THE KNICKS have their point guard in Mark "Action" Jackson. Jackson will most probably be Rookie of the Year. For the first time in years, Knick fans are being treated to a fast-breaking offense, led by the ubiquitous Jackson. As the Knicks break up the court, Jackson is the leader of the pack, dispensing Magic Johnson-type passes, as the Knick faithful "ooh" and "aah" like a Wheel of Fortune audience. Pat, I'd like a "P" as in playoffs, please. The Knicks backcourt is bolstered by Gerald Wilkins. The rap on Wilkins has been lack of intensity in his play. In January, trade ru- mors involving Wilkins cropped up. But lately, Wilkins has been playing great as he led New York to two wins on the West Coast. Two West Coast wins? For the team that had lost 18 straight road games? Vanna, turn those playoff letters. AND OF COURSE, the Knicks have a center. 1988 All-Star Patrick Ewing is one of the best centers in the NBA, and he has yet to realize his full potential. Ewing is foul-prone and goaltends like a college player, but he can score. Ewing is among the NBA's elite in scoring with over 20 points a game. And that is why the Knicks are still mediocre. That's it. That's the nucleus. So the Knicks now have a mission - to fill up the gaps. For in- stance, the problem with Ewing is that he is the only player on the Knicks who can score 20 points every night. Because every other NBA team knows that Ewing is the key for the Knicks, they double and sometimes triple team him. That means that Ewing has to pass the ball off to some joker like Pat Cummings. Pat, can I have a "B" for brick, please? THIS IS another problem that plagues the Knicks; their bench is as deep as a Police Academy film. Except for Bill Cartwright, who is also among the top centers in the NBA, the Knicks have no one to come off the bench for them. Their starters at the forward position, Kenny Walker and ex-Piston Sidney Green, should start on the bench. Hence, the Knicks need lots of help. Where can they turn to? What can help them? First of all, they can't make the playoffs. Although it would be nice to make the playoffs, losing to the Celtics in three, and then picking ninth in the draft won't give the Knicks the 20-point scoring forward that they need. What the Knicks should do is tank the rest of the season. Pack it in. It was great, fellas. You did well. Now get off the court so we can get in the lottery. The Knicks need to miss the playoffs, so they can have a shot at their saving grace, Danny Manning of Kansas. Manning is the answer to most of the Knicks problems - he is a great forward, he can score 20 points a game, and he can rebound. There it is. All the Knicks need to do is get Manning make a cou- ple of trades, and then they'll be decent, maybe even good. And then next year the Knicks can get Glen Rice, and they'll be set. What do you think, Glen? Doily Photo by JOHN MUNSON Gary Grant was the only unanimous selection to the Associated Press All- Big Ten basketball team. Tracksters win honors By MICHAEL SALINSKY Two Michigan athletes earned All-American honors last weekend at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, and one of them just missed a championship. Friday night, Sonya Payne, the Wolverines' sophomore shot-putter, finished second in the meet with a career-best throw of 53 feet 3/4 inches. That throw, a Michigan school record, shattered Payne's previous personal best by over two and a half feet. With the top six performers in the field of 10 earning All-American accolades, Payne easily qualified. Her second-place finish was the highest ever for a Wolverine woman at the NCAA indoors. In two years, Payne has gone from the number one prep shot- putter in the nation to being a breath away from the summit at the collegiate level. Michigan's other All-American is sophomore distance runner, Mindy Rowand. Rowand finished ninth in the 3000 meter finals Saturday night. Her fifth-place finish qualified her for the All-American honor. Rowand made the meet with a time of 9:22.37 finish at the Red Simmons Invitational a month ago. Rowand's time on Saturday was 20 seconds slower than that time, but still almost 30 seconds better than her best indoor time last season. "I was overwhelmed by the meet," said Rowand citing the 4000 spectators and television crews. "I was, to put it frankly, very scared." FOR THE BEST: Crew Cuts - Flat Tops Princetons - Military THE DASCOLA STYLISTS Liberty off State 668-9329 - 50 years of service- "THE MELTING POT REVISITED" A Minority Awareness Symposium: A Recognition of the Diversity of Our Different Groups and A Search for a Common Ground or a Sense of Community Upon Which to Base Increased Group Interaction Saturday, March 19,1988 Room120 Hutchins Hall, University of Michugan Law School 9:OO-10:00am RudyAcuma.Author, Occupied America 1015-11:15am Donald Tamaki.....Former Exec.:Dir.,Asian .Law.Caucus; Attorney of Record: Komatuda. 11:30-12:30pm.Phyllis Alexander.Civil Rights Coordinator of 2:00-3:O0pm Velma Mason Indian Edueation, U.S.Dept. of Eduication 6:..-7..p...Reception. .............. Sunday, March 20,1988 Room150 Hutchins Hall, University of Michigan Law School .: > 1 . 1; ." . .; . . . :;.:. .::: - ..:.:. : ...: : ... . e ? .: - . . :. . . . . ..: . .: ....:. : : ::. ..: I I A