Page 10 -The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 17, 1988
NCAA
tournament
preview
Rush Delivery
BY JEFF RUSH
'M' hopes Final Four
more than a dream
Michigan basketball coach Bill Frieder looked
lazily out the window of his team's charter flight to
'Salt Lake City and hoped the Wolverines wouldn't be
'as flat in the NCAA tournament as the land below.
The plane's speakers crackled, and the captain's
voice came over. "In a few minutes, we'll be passing
over Kansas City, site of this year's NCAA basket-
ball tournament."
Frieder smiled to himself and peered out the win-
dow, scanning the horizon for any buildings that
might stand out.
One seemed to poke above the others, and Frieder
studied its seeming undulations on the horizon. As he
looked closer, the captain spoke again.
"Well, folks, there is going to be some rough rid-
ing out west, but hang tight, and you'll all be fine."
FRIEDER KNEW A TORNADO was on the
way, and Auntie 'M' wasn't there to help.
He jumped from his seat and ran to the cockpit to
assist the pilots, but they all knew it was impossible
at this point to take a direct route to Kansas City.
Frieder returned to the cabin to calm his players,
who knew something was seriously wrong. The wind
Caught the plane, and Frieder was whipped against a
wall, knocking him unconscious. His head and the
plane both spun crazily.
Frieder awoke with a start. An ugly, balding man
with dark patches around his eyes stared down at him.
"Welcome to Salt Lake City, Billy," said the man,
smiling ghoulishly. "I'm the wicked witch of the
West."
A WEAKER PERSON than Frieder would
have fainted at the sight. "You look like The Shark,"
moaned Frieder.
"Beelzebub, wicked witch, The Shark - what's
the difference?" asked the ugly man with a sarcastic
smirk. "There's no California gold here by the name
of Sean Higgins this time - just a few rocks and
hard places by the names of Arizona, North Carolina,
UNLV, Iowa-"
Frieder groaned.
"I'm just here to tell you that this time the wizard
is in Kansas, and there's only one way for you to get
there," said the man.
"Tell me, please," pleaded Frieder.
"Well, it ain't by clicking your heels," said the
man, now disappearing before Frieder's eyes. "We'll
meet again-"
FRIEDER RUBBED HIS EYES, and, open-
ing them, found himself on the bench with his team
beating Boise State, 82-48.
"What's going on here?" he asked a resting Gary
Grant.
"Not much, Coach. Their forwards are munchkin-
sized and the Big Sky's been tumbling down all
game"
"What about that guard, Chris Childs?" asked
Fieder.
"Bah. With me guarding him he's not even hit-
ting his season field-goal average of 46 percent.
Childs' play is terrible," answered Grant.
"Huh?" asked Frieder.
THE BUZZER SOUNDED, and Frieder
looked up to see how much time was left in the.
tame. He looked back down at the court, and Boise
State had disappeared, replaced with Florida.
Six-foot-four guard Vernon Maxwell was toying
with a still-injured Grant. Gator giant Dwayne
Schintzius was doing his best imitation of David
1obinson, removing -any notion the Wolverines
might have had about his fine southern etiquette.
April came early as J.P. "The Easter Bunny"
dosterbaan knocked Schintzius silly the rest of the
game. Despite 65 combined points from Schintzius
and Maxwell, the Wolverines won, 84-79.
Frieder closed his eyes and offered up a small
prayer. When he opened them, Loyola Marymount
coach Paul Westhead stood before him.
'"What are you doing here?" asked Frieder.
"Good question," answered Westhead. "If it hadn't
been for that damn Magic Johnson, I'd still be coach-
ing in Los Angeles. He didn't like my offense? Look
at me now - I'm on the yellow brick road to
SKansas."
THEY LOOKED onto the court. Loyola
Marymount led Michigan, 81-79, with 30 seconds
left - in the first half.
With Grant back in mid-season form and Glen
"there's no place like home" Rice playing like he was
on his own court, the Wolverines pulled off a slight
victory, 167-162.
The sky darkened, thunder struck, and Frieder
shivered. The Shark was back, and evil spirits filled
the arena. The Jaws theme played, searchlights flashed
around, and The Shark laughed hideously.
"I love the NCAA tournament," said The Shark,
clothed in black. "This is what basketball is all
about. We got Lute at Arizona, we got Norm's loan
at Florida, we got Las Vegas, and we're all making
money. Isn't it wonderful?"
FRIEDER GRIMACED and drew out a cross
to fight the evil force.
"I will see no evil, I will hear no evil," screamed
Frieder.
"Oh no, you can't get off that easy," said The
Shark, cackling. "I'll get you yet, little Billy, and
you're little guards, too."
Loy Vaught rebounds against Ohio State in both teams' final Big Ten game. Vaught, who will start at center for the Wolverines, could face Doily Photo by JOHN MUNSON
such centers as Dwayne Schintzius and J. R. Reid in West Regional games.
THE 1988 B
NCAA Broncos
Bfa 4?KE\ l' 15ALL
went to Final
BA SKE TBA L L
TOURNAMENT
THE WOLVERINES
MICHIGAN (24-7)
Player FG% Fl% REB AST PTS
Four in
By SCOTT SHAFFER
Michigan in the Final Four?
Sounds unlikely, especially in an
era when second-round losses are the
norm for the Wolverines.
But there was a time, not long
ago, when Michigan made the trip to
college basketball's Garden of Eden.
The year was 1976 and the
Wolverines were coached by Johnny
Orr, the current Iowa State coach.,
There was a highly touted assistant
coach on the team rumored to be
getting the head coaching job at
Fordham. His name was Bill Frieder.
The starting lineup boasted two
future NBA players, guard Rickey
Green and center Phil Hubbard.
AT FORWARD there was
Wayman Britt, the team captain. A
6-3 senior, Britt had started since late
in his first year. "He played much
taller than 6-3 and he was one of the
great defensive players in the
country," said Frieder yesterday.
When the season ended, Michigan
found itself 25-7, second in the Big
Ten to undefeated Indiana. Michigan
was ranked No. 9 nationally, but to
keep things in perspective, it must
be noted that Western Michigan was
breathing down its necks, holding
down the No. 10 spot.
The NCAA tournament was only
a 32-team affair back then, and
Michigan's ranking earned it a ticket
to that bustling metropolis of Den-
ton, Tex., for the first round.
Michigan's first opponent was
Wichita State, and the Shockers very
nearly lived up to their nickname.
The Wolverines squeaked by with a
74-73 come-from-behind win.
The normally dependable Green
struggled to a four-of-17 shooting
performance as Michigan fell behind
by 12 with 11 minutes to play.
THEN ORR got gutsy, putting
seldom-used freshman Tom Staton
into the game. The move paid
immediate dividends when Staton
scored a quick bucket and stole the
ensuing inbounds pass, converting it
into a lay-up.
Michigan would soon recapture
the lead with a 14-1 spurt, but the
game would not be won until Green
1976
ing the team with 20 points, and
Steve Grote iced the game by mak-
ing two free throws with 27 seconds
to go.
NOW ONLY Missouri stood
between Michigan and a trip to
Philadelphia, site of the Final Four.
And the Wolverines were not to be
denied.
It didn't matter that All-American
Willie Smith scored 43 points.
Green, Hubbard and John Robinson
combined for 64 as the Tigers were
sent home on the short end of a 95-
88 decision. Michigan would go to
Philadelphia along with UCLA and
two undefeated teams, Rutgers and
Indiana.
Rutgers entered its match-up with
Michigan with a record of 31-0. It
exited it at 31-1. Robinson scored 20
and ripped down 16 rebounds to lead
Michigan over the Scarlet Knights,
86-70.
Indiana defeated UCLA to set up
an all-Big Ten final. Indiana had al-
ready beaten Michigan twice during
the regular season, and the third time
was definitely not the Wolverines'
charm.
Orr's squad led by six at halftime,
but the Bob Knight-coached
Hoosiers blitzed the Wolverines by
24 in the second half to win the na-
tional championship, 86-68 and cap
a perfect 32-0 season.
"That's one of the finest basket-
ball teams of all time," said Orr after
the game.
Glen Rice
Gary Grant
Terry Mills
Loy Vaught
R. Robinson
Mark Hughes
Mike Griffin
Steve Stoyko
J.P. Oosterbaan
Kirk Taylor
Bob Tait
57.3
53.1
521
61.4-
53.7
51.8
57.3
522
37.0
30.8
37.5
81.1
82.5
73.1
71.4
65.0
61.0
71.9
90.0
50.0
0.0
0.0
7.4
3.5
6
6.5
3.1
4.0
1.8
0.7
0.5
0.8
0.5
28
6.9
1.7
4.6
1.0
20
0.1
0.3
0.4
0.1
22.1
22.0
120
10.3
92
4.6
23
1.2
1.0
0.6
Boise State (24-5)
Player FG'v _Ff'T RE
AST Prs
to Y Vl I V /O 1' 1 /O I Lj [] 0 1 L 1 e7
Arnell Jones
Chris Childs
Wilson Foster
Greg Dodd
Doug Usitalo
Brian King
Mike Sanor
Brian Sperry
Bobby Dunn
Kyle Womboldt
Jon Johnson
David Lowery
Kenny Rowe
66.9
46.9
50.2
54.3
46.2
50.0
62.7
60.8
429
20.0
27.8
33.3
50.0
65.9
84.6
66.4
61.7
71.9
824
73.5
44.4
88.9
88.9
78.6
63.6
0.0
7.2
27
3.6
4.9
1.6
1.0
20
27
0.3
0.3
0.8
1.1
0.4
1.5
3.3
1.4
0.5
4.8
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.7
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.0
16.6
14.4
12.2
7.1
5.4
53
3.6
2.6
1.8
13
1,2
1.0
0.3
THE REST
West
Thursday/Salt Lake City
-North Carolina vs. N. Texas State, 2:07
-Wyomig vs. Loyola, 4:37
-Florida vs. St. John's, 11:41
Friday/Los Angeles
-Arizona vs. Cornell, 2:37
-Seton Hall vs. UTEP, 5:07
-Iowa vs. Florida State, 9:07
-UNLV vs. Sw Missouri State, 11:41
Regional finals to be held at
Seattle
Southeast
Thursday/Atlanta
-Auburn vs. Bradley, 12:07
-Oklahoma vs. Tenn.-Chatt.,;2:37
-BYU vs. NC-Charlotte, 7:07
-Louisville vs. Oregon State, 9:37
Friday/Cincinnati
-Villanova vs. Arkcansas, 12:07
-Illinois vs. Texas-San Antonio, 2:37
-Maryland vs. Cal.-Santa Barbara, 7:07
-Kentucky vs. Southern, 9:37
Regional finals to be held at
Birmingham, Ala.
Midwest
Thursday/South Bend, Ind.
-Purdue vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 12:07
.Baylor vs. Memphis State, 2:37
-Kansas State vs. LaSalle, 7:07
Paul vs. wichita State, 9:37
Friday/Lincoln, Neb.
.Pittsburgh vs. EMU, 1:07
-Vanderbilt vs. Utah State, 3:37
-N.C. State vs. Murray'.State, 8:07
-Kansas vs. Xavier, 10:37
Regional finals to be held at
Pontiac Silverdome
East
Thursday/Chapel Hill, N.C.
-Missouri vs. Rhode Island, 12:07
Continued from Page 1
"They're a great basketball team and they're going
to play you a close basketball game," Frieder said.
"This team here is the best first-round opponent I've
played, including Navy."
Last year, the Wolverines bombed the Midshipmeh
and their star center, David Robinson, 97-82, before
bowing out of the tournament in the next game against
North Carolina, 109-97.
In fact, the Wolverines have been victorious in the
first round each of the last three years. They have lost
in the second round each time, however.
This year may be different, though. Michigan enters
the NCAAs without the heavy pressure that was put on
its back-to-back Big Ten champions of 1985-86.
Only four short months ago,. Dick Vitale was
telling the country's basketball fans that this year's
Michigan team was the best in the nation and would be
in Kansas City. After three Wolverine losses in their
last five games, Vitale and everyone else have been
awfully quiet about the Wolverines' chances.
WITHOUT THE PRESSURE of being a fa-
vorite, Frieder's talented troops may be able to surprise
some people. It won't be easy in the tough West Re-
gional, though. Perhaps the strongest regional in the
tournament, the field includes seven teams ranked in
the AP Top 20.
But before Michigan can meet any of those highly
ranked squads, it has to get by Boise State. While it
may be tempting to look ahead to possible matchups
with Florida, Wyoming, North Carolina, or Arizona,
Frieder said his team won't look past the Broncos.
"That's not going to happen. We respect everybody
that we play," the eighth-year coach said. "You take the
bottom teams in our conference and we were 8-0
against them. We're not going to overlook anybody."
Boise State is led by 6-6 forward Arnell Jones.
Jones leads the country in. field goal percentage, 66.9
percent, and leads the Broncos with 16.7 points and 7.2
rebounds per game. The senior was voted the Big Sky's
player of the year.
BRONCOS' HEAD COACH Bobby Dye also
starts 6-9 center Greg Dodd and three guards. Chris
Childs and Wilson Foster are a pair of 6-3 juniors and
Doug Usitalo is a 6-2 senior. Childs and Foster average
14.4 and 12.3 points per game, respectively.
The strength of the Broncos' matchup zone helped
make them second in the country in scoring defense
this year, giving up an average of only 55.9 points per
game. They average 69.7 points offensively.
The Broncos have no intention of getting into a
running game with the Wolverines. Michigan's coach-
ing staff believes that Boise State will take 30 to 40
seconds off the clock each time down the court to keep
the game slow-paced and low-scoring.
Dye said that just might happen. "I think we're go-
ing to consider that," the Broncos' fifth-year coach said.
"But with the 45-second clock, there is only so much
you can do."
Frieder hopes he can speed up the game's tempo by
using a full-court press. "The key to the game is for us
to pressure them and try to cause turnovers," Frieder
said. "We also have to avoid careless turnovers and take
advantage of our size to get some offensive rebounds
for baskets."
._7