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Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 4, 1989
1989
CAA
CHA
PIO
S
Seattle spotlight
shines on Robinson
BY ADAM SCHRAGER
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
SEATTLE - Since Michigan arrived in Seattle there has been a sharp
increase in the amount of rice being bought. It seems that some Seattle
merchants are trying to make the San Francisco treat the Seattle treat.
Credit this increase directly to Michigan forward Glen Rice, who
entered last night's game averaging 30.6 points per game in the NCAA
tournament. With Rice's dramatic performances in the post-season, his
stock in the upcoming NBA draft has been upgraded substantially.
"Glen Rice is the best non-big man in the country," college basketball
analyst Al McGuire wrote in the Seattle Times. "He's eyeball to eyeball
with (Arizona's) Sean Elliot in ability. And if he continues to score,
Michigan will be difficult to stop.
"Rice's biggest asset is his movement without the ball. After he gets
the ball, all anybody can do with any type of defense is pray. I don't think
it's possible for anybody to be as good as Glen Rice in this tournament,
but the last time I said that about anybody I said about Larry Bird."
Rice was the subject of many rumors hours before Saturday's contest
against Illinois. He slipped in practice and felt a tinge in his hamstring.
As a precautionary measure, the second-team All American iced the
hamstring all evening and played with "no pain" on Saturday. But this
scare was enough for Rice to realize what is really important in his life.
"I sat in my hotel room on Friday night hoping that nothing was
serious," Rice said. "Everything that I worked for could have disappeared
so quickly. I am just thankful to God and my family for being here."
SOME NBA TEAM is going to be thanking its favorite deity when
the June draft arrives. South Alabama coach Ronny Arrow was made a
believer after Rice dissected his team for 36 Rice points, eight Rice re-
bounds and five Rice assists.
"He's going to make some NBA coach a better coach at the time,"
Arrow said.
If that is the case, then has Rice made interim coach Steve Fisher a
better coach than he really is?
"Glen Rice has been as good as any player in America, maybe better
than any player in America over the last five games," Fisher said. "It's
been truly phenomenal the way he's played at both ends of the court. He
just won't let us lose. He makes my job easier."
Keeping the Wolverines from losing is something that Rice's
teammates are stressing.
"Whenever we're not playing well, Glen steps to the forefront," Loy
Vaught said. " He just doesn't want to take the uniform off for the last
time."
Regardless of the outcome of last night's game, Rice was forced to
take off the Maize and Blue, never to be put on again.
BY ADAM SCHRAGER
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
Seattle - While recent observers of the Michigan basketball team may
think that Glen Rice is the key to the Wolverine success, opposing coache
know differently.
"Rumeal Robinson is the key to their ballclub," Indiana coach Bob
Knight said after Michigan played the Hoosiers earlier this seasion. "We
thought that we had some pretty good guards, but he was dominant. He
makes things go for them."
These kinds of compliments have been surrounding Robinson since his
14 point, 12 assist performance in Saturday's win over Illinois. With those
12 assists, Robinson is now 12 behind Gary Grant's all-time season assist
record of 234 set in 1987-88.
"Rumeal Robinson really hurt
us," Illinois coach Lou Henson said.
"We put two players on him and he
still penetrated. He was the key to
the game."
Last night's matchup pitted
Robinson against Seton Hall's
Gerald Greene in what has been
dubbed a matchup of the two most
underrated pointguards in America.
Senior pointguards like Sherman
Doug las of Syracuse and
Oklahoma's Mookie Blaylock have
gotten most of the publicity.
What people have failed to realize
is that Robinson has outplayed the
publicized pointguards, including
Blaylock. Earlier this season, Robinson
Robinson scored 20 points and
destroyed the vaunted Oklahoma press with ease.
Robinson was not a media focal point during the regular season, but
things have startedto escalate with Michigan's post-season success.
"I felt I have not had a lot of attention during the year, but I knew mA
time will come," Robinson said. "Seniors are going to get their attention,
they are supposed to get the attention. They have been playing the game for
a long time."
Some might say that Robinson's modesty is becoming of him, while
others including Fisher just want him to admit how good he really is.
"Maybe he hasn't been mentioned in the same breath as two or three of
them who are supposedly the premier point guards in America, but I can say
this - we wouldn't trade Rumeal for any other guard in the country."
ROBIN LOZNAK/aly
His career at Michigan is over, but Glen Rice will continue to make his
ranbow jumpers and power slams in the National Basketball
Association. Rice will probably make some NBA coach quite happy.
Everything that I worked for could have disap-
peared so quickly. I am just thankful to God and my
family for being here.
- Glen Rice on his injuring his hamstring Friday
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Glen Rice's records
NCAA records
- 184 NCAA tournament points breaks Princeton's Bill Bradley's 1965
record of 177 NCAA tournament points.
- 75 NCAA tournament field goals breaks Houston's Elvin Hayes'
NCAA toumment record of 70 field goals.
- 27 NCAA tournament three-pointers breaks Freddie Banks' 26 NCAA
tournament three-pointers in 1987.
Big Ten record
- All time Big Ten scoring leader with 2442 career points, edging out
former Wolverine Mike McGee's 2439 points.
Michigan records (in 134 games as a Wolverine)
- 949 points in a season
- 363 field goals in a season
-99 three-pointers in a season
NCAA All-Tournament Team
Frustrated Frieder
must sit and watch
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BY STEVE BLONDER
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
SEATTLE - Over 39,000 fans
jammed the Kingdome to watch
Michigan defeat Illinois Saturday
night and an even bigger crowd was
expected last night.
But one person chose to watch
the festivities from his hotel room
in an effort to stay out of sight.
The trip to Seattle has been a
living hell for ex-Michigan coach
Bill Frieder. He has been virtually
restricted to his hotel room because
every-one wants to talk with him
about the circumstances of his Ann
Arbor departure.
"During Saturday's game I sat
right here, paced the floor and
watched the game on television,"
Frieder said yesterday morning. "I
don't want the cameras on me, I just
want to watch the game and enjoy it.
"If I could go to the arena and sit
down, that's what I would want to
do. But because of all the other
people, I wouldn't be able to."
Frieder said he has talked to the
coaching staff every day, although
not concerning the team and players.
Several players said after Saturday's
game they were looking forward to
talking with their former coach.
Despite the strong bonds existing
between Frieder and "the entire oper-
ation, including the secretaries" he
brought to Michigan, Frieder
watched last night's game alone in
his hotel room with his trademark
towel draped over one shoulder.
"If I went to the game, I would
have wanted to go into the
lockerroom. But I don't think the
athletic director would have let me,"
Frieder said.
"I DON'T want to have to walk
out with the general crowd. I'm
showing support but staying
completely out of the way...they've
done that to me."
Basketball experts, media, other
coaches, and even players have said
Michigan would not have been
playing for the NCAA champ-
ionship if Frieder was still coaching
the team. But to Frieder, this
assessment makes no sense, as he
sees the same Wolverine squad he
saw during six of the last seven Big
Ten games.
"I don't care how they've been
quoted. I know how questions can be
leading. I'm not going to agree with
that because we'll never know. It
could have happened and it might
not have happened, but it's easy for
4
Gerald Greene
Richard Morton
Rumeal Robinson
Danny Ferry
Glen Rice
Seton Hall
Seton Hall
Michigan
Duke
Michigan
File Photo
Could this be a wee bit of foreshadowing? In a game earlier last year,
Steve Fisher watched as Bill Frieder coached. Now, as the sign held up
by an assistant coach says, things are "opposite". Now Arizona
State's coach , Frieder must sit and watch while interim coach Fisher
does the work from the sidelines for the Wolverines.
Most Outstanding Player - Glen Rice
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Blue fans had hard
time heading west
STEVE BLONDER
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY
SEATTLE- Not everyone decided to take to the streets in celebration of
Michigan making its first Final Four appearance since 1976.
A small group of Michigan faithful set their sights on joining the
Wolverines in this Washington city and overcoming any obstacle to get
there.
"Getting out here was one of the hardest things I've ever done," LSA
senior Ron Emanuel. "But when you're devoted, you make things happen."
Emanuel flew to Portland, Oregon (150 miles away) Friday night with
LSA senior Mike April, who had watched Michigan earn its Final Four
birth last week in Lexington, Kentucky.
"I would have given up anything to be in Seattle," April said. "This is a
once in a lifetime experience."
For most, getting out to Seattle wasn't as easy as 1 or 2 phone calls.
"It took a lot of scrambling and a lot of phone calls," 1988 graduate
Scott Kaufman said. "But it's not often that Michigan gets to the Final
Four, and if I weren't here I would regret it for the rest of my life."
SENIOR Josh Neren, who has been to the Rose Bowl twice, called the
Final Four "an event bigger than the Super Bowl." Neren was in California
for a job interview and made the trip up the coast because "this is it."
While most of the visitors aren't used to Michigan being in the final
game, University president James Duderstadt sees the Wolverine presence in
last night's game as "natural."
"The first time I had the opportunity to see a Michigan team was in 1965
everyone to say..
"But if that's the case, maybe I
deserve a lot more credit for doing
what I did."
Even though he is no longer the
coach, Freider never had any doubts
about coming to Seattle. He said he
had planned on leaving Sunday, but
his family wanted to stay for last
night's championship.
Saying he had done "nothing" to
enjoy himself since arriving in
Seattle, Frieder described the whole
experience as "pulling my guts out."
Batters eager to swing away
Baseball plays WSU
Softball faces CMU
BY JAY MOSES
After opening its Big Ten
season by taking three of four
games from Northwestern last
weekend, the Michigan baseball
team takes a break from confer-
ence action today to face Great
Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference foe Wayne State.
The Wolverines (16-7, 3-1 in
the Big Ten) know from exper-
ience not to take a team like
Wayne State (7-9-2) too lightly.
Last year, the Tartars earned a
split of the two games. Michigan
routed WSU in the first game,
Coakley is hitting at a .325 clip.
Catcher and team captain Mike
Perkins is hitting .302 and leads
the team with 15 RBIs.
In the pitching category, WSU
features Steve Walter (2-0).
However, the Wolverines are
more likely to face Steve Savage
(0-2), a transfer from Michigan,
and Lou Bonin (0-2-1).
The Wolverines find them-
selves in good shape after last
weekend's games - hitting over
.300 while their pitching has
exceeded expectations. The only
maior setback at this point is
BY JONATHAN SAMNICK
Although Ann Arbor exper-
ienced early April weather last
weekend, the Michigan softball
team's scheduled opponent, the
University of Akron, was myster-
iously snowed under in Ohio.
The Wolverines are eager to get
back into action after a long lay-
off when they face Central Mich-
igan today in Mount Pleasant.
Michigan enters the game
ranked eighth nationally with an
18-6 record. Unranked Central is
10-10, a fact which makes CMU
coach Margo Jonker proud.
"We have a .500 record at this
16-1 record and a 0.91 ERA,
needs only 11 wins during the
rest of the season to break Vicki
Morrow's 1987 school record for
wins in a season.
"Michigan's playing as well
now as at any time I've ever
seen. But I think that if we play
well we can beat them," Jonker
said.
Earlier this year Michigan beat
Central in the Bud-Lite classic 4-
3. "We made crucial errors in that
game," Jonker said. "But like
good teams do - they capitalized
on our mistakes."