The Michigan Daily -Sports Monday - q& , forM /ffk a sr a6et6 ae P,(tada1a' Hubbard The ex-Wolverine center talks about his life after the NBA Jeff Sheran October 28, 1991 -- Page 3 es create Football, class( x; Of I Phil Hubbard was an integral player for the Michigan basketball team in the late 1970s. The two-time team captain was a member of the 1976 Wolverines squad which fell to Indiana in the NCAA Champ- ionship game, and was the team's leading scorer in 1977 when Michigan took the Big Ten title. An all-Big Ten selection at center in 1977, Hubbard twice was named Michigan's most valuable player. Hubbard went on to play profes- sional basketball for ten seasons, before retiring in 1989. Daily Sports Writer Ryan Herrington caught up with Hubbard at the legends game held during Midnight Madness ear- lier this month. Daily: How did you feel about the reaction tonight at the legends game? Hubbard: I thought it was pretty nice. You know, we all just came up, out of shape, trying to play some basketball. I got to see some of the old guys, so it was really nice. D : This is the first time Michigan has hosted Midnight Madness and it's a phenomenon that has really caught on over the last few years in college basketball. This is one of the many things that have changed in college basketball. What differences do you see in college basketball since you played the game? H: There are a lot of differences. For one thing, the players are better. The rules are different with Proposition 48 and all that. All those things are affecting the game a lot differently than when we came around. D: Do you think they're affect- ing the game in a good or a bad way? H : Part good, part bad. Hopefully all the rules will make it a better game. It's hard to say be- cause a lot of things are still out but you know the competition is always making it a better game. The rules - all the practice rules and what not - are just so much different then when I played. D: What was it like to play bas- ketball at a "football" school? H: Well, you know, I really didn't realize that. Maybe it was be- cause when I got here we did so well. Michigan is a football school though, no question. We may have thought that it was a basketball school and even the guys right now may think that, but I think you go with the program that makes the most money and carries the school and that's football. No matter how well you do in basketball, it's al- ways going to be recognized as a MILLS Continued from page 1 the Nets. But he didn't begin to feel comfortable in the NBA until recently. "This is really my first season with the Nets," Mills said. "I feel happy. I feel like I've got a home; I'm not going to be traded around and moving around a lot." And Mills is keeping up with his end of the bargain this time. After being overweight most of last year, Mills has dropped back down to 230 pounds. "He's a much better player when he's thin," New Jersey coach Bill Fitch said. "He's got to watch it. I think as he sees the success of his game, he's going to understand he was a much better player when he was the slim 'T' he was at Michigan." In an effort to trim his 6-foot- 10 frame, Mills came to camp early this summer and worked out as much as he could. He also attended rookie camp to fine tune his play. And the improvement has been evident. Mills has been averaging 7.5 points during the exhibition season. Against the Bulls last week, he made his first start. He didn't waste the opportunity, scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds before fouling out with 2:16 left. He has also become more versatile. since leavino Ann Arbor. football school and you just do the best you can. If you have good teams and good years you just go with it. It's definitely a football school. D: You were on some very good teams when you played at Michigan. Do you have a career highlight? And if so, what is it? H: Yeah, I think so. I think going to the Final Four - being able to participate early on in my career, not really knowing the aspect of how valuable it was being a freshman. When you try to get back later you then see how hard it was to get there. That was one of things I re- member. .1 gunning for us. It's tough to say which one team was the toughest though. D: Who was the toughest player you faced while at Michigan? H: The toughest players, and this has a lot to do with the fact that I was a young guy and I was playing against older guys, were guys like Bernard King and Alex English. At the time they were tougher than me, so it was a challenge. But there were just so many guys who were tough, especially in Big Ten competition. Players like Mychal Thompson and Kevin McHale were just such great D: What kind of influence did he have on the team, as well as you per- sonally? H: Well, he gave me the chance to play. I came here - recruited a little bit - and I got here and tried to prove myself. I tried to work hard and they gave me the opportu- nity to play. I have no remorse or hard feel- ings toward him..All my opportu- nities came by something that he gave me and I'm thankful. I remem- ber him as someone who helped me develop in my career. D: You were drafted by Detroit out of college in 1979 and had a strong NBA career. What are you doing now? H: Well, I am adjusting to life after basketball. I had a nice career of ten years, and now I have my own company where we make uniforms and t-shirts for teams. I am also try- ing to train to get a (car) dealership one day in Cleveland. My company now has been doing pretty well. We've been doing a lot of promotions right now, doing three-on-three and basketball camps and stuff like that. We're trying to help the schools raise money so they can get new uniforms. D : How close are you to Michigan athletics?. Do you follow the basketball program closely? H: Not a whole lot, not like I would call players to help in re- cruiting. I haven't done anything like that. But I've talked to (Michigan men's basketball) coach (Steve) Fisher. I wish them a lot of luck this year. They have a talented team and hopefully they'll do good things. D: Do you miss playing profes- sional basketball, or competitive basketball for that matter? H: I think it's fun, you know, to get out there on the court on a night like tonight. But your body is one thing, and you've got to stay in shape. You've really got to work at it. It's motivation, that how you play sports. If you're motivated, you'll do well. If you're not moti- vated, your heart's not in it. It's heart and motivation. I miss it, but my heart's not in it anymore. I'm just going through the motions on nights like this. D: How valuable was basketball to you? H: Well, it taught me a lot. It gave me the opportunity to travel to places around the world, and an edu- cation. I can't say how valuable it was to me. However, basketball opened a lot of doors for me, and I'm grateful for that. Ritter's grand design Dave; Ritter does what most people dream of doing - he participates in the bedlam of the pregame rituals, he hits ballcarriers, and he blocks punts. Yet every now and then, in a few fleeting instances, Ritter wishes he could be just the average student. Fact is, Ritter already is the average student. In fact, he's the above- average student. Ritter has a 3.5 grade point average, and he plays strong safety for the Wolverines. Most people can make neither claim. But the strain of maintaining one's grades and maintaining one's ath- letic intensity prompts Ritter to stop and think from time to time. Thinking is a common activity for Ritter; it's what he thinks about during these occasions that seems uncommon. "In a way you always think you're missing something," he says be- tween bites of a brown-bag salami sandwich. He must eat and answer questions at the same time, lest he be late for class. Despite donning a blue uniform and exploding out of the tunnel across the Michigan Stadium grass through the "Go Blue" banner and into the frenzied huddle, Ritter says he misses milling around the Diag and taking 12 o'clock classes. Sensing a less-than-sympathetic reaction, Ritter recants. "When I say I'd like to be a regular student, I'm half-joking," he ex- plains. "I don't wish I was a regular student. When I get out there for practice and I hear the coaches say 'This is the only place in the world you want to be right now,' they're speaking the absolute truth." See SHERAN, Page 5 D: Along the same lines, what was the toughest team you played against in your four years at Michigan? H: When I think back there are a couple teams that I remember as re- ally tough. One time we played Las Vegas (UNLV) when they just started running all of their scores up. They were tough. And then there's Michigan State who had the good teams in the late '70s. There were a couple teams in there that were really good. Everyone played us hard, because we were one of the better teams in the Big Ten. Everywhere we went they were competitors that it was tough. D: Do you keep in contact with the players from your old team? H: Yeah, I try to call. We talk frequently, although not enough. The guys I came in with were Tommy Stanton and Alan Hardy, and we are closer than some of the others, but we keep in contact with guys like Dave (Baxter) and the oth- ers. D: How about your former coach, Johnny Orr? Do you stay in touch with him, too? H: I still speak with him occa- sionally. Not that often, but enough to say that we keep in touch. 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He was touted as one of the top two players in the country his senior year in high school, but was forced to sit out his first year after failing to meet Proposition 48 requirements. His third year, he came in weighing 263 pounds. By the time he was in playing shape, then- Michigan coach Bill Frieder started criticizing his play publicly. In addition, Frieder continued to list Mills as a forward when center was the position at which he was most comfortable. It wasn't until Frieder bolted for Arizona State that things began to turn around for Mills. On the eve of Michigan's tournament opener in Atlanta, Michigan coach Steve Fisher told Mills that he was the key to how far Michigan could go. Plus, Fisher moved Mills to the center position for good. Almost magically, Mills' play became the best of his career. He averaged 13.7 points and 6.5 rebounds during the Wolverines' 1989 NCAA Tournament drive to the national championship. The following fall, he reported to practice a slim 235 pounds. His dominance in the middle continued - he averaged 14.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. The struggles Mills has had to face throughout what should have been a smooth-sailing career should serve as a warning to Michigan faithful. He cautions Wolverine fans not to expect too much from the "Fabulous Five" frosh that will begin play for Michigan this year. "It's going to take time for them to get it together, and I think they will," Mills said. "But they just have to focus as a team and not worry about what's going on outside, because the minute they lose a game, people are going to get on them."~ And thus far in his up-and-down career, that's a subject in which Mills is well-versed. I Work up to 6 months in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Jamaica, New Zealand, and Costa Rica. Coundil's Work Abroad Program, the only one of its kind, cuts through all the red tape! 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