I 0 0 P )V TN' PIZZ SY N Nov. 14 Nov 21 Dec.2 Dec. 7 Dec. 9 Dec. 12 - Dec. 14 Dec. 16 Dec, 21 Dec. 28 ,, s GO ]BLUE! 1991-92 WOLVERINE MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Cuban National Team at Palace, Auburn Hills e 8 pm Athletes in Action at Palace, Auburn Hills - 8 pm at Univ. of Detroit * 7:30 pm at Cleveland State * 7:30 pm CHICAGO STATE " 7:30 pm EASTERN MICHIGAN " 7:30 pm DUKE " 3:45 pm. CENTRAL MICHIGAN " 7:30pm RICE - 7:30 pm -30 Citrus Bowl Tournament * TBA at Orlando, Florida Michigan vs. Brigham Young at Iowa " 9:30 pm Jan. 18 Jan. 21 at Illinois 3 pm at Indiana e 7:30 pm Jan. 25 WISCONSIN e 1 pm Jan. 29 Feb. 2 at Michigan State s 8 pm OHIO STATE * 1 pm Feb. 5 NORTHWESTERN - 8 pm Feb. 9 at Notre Dame " 1 pm Feb. 12 IOWA " 8 pm Feb. 15 MICHIGAN STATE * 8 pm Feb. 19 MINNESOTA " 8 pm Feb. 22 at Northwestern " 1 pm Feb. 26 at Wisconsin " 8 pm Mar. 3 at Ohio State * 7:30 pm Mar. 8 INDIANA e TBA Mar. 11 at Purdue * 8pm 0 S Webber said, "I don't think it can get more intense than it was in high school. I've done an interview with just about everyone while I was in high school. I'm not trying to be cocky, but I don't think there can be any more pressure." Not even when ESPN's Chris Berman said, "There is nothing more exciting and dangerous than unlimited potential. It sounds like this guy is real special"? Not even then. Yet many freshman storm out of high school thinking they can lick college on the first try. And after that first Econ exam they realize that it's not going to be quite that easy. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes experience. Is Webber any different from the kid next to you in Psych 172? Could it be that Webber really does have a step up? Yes. Basketball has witnessed a revolution over the last decade. A rebirth. It started at the NCAA Final Four in 1979 when two guys named Magic and Larry picked up a ball and said, "Hey, watch us play, we're not bad!" They took their one-of-a-kind show to the NBA, and from that day forward basketball became America's game. Chris Webber is a product of that revolution. He grew up watching Magic and Larry in the NBA Finals. He spent long summer nights dribbling on empty playgrounds and practicing no-look passes. le dreamed of one day being the biggest kind of star. By the time Webber was old enough to look at colleges there was a throng of scouts sitting on his front porch. When he walked off the court after a hard fought playoff game, video cameras and reporters greeted him. Ie was the focus of every coach's desire to win big. He was in the center of a basketball hurricane. There were late night phone calls. There were offers of bribes. And there were far too many people hanging around pretending to be his best friend. Some of the fun from those hot summer nights on Detroit playgrounds when it was just Webber and an imaginary Magic got lost along the way. Basketball became a business. And Mayce Webber became a business manager when he thought wisely enough to read 20 different books on recruiting in order to protect his most important client - his son. "At it's worst it was ten calls a day, fifteen letters a day. It was really so bad that you didn't want to stay home. I'd go to my friends' houses," Chris admitted. So Chris Webber isn't your average first-year student. He's been through a lot already. Once upon a time, things were different. Do you think when Cazzie Russell came to Michigan he knew how to deal with the press, deal with the fans, and deal with the pressure? He was probably just another intimidated newcomer back in the mid-]%Os. Russell had lessons to learn in Ann Arbor. Webber, in contrast, could teach a four-credit class on dealing with the stress of big-time basketball. When important people like Marty Blake, director of scouting for the NBA, take an interest in you, the pressure doesn't lessen. "We had Webber rated as the best player in the country last year," Blake said. "He's an impact player who will make a big difference in a basketball program. All indications say he'll be a great pro." A great pro? He's already going to be a great pro, and he hasn't even played in a regular season collegiate game yet? But this is a special case, and Blake is right. Webber is a millionaire waiting to happen. His prospects are so good that Webber qualified for a special insurance guarantee offered by the NCAA called an Exceptional Athlete Policy. In other words, if Webber's career was cut short by injury now, according to Mayce, he'd be set for life. Ile has breakfast cereal companies giddy with anticipation just thinking about signing the gentle giant. Not only does he play like a future superstar, but he smiles like one, too. His big-toothed grin is comforting all the way down to the gums. "He brings the whole package," said Michigan's new assistant coach, Perry Watson. "IHe's a great person, a great kid. lIe's the perfect model for the student- athlete. He's a tremendous competitor. "I've known Chris since he was 12, so I've been a Chris Webber fan for a long time. And even more than a fan, he and I have a friendship." 0 camp. Watson didn't see any problems with that. Another critical relationship was established in the life of Chris Webber. The two are back together again - it's funny how paths cross - only now the camp lasts most of the year and it convenes in Crisler Arena. U With all his basketball There's nothing more important to Webber than his family. The sacrifices they've made for his basketball career have been great, but the rewards have been greater. Basketball brought the family closer together. It is a common goal. "When it came to basketball people always compared (my brothers) to me, and they would Rose, J Howar Whil Michig right ar expect someth course, Detroi friends togeth .I' 2* NOBODY KNOWS UKE .DOMINOS. ow You e At ome. Jan. 9 Jan. 11 at Minnesota . 2 pm Jan.15 PURDUE # 8 pm Mar. 15 Illinois, TBA i i c t 1 } 1 c t c 1 1 t CENTRAL CAMPUS 761-1111 East An St l NORT H CAMPUS 769-511 Broadway W. & S. QUAD A\REA Packard at Dewey HOURS: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday: 11:00 AM - 2:00 AM; Thursday, Friday & Saturday: 11:00 AM - 3:00 AM Reporters surround Chris Webber last week at Media Day in Crisler Arena. Webb from Detroit Country Day, has been hounded by college coaches and the media sin( credentials, it's hard to believe hate that. They might've discov that at first, Webber didn't even resented that a little bit. discov want to play ball. Mayce Webber Consequently we'd get in fights. friends knew that there was a tall kid But those fights have only ones ti with huge hands and blossoming brought us closer to each other," "I hi athletic ability living right under Webber said. how he his own roof. Like most fathers, Webber, the oldest of five Michip he also knew it was time for his children, has the hopes of the King s son to start using those entire Michigan student body you th developing skills. riding on his shoulders, but the But th The Webbers signed their boy dreams of his family are beating that go up to play in an AAU league. And in his heart. And that might mean But on the very first night of practice even more. differe the coach, Curtis Hervey, ran His little brother David recalls kind p Chris into the ground. "My father with delight the time Chris gave bough took me to practice and the coach him a basketball on Christmas. Or down was mean," Chris said. "Ile just the autographs of Steve Smith he'll n cussed and swore, and I said 'I and Derrick Coleman he from a quit basketball.' collected for David another year. "Th "One day I'm gonna beat him in I'm clc ackage. He's a great basketball," David said. people del for the student- Maybe. But not for a while. Webb< ,hOf course, Webber's decision to for eac ous competitor' attend Michigan was a family Eacl - Perry Watson decision. It's also been a sound Webb( Michigan assistant coach decision. College has been good You m to Webber so far. School's hard, down "But my father wouldn't let me but he says his background at on'the quit. He told me not to give up. Country Day, a school noted for screen And you know, that coach who its strong academic program, has caption did that then, he taught me how made things a lot easier. to play to play basketball. I e was And college is just as much good, responsible for me going to about friendship as it as anything Chri Country Day in a way." else. On that count, Webber's everyt Webber ended up winning two doing just fine, too. He's found nothin AAUJ titles before he arrived at four companions, much like never Michigan. One of them was with himself, with whom he spends at. ie h ervey's team. Father knows almost all his free time. You on refi best. might know them by name: Jalen contin PARTY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! @) Domino's Pizza Recycles. Ann Arbor Domino's Pizza Storesfranchised owned and operated since 1968. r-' IM( MA] Get chee ' Expi Addii only LValid A Not Your 1 )NDAY TYPICAL I WHATA- DNESS! TUESDAY! one small Get one large, one Get one medium, se pizza for topping pizza for cheese pizza for 9 + tax +tax 1 + tax l 1 I$:.9 1+ta1 res 12-31-92 . 1 Expires 12-31-92. Expires 12-31-92. tional toppings Additional toppings Additional toppings 55ยข pr item. I only s1.25 per item. U only 75c per item. - - 1 THLU(1I I 'He brings the whole pa person... the perfect mc athlete. He's a tremend In seventh grade Webber was playing in a local basketball tournament. Watson was coaching his neighborhood team at that time when he saw "this big kid playing on another court." Of course, that big kid was Webber. And Watson knew he was only going to get bigger. The two got to talking and Webber asked if he could attend Watson's summer basketball Mondays Only ---I Valid Tuesdays Only. UL - -er Valid Wednesdays Only. Valid at participating stores only. Cusiomer pays sales tax and can deposit. Delivery area limited to ensure safe driving. Our drivers carry less than $20. Our drivers are not penalized for late delir e: # r Page 7 WBnK8ND' Novemb I ~, I