*I
Page 4-The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- February 10,1992
BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
by Jeni Durst
Daily Basketball Writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Wolverine bench was short one player
yesterday in Notre Dame. Junior guard and usual starter, Michael Talley,
was missing from the lineup and the entire South Bend area.
Talley was suspended from the game for skipping practice on Friday,
coach Steve Fisher said. Fisher, Talley, and Talley's mother met for
discussion following the incident.
"We got everything worked out," Fisher said. "Things will be back to
normal on Monday."
SCORING STARTERS: Something other than Talley was absent from
Michigan's game versus the Irish: bench scoring. The Wolverines received
no offensive contribution from the four players coming off the pine.
Instead, all of Michigan's points were tallied by the five first-year
starters, four of whom reached double figures. Guard Jalen Rose led the
pack with 20.
"I guess it makes a case to keep playing time for them (the five frosh),"
Fisher said. "They're pretty good and they're good kids, too."
"I think it was somewhat of a lift for us to all to start together," guard
Ray Jackson, who was informed of his starting role only minutes before
the game. "We have been wanting to play together for awhile and we came
out better motivated."
BIRTHDAY PRESENT: Michigan guard Jimmy King celebrated his
birthday yesterday by presenting gifts to his team and the many fans that
turned out to watch him play. In 35 minutes, the birthday boy notched 19
points, including two-for-two from three-point range and nine-for-12 from
the stripe. He snatched six rebounds, dished out four assists, and recorded
three steals.
King fans and family packed the corner of the arena near the Wolverine
bench, using all of the complimentary players' tickets issued to Michigan.
Talley misses practice,
suspended by Fisher
GOTTA PLAY HURT: The game suffered a stoppage of play late in the
second half when Notre Dame guard Elmer Bennett went down in the 5
Wolverine end. Bennett left the court with assisstence and a bloody nose.
He returned a mere 20 seconds later, complete with kleenex stuffed up
his nose, and finished the contest scoring half of his 16 total points,
including a three-point play and a trey.
DUNK FEST: A couple of the players in South Bend could have livened
up a deathly-boring slam dunk contest that took place in Orlando Saturday
night, namely Michigan's Chris Webber and Notre Dame's Laphonso Ellis.
The two combined for eight slams in the first half with each adding two
more in the second.
Even the missed jams provided something for the crowd, particularly
the last shot attempt of the game. Rose threw a long, no-look pass to
Webber in the lane, who attempted a powerfull windmill slam which
bounced off the back of the rim.
UNFRIENDLY CONFINES: The Notre Dame student body has mastered
the art of heckling. One section of student seats rer ii _s directly behind the
opposing team's bench. Yesterday, Irish students det 2 out ,n body
paint and ties tormented the Michigan players, coaches, a the towel
person.
The game-long taunting began with screams of "Fisher can't coach!"
and ended with clever signs within signs pronouncing "Michigan defense:
says 'Come in we're open' and "Michigan coaching: 'Help wanted'.
CROWD FAVORITE: Notre Dame's first-year coach, John MacLeod,
was all over the court yesterday, and in the stands, and shooting during
halftime. In honor of their new leader, several students dressed as MacLeod
look alikes, including blue dress jackets and big, fuzzy grey wigs.
One imitator was chosen to shoot a free throw, layup, and three pointer
in 30 seconds during halftime in an attempt to win $1,000 in scholarship
money, which he failed to do. All that hair must have been a hinderance.
FJIe PhotodKENNETH SMOLLER
Junior Michael Talley, upset with his lack of playing time, nearly quit the
team last Friday. Coach Steve Fisher said things have been resolved.
e FULL COU RT.
PRESS-
Birds of a feather
flock to French Lick
by Matthew Dodge
Daily Basketball Writer
FRENCH LICK, Ind. - Every day in French Lick is anticlimactic.
Every sunrise and sunset brings echoes of the past. Andy Warhol said that
each person would be famous for 15 minutes. The pervading atmosphere in
this small town of 2,000 is one of reminiscence: French Lick's quarter-hour
has past.
The history of Indiana basketball begins and ends in this small town
just north of the Kentucky border. Larry Bird grew up here.
Larry Bird placed his hometown in the lexicon of Hoosier history in
1974. His Springs Valley Hawks won a regional championship with a 21-4
record in Bird's senior year. He chose, for the moment, to continue his
career at Indiana University under Bob Knight. He had conquered all
worlds in Orange County, and all hearts in basketball-crazed French Lick.
A plaque in the lobby of the Valley High gym reads: "Although we at
Springs Valley always knew that Mr. Larry Bird possessed many
basketball skills not surpassed by any opponent in our area, little did we
expect what would lie ahead for him in the basketball world."
Bird's monumental deeds in college and the NBA have created a deity.
Yet, the 6-foot-9 forward was famous before he ever ventured to Indiana
State in Terre Haute, or to Boston.
The high school's address is 101 Larry Bird Boulevard. The school
enrollment is only 309, yet the fieldhouse holds over 3,000 fans.
The Hawks' basketball success has waned by 1992, but 20 years ago,
every Friday night was a scene out of Hoosiers. Springs Valley High lost in
the state finals in 1958, and won six regional titles from 1964-74.
Every game in 1974 was a stop on the whirlwind Larry Bird tour. The
headliner piled up numbers destined to remain framed in the Valley
archives. Bird's one-game records, set in an era without the three-point shot,
resemble stats complied by entire teams: 55 points; 26 field goals, 38
rebounds, and seven blocks.
The trophies and the legends of Larry Bird leave a wistful remembrance
through the community - a community in which the Bird family still
lives.
The native son built a new house for his mother several years ago. He
placed a regulation-size basketball court - glass backboards included -
on the front lawn.
The court, equipped with benches and bleachers, became a roundball
Graceland in the metropolitan French Lick area. Bird often left basketballs
on the court so the neighborhood kids could live an ultimate childhood
dream - lofting jumpers with Larry Bird's Wilson Jets on Larry Bird's
front yard.
Bird himself returns each summer to spread a little Hoosier hospitality
in his hometown. Last year, he donated money to the Springs'Valley
football team to build and stock a new weight room. He has been known to
run windsprints with Celtic teammates Brad Lohaus and Rick Carlisle on
the football field.
And he spends time with his family - the closest thing French Lick has
to the Kennedys. The Bird name is everywhere. Larry's older brother Mark
is a school board member. His younger brother Eddie runs a small business
in town.
And then there is the next generation.
Imagine yourself as Shakespeare's son turning in an essay in English
class. The imminent comparisons will inevitably breed disappointment.
Benji Campbell knows the feeling. The 14-year old's mother is Larry
Bird's sister. He sports wispy shocks of blond hair and plays basketball.
"They always talk about when Larry used to play," Campbell says.
"People say how good (Springs Valley) used to be and how no one could
beat them. I feel pressure, Everyone we play against thinks about it and
tries to beat us."
Time does not exist in the old-fashioned Valley fieldhouse.
Standing on the hallowed court, one loses a sense of the present. Is it
1992, 1972, or 1952? The worn hardwood floor is antique. The stands creak
when one sits down. Even the dark, stained basketballs look as if they have
been sent arcing toward the net a million times.
In Hoosiers, Barbara Hershey intimated the feeling: "Living in a small
town, you learn that some things never change. They never change. That
makes you feel real solid inside."
The sole signs of the passing years are the dozens of team photographs
and championship banners. Everything else is constant. The uniforms. The
Hawks logo at center court. The passion of the game that made Indiana
famous.
The faded jersey with "Valley" emblazoned above the numbers hangs in
the overflowing trophy case outside the gymnasium. A small card inside
the case commemorates Bird's contributions to his community.
"Larry wore this number (32) all through his high school years at
CAGERS
Continued from page 1
The five rookies seem to play
with a certain smoothness when
they compete as one unit on the
floor.
"They are very unselfish,"
Fisher said. "We moved the ball
better than we have in some time.
Today we allowed good angles and
passes to create themselves."
"We've done that before,"
Webber said. "The ball fell into the
post a lot today. When I get the
ball, they (the opposition) are so
worried about me, that I can pass it
off to Juwan or Jimmy. When
Jimmy drives, they worry about
him, so I'm open. It's a double-edged
sword for the other club."
Notre Dame entered Sunday's
game with several stunning upsets
and red-faced embarrassments under
its belt. Steve Fisher saw glimpses
of both sides of the Irish personal-
ity.
"In spite of their record (7-11),
that is a very good basketball
team," Fisher said. "Notre Dame re-
ally came at us defensively. We
were thrilled to death to get a vic-
tory."
Future NBA first-round pick
LaPhonso Ellis tallied 23 points -
including six jams of his own - and
seven rebounds.
"Ellis went to work on us in-
side," Fisher said.
Ellis led a resurgent Irish club in
a dramatic comeback late in the sec-
ond half. Notre Dame scored 13
straight points to cut Michigan's
lead to four at 54-50, with six and a
half minutes remaining in the game.
The Wolverines continually
turned the - ball over in a four-
minute, thirty-second dry stretch of
offensive futility. Michigan to-
talled 24 turnovers in the game, but
Fisher insists the youth of his play-
ers is irrelevant.
"That happens all over," Fisher
said. "Anytime you turn on the TV,,
you see teams with experience go
through stretches like this. It
doesn't just have to be freshmen."
Fisher's playing rotation has not
been solidified yet, but it's getting
close. Every rookie played over 30
minutes yesterday, except Jackson,
who was on the court for 24.
"Four of the freshmen have
reached the position where someone
will have to beat them out," Fisher
said. "Jackson earned the start. All
of them made a case to keep their
playing time."
MICHIGAN (74
Min.M-A WA O-T A F Pte..
Webber 33 8-15 1-5 5-11 5 4 17
Jackson 24 2-3 0-0 1-3 1 5 4
Howard 31 6-11 2-2 1-13 5 3 14
Rose 39 6-12 8-10 0-1 3 2 20
King 35 47 912 1-6 4 2 19
Hunter 15 0-0 0-0 2-5 0 2 0
Voskul 11 0.2 0-0 0-3 2 2 0
Pelinka 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
McIver 4 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
Totals 200 26-51 20-29 10-44 20 22 74
FG%- .510. FT%- .690. Three-point goals:
2-7, .286 (King 2-2, Rose 0-2, Voskull 0-2,
Pelinka 0.1). Team rebounds: 0. Blocks: 2
(Webber). Turnovers: 24 (Rose 6, Webber 4,
King 4, Jackson 3, Howard 3, Hunter 2, Voskuil,
Mclver). Steals: 9 (King 3, Jackson 2, Howard
2, Webber, Hunter). Technical fouls: 0.
NOTRE DAME 65)
FQ FT Rob.
Mi. M-A M-A 0-T A F Pt..
Ellis 40 10"15 2-8 2-7 0 3 23
Taylor 31 2-5 3-4 1-4 1 3 7
Tower 30 1-3 2-4 0-5 1 4 4
Bennett 38 6-15 1-1 0-4 7 4 16
Sweet 37 5-14 2-2 1-3 1 2 12
Boyer 4 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 2
Russell 7 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 3 0
Cozen 4 0-0 1-2 0-0 0 0 1
Ross,Joe 2 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 0
Ross, Jon 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Justice 1 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
Gilmore 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200 25-69 11-21 8-28 10 21 65
FG%- .424. FT%- .524. Three-point goals:
4-13, .308 (Bennett 3-8, Ellis 1-1, Sweet 0-2,
Boyer 0-1, Justice 0-1). Team rebounds: 2.
Blocks: 3 (Ellis, Tower, Cozen). Turnovers: 19
(Tower 7, Ellis 4, Bennett 3, Sweet 3, Russell,
Justice). Steals: 10 (Bennett 3, Sweet 3, Tower
2, Ellis, Cozen). Technical fouls: 0.
Michigan.........38 36 - 74
Notre Dame....... 27 38 - 65
Officials-Phil Bova, Tom Clark, Randy Drury
At Joyce C.nter; A-11,418
0
S
KENN T-M-LLEH/oadIy
Wolverine center Juwan Howard shoots over Notre Dame's LaPhonso
Ellis. Howard assisted with Michigan's 74-65 victory by notching 14 points.
RESULTS
Sunday
Michigan 74, Notre Dame 65
Indiana 81, Iowa 66
Saturday
Michigan St. 79, Wisconsin 64
Ohio St. 71, Purdue 59
Minnesota 57, N'western 55
STANDINGS
Team
Indiana
Ohio St.
Minnesota
Iowa
Michigan
Mich. St.
Purdue
Wisconsin.
Illinois
N'western
W
8
8
L
1
1
Pct GB
.889 -
.889 -
*FULL CO U RT.
PRESS
by Jeni Durst
Daily Basketball Writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Everyone knows what it is
like. When you have a 9 or (gasp) 8 o'clock class, it is
sometimes (most of the time) difficult to wake up. A
tired and sluggish feeling pervades the start of your
day. The good solution is to grab some caffeine - a
coffee or a Mountain Dew.
The Wolverines have suffered from this familiar
sluggish feeling of late. Poorly executed, slow-step-
ping first halves have tormented Michigan so far this
season. The Wolverines have been forced to make sec-
one-half comeback runs in at least six outings. In only
hal of them was the run successful.
rie latest in the line of first-half failings came ver-
sus Northwestern. Michigan led by only one at the
break, but stormed back in the second stanza to clobber
the Wildcats, 81-58. Previously, against Ohio State, the
Wolverines could muster only 13 points in the first
half while committing 18 turnovers.
"We haven't had a good first half for a while now,"
Michigan senior captain Freddie Hunter said. "And it
always puts us in the position to come clawing back in
the second."
But yesterday, Michigan seemed to have finally dis-
covered the benefits of the caffeine buzz. Instead of the
disorganized, sometimes sloppy play usually displayed
in the first half, the Wolverines demonstrated the con-
trol and dominance that they are more than capable of.
"It was the best first half we've played - maybe in
a decade, at least in the last four or five games,".
Blue finally heeds
earl wakeupcall
Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "The first play typi-
fied the mindset we haven't had early in games re-
cently."
The mindset included executing the inside game and,
on the other end, quality defense. Twelve of Michigan's
15 field goals in the first came from within the paint;
four of those consisting of Chris Webber dunks.
The defensive effort controlled all of the Fighting
Irish, minus phenom LaPhonso Ellis, who tallied close
to 63 percent of Notre Dame's first-half points. The
Irish's No. 2 scorer, Elmer Bennett, was held scoreless
in that stanza.
"We came through for 40 minutes with solid de-
fense and the perimeter guys did especially well,"
Hunter said. "They gave us a little trouble inside, but
overall it was solid."
Michigan's sudden turnaround could be the result
of many things. The first may be the starting combina-
tion of the infamous frosh. The five seemed to click to-
gether into a flow that had been missing in the begin-
nings of former matchups. Or it may have resulted
from the embarrassing display versus Ohio State or the
first-half scare against Northwestern. Michigan just
couldn't stand to face that kind of performance again.
Whatever the cause, the effect was certainly promis-
ing. The point differential between the first and second
half was only two. Michigan actually scored more in
the first half, a feat not accomplished often this season.
It seems the Wolverines finally received their
wakeup call. And, for once, it came before the start of
the game.
6 4 .600 2.5
5
5
5
4
2
4
4
4
5
7
.556 3
.5563
.556 3
.444
.222
4
6
2 7 .222 6
1 9 .100 7.5
I
THIS WEEK'S
GAMES
Tuesday
Illinois at Purdue
Wednesday
Indiana at Minnesota
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