The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- November 30, 1992 - Page 5 etball Preview driv 10 'M' Long Road to,, To p Blue must overcome tough Big Ten field FILE PHOTO/Daily ~irt-~.~head coach Trish Roberts returns to the Big der, in Ie top spot after serving as an Illinois assistant qi te 1984-85 season. things her male counterparts might not have had to. During her 3-year career as a professional player tLwo with the Minnesota Phillies and one with the '~Louis Streak) her $25,000 salary was one of the i first in the league. Such a figure is rarely even mentioned after the "x- '-million" in the annual paycheck of a Michael Jordan or a Shaquille O'Neal. ; At the collegiate level, Roberts thinks that some of. the same things that contributed to the demise of professional women's basketball plague women's col- lege teams. Poor promotion and publicity led to empty stands and meager gate receipts. n "Back when women had their own organization, *Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), women were in control of their own destiny. When they converged and the NCAA took over, they began riding on the coattails of the men, 1 would like to see equ~ality but right now women areni't. putting enough people in the stands. I hope that ini the next three to lour yeas,}, womlen's basket- ball will become areeu proucing sport here like it is at other schools," he ays Despite the goings-on in college's governing body, however, Roberts stresses that Michigan pushes its women's teams. "People think that Michigan does not support its women's teams" Roberts says. "Maybe eight to 10 years ago that. was the case, but times have changed." With her experience anid the athletic department's support, how far can Roberts take the vnew' Wolverine team? "To the national championship," she says. This woman does not mince words. "I want to build Michigan into a national power," she says forcefully. "If I can' make something hap- pen here, I can't do it anywhere," shce says with a fur- rowed brow. "I hope I'll be here for a long time," she says, and a smile escapes. Some years from now, when the glory is all over anid the championship banner hangs from the rafters, you'll be able to find Trish Roberts back in Georgia. She might be coaching an AAU summnei team, oi try- ing her hand as a writer. "I've always wanted to write a book about the struggles of young black athletes," she says peni sively. No matter what she's doing, though, you can bet basketball will still be a part of her life. "I love the game. I'm glad I can give something back to a sport that has taken me to nine countries and almost all 50 states," she says, leaning back in her chair as if to recall her days as a player spent on Greyhounds and in airports. And, even in retirement, you can be sure she'll be doing it with the same intensity that she boxed out defenders or barked orders during halftime. "People misjudge me because I am a very intense person, and I'm very focused. People see me and they say to themselves, 'Oh my goodness, she looks mean.' Once they get to know me they say, She's a powder puff."' She pauses and looks at the palm of her hand. Looking up, she cracks a wide grin. "I'm a very nice person, I think." by Mike Hill Daijy Bask etball Writer The M ich igan women's basket- ball teanm is getting Rodney Danger- field treaunent. T[he Bigz [enmicoaches picked the Wolverines to finish (lead last. But with only three conference victories at year ago, Michigan shouldn't be surprised. And to make matter s worse, Penn State, which finished 24-7 last season, joins the Big Ten. H ere' s a look at the rest of the field 1. Iowa- Coach Vivian Stringer was doing her best. Lou Hloltz im- pression when she said. "We're se- lected No. 1 (in the Big Ten by the coaches) every year. And it's amaz- ing to me how that happens. (Coaces) would disappoint them - selves if they didn't vote us there. It S~ a joke to men" Who's she kidding'? The flawkeyes are easily the class of the Big; Ten and should figure in the Fi- nal Hourn iext April in Atlaiita. 1Led by powcf fom waid Toni Foster (15.5 points pei gamn: last year), Iowa fea- ties possiably the best front line in the. co~inary IThrow in guard Laurie Aaron 'and you 're looking at a team that will use the conference as a tunme up for the Big D~ance. 2. Ohio State- Five-foot-I1I Katie Sinith heads a freshmen crew that's beinig dubbed the next "Fab Five." That, comnbir-'d with presea- son1 unatnimous All- Big [feln selec- tion Averrill Roberts, gives the Buckeyes the best shot at knocking Iowa out of the tope spot. 3. Northwestern- Finally, a sport that the Mildcats, I mean, Wildcats calli compete int All-time assist leader Nancy Kennelly ;,:turnms aftei missing all of terious injuries Michgan Women's Bask etbal :K:..iY:: SceMcalG 5f oot"I5 S Sr 11~~~~~ TnshStvn G 5foot-B Fr F 12 Moll. y Heiinen G-F 5-foot-11 So. So. .:1 Valarie Turner F,' 5-foot-Il Jr. So. 23> Jen Nu ,es ::..G 5-foot-6 Sr, Sr. 2;4 > Shirell Striley F 5-foot-11 Sr. Sr. 25 Carriotewart G-F 5-foot-1 1 So. So. 30 ikki eudry F 6i-foot Sr. Sr. 33 She r nyGray F 5-foot-Il Jr, :So.>., 42 LaTara. Jones F 6-foot Jr Jr. 44 ...::Je~iifr (Crzezinski F 6-foot-1i r Fr,. 4 Trish AndrwFC 6-foot-2 Sr. Sr. 50 Mihle}faill F- 6-foot--3 Sr. Jr. >54 Rhond.a; J.okisch C 6-foot-i Jr.. drJ. ~Coach °Trish Roberts (first season) As, stan'ts: Sandra Fhornas, Kathy La~arge, Nikita Lowry i last season with a knee injury. She'll join sister Moira to make up a strong backcourt. Coach Don Perrelli will take advantage of the surplus he has at guard, promising a fast-paced style. He also says that he'll occa- sionally run a four-guard offense. 4. Purdue- The Boilermakers have been consistent winners over the past five years under coach Lin D~unn. During that span, Purdue has wonl no less than 21 games. But this season, the Boilers, an extremely young squad, will have to make do without the Big Ten's all- time leading scorer, MaChelle Joseph. Oan the good side, they hauled in the nation's fourth-best re- cruiting class and return defensive specialist Kay Tucker. 5. Wisconsin- Senior guard Robin "Threait (19.8 ppg) may be the best in the Big Ten. And the Badgers are coming off their best season ever: "Last season is something that we all can be really proud about," coach Mary Murphy said. "It just proves that with hard work, you can get from the bottom to the top pretty quickly in this conference." But to continue that kind of suc- cess, Wisconsin will have to over- come the loss of Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Barb Franke. Franke will miss the entire season with a knee injury. 6. Penn State- Each year, coach Rene Portland likes to give her play- ers tee-shirts that have a slogan for the upcoming season. That tradition enided when she realized the faux pas in her last attempt- -a tee that iead "It's fun to be on top!" The Lady Lions won' t have that problem this year-being the best in the conference, that is. Not one starter returns from last year. But Porltland seems to bring the best out in her players, having tallied a .742 winning percentage as a head coach. 7. Indiana- The Hoosiers return three of their top four scorers from last year's 16-12 team. Senior guard Kris McGrade will be the team's outside threat. She led the league in three-point shooting a year ago. The Hoosiers will be strong in the middle also. Sopho- more Shirley Bryant finished second in the conference with 8.8 rebounds a game. 8. Illinois- With three returning perimeter players, the 'Illini will feature, like many Big Ten teams, an up-tempo style. "We will push the balls a little more," coach Kathy Lindsey said. 5-foot-7 junior guard Mandy Cunningham will lead the attack. She averaged 15.3 ppg and was named the teams Most Valuable Player in '92. 9. Minnesota- Michigan beat this team last year. That might tell you the quality of this ball club. The Go- phers were proud to announce that their average margin of defeat dropped to only nine points last year. This year they may drop that average to six points, but they'll still lose. Don't expect more than a hand- ful of victories from this team. 10. Michigan State- The Spar- tans are really much better than this tenth-place position. But this writer just wouldn't feel right putting hated MSPU any higher. The Dean of Big Ten coaches, Karen Langeland, does return a strong front line. Big things are ex- pected from 6-foot-3 forward An- nette Babers after a disappointing sophomore season. "I think you will see the real An- nette Babers this year," Langeland said. The Spartans biggest challenge will be replacing backcourters Mar- line Ferguson and Marie Williams, both lost to graduation. Expect Michigan State to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. So as you can see, the Wolver- ines are in for a long road if they ex- pect to improve on last season. The Big Ten coaches agree that this is the strongest group oif teams the conference has ever fielded. The Wolverines' goal is to finish .500. If they come anywhere near that mark, they will have to knock 3ff a number of quality teams. oF I lI- I) (--_ CI OU R Io Wolverines looking to forget pastl ills orward Shimmy Gray will beiefit fromn bi~averaged 3.9 ppg last year, should notion was far fronm invenitive. her standpoint. "At Wisconsin, we feel we've B=ILE PHOTO/Daily I rish Roberts' up-tempo style. Gray, adid scoring punch off the bench, Stringei said.1"Fist of ai , l think football needs to do well. We got a lot of popularity and attention be- by Mike Hill Daily Basketball Writer ___ "It can be done if we all justi have the cour-age to change," some important political guy this year said. "We will change," Michigan wvomen's bas-s ketoalifirst-yea) coach "Trish Roberts said. a guess "change" is this yeas battle cry. Okay, comparing Michigan women hoops, or bask-thall pee-iod foi diat inatter, to natitinal polite, . imay be a bit extreme. All right,. lt . uretrne But it is true that af ter only seven wins it~ 28 tries a year ago, the Wolverines were in about as bad shape as the economy. *Enter Trish Roberts. Finally the athletic department makes a move that gives the impression that its serious about the women's basketball program. Roberts' credentials are endless. Three straight 20-win seasons at Maine and an overall winnling percentage of '/2. She was an all- American center at the University of Tennessee. She flayed on the verny first Olympic women's bask.etbahl team in 1976. And she even played uIC pro ball with the Minnesota Fillies and the SL Louis Streak: But most importantly, Michigan's new coach seems determined to turn things around here. ment a fast-paced offense. True, led by 6-foot-2 center Trish Andrew, the Wolverines probably aren't what you'd call perfect for an uptempo style. But who cares. If the Wolverines plan to compete in the future, they're going to have to run. Besides, all they can do is improve. But if they plan on that, ugh, change occur- ring soon, they'll have to step up recruiting - Roberts' biggest concern. The state of Michigan has always been a picking ground for out of state teams. It would be nice for the Wolverines to convince a few of those recruits to stay home. Roberts says many of the recruits she's talked to .