The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, December 5, 1994 -
*Not all NBA trades
are working as hoped
Men's spikers defeat
Spartans in five sets
Newsday
It's a convenient excuse and it's a
common one: When new players join
new teams, both sides need time to
*adjust.
That's what you'll get from the
Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Golden
State Warriors and Washington Bul-
lets, the biggest deal-makers of this
very young NBA season.
That's what you've been hearing
for the last 11 days or so because these
teams, aftermaking major trades, have
looked miserable, especially last
week. From last Sunday to Friday,
*they were a combined 4-6, and the
Warriors needed overtime to barely
escape becoming the Los Angeles
Clippers' first victim.
So maybe it's not too unrealistic
to ask this: Will all four teams benefit
from those deals?
Let's take this on a case-by-case
basis:
Heat: Lost Rony Seikaly, Grant
*Long and Steve Smith. Gained Billy
Owens and Kevin Willis.
Prognosis: No one's suffered
harder than the Heat in the post-trade
era. Miami absorbed a 35-point beat-
ing from the Magic, was ambushed at
home by the Sacramento Kings and
was waxed by 18 in Charlotte. The
Heat has been magnetized to the bot-
tom in the East.
Did the Heat, a playoff team last
Oseason, make trades just to get differ-
ent bodies? It sure looks that way.
Coach Kevin Loughery, who al-
most moved elsewhere himself dur-
ing the offseason, is desperate to find
a workable starting unit. Owens,
swapped for Seikaly, hasn't played
30 minutes since the trade and isgrum-
bling about being a sixth man. The
Willis-John Salley-Glen Rice front
*ine doesn't seem better than the Rice-
Long-Seikaly line of last year. And
Miami, which also lost Brian Shaw to
free agency, hasn't found a reliable
replacement at the point.
Salley, one of only two starters
remaining from last season, said: "I
am planning to stay positive, even
though some negativity is creeping
into this team like gangrene in a
wound."
Warriors: Lost Owens and Chris
Webber. Gained Seikaly and Tom
Gugliotta.
Prognosis: Webber was everything
Googs isn't: an intimidator, shot-
blocker and clever inside scorer. He
would have been a perfect comple-
ment to Seikaly. Instead, the War-
riors have another mid-range shooter
who's susceptible to off-nights. But
*given the tight situation caused by
Webber, the Warriors could have done
worse.
Bullets: Lost Gugliotta. Gained
Webber.
Prognosis: You can't blame
Webber for the Bullets' sudden slide.
But maybe the Bullets have been hurt
more by the loss of Googs than they've
been helped by the addition of
*Webber. They lost a shooter and, when
Rex Chapman struggles (he scored a
total of 15 points in two games last
week), Washington suffers in the
halfcourt game.
Still, the Bullets hardly are a fin-
ished product. "Once they get a legit
lead guard and a center," said the
Lakers' Sedale Threatt, "they'll have
all the pieces to the puzzle."
Hawks: Lost Willis. Gained Smith
Wand Long.
Prognosis: They're strictly a fi-
nesse team whose fortunes depend on
defense and how many fast-break
baskets they get. On some nights,
Long can match Willis' offense, but
he isn't the same rebounder and may
be a better sixth man than starter. The
addition of Smith allowed Stacey
Augmon to move to small forward,
where he is better equipped to play.
Still, the Hawks appear headed for the
big slide that many predicted.
That's because their real loss
wasn't Willis, but Danny Manning.
The Phoenix Suns were vulner-
able at center, having sent Mark West
to the Pistons, and yetthey still weren't
willing to match Detroit's offer sheet
for Oliver Miller last summer.
Now you know why.
Suns officials were deeply dis-
turbed about Miller's lifestyle. A
Phoenix woman claimed Miller sexu-
ally assaulted her during a party at
Cedric Ceballos' home, and not long
before that, Miller's wife accused him
o~f hatn he~r Rncth rhniras we~re
the image business - witness Grant
Hill - but they're also coming off a
disastrous season. They need promis-
ing players, and that's why they
grabbed Miller, warts and all.
Neither Miller nor his most recent
accuser will talk. The Pistons believe
Miller. "I know everything there is to
know about it," general manager Billy
McKinney said. "I've talked to the
authorities and nobody's concerned."
In other words, while there is
smoke, the Pistons don't see fire -
unlike the Suns.
Around the league: During the
Bulls-Jazz game Nov. 25, Bulls coach
Phil Jackson pulled Karl Malone
aside, wanting to know why he was
still on the floor with Utah up 30.
Malone replied: "At least I go in the
game when my coach tells me to." ...
Although Pacers assistant Gar
Heard likes new point guard Mark
Jackson, he isn't so sure the Pacers
are better off. Heard said: "Haywoode
(Workman) was our starter last year
and he was very aggressive. He played
defense. He didn't look to score and
he kind of set the tempo of the game.
Mark is still making the adjustment.
Mark is not going to be the defensive
player Haywoode is, but our point
guard has to set the tempo and right
now Mark is trying to find his identity
with the team. This is not the same
team as the end of last year. The
aggressiveness just isn't there."
By JAMES GOLDSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
It didn't matter what lineup the
Michigan men's volleyball team used.
The Wolverines won even whenthey
were out of their positions.
Saturday night in Burton, Mich., a
scrambling Michigan team defeated
Michigan State in a tight, emotional
five setter, 9-15, 15-11, 9-15, 15-13,
15-13.
The win was Michigan's second
over the Spartans this season. Previ-
ously, the Wolverines beat their cross-
state rivals in another tough five set
contest during a preseason tourna-
ment in Lansing.
Once again, the win didn't come
easily for the Wolverines.
Michigan began slowly and ap-
peared rusty after stepping onto the
court for the first time in two weeks.
The start was not the only problem for
the team.
"In the first game, we were cold and
people were not communicating with
each other," outside hitter Kevin Urban
said. "We had a complete communica-
tion breakdown in our passing game."
The explosiveness of the Spartans'
serving game also was another source
of frustration for Michigan. Michigan
State employed a heavy jump-serve
barrage which stunned the Wolverines.
Michigan was never able to regroup
and watched the Spartans close out the
game in convincing fashion.
The second game consisted of:
more than just digs, sets, and kills. An'
intangible came into play that could
have led the Spartans to take control'
of the match.
The Wolverines put in a lineup
that placed several players out of their
natural positions - an attempt to:
match the powerful Spartans. The re-
sult, however, was not what the play-
ers had prepared for. By mistake,.
Michigan gave the referee a lineup
sheet that listed the players incor-
rectly. Once that happened, the Wol-
verines were stuck with this lineup.
Instead of spelling doom for the
Wolverines, Michigan coach Jenni-
fer Slosar thought that this folly made
the team try even harder.
"Even with the lineup change, they,
were forced to focus 100% of the time,"
Slosar said. "This was the best I've seen
them play yet. They kept a level headA
and knew what they had to do."
The final three games were gruel-
ing for Michigan as it was forced to:
withstand the Spartans' significant
height advantage, yet the Wolverines
prevailed with an impressive defense'
and timely serves.
On match point, Michigan's Chad#
Engel accidentally fell to the floor.:
While sitting on the court, he used hid
knuckles to knock the ball into the air;
Captain Stan Lee took it from therd
and put it away for the victory.
That was just the kind of night it wa
Warrior Rony Seikaly (top) and Indiana's Mark Jackson play for new teams.
~~
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4.2
Merrill Lynch
Cordially invites all seniors interested in interviewing
for a full-time position to submit a resume and cover letter
to the Career Planning & Placement Center
from December 5 -January 5.
The appropriate contact persons are listed below.
Investment Banking
Analyst Program
Greg Margolies
Debt & Equity
Intern Program
Sara Karlen
1 I - I.r 0 ' r "11 T 1