The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, June 10, 1981-Poge 15
Draft day in the NBA . . .
THE SPORTING VIEWS D
._.. youth steals the show

By RON POLLACK
Daily Sports Writer
IF THERE WERE a party held after yesterday's
NBA draft for last season's college seniors, the
gathering may well have been crashed by a very
talented trio of outsiders.
"Do you remember that dunk shot I made in
that post-season high school game," reminisces
Albert King to Gene Banks.
"Yeah, I remember," replies Banks. "But that
thrill just can't compare to what it was like for me
to play in the NCAA finals my freshman year."
"I like thinking about the old days," adds Herb
Williams. "That's when they used to talk about
what I could do for Ohio State, instead of com-
plaining about what I didn't do for the team like
fthn A _ nn ,

"Oh yeah, well you didn't invite us to this year's
draft either, but look what happened there," said
the svelte Aguirre as he headed for the buffet
pulling a knife and fork out of his jacket pocket.
Aguirre had a point at that hypothetical party.
Invited or not, these three stole the show at
yesterday's draft with Aguirre, Thomas and
Williams being the first, second and third picks of
the draft.
This marked an amazing turn of events for last
season's seniors due to the fact that four years
ago, they were being proclaimed as one of the best
freshman classes to hit the college basketball
scene in many a season. However, for various
reasons this group of players has caused this
year's draft to fail to live up to the greatness that
had once been predicted. In fact, were it not for
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A
AP Photo
twoplayers chosen in the NBA draft, on the
Aguirre, Thomas and Williams going hardship,
this year's lottery would have the least potential
among the first few picks of any draft in recent
years.
" Albert King (F, 6-6, 190)- King is a superb of-
fensive threat, but only, it seems, when the mood
strikes him. At times he is very impatient on of-
fense. Still, his impatience disappears when the
game is on the line. In this type of situation he
unaccountably, for someone of his offensive skills,
becomes nonexistent in the Maryland offense.
" Herb Williams (C, 6-11, 240)- It seems as
though whenever Williams is mentioned, his
tremendous potential rules the conversation.

However, there comes a time when potential is not
enough and now is that time. For all of his poten-
tial, Williams has never become the dominating
big man that his apparent skills warrant.
Although Williams may yet live up to the expec-
tations that he failed to meet in college, it is a
risky venture to count on this happening. Thus
Williams lasted until the middle of the first round
where Indiana made him the third center taken.
" Gene Banks (F, 6-5, 210)- When he enrolled at
Duke, Banks was mentioned in the same breath as
King and Earvin Johnson as the top freshman
prospects in the nation. In his first year, Duke ad-
vanced to the NCAA finals before bowing out to
Kentucky, 92-88. Banks' sophomore year saw him
play well, although the Blue Devils did not meet up
to pre-season expectations. But since then things
have not gone well. Banks has shown little, if any,
improvement. While his play has remained at the
same level, his stock has been quickly dropping.
The long fall resulted in his name going uncalled
until San Antonio finally tabbed him early in the
second round.
Players who did not live up to expectations
during their college playing days are not the only
reason for the freshman class of 1177 giving NBA
teams a smaller pool of talent to choose from than
had once been expected.
" Earvin Johnson- Had Johnson not gone har-
dship after his sophomore year, he could probably
have single-handedly made ita good year insofar
as last season's seniors are considered. He and
then-senior Larry Bird were clearly the best in the
nation among college players in 1978. Had Johnson
stayed at Michigan State for four years, Dallas
would undoubtedly have made him the first pick in
the draft instead of choosing Aguirre and his
questionable attitude.
Danny Ainge- Ainge was an All-American
guard during the 1981 season for Brigham Young,
and would certainly have been a first round pick
had he not opted for baseball (he is now a Toronto
Blue Jay) instead of basketball. As it was, the
Boston Celtics chose him in the second round.
There has been some talk that if Ainge doesn't
make his mark in baseball the Celtics might try to
make a deal with Toronto that would allow Ainge
to play basketball. Ainge's .181 batting average
does little to diminish such a possibility.
" Jeff Ruland- In a year in which capable cen-
ters are at a minimum, Ruland would have been a
welcome addition to this year's lottery. Because
he signed with an agent last year, Ruland lost his
eligibility and had little choice but to go hardship.

MARK AGUIRRE, left, and Isiah Thomas, the first
"Today" in New York yesterday.
"Who are you?" Banks asks the talented trio of
outsiders that has just walked in.
"I'm Buck Williams," said the tallest of the
three. "And these are Mark Aguirre and Isiah
Thomas."
"I don't remember playing against any of you in
any high school All-Star games," said King.
"That's because we're not in the same year of
school as the rest of you," said the younger
Thomas.
"In that case you'll all have to leave," insisted
the elder Williams. "This reception is only for
players that were seniors last year. I didn't think
that we had invited you."

}

Pistons
seleet
Thomas &
Tripueka
in first
round

PONTIAC (UPI) - Almost anybody
they drafted would have been "instant
help," but the Detroit Pistons feel they
picked up two extremely talented
players in the first round yesterday
when they selected guard Isiah Thomas
of Indiana and Kelly Tripucka of Notre
Dame.
Thomas, a sophomore who just led
Indiana to the NCAA championship this
past season, was the second player
chosen in the opening round while
Tripucka, whose father Frank was a
former great Notre Dame and pro
quarterback and whose two brothers
were also basketball stars, was the 12th
player draftedoverall.
"ISIAH OBVIOUSLY is a player that
has charisma, a magic touch and
charm - but he is loaded, loaded with
talent," General Manager Jack Mc-
Closkey said when he came out to ap-
praise Detroit's first two choices.
"That was our first objective, to get a
player loaded with talent with our first
pick," he said.
"In Kelly Tripucka, we felt at that
pick, he was the toughest competitor
and surest player we felt could con-
tribute immediately," McCloskey said.

"That was our second objective."
IN CHOOSING Tripucka, McCloskey
passed over another crying Detroit
need for help at center.
Dan Schayes of Syracuse was taken
by Utah immediately after Detroit's
second first-round choice and Indiana
took Ohio State's Herb Williams with
the next pick, but both are centers with
question marks as largeas they are at-
tached to their names and neither is the
dominant-type player the Pistons need.
Two players from the state were
chosen in the first round of the draft and
Jay Vincent of Michigan State was
Dallas' pick at the start of the second
round.
KEVIN LODER of Alabama State, a
6-5 forward who prepped at Cassopolis,
Mich., was taken by the Kansas City
Kings 17th overall in the draft, while
Michigan's scoring machine, Mike
McGee, was the 19th choice overall.
McGee went to Los Angeles in the
opening round.
Guard John Johnson of Michigan was
chosen by the Boston Celtics as the last
choice of the third round.
Detroit did not have choices in the

second and third rounds but drafted
center John May of Southern Alabama
and guard Donnie Koonce of North
Carolina-Charlotte in the fourth round.
MCCLOSKEY DISPELLED stories
that Thomas, a 6-foot-1 point guard who
averaged 16 points and 4.9 assists a
game for Indiana last season, only wan-
ted to play in his hometown of Chicago.
"I asked him about that," McCloskey
said. "Wouldn't you, as a sportscaster,
or a reporter, rather work in your
hometown? Well, he assured me that's
all that he meant by that remark."
The Pistons' GM has held
preliminary contract talks. with
Thomas' agent, and indicated there
would not be too much difficulty in
signing the 20-year-old.
Thomas' agent is also the agent for
Mark Aguirre of DePaul, with whom
McCloskey had reached an agreement.
Detroit was going to draft Aguirre until
Dallas changed its mind last weekend.
"Asa coach, you need a player on the
floor who is really an extension of your-
self," Scotty Robertson of the Pistons
said. "In Isiah Thomas, we have that
player."