Sports
Page 12 Saturday, July 25, 1981 The Michigan Daily
Knee operation
aids McCormick
a By MARK MIHANOVIC
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan basketball center Tim McCormick is recovering well from the
operation performed on his left knee in June, and there is an "excellent"
possibility that he will be ready for the rigors of Big Ten competition this winter,
according to Wolverine mentor Bill Frieder.
"It (the operation) was really successful," Frieder said. "The left knee, which
they did, is really responding.
"RIGHT NOW, THEY '(McCormick's chances of playing basketball in 1981-82)
are excellent. He's approaching it like he's going to play.
McCormick experienced discomfort in both knees throughout last season, during
which he averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game coming off the bench as a
freshman. Many felt that McCormick's painful knees limited his mobility to the
point at which he was unable to live up to the sterling preseason accolades he
received.
Prior to surgery, it was assumed that tendinitis caused the 6-10, 230-pounder's
knee troubles, but while performing the surgery, Dr. Gerald O'Connor, the team
physician, found calcium deposits, as well. Frieder hopes that the deposits were
really the root of the problem.
"THE GAMBLE WAS whether or not the problem got solved, because he's got
tendinitis in his knees, and even though you operate, you might not cure the ten-
dinitis," the second-year coach explained.
.5 " McCormick has been commuting to Ann Arbor every other day from his home in
Clarkston, as he undergoes rehabilitation in the Michigan training room. Soon,
however, he might have to start the process all over again, as his right knee might
be operated on, as well.
"The right knee isn't as bad," Frieder said, "but he does have problems with it.
a Now they might operate on that, too, but we won't know for a couple of weeks yet."
While the prospect of playing the upcoming season without the services of Mc-
Cormick (after the Wolverines have already lost four of five starters to
graduation) cannot be pleasing to Frieder, he refuses to overly concern himself
Daily Photo with it.
MICHIGAN CENTER TIM McCormick works inside in a non-conference "Even if they did operate on the right knee, there's a chance he'd play (in '81-
game against Akron last season. McCormick is currently recovering from 82)," he said. "And if he isn't able to play, we'd red-shirt him a year. If we have to
knee surgery. According to Wolverine Coach Bill Frieder, McCormick's red-shirt him, then we'll get three good years out of him after that. That's the way
knee is "responding" to the operation. I've been looking at it."
Michigan 500: Take two
BROOKLYN (AP) - Drivers in the .
Norton Michigan 500 Indy-car race will
have one eye on pole sitter Tom Sneva6a4" 1"
and the other on the sky today.
The race already has been postponed N
once because of rain and the National
Weather Service is predicting heavy
rain again for today's effort, scheduled
to begin at 2 p.m. EDT.
THE $500,000 race, the first 500-mile 4
event ever in Michigan, originally was
scheduled to be run last Sunday before
a sellout crowd of 65,000 fans and a live
national television audience.
Rather than run th'e race the
following day, track owner Roger Pen-
ske decided to postpone it for six days
after NBC-TV promised to return for
live coverage. ,
However, Penske said following
today's hour-long practice run that if
today's race also is washed out, it will
be run either tomorrow or the next
clear day.
Sneva, the former school teacher
from Spokane, Wash., who qualified his
Cosworth-powered March at 201.359
mph more than a week a go, turned the
best time in yesterday's practice run
around the two-mile oval at Michigan
International Speedway, about 90 miles
west of Detroit. AP Photo
"The car is just quicker down the TWO OF AL Unser's pit crew put the top of his racecar back in place as practice continued at Michigan International
straightaway," said Sneva, who ran the Speedway yesterday. The race was postponed last weekend due to inclement weather and was therefore rescheduled
track in 199.5 mph yesterday.
for today.