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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 1979)
Pao* 8 Portland Observar Thursday. February 8. 1878 Sports Talk Alas and Alack . . . Ralph Millet's Beavers fell short in their mission to unseat the mighty Bruins. So what. Perhaps the young Beavers were too high for this game in the valley. 1 believe in the Beavers and with such a young team, no seniors, they'U be the team to reckon with for the next couple years. What hurt the Beavers some was foul tro u b l:. Steve Johnson and Dwayne Allen. Al'en, for sure, is important for his leadership on the floor. But his lack of offensive skills has to hurt also as witnessed by Cliff Robinson completely ignoring him (Allen) on anything fifteen feet and out. This gave Robinson, USC’s 6*9” All American forward a chance to roam and help out wherever needed. And that help caused OSU sharp shooter, Mark Radford, to put up only one shot the entire first half. R adford, normally a fine perimeter shooter simply found nothing available against USC scoring just once from the field in four tries. But, again, the time will come for the Beavers and all is not lost for this season. The NCAA Tournament will take two and maybe three Pac-10 schools. Oregon State, if they compile twenty wins, should be among thos-' chosen. Leonard William*. Pilots' all-time loading scorer, goes for the bucket. Williams is completing requirements for teaching certificate. Pilot star continues education by Ullysses Tucker, Jr. “ Growing up in the South was a very intense experience,” said Leonard Williams, the former University of Portland cage star in a recent interview. Williams, a native of Birming ham, Alabama came to Oregon in 1974 from one of the “ roughest” neighborhoods in his hometown. “ Nothing came easy for my family and I. My parents had to really work hard to support us," said the oldest of six kids, “ but we survived.” Williams at 23, can vividly recall some of the violent demonstrations, cross burnings, and hangings of several individuals during the early 60’s when the Civil Rights Movement was on the upswing. “ There were times when we were afraid to leave our home,” he said softly. “ My parents and relatives feared that our physical well-being would be threatened. “ Do you remember when the church was bombed down there?” Williams asked. “ Well, our church was located only two blocks down the street, that could have been me and my friends sitting in Sunday School that day.” After matriculating at Glenn High where they won the State AA Cham pionship with a 31-0 record during his senior year, Williams, a two-time All-American, and All-State per former looked for an alternative to the social oppression he confronted at home. “ When I flew up to Portland on a recruiting trip, I immediately realized that it was far different than the South,” he said. “ And it didn’t take me long to decide whether or not to attend.” Among the players Williams competed against at Glenn were T.R. Dunn of the NBA Blazers, Leon Douglass of the Detroit Pistons, and a host of fine athletes who starred at “ Bama.” In four years out on the bluff Williams became the all-time leading scorer, as well as the second leading rebounder in the history of the insti tution. Williams was also captain and “ MVP” on the Pilots 19-8 team during his senior year last season. Like many college athletes who fail to obtain their degree in four years of undergraduate study, Williams is no exception to the rule. “ I can attribute most of my not graduating on time to the adjustment that I had to make academically at a private. Catholic university,” he said. “ 1 was not in tune to the know ledge they had to offer, the first two years were tough.” Williams elected not to graduate this past summer in order to tour South America, ” 1 knew that the opportunity to get a taste of some in ternational flavor would come only once in a lifetime, so I took advant age,” he said. “ H am ,” as he is called by his peers averaged 43.6 per game with a high of 58 on a team called “ Seminario” which was based in Costa Rica. The league was spon sored by a group of American businessmen, and ran from late May to the e.id of December. Thus enabling Williams to be back in Port land in time to start classes leading to graduation this spring. “ The cultural encounter with the native people was very beautiful,” he said. ” 1 just wish that everyone could get exposed to something out side of their own culture. I can speak good Spanish now, and that will aid me greatly for the profession I’m in to.” To complete his graduation re quirements in education, Williams is currently student teaching at Colum bia High School in Vancouver, Washington. He is also graduate assistant for Coach Avina this season. Williams noted that, “ Most of the youngsters in Portland get frustrated because this is basically a mellow town with a small percentage of Blacks — many have a burning desire to leave just to be around more Blacks. But what they fail to realize is that wherever you have a large congrega tion of Blacks, there is less oppor tunity, more unemployment, and not much economic mobility. Many students are so tripped out at Por- land, Oregon that they do not see it’s advantages. It’s a lot better than a great many places in the U.S.,” he analized. ‘ By me studying to be an educator, I can enlighten them through my experiences and what’s happening around them,” he said. Blazer Notes . . . . Lionel Hollins has scored 370 points in his last nineteen games for an average of 19.5 and has hit on 154 of 291 from the floor for .529 shooting . . . he now is shooting .473 for the season, a career high pace . . . and Lionel's improvement is due mainly to better shot selection. In the last nineteen games, Hollins has been 62-71 for .873 from the foul line and now is .816 for the season, another career high . . . he has had sixteen steals in his last six games and for the season is now averaging 2.11a game, seventh best record in the NBA . . . in his last eight road games, Hollins has shot .519 on 69-138 and has averaged 21 points a contest . . . in his last four games, Hollins has scored 105 points a contest.. . If one were to choose a most valuable Blazer with these impressive stats then Hollins would certainly be a strong contender. And the poor Oregon Ducks . . . won’t they ever learn. They’re at the bottom of the Pac-10 with a non- impressive 3-8 record and still haven’t learned that it takes speed in the back court to win in the tough Pac-10. Oregon has continually played John Murray and Rob Closs together and since neither is possessed with great speed . . . the team has been hurting. Both are fine shooters . . . granted . . . but speed is so necessary at the guard position. Rich Haney, Oregon head coach, has been giving first year player Barry Williams, the 6’1” flash from San Bernadino more playing time lately and that surely is a step in the right direction. Williams not only has the speed for the position, but also plays with the same venue Ronnie Lee brought to Eugene a few years ago . . . and that has to be good news. 700 N.E. Multnomah Lloyd 700 Bid. «400 231-4725 Peggy Graves Personal & Business Insurance Thompson still must get his head together and deflate that super ejo some. Remember earlier in the season when young Thompson scored 29 against Elvin Hayes and said, “ Hey, I’m just as good as this fellow." Then the very next night got com pletely outplayed by Denver’s all-star forward. George McGinnis. Well, it has happened again. Thompson after supposedly shutting off the irrepressible “ Dr. J” , when in reality "the Dr.” scored 28 points and w asn't stopped by anyone, opened up again and stated, “ If I Mychal Thompson, the nation’s No. 1 draft choice from Minnesota, leads Portland in blocked shots with 56, and is scoring 12.5 points a game. But has Mychal impressed? The jury is still out of course but unless he gains some continuity in his game the NBA road for the young man from the Bahamas will be a rocky one. can play like that against Erving, who is the best, then I must be pretty good myself." Only one word to the young rookie. Wait until you've been around once or twice more, then if you can still do i t . . , fine. Bill Walton, the long lost Blazer center, showed up Monday night at the annual Hayward Banquet to ac cept his award as O regon’s pro athlete of the year. And did you notice Bill’s speech? Well, this time he flowed like a river, and did not display his herky, jerky style as before. TOP LOOKING < UYTOMORROW'S SECURITY FOR OUR FAMILY TODAY New 3 and 4 bedroom homes with or without family rooms in Vancouver close to 1-5 and 8 minutes from Interstate bridge. Include 2 baths, double garage, brick fireplaces, range, dishwasher, garbage disposal, w /w car pets. All are energy efficient with 10 year Home Owner's Warranty. Cash price for 3 bedroom with 1036 sq. ft. would be $47,000, 9Vi% Annual Per centage Rate with 360 monthly payments at $395.20 principal and interest plus estimated taxes and insurance. Veterans move-in for $100.00, FHA purchaser's move in approx. $2,650.00. 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