Sports Talk
SPORTS HOUR
JOE’S PLACE
by Ron Sykes
Sports Editor
Americans, as a people, have(al
ways had a tendency to be beMgaers
Collectively they’ve b elieva^^^"
bait, bubble gum and apple pie.
Basketball fans for some
are not following this seemingly in
bred American tradition. For some
foolish reason some still are disbe
lieving of the basketball skills of one
Lloyd Free of the play-off bound
San Diego Clippers.
Portland was victorious Tuesday
night 115-109 in a must game for
them if they were to keep their play
off hopes alive.
Thanks to a strong effort by the
team in general and rookie My chai
Thompson in particular.
Mychal scored a team leading 27
points, added 10 rebounds and 3
blocked shots.
l.lovd Free is something else.
Don’t believe his critics when they
tell you about his poor defense. Free,
as a player can do it all He's quick,
strong and the possessor of the
deadliest jump shot in the NBA.
Tuesday night Free was holing 35
foot jumpers, putting on dazzling
moves to the hoop and playing, yes,
playing good team defense.
" I ’ve always played the game the
same way,” said a smiling Free,
"and it's hard for me to understand
why I receive bad press Especially
when I see guys like Maravich (Pete)
being praised around the league.”
1 readily agree. Free can do every
thing Maravich can and do them bet
ter. The press can make or break a
player.
A favorable press has made a
superstar of a player like Maravich,
while at the same time trying to
knock a good player, Lloyd Free,
down to his knees.
It’s good to see the young man
keep his head up and take the bad
knocks, while continuing to do his
thing . . . and believe me he’s doing
it.
San Diego, a team of misfits, are
going to make the play-offs. They
are a strong rebounding team with an
abundance of quickness . . . and man
Only the strong survive
by Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
When " F a s t” Eddie Jordan
starred in basketball at Archbishop
Carroll High School in Washington.
D C. he was one of several young
athletes making the headlines
throughout the talent rich area
Among the players Jordan played
against in high school were Adain
Dantley and Kenny Carr of Dematha
(Lakers), Larry Wright of Western
(Bullets), Larry Herron (Beligium),
Keith Herron (Blazers-Hawks),
Duck Williams (Notre Dame. Jazz),
Tony Martin (currently of OSU) and
James "Turkey” Tillman of Eastern
High, the fourth leading scorer in the
nation this season at Eastern Ken
tucky, who was eliminated in the
NCAA play-offs.
Not to mention the forerunners
like Elgin Baylor, Austin Carr, Dave
Bing, Fatty Taylor and John
Tresvant to name a few.
"T he competition was very in
tense,” said Jordan, a former all
metropolitan in high school and all-
American his senior year (1973).
“ And I’m not surprised at the num
ber of athletes from the area who are
now receiving national attention.”
W hat is the playground like?
" If a brother had some type of
talent, and could survive on the play
grounds he more than likely moved
to higher levels of play. Street ball is
more like a weeding out process, and
only the strong survive. It taught me
my basic skills," said Jordan.
“ Fast" Eddie survived enough to
attend Rutgers University in New
Brunswick, New Jersey where new
coach Tom Young was building a
program. Young saw Jordan play at
Carroll when he was the head coach
at American University in D.C.,
where Kermit Washington (Clippers)
had just graduated. Washington is
also a native of the nations capital.
Jordan, along with Phil Sellers,
Hollis Copeland, James Bailey and a
talented Rutgers team rose as high as
30-0 record before falling in the final
four twice in the 1977 NCAA tourna
ment. (They played in the 1976 NIT
also.) Jordan earned All-East, and
All-American honors his last two
years in college.
Jordan who was originally select
ed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in
1977, was released before the season.
“ There was a large group of guards
that year, and everyone was pretty
talented," he said. "I knew sooner
or later that someone had to be re
leased. so happens it turned out to be
me, but that’s how this game is.”
Fortunately, Jordan regained new
life in New Brunswick where the
people always loved him from his
days at Rutgers. The New Jersey
Nets play on the same floor where
"F ast” Eddie led his alma mater to
glory.
"The people here are beautiful,
and have been behind us 100 percent,
they are really starting to pick up since
we have a shot at the play-offs,” he
said.
Let Coach Kevin Loughery ex
plain. “ Ed can be labeled as one of
the biggest reasons for our team
being in play-off position,” said the
former NBA All-Star for the Bullets.
" H e ’s quick, plays great defense,
and is the quarterback of the team.”
Jordan's value to the Nets became
obvious when New Jersey dealt Eric
Money to Philadelphia in a mid-
1801 N.E. A lb e rta
can they score. Offensively Randy
Smith and Free are the best guard
duo in the game. Together they launch
jump shots from so far out that it
would put downtown Freddie Brown
to shame.
And. too, it's good to see Sidney
Wicks, ex-Blazer forward playing his
game again.
Sidney has apparently overcome a
few personal problems that seriously
threatened his career a year ago, and
is now beginning to play the game
the way we remember him in his days
with UCLA and the early years in
Portland.
Sure the fans in Portland town still
boo Sid, but the reasons for that are
obvious.
Why aren’t the Wicks' and the
Frees' of the NBA not appreciated
more?
Both are strong. Black ball players
and for some reason are not liked by
the media. I wonder why?
The Big Ten, long known for its
football prowess and seldom thought
of by basketball followers as a strong
conference, has now erupted as the
best. Check this out: when post
season play began the Big Ten was in
a dilemma Where most conferences
automatically send their champions
to the NCAA the Big Ten had not
one, but three champions . . . tri
champions — Michigan State, Pur
due and Iowa. Michigan State and
Iowa were selected to represent the
Big Ten in the NCAA, while Purdue
was joined by Indiana and Ohio
State in the NIT.
Last Saturday a national television
audience was thrilled by the magic of
Earvin Johnson and Greg Keiser as
the *4 ranked MSL Spartans destroy
ed the third ranking "fighting Irish”
from Notre Dame. And while all this
was going on in Cincinnati the other
three Big Ten teams in the NIT were
fighting it out in the semi-finals and
setting up an all Big Ten final.
Not only is it an all Big Ten final
but even more important it’s an all
Indiana final.
Indiana, long thought of as the hot
bed of basketball in the U.S. is cer
tainly making that old cliche look
good this year.
Larry Bird and his Indiana State
Seminoles are trying this weekend
to capture the NCAA crown and if
that happens the Hoosier state will
have acquired bragging rights for the
next fifty years.
And Larry Bird, 6’9" forward for
the ISU Seminoles was selected by
the coaches as the best collegiate
basketball player in the country. And
if Bird is the best, then I’m a nuclear
physicist and I know the struggles I
had with high school algebra.
How good is Bird? Larry Bird is a
good basketball player who can
shoot the eyes out of the basket. But
no better shooter than Lloyd Free.
Bird is a step slow and will have
trouble with defense in the NBA.
Remember a player out of Provi
dence, Ernie Digregorio? Well, "The
Bird" has the same skills as Ernie . . .
only Bird is bigger at 6’9 " . Just
wonder how good Lloyd Free would
be if he had blond hair and blue eyes
. . . Finally my picks for the NIT and
the NCAA. First the NIT champion
will be Purdue. L.B. Carroll, the big
7’1” center will be the difference.
Purdue by five.
In the NCAA it's Michigan State.
The magic and wizardry of Johnson
will be too much. Michigan State
Spartans will soundly whip Illinois
State Saturday, and will beat DePaul
for the championship on Monday
night.
SAFEWAY
o
E D D IE J O R D A N
season trade. Loughery went on to
say, "The whole team respects him
because he's always giving a 110 per
cent all the time, Eddie brings out the
best in the other guys,” he said.
The Nets, who have dropped eight
out of their last ten games are
struggling to make it back to their
natural habitat. They are the victims
of an "almost impossible time sche
dule trying to make stops on the
west coast." So far they’ve lost to the
Blazers 124-113 and to a hot Clipper-
dub 110-98, but bounced back to beat
the Piston's last night behind Jor
dan’s 29 points.
" I t ’s been rough for us on the
road ail season long,” said Jordan.
"But I think that by the time we
reach the end of the season, we will
be regrouped enough to make a run
in the eastern play-offs.
Against the Blazers, Jordan
scored 28 points, had eight steals,
and six rebounds in 48 minutes of
play. What more can a coach ask
for?
"A championship,” he quickly re
plied with a smile. Jordan is current
ly averaging 12.0 per game but over
the last twenty-five games he has
scored at a 18.0 dip. He also leads in
steals and assists.
The New Jersey Nets who sport
players like "Sometim es Super”
John Williamson, and the trouble
plagued Bernard King have a record
of 34-37 appear to be heading toward
the play-offs — maybe if the Blazers
moved back east with their 38-33 re
cord, their chances would be better .
SHORT SHAKES . . . Linnton
Community Center will sponsor its
third annual basketball featuring the
University of Portland Pilots. There
will be movies, free " T ” shirts (if
Nike acts right), autographed Blazer
basketball drawing, movies of the
NBA play-offs, etc. Date: March
31st. For further information con
tact Ullysses Tucker, Jr., Activities
Coordinator at 286-1344 (work),
287-7563 (home) or Micki Scott at
223-7413. Cost: SI; Ages 7-11, 9:30
-11:30 a.m.; Ages 12-16, 12:30-2:30
p.m. Spend a day with your favorite
Pilot!
DRAFT
WILL
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S.OII: 2 8 8 - 8 7 6 8
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