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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1981)
p* n* 14 Portland Observer, October 15,1981 Blazers ready Darnell Valentine comes on board by Ullvssts Tucker, Jr. Observer reporter Ullysses T ucker, Jr. interview s Darnell Valentine. (Photo: Jimmy Robinson! Swneev. October t | i t * Francise« at C r w n Sav 'S a T a m o i S a * a» Oakland. I p.m BvMato at New York Jan Hovston I t 1 « Enbland New Orteani i t Cleveland Ftoladeiabia at Mmnesata Fittoburpn at Cmcmnah St Lewis at A n a n u During a 15-minute ceremony Sunday night at the Memorial Colis eum Dave Twardzik, G eoff Petrie and Larry Steele had their jerseys re tired. And thus joined the likes of Boston’s John Havlicek, Bill Rus sell, Dave Cowens and Bob Cousy. It was a fine gesture by Blazer personnel., .but was it deserving? By no means are we suggesting that the aforementioned Blazer group weren’t good players, but just always believed that this, the re tiring of jerseys, was for the all-time greats. One would have to expect that Kareem Abdul Jabbar would certainly be the last player ever to wear the purple and gold number 33 for the LA Lakers. And nobody should ever don the 13 worn so many years by W ilt Chamberlain. But were Petrie, Steele and Tward zik in the same class? Not hardly. I f the current Blazer policy pre vails they will soon have more jer seys hanging from the rafters than Boston has championship pennants Warnt neton at M iam i San Diese a« Baltim era New York Giants at Seattle nenver at Kansas City Las Anpeiei i t Dallas, n.. M oodi» October >» Chiciao at Detrait, a p m Gross stopped by surgery. FORD 1313 N.E. 122nd Ave. According to Blazer rookie Dar nell Valentine, the first round pick in the 1981 college d raft and •‘sparkplug" of the team's 1-1 pre season record, his biggest adjust ment has been trying to get over the dream of playing at the N.B .A . lev el. "B asketball is basketball any where you go but it’s like I ’m in a fantasy here and I'm learning to get over the dream," he said. A product o f the University o f Kansas where he learned to play se- ious and aggressive defense under Ted Owens, Valentine has added a dimension to the Blazer attack that was non-existent last year. M ike Gale was considered the only defen sive guard on the roster last season. Jack Ramsey explains. " H e has played great," he said. "W e drafted him because o f what he could add to the team defensively and he really picks us up. Darnell needs some toning on his offense because sometime he forces things but he’s a goer. He's very positive and I think he will do well in this league." In four years at the University of Kansas, Valentine scored 1,821 points, grabbed 408 rebounds, and sported a college career scoring av erage of 15.4. He was named to the Sporting News A ll American Team in 1979 and 1981; he was also a member o f the U.S. Olympic team in 1980. When questioned about playing with the com bination o f Jim Paxson. Billy Ray " D r in k Your Milk Baby" Bates, and Kelvin Ran- sey, Valentine said that it has been a rewarding learning experience. “ As far as experience is con cerned, they really help me out be cause they always mention situa hanging from atop the Boston Gar den. The Blazers went looking in the 1981 college draft for a big man. What they got was Darnell Valen tine, 6 -1, guard out of Kansas, who is fast proving that he is a big man. Valentine simply can play. Portland fans will like this little dynamo who plays defense like you wouldn’t believe. Kelvin Ransey again appears slightly overweight. The duo of Val entine and Billy Ray Bates, called the second unit, appears at this point better than Jim Paxson and Kelvin Ransey. Bates is simply awe some. With the new rules, that in sure opening o f the middle, his game will simply flourish. Bates’ play will demand more than the I0- 15 minutes he was on the court last year. Mychal Thompson, the new cen ter, agreed during the summer to sacrifice his scoring to focus more on defense and rebounding. Now he’s being criticized for not scoring, something he’s always been able to do. No justice. And Law dy, Law d, but isn't Reggie great. You could just tell by tions on the court that I ’ ve never seen before since I haven't played on this level. We are all young and have a lot o f energy and I think playing together will be very com plementary." Kelvin Ransey agreed. " I think he is a nice guy and he is going to do well. Darnell is playing at both ends of the floor and people thought that he couldn't score. He has been our pre-season sparkplug and is easy to work with." Ransey put aside the thought of losing his starting point guard posi tion to young Valentine who runs as well as the Ohio State product and plays both guards. " I t ’s not a matter of him beating me out or my beating him out,” he said. "W hat it boils down to is who is playing the best basketball. I feel real good about the situation be cause I know that if I'm playing bad, I have someone on the bench who can pick up the slack." Billy Ray Bates puts it simply: " I t ’s great to have two fine leader ship guards on the same team. Knowing that both of them can get the job done adds a lot o f co n fi dence to the ballculb. I like the way he gets out and runs because I love to run. I ’m looking forward to this season.” So is Valentine, who like most rookies in the N .B .A ., will have his highs and lows during the course of the season. He says that the Blazers have made him feel relaxed and there’s hardly any pressure. "Jack Ramsey is a very know ledgeable coach and I respect him a great dea. He speaks on the game of basketball that's easy to identify with and he takes the time to show me my mistakes and where I'm do ing well. I feel good about being a part of this fine organization," he said. Will Kermit lead the Blazers to the NBA Championship? Keep In touch with the Portland Observer. Portland boxers w in fights Portland light-heavyweight James Williams pulled a unanimous deci sion upset over Jesse Bynett of Los Angeles. Bynett is ranked No. 3 in the W'orld Boxing Council ratings. Portland's D aryl Penn won a unanimous middleweight decision over Sugar Ray Phillips of Dallas, Texas. W etch for Curtis Ram say, soon to appear at the Marriott. (right) Sunday. Reggie singlehandedly put the Yanks ahead and the momen tum quickly swung to N.Y with that tremendous three-run shot. Steinbrenner was later to say, “ That home run of Rick's (CeroneJ in the seventh was the one that broke their backs.” Cerone’s maybe provided the icing on the cake, but it was Jackson's blast that brought the Yanks from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 lead, thus breaking M ilw au kie’ s back. And wasn’t it electrifying just watching Reggie circle the bases head down as only he can do? Okay, so it’s time to pick a world series winner. The Dodgers vs Mon treal should be a good one. Both teams are evenly matched, both have key players, Tim Raines and Ron Cey, returning o ff injuries. The cold Montreal weather will be a fac tor. But, then, it will be equally cold for both. My pick is the Dodgers. They’ve been there so many times before and will probably perform a little better under the pressure. Dus DAVE TWARDZIK ty Baker and Steve Garvey will con his determined look that Reggie was tinue to deliver. The Dodgers 3-2. going to hit one in that fourth in The American League champion ning rally in the deciding fifth game ship will be decided by a whistle. M il There w ill be no runaway games. The Oakland As are scrappers, they will fight, scratch, claw until the end. The Yanks will rely on their power. This is a classic confronta tion-pow er (Yanks) against finesse (A s). My pick is N .Y . in a dog fight. And can anyone believe that in this day of the wide-receivers, the hot backs and multi-talented QBs that a pro team would be shut out three times in a row? Well, the Oak land Raiders have. And believe me heads arc going to roll. The first will be last year’s Super Bowl M V P Jim Plunkett. And Hooray for the 49ers. San Francisco’s thrashing o f Dallas should show skeptics (hat they are no longer patsies. A revised defense led by Ronnie Lott, USC and Eric Wright. Missouri, has the 49ers on a roll. Where is he now? Ken Houston, who retired from the NFL last year after ,4 highly successful seasons, is now teaching school. Houston, who finished his career with Washington in 1980, is a first year school teacher at Sterling High School in Southeast Houston. I f you ’ve been waiting fo r the right time to buy a new or used car or truck— This is your chancel Pisase call "Pepper" on the Hotline at 266-1771. You have a friend in the business! N.E. 122nd & Halsey MR OCTOBER i I
