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 |
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Hovston I t 1 « Enbland
New Orteani i t Cleveland
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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
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