Portland Observer, January 7,1982 Page 9
Welcome to the NBA
TENNIS TRIVIA
by Ultyues Tucker, Jr.
National Basketball Association
critics and scouts labeled form er
Oregon State University basketball
star Steve Johnson as slow, a mod­
ern day axe man since he fouled out
so much in college, and not aggres­
sive.
Six clubs selected players before
the Kansas C ity Kings made the
6-10W 235-pounder th e ir firs t-
round pick in the 1981 college draft.
Johnson missed the K in g ’ s rookie
camp because o f contract hassles
and came to work camp a few
pounds overweight.
A ccording to C o tto n F itzs im ­
mons, head coach o f the Kings,
Johnson, a Sporting News A ll-A m ­
erican last season and a tw o-tim e
N C A A field goal percentage leader
has really been a blessing to his or­
ganization this season.
A fte r the Kings dropped a 127-
116 game to the P o rtla n d T r a il­
blazers in which Johnson scored an
N B A career high o f 33 points and
grabbed 18 rebounds before fouling
out, Fitzsimmons made the follow­
ing comment about his big center’s
progress as a pro.
“ Steve is really learning the game.
He must stop m aking the stupid
fouls and the simple mistakes. He
played a good game but Steve can
block shots belter, rebound better,
think belter, and block shots better.
He is a good person also.
“ We drafted him as our center of
the futu re and we w ill be patient
with him. He's going to be a great
player w ith tim e and people are
going to have an awfully tough time
checking him inside. I like him be­
cause he is smart and he listens
well,’’ he said.
Johnson, who sported a 17.5
point career scoring average at Ore­
gon State under the d irectio n o f
Ralph M ille r agreed with what his
coach had to say about him.
“ Yeah. I ’ m really learning the
game o f basketball all over again,”
he said. “ I ’ ve been w o rkin g very
hard and I ’ m happy w ith my p ro­
gress. Tonight was by far my best
game as a professional and I look
forward to some more o f them.”
W hat has been your biggest ad­
justm ent fro m college to the
NBA?
“ In the beginning, I had a tough
time because the coach had me play­
ing w ith my face to the basket. I
wasn’t used to it and I had little con­
fidence in my game out there. Once
he put me back down low where I
felt c o m fo rta b le , I got my c o n fi­
dence back and I started to play bet­
ter basketball. C an ’ t nobody stop
my hook once I get it going— i t ’ s
to u g h ,” he smiled. " I like it more
down around the basket."
When questioned about (he warm
reception that the Portland crowd
gave h im , Johnson laughed and
wondered why they stopped cheer­
ing for him a fte r scoring Kansas
C ity ’s first six points.
“ Oregon has been good to m e,”
he said. “ I still consider it my home
and I always will. With all the cities
I see around the country, it's d iffi­
cult to get up for every game but it
wasn’ t hard here. I felt like I was
home. I could tell that some people
wanted to cheer me on but I was
playing against their team.”
Johnson received that special ac­
knowledgement from the Portland
crowd, but not before he fouled out
during the overtime and laying face
down on the flo o r out o f fru stra ­
STEVE JOHNSON
tion. He picked himself up o ff the
floor and walked slowly toward the
used to playing that many minutes
Ford) have forced me to play. I ’ m
bench to a standing ovation.
(37) but the injuries ( C l if f R o b in ­
gonna have to get used to it— life is
" I was tire d ,” he said. “ I'm not
son, H aw keye W h itn e y , and P h il
tough in this league, believe m e.”
Final College Top 2 0
Eight o f the smallest players in
bald o f the Boston Celtics, and the
the National Basketball Association
littlcst player in the N B A : 5 ' 8 ’
are featured in the January issue o f
Charley Criss o f the Atlanta Hawks.
Ebony.
Eight little men (six feet and un­
der) will tell you that height is not
the only thing that makes a good
basketball player. Survival, in the j ’ |
N B A , for these men has depended
on their speed, quickness, endur
ance, and brains.
No matter how smart or quick he
is the short player still has a rough
way to go. In the last NBA draft o f
college players less than ten small
men were chosen. M ost o f those
draft picks were dropped before the
OPPONENTS
Rank
Team
1 O o m o on
2 P a n n tl
1 Rtttabwgh
S 11.1-0
4
Nooraako
h
9
8 M. U.
9 10-1-0
•
T m m
e 10-1-1
s 10-2-0
9 3 -0
A m
kAvntei
or Victory
184
17 4
1 68
•• 18 9
20 7
AaOng
1000
980
956
'-8 3 8
.837
• Michigan
• Miami. Fionda
10 ArtionaBtata
12
10
•
0-3-0
9-2-0
9-2-0
8 7
208
18 t
• 1
18 3
t i Aieeetvts
r 9-2-1
18 10-2-0
19 10-2-0
11 0 -3 0
1« 9 3 -0
12 1
92
188
10 3
112
809
809
807
.801
123
88
88
82
98
770
738
734
728
r Oaorgta
12
12 N. CaroOna
14 U t. c.
IS Ohio Stata
1« Oklahoma
17 U C L A
ia lows
i t Mtea Bt
20 Mtetourt
—
13
14
—
—
7-4-1
7-4-1
8-4-0
8-4-0
8-4-0
PERFomtANcea
Avg. Margin
•Racord of Victory
68-84-1
26
83-39-2
62
76-46-1
1 8
-1 2
.919
.917
898
979
982
70-90-9
88-57-1
68-58-1
71-42-2
58-53-4
28
-0 3
-0 9
40
1.0
MB
88-54-3
56-65-3
82-59-2
88-55-3
62-81-0
-0 7
-1 .8
-1.8
14
-1 .8
73-62-2
73-52-0
89-84-2
83-59-4
87-88-3
0 3
4 3
0 7
-o e
-0 3
770
WENDELL BROWN
ALAN MOLDEN
Sates Représentative
Sales Representative
Expert consultation on your transportation
needs on both new and used cars.
RON TONKIN
CHEVROLET-HONDA CO
122 N.E. 122nd Ave.
U lw O y N r M Ib r v ic «
FISHER
10115 S.E. STARK®
• 226-2260
season began.
Some o f the small men who have
attained success include Rickey
Green o f the Utah Jazz, Nate Archi­
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AT, PS, Air, Roof Rack, Cruise Control, A M /F M /Tape plus
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Saturday Basketball League
The Salvation A rm y Basketball
League has completed its second
week o f com petition. The next
games will be played at P .C .C Jan­
uary 9 th , between 11 am and 3:30
pm. The current standings are as
follows:
YOU!
J/M
2.7
87-81-8
T en nia ia believed to
have o rigin ated in Prance
betw een 1 1 0 0 and 1 2 0 0 .
Playera h it the ball over
th e net w ith th e ir handa.
WE'RE
HERETO
HELP
Ebony features 'small men'
Oonwa through Jan. 1
Fvovkmo
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Record
2 12-00
4 10-2-0
T ra c y A u stin ia the
youngeat p ro a th la ta ever
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o n the pro tou r.
Alexander's Landscaping
Portland Tab
Lee Aces
Moore St./Blues
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Jackson Five
1975 VW Bug
2-0
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1-1
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1979 Datsun Pickup
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□ WEEKEND RATES - ’15®«
I I MAJOR CREDIT CARDS OR CASH
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1978 Honda Accord
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than ever
This brand new Farmers
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284-9999
4 cyl, AT, A M /F M , sunroof #31930...........................................
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10115 S.E. STARK ♦
• 226-2260
*
J| O P
I "T vU