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
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The Salvation A rm y Basketball
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YOU!
J/M
2.7
87-81-8
T en nia ia believed to
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Playera h it the ball over
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WE'RE
HERETO
HELP
Ebony features 'small men'
Oonwa through Jan. 1
Fvovkmo
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T ra c y A u stin ia the
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• 226-2260
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