Page 12 Portland Observer, February 9,1963
John Lee, PCC builds basketball future
The green light is on for Portland
Com m unity College basketball, ac­
cording to coach John Lee.
T h e P C C basketb all p ro gram is
centered at the Cascade C am pus,
where for six years Lee has worked
toward building viable teams. Since
he came to the college, Lee has had
four winning seasons. Unfortunate­
ly, so far this year isn’t one o f them.
• •It’s been a frustrating season." he
says. "Alw ays close, but no cigar."
But Lee is lo o k in g a t the long
term. "T h is year we had such a big
turnout we had to add a junior var­
sity te a m .” he says. A fo rm er stu­
d e n t, H a ro ld A m os, coaches the
team which has won two out o f the
four local games it played this sea­
son.
Lee explains that since game sc he
duling is done a year in advance the
JV team has not had the opportun­
ity to play a lot o f games. The var­
sity team is another matter.
" O u r schedule has expanded," he
says. “ W e're trying to join the com­
m unity college league and our bud­
get is being beefed up in that direc­
tio n ."
T h e coach encourages his stu­
dents to go on to four year schools
and co n tin u e p layin g basketball
whenever possible. For that reason,
he'd like to see PC C rejoin the com­
munity college league.
" B a s k e tb a ll has been a trem en ­
dous vehicle to continuing an educa
tion. The way things are. kids need
all the help they can get.”
Regarding the current season, Lee
John Laa, PCC basketball coach, would Ilka to add to tha collage trophies.
says most of the games his team lost
were very close. “ A ll but a couple I
feel we should have w on .” he says.
" W e seemed to lose our concentra­
tion in the last two or three minutes
o f the game— when we need it most.
O v e ra ll, the kids are p la yin g real
w ell."
The PCC team got a boost begin­
ning in winter quarter in the form of
6-10 M a rtin Slaughter, a new stu­
dent who fo rm e rly played basket­
ball at North Bend High School.
" M a rtin 's a joy and a big morale
b o o ste r,” says Lee. " W e haven’ t
had a big man since I'v e been here
and that’s been a problem all along.
I ’ m not sure we know how to play
with him. but we’ re gonna try I ”
Convinced the team is ready for
league status, Lee aw aits P C C
board a p p ro v a l. " I ' m h o p efu l
things w ill go O K , " he says. " I f
they d o , w e 're read y. W e ’ ve got
good players and good support
from the adm inistration. The green
light is on for Cascade basketball."
Sport Talk
cago a fte r three years. H e im m e ­
d ia te ly became a sta lw a rt in the
Bulls* system. A fte r his C h icag o
contract expired Ricky was strange­
ly left dangling, the Bulls weren’r in­
terested any longer. So Ricky went
home and waited in his south subur­
ban home for a call. His agent noti­
fied the N B A th at his clien t was
both w illing and able. S till no call
cam e. I he Bulls nad o b ta in ed
Io w a 's 6-3 R onnie Lester and
th ou gh t he w ould m ore than f ill
their needs. W ell, midway through
December Lester’s gimpy knee gave
out. Ricky's wait was over. W ith in
two days he was signed and ready to
play. A fte r tw o weeks Sobers' play
was so good th at he was back in
C h ic a g o ’ s s ta rtin g line up. Then
Chicago coach Jerry Sloan allegedly
told friends that if it had been up to
him Sobers w ould have never left
the club. Ricky averaged 22.5 ppg
and 7 steals the rem ain d er o f the
season. And when Lester's knee a l­
Emergency food now
I f you need emergency fo od as­
sistance, the Northeast Emergency
Food Program (E F P ) can help. Any
in d iv id u a l or household in inner
Northeast Portland who finds them­
selves in an emergency, crisis situa­
tion. without food or any means to
get it, can get a tw o-day supply o f
nutritionally balanced food.
In order to get a food b ox, you
must first go to one of E F P ’s two re­
ferral agencies located in Northeast
P o rtla n d . Someone at the agency
will interview you, asking you to fill
our a form indicating your address,
the ages o f your household mem-
bers, the reason you need food and
other inform ation. The survey form
is being used to ensure that those
most in need are given top priority.
A fte r the interview q ualifies you,
the referral agency w ill give you a
card that you take to a food d istri­
bution center for a box o f food.
T h e re fe rra l are: N o rth ea st
N e ig h b o rh o o d O ffic e . 4815 N .E .
7 th , 24 8-4 575 . and U rb a n League
O ffice. 5329 N .E . Union, 288-6517.
EFP is sponsored by Albina M in ­
isterial Alliance, Caucus A o f Ecu­
menical M inistries, U rban League
and N ortheast N eighborhood O f-
All current eighth graders w ho are strong academically and
w ho can dem onstrate non-academic strength as w ell are
eligible to apply. The scholarships, each w orth $2500 a n n u ­
ally, w ill be aw arded on a com petitive basis w ith o u t regard
to sex, creed, race, national origin or fam ily income.
Deadline for application is M arch 1, 1983. Testing w ill take
place on the OES campus on Saturday, M arch 5. For ad d i­
tional inform ation, call M rs. Lois M cA lister at O regon Epis­
copal School.
by Ron Sykes,
Sports Editor
I f y o u 'v e ever been on a ro lle r
coaster ride, and if you’ve ever rode
high in A p ril only to be shot down
in M ay , then you are somewhat fa ­
m ilia r w ith and can relate to what
pro basketball player Ricky Sobers
goes through.
Sobers should be nicknamed " r e ­
cyclable" by his peers. Ricky came
out o f C o ach Jerrv T a rk a n ia n 's
I IN , V program with a tough guy la­
bel. He led "R ebels" on both scor­
ing and assists. His rebounding av­
erage 3.6 per game was good enough
to place him second in th at cate­
gory. Sobers at 6-4 and 195 pounds
was a can’ t miss pro prospect. The
Phoenix Suns used the eighth choice
in the first round to d ra ft the mus­
cu lar Sobers. R icky im m e d ia tely
signed and moved into the starting
lineup.
Sobers played the tough " D , ”
scored whenever needed and made
the good passes.
Inexplicably he was traded to Chi-
5
N E W $2500 F O U R -Y E A R M E R IT
S C H O L A R S H IP S A R E N O W B E IN G O F F E R E D
T O N E X T Y E A R 'S N IN T H G R A D E R S A T
O R E G O N E P IS C O P A L S C H O O L
lowed him once again to play, there
wasn't a spot for him on the starting
unit. Once again Sobers was resur­
rected.
A fte r perform ing b rillian tly d u r­
ing the 1980 season Sobers was once
again placed on waivers. N obody
called u ntil the Bulls again needed
help. Sobers was called and again
rcsponucU so w d l he bcvaulic a »tart­
er. Ricky again averaged better than
18 points a game and was the clutch
shooter the Bulls went to when the
game was close. So one would think
that by now M r. Sobers' N B A life
w ould be secure. A fte r all he had
proven time and time again that he
could p la y. H e had been so good
that the coaches selected him as (he
man to go to in crunch time. Right?
Wrong. Ricky was released again a f­
ter the '8 1-'82 season. It seemed like
the N B A career o f Ricky Sobers had
suddenly come to an end. M ost
owners were feeling the ill effects of
vailable
fice. It is a pilot program involving
the churches o f inner N o rth east
Portland in sharing their resources
big salaries and little attendance.
Some clubs were considering reduc­
ing their roster to 11, down from the
league's allow able 12. Some clubs
were even talking about carrying the
unheard o f complement o f 10. But
Io! and b eh old ! the struggling
W ashington Bullets needed help at
guard , and you know w ho was
called upon.
6300 S .W . Nicol Road
Portland, O regon 97223
(503) 246-7771
Sobers reported to the Bullets and
within two weeks was once again in
the starting unit. The versatile M r.
Sobers has relinquished his scoring
duties and now is content to get the
b all inside and play the good de­
fense. W ith Sobers in the lineup the
Bullets have compiled a 14-12 rec­
ord. It is rumored that Bernie Bick-
erstaff, Bullet assistant coach, is pri­
m arily the reason Ricky has resur­
faced.
Kudos to B ic k e rs ta ff and this
w riter is amazed that Bernie hasn't
been o ffere d a head coaching jo b
yet. Very interesting.
with those within the comm unity in
need o f them.
Review committee members sought
D is tric t 18 R epresentative Ed
Leek is lo o kin g fo r volunteers to
serve on a citizen C h a rte r Review
C o m m itte e . R epresentative Leek
announced the committee will make
a thorough study o f the Multnomah
County Charter. After holding pub­
lic hearings and m aking testimony,
the com m ittee w ill submit recom ­
mendations to the Board o f County
C om m issioners by August 1984.
A ny am endm ents to the charter
w ould be on the N o vem b er 1984
O R E G O N E P IS C O P A L S C H O O L
County ballot.
A c co rd in g to Representative
Leek, " M u ltn o m a h C ounty voters
saw the need in 1977 fo r a step by
step review o f our charter. A sensi­
ble approach like this w ill keep the
charter responsive to voters' co n ­
cerns.”
District 18 residents interested in
serving on the co m m ittee should
write Representative Leek at Room
366, State Capitol, Salem, 97310.
Alfalfa roots sometimes grow to a depth of 30 feet.
Leonardo Da Vinci could draw with one hand and
write with the other, almost simultaneously.
The word "b rid e" is derived from an ancient Ger­
manic word meaning "to cook."
The stethoscope was invented in the early 1800s by
Dr. Renee Laennec, in Paris.
Wo do not do businoto with South Africo.
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