December 5,1990—The Portland Observer - Page 5
• Portland Observer
THE LOCKER ROOM
Cliff Robinson: A Year Older and Wiser
BY ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
MARK BRYANT
BY: ULLYSSES TUCKER, JR.
ark Bryant is enjoying bas
ketball again this season.
Not only are the Trail Blaz­
ers winning games, Bryant, who suf­
fered through a lifetime of personal
adversity in one season, is contribut­
ing strong off the deep blazer bench
and living up to the promise that made
him a first round pick in 1988.
“ Night and day,” he said, com ­
paring the two seasons.’ ’Last year was
tough on me. 1 went through a lot with
Ramon (Ramos) and I lost my mom
and aunt in a car accident. I ’ve grown
a lot since then.”
Bryants emotional roller coaster
started last summer when he and his
wife, Shelly, lost most o f their posses­
sions in a fire. In December of 1989,
his best friend Ramon Ramos, a team ­
mate at Seton Hall, was nearly killed
in a car accident. Ramos was in a
com a for several months before m i­
raculous recovery. This past Febru­
ary, Bryant lost his mother and aunt in
a car accident. Bryants’ brother survived
the crash. Throw in a couple o f nagging
injuries, decreased playing time with the
acquisition of Buck W illiams, and you
end up with a season Bryant can not
forget. Com pared to his rookie season,
Bryants’ minutes decreased dramatically
and he handled it like a true professional.
“ M ark is a totally different player
this season ” , said Clyde Drexler. “ He is
much more relaxed and com fortable. He
is also looking for his shot more and
going aggressively to the boards. He
went through so much for one person last
year. We all have a great deal o f respect
for him and how he handled the situ­
ations. Mark has plenty o f character and
he is a survivor. I admire him a lo t.”
A graduate of Columbia High School
in South Orange, NJ, Bryant spent the
sum m er working out and with his fam ­
ily. They are all much closer. Bryant,
when he w asn’t around the people he
cared about the most, polished up his
game. He worked hard on his jum p shot,
low-post moves, and confidence. He came
back to Portland on a mission to make
the 12 man roster. W ith the blazers draft­
ing 6-10 A laa Abdelnaby in the first
round o f the draft (90), rumors persisted
that Bryant was trade bait. Bryant ig­
nored the trade winds and had the best
training cam p of his professional career.
“ I know that 1 can play in the NBA” ,
he said. “ I t’s just a m atter of getting the
minutes. M inutes are im portant you
know .” Though he is averaging only
four points and three rebounds per
game, Bryants’ contributions have been
greater. He played some quality m in­
utes behind Buck Williams and worked
hard defensively. Against the G olden
State W arriors, Bryant scored 8 points
and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 143-119
victory. He played twenty minutes.
Bryant also played big down the stretch
against the Seattle Supersonics in the
Blazers Triple overtime victory.
“ My only expectation this year
was to get 7-8 boards a game and work
hard,” said Bryant. “ We have a very
deep team. All I want to do is contrib­
ute and win some basketball games.
We learned a great deal last year in the
NBA Finals and I also learned som e­
thing about myself. I ’m a stronger
person than last season.”
Some critics suggest that Bryant
is playing hard because he is in the
middle o f a four year contract with the
Blazers. He is signed through the 1991-
1992 season. All the Blazers were smart
considering the age of Buck W illiam s
and the difficulty in finding a tough
rebounder they would extend his con­
tract soon. Big, tough rebounders are
hard to find. “ I know that I can play in
this league’ ’, he said. “ Its ju st a m atter
of patience.”
Portland TrailBlazer center/
forward C liff Robinson wants people to
one day mention his name in the same
breath as Ricky Pierce o f M ilwaukee,
Eddie Johnson o f Phoenix, and McHale
of Boston when it com es to playing the
sixth man spot or productivity off the
bench. Depending on the flow o f the
basketball game, Robinson or teammate
Danny Aingc could be the first player
off the bench for coach Rick Adelman.
Ah, the luxury o f having a bench in the
NBA and the best record in the league
can save a coach some.
Robinson, a second round draft
pick in 1989 out o f Connecticut, has
really silenced his critics this season
with some excellent play. Often criti­
cized for his shot selection and inconsis­
tent play last year, Robinson entered the
1990-91 season stronger physically, more
mature in his gam e, and wiser. H e’s
been around the NBA block once. Now,
Robinson says that he knows the deal.
“ I’m showing people the type
of playing that I can be and and c a p a l'
of being,” he said. “ This is just my sec­
ond year. I still have a long ways to go
and there needs to be im provem ent in
other areas.”
Last season, Robinson showed
flashes of greatness offensively and more
than held his own defensively. He ended
the season shooting a dismal .397 from
the field and .558 from the charity stripe.
Currently, he is averaging 11.4 (up from
9.1) and shooting .571 from th field.
He is third only to Buck W illiams (.667,
second in the NBA) and Danny Ainge
(.581, sixth in the NBA) on the B lazers’
team. Robinson is ranked ninth among
sharpshooters in the league. C liff has
learned to take what the opposition is
giving him.
“ I ’m reading situations much
better,” he said. “ I’m looking to take it
to the basketball more than I was last
year and looking to make things happen
for the team instead of making it diffi­
cult. This way, we still get easier oppor­
tunities.” Robinson has treated the fans
with his traditional jum per, but now he
is driving to the basket hard for lay-ups
and dunking on people.
“ It’s just a m atter of me look­
ing at the league and looking at my situ­
ation and realize that I’m capable of ex ­
celling at my position in this league. I
have a lot more confidence this year.”
Buck W illiam s, star power
forward and locker room neighbor of
Robinson, knows well the ups and downs
a rookie goes through in the NBA. He
has seen a great many rookies com e and
go in his nine-plus years in the League.
W hen questioned about R obinson's
developm ent and maturity com pared to
last year, Buck laughed and looked over
to his neighbor.
* ‘I haven ’ t seen any,’ ’ he joked.
“ I think C L iff has really com e back
strong this year and worked very hard on
his game. He has always had the talent.
This year, he really understands what he
has to do with it and w hat it takes to be
a good ball player. He had to m ore or
less feel the league out and get an idea s
to what it takes to get off in this league.
His biggest im provem ent has com e in
the area of attitude. Now, if he has a bad
first half, he knows that he can come
back strong in the second half. H e’s
only going to get better.”
W hen he talks about the cur­
rent season, Robinson gets excited about
his progress and excellent play. He talks
about his goals and expectations for ’90-
’91.
“ All I want to do is take one
day at a tim e,” he said. “ I feel really
good right now. I just want to relax and
play. I’m not going to worry about the
refs or how much time I’m getting. Those
things can be a distraction. W hen I go
in, I ’m going to play hard and do w hat I
have to d o .”
As far as winning the N B A ’s
Sixth Man Award or competing for it,
Robinson says it’s no big deal. If it
happens, so be it, is his attitude. “ It’s
just good to contributing, playing good,
and being on a contender...” With Robin­
so n ’s inspired play, the Blazer will defi­
nitely do that: contend for the NBA
title.
Ismail best player despite numbers
by A a ro n Fentress
PORTtflWUifetRVK
Ty Dctmer ended the 1990 college football season with
a performance that will always remind of us that no man is
ever the best. Simply great for a mom ent or two.
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Just hours after winning the 56lh Heisman trophy
D ctmer proceeded to throw four first half interceptions
against Hawaii. The cougars o f B YU lost 59-28. And Dctmer
lost some respect.
Heading into the Heisman announcem ent Detmcr was
the clear favorite as far as statistics were concerned. 4,869
yards passing, 66 % completions, 38 touchdown passes and
oh yeah, a questionable 24 interceptions. Aside from the
interceptions one would have to consider Dctmer the winner
easy. But you must consider the interceptions. You must
consider the five picks he threw against Oregon, and the five
against Air Force. You must consider all the factors which
present themselves when selecting the Heisman trophy winner.
After al 1 isn ’ t the award supposed to go to the best player. Not
his numbers.
The problem with the Heisman is the priority placed on
statistics. That’s why a quarterback or running back wins the
award annually. There aren't statistics that can glorify
anyotherposition like yards and touchdowns glorify the
quarterback and running back position, Prior to D ctm er’s
winning of the Heisman he was asked why he thought no
other B YU quarterback had ever won the Heisman. Preced­
ing Dctmer in B YU history were the likes o f Robby Bosco,
Steve Young, Jim McMahon and Marc W ilson. For Detmcr
to answ er the question why doesn’t he simply look at the list
o f his predecessors. Only M cMahon w enton to som cachicve
somewhat o f a pro career. Young backs up Montana for a
million a year while the thrice waived W ilson has lead New
England to a 1-10 record this season. As for Bosco, I ’m not
sure what ever happened to him. Despite their numbers were
they better than the Bo Jacksons, Marcus Allen's or John
Elway’s who won Heismans in the eighties ? In a word, no.
The fact is that aside from McMahon in 1982 no other
B YU quarterback should have been considered for the award.
And none were.
The argument for Dctmer, as I’ve stated, lies within his
statistics. As boisterous as they may be let me remind you that
every quarterback who has played for B YU in the eighties has
passed for similar numbers. Is it the man or the offense. Do
you think Oregon quarterback Bill Musgrave could pass for
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photo by Veronica Green
Rookie running back Chris Warren celebrates scoring the touchdown that
gives Seattle a 7-3 lead over Houston in the 2nd quarter Seattle wins the
game in overtime on a 42 yard field goal kick by Norm Johnson.
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In addition to being the world’s
oldest and most prestigious dis­
tance race, the Boston M arathon
also has the longest-standing inter­
national following of any distance
race outside of the Olympics. In
fact, in its 94-year history, athletes
from 19 different countries have
become Boston champions.
In the 1980s, however, a num ­
ber of other m arathons began of­
fering substantial prize money to
attra ct top international athletes.
To remain competitive, Boston’s race
officials recruited corporate spon­
sors to offer runners sim ilar incen­
tives to compete.
One of those sponsors provided
not only financial support, but a
simple and immediate m eans to
communicate with the athletes.
Ricoh Corporation, the official fac­
simile sponsor of the 1992 Olym­
pics, provided the race’s organizers
with facsimile machines, which are
capable of delivering a document
the 26.2-mile distance of the Bos­
ton M arathon—or even around the
world—in less than a m inute, over
regular telephone lines. T hat’s less
time than it takes to lace up a pair
of running shoes.
The Boston Athletic Association,
the race’s organizers, uses the Ri­
coh fax for the majority of its corre­
spondence with runners, w hether
in the nearby suburbs of M assa­
chusetts or the distant cities of
Kenya. The fax machines are used
to track down information on top
runners around the world, from
biographical information to data
on their recent competitions, and
even to gather the travel itin erar­
ies of international runners. “W ith­
out the fax, keeping track of the
histories and travel plans of so many
runners, especially internationally,
would be quite difficult,” said Guy
Morse, race director. The fax is also
used to distribute information to
the national media. And even some
international race applications
arrive over the machines!
There is some irony in all ofthis.
The world's first marathoner is said
to have been a Greek messenger
who ran an extraordinary distance
from Athens to S parta exclaiming
victory in the battle at Marathon.
Today, he would have simply faxed
the message and run to S parta for
the competitive thrill
4,869 yards if given 517 attem pts? You bet. And when the
NFL draft comes along (although D etmer is a junior and
Musgraves a senior bare with me in my comparison) you can
bet again as to who will be drafted first. M usgrave, without
a doubt. Detmers not that gobd. H e'w as simply in the right
place at the right time. The best player in the nation is Raghib
Ismail.
For those who love the num bers game, as I, Ism ail’s
numbers come across stale until you exam ine the diversity of
them.
As a running back Ismail gained 702 yards. As a
receiver Ismail gained 537 yards. Now here’s where it gets
interesting. As a kick returner Ismail gained 487 yards. Add
them together and you have 1,723 all-purpose yards. Ah, the
diversity.
No one player fn the nation does more things for their
team than Ismail. If he had rushed for 1,723 yards or caught
passes for 1,723 yards he would have won the Heisman. But
because he spread out his numbers over three different
categories the best player in the nation was left as the brides
maid to D etm er’s wedding.
The key to Ism ail’s low individual numbers are the
amounts of times he touched the ball. To gain those 702 yards
rushing Ismail touched the ball only 88 times giving him a
pcr-carry average o f eight yards. To gain those 537 yards
receiving Ismail had to catch 24 passes giving him a 22 yards
per-catch average.
“If there is a better player in the nation,” said Miami
Hurricanes coach Dennis Erickson after his ‘Canes ran into
Ismail. “I haven’t seen him.” Erickson barely saw Ismail as
he burned the Hurricanes for a 94 yard kick-off return that
won the game for Notre Dame.
In two years when Detmer is struggling to make an
NFL team the nation will be witnessing Ismail ascending to
stardom in the NFL. B YU will go on without D etmer and try
and push the Heisman hopes of another quarterback. BYU
will be the same without Detmer, he’s replaceable. Ismail is
not. It’s no coincidence that Notre D am e’s two losses this
season came due to the fact that Ismail was unable to perform.
As for B Y U ’s three losses. Will D etmer threw a total o f 13
interceptions in those three games. Enough said.
For you 4*t’e r fans: Two weeks ago I said that the
Giants would defeat the 4 9 ’ers on Monday Night. I filled
these pages with every reason I could think of to support my
prediction o f a G iant’s triumph. I was wrong.
: w »xwi-wwz
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