University of South Carolina Libraries
}.i4 Crashing in Sophomore forward Tommy Cox leans in for a basket in freshman action of last season. Cox was the leading frosh scorer with an average per contest of 24.0. Indiana winning with strict style BY DOUG WILLIAMS Sports Editor When Bob Knight arrived at Indiana from West Point, one of the first things he did was to lecture his team on how to play controlled, disciplined basketball. His efforts evidently payed off, as the first-year coach guided the Hoosiers to a 17-8 regular season mark and a bid to New York's National Invitational Tournament. And with a year of learning behind them, to say nothing of the fact that four starters are back, Knight's squad is in prime position to challenge Michigan for the Big Ten championship. However, there is one extremely big if, and that comes in the person of 6-8, 220-pound Steve Downing. Downing, who averaged 17.5 points and 15.1 rebounds, is recovering from a knee injury and how well he performs will be a definite key to the Hoosiers' season. If Downing comes off the injury successfully, he will be joined in the front court by veteran forward John-Ritter (14 ppg) and either 6-7 sophomore Steve Green (24.3 ppg as a freshman) or 6-5 John Laskowski (17.0 ppg), also~ a soph. Green and Laskowski will have to provide enough firepower to offset the loss of 6-7 Jol,y Wright, who graduated. defense, yielding 1,678 points for a 67.1 average. The key to Knight's defensive success is 6-3 returning guard Frank Wilson, who plays tenaciously though he only scored 7.4 points per game last year. Also returning in this low-scoring backcourt is 5-8 midget Bootsie White, who is known more for his passing than for his scoring ability (6.6 ppg). With four starters back, it would appear that Knight will have his most talented players in the starting five. But such may not be the case. After a recruitting battle with UCLA and Michigan, Indiana landed the highly-coveted Quinn Buckner, a 6-3 guard who led his high school team to two consecutive Illinois state championships. Even though he will be arriving late after a season of football, White's guard spot may not be too secure. For Knight was quoted as saying that Buckner could start for any team in the country as a freshman. And that takes some pretty good schools into consideration. But with or without the talents of Buckner, Indiana will still have to depend a great deal on Downing, who was the 11th best rebounder in the country last year. However, any offensive additions Buckner can make will be greatly appreciated by Hoosier fans, as Downing, Ritter, Laskowski and Green cannot be expected to shoulder the entire offen sive burden. Villanc mid-M BY JIM HERSH Sports Writer Somehow Villanova and Carolina seem to end up playing each other two or three times a year. Last year they didn't have each other on their regular season schedule, yet they wound up meeting on the same court twice. This year they went ahead and set up a regular season encounter and later learned that they would find themselves on the Madison Square Garden court at the same time for the Holiday Festival. In the Quaker City Classic last December Villanova edged the Gamecocks, 77-76, in the finals. Carolina got partial revenge by beating the Wil dcats in the consolation game of the NCAA Eastern Regionals. The Villanova-USC match ups are always fascinating. It's the Villanova Philadelphia-type guards against Carolina's New York guards. The styles are always compared and a victory for the team means a victory for that style of guard play. In December Tom Ingelsby chalked up a victory for the Philly-types by scoring 28 points, including the winning free throws with five seconds left, while leading the Wildcats to the win. But in March the New Yorkers stopped Ingelsby and Villanova. Victory for the New Yorkers. Ingelsby is back for his senior year. So is Villanova's other guard, Ed Hastings. And look who the USC guards are. Kevin Joyce and Brian Winters, both New Yorkers. It'll be the Philly against New York battle again. Unfortunately for the Wil dcats they are missing Hank Siemiontkowski and Chris Ford, standouts on last year's team. They take three years of experi ence with them. Jack Kraft, Vil lanova's 12-year coach, doesn't use his bench much and there very inexperienced men in the frontcourt. The other starters to go with Moody up front will come from a group of totally new men. Bob Sebastian, a 6-6 sophomore, is touted as a good shooter. Mike Connelly, also 6-6, is a transfer from William& Mary. Mike Stack may find himself in the Big 5 wars as a freshman. With two of the Cats' starters having never playing one sec Help. Our Cities. Our Oceans. Our Trees. Our Towns. Our Forests. Our Rivers. va may arch at ond of college basketball at Vil lanova it is no wonder that Kraft is not as anxious for this year as he has been in past years. For a man who has taken his team to 11 post-season tourneys in his 11 years it is probably a little frightening to realize that he may not make it this time. Many people, especially those who have been acquainted with Villanova basketball for the past 11 years, refuse to believe that the Wildcats will not make it to the NIT, at least. To do that Villanova would have to win around 16 games. Quality r guide Li BY DOUG Sports In mid-February last year, on a little trip to Las Vegas. with some small Nevada scho( for an encounter with talent Everybody had a pretty go Nevada-Las Vegas seemed a] However, backed by a ho Nevadans threw quite a scare 84-81. But the amazing think wasn't even on the court. Bec sonally destroying a pickup i liminary game. Sophomore Jim Baker is so ketball Association coaches s fessionally right now. The 6 the tools, and is already bei the West Coast Athletic Cor he has yet to see varsity actic (37.7 ppg), rebounds well (2 considered a good overall tec Joinin , Baker will be a coi tions, 6.10 Dan Weimer and abilitie:, could force last sea the year, Bob Florence, to m, UNLV head coach John Ba 6-5 Flore'ice te guard will aid averaged '2.3 points with las Florence an.i Taylor must t to make UNLV fans forget on quite a performance in ti year. Bayer's chief problem is o inexperience and depth are la Harry Shaw and Ralph Pierc Yet the height, to say nothira lies in the frontcourt should the not-so-strong WCAC. But regardless of height a still going to be highly inexpel ful University of San Franci The Rebels face Southwester first two games, then meet ( after the other. So Bayer's boys are going the world of big-time college for certain: UNLV will be a nr 14-12 squad of 1971 despite t cially with 14 home games ii Las Vegas Convention Center, to the floor than the officials It's a good bet in Las Vegas to turn a lot of heads in the u spend home Against an easy schedule 16 wins would be conceivable. But the Wildcats have four tough games with Big 5 schools, Provi dence, St. John's, St. Bonaven ture and two games with Carolina on the schedule. That's not the type of schedule that you can break two entirely green frontcourt men into and still expect to win. For the first time in 11 sea sons Kraft, Villanova fans and Wildcat basketball players themselves may find them selves with an idle week-end in the middle of March. ookies is Vegas WILLIAMS Editor Frank McGuire took his team Supposedly for a scrimmage )l that would serve as a tune-up ed Houston a few days later. iod time and the game with most incidental. wling mob of supporters, the into USC before finally falling g was, the best UNLV player ause he had just finished per group of amateurs in the pre good that some National Bas ay he could start playing pro -9 Philadelphia native has all ng touted as the best player iference has to offer, though n. He can shoot with accuracy 2.4 average) and is generally im player. iple of other freshman sensa 6-11 Jim Cunningham. Their son's WCAC co-sophomore of >ve into the backcourt. yer hopes that the moving of sophomore Eddie Taylor, who t year's 16-5 frosh squad. For oth come through brilliantly Booker Washington, who put ie game against Carolina last bviously at guard where both eking, though he has redshirts y on hand should all else fail. g at all of the potential, that bring UNLV near the top in rid potential, Bayer's team is 'ienced in its race with power sco for the conference title. n Louisiana and USC in their )ral Roberts and Hawaii one to get a rough initiation into basketball. But one thing is uch-improved team from the he loss of Washington. Espe i that snake pit known as the where half the fans are closer that Baker's Dozen are going