Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lAfMUI* f fTU19II By MIKE HUNT (Jamecock Staff Writer Can an assistant coach find happiness anc satisfaction in the Mile High City when tha town is presently under the seige of the Denvei "Orange Crush" Broncos? Ex-USC, newly-appointed Denver Nugget; coach Donnic Walsh thinks so. "I intend to b< happy anywhere I go. Otherwise, 1 wouldn't b< there." "DKNVKR 1IAS a completely different at mospnere irom Columbia. I haven't had th< time to adjust and make the friends 1 made ii Columbia yet, but 1 really enjoy the moun tains," Walsh said. Instead of residing in the Carolina midlands Walsh is living in the Colorado highlands. Instead of watching Jackie Gilloon and Butcl Ix'e drive on each other at tho Carotin: Coliseum, he is advising David Thompson 01 the "weaknesses" of Julius Erving. While there is a striking difference betweei Denver and Columbia, Walsh believes there i little difference between coaching professiona and college teams. "From the technical standpoint, there is m difference coaching pro and college players. It's exactly the same. Coaching Thompson an< 'Dan) Issel on basic points is the same a coaching Kevin Joyce, the same as coachini Brian Winters and the same as coachini Alexander English." Just like the college athlete, Walsh said th professional is still looking for help. "It's nior important to the professional because they ar playing for a living to support their family. ^They are at a different stage in life than th _L ? ...... ^ .. .... enjoys new job college basketball player," he said. TIIK M A.I OK DIFFKKKNCK between i Walsh's past role as a college coach and t present professional duties is the impression he r conveys to a player. "In the pros a coach has a professional attitude, as opposed to college. * The professional wants no father figure hut 1 mutual respect. They have a family and a life 2 of their own," Walsh said. For the average basketball fan, college and professional players seem worlds aDart in - terms of attitude. The college player is all 2 "rah-rah", do it for the school, the gipper or i anyone else who happens to show genuine interest. The professional player, many seem to believe, is governed by fat salaries and no-cut , contracts. It seems a pro coach coming from a college environment would encounter attitude l problems with his iipw nimils i?r? i i NOT SO. says Walsh. "Both have pride in winning. The good teams in this league are n filled with pride," he said. "You've got to s realize these players are playing 82 games a 1 year. The spirit may not be verbal, but it's there nonetheless." o While a college coach may enjoy seeing a vAtind man ovnnl nn tho '*c until or i?-? j uwiih mull v/iwi iuv v.uui i cio ?vn ao ill ilit: d academic world, there are equally rewarding s experiences for the professional coach, g "The experiences as a coach in this league g are unbelievable," Walsh said. "You're at the highest level in the world. For every one e season in the NBA, you've got four college e seasons. You come in contact with some of the e finest minds in the game and are dealing with super athletes." e He mentioned four players-Erving, , ... . in pro ball ? Thompson, Kareem Abdul-Jubbur and Bil Walton -as premiere players in (he NBA. Kvei though Walsh admitted initial amazement a the feats of these athletes when he first joinei the Nuggets, he said it all became relevan after a while. "Your mind jumps up a step," h said. STILL, the raw talent of the NBA keep Walsh in awe. "You look at Walton and Jabba and realize how great they are, and then yoi look at the normal player, and it become apparent how good they are, too." In coaching the Nuggets against the likes <> these two giants, Walsh said, "You've got t< look at how good he is in everything and see i I hn\? h'nfo ??-?" I ? ' 1 " kh^j noik uiij ncciMicsso 111 birengin. There are similarities between the Denve and Carolina home crowds, according t< Walsh. "Denver is known in the pro circles a: the "l ot ;e crowd." They set the record lo attendance in the NBA last season." The ex-Carolina coach must have had beei fnminio/iJwrt .?- f * ' * * vuiiMioi.iug iujuui me uuys ui wit,* uamecocK , top-ranked squad of John Roche, Tom Kike and Tom Owens. "The crowd situation a Denver is the same at USC and the ACC area.' Now that he is a professional coach, Walsl said he can devote more time to basketball. "In college there was more things attached t the job than just coaching. As a coach a Denver, I concentrate on basketball only," h said. "Donnie Walsh is the finest young basketba) coach in the United States," Frank McGuir once said. Now that Walsh is an assistan coach with the Denver Nuggets, he has , chance to prove it. 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