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Roche att DENVER (AP) ? This was the yc year that wiry, hard-nosed John Y< Roche was going to give up B; basketball for good, finish law la school, and "see how it's like out in there in the real world." Instead, at age 29, Roche is battling for a spot on the Denver Nuggets, giving one more try at ig the sport he's been playing since b boyhood in New York City. He has Ai survived one cut, but faces hi another. c( A standout collegiate guard at w Carolina, and twice the Atlantic V/Utts>L v^umciciitc a piayci ui uie jft t ^ Wl ^ l ^is ^ijs Rt ,^fiS3^^^>8 "; PT^WI atUmrJ^W^ .?**' ^?^lll & '^i^afecyV MM ' nyMgs1' "Nffigfe^g Mm** ^ -^HP? Ulr l^0in*Ur WW/ 0P L- j jonn h Tim 1 empts c< ?ar, Roche signed with the New ork Nets of the American asketball Association in 1971. He *ada u: iti jjiaycu wiui non lmuciuacd Kentucky and Utah. WHEN THE Utah Stars folded in >76, Roche joined the National asketball Association's Los ngeles Lakers. But the Lakers ad three guards with no-cut mtracts, and Roche enrolled in nituer Law bcnooi tnat tail. After two semesters in school, oche played on a team in IEspHHHh Bs L . Kiss hBA gSjgP r ,?5 oche fM n ''''"in'11 1'i'ti'f n I 'iii I rrwBBm >meback Bologna, Italy, then returned to law school last summer. But the Nuggets encouraged Roche to give the NBA one more shot, and there were several factors which prompted the 6' 3" guard to agree. For one, Denver's coach is Donnie Walsh, the man who, as an ttcp aoaiaiain tutitii wiui vj ov/, recruited Roche in 1967. ROCHE ALSO felt his style of play would fit in well with the Nuggets, whose roster includes such former ABA players as Dan Issel, Charlie Scott, George McGinnis and David Thompson. Roche doesn't have a position locked up. He appears to be battling with No. 1 draft choice Gary Garland and two-year veteran Robert Smith for the team's two back-up guard positions, and he knows he won't be a starter. "I'll be looking to fulfill a role I understand they needed last year?a supportive role, to com- j plement the players here,'' he said. | "I have no illusions of playing 30-32 minutes a game and being an integral part of the team." Sooner or later, said Roche, he'll be back at law school. "I've been playing basketball since I was seven," he said. "It's a tough adjustment for an athlete to go from a sport to a 9-to-5 job. Law school was a good way to bridge the gap. It opens up a lot of avenues and it gives you an opportunity to sit back and see how it's like out there in the real i J *? wona. But for now, John Roche's real world is the one he knows best?on the court, not in it. IHIffl AAanagerT IB Full' Ill Star E&ISSH Hi Mar < \ Inter a Asse frorr Carolina midfielder a UNC Wilmington attacks Get Involved Homecoming Any Group ( may enter a float in Parade. Cash prize to the best three lie of fifty dollars n September 2(5. In room 209, Russc Domino's annou r/^i DAr? b 1 I Ull iCC I Udl Time ting Pay $3.08 rainees lager's Salary i>30000/wk. pit views to be co t the Holiday h m * - ? _ mbly Street or i 1 1:00 am to ( srienceHelpft ' be asked to r< ? ? \ wte'WPHHi ^ ^(:-V ^.'. :r-:' . I Hx * in TWO In MUCH ! '79 3n Campus the I lomecoming s will be awarded >ats. The entry fee lust be paid by ;11 House. Pizza Inc. mces tionsOpen per/hr. for ft* OCAOfl ?I is bonus I nducted I in on | i Sept. 20 1 > :00 pm I i nam ^dsgbotwocnl ti to} ^ni^rJ'-f