Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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'Gan I pnani for H By Brett L. Friedlander Sports Editor The promoters are calling it "The Game of Games"- and they couldn't have chosen a more ao propriate title. Tomorrow night, when 16 years worth of basketball stars assemble in the Frank McGuire Arena to honor their former coach, it will be like a mystical trip down memory lane. In all, six current stars of the National Basketball Association / will be on hand as well as some of the legendary names that helped USC forge a winning tradition in the sport. More importantly, the game represents the 10th anniversary and reunion of the most CI il riomn/>A^lf f r*i ?o/4 OUVWOOIUI VJI U111V/V.V/V, I\ Ol|UUU tvci . That team finished 25-3 during the 1969-70 campaign and completed a perfect 14-0 record in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, knowing each other's roles and executing them to pt. fection, those 12 individuals provide " Carolina's fans with more than their share of excitement. BUT WITH ALL the great moments the 1969-70 Gamecocks experienced, there is still a vm SB s Captain Bob J\J\ . r V Tom Riker ie of Games' ton ds return Oth anniv measure of sadness attached t their names. Because of th existing rules and an unfortunat injury to Ail-American John Rocb in the ACC tournament, the grea USC team, which was ranke< number-one nationally prior to th< season, could not compete in post season play. Nevertheless, Carolina fans stil remember the glory days and th< good feeling that these skinny kidi in Gamponrk nnifnrmc onvp thorr* Proof of this will come in the forrr of the ovations they will recieve tomorrow night. The Gamecocks of a decade age were not without their stars. Thai year, USC boasted two All Americans in Roche and his former high school teammate Tom Owens. Both men currently play professional ball and have been very successful since graduating from Carolina. Roche, a 6-3 guard, was a junior ten years ago. After winning two consecutive ACC player of the year awards, the New York native was called "the finest all-around player in the history of the conference," by McGuire. It was an injury to his left ankle I \^^pii6i8iiii tR ^HN^^'HWv 7 fr-"'j v XfEj. ' i^ayUB' -^.f-;f^7?7^v-^,';v >--, I Bp Mr gfi bv Cremins J \J John Ro lorrow to USC 'tjisitry 0 in the semifinals of the ACC e tournament that severely e damaged the Gamecocks' chances e of advancing on to the NCAA t championships. However, despite 1 the fact he was in extreme pain, g Roche played the next night, and . almost won the game for his team. According to the unselfish team 1 leader, the reason for that group's ; success was the man who was in 5 charge. "Frank McGuire let us play the kind of ball we were aci customed to," Roche said recently. ? "There are a lot of coaches in the country that would make you fit > into their system rather than adopting the system to the skills of the players. That was very helpful to us." ANOTHER FACTOR that led to the team's great record was its cunesiveness on tne court. In Roche's opinion, the five starters, and two reserves who played regularly fit into the system like pieces of a puzzle. An 82 percent free throw shooter during his collegiate career, Roche was able to keep an impressive 3.5 grade point ratio. While he said his studies had nothing to do with the team's success, he did concede that the 69-70 Gamecocks were a smart team. "I'd like to think we played intelligent basketball," he said. "We knew our strengths and we also had a good grasp of our limitations. Because of that, we were able to play around them and hide them pretty well. I think that accounted for the fact that we did have an outstanding season." After a third standout campaign, Roche was drafted by the New York Nets of the old American Basketball Association. Playing in his home town, he starred for the Mpts for CPUAral coocnnc ""HI - . - -? .wvTVti4? UVUOUUO U1H11 CI 1C league folded. He remained in basketball one more season after that, playing in Italy, and then retired to attend law school in California. This past season however, Roche completed a successful comeback into the sport as he played for former assistant coach Donnie Walsh with the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. "After the ABA folded, I was cut by the Los Angeles Lakers," he said. "It was then that I decided I'd had enough. I felt like five or six years was enough and that I was lucky enough to do well financially in basketball, so I went to law school. "The opportunity came to play with Denver and I felt it was 1 \ vf " wn. in che Tor / f- j-l \ vf i 9 * \^# m . r ^i He ? H H (JSC's greatest team hu something I'd enjoy," Roche added. WHILE ROCHE grabbed most of the headlines, the contribution of his tall teammate Owens was not overlooked by opposing players and coaches, as well as the Gamecock fans who packed the Carolina Coliseum for every contest. The 6-10, 223-pound pivot man averaged 16 points a game 1?J t ion ?* * ? * auu icu in reDounaing, out nis major contribution was his intimidating defensive skills. "We had a lot of talented peoplebetter than manny realized," Owens remembered. "Roche got all the publicity, but in certain games other people had a chance to show how good they were.'' For the native of Bronx, N.Y., the chance to shine came against Erskine when he poured in a career-high 36 points, and against Clemson when he totally dominated the game by scoring 22 points, grabbing 25 rebounds and blocking 12 shots. Called "the smartest big man in college basketball" by his coach, Owens carried a 3.6 GPR in marketing. His long arms, 1 quickness and basketball intelligence helped USC finish second in the nation in defense for 1 the 1969-70 season. Owens went on to have an even better year the next season. 1 However, once his days as a 1 Gamecock had ended, he continued tn Sllff?*r (mm o 1 i> vtn u atrcic IcttK of recognition. Drafted by both j Houston of the NBA and Memphis 1 of the ABA, Owens chose the same route as his friend Roche by J signing to play for the Memphis 1 Pros. 3 Bkk f n Owens 1 i IH^' ' j V V W t IMvtr^L ' vp; i;- :" ^8|K fflcy' .: : f ^BMKI kW*. ddles prior to a game. THE BIG center's luck began to change when the ABA folded. Picked ud as a frpp aopnt ?ha -r ? ? ~0^""v Portland Trailblazers, Owens played back-up to Bill Walton on the 1977 league championship team. A year later, Walton was injured and the Carolina alumnus became a starter. Not long after that, most basketball observers began to look upon him as an allstar performer. "I felt I was doing a good job in the back-up situation behind Walton," he said. "We had a team that was in first nlapo nntil |>.uvv uillll lie gui hurt. But looking at it from the standpoint of my career, it did give me the opportunity to play regularly and get some recognition." The captain and only senior on that Gamecock squad of 10 years ago was Bobby Cremins. An excellent ballhandler, Cremins was famous for accomplishing more than anyone thought he was capable of. His hustling style and great leadership qualities made him popular with both his teammates and fans. Cremins averaged 7.3 points a game that year, but his con tribution to the team went further than any statistic. It was the captain who kept the team together on the court, and gave them a lift when things weren't going well for the high scoring duo af Roche and Owens. KBAnnir /..? uuodi it r.mi ins was a very important part of the team," Roche commented. "The following ^ear we lost him, and although we nay have had more talent, it didn't )lend together as well as it did the fear before." .. ,0 See Ten Years, page 13 John Ribock