Mouth I
McMillan's Puzzle
Now behold Tom McMillan, the purported best High
school basketball player in the whole rosy-jawed world.
At this writing, Tom is sulking in seclusion somewhere,
unable to make up his mind whether he will attend
North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky or any
(Hie of the several hundred other colleges and univer
sities which have stomped to his door offering a
scholarship.
By the time you read, he may have signed, since the
slavering herd of coaches and hangers-on has been
waiting for the momentous event for weeks. But the fact
remains that his case is a textbook illustration of what
is wrong with college athletic procurement.
Recruiting, as the frenzied pursuit of the blue chip
player is called, is a ridiculous rat race run by
otherwise intelligent men in the hope that they can
enhance their job security by snaring a big one.
It involves not only selling the boy in question, but
also his mother and father, brothers, sisters, family
priest and heaven knows who else. McMillan, they say,
wants to go to North Carolina. His father wants him
with Lefty Driesell at Maryland, and his mother wants
him in the sequestered vales of the University of
Virginia.
Kid Should Make Own Choice
Of course the parents have the right, even the
obligation to guide a boy, but it is utterly ridiculous
when an education is free and the competing institutions
are virtually identical that the kid shouldn't make his
own choice.
What we have seen from the McMillan tribe is an
extension of the wild and asinine antics of the typical
Little League parents. How terribly barren a life must
be when one gets to the place all one has to think about is
what a child can do.
No teenaged boy can possibly handle the solicitous
idiocy fostered upon him as Tom McMillan has endured.
No matter how strong his character may be, and
regardless of how well grounded he may be in good
sense, a wet-eared kid cannot get all that attention
without being adversely affected in that his evaluation
of his own worth must, of necessity, be inflated.
There is another aspect erf recruiting a real blue
chipper which bugs all coaches. If you are the
successful bidder for his services, then there is every
possibility that one of the losers will call down the NCAA
for an investigation of your recruiting practices.
You may be as pure and unsullied as the snow on a
convent roof, but when the NCAA wolves begin to bay,
you never know what sort of far-fetched conclusions
they will reach. Worse, if you are under the evil eye of
the NCAA you never know who blew the whistle on you.
It would be so much easier and better if each
conference would conduct a draft of the eligible college
players. This would then reduce the number of schools
which would be in pursuit of a player. Then, under
NCAA supervision, each school could be allotted an hour
in which to present its case.
College Drafts
The boy could then elect to visit three schools, and
then have a week to make his choice. Failure of the boy
to choose in a week would make him ineligible for
basketball at any NCAA school. If any school were to
cheat and attempt to see him before or after the
authorized meeting, then that school would automati
cally lose all opportunity to sign him.
There would be no policing problems, because the
losers would turn the cheaters in faster than a Ku
Kluxer will burn a cross.
The result of such a plan would be to bring the
expense of recruiting down to a reasonable level, help
keep the boy's head within a reasonable size, and speed
up the whole dreary process.
Yeah these would be the results, but there isn't a
chance in the world of it. Every coach worth his salt
thinks he can win as it is, and as long as they are
competitive, then the McMillan saga is a continuing
story of juvenile pursuit.
H - I 1
*v.
ROUNDING FIRST Donnie Davis
rounds first after banging out a hit for
the Davie County baseball team. Davis is
Rebs Travel To N. Stanly
Davie County's Rebels will
travel to North Stanly this Fri
day for a North Piedmont Con
ference baseball game.
The Rebels will be pinning
their hopes on a starting line-up
that will consist of Randy
McDaniel, Craig Ward, Arny
Riddle, Harold Latham, Steve
Blackwelder, Danny Correll,
Paul Beaver, David Poplin and
John McDaniel.
Davie missed a gold oppor
tunity to pull into contention for
the NPC lead when it lost, 5-2, to
East Rowan's Mustangs last
Friday.
The Rebels scored two runs in
the bottom of the seventh, and
left two base runners stranded
as the Mustangs' star left-hand
er Donnie Basinger came to
pitch in relief of C. M. Yates in
the inning.
Jake Cauble started East's
Thanking You For Your ■pPfRML
Vote and Support _ ■■
In The Democratic Primary, May 2nd..
James A.(Jim) Eaton KX «
Democratic Candidate
For County Commissioner M
"I urge everyone to use their American privilege and vote May 2nd
for the candidate of choice."
one of the top hitters for the Rebs, who
will invade North Stanly on Friday.
(Photo by Barringer).
big second with a walk. Mike
Williams followed with a double
to score Cauble. Cecil then hit a
3-2 pitch into the trees in
left-center for a 3-0 East lead.
John McDaniel releived Don
nie Davis and struck out Bill
Cruse, but Johnny Yarbrough
followed with a single. Yar
brough stole second then Rick
Mcßride tripled to score Yar
brough. After C. M. Yates
struck out, Donnie Basinger
doubled in Mcßride for a 5-0
lead.
Hie Rebels broke up starter
Yates' shutout in the seventh
inning. Davis opened the inning
with a single to left, then Danny
Correll hit a grounder to Wil
liams at second. First baseman
Cruse also attempted to field the
ball, and Yates was given an
error for not covering first base.
The runners advanced to sec
ond and third on an infield
grounder by Arnie Riddle, then
Paul Beaver grounded to third
base. Mcßride's throw to the
plate was too late to get Davis.
David Poplin followed with a
single to score Correll.
East Rowan ibrh O. County ab r h
Yarbrough.ss 4 1 I R Mc Darnel.ss 40 0
Aftcßr.de.3bct 4 1 2 Ward.2b 3 0 0
Yates ,p 3b 4 0 1 H Latham .cf 3 0 1
Basinger.lt p 30 2 Davis.p It 3 1 1
K Brown.ct If 3 0 1 Correll.rt 3 1 1
J Cauble.c 3 1 0 Riddle.lt 1 0 0
Williams.2b 2 1 1 J McDarnel,p 2 0 0
Cecil.rt 3 I I Beaver.3b 3 0 1
Cruse.lb 3 0 1 Poplin.c 3 0 1
Totals W $lO Seaford.pr 0 0 0
Black welder.lb 20 0
Anderson .ph lb 1 0 0
Totals 21 2 5
Score by innings
East Rowan ISItNM
Davie County 000 000 2—2
Errors - Yates 2 2B Basinger.
Williams 3B Mcßride HR Cecil RBI
Cecil 2. Williams, Mcßride, Basinger.
Beaver. Poplm SB Brown, Yarbrough,
Cruse, Williams Strikeouts Yates 2,
Basinger I. Davis 2, J. McDaniel 3 Walks
Yates 0. Basmger 0. Davis t. J
McDaniel 0 W - Yates (4 0). L Davis
11