Varsity basketball season begins
BIpe-WMlte game at'4s30) pM
Elliott Wamock
Sports Editor
"Swear to God .: . . every year we're
really optimistic about football.
Everybody's got a lot of enthusiasm.
Then three weeks into the season,
everybody's ready Jor basketball."
Jocks at Jeffs Bookstore, 1968
Things have changed a little since
1968 in Chapel Hill. It takes a little
longer than three weeks for everyone to
start getting into basketball. Hell . . .it
took nine weeks this year.
Carolina fans will get their long
awaited chance to see the varsity
basketball team play in Carmichael
Auditorium. The Blue-White game will
be played at 4:30 p.m. following the
Army-UNC football game in Kenan.
North Carolina is steeped in
basketball tradition, and under the
leadership of head coach Dean Smith,
figures to be a contender for the national
title again this year. With defending
champion North Carolina State right
down Highway 54 in Raleigh, the Tar
Heels will have to be at their best to get
to the finals of the NCAA.
Carolina will have a hard time filling
the shoes of graduated Bobby Jones,
now making a name for himself as a
rookie in the pro ranks.
Also gone are forward John
O'Donnell, guards Ray Hite and Darrell
Elston.
Guard Ray Harrison will be out for
the season on the advice of his doctors,
but could be back for the 1975 season.
Smith calls the loss of Harrison a "major
blow."
Smith is still optimistic about the
teams chances in the race for the ACC
title, despite one of the toughest
schedules in the NCAA. "We should be
one of the four or five teams in
contention," he comments, "but all of
us, of course will be trying to fight off
North Carolina State's bid for another
national championship."
Returning leaders for the squad will
be forward Ed Stahl, 6-10 from
Columbus, O.; forward Mitch
Kupchak, 6-9 of Brentwood, N.Y.; and
swingman Walter Davis, 6-5 from
Charlotte.
Kupchak and Stahl spent a lot of time
rotating in the frontcourt, and did a
good job while they were doing it. Fans
will be looking for both of them to
dominate play under the boards.
In addition to Stahl and Kupchak,
Smith has Tommy Lagarde to fill in at
the forward position.
The Tar Heels look strong in the
guard positions also. Mickey Bell is a
sure bet for playing time along with
John Kuester of Richmond and Phil
Ford of Rocky Mount.
. All in all, the Tar Heels seem to have
good depth. Fans can judge for
themselves at the Blue-White game
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by Jim Thomas
' Sports Writer
The National Collegiate Athletic
Association passed the freshmen
eligibility rule three years ago, giving
talented freshmen an opportunity to
play on the varsity in their first year of
intercollegiate competition. Since then a
number of freshmen have made
exceptional contributions to the athletic
success achieved by the Atlantic Coast
Conference. As a result many schools
are getting away from a freshmen
program to a junior varsity (jayvee)
program or dropping the freshmen
program entirely.
N.C. State abandoned the jayvee
basketball program last year and only
recently decided to revive the jayvee
team. North Carolina head basketball
coach Dean Smith, however, sees the
jayvee team as a "beneficial experience."
"There is a two-fold purpose behind
the jayvee basketball program," said
Smith. "One is to have as many students
participating in intercollegiate athletics
as . we can. This gives a young man a
chance to continue something - he
enjoyed in high school and represent his
school.
"A secondary purpose is to find
players on the jayvee who were not
recruited and may eventually help the
varsity. Mickey Bell and Dale Gipple
are examples of people we did not even
know were coming to school and ended
up playing a lot and helping us," stated
Smith.
This year Woody Coley, Eric Harry
and Donnie Smith may be playing some
varsity due to the dearth of scholarship
players.' Carolina signed only two
freshmen Phil Ford and Tom
Zaliagaris both will be playing on the
varsity. Zaliagaris may play a game or
two on the jayvees to give him some
experience, but the team will be
predominately walk-ons out of the
student body.
Coaching the jayvees this season will
be former UNC guard Eddie Fogler.
Fogler split coaching duties with
assistant coach Bill Gutheridge last year
after two years as a graduate assistant.
The de-emphasis on jayvee basketball
programs has caused problems in
scheduling opponents. "We would like
to play all the schools in this area," said
Fogler, "but some did not decide to have
jayvee teams until it was too late."
N.C. State did not field a jayvee team
last year. Virginia and Wake Forest
decided to have one at the last second.
Duke will have a jayvee team but will
only play home games. "1 would have
liked to continue our home-home
arrangement preliminary to our varsity
games," commented Fogler, "but I
could not wait for their decision, we
finish scheduling in May. Therefore we
79
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UNC
have to schedule junior colleges which is
even tougher."
The jayvee team will be composed
mostly of freshmen and sophomores
and may have a tough time competing
against the stronger junior colleges. In
addition to Coley, Harry and Smith,
other members of the jayvee team are
Bob Boyan, John Cohen, George
Forrest, Mike Fox, Fletcher Gregory,
Frank Hill, Alan Irvin, Ray Legg, Larry
Poole, Clay Richardson and Brian
Tallent.-
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Ed Stahl
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by Susan Shackelford
Asst. Sports Editor
Heads-up hustling and backcourt ball
handling have long been the trademarks of
Carolina's basketball guards. They lead the
fastbreaks, call the offenses and
methodically work the ball into frontcourt
complements, "the big men."
Individualism under head coach Dean
Smith is usually at a minimum. But with the
recent success of less-constrained guards,
such as$i.C. State's Monte Towe and Mo
Rivers and Maryland's John Lucas, the
more controlled approach has been
criticized.
Prompting this comparisonand
ultimate questioning of UNC backcourt
style was the Tar Heels disappointing
1 inish last season when they were drubbed by
Maryland in the ACC tourney and then lost
in the NIT.
Should the Carolina guard corps be
allowed more freedom, a chance to depart
from set offensive plans and move
instinctively against an opponent? The
answer rests with Coach Smith, who in fact
said at the end last season some changes
might be needed.
Several shifts have already occurred, that
is, at least in personnel. Gone are Ray Hite,
Ray Harrison and Darrell Elston, last year's
regulars. Vying for their replacement are
senior Brad Hoffman, junior Dave Hanners
and sophomore John Kuester and freshman
Phil Ford.
"Basically the (guard) style is about the
same," Hoffman assessed after practice one
day this week. "You can't say anything is
wrong "with the system. Look at Coach
Smith's record; it speaks for itself (264-96, 13
UNC seasons)."
Admitting some slight differences, the
Columbus, Ohio native continued,
"Everybody's a little freer... free lance, 1
guess. But it's not that great a change. Why
would we want to change what has worked
year after year?"
"Everybody's got a theory about what
happened last year. It could have been more
than one thing that caused it (the letdown),"
Hoffman, sitting courtside in Carmichael
Auditorium, offered. "I know our team unity
is better this year. We're all closer and I think
that's going to carry over to the court.
"We're also trying to instill confidence in
ourselves," the 5-10 guard added. "We want
to overcome being hesitant in our play."
Reinforcing the idea of little style change,
Kuester, in a separate interview, noted,"
"We'll still be fast-breaking and pressing,
and if yo'u have the shot you take it."
"I'm looking forward to this season,"
Kuester continued. "We know the system
well enough. Our inexperience is one thing,
but wanting to play so bad that's the way
we all feel. I'm not worried at all. We know
we can execute."
"I couldn't really tell you what it was last
year," the 6-2 Richmond native, who played
much varsity ball last year, said. "I can't
pinpoint anything. Our practices were good,
but our execution just wasn't as good in
games. Execution is the key."
Meanwhile, Hanners, who played junior
varsity last year, sees a mental change. "This
year the team attitude has improved 100 per
cent. Last year 1 can remember I didn't hang
around with other players. This year we're a
lot closer."
Considering a backcourt style, he
asserted, "I don't agree we'll have to change.
1 like the way it is. State and Maryland both
have great programs, but Carolina well, we
won 22 games last year. I'd stay with UNC
with respect to backcourt."
Hanners, after suffering mononucleosis
his frosh season without full recovery last
season, must battle the experience edge that
Hoffman and Kuester draw on towards
starting roles. If Coach Smith runs a big
guard, either 6-5 sophomore Walter Davis or
6-5 junior Bill Chambers is expected to get
the assignment.
Wait a minute. No one is overlooking the
highly-touted talent of Phil Ford, whose
quickness, speed and jumping ability makes
him a strong rebounder, and scoring guard.
However, an initial starting role for the 6-2
guard is doubtful. Playing college defense is
an adjustment, the Rocky Mount prep all
America said, and "I'm finding out there is a
lot of difference between college and high
school. In high school most of the time, you
don't have that many good players on the
court."
What about pressure? "If Coach Smith
has enough confidence in me then I guess I
can do the job. I feel the pressure sometimes,
but I hardly think about it.
"1 hardly even think about the people (at a
game). It's just like the stands are empty,"
Ford said.
Whether the backcourt will be the nucleus
of the team leadership may be the special
concern of Hoffman, the only senior
backcourter.
"Ed (Stahl), Mickey (BelL the other
seniors) and I have dedicated ourselves to
work together," Hoffman said. "We will try
to be leaders all the time, having enthusiasm,
giving encouragement and helping each
other on the court.
"Being a senior, this is my last year. 1 had a
good freshman year and really good
sophomore year, playing about 15 to 20
minutes," Hoffman paused, "but last year
was a real letdown.
"1 was upset because 1 didn't feel like 1 got
to contribute to the team when I could've.
I've always had confidence in my game and
last year was the first time it broke.
"When 1 was a freshman 1 played against
Towe and Lucas and I think 1 did a
respectable job " the blond playmaker
analyzed. "And I feel like now if I have an
opportunity to play, I can live up to my
confidence." :