Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 15, 1977, edition 1 / Page 6
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6 The Daily Tar Heel Thursday. September 15. 1977 Despite a plethora of NBA laurels happiness has escaped the Big Mac McADOO By PETE MITCHELL Staff Writer Of all the former UNC greats playing in la$t Saturday's Pro-Alumni basketball game. Robert McAdoo seemed like the epitome of a Carolina success story. Only five years out of the Atlantic Coast Conference. McAdoo has already copped Rookie of the Year honors in the National Basketball Association along with Playe,rtf the Year and two league scoring titles. He's the Carolina boy making good in the big time on the surface anyway. In reality. Bob McAdoo's five year saga since leaving Dean Smith is not a happy one. McAdoo's was an unusual case from the start. Having grown Up in Greensboro, he played two years at Vincennes Junior College before coming to Carolina as Smith's first and only junior transfer player. The Tar Heels made it to the NCAA finals that year, I972, with McAdoo leading the way. But the 6-foot-10. 2IO-pounder didn't stick around for his senior year, electing instead to chase the big bucks at the height of the NBA-ABA biddmg wars. He was a sure bet according to scouts, the kind that revives franchises. And that's exactly what the fans in Buffalo, N.Y., thought when their Braves snatched McAdoo in the first round. His announcement to leave didn't go over too well in Chapel Hill and it wasn't long before they were roasting him on the shores of Lake Erie. Having changed team colois to orange and black the year before, the Braves announced another change just hours after McAdoo signed a multi-year pact. They said they would wear Carolina blue and white uniforms for the 1 973 season. Of course, the rumor spread that McAdoo had demanded the change as part of his contract negotiations and the press was hounding the rookie from the start. Ornery owner Paul Snyder had hired and fired three coaches in the team's three year existence, but brought in the tested and respected Jack Ramsay for the '73 season. Under Ramsay, the Buffalo fans assumed McAdoo would develop instantly into the star capable of transforming the Braves into a legitimate contender in the NBA East. They were calling him 'Big Mac' even before his first game. With all of that going on. 'Big Mac' proceeded to have a pitiful first hall of his rookie year. He seemed uncomfortable at forward and appeared to be in a constant daze, ambling up and down the court with those big. drooping eyes and his fists f " rfwfNMTAINMJNUMUSfMtNTCO r ) yu. f WITH SPFriil r.netr . ,V I I Sanford Townsend Bar SUNDAY - SEPT. 25th - 8:00 pm 5000 Limited Advance Tickets $6.00 each NOT!: Ah.r limited advance UcktH or told th litkt pric. will b $7 00 On Sale Now Coliseum Box Office All AuthAriT-l RolL t:La rv.ii. L-"l in ChaDel Hill and Durham ?5 pr tick! irvic chorg at utlcti ' "HTrnmrrnnPi in Hi ' i m i Milin imp w"w clenched with two huge thumbs sticking straight out. Snyder and company made excuses, pointing ou that he was actually only as old as a college senior and needed time to mature. 1 he press didn't like him because he wasn't very quotable. I he frustrated fans, wanted a winning team ol some sort in Bullalo and grimaced at his horrible shooting percentage and tat six-figure contract. 'I was the night before Christmas. 1973'. that McAdoo woke up and began giving the fans what they'd expected all along. I he Braves played a game in Houston which was televised back to Western New York. McAdoo was unstoppable, hitting for 44 points with stockings lull ol rebounds and blocked shots. "I hat first hall ol my rookie year was hell." McAdoo said alter the Pro-Alumni game, "i knew I could do it and everybody kept talking about how I had all the tools. Eor some reason, it took awhile." I he next year. McAdoo led the league in scoring as the Braves secured a playofl berth lor the first time. He repeated in 1975 and was also named Player of the Year. 'That team is the best I've ever played lor." McAdoo said. "I he one in '75 with Randy Smith. Jim McMillian. Garfield Heard and Ernie DiGrcgono. We had the second best regular season record. We should've gone lurther in the playoffs." Despite all the individual trophies and his team's progress. McAdoo never felt appreciated in Bullalo. hirst ol all. Buffalo is an ice hockey town and the N Hi's Sabres, w ho came into the league the same year the Braves joined the NBA. were winners Irom the start. I hey sold out Memorial Auditorium every game while the Braves struggled to draw six or seven thousand. I he lootball Bills had O.J. Simpson, who was all alone as the city's sports hero. And the pro basketball audiences liked Ernie D.'s flamboyant style and local product Randy Smith much more than McAdoo. "It wasn't like everyone wasn't aware of what I was doing up there." McAdoo explained. "I just didn't get the same kind of treatment people like O.J. got." When it came time to negotiate a new contract in 1976. McAdoo brought in his statistics and Snvder submitted his. The GOODWILL STORES Original Goodwill Sor 1 121 JVt Mom S . Durhom i Ac rem from Eoit DiAt C output 682 5835 Open Monday Fndoy, 9 9 Saturday 9-6 litest Goodwill Stoe 'Located tn Goodwill lndu1ris Plortt 930 E Mom Si Dwfham Chop! Hill orrbr, call roll ft 942-3141 Open Monday So' w day, 9 6 WE DELIVER! tlTJSN ii nri ii if i ii ii h "v U U 1W I ttO) Why didn't you? If you live near a bus route and still travel around town by car every day, you'd better have a good excuse. Frankly, we can't think of one, though' we've heard them all. But since you probably take your excuses seriously, let's take a look at the popular ones. Convenience Okay, so your car leaves from your home instead of the corner. But what happens during the trip or when you arrive at your destination? You have to fight traffic, buy gas, search for parking, and then probably walk a good ways to where you're going. With the bus, you can take your eyes off the road. You don't have to worry about getting gas. Or accidents. Or parking. Or traffic. You can relax, do homework, snooze, start a romantic involvement. Try all that in your car and it can get you killed or arrested. A car can get to you. A bus just gets you there. Cost If you think riding a car is cheaper than riding a bus, look closely at the figures. According to transporta tion analysts, the cost of commuting by car is about 50 for the average trip. When you have a bus pass, the cost is just 84 a trip. And you don't have to worry about buying a new bus every two years, either. Time Just because buses are big doesn't mean they're slow. On a Chapel Hill bus, downtown is at most 23 minutes away. And a typical ride is usually 10 minutes or less. In fact, if you have to park your car some distance from where you're going, the bus can be faster. ' tT ' , V Bad mm l unaiummam xpecxaiions Some people have a notion that riding a bus is unpleasant. Surveys show that those people aren't the ones who ride the buses. Chapel Hill bus ridersfsay they enjoy riding buses, that they can relax and think better, too. Whose word would you take? Don't pass up the pass. You really don't need excuses. What you need is a bus pass. One pass, good for a year of unlimited rides is just $40. You can get a pass at the Tax Office in the Municipal Building and at all First Citizens and CCB branch offices. Or if you work or go to school at UNC, contact the Traffic Office in the YMC A building. CHAPEL HILL COMMUNITY TRANSIT It's the way to go. o a n it cm r s 1 in -m i mi,imiwiii1 ..fs club's owner pointed out McAdoo's defensive deficiencies! the Braves gave up the most points ol any team in 1975) as well as his center's inabilitv to get the Braves into the NBA finals. "II you look at the statistics, all the statistics. I was one ol the top players in the league." McAdoo said "I expected to be paid like one ol the top live and Snydei didn't come near it." I he newspapers said Snvder offered McAdoo $5(K).(KKI a yeai. "I hat's wrong." McAdoo said. "Snyder was just trying to gel the lans against me." Whatever the case. McAdoo and high salaried Tom McMillen were shipped to the New York K nicks at mid-season for a mediocre center named John Gianelli and the Braves promptly dropped out ol contention. Soon alter the lopsided trade. McAdoo returned to Bullalo amidst boos to score 41 points and 25 rebounds against his old teammates. "I did play real hard that game." he recalled. I here wasa lot ol pride involved "I mean there's no question about the mental anguish and adjustment involved in the whole thing." McAdoo said. "I was unhappy with my contract and I did something about it." Whatever it was that he was searching lot in Buffalo, it's escaped him so lar alter halt a season in Madison Square Garden. As predicted. McAdoo. Walt hraier and harl Monroe had trouble deciding who would shoot the ball last year and the K nicks were embarrassingly shut out ol the playollv Writers were quick to pounce on McAdoo. the newcomer, criticizing his obsession with shooting Irom the outside Most of all. the New York press didn't tolerate his occasional lapses, having . watched, the traditionally stingy Knicks lor years. Individually. 'Big Mac' had another good year in "7f-'77. I'nlortunately. that's not enough. H is team's got to w in it all before the skeptics are silenced. "I just go out t here and do everything I can do." McAdoo said. "I he critics are gonna criticize everybody anyway. I'm just waiting to he on a championship team; nobody can criticize that." IS ft ( 4t V . ilK BP!-T ifi tf pm, i . U I. 8 m'ff x J f s . &-:::;:::::! Conserve Water!! IIIIBH Stall photo by Joseph Thomas Bob McAdoo (35), is surrounded by teammate Dennis Wuycik (left) and opponent Mitch Kupchak (right) in Saturday's Pro-Alumni game. McAdoo was a junior, Wuycik a senior and Kupchak a senior in high school when Carolina advanced to the Final Four of 1972 national tournament. Hackney's has flasks ; Whatever your beverage, Hackney's has the container.. .plain or fancy. Choose lightweight plastic to colorful vinyl covered flasks from 2.00 to 8.00. for people who play... I North HillsRaleigh University MalUChapel el Hill g Sports show starts tonight "Carolina Roundup," a sports program featuring a different guest each week, premieres todav at 7 p.m. on WXYC-FM (89.3). The show tonight will include interviews from the Pro-Alumni basketball game last weekend, a preview of the Richmond football game and reactions to the Kentucky game. A member of the UNC football team will be the guest this week. Listeners with call-in questions should call the station at 933-7768 before air-time. hL rsmhra Union Hours: - .- 'fb. Udl UlU Id 7:30 a.m.-ll p.m. Mon.-Thurs. 5 " J&C 1! ilj 7:30 a.m -Midnight Fri. nif IB 9:00 a.m,Midnight Sat. HI II 11:00 a.m,ll:00p.m. Sun. ond I Norlhrchaerolina will be appearing i.,,MLrt., in Memorial Hall Symphony Wednesday, Sept. 28 wi" perform a at 8:00 p.m. Pop Music Tickets are $3.00 and are available now at the Union Desk, Record Bar CxOHC61Tt downtown, and Stewart Theatre in Sunday, September 18, Forest Theatre, 5 p m Raleigh. free Trinidad Deep Ron Tripoli Steel Jonah Npqpm Band lessen Forest Theatre T. TT Tues., Sept. 27 , Wed., Oct. 5 Lise Uyanik 8;oo p.m. 4-6 p.m. TONIGHT! Memorial Hall Tickets now R . free Beer and wine c Oil Said permitted $1.50
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Sept. 15, 1977, edition 1
6
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