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P*gr«
The Krd and Rlark, Friday. February 20. 1970
FOR GEORGIA CAGERS
Celtics keep spirits high
Photo by KIRK DICK WORTH
SKNIOR CELTIC ROV "TUBBY" HOLLAND
Seen during one of his infrequent visits to the playing floor
Mason gives aid
to Bulldog JV's
By BRIAN HODGES
Those somewhat familiar with Georgia s basketball program
may know that Butch Clifton is the head coach of the junior
varsity team But even they may not know who the gray haired,
bespectacled man is by Clifton’s side at every jayvee game
His name is Buddy Mason
He is not mentioned in any basketball brochures or programs,
because he is not a member of the Georgia coaching
staff—officially All of his time and effort with the team has been
strictly a volunteer effort
Mason can afford such a luxury because of his other job The
occupation that puts the groceries on the table is his position as
National sales Manager for the J.P Lamy Company. It is the
largest manufacturer of optics and sunglasses in the world.
The coaching experience of the Gastonia. North Carolina native
has not included any on the college level, but he has instructed
many notable individuals at the high school level and below "I
coached for years at a local YMCA, and I also helped coach a
high school team in Newlin, N.C.," said Mason
The Newlin team included team included 7'4" Tommy
Burleson i who is enjoying a successful pro career after playing
on a national championship squad at N.C. State), and some of my
YMCA teams included athletes such as David Thompson and
Bobby Jones," he continued
THOMPSON and Jones are both outstanding professional
players now , after having highly successful careers at N.C. State
and North Carolina respectively.
Mason takes a substantial amount of pride in his coaching of
the younger players "I’m proudest of the fact that :)8 of my
YMCA players went on to get scholarships." he said
His first player to get a scholarship. Harold Ryan, went to
George Washington University where, ironically. John Gothrie
was an assistant coach at the time
In June. 1975. the Mason family moved from Macon to Athens,
and the paths of John Guthrie and Mason crossed again. “I had
known Coach Guthrie for some time, and I had heard about
Coach Clifton, when I lived in Macon.” he said.
Clifton’s name had become prominant in Macon, when he
quided Mark Smith high school into the state AAA championship
in 1969 He did it with a small squad to make it even more
impressive.” said Mason
"1 came over here voluntarily, because both Guthrie and Clifton
have what 1 consider the right approach to the game,” he said.
"Their concern goes beyond what happens on the basketball
court
COACH CLIFTON, who spends much of his time on recruiting
trips in addition to his coaching duties, is appreciative of the job
Mason has done "He takes over when I'm out of town, and he
does a good job.” said Clifton "He’s got a good knowledge of the
game, and he has a good relationship w ith the players ”
Mason, who played industrial AAU basketball after playing
freshman basketball at UGA and managing for Coach Harbin
Lawson's varsity squad, was extremely pleased with his
experiences on the jayvee team "When we started the year, I
thought we would have to put in for a care package’," he joked.
"This junior varsity team did not look good then, but they have
really shown a lot of pride "
"They are all winners, and we are close as a unit." he
continued "One of our big thrills now is to see Ulysses
Norris—one of us—playing for the varsity."
By PETE FOLEY
Hidden behind the Jacky
Dorseys and Tony Flanagans
of the Georgia basketball pro
gram are five members of
perhaps the most elite group to
hit Georgia athletics in quite
some time
They're five of the zamest
guys you’ll ever meet but also
five guys whose espirit-de-
corps is surpassed by nobody
They call themselves theCEi.-
TICS.
Led by veterans Dave
"Duck” Lucey and Roy "Tub
by" Holland who serve as co
captains. co-idols, co-heroes
and co-anything since they are
the seniors on the squad, the
Celtics can be found occupying
the last five (reserved) seats
on the Georgia bench at tip-
off time.
Other members of the chosen
group are Mike "Dr Physical”
Thorne, Pete "Tool" Fusi and
Gregg "Moose" Ewaldsen
While Holland and Lucey have
permanent positions on the
bench. Thorne. Fusi and E
waldsen are in close contention
for that coveted Third Seat
"Tubby and I have earned
the first two seats through
seniority," Lucey said. "But
the others have to work for
that Third Seat We re not
going to just give it to them."
TO GAIN membership as a
Celtic, one must: 1) not start a
game, 2) play irregularly and
infrequently and 3) show a
potential for benefiting the
team with a strong show of
enthusiasm
Former members of the Cel
tics include Jo-Jo Hicks. Ulys
ses Norris and Mark Slonaker.
(who is rumored to be "mak
ing great strides towards re
turning to his old place in the
Celt line-up)."
"Ulysses was the latest Cel
tic to be cul from the team.
Thorne said "He was brought
up or brought down, rather, to
the regulars ."
Though it all may sound like
a hoax the Celtics are a
recognized part of the Georgia
team
"Well go to practice.” ex
plained Lucey w ho earned his
nickname because of his re
semblance to Boston Red Sox
player Dick “Duck" Shoenfield.
"and Coach Guthrie will say
starters on offense against the
Celtics ' We all jump We know
who we are ."
One of the Celtics' objectives
is to "abuse" people "A-
busing" entails verbal-blasting
of a person
"We sit there and pick one
person to really abuse during
the game and then we let ’em
have it." Lucey explained
"Against Auburn last week.
Stan Pietkiewicz walked by our
bench and we really gave it to
him. we really blasted him. He
had an air-ball on his next
shot That has to rank as one
of the all-time great Celtic
victories ."
"We used to do it to the rets
but they caught on to it and
pretty soon they were laying
for the Celtics," Fusi said
"Man, they sure do have
rabbit ears "
During the interview, which
was constantly interrupted by
laughter. Thorne explained his
"Dr Physical" handle.
"When I first got back to
school this year," he said. "I
was 30 pounds over-weight
Once I got down to my playing
weight or Celtic weight, I
started watching the scales
real closely and now they call
me "Dr Physical."
EWALDSEN explained ano
ther goal of the Celtics.
We try to make it through
pre-game warmups without
breaking a sweat so that we
don't have to take a shower
after the game "
"We all went to Tubby's for
the weekend one time last
fall." Lucey explained "Then
we went to someone else s
house to stay. We always do
things together "
One of the bigger Celtic
pastimes is playing in the
WHA. i World Hearts Associa
tion >
"We play hearts no less than
three times a day." Ewaldsen
said "Sometimes we even play
at the Coliseum during
games '
Another Celtic activity is the
voting of "Moose of the Week"
award given to that Celt who
gains the most weight in the
seven day period
Ewaldsen is known as
"Moose" because he has taken
the honor more often than any
other Celtic
In their brief two-year exis
tence. the Celtics have set
several records
HOLLAND holds the mark
for "Shortest Run" when he
entered a game before a foul
shot and was removed before
the scoreboard clock had tick
ed a single second Never to be
forgotten. Holland also earned
the record for "Most consecu
tive DNP's" (Did Not Play)
when he cheered for 17 straight
games.
Holland's overly-rounded
physique as a freshman has
left him tabbed as "Tubby" for
four years now.
With credentials like these,
the Celtics have captured the
hearts of many fans "You can
hear 'em during the game."
Lucey said. "When we’re up or
down by 30 or more they start
calling out ’Hey number 41
i Fusi i. how come you haven't
played yet'?' They iove us!"
"We ll be walking down the
street, anyplace in the U S .
and the fans recognize us,"
Lucey continued "They walk
right up and ask if we still play
for the Celtics and then pro
ceed to abuse us "
Before next season, the-
Celtics plan to renegotiate
contracts and may possibly
hold out for fringe benefits
Among those fringe benefits
are new team uniforms
"We want new uniforms with
shamrocks on them." Lucey
sated "We also want to wear
black arm bands in memory of
Ken Boatright We ll do that if
somebody can find an old roll
of electrical tape laying a-
round '
Speaking in a more serious
tone. Holland explained the
true reason for the Celtics'
existence
"WERE JUST a group of
guys who know that we re not
going to play a lot right now so
we re doing what we can to
help out and support those who
are playing regularly." he
said
"Practices can get to you
aften awhile and there gets to
lie a lot of pressure on every
body so we try to ease the
tension somew hat We practice
as hard as everyone else but
we also do the other little
things to loosen the team up '
"Also, we know the game of
basketball very well, so when
we see what a guy is doing
wrong we go over and tell him
and try to help him out." he
finished
They're just a bunch of guys
making the best of their situa
tion They're having fun
That's what its all about
On Stage at Olioni's
Friday
I il tii idle
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IN CRUCIAL MATCH
Grapplers face Auburn
By DAN KIB1.ER
Associate sports editor
Georgia's wrestling team made history
last month when they defeated Auburn for
the first time ever, 26-20.
the Dogs will face a much improved
Auburn team Saturday afternoon when they
meet the Tigers for a rematch pt Auburn
with important conference seeds on the line
"This match against Auburn will give us a
great psychological advantage for the SEC
tournament if we win," Georgia coach
George Reid said. "A win would give us a
winning record of 9-8 for the year and we ll
get some important seeds in the tournament
if we win.
"Auburn has improved very much since
we beat them in January." Reid said
"They've shifted some people to different
weight classes and have some people
recovered from injuries we haven't seen this
year."
The Tigers, who finished third in last
week's SEIWA tournament behind
UT-Chattanooga and Alabama, boast an
experienced line-up that took five first or
second places in last week's tournament
Senior Keith Cotroneo took the title at 114.
and is a former SEC champion His match
with sophomore Steve Baney will be one of
the more important ones of the match
Another big bout will be at 118, where
sophomores Ken Carmichael of Georgia and
Bill Busby of Auburn will square off in their
fourth match in the last two years. Busby
holds a 2-1 advantage in the series but Reid
is confident about his wrestler's chances
"I think Ken's match will be a must win
for us but I like our chances." Reid said
“Ken needs the win this week in order to get
a high seed in the SEC tournament "
"Well need wins at 118. 1:14. and with
(Dave) Traxinger at 142 since we re forfeit
ing 126." Reid said The middle weights will
be key matches since we may have trouble
with their upper weights "
As early as two years ago. the Tigers
destroyed Georgia by a 43-0 score; with this
year's 26-20 win being a sign of Georgia
improvement "The rivalry between the two
schools is really great and I'd like to beat
Auburn as much as any other school in the
SEC." Reid said.
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This Saturday Night, February 21
Special Late Show
at Both Beechwood Cinemas
ALL PROCEEDS GO
DIRECTLY TO GUATEMALA
EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS.
Minimum $1.00 Donation
Inu Am mini Over 41 00 Brin 8 a friend and COme ^ W W ai,d
Any Amount Over $i.U0 ^ DUle I)anceK i n gs. starring Burt
Will Be Accepted Reynolds All for a worthy cause
Starts 11:30 p.m