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Page 6' The Ked and Black, Tuesday. November 29, 1977
Freshman Ron Webb may have only scored four
points Friday night against Tech but he looked very
impressive doing it. Coach John Guthrie is so
pleased with his recruit that he said he might have
started Webb against the Jackets had he not been
slightly injured. Without question Webb is a...
Man with a future
By DAVID WESTIN
Sports editor
Freshman Ron Webb scored his first basket
as a member of the Georgia Bulldogs with
exactly 7:36 left in the second half of the
Georgia-Georgia Tech game Friday night.
When Webb finishes his career in four years,
you can bet your best pair of Converse that
many of the teams in the SEC will be glad to
see him go. By the end of this season these SEC
teams will probably be wishing Webb had
stayed and played his college basketball in his
home state of Indiana
To be frank. Webb looks like one of the most
promising freshmen at Georgia since Jackey
Dorsey arrived on ‘he scene in 1974.
Webb was 1977-78’s unknown and mysterious
Bulldog going into last Friday night's opener
against Tech (which the Dogs lost 75-58' He
had been injured with a neck problem when the
annual intrasquad game was played three
weeks ago. so all anybody knew about the 6-6
forward was from word of mouth.
And that word of mouth said things like Webb
had averaged 19.5 points a game in his senior
year in high sc’.ool and shot 57.1 per cent from
the field He had also scored 32 points in one
game.
Bring him on. Bulldog fans were screaming.
Although he was still slightly injured for the
Tech game. Webb showed in less than six
minutes of playing time just exactly what he
could do Directly after hitting on his first field
goal. Webb swiped the ball from a Tech player
and scored again In his short playing stint
Webb had four points, a number of rebounds
and moved like a cat all over the floor.
After the game Webb explained exactly how
he ended u^ at Georgia. The fact that he did
land here is surprising since he grew up in
Indiana, one of the hottest basketball areas in
the country
My dad is from Kentucky and I’ve always
been a Kentucky fan and I’ve always wanted to
come south When I was a senior I told my
coach that if any school from Indiana called
and wanted to recruit me to tell them I wasn’t
interested.”
At the start of his senior year, many schools
did make inquiries about the possibility of
Webb coming to their school But then
something happened to Webb that stopped the
knocking on his door
He injured a bone in his foot early in the
season and was out for about six weeks Many
of the schools backed off on Webb, thinking he
might be a liability if his foot didn’t heal When
Webb saw the big colleges losing interest in his
services, he didn't get upset.
He just became more determined to prove
them wrong.
"After I broke my foot, I wanted to come
back after Christmas and prove that I could
come back from a serious injury.”
Webb's foot did heal up and he played
inspired ball the rest of the season. That’s
when Georgia came into the picture. Let
Georgia Coach John Guthrie tell what
happened next.
"We had sent Ron our normal questionnaire
in the fall but it didn’t come back to us until
after Christmas. Ron returned it and showed
an interest to come here. In the meantime he
had broken his foot. After his foot healed we
got up to see him as fast as we could and later
in the spring he came down here to visit. After
he went home we went up to see him a couple
more times and then signed him.”
And it looks like Guthrie has found himself a
diamond in the rough.
Webb showed great poise in his play against
Tech. Of course, he had the strong support of
Guthrie behind him (Guthrie said he could
have started the game if he hadn't had a neck
injury). But Webb still said that he did have
some jitters before he entered the game
"Yeah, at first I was nervous. It was a new
experience and everything but after about two
minutes I got over it and just blocked the
crowd out.”
Guthrie isn’t the only person that has a great
deal of faith in Webb’s ability. So do his
parents As a matter of fact, they drove down
from Indiana to see their son play last Friday
night.
And perhaps what they saw was the making
of a freshman sensation.
Freshman Ron Webb eyes a very promising future
Same old story
©
4 k
Larry Locke
Sportswriter
ATLANTA-The drums were’
pounding and the Georgia Tech
band was striking up seeming
ly hundreds of simultaneous
choruses of Ramblin' Wreck
when the teams left the court
here Friday night.
Georgia Tech was now a full
fledged basketball power They
had fooled, bedazzled, and just
plain shocked Georgia with
their patient passing offense
and intricate defense.
The final score was 75-58, but
if you multiply the difference
by two, you might get a better
idea of how close the game
really was. At no time except
in the first three minutes was
Georgia even in the game.
The 6000 plus fans here saw
Coach Dwane Morrison un
leash a Tech squad very
capable of finishing in the top
20 Who would have believed
that possible when Morrison
came to Tech just four years
ago?
The Johnny Majors of
college basketball? Maybe not,
but when Morrison arrived at
Tech four years ago, the
program was nowhere. He
immediately began revamping
the entire basketball idea at
Tech. He installed the patient,
slow passing offense: boring
but effective.
He recruited carefully, not
necessarily looking for high
school stars, but people who
could fit his game.
This climaxed this past
summer with the signing of
Junior College Player of the
Year Sammy Drummer. After
witnessing Friday night’s fias
co. there is little doubt that
Drummer fits into Tech’s
system very snugly.
So much for praising Geor
gia Tech and Morrison. Now
for criticizing Georgia.
Frankly. Friday night we
never looked worse. As soon as
the Dogs fell behind, the
patience stopped, the street
ball began, and Georgia under
Coach John Guthrie was blown
right out of the Tech Coliseum.
It's getting old; it’s increas
ingly more and more frustrat
ing, and I for one have seen
more than enough.
During last season, there
was a forum held on the pages'
of The Red and Black pitting
two sportswriters against each
other on the issue of firing
Guthrie It seemed at the time
that most students didn't seem
to feel he had a just chance.
After all. injuries had cut deep
into the ’76-’77 Bulldogs and
everybody seemed to feel that
they would play better in
'77-'78.
Weil, it’s ’77-’78 and the Dogs
look no better healthy than
they did injured a year ago
During the Tech game, there
was no on the court leadership,
the passing game when it
existed was absolutely terrible,
and to beat it all, center Lavon
Mercer fouled out with five
minutes to go in the game I
ask you, is that good coaching’
The Georgia full court press
didn’t even slow the Yellow
Jackets down, let alone ham
per their game.
Only junior guard Walter
Daniels and freshman forward
Ron Webb had games of any
kind of respectability. Other
players were at times hot, but
this whole idea of off and on
basketball has gotten Guthrie's
Dogs where they are today-
picked to finish last in the
SEC.
Georgia now goes into
December Traditionally the
soft part of the schedule, the
Dogs should emerge for the
Louisville Classic with a
winning record. But when
January blows in its cold
schedule of SEC opponents, the
shivering Bulldogs are in for
big trouble.
Georgia lived up to its billing
here Friday night and unless
changes are made. I fear that
the Bulldogs are going to
continue to play down lo
people's expectations for quite
a while to come.
Tico says Dog cagers improved
By STEVE Bl'RGESS
Georgia Tech’s 75-58 win
over Georgia Friday night
made one point very clear The
Dogs are not ready to play
with the big boys yet.
One Georgia player, who will
go unnamed, showed little
remorse over the loss. *‘I
didn’t expect to win the
game,” he said, but added
smiling, "I never thought we
would get beat this had
either.” Nearby, one of the
Bulldog freshmen was fighting
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back tears
John Guthrie's club had a
difficult time getting organized
offensively. Movement was
slow and sporadic, and shot
selection not much better But
the credit should go largely to
the Tech defense, which kept
the middle clogged up all
evening and forced Georgia to
take unwanted outside shots.
Tech’s Tico Brown compared
Georgia’s new edition differ
ently from past squads. “They
are much more together spirit
wise, and the animosity among
the players is a lot less.
Georgia should be a good club
as the season progresses.”
Brown teamed with 6-5
sensation Sammy Drummer to
lead Tech. Jacket Coach
Dwane Morrison had to be
pleased with Drummer who led
all scorers with 20 points.
“Tico and Sammy fit like a
glove,” Morrison said, “but
Sammy hasn’t completely ad
justed to our system.”
Georgia started the game
using a three guard offense
consisting of Walter Daniels.
Mark Slonaker and Jimmy
Daughtry. But the game was
fought and won inside by
Tech’s mobile front line.
Brown added 18 points for
Tech and center Bill Allgood
tallied 14.
The first 10 minutes actually
decided the outcome of the
game. Georgia jumped to a
quick 3-0 lead that was short
lived Drummer tied it for
Tech at 6-6 with 15:50 to go in
the half, starting a streak of 10
unanswered points. The Jac
kets led at intermission by
34-23.
In the first halt. Georgia was
nine of 26 from the field for a
horrendous 35 per cent. Tech
hit on 16 of 30 for 53 per cent
The loss did have one bright
spot in 6-8 freshman Ron
Webb. The Indiana native
played well in place of Lucius
Foster who had to leave early
in the second half with a
sprained ankle.
The contest was a grim
reminder of past Bulldog
teams, but Tech is expected by
many to be in the playoff
picture at season's end.
Cincinnati Coach Gale Catlett
called Tech the team to beat in
the Metro conference this year
Georgia gets a chance to
regroup this week before
meeting Troy State (Ala.) at
the Coliseum Saturday night in
the home opener. Foster’s
injury was the only one
sustained against Tech, except
for team pride. He should be
ready by Saturday.
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It’s time to go ‘bowling’
By JOK GRAMMFR III
Well, it’s that time again The last of the turkey and pumpkin
pie are gone Preparations are being made for a season of
family, friends, praying, gift-giving and partying
And football, football, football.
The bowl games are upon us. As if you wouldn't get enough of
them in the papers and on television, here are some predictions
on how the games will turn out:
LIBERTY BOWL (North Carolina v. Nebraska» This looks to
be a defensive battle despite the presence of two fine running
backs. The running game, however, may decide it and I.M. Hipp
gets the edge over Carolina’s Amos Lawrence Nebraska, 17-7.
HALL OF FAME CLASSIC (Minnesota v Maryland)—Obvi
ously they named this one a classic before two 7-5 teams were
chosen for this inaugural game Minnesota was the surprise team
of the Big 10 but the Gophers still belong in the "Little 8” and
Maryland knows it. Maryland. 31-21.
TANGERINE BOWL (Texas Tech v. Florida State)-FSU was
embarrassed by San Diego State two weeks ago and could drop
to 8-3 after this week's game with Florida But only explosive
offensive teams have been able to knock off the Seminoles this
season Tech has a good, but grind it-out type offense. FSU
should air mail it, 24-14.
FIESTA BOWL (Arizona State v Penn State)—The Sun Devils
play this one in their own park and are tough in Tempe Penn
State can open it up too and the ball may fly all over the park The
Nittany Lion’s defense is the edge. 35-24
GATOR BOWL (Pittsburgh v. Clemson)—Pitt is in Jacksonville
after being squeezed out of the Orange like so much, pith and the
Panthers promise to make this one of the most interesting
holiday matches This could be the beginning of Pitt’s slide from
the peak and Clemson’s rise to the crest In a battle of fine
quarterbacks, the Tiger's Steve Fuller comes up a little short to
the Panther's Matt Cavanaugh in a real cat fight Pitt, 27-21.
SUN BOWL (Louisiana State v. Stanford)—The Cardinal’s
passer Guy Benjamin v. LSI' s runner Charles Alexander.
Neither defense is likely to shut down the other team and it’»
quicker through the air than on the ground. Stanford, 27-21.
PEACH BOWL (North Carolina State v Iowa State)—Third in
the Big 8 is superior to fourth in the Atlantic Coast. Fur will be
flying when the Cyclones run through the Wolfpack. Iowa State,
28-9.
BLUEBONNET BOWL (Texas A&M v. Southern California)—
Two teams, each the disappointment of its conference, will battle
for a spot in the top 15. It should be a no-holds-barred scrap and
in a fight, and it would be nice to have immense fullback George
Woodard on your side A&M does and gets the nod, 21-14.
COTTON BOWL (Texas v. Notre Dame)—A win in Dallas
would give Texas its first national championship since 1969, quite
a prize for rookie head coach Fred Akers But, Notre Dame has a
coach named Devine, a running back called Heavens, the luck of
the Irish and thousands of priests pulling for the Irish. The time
is right for an upset. Notre Dame, 21-10.
SU(jAR BOWL (Alabama v. Ohio State)—The glamour in this
game is the meeting of two of the game’s most successful
coaches-Bama's Bear Bryant and Ohio State’s Woody Hayes
The Buckeyes have no chance at the national title but the Tide
does and the Bear may use this occasion to announce his
retirement. No matter how fired up Alabama is though, OSU
quarterback Rod Gerald will not be contained. It would be a
shame for Bear to retire and go out on a losing note. Ohio State,
20-16.
ROSE BOWL (Michigan v. Washington)—That’s not a
misprint The Huskies are in the Grandaddy of Bowls. Bo
Schembechler and the Wolverines will make them wish they
weren’t. Michigan, 34-6
ORANGE BOWL (Oklahoma v. Arkansas)-By the time this
game gets under wav. the Sooners should know about their shot at
the national crown and it should be a good one. Arkansas has a
fine team, losing only to top-ranked Texas—as did Oklahoma
But Oklahoma has turned out to be an awesome football machine
and the Sooners will roll on in Miami, 41-17.
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