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The Red and Black. Friday, February 24. I»7K
CHUCK THOMPSON
Baseball will
be improved
With the 1978 baseball season starting Saturday, the question of
how good the Georgia team will be this year is being raised.
Several areas and situations must be examined to come up with
a reasonable prediction of how the Bulldogs will do.
Traditionally the Georgia baseball team has been one of the
weakest in the SEC In the past 10 years the Bulldogs have had
only one really good season This was in 1975 when the squad
came out on top of the eastern division of the conference
Following the 1975 campaign Roy Umstattd was named head
coach of the Georgia team He had been the coach at Middle
Georgia College for nine years prior to accepting the Bulldog
post
While at Middle Georgia Umstattd built a winning baseball
program that was recognized as one of the best in junior colleges
in the state and in the southeast As a matter of fact, the Georgia
hiring of Umstattd was announced while he and his 1975 MGC
team were participating in the junior college national
championships in Colorado. (The team finished third in the
nation.)
Umstattd increased the schedule from 34 games to 50 his first
year at Georgia and began the task of recruiting the players
needed to make the squad successful Last year the team
finished with a 22-24 record overall -9-14 in the SEC
The Bulldog coach has been criticized in the past for making
blunders in his coaching strategy during games and not always
controlling his players as he should.
Though there may be some truth in these allegations, generally
the case is the coach is only as good as the material he has to
work with.' And this is the area in which Umstattd excells He is
a good judge of baseball talent, and an outstanding recruiter
At Middle Georgia he was continually able to draw the top high
school players in the state to his teams, even though he had no
full scholarships to offer
Umstattd has been making progress in this area here This
season, for the first time since he’s been at Georgia, the coach is
going into his campaign with enough quality reserves to give the
Bulldogs the needed depth to withstand a 50 game schedule.
The talent needed for a successful season is there It remains
tc be seen whether or not the players will develop the strong
winning attitude that is necessary to build a good baseball team
The same players that hit for a 325 team average last year are
back for Georgia this season They will be hard pressed to repeat
that performance, but the 1978 Bulldogs should not be lacking at
the plate
There is only one change in the infield this year-at first base.
There Don Kenner should aid the Georgia infield to be much
more solid than it was last year. A season under their belts
playing together should also help the rest of the infielders to
make less errors than in 1977
The outfield will also be improved over last year. There are
five players who will receive considerable playing time The
addition of Bill Taylor to coach the outfielders has really helped
The question mark for the team at this time is the pitching
staff. Gone is the super Chuck Fore who was practically
unbeatable last year.
There are a few hurleri on the team who may be able to step
forward and be the “stopper" this season, but only time will tell
who, if anyone will be able to so this Leading candidates for the
top position on the team are Ken Rabun. Alan 0 Neal. Scott Bell,
and Chris DiLorenzo
Georgia’s schedule is tough this year. There will be no weak
teams in the SEC, including Georgia A first or second place
finish in the SEC-East is possible for the Bulldogs, but they will
need to stay healthy and take advantage of all the breaks they
can get to place that high
A third place finish for Georgia would be a very good season
The Bulldogs will surely be respectable and play some good and
exciting baseball this year.
Gundogs prepare
Dog pair in action
By BRUCE HUNTER
For the University Rifle
team, the long months of
competitive shooting which
began in September and
covered numerous tourna
ments and dual meets will
come to an end this weekend at
the Southeastern Conference
Riflery Association (SCRA)
Championships in Nashville,
Tenn
The Gundogs. who piled up
38 wins against only three
losses during the season, will
lie trying to regain the SCRA
championships which they
owned tor three consecutive
years from 1973-1975. The
conference championship
which was first held in 1969 is
what the Georgia squad has
been training for all season
Upon the Conclusion of our
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Pholo l>\ MAI R5 MAKGOL
It) PERKY MilVIYKi:
Wes Cash and Tim Delaney
will represent Georgia Ibis
weekend in the ninth annual
Princeton Indoor Tennis
Championships. Cash is the
defending doubles champ at
Princeton, having won the title
with Charle\ Ellis last year
The format for the tourna
ment will be a singles draw of
32 players and a doubles draw
of Hi teams. The majority of
the field is Irom northern and
eastern schools since these
teams usually get much more
work on indoor courts
The Princeton facility is one
of the best in the country and
so it should follow that the
Princeton representatives to
the tournament are going in as
favorites.
This is not necessarily the
case ncrnrHinn to Georgia
Coach Dan Magill. Magill said
the held would lie as competi
tive as ever and in the singles
at least, no clear-cut favorite
could Ik* determined.
One team to watch will be
the Yale duo of Doyle and
Leeds. Three weeks ago this
team won the National Indoors
doubles championship held in
Wichita. Last spring this same
team became a crowd favorite
after they knocked off UCLA's
no. 1 team in the NCAA
championships held here
But while competition will be
tough, the Georgia netters
can't 1m* counted out
In the previous eight Prince
ton tournaments. Georgia has
had three singles and five’
doubles champions. Coupled
with the improved play of
Delaney and Cash as a doubles
team. Georgia has a good shot
to advance well into the
tournament.
Cash recently won a series of
challenge matches against
Delaney to replace him as the
no. 1 player on the Bulldog
ladder. Delaney had played no
1 at boih the LSU and National
Indoor championships earlier
this season The challenge
match victories mean Cash
will play no. 1 at least against
all of the SEC competition
because of a conference rule
that states players must
remain in the same position on
their team's ladder once the
outdoor season begins. Delaney
will probably continue to see
some action at no 1 against
non-SEC opponents.
The Georgia netters will
begin their outdoor season next
Saturday. March 4. when Penn
State conies to town
Macy, Cats in Monday
K\ HOB INGRAM
\ssistant sports editor
The Kentucky Wildcats,
rated no 2 in the country
<21-2>. will roll into Athens
Monday night with visions of a
national championship in th«*ir
eyes.
The Big Blue Machine has
already beaten the Bulldogs
once this year. 90-73. And with
this score in mind, the
Wildcats should be a heavy
favorite to trounce the Dogs
once again.
However. Georgia fans can
hope that the home court and
an upset-minded Bulldog team
might catch the highly success
ful Wildcats looking ahead to
their March 4 date with
Nevada-Las Vegas on national
television
But why are the Wildcats so
successful this season?
Many people like to point to
head coach Joe. B Hall’s
coaching ability. After inherit
ing the job from the acknow
ledged master of southeastern
basketball. Adolph Rupp.Hall
has managed to win better
than 20 games in four of his
five seasons at Kentucky.
Hall's average of 21 wins per
season is second only in
Kentucky history by Rupp's
own 21.5 per season.
Others credit experience as
the Wildcat key to success.
Kentucky's four "Super Sen
iors" 01 Jack Givens. Rick
Robey. Mike Phillips, and
James Lee. All are thought to
lie of pro potential.
Both of these are valid
reasons for such a team to be
so successful.
But the major reason has to
lie the transitional player on
the Kentucky team. Kyle
Mac >
Macy did not play for the
Wildcats last year. He was
busy riding the proverbial
bench but not by Coach Hall's
choice. Macy was sitting out a
year as according to NCAA
regulations after transferring
from Purdue.
Macy’s career is one worth
noting. In high school, he was
simply "Mr. Everything." He
was the coach’s son at Peru
High School in Peru. Ind. Macy
was named the all-conference
in three sports—basketball,
baseball and tennis.
During his prep career, the
6-3 guard managed to rack up
2.137 points (Oscar Robertson
had 1780 in the state). And on
top of everything else. Mac)
was named “Mr Basketball"
lor the state of Indiana
Academically, he ranked 27th
out of 234 graduates.
Then he signed with Purdue.
Macy’s freshman year was not
uneventful. He managed to be
the third leading scorer on the
team 13.8). best free throw
shooter (85.9) and second in
assists <88>.
But Macy wasn't happy. He
had to get out of Indiana and\
when Kentucky still showed
interest in him. Macy jumped
at the the chance to wear the
Wildcat blue. Sitting out the
1976-77 season, the plavmaker
had a chance to learn
Kentucky inside and out.
Consequently he became the
plavmaker for the Wildcat
team. Macy seems to be the
glqe that put the “Super
Seniors" together.
He’s a good floor leader and
a smart player. Not only can
Kyle run our offenses and
defenses and be a plavmaker."
said Hall. “But he also
possesses an excellent shooting
touch and is the best free
throw shooter on the team."
Macy’s statistics speak for
themselves. He's second in the
conference in assists (5.7) and
leads the conference in free
throw percentage. As a matter
nl lad. Macy's 90.8 percent
from the line is third in the
nation, lie's 15th in the
conference in scoring with 13.6
points per game.
As for Georgia, the Rulldgos
need a win over Kentucky
badly. A win against the
Wildcats could Ik* the differ
ence between a one year
extension and unemployment
lor John Guthrie.
For the fun of it. It's all a matter of style. And it’s as
simple as sliding your feel into a pair of DFX by
Dexter. They’re soft, flcxy Nature Hide 1 '’ with the
outdoor look everybody's into. A flexy sole, too, that
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Men s $29.95
Women's $28.95
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A NEW PLACE TO PERCH
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Corner of
College and Broad
"I've been putting the
shooters through some inten
sive shooting the last few days
to build up their endurance for
this weekend." said Rifle
Coach Sgt. David Grayson "1
had them shoot a full course
last week which is double what
the shooting in the champion
ship will be. I'm trying to get
them at the top of their form
for this."
The Georgia squad's lone
defeat in conference play came
at the hands of Vanderbilt
early in the season
"Vandy beat us early by a
few points, so they will be
tough to beat. Also. Kentucky
and Auburn will be strong
contenders. Those three teams
and our team are all very
evenly matched, and it will hi*
a four-way battle-
GEORGIA / p?,
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Grand Opening
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STOREWIDE SALE
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