European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 16, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 16,1985 the stars and stripes Page 25 Mccray went out for defense so he could make rams team by Bucky Fox stiff writer was that Ramstein tailback Willie Mccray out there playing army Flag football amid empty stands it was. Five Days after starring in front of thousands of air Force football fans Mccray was just one of the boys of Kaiserslautern s 501st trans co. One of the truck Drivers. Well sort of. Even in this Humble setting an army Flag football playoff game at Wiesbaden thursday Mccray stuck out like the tank he is. Six feet tall. Two Hundred and fifteen pounds. Muscles that can Bench press over400 pounds. Mccray playing defensive end for his Flag team looked like the Only Guy Wear ing shoulder pads. Only those were no pads. Those were Mccray s shoulders. Way to close it Down Mccray s teammates yelled after his defensive play caused a runner to lose a Yard. Moments later he sacked the Quarter Back then jogged off the Field. I love the  he said. The game particularly Ramstein s Brand of air Force tackle football loves Willie Mccray. Last saturday. Mccray dominated the Continental sports conference title game at a near record pitch. He carried the Ball 44 times believed to be a title game re Cord the regular season Mark is 45. He amassed 200 Yards Pitburg s Freddie Miller gained 214 in the 1983 Csc final. He was the main Force in Ramstein s 14-13 Victory Over Hahn vaulting the rams into the Safe title game nov. 24. Mccray might drive a truck but with numbers like those it s no wonder his Ramstein teammates Call him  anytime you run a tailback 44 times and he needs Only two Breaks he s so Strong said rams coach Bill Schultz. I love to Block for him said fullback Stan Henderson the rams other big Back at 240 pounds. He s deceptively Quick. He has such leg strength but he s  Mccray made his Mark on the Csc Well before saturday. While Ramstein went 7-1, tank rolled up 890 Yards. He gained 160 Yards in the regular sea son finale at Sembach then lost the Rush ing title when Tilburg s Miller passed him with 178. Miller playing on a bad knee most of the year totalled 911 Yards. When i got Here last june All i heard about was Freddie Miller Mccray  i saw my i did t think he was so hot. I met him and he s a Good Guy. But Asfar As ability i think i be got him  i compare him with Freddie Miller said Sembach coach Jack Bornhoft. Freddie Miller is a Little stronger since he s a championship weight lifter but they re in the same  Wiesbaden coach Don Bartel gives Miller the Edge because of his open Field Speed. Mccray s Forte is Power said Bartel whose fivers yielded 161 Yards to tank. But Hes quicker than people  Pitburg coach Dave Lockwood said of Mccray he could play for  coming from Lockwood who rarely lauds other teams players that s a raving compliment. Bornhoft said he tried to Stop Mccray by using 5-2 and 6-1 defences. But his cutback a so devious said Bornhoft whose tigers held Mccray to 78 Yards in the Csc semifinals. The Way Ramstein runs their counter that allows him to Cut Back. That threw our linebackers off in  the first time the rams met Mccray they thought they had a muscular defensive player. The specialist 4, assigned to army transportation units in a town and Ramstein told the defending Safe champions that he was a linebacker. Only three army Guys can play for Ramstein Mccray said. With my size i thought my chances were better making the team As u linebacker. Then us the sea son went along i saw i was better than the other runners Mccray opened the season with 34 Yards in a sub role. Coming off the Bench again in week two he cranked out 104 Yards against Hahn. Schultz who loves big backs gave Mccray the starting Tail Back spot right there. Mccray said then All i Ever was was a running Back " Schultz said. I asked Why did you go out for defense he said i wanted to  the team " offensive tackle Pat Owens wondered whether the new tailback could Cut it. Early on he was not grasping the plays Owens said. I said Man he s Gonna carry the Ball for us then he picked up the plays 10-times better and he was  just have to hold your Block a Little and he gets through said right guard Dale Huschka. He s one of the rare backs who can pick a  said Owens. Tank will Tell us hold the linebacker up for one second longer and i la get through and he  said Bartel he had the ability against us to recognize an open urea and hit it  Mccray 23. Learned to run the football in his native Clinton la. He played in the Backfield As an eighth grader then tried out for the varsity. I did the same thing As Here went out for defense until they found out i had running Talent he said. After graduating in 1980, Mccray joined the army. This is his first tackle action in six years. It was a Little bit hard to get the feedback he said. What helped was i never got out of shape in the military. It was s8.s photo by Dudlo rams Cin s Willie Mccray. Always a runner rough to get my running technique Down but after 1 did i was Good to  and the rams have this week end off while Torrejon and upper Heyford play in the Safe semifinal saturday in England. Mccray thus had time to help his army buddies in their Flag football playoffs thursday. With tank playing defensive end his team lost. Next sunday when tank plays tailback in the Safe title game his Ramstein team Hopes to win for the third straight year. Ext Fia Points a Arnstein Sschultz said he will attend the Safe semifinal at Raf upper Scyford eng land. The rams Ili resume practice monday. Prediction last week i-1 season 29 11,.725 Torrejon Al upper Heyford saturday the raiders Are in for a Long afternoon chasing Heyford a a Jeff  s the same Guy whose late hit against Torrejon two years ago disqualified him for the Safe title game. This time he disqualifies lie raiders. Upper Heyford by 12. . Stars help basketball grow in Spain Madrid Spain a once a minor sport relegated to rundown gyms basketball has become a big time at traction in Spain thanks largely to imported american collegiate  no one expects basketball to overtake soccer in popularity Spanish fans Are packing Arenas games Are idea used regularly and pro players Are becoming House hold names in a sports world once dominated by to occur and its , which won the Silver medal in the sport at the 1984 los Angeles olympics is scheduled to Host the world basketball championships next  player predominantly americans who pos Ess Superior physical attributes and a greater knowledge of the game have added excitement and improved the play and training of spaniards said Clifford Luyk the first american to play in the Spanish  Sainz coach of Spain s Best pro team real Madrid attributes basketball s great Rise in popularity to Equality among league teams which makes the Competition Keener and the sport More exciting for  imported american players have greatly influenced the style of Spanish basketball and Are a primary reason for improvement in play and coaching. Sainz said. Quality among the league teams is the direct 1980 ruling by the Spanish basketball Feder allowed each of the 16 teams in the first division greater result of a action that Allowe cad to carry two foreigners on its roster. Of the 32 foreigners currently playing on Spanish teams 29 Are americans of whom 25 Are Black one is yugoslav one is Canadian and one is panamanian. Other european countries also use imports most of them americans. American players in Spain s league earn from $40,000to $100,000, usually in pesetas although some Are paid in dollars. Added Perks for most players include free use of an apartment and a car and paid medical benefits. Teams in the National basketball association advise Many of their top prospects to play in Spain or other european countries to Gam experience before real tempting entry in the Aba. But some american College stars arrange their own tryouts with Spanish and other european teams and negotiate their own contracts. The Spanish basketball Boom began in Earnest in 1980 after the federation authorized private sponsorship of teams. In return for publicity worn on players jerseys sponsors began pouring Money into clubs to pay higher salaries and upgrade facilities. The result was beefed up Competition higher scores and faster paced games. Luyk a 16-year Veteran of real Madrid where he is now assistant coach said basketball being played in Spain today is far Superior to the level when he arrived in 1962. Nate Davis a 31-year-old former University of South Carolina Star and the Dean of american players in the league said Spanish basketball is the world s Best after that of the United states and the soviet Union. Davis who has led the league in scoring the past three years plays for Clesa of Al Ferrol. Sainz said extensive press and television coverage of basketball has greatly increased visibility and knowledge of the sport among the Spanish Public and has attracted millions of Young Spanish players. The sign that Spanish basketball had made it to the big time was the National team s Success in los Angeles. Spain suffer cd its Only defeat at the hands of the United states. Leu coach Calls grand jury probe ludicrous Baton Rouge. La. Up Louisi Ana stale basketball coach Dale Brown Crous Oul no Sci usum w Ian minute appearance before the panel. Brown was four hours late for his scheduled appearance before the grand jury which was investigating electronic bugging equipment Fri agents confiscated in the office of athletic director Bob Brodhead. In America today we arc More concerned about speeding and parking than rape and murder it s ludicrous Brown said thursday. While refusing to discuss his testimony Brown vehemently denied the bugging Inci Dent was connected to his bizarre ill fated recruitment of Alfredo Tito Hor Ford. The 7-foot-1 Center who came to leu amid intense controversy spent two months on the Baton Rouge Campus before he disappeared several weeks ago. Earlier this week news reports indicated Brodhead installed the bugs to tape Mcaa investigators already probing leu athletics and to protect the school against any Mcaa problems that might arise from Hor Ford s recruitment. Those Are two different things Brown said. I Don t care to  the Mcaa has been investigating the leu football and basketball programs for More than two years. Hor Ford arrived on the leu Campus Ina gust in the midst of a University of Houston attempt to overturn an Mcaa Rul ing that made him ineligible to play at the Texas school. Brown enlisted the Aid of attorney Nathan Fisher who had Hor Ford give a sworn deposition about his recruitment at leu before the University would offer the dominican Center a basketball scholarship. Fisher also appeared before the grand jury for More than an hour. He refused to comment on whether he was representing Brown