European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday june 10,1990 the stars and stripes a a Page 25 Aba finals blazers get a bang out of their Buck by Howard Ulman Portland Ore. Apr it was a perfect match. Buck Williams new Jersey s one solid player and Leader was the one Portland needed. Both were tired of losing. Then they got together. _ mow they Are winners and soon maybe champions. The Trail blazers Are red 1-1 in the Aba finals with Detroit with game 3 sunday. The transformation took Only one year for a player and a team frustrated for so a Portland Hasni to won the Aba title in 13 years and was eliminated in the first playoff round in the last four. In Williams eight seasons with the nets they won five playoff games. A Fate dealt me a hand and i had to play that hand a said Williams who endured it with few complaints. A Over the years it has made me a much stronger and better person and now playing for the Portland Trail blazers i know it was a  he led the nets in rebounding in All eight seasons was Aba Rookie of the year in 1982 and made the All Star team three times. The polite hard working Williams would have made Many Al class teams. Despite his gifts he  make the nets a Winner. They reached the playoffs in each of his first five seasons but got past the first round Only once. They averaged 59 losses the past three years. It was too painful for him to watch the playoffs on to. The blazers had their own problems. They needed a Leader and a fifth Strong starter. With Bill Walton they won their Only Aba title in 1977. They made the playoffs in 11 of the next 12 seasons but were knocked out in the first round nine times and second round twice. Last years 39-43 record was their worst in nine seasons. On june 24, Portland got Williams from the nets for Oft injured Center Sam Bowie and a first round draft Choice which they used for cookie Blaylock. The blazers had their Leader to take scorers Clyde Drexler Jerome Kersey game 3 on an to and radio a Detroit at Portland 9 30 . Sunday. Terry Porter and Kevin Duckworth to the top. They ended up at 59-23, a 20-game turnaround and in the Aba finals against defending Champion Detroit. A my rebounding and defense and my ability to play on the Low Box was complementary to Clyde Drexler a and Terry porters and Kevin Duckworths game a a he said. A i done to know whether any other player probably could have fit the kind of Mold that i  a the does give them the feeling that they can beat anybody because that a his attitude a Portland coach Rick Adelman said. A they have the ability to come Back a Little quicker and not dwell on being Down or negative and he a really done  a fall the Guys like him All the Guys respect him and All the Guys listen to him a backup Center Wayne Cooper said. A on the court he a going to bring 110 percent All the time a Kersey said. A if you see Buck going that hard it motivates you to go a Little harder  without Williams Effort late in the sixth game of the Western conference finals the blazers might not be in the title round. In the last minute of the clinching 112-109 win he blocked a Phoenix shot leading to Kersey a Basket that made the score 110-109, then stole the Ball with eight seconds left. Williams averaged 13.6 Points per game this season second lowest of his career. A i had to sacrifice a great Deal of my game playing Here with so Many scorers a he said. A but my unselfish play and my ability to play defense and rebound the basketball were primarily the elements that the Portland Trail blazers  although he is surrounded by a More talented team than the nets the 6-foot-8 Williams still led the blazers with 9.8 rebounds per Gam a. Forward Buck Williams has helped Portland forge a 1-1 title series tie with Detroit. Small colleges pump them out big a Portland Center Kevin Duckworth from Eastern Illinois at Charleston by Bill Barnard a basketball writer Longwood College and Wisconsin Ste Vens Point done to have a lot in common with notre Dame and Indiana except for having former students in the starting lineups of Aba finalists. Five of the 10 starters for the Detroit pistons and Portland Trail blazers played for Small colleges. Represented along with Longwood and Stevens Points Are Mcneese state Eastern Illinois and Southeastern Oklahoma. Joe Dumars of the pistons went to Mcneese in Lake Charles la., and teammate Dennis Rodman went to Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant okla. For the Trail blazers Kevin Duckworth is from Eastern Illinois at Charleston 111. Jerome Kersey is from Longwood College a former girls school in Farmville a. And Terry Porter went to Wisconsin Stevens Point. A fall those Guys had a lot to prove coming out of College and they did it said Portland a Clyde Drexler who came from a High profile program at Houston. A without a doubt they Are All big time players. But going into College they probably did no to have a realistic Hope to play in the  Drexler said players coming from Small colleges a tend to get a lot of flak from the veterans. We still tease Jerome about playing against girls in  the Long Arm of scouting and pre draft Rookie Camps found All five players. Porter and Dumars were taken in the first round in 1985, and the other three Small College grads were second rounders. Duckworth a 7-foot, 280-Pounder clearly benefited from the a bad a obsession with big men but he also averaged 19.5 Points and nine rebounds As a senior. A i found out that no matter where you Are you have to make the most of it a said Duckworth the 33rd pick by san Antonio in the 1986 draft. A you should put yourself in a situation to  Duckworth was traded to Portland by the spurs on dec. 18, 1986, and was named the a bad a most improved player the following season after averaging 15.8 Points. He averaged 18.1 Points in 198889 and 16.2 this season. The most successful of the five Small College players in the finals is Dumars who made the All Star team this season and was the most valuable player in the championship series last year. Dumars also was the most confident of the five during his College Days when he became the no aah sloth leading scorer averaging 26.4 and 25.8 Points his last two years at Mcneese. A i always Felt i could play i never doubted myself a Dumars said. A was i played in College 1 could Tell just by looking that 1 was Good  Mcneese played a game at Oklahoma in Dumars Junior season and he scored 38 Points against the sooner an opponents record at Norman. A by my Junior year 1 knew scouts were watching me and i knew i  be overlooked a Dumars said. Dumars was the 18th pick in the first round by the pistons in 1985, while Porter was 24th by the Trail blazers. A i was told by scouts i might go in the first 15, but coming out of a Small College the feeling by the teams might be that Guys from big schools might produce More a a Porter said. �?o1 really wanted to be in the first round because they Are usually Given guaranteed contracts and get a longer Chance to show what they can  Porter said he started believing he could play in the Aba when he did Well in the 1984 olympic trials. A i was playing against the Best College players in the country so 1 knew i could do it a Porter said. Three pre draft Rookie Camps a at Portsmouth va., Chicago and Hawaii a also give Small College players a Chance to compete against their More publicized Peers. Porter did Well at Portsmouth and Hawaii and Kersey showed his rebounding skills at Portsmouth and Chicago