European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse I % % 1 monday february 11 1991 the stars and stripes Page 25 aim 1 at �4 i Indiana s 76 i a pm i by John Nelson Jap sportswriter Quinn Buckner Bobby Wilkerson Kent Ben amp on Tom Abernathy and Scott May. A a a a. A. A a for 15 years those have been the first five names in the Bonscore of College basketball a last unbeaten team. Remember them. In another month the names could be Anderson Huntt Greg Anthony George Ackles Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson As top ranked univ challenges the 32-0 record of the 1975-76 Indiana Hoo Siers. A. A. That is if the running rebels were to win at Arkansas sunday. A we still talk about it and laugh a a Wilkerson said. A and we think of All the Guys we played against who thought they had pretty Good teams and we beat them. They can say what they want but we kicked their Butts in since 1976, other schools have flirted with perfection including Indiana state. Which did no to lose until the National championship game against Michigan state in 1979rpending sundays game against the no. 2 Razorbacks univ not Only had a shot at being undefeated but also at becoming the first repeat Mcaa Champion since Urcla in 1973. A no question about it a Buckner said. A a they be got a a it be easy though and nobody knows that better than Buckner Wilkerson Benson Abernathy May amp co. A five of the starters went on to the Aba for at least 5 years and Many of them Are in coaching. For a decade and a half they be revealed in it and they recognize what it takes. For them it was a special mix of Talent poise motivation Luck and coaching that carried them to that unforgettable season. A a you be got to have a couple of things to go undefeated a said Buckner the Captain of that team and now a to sportscaster. A some you can control. Some you can to first you be got to be Lucky and avoid injuries. That a what got us into trouble in 1975.�?� the hoosiers might have had a better team the year before their perfect season. They went 31-1 and rolled up big winning margins like 74-48 Over Michigan 104-71 Over Purdue and 98-74 Over Kentucky. But May the Foo Siers leading scorer broke his Arm late in the season and Indiana wound up losing in the third game of the tournament 92-90, in its second meeting with Kentucky. A a that a when we made the commitment to win it All after that game a said Wilkerson an assistant coach first at Colorado and now at Maryland Eastern Shore. A your quest started the year before and front then on whenever we accomplished a Milestone wed just say a it ainu to Over we never celebrated until after we won the National the result might have been perfect but there were bumps in the Road to the title an overtime game against Kentucky in the fourth game of the season another overtime Victory Over Michigan and a three Point win Over Purdue but the hoosiers did no to give a thought to bungling it until maybe the title game against Michigan. A i capt remember us Ever worrying about being undefeated a said Jim Crews one of the reserves on the team who became a Bob Knight assistant at Indiana and later head coach at Evansville. A the Only thing i can remember is coach from left Bob Knight Scott May and Quinn Buckner had a 32-0 season to cheer about. Knight recognized it and benched Buckner the team s play maker. A i remember a a t very vividly a said come that pitfall and. Also helped the a hoosiers stay poised. All the starters were if1 remember mat very vividly a said seniors except the Center Benson a Jum a . Raynn in Nib when we were put in positions where we could have lost we never lost our poise a Benson said. A we just knew that we either had to tighten our defense or establish ourselves do we have to lose to re energize do we have to lose to learn a lesson a he thought that was ridiculous. A the Only time we thought it might be going Down the Drain was halftime of the Michigan game but we got that quickly after beating Michigan twice during the season the hoosiers trailed by six Points at halftime of the big game and were playing guard Wil Kerson who sustained a concussion earlier in the game. But May and Benson led a 10-Point run that turned the game into a rout and Indiana won 86-68. A i remember in the locker room before the Michigan game Here we were 31-0, ton ind., shows the tremendous coaching ability and expertise Knight has to know How and when to do now Buckner can admit it was True. A i admit that to myself at the time but i Wasny to playing very Well a he said. A coach Knight benched me for two games it was a Way of snapping us Back to reality. Coach Felt we would do Well from the beginning and he was going to drive us to no team can be driven farther than its Talent will take it and Indiana had the Talent. A a you be got to have the horses i done to care what anybody tells you a Buckner j. A of a a j / Istir bulk Iii and we had beaten them twice already said. A a you be got to have players com that year and twice the year before a mixed to winning and people who arc Crews said. A everyone. A. A a in the country knew we were better than they were and they knew it. But we also knew they could beat us on a Given Day and we had to play them once More. It almost did no to seem there May have been one brie letdown during the season one fluctuation in the teams focus a when we weren to playing to win we were playing not to lose a Crews said. Willing to fill roles. As much As i thought p should be scoring i knew i was never going to be the leading scorer. _ a you see that too with univ. Larry is the first option inside on offence. Hunt is the first option other three Guys kind of garbage themselves into the offence. When Guys Start who a taking the shots and who a getting the Ink that a the beginning of. The Indiana a experience helped it Over make better passes or make that extra pass to get a better shot. We were so Well prepared and willing to. Do whatever it took to win even if it meant setting aside our egos. That unselfishness i think was the key motivation and coaching went hand in hand at Indiana they were two ingredients the 1975-76 team never lacked. Quot its four times More important to be mentally into what you re doing the i it is to be physically prepared a said Abernathy who like Benson is in business in Bloomington. A coach Knight used to stress that. Were we on a Mission i guess you could say that but i done to know if we Ever verbalized often Many of the emotions of that season went unsaid. A we knew we were going to win we just never really voiced it a Wilkerson said. A we did our talking after. Our play was our talk. Other teams went through a lot of mental games saying things in the papers but we never read the papers. Coach would read them and use them to get us on the run but not from Lewis Osaka Japan apr Ben Johnson has a message for Carl Lewis a any time Quot a Carl Lewis should know that pm not afraid to run against him a said Johnson in Japan to compete in his fourth comeback race after a two year ban for using steroids. A i m not taking anything away from the great runners but when i m ready i can do better than the 29-year-old Canadian stripped of the 100-meter world record and Gold medal after failing a drug test at the Seoul olympics is scheduled to race against Lewis aug. 5 at Malmo Sweden. But at a news conference saturday his manager suggested the two May meet sooner. A we Are hoping that Malmo wont be the first race a Lemeel Azan said. A there is a Strong possibility of a match race sooner. In Europe or possibly Canada. Azan refused to elaborate but said the race Quot won t be a Donald Trump style meanwhile Johnson said he plans to keep a High profile competing in 24 meets this live been banned for two years while a lot of great runners in the world were competing a he said. A my intention is to run As Many races As possible just to be in so far Johnson has won one race and finished second in two others in his comeback which began. Jan. 11. In the process he has set two Canadian records a 5.75 seconds for 50 meters and 6.20 for 55 meters. No one is talking about Ben going to nightclubs anymore. He just sleeps and eats Well and works hard a Azan said. A a the stigma of steroids will be with him for a lifetime but he a hellbent on proving that he can do it without steroids.�?�. In monday s Osaka indoor track and Field meet Johnson will face cubans Andres Simon the 1989 world indoor 60-meter Champion and jamaican Ray Stewart who was top ranked at 100 meters in 1989. The race for which Johnson will be paid $100,000, will be 60 meters Stew Art said he respects Johnson a decision to try to redeem himself. A a a _ a but he a not going to be like Superman As you can see from his past few races a Stewart said. Quot he does no to have that explosiveness out of the
