Page 14
I Ht BA I I ALIUN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 1979
Suns try for third win
Ford fading for Kings
United Press International
KANSAS CITY — “There are
very few guards who can dominate a
game the way Phil Ford can,” said
Houston Rockets Coach Tom Nis-
salke last December.
“It’s great for a coach to have a kid
like Phil who you can just hand the
ball to and know the game will be
under control,” said then Denver
Nuggets’ Coach Larry Brown last
January.
“Without a doubt. Ford gets my
vote for rookie of the year,” said
Milwaukee Bucks Coach Don Nel
son last February. “He gets my vote
for All-Pro.”
That was a sample of the glowing
praise heaped upon Ford during the
regular season. That’s when the
North Carolina rookie was devastat
ing the opposition with his slicing
penetration and meticulous passing.
That was when Ford was guiding
the Kansas City Kings to their first
divisional title in 27 years.
But it’s playoff time now and Ford
has not played up to the high
standard he set for himself during
the regular season. He has bordered
on dismal, in fact, as the Kings have
fallen behind the Phoenix Suns 2-1
in the best-of-seven Western Con
ference semi-final series.
The two teams square off in Game
4 tonight in Kansas City.
Ford has hit only 8-of-35 shots in
the series thus far because of a touch
of defensive genius by Phoenix
coach John MacLeod. The Suns are
leaving Ford wide open in the 15-20
CM«3
'ASfSBfflCS
foot range, all but begging him to
shoot.
MacLeod has obviously taken
note of Ford’s 46 percent regular
season conversion rate from the
field. Also, Ford chalked up 21 as
sists against the Suns in a February
game and MacLeod wanted that
type of penetration of his lane stop
ped. When Ford looks into the
Phoenix lane now, it looks like the
San Bernadino Freeway at rush
hour.
“It kind of shocks you when you
go down court and you’re that wide
open,” said Ford. “I’ve never been
played that way in my life. And
when the shots don’t go down, you
start to think about it more.”
“When you start out 3-of-17 like
Phil did in the first game, it’s like a
golfer who begins bogey, bogey,”
added Kansas City Coach Cotton
Fitzsimmons. “It gets very difficult
to dig yourself out of a hole. Phil
hasn’t had a good game yet. And
we’re not the same team when Phil
is off his game. ”
The only game the Kings won, in
fact, was the second one in Kansas
City when Ford played only 28
minutes. He collected eight points
and nine assists during that span.
His back-up, Billy McKinney, con
tributed 10 points and seven assists
in 20 minutes of action as the Kings
coasted to a 111-91 victory.
Aggies
select
captains
United Press International
Running back Curtis Dickey,
guard Ed Pustejovsky, defensive
end Jacob Green and safety Carl
Grulich have been elected captains
of the Texas A&M football team for
the 1979 season, Coach Tom Wilson
announced Tuesday.
Wilson also said quarterback
Mike Mosley, who had been hos
pitalized almost one week with a
virus, was in shorts for the Aggies’
drill Tuesday.
Mosley will play in the team’s
Maroon-White game Saturday.
Keep your eye on the ball
Texas A&M’s Reid Freeman watches the Championships which will be held in Coff'
bouncing ball during a recent practice. The Christi this weekend.
Aggies are also eyeing the SWC Tennis Battalion photo by Lee RoylMeJ
liller
it, b
ding
Borg top seedi
United Press International
DALLAS — Jimmy Connors will
play Gene Mayer of New York May
1 in his challenge for the 1979
World Championship of Tennis,
said a WCT spokesman.
The spokesman said Connors was
ranked second on a computer list re
leased Monday and would take the
second seed behind Bjorn Borg for
the WCT finals.
The seeding list is: 1, Borg; 2,
Connors; 3, John McEnroe; 4, Vitas
Gerulaitis; 5, Brian Gottfried; 6,
John Alexander; 7, Gene Mayer; 8,
Geoff Masters.
In the computer rankings,! H
jumped from 55 to 31 alii
reached the final of the WC1 ^
nament at River Oaks ini ar |> n
last week. That took Man! di pi
two-fisted player from Ne»
into the seventh seed — all Bpr
Masters of Australia.
It assured Masters of pi
Connors in the opening malt! B Pil'
stead of Borg.
Upon hearing the switch!
ing partners from Borg toC
Masters remarked: “It’s lit
ing from the frying pan is!
fire.”
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