Figures Do Not Support Olson’s Blast at Vitale

Don’t invite Dick Vitale and Lute Olson to the same basketball clinic.

Vitale, ESPN basketball analyst and former coach, has been saying all year that the Pacific 10 is the pits. Olson, coach at Arizona, thinks Vitale is the pits.

Olson told Terry Frei of the Denver Post: “Dick Vitale knows as much about the Pac-10 as I do about economics. I find it interesting that some people who were college coaches, and not very good college coaches, sometimes become great coaches when you put a microphone in front of them. Most coaches in this league have forgotten more basketball than he ever knew.”

In four seasons as coach at the University of Detroit from 1973-74 to 1976-77, Vitale had a 78-30 record for a winning percentage of .722, best in the school’s history. In 11 seasons as coach at Cal State Long Beach, Iowa and Arizona, Olson has a record of 202-110 for a percentage of .647.

Add Vitale: Picking Georgetown to beat St. John’s tonight, he says: “Georgetown is at the top of their game now. They’ve become a finesse club. They’re quicker and not so physical. Reggie Williams is shooting better now and so is David Wingate.”

Says Connecticut forward Ray Broxton: “I really don’t believe St. John’s will beat Georgetown this time. Georgetown’s playing really hungry now. They want it again. They’re more aggressive now than they were earlier in the season. They look like the champions they were last year.”

Add Georgetown: Asked if he would wear a sweater, as St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca has during the Redmen’s winning streak, Hoya Coach John Thompson said he wouldn’t, but added: “I’m gonna give Louie a sweater after the game.”

Wonder what he meant by that?

When Jim Kelly of the Houston Gamblers passed for a record 574 yards against the Express, he did it on the same field where Norm Van Brocklin set the still-standing NFL record.

Van Brocklin, in 1951, completed 27 of 42 passes for 554 yards and five touchdowns as the Rams beat the New York Yankees, 54-14, at the Coliseum. Four of the touchdown passes went to Elroy Hirsch, covering 47, 41, 26 and 1 yards.

Hirsch that year tied Don Hutson’s record of 17 touchdown receptions in a season. The record stood until last season when Miami’s Mark Duper caught 18. Hirsch did it in 12 games, Duper in 16.

From Phil Rogers of the Dallas Times Herald: “Maybe we should take Pete Rose seriously when he pinpoints Aug. 26 as the day he’ll break Ty Cobb’s record for career hits. The man has a track record worthy of mention.

“Consider this excerpt from a column written on Rose by Pat Harmon of the Cincinnati Post: ‘He wants to play until 1985. He wants to finish as manager of the Reds with Tommy Helms as his coach. These are big goals.’

“The goals have since become the reality. Not bad, considering Harmon’s column appeared May 19, 1970.”

Quotebook

Michigan State basketball Coach Jud Heathcote, asked what he thought of Bob Knight throwing a chair in Indiana’s game against Purdue: “I thought he got good distance.”