Thorn
may keep Bulls' reins
NBA Central by Bill Nichols
Nothing is official, of course, but all those rumored candidates
for the Chicago Bulls coaching job just may have to go elsewhere
for employment.
General Manager Rod Thorn took over the bench duties after Jerry
Sloan was fired. He led the Bulls to seven victories in his
first 12 games, and it sounded as if he was enjoying the job.
“It’s a big adjustment because I haven’t done
it in so long,” said the 40-year-old Thorn. “My
first game was a terrible coaching job. I was nervous, but it’s
gotten better.
“One thing about coaching, there is reinforcement every
day. It’s not always good reinforcement, but something.
I like the immediacy attached to coaching.
“I feel I got out of coaching at too early an age. I really
enjoy the games and practices, but not everything else that
goes along with it.”
Thorn then was an assistant with Seattle in the National Basketball
Association and then with the New York Nets of the old American
Basketball Association. He became head coach of the ABA’s
Spirits of St. Louis in 1975, but a few months later, the ABA
disappeared and Thorn returned to the Nets to assist Kevin Loughery.
Thorn became the Bulls’ G.M. in May of 1978.
While coaching the Bulls, he is evaluating his talented, but
inconsistent bunch of players.
After a tough loss at Kansas City, Thorn said, “I’m
finding out a whole lot about these guys. I’m getting
enlightened about this team, sitting on the bench and seeing
them in practice every day.”
There could be a housecleaning in Chicago, but the feeling now
is that it will not include the coach. Although Thorn took over
on an interim basis, don’t be too shocked if he is back
on the bench next season.
Despite a five-game losing streak, the Milwaukee Bucks remained
in command of the Central Division, leaving the real drama to
the race for second place among Atlanta, Detroit and Indiana,
with Chicago hoping all the others will collapse. . . . The
Hawks won five in a row to move into the second spot, the Pistons
had a string of three straight times. . . It’s generally
agreed that the Central’s second-place club will earn
a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Bill Musselman replaced Chuck Daly as interim coach of the Cavaliers,
but after two games, Ted Stepien lifted the term interim, Musselman
is Cleveland’s coach, period. . . . It was learned that
Stepien was upset with Daly because free agent Bobby Wilkerson
was not getting playing time despite his $450,000 salary. When
Musselman took over, playmaker Geoff Huston, who was fifth in
the NBA with assists, was benched in favor of Wilkerson. Huston
logged just five minutes in Musselman’s first three games.
* * *
Indiana rookie Herb Williams topped the old club record of 149
blocked shots in a season. . . . The Pacers’ attendance
is down to 8,200 per game, about 1,500 less than last season.
. . . Indiana coach Jack McKinney is alternating centers Clemon
Johnson and Tom Owens. Johnson starts against physical centers
and Owens is matched up against finesse pivots.
Atlanta power forward Danny Roundfield averaged 21 points and
13 rebounds in his first nine games after coming back from an
injury. . . . The Hawks’ Mike Glenn, who is not known
for attempting many layups, hit 58% of his floor shots over
a 13-game span. . . . Forward John Drew missed five games with
a back problem. The Hawks have lost more games to injuries this
year than last winter, but are winning more games. . . . Hawks
guard Wes Matthews felt something pop in his foot in a game
March 11 and was sidelined. He had suffered a stress fracture
in the same foot earlier.
Detroit’s Kelly Tripucka, who earned NBA player of the
week honors after scoring 49 and 37 points in consecutive games,
is a contender for Rookie of the Year honors, but some folks
in the East feel votes will be split among Tripucka, Isiah Thomas
and Buck Williams, leaving the honor for Dallas’ Jay Vincent.
. . . The sore left foot of Milwaukee’s Junior Bridgeman
has failed to heal and he was sent to Boston for a second medical
opinion.
This article by Bill Nichols
appeared in The Sporting News [date]
Reproduced with permission of the author.