University of Virginia Library

Controversial McMillen Arrives

Opinion

By Hugh Antrim

There's something about
Lefty Driesell that inspires
awe, not so much originating
from sense of respect as from a
fascination of the man's
incredibly successful
exploitation of basketball.
What Mr. Driesell lacks in player
personnel or adverse
competition he more than
makes up for in terms of
performance and
entertainment.

But Mr. Driesell brought
College Park basketball into a
strange new era when he
enticed one Tom McMillen
away from North Carolina and
indeed, Virginia. McMillen should
be the catalyst that will enable
Coach Driesell to make the switch
from Cole Field House
Entertainment to Cole Field House
Excellence. There are plenty of
rumors flying around that speculate
that the 6-11 McMillen will end
apparent unhappiness by
transferring out of Maryland. ACC
rules burring him from entering
another conference school would
make such basketball power as
Pennsylvania more formidable.

But one should remain within
the realm of the recent; Lefty
should figure on some scheme to
retain his ace, and McMillen will
presumably take his place amongst
the ACC's best.

Probably a very few realize how
close Bill Gibson came to landing
his number one prospect. Bill
Millsaps of the Richmond Times
Dispatch ran a long, long story on
McMillen about a month ago and
his article was somewhat a
revelation on the matter. Much of
the intrigue reads like a whodunit
(in fact, Mrs. McMillen at one time
threatened to write a book), but
the finale is clear enough; within
hours of registration McMillen
showed up at College Park rather
than Chapel Hill, with Virginia
running around in between very
much in the game.

The upshot from all of this has
been some very ill-feeling leveled at
McMillen for his procrastination
and final choice. Correspondence
from Tar Heel land has been less
than flattering, not that baptism
into the big bad ACC is a mundane
matter to begin with. But
somehow, I think McMillen is
getting a bad deal. I don't even
know the fellow, in fact I don't
trust the recruiting syndrome that
brought him to the ACC; but the
sour grapes attitude of would-be
basketball sophisticates does little
for the welfare of anyone. Our
so-called "ACC atmosphere" fans
would do well to cheer for the
a Cavayearling effort this evening,
and respect the talent and
perseverance that has accorded
Tom McMillen so much press copy.

One would trust that University
Hall would receive McMillen with a
bit more tolerance than some other
ACC schools we apparently are
trying emulate, rather than descend
to a tone of behavior
characteristically expressed by a
rather obnoxious client, that was,
by the way, broadcast quite audibly
through the tube to a regional
audience curious as to the nature of
the new Virginia basketball spirit.