The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 38

''trm mmmmm VVJ NaaMMV ir 1 mum gif 'ai san gorgonlo downs rodlands In prop baseball c-3 Saturday, March 22, 1980 The Sun, San Bernardino, California Section If Wilkes can fill a tall order UCLA has chance for final OS paul obcrjuergo I ft i "Most of the time, I'll front him when he's on the low post," Wilkes explained, "and I'll get help from my teammates behind him. We have to deny him the lob pass in deep. We'll try to pressure the ball and keep him from getting it." There, see how simple it is? Actually, Wilkes is an old hand at this sort of thing. In the semifinals of the West Regional last week at Tucson, he bottled up Ohio State's 6-10 Herb Williams, holding him to 10 points and helping UCLA to a 72-68 victory. "But," cautions Brown, "there's a big difference between defending a 6-10 guy and a 7-1 guy.

This will be our toughest challenge of the season. "We can't just sit back and let them run their stuff. We've got to pressure 'em in the front court, make them move their offense out away from the basket and use our defense to create some offense of our own. "If we play good defense, just give them one shot every time, down and don't foul, we're capable of beating them or anyone else." The Bruins (21-9, fourth in the Pacific 10) looked like world-beaters in their amazing march through the West, which included upsets of No. 1-ranked DePaul and No.

10 Ohio State, plus a first-round conquest of Old Dominion and a victory over Clemson in the title game. Both teams, in fact, have peaked at playoff time. The Boilermakers (22-9, third in the Big Ten) have been no less surprising than the Bruins, knocking off LaSalle, St. John's, Indiana and Duke on their way to the Final Four. UCLA is rated a one-point favorite in Vegas, but most people here are going with the home-state Boilers, whose campus is just over 100 miles from Indianapolis.

"Playing in Indiana may give them a slight advantage," conceded Kiki Vandeweghe, UCLA's senior forward. "But it's not that distinct. We'll have our fans here, and so will the other two schools. In the Final (Continued on C-2, column 1) By MIKE DAVIS Sun Sport Writer INDIANAPOLIS There is, you should be reminded, ample historical precedent. Exactly 10 years ago, in a place called College Park, UCLA and Jacksonville University got together to decide the NCAA championship.

Jacksonville had this enormous center named Artis Gilmore, a first-round NBA draft-pick-to-be. He was about 7 feet, 2 inches tall. UCLA coach John Wooden chose to defend him with a 8 forward, Sidney Wicks. Everybody thought Wooden had flipped his lid. Everybody was wrong.

Wicks played the game of his life, held Gilmore to 19 inconsequential points and led the Bruins to an 80-69 win. Today's games Channel 4 Today, the Louisville vs, Iowa, 10:25 a.m. coach, the UCLA vs. Purdue 12:30 p.m. players, the site and the round will be different.

But the circumstances will be the same. In the NCAA semifinals at Market Square Arena here, the Bruins once more are face-to-face with the impossible. Their opponents are the Boilermakers of Purdue, who launch their assaults from a 7-1 aircraft carrier known as Joe Barry Carroll. Larry Brown, UCLA's rookie coach, is sending 6-7 forward James Wilkes out to combat him. If Wilkes can do this afternoon what Wicks did in 1970 against a rival six inches taller, chances are the Bruins will advance to Monday night's NCAA title game against the winner of today's opener between Louisville and Iowa.

If not, they'll be consigned to the meaningless third-place game Monday evening against the Louisville-Iowa loser. Wilkes accepts his assignment stoically, somewhat like a kamikaze pilot about to steer his plane into an enemy destroyer. AP wlrephofo UCLA coach Larry Brown takes part in drill Friday. riticism doesn't force Carroll to press The parting was mutual Notes, quotes and anecdotes Don't be surprised by the John Cappelletti trade. It was a divorce as inevitable as Liz and Dick's.

The simple fact is the Rams had no use for CappelletU and he had no use for them. The veteran fullback became disenchanted with the Rams (and vice versa) last year when a serious groin injury sidelined him during summer camp. He went home to Westminter and the Rams hinted the onetime Heisman Trophy winner was dogging it. That, and what Cappelletti considered the Rams' shabby treatment of close friend Bill Simpson, infuriated the likeable Penn State alumnus. He never returned.

He didn't go to one practice nor attend a single game which didn't sit well with Rams players and coaches. With the emergence of Cullen Bryant as a capable fullback, the Rams were only too hap: py to grant Cappelletti's wish for new surroundings and traded him to San Diego. A slight draft: No one's talking about what kind of draft choice(s) the Rams got from the Chargers for Cappelletti, but odds are it was nothing in the first or second round. Running backs with leg injuries are not a hot commodity around the NFL. Do you have the feeling LA Raiders tickets may someday be as valuable as Confederate money? And He's a Boilermaker? At least one distinguished Purdue alumnus thinks UCLA will stop the Boilermakers in today's NCAA semifinals.

"Purdue is faced with a lot of problems against UCLA," he said. "Quickness is one. And although (Purdue) is a good defensive team, they have some real problems matching up." The identity of this turncoat? None other than John Wooden, all-America guard, Purdue class of '32. Oh, yeah, Wooden also coached at UCLA for awhile. In tbe market: The Rams are letting it be known a few veterans, including running back Lawrence McCutcheon and wide receiver Ron Jessie, might be on the block.

The club would probably be happy to take a sixth- or seventh-round draft choice for either one (or both). One knowledgeable baseball man says Al Campanis would have been convicted of grand theft if the Dodgers' general manager had pulled off the Don Sutton-f or-Dave Righetti trade with the Yankees. Sutton, at 34, is coming off a 12-15 year and has maybe two or three seasons left in him. Righetti, this source said, could be the best (Continued on C-2, column 6) In the language of the trade, Carroll is your basic strong, silent type. In some cases, that's little more than a euphemism for "dumb." But not in Joe Barry's.

He's a better-than-average student who will graduate with a degree in economics. He'll be the first of the 11 children in his family to earn a college diploma. It's not uncommon for him to head straight to the library after practice. He listeners are usually surprised by what comes out. Example: Last Saturday, following the Boilermakers' 68-60 win over Duke in the Mideast Regional championship game, Carroll gave the first post-game interview of his collegiate career.

And he sounded more like a psychology professor than a basketball player. "My motivation," he said, "is basically internalized. External stimulus is a variable. If I allowed myself to be influenced by it, it could be a handicap." Close. But not entirely accurate.

It is true that Carroll the all-America center who will lead Purdue against UCLA today in the national semifinals here has guarded his private life like it was made of gold during his four years at West Lafayette, Ind. With rare exceptions, he has refused to grant interviews to the media, creating for himself a generally negative image mysterious, timid, reclusive. But every once in awhile, when the mood striks him, he will open his mouth. And By MIKE DAVIS Sun Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS Inquisitive sports journalists descending on this city for the NCAA Final Four today and Monday are asking the type of penetrating, probing questions that demand answers. Like, "How late is the bar open?" Or, "Do you validate?" Or, of course, the all-time biggie: "Will Joe Barry Carroll talk?" Carroll, the line goes, does all his talking on the basketball court.

(Continued on C-2, column 3) Rams deal unhappy Cappelletti to Chargers But he suffered his groin injury late in the 1978 season and was unable to come back last year. He as replaced primarily by Cullen Bryant. "Cullen Bryant did a great job last year, and I didn't want to get into any conflict with him," said Cappelletti. "Also, I wanted to come to a place where I could start again and be appreciated." Cappelletti did not feel appreciated by the Rams and believed many in the front office and on the team thought he was malingering, that his injury was not that bad. A couple players had made public comments to that effect.

"The injury was that severe and very difficult to play on," he asserted. Cappelletti said he made up a list of teams for which he would play and said "the Rams could have gotten more but they worked hard to accommodate me and I appreciate them for that." "Linebackers today are very big," noted the burly Cappelletti (6-1, 220 pounds), "and picking them up can be very difficult on small halfbacks." Coryell also noted at a news conference that he likes backs who can catch passes, one of the talents of the 1973 Heisman Trophy winner from Penn State. Cappelletti caught 41 oasses for 382 yards in 1978. Cappelletti, 27, was the Rams' top draft choice of 1974. The native of Upper Darby, rushed a total of 2,246 yards for the Rams, an average of 3.6 per carry.

He was used only sparingly, mostly short-yardage situations, in his first two seasons. John Sanders, general manager of the Chargers, was assistant GM of the Rams in 1974 and "he was the first man to talk to me for the Rams," said Cappelletti. In 1976, he became a regular, gaining 688 yards. He ran for 598 yards in 1977 and 604 in 1978. SAN DIEGO (AP) The Rams traded fullback John Cappelletti, who sat out last season with a groin injury, to the Chargers Friday for an undisclosed draft choice.

Cappelletti, who reportedly became disenchanted with the Anaheim club even before his injury, called San Diego "a place where I can start again." San Diego put the fullback through an extensive physical and he ran in a workout there this week. The Chargers gave up an undisclosed draft choice for the Cappelletti, who was the Rams' top ground-gainer in 1978. Although the Chargers' highest college draft choice this year comes up in the fourth round, the deal reportedly involves another, possibly higher pick in another year. Coach Don Coryell said the Chargers have "been looking for somebody who not only can carry the ball but is strong enough to pick up the blitzing linebackers." Til John Cappelletti Garza knocks out Avila in 8th round Chacon gets decision, but takes beating v'V'; i Georgino, were pleased that Avila put up such a good battle. "This is just what Jaime needed," Georgino said.

"It was a real good workout." Avila, who had been billed as a 12-3 boxer from Rhode Island, doesn't quite have that good a record. A check of his ring record showed Avila is not from Rhode Island he's from LA and he was not 12-3 coming in. More like 2-5 after losing to Garza. Records aside, there was no denying that the nearly full house at the Arena saw Avila give the 20-year-old Garza all he wanted. Although Garza was never hurt badly and was never on the verge of going down, he took a lot of punishment, particularly when he allowed Avila, who is really a featherweight, to bore inside.

The fact that Garza, who weighed in at 121, was fighting Avila, 124, is evidence of Georgino's lament about not finding any willing opponents for Garza. While Garza was winning the early rotunds with solid combinations and a relentless body bar (Continued on C-4, column 2) By DAVID LEON MOORE Sun Sports Writer SAN BERNARDINO Something else was learned about unbeaten super bantamweight Jaime Garza at the San Bernardino Arena Friday night. He sweats. Garza, who had posted one six-round decision and a bunch of first- and second-round knockouts in his two-year boxing career, had to go almost eight full rounds Friday night before he twice knocked down gutty Luis Avila of Los Angeles. After the second knockdown, at 2:10 of the eighth round, referee Dick Steele stopped the fight.

It was doubtful Avila could have beaten the count, anyway. He was dog tired and had taken much more punishment than anyone figured he would. "He's a real tough figher," said Garza, who recorded his 14th knockout and is now 15-0. "He could box, he was hard to hit and he had the hardest chin of anyone I've fought." Garza called it the toughest fight he's had yet, and he had several bruises around his right eye to support that claim. But both Garza and his manager, Bennie Associated Press LOS ANGELES His nose smashed and blood streaming from both eyes, Bobby Chacon nevertheless won a split decision in 10 rounds Friday night over Rafael "Bazooka" Limon.

The win gives Chacon, the former featherweight champ, another shot at the World Boxing Council super featherweight championship. Chacon, 28, who survived a knockdown in the seventh round and looked the result of meat grinder at the end of the fight, won by the narrowest of margins. Limon was unmarked after the bout at the Forum. Judge Frank Rustich and referee John Thomas scored it 96-95 in favor of Chacon under the 10-point-must system where the winner of each round gets 10 points and the loser nine or less. Judge Marty Denkin scored it 96-94 for Limon, the No.

1 contender for the 130-pound title. The Associated Press had Limon, from Mexico City, ahead 97-94. (Continued on C4, column 2) Staff phot by Tom Katiar Jaime Garza unleashes punch at Luis Avila in main event..