University of Tennessee Knoxville - Volunteer Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

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Book I 27 college gym, with all of the orange, cheerleaders and the band. It reminds you of the college days, and you kind of forget that kind of feeling when you,re playing in the pros. 21 think itts good for the fans to see that our game is not lazy, he continued. ttThe high scoring is not because of a lack of defense, itts because the talent is superb. There are always going to be people who have a hard time guarding somebody else? Much to the disappointment of the fans, J ordan saw very limited playing time in the second half, but the exhibition season is used for players competing for the final spots on the team. Being on the court with players battling for a job forces J ordan to play a somewhat different kind of game. ttYou try to get some sort of continuity or chemistry go- ing with the young guys. Youtve got to see how they adapt to the system. I use texhibitionsy to get myself into better condition for the seasonf he said. As far as motivation goes, J ordan said that the people who come see him play are the reasons that make him tick. ttThey give me a challenge to do well. I dontt want to go on the court and lay an egg or something by playing badi, aby Bill Bryant Lindsey Dorris 1.Professional basketball hits Knoxville as Michael Jordan and former U T star Dale Ellis lead the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Supersonics in an eye- opening NBA exhibition game Oct. 18. 2. Despite Jordan? aerobatic assaults on the hoop, the Sonics downed the Bulls 126-121 . 3. UT President Lamar Alexander takes time out to chat with U T drum major Tim Michaels and other band members during a break in afternoon rehearsal. 4. 17,327 area basketball fans cheer on Seattle and Chicago. 5. A tour group ponders the meaning of ttAnchor Dancer, 11 a sculpture made of cast bronze, marble and stainless steel by Barry Tinsley. 4 Lindsey Dorris 5 Lindsey Dorris

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26 Book I Seattle overcomes Michael didnit disappoint. . . Michael, as in Jordan, as in Air. The 6-f00t-6 Chicago Bulls guard, regarded by many as the best player in the game today, strutted his stuff Oct. 18 in Thompson-Boling Arena against the Seattle Supersonics, much to the delight of 17,327 fans. It didn,t matter that Seattle won the exhibition game 126-121. It was obvious who the people came to see, and the former University of North Carolina star put on a show that had many a mouth dropping wide open. Jordan scored 25 points, 23 in the first half, in only 20 minutes of playing time. With his familiar tongue wagging carelessly out of his mouth, Jordan made nine of 11 field goals in the first half from both the perimeter and the paint. Writing about J ordanis moves takes a lot away from what actually happens. His moves actually defy description. You have to see them in person to get the full appreciation of how he makes a difficult game look rather easy. 21 just let my natural ability take over, Jordan said. flCreativity is part of my game, and I know that the fans are conscious of that. It,s nothing I plan out? If he doesnlt have a particular plan each time he touches the ball, how does he do some of the acrobatic moves in mid-air? ffThe defense plays a factor in my creativity. It all depends on the situation that is in front of me. When Iim driving, a lot of times the defense alters my shot, so I have to overcome that. Ifm confident that I will? One of the most important facets of Jordants offensive game is his court awareness. Seeing the whole court helps him decide which holes in the defense to attack. III know what kind of situations 11m getting myself into? he said. ffI had to play some point guard in the first quarter, which forces me to look for other things in our offense? As a coach, having a Michael Jordan around can make life a lot easier. Bulls head coach Doug Collins admitted that seeing Jordan play 82 games a year is a pleasure. ffMichaells the greatest athlete that Ilve ever been around? he said. 1ins will to win and his love for the game 1 Lindsey Dorris o m Arena N A exhibition makes me feel fortunate to have him on our team. He,s an unbelievable human being and has a burning desire to compete? Although the game against the Sonics was a homecoming for former Tennessee All-American Dale Ellis, the fans response was the same, if not greater for Jordan. ffThe fans got excited, as well they should? Collins said. HFor Michael, every game is a home game, even on the road? III donft like to take anything away from Ellis? J ordan said. ffThe fans are curious about the way I play, and they want to see if all the ink in the papers about me is true? Playing in a college arena and in front of college fans is something that Jordan enjoys. 1ffThe arenal is pretty big? he said. 11You can tell itls a 2 Lindsey Dorris

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28 Book I Library ranks 87 th out of top 100 research libraries If all of the books in the UT library were stacked one on top of the other, they would be 22 miles high. If all of the books were laid end to end, they would stretch from the campus to Nashville. The John C. Hodges Library, the largest in the state, has 40 miles of shelving and seven acres of carpeting. Those may seem like impressive statistics, but consider that of the top 100 research schools in the United States and Canada, UTls library ranks 87th. Of the SEC, six schools have more extensive libraries. Just how good is the UT library? Should we be proud, or ashamed? According to a survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, UTvranked 87th out of 101 schools in holdings of research libraries in the United States and Canada. UT had almost 1.6 million volumes in the library, adding 39,653. The library had 14,372 serials. By comparison, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had 3.4 million volumes, adding over 118,000 and has 44,797 serials. The University of Iowa, consid- ered by UT as a peer school, was ranked 34th with 2.8 million volumes. Should UT be concerned with being ranked near the bottom of that survey? According to Don Hunt, dean of libraries, the answer is no. HThat ranking means we are in the upper strata of libraries. To be in that crowd, it means you are batting well? he said. However, Hunt discounted the validity of those surveys, saying they rely too heavily on sheer number of volumes. itltis misleading to show quantity rather than qual- ity. We rank low on that list because they donit measure quality of ser- V1C6.,, Hunt said the reason for UT,s low ranking in the survey was the small amount of money the library spends on acquisi- tions, as compared to schools ranked higher in the survey. 1 DaVid Wolfe llAll of the money that we spend on electronics and audiovisual materials doesntt appear in those statistical counts. If our library was ranked by quality of services offered, we would definitely be in the upper 50 percent? he said. llPeople that come here from other schools are amazed at the quality of service we offer. We could have only one reference librarian instead of three, or we could close the library certain times of the day in order to have more money to buy books. But we have a quality staff and are accessible to the students. ltWe do need improvement in our acquisition budget though. The cost of books now is unbelievable. UT gives us a good hunk of the pie, but the pie is not very big? he said. However, the study by the Chronicle is not the only survey that places UTts library near the bottom. UT ranks seventh out of the 10 schools in the Southeastern Conference in total number of holdings. Out of the peer schools established by the Tennessee Higher Education commission as being comparable to UT, Hunt says the library ranks near the bottom of those, as well. ilWe really rank better in the overall libraries across the country than among our peer institutionsfi he said. However, Hunt emphasized the difference among librariest missions. itMany 0f the schools ranked above us are oriented towards the humanities while we are heavily science- oriented. Science books are much more expensive than other types of books. We spent $15,000 on two science journals last year when the average journal costs about $200 a yearf he said. itWe have a darn good collection here. It could be better, but it supports the curriculum here. And that,s what we should do. We should ask Are we supporting the curriculum and projects on campus? You have to remember that we support such a varied clientele ranging from freshmen to nuclear physicistsfi he said. Chancellor Jack Reese echoed Hunt,s sentiments about the library, saying, ttWe spend more on the library than a lot of other places. But, we want to compare with the very best libraries? 2 David Wolfe a