Published: February 24, 1991
Section: SPORTS
Page#: 01C
City game lives up to its name
By Patrick Reusse; Staff Writer   

"Basketball is the city game. It demands no open spaces or lush backyards or elaborate surfaces. Its rhythms grow from the uneven thump of a ball against hard surfaces. Basketball is the game for athletes without cars or allowances - the game whose drama and action are intensified by its confined spaces and chaotic surroundings." Pete Axthelm, "The City Game"

Since 1971, when basketball became a spectator sport again at Minnesota, Bill Musselman and Jim Dutcher and Clem Haskins have ranged from the beaches of the Bahamas to junior colleges in Idaho, from the dust of a U.S. Army base in North Carolina to the Golden Gate, to sign players. During those two decades, one Minneapolis kid - North High's Ben Coleman - received a scholarship from the Gophers. Coleman spent two years at Minnesota, then transferred to Maryland after the 1981 season.

While at Western Kentucky, Haskins did recruit and sign North's Brett McNeal. This matters not to most Minnesotans. As a group, we are incredibly chauvinistic about the Gophers. If the Gophers do not push hard to recruit a Minnesota basketball player, then the assumption is that he can't be much of a player.

Haskins has yet to perform benediction over city basketball by offering a scholarship to a Minneapolis kid. This hides the fact that city basketball is being played at a higher tempo, at a higher altitude and with larger numbers of spectacular athletes than can be imagined if you choose to take the elitist view - that only players who matter to the Gophers can possess exceptional talent.

The city is full of players who refute that theory. For instance:

Roosevelt's splendid front line of 6-5 Don (Tex) Phillips, 6-6 Wayne Charles and 6-9 Steve McArthur. Henry's high-velocity backcourt of Martez Williams and Anthony Starks. South's junior surprise from Dixie, Jason Daisy, and two seniors - Jason Sims and Steve Seawright - who have had a potential big finish to their prep careers sidetracked by injuries. Washburn's Brian Carpenter, a guard with rocket fuel in his sneakers. North's star, 6-7 Hubert Register, plus David Dennis, Sean Strickland and the extra-quick defensive guard, Marvin Walker. De La Salle's Cymon Payne, at 6-1, another of those undersized Islanders who can score inside or out.

There are others. The city game is alive and thriving in Minneapolis.

Henry played in the state tournament in 1944 and 1945, won championships and has not returned. Roosevelt played in the state tournament in 1956 and 1957, won championships and has not returned. The Teddies did qualify in 1961 but were kicked out by the then-iron boot of the state league because of a player-eligibility situation.

Last March was supposed to be Henry's time to return to the tournament. Dennis Winfield and Leapin' Leonard Jones and the enigmatic Prentiss Perkins missed their tournament appointment. Henry was upset by North in the Region 5AA final.

Now, a year later, Roosevelt is the team that expects to return to the state tournament after the long absence. The obstacles are substantial - not only North and the rest of the city challengers. Unbeaten, No. 1-rated Park Center lurks as the Teddies' probable opponent in a 5AA championship game.

On this night, Henry had made the drive across town to south Minneapolis. Roosevelt was rolling at the top of the standings, unbeaten in the city, but Henry attacked with a full-court press and a full quota of defiance. The notorious Perkins has been gone for a year, but his influence remains. The Patriots spent a lot of time getting in their opponents' face, talking the talk and doing the walk.

Williams, a rock-solid 5-11, does his walking, driving and leaping in a pair of bright-red sneakers. The 6-2 Starks is a smoother player, but Williams runs the show. When Martez hit a three-pointer in the second half, he dropped down both flaps in Jeffrey Leonard style and glared at the Teddies as though it was Ali-Frazier. Henry trailed by 20 at the time.

Henry made a brief run in the second half but got a little carried away with the celebration. Tex Barstin walked over and talked some heavy-duty trash. Roosevelt's Tex Phillips turned to an official and said, "Isn't that a technical?"

It sure was. Roosevelt took charge again and stormed to an 87-61 victory.

Phillips and Barstin carry the same nickname for the obvious reason: They both moved to Minneapolis from Texas. Phillips moved back a few years ago. Barstin moved to Minneapolis during Christmas vacation. Phillips is the best player in the city, and he showed considerable composure on this night.

"I told my kids I knew they had the talent, but I didn't know if they had the discipline to be a championship team," said Frank Hentges, Roosevelt's coach. "Now, after the composure they showed by not responding against Henry, I'm convinced. We're ready to give it a shot."

Phillips was the star of the Roosevelt-heavy team that won the state AAU championship last summer and then won seven of eight games in the national tournament. At 6-5, he has three-point range on his jumper, he can rebound and pass. He also scored 19 on his ACT. Phillips has the look of a big-time player, even though the Gophers are not interested.

Charles is another exciting player. For the first three minutes against Henry, he seemed to be loitering on the periphery of the action. Suddenly, a Roosevelt shot bounced off the rim and there was Charles exploding through the lane, rising above the crowd and going for a flying, two-handed slam.

"Charles was two feet above the rim," said Ed Prohofsky, the Minneapolis high school athletic director. "Two feet. You only see that in the city."

City basketball has a huge admirer in Jay Pivec, a confirmed basketball nut and the new coach at Minneapolis Community College. "We want four-year colleges to come here and take another look at the kid they didn't get out of high school, whether it was because of grades or because they didn't know enough about him," Pivec said.

Minneapolis was 0-22 during the 1989-90 season. Pivec, a former assistant for Dutcher in the early '80s, was hired last July. He added a couple of other basketball nuts, Ron Gates and Mike McCollow, as assistants, and they started beating the streets for players. The Marauders took a 12-8 record into this weekend.

Winfield, the 6-9 freshman from Henry, decided to play at the campus on 13th and Hennepin. Rick Majerus, the Utah coach, has been in town to scout Winfield on several occasions. The Utes want Winfield after next season. Oklahoma and Western Kentucky also are interested.

Rudy Jones is a different kind of story. Jones, 6-7, played at Roosevelt a few years back. He is a school-bus driver. He walked into the gym a few months ago and told Pivec he wanted to play. Jones is 15 minutes late for practice every day because he has to finish driving his afternoon route.

"This is the heart of the city," Pivec said. "Basketball is a city game. We would love to be known as the city team."

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