The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 55 BY ANTHONY BROOME F or the first time since 2017, the U-M women's basketball team took an international trip, heading to Europe. After 10 days of practice in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines packed up and went to Sorrento and Rome in Italy and ended in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The trip went from Aug. 14-22 and saw U-M play three exhibition games while doing plenty of sightseeing and team bonding. "I was really proud of how our team played, how all 13 who could play went out there and contributed," said Kim Barnes Arico, who is entering her 12th season as U-M's head coach. "It will give us great film and great learning opportu- nities moving forward. It was a chance to build some solid camaraderie and chem- istry; that was the goal of this trip." "I think it was a great first outing for us," senior guard Elise Stuck said on the "Defend The Block" podcast with Brian Boesch. "We have six new people on our team to eight returners. So, I think re- gardless of the outcome of those games, it was a really great opportunity for us to all play together and kind of get the feel for how each of us individually plays and just become more comfortable with each other on the floor. "I think from that aspect, it was very beneficial. Everyone was able to get play- ing time. Everyone played pretty much the same amount, and so that also helps with freshmen and people just kind of getting used to college basketball." The Wolverines went 3-0 in exhibition games against Humber College, who they played twice in Italy, and ZKK Tresnjevka 2009 in Croatia. But above all else, Stuck said that being able to spend a ton of time together as a team was the biggest benefit of the trip, given all the new faces in the program. "You are together for almost two weeks," she said. "I think that has really brought us closer together as a team. You get to know each other outside of just basketball, and that doesn't always hap- pen right away. "It forced us to all be together and kind of forced us to not really be in uncomfort- able situations, but we did travel together for 18 hours and were in situations where you could not be having the best time. I think those were great situations for us to be in earlier." Stuck has been a role player in the early stages of her Michigan career but knows that a bigger leadership role will be thrust upon her in 2023-24. She appeared in all 33 games last season, averaging 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per con- test. Now, Michigan needs her to have a louder voice. "I just hope that I'm able to relate and be able to transfer what I'm trying to say to people in the correct way and be able to just provide support for freshmen," Stuck said. "We've all been in their shoes, and just being able to kind of lead people by example [is important]." Longtime contributors Leigha Brown and Emily Kiser are among those gone from last year's team. That is going to create plenty of battles for playing time throughout the early stages of this sea- son, but Stuck said that could wind up being beneficial for the program. "We have a lot of inexperience, and I think that could go two ways," Stuck said. "There are a lot of roles to fill, and I feel we are responding in the right way and not becoming upset with each other or fighting for roles. Everyone is still very encouraging, but also very com- petitive. "Our three grad transfers have just really stepped up to the plate. They're playing really well, they're getting along with the team. Same with our freshmen. They're really transferring to college well and doing their best to figure out how college practices work, how college games work, all those kind of things are just more meticulous and amplified. I think it's been going really well." U-M's nonconference schedule was not finalized as of Sept. 18, but the Wolverines are set to open the season at Crisler Cen- ter on Nov. 6 against Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. ET. ❏ ❱ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Wolverines Build Camaraderie During Trip To Italy, Croatia The Michigan women's basketball team took a trip to Italy and Croatia from Aug. 14-22, posting a 3-0 mark and building team chemistry in the process. Among the many sights that head coach Kim Barnes Arico (front row, third from right) and her team visited were the 'Spanish Steps' in Rome. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS