The Wolverine

May 2014 Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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S hed no tears for Michigan bas- ketball. Those doing so now, and panicking that head coach John Beilein's crew will run out of talent, are akin to folks fretting over U-M offensive linemen not getting enough to eat between now and Aug. 30. Sure, it's fun to dream about a 2014-15 lineup guided by senior point guard Trey Burke, and featuring Nik Stauskas, Caris LeVert, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary as junior stal- warts. But that's the curse of choos- ing and developing well as coaches. Seniors can become mighty scarce, especially these days in college bas- ketball. Burke, Stauskas and Robin- son have obviously said their fond farewells. McGary, at press time, could potentially jump to the NBA as well. What the latter does certainly mat- ters. McGary, playing at the level he did in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, immediately thrusts Michigan into strong contention for the 2015 Big Ten title and another stirring run in the NCAA Tournament. But even if he goes, making it five early NBA leaps in two years for Beilein's crew, it's not exactly like the Wolverines are left culling from the grab-and-grunt league at the local YMCA. In LeVert, and sopho- mores Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton, they'll feature as tough a pe- rimeter trio as exists in the Big Ten. They'll feature a savvy returner in junior guard Spike Albrecht, and a bit of a secret weapon in 6-9, 230-pound forward Mark Donnal, who spent his redshirt sea- son grooming precisely for this moment. They'll bolster the lineup with explosive four-star Kam Chatman (6-7, 197 pounds) out of Portland, Ore., and add some front- line size in 6-9, 232-pound Ricky Doyle and 6-8, 205-pound D.J. Wil- son. They'll also never stop add- ing talent, such as newly minted Wolverine Muhammad-Ali Abdur- Rahkman, a 6-4 guard out of Penn- sylvania who appears the newest diamond in the rough for Beilein and his staff to polish. "There isn't this huge adjust- ment," Beilein noted, regarding his new world of early NBA entrants. WOLVERINE WATCH   JOHN BORTON Wolverines Are Ready To Reload Head coach John Beilein has a promising mix of new- comers to add to the return- ing talent next season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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