The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/315684
in 2014-15. Some will rail on the NCAA over this, wring their hands and what- if their way throughout McGary's NBA career. Bottom line is, he knew the rules and broke them, no differ- ent than a four-stride, no-dribble ap- proach to a slam dunk. Give credit to McGary for coming clean about the particulars on his way out of town. He'll be fondly re- membered for what he achieved on the court in a too-short stint, and for his enthusiasm and good humor on the sidelines. In the meantime, head coach John Beilein is scrambling to keep a good thing going. He will, but it won't be easy, and the elements of that effort are presented on the pages to follow. No fewer than six freshmen (seven if you count redshirt fresh- man big man Mark Donnal) appear on next year's roster. No wonder Beilein is preaching patience. Again, it's almost unreal to think of a starting lineup featuring Trey Burke, Caris LeVert, Stauskas, Rob- inson and McGary, which enter- taining an eligibility-versus-reality fantasy allows. That's not reality. At the same time, here's something real as a Tom Izzo sideline meltdown: the eye for developable talent by Beilein and his staff, and the ability to develop it. That should make 2014-15 and beyond more than worth watching, even if the Wolverines aren't elite again immediately. *** Having to win two games in one day on the home field of a higher- rated foe in the NCAA Tournament is a scenario Beilein & Co. won't ever have to face. Carol Hutchins never blinked … well, maybe for a moment. When the iconic U-M softball boss watched an Arizona State bomb headed over the fence in the final inning of the showdown between her No. 13 Wolverines and the No. 4 Wildcats, it looked grim. That's where senior Lyndsay Doyle came in. The veteran reached up over the wall at ASU's Farrington Stadium, taking away a home run and pre- serving Michigan's wild ride into the NCAA Super Regionals. U-M swept ASU 4-3 and 5-4 to heat things up in the desert, rallying from a 4-3 deficit in the last inning of the finale on back-to-back home runs by sophomore Sierra Lawrence and senior Taylor Hasselbach. Doyle then came up with a big hand in the save, and Michigan nailed down its day to remember. "We just hung tough regardless of what happened in the game and found a way to score more runs than them," Hutchins said. "And ultimately that's the only thing that mattered." Her teams seem to do so, far more often than not. But she'll savor this one, deep in enemy territory, for a long while. ❑ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine.