The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/402034
INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS sky was tabbed as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and a unani- mous preseason All-Big Ten selec- tion. Joining LeVert and Kaminsky on the preseason all-league crew were Indiana point guard Yogi Fer- rell, Nebraska forward/guard Terran Petteway and Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker. LeVert earned second-team All-Big Ten recognition last year. He started all of Michigan's 37 games, and aver- aged 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per outing. He helped the Wol- verines to their second Big Ten cham- pionship in three seasons, as well as a second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. He was also named to the 2014 USBWA All-District V Team, and received U-M's Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player and Steve Grote Hustle Award at the Wolver- ines annual postseason celebration. In LeVert's two seasons in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines have compiled a 59- 17 overall record and a 27-9 Big Ten mark. The Wolverines have outstripped preseason predictions the past sev- eral years in Big Ten play, and cer- tainly over the past two seasons in the NCAA Tournament. They feature a host of young talent built around LeVert and fellow junior guard Spike Albrecht, as well as a duo of standout sophomores in forward Zak Irvin and point guard Derrick Walton Jr. Michigan also benefited from its August trip to Italy, featuring 10 pre- trip practices, four games overseas, and plenty of time for new teammates to interact and pull together. Michi- gan head coach John Beilein is excited about that influence upon the team he's putting together. "This group right now is very con- nected for this age," Beilein said. "It has a lot to do with the personality of Spike and Caris and Zak and Der- rick, who are extremely outgoing. You are going to enjoy conversations with [freshmen] Kam [Chatman] and Mu- hammad [-Ali Abdur-Rahkman] and Aubrey [Dawkins]. They're outgoing, charismatic, fun-loving kids. "These guys are as connected as we've been. It's really been fun to go to practice. It starts with the leader- ship of those young men who have experienced success here, but now feel that it's their time to be the talkers and leaders." As for his newly anointed pre- season All-Big Ten player, Beilein noted LeVert can handle whatever is thrown his way. "Caris is extremely humble as he goes about his work, and that has brought tremendous respect from those younger guys," Beilein said. "He is talking quite often to them, and has a charismatic personality that people are just drawn to." 2014-15 Preseason All-Big Ten Team Yogi Ferrell, Indiana Caris LeVert, Michigan Terran Petteway, Nebraska Sam Dekker, Wisconsin Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin 2014 Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin