The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/402034
BASKETBALL14-15 J ohn Beilein & Co. hasn't convinced everyone yet, despite two Big Ten titles, a national championship game appearance and an Elite Eight show- ing the past three seasons. That's okay, according to the head coach, who harbors roughly the same regard for prognostications as he does for household refuse. Beilein likes to recall the last time one of his Michigan teams got the benefit of a preseason trip overseas, like this one did to Italy. The former squad, featuring foundational players such as Zack Novak and Stu Doug- lass, was generally picked last in the Big Ten and wound up making the NCAA Tournament. This time, while most see the Wol- verines as a fifth- or sixth-place Big Ten squad, the Wolverines concede nothing. "They're young, but they are very skilled," assistant coach Jeff Meyer said. "I would say this about the group collectively. We caught a glimpse in our 10 days of practice leading up to Italy. The basketball IQ, the ability to process information and apply it with the group, is very, very high. That's encouraging to us as a coaching staff." They certainly won't have to deal with over-wrought expectations. A loaded Wisconsin crew is universally predicted to carry away the Big Ten crown. It's a jumble of supposed also- rans after that, with Michigan at the back portion of the league's top half. That makes some sense on the sur- face, given that the Wolverines lost three underclassmen to the NBA Draft last spring: Big Ten Player of the Year Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary. The forecasters took MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Magazines Put Wolverines Just Above Middle Of The Pack Freshman guard/forward Kameron Chatman was tabbed by Lindy 's as U-M's " Top Newcomer" and someone who "Will take you by surprise." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL