The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/418536
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL them. It's really important to under- stand if we stay together, what we do does work … as long as you stay together." Few experts consider them con- tenders this year due to the youth on the roster, but junior point guard Spike Albrecht isn't conceding any- thing. He was there two years ago when Beilein handed out Big Ten title rings to those on the 2011-12 team, and he was envious. "We were looking around like, 'Damn, we want a ring. This sucks,'" Albrecht quipped. "That's that extra motivation and drive to win cham- pionships and get rings and put up banners." Last year's Wolverines started 6-4 before kicking it into gear, and Beilein even called a team meeting to let them know they wouldn't make the tournament if they didn't pick it up. Even then, Albrecht knew the Wol- verines had a chance to piece it all together. He's not as convinced —at least at this point —- with this year's group. "Similar to that team, we're go- ing to have ups and downs. It's how we respond to that," he said. "That's when you see the true colors of your team. "It wasn't pretty there for a few sec- onds [in practice before the opener]. We were struggling a little bit, but we cleaned it up … the freshmen don't really know the whole lingo for our system and switching patterns. The more they study that and the coaches beat it into their brains, they'll pick it up." It's not easy, Michigan freshman forward and starter Kam Chatman