The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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gist stays consistent, though … there will be a few bumps while all of this gets sorted out. That's true even when the Wol- verines are celebrating, such as fol- lowing their rally from 13 down to beat Illinois in overtime in the Big Ten home opener Dec. 30 or a Jan. 10 win against Minnesota in which they fought back from nine down. It's not reason to panic, at this point. It's just where they are, Beilein offered. "If you just watch this team and enjoy the progression, we're going to shoot ourselves in the foot many times this year, and have to rebound from it," Beilein said after the Min- nesota game. "It's going to be part of it. It's going to make us better so that, down the road, we'll learn to do this. "This could happen again, and we're going to lose, and maybe it hits us a little bit harder. But we'll really break down that film tomorrow for them, and really show them we can't put ourselves in this position. "At the same time, whether you're home or away, you really have an op- portunity to win every game if you just hang in there and stay solid." Jerry Palm, the noted bracketolo- gist from CBSSports.com, sounded some highly dubious notes about the Wolverines' tournament projections, when contacted by The Wolverine. Beilein, meanwhile, quickly shuts down any talk of postseason pos- sibilities when it arises at this point. "It's too early for all that," Beilein assured. "It really is." As the games fly by, it will be get- ting late before long. The factors that went into making Michigan 10-7 through its first 17 games could con- tinue to come into play while the Big Ten season heats up. INJURIES HAVE IMPACTED Beilein made a change in Michi- gan's starting lineup prior to the Wol- verines' 73-64 win at Penn State Jan. 6. He pulled true freshman forward Kam Chatman — who has struggled mightily at times in the early going — in favor of Albrecht. That meant the Wolverines are go- ing with 40 percent of their starting lineup enduring nagging injury. Albrecht has an unspecified lower- body concern that could well require offseason surgery, both the junior and his head coach have confirmed. Albrecht consistently downplays the issue, noting the break at Christmas did him a lot of good, etc. At the same time, he's averaging more minutes now (27.7 through 17 games) than he's ever seen before, in a compromised physical state. Last Head coach John Beilein "If you just watch this team and enjoy the progression, we're going to shoot ourselves in the foot many times this year, and have to rebound from it. It's going to be part of it. It's going to make us better so that, down the road, we'll learn to do this."