The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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"Just to get those extra practices, and that extra game experience, could be something really valuable. They're not completely dead, in terms of the NCAA, but at this point, at the bare minimum, they could not lose more than a couple of games in the league, and [they'd need to] get all the way to the conference [tourna- ment] final." NOTHING CONCEDED, FOCUS ON IMPROVEMENT Michigan coaches, not surpris- ingly, are taking that "not completely dead" and running with it. There's no reason they should let this team give up on an NCAA Tournament dream, even while others are calling it over. The Wolverines can certainly em- body an improvement focus while ruling nothing out, Beilein said. "We talk with the staff all about that," Beilein said prior to the Illinois game. "We still have that goal to be in position to go to the NCAA Tour- nament. We've got to keep working at that, working at that. "At the same time, if you saw yes- terday's practice, it was about catch- ing the ball on two feet … seeing the post when it's open enough. Whether it's now, this year or next year, we have to open our eyes and see some of the opportunities that are out there. "It may be that one post pass. We did ball-handling drills yesterday we usually do in September. It may be that one time the ball doesn't go off hands that helps us win a game, now." Albrecht didn't stay buried in mis- ery for long. He can't afford to, and he knows it. With another handful of Big Ten games leading into the conference tournament, the Wolver- ines truly believe that anything can happen. They've seen the evidence, through all too many angst-ridden almosts. "There's definitely a sense of ur- gency," Albrecht said. "Every game is extremely important. But I don't re- ally compare it to the past two years and my experiences. That would be unfair. Those are very different teams. There's definitely a sense of urgency among the players and the coaches as well." Albrecht can't dwell on his almost surreal NCAA Tournament expe- riences over the past two seasons. He's played, and thrived, under the brightest spotlight the college game has to offer. He doesn't want to miss a moment of it, but understands it's been a dif- ferent deal this year. Even with that knowledge, there's no reason to give in, and Albrecht reminded U-M's younger players of the program's standards in a players-only meeting recently. "One of the things I've emphasized is, we're 6-6 and we're a few posses- sions away from being 9-3," Albrecht said. "We've just got to figure out a way to get it done late." That was, of course, before the latest Louisville Slugger to the solar plexus in Champaign and the loss to MSU. Better days are coming, but that only helps so much in the here and now. ❏