The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Five Questions With Assistant Coach Bacari Alexander The Wolverine: What is the best aspect of Michigan's improvement thus far? Alexander: "Right now, our guys are doing a really good job of understanding where they should be and when they should be there. It comes with experience. "When you look at us defensively, there are certain principles indigenous to what we do. Now, it's about making it habit, so they do it quicker." The Wolverine: What's the biggest area of concern, heading into the Big Ten season? Alexander: "The biggest thing we have to look at is minutes played for our main guys. When you log heavy minutes with a freshman point guard and vet- eran guys, we know it's a really long season. We have to find ways to develop our bench, to spell those guys throughout the game, which will keep us fresher down the stretch." The Wolverine: What jumped out to you so far regarding Big Ten teams? Alexander: "It's been identity. When you watch Indiana, you can clearly see what their identity is — they're going to be a scrappy bunch that is going to get after you. When you watch Wisconsin, it's a grind-it-out style. When you watch Michigan State, they're going to pound you on the glass and bring toughness to the table. "When you watch Illinois, they'll bring a lot of length and athleticism. You watch Purdue, they grind it out on defensive presence each and every time. "You go down the league, you're looking at teams that have clearly established identities, which has something to do with veterans being in those programs. More importantly, they know exactly what they're trying to accomplish. That's a process area for us, as we work toward our identity." The Wolverine: How has the transition gone with a new point guard? Alexander: "There is a natural synchronization that goes on when you deal with a point guard that is four to five inches smaller. A lot of passes Darius Morris was able to throw over the top of defenses, now those passes come down low. "Our big guys are getting accustomed to catching short, small-area bounces passes from Trey Burke, versus the air passes from Darius. There is some recalibra- tion going on in that process. "The other thing our team is trying to fig- ure out is, which guy scores best in which spots. You find Evan Smotrycz getting into a groove here recently, because guys are find- ing him in the spots he prefers to score in. Evan is doing some other things to expand his game, by getting to the glass. "At the end of the day, our ability to have a great understanding of who our teammates are will probably be the barometer on how we finish and how we ascend throughout the season." The Wolverine: What does securing a tal- ent like Mitch McGary mean in terms of this program and its recruiting future? Alexander: "It definitely raises our per- ceptual profile. There are a lot of student- athletes out there now who are looking at the Michigan program in a different light. We worked so hard to establish an identity through our recruiting efforts. Now that those guys are saying yes to us — whether it be the Mitch McGarys, the Glenn Robinsons, the Nick Stauskases, and even that 2013 class — we have to continue to raise our profile by pursuing that level of recruit. "Now that you get them to say yes, other kids take notice and say, 'Wow. What's going on there at Michigan?' You couple all of that with facility upgrades, and I tell you, it's a Wolverine revolution." Class of 2012 signee Mitch McGary, rated the nation's No. 3 player by Rivals.com, is a recruit that raises Michigan's profile. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM — John Borton 36 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2012 showdown against Duke, when the Blue Devils held the sophomore scoreless in the first half of that Maui Invitational contest. U-M adjusted, and Hardaway surged back for 19 second-half points, but it's obvious he'll be wearing a target all season af- ter averaging 13.9 points per game as a true freshman on an NCAA Tour- nament team. He's upped his scoring from last year, but Hardaway has to work harder and be more flexible than ever to get it done, given the defenses he's facing. "The schemes keep changing," Beilein said. "He's certainly seen it in high school enough, but this is a whole different thing. I think he's ad- justing to it, being comfortable with it. We're becoming more comfortable with what we have to change. "Sometimes he might just have to be a decoy. If they're going to pay that much attention, we might have to go elsewhere, but there are other times we really need to get the ball in his hands and his sweet spots. That usually gives us pretty good results." Hardaway wants to score to help his team, but he's more than willing to distribute to see others cash in the points, he insisted. "It's definitely frustrating," Hardaway noted, regard- ing the handcuff treatment. "You're trying to focus on be- ing the key guy, helping your team out as much as possible, but you're restricted. That's when trusting your teammates comes into play. Trey Burke, Zack [Novak], Stu [Douglass], J-Mo [Jordan Morgan], they've done a great job of that. "I'm not frustrated about that anymore. I know I have teammates out there that can score the ball, get in the paint and make things happen." Plus, he agreed wi th Beilein's assessment that the Michigan brain trust is grow- ing more and more adept at coun- teracting what opponents are doing to him. "I'm adjusting pretty well," Hard- away said. "Coach Beilein is doing a great job of watching film and see- ing the variety of ways people are playing me on the defensive end. All we've got to do is just go out there and run the play."