The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN BASKETBALL That said, former Wolverine and present college basketball analyst Tim McCormick noted there remain some drawbacks inherent in serving as the face of a team's attack. "There is a huge difference be- tween being a support player and a star," McCormick said. "Every good college basketball team has a stopper, a guy that is regarded as their best defensive player. "When you are the 'A' player, you're going to have to go against him. The pre-game scouting report is going to say, when you play Michi- gan, 'Okay, these are the plays that Michigan runs to get Tim Hardaway a shot. We're going to take them away. When he gets the ball, his pre- mier move is this, his second-best move is this — be aware of it.' BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK • Michigan broke an all-time series tie with its 76- 66 win over Iowa State at Crisler Arena on Dec. 3. The Wolverines are now 5-4 against the Cyclones. • Redshirt sophomore Jordan Morgan recorded a season-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Iowa State. Senior Zack Novak contrib- uted a season-high 11 rebounds, becoming the first Michigan player to hit double figures in re- bounding in a game this season. Junior guard Eso Akunne and junior forward Blake McLimans each notched a career-high five points. • Michigan shot a season-high 83 percent (15 of 18) at the free throw line in the win over Iowa State. • U-M's 90-80 win over Oakland University at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Dec. 10 pushed the Wolverines' all-time record against Oakland to 7-1. Michigan's 90 points represented a season high, topping the 79 the Wolverines scored in defeating UCLA in the Maui Invitational. • The Wolverines notched a season-high 21 team assists against Oakland at The Palace. Michigan hadn't reached the 20 mark since the NCAA Tour- nament last spring, when it recorded 20 in a 75-45 second-round win over Tennessee. • Freshman Trey Burke tied a career high with nine assists against the Golden Grizzlies, while senior Zack Novak established a new career high with eight. Burke also set career highs in scoring (20) and three-pointers made (three). • Sophomore Evan Smotrycz recorded a career- high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Michigan's win over Oakland. He tied a career high with four three-pointers, going 4 of 5, and hauled down a career-best nine rebounds. • Burke established a new career high in re- bounds during the 63-50 victory over Arkansas- Pine Bluff on Dec. 13 at Crisler Arena. The freshman pulled down six caroms, helping keep the Wolverines undefeated at home in 2011. Junior Matt Vogrich added a season-high 11 points, connecting on 3 of 5 three-pointers. • U-M limited Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 19 percent (5 of 26) Sophomore Evan Smotrycz recorded a career-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Michigan's 90-80 win over Oakland Dec. 10. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN in the second half. The Wolverines shot a season-high 54.5 percent (30 of 55) in the victory. • Michigan slipped to ninth in the Big Ten in free throw shooting in the first half, a season low by a U-M foe. But Michigan's 37-17 halftime lead got whittled down consider- ably in part due to the Wolverines' season-high 19 turnovers. • Smotrycz recorded a career-high 11 rebounds and three steals in Michigan's 87-57 win over Alabama A&M on Dec. 17. Freshman Carlton Brundidge came off the bench to score the first points of his college career, on a reverse layup percentage (67.8 percent) through 11 games. U-M stood fourth in the conference through Dec. 19 on field goal shooting (49.4 percent) and third in three-point shooting (38.0 percent). • U-M featured two players among the league's top 15 scor- ers. Sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr. stood 11th (15.4 average) and Burke 14th (13.1). Smotrycz ranked No. 6 among Big Ten rebounders, averaging 6.4 per game. Morgan led the confer- ence in field goal percentage (73.9). JANUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 37 "The third part of it is, when he has the ball, everybody defensively is waiting to help out. That changes things a great deal. Some players are better at being secondary or third op- tions. Other guys just find new ways to take their game. "I anticipate that he will get better and better, as the year goes on, at be- ing the focal point of the other team's scouting report." ❑