The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/589596
MICHIGAN BASKETBALL PROGNOSTICATORS HAVE VARYING OPINIONS ON WOLVERINES Some preseason annuals have gone the way of the dinosaur, but a few sig- nificant publications are still making their way to bookshelves. Three col- lege basketball periodicals — Sport- ing News, Athlon and Lindy's — have varying opinions on how Michigan will finish this season. Of the three, Sporting News thinks the most of the Wolverines. The publication ranks U-M 18th nation- ally and third in the Big Ten, behind Maryland and Indiana. "The Wolverine football program spent the offseason amidst the hys- teria that surrounded the return of former quarterback Jim Harbaugh as coach," they wrote. "There was no such upheaval for the U-M hoop squad, which instead anticipated the healthy returns of Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton and a return to the NCAA Tournament." Sporting News lists senior shooting guard LeVert as its No. 5 player in the Big Ten and head coach John Beilein third, behind MSU's Tom Izzo and Wisconsin's Bo Ryan for best coach honors. LeVert is deemed Michigan's "dif- ference maker," noting, "a healthy Lindy's named junior wing Zak Irvin a third-team All-Big Ten selection this preseason. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN