The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/589596
2015-16 BASKETBALL PREVIEW knowing that people want to come in here and play like that right away. It just rubs off on everyone else and makes everyone else compete." The wiser, older Ristovski has al‑ ready noted a few attributes that each freshman brings to the table af‑ ter just a couple of practices. "Each of them have special quali‑ ties about them," Ristovski said. "The heart and hustle I see from Munger, Boogie is not afraid to talk like she's older, Hallie is really ag‑ gressive when she plays, and Sam is always there to help and make sure she's doing the little things. "I think the four of them are just awesome teammates to have. They are always in the gym, always look‑ ing to get better and always asking questions. You see that they want to better themselves and be better play‑ ers for the team. I think that all four of them will contribute to the team this year." EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED With a team consisting of nine freshmen and sophomores, and just two scholarship seniors, growing pains are inevitable. However, the lead sophomore, Flaherty, is not wor‑ ried about the inexperience; instead, she's fired up about the potential. "We want to win a Big Ten Cham‑ pionship and make it to the NCAA tournament," she said. "I think both are attainable with the group that we have. We are very young, but we are talented and we have a lot of hard workers. We'll be able to out‑grit teams." Barnes Arico is prepared for some youth‑induced headaches, but wants to reach as high as possible because the talent level is there and so is a winning pedigree. "You just have to know there are going to be some good days and some bad days with young players," Barnes Arico said. "I think that our run in the NIT last year gives us some momentum. It gave confidence to a lot of the younger kids who had an opportunity to play in the postsea‑ son. Anytime you can play during the postseason, it helps to prepare for the next year and just gives you more experience. "The exciting thing about our freshmen, who obviously weren't here for the tournament run, is that they come in as winners. Their combined record as seniors in high school was something like 100 wins to five losses. "They are natural winners and don't really know how to lose, and that's really exciting. If you add that to the mix of returners that went on that incredible run last year, I know that they all have the same mental‑ ity." Last year's team finished 20‑15 and lost by four to UCLA in the WNIT semifinals. This year's team will get another shot at the Bruins Dec. 13. The season will tip off with an exhi‑ bition contest Nov. 8 against Ferris State in the Crisler Center, and six days later the regular season begins at home against Binghamton. ❏