The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/603303
to be, probably never will be … just trying to get back into the swing of things, shake the rust off a little bit. It's coming back. I'm getting closer. "Conditioning-wise, I'm not going to say I'm there yet, but I'm pretty confident that I'm close to getting to where I can help the team." As for the rumors that he might redshirt if he hadn't healed as quickly as hoped? "I don't think they'd want me," he said with a laugh. "I'm already old enough. I might be gray or bald by the time I finally left." READY FOR REDEMPTION Even if he were, Beilein would prob- ably be happy to have him. The coach marveled during Big Ten basketball media day about Ohio State running a box-and-one down the stretch of a 64-57 win over the Buckeyes, the Wol- verines' biggest victory of the season. On the same day, The Chicago Tri- bune called Albrecht "the face of Michigan basketball," quoting Purdue head coach Matt Painter as saying the reason he offered P.J. Thompson, a 5-10 point guard from Indianapolis Brebeuf, two years ago was "because of Spike Albrecht." "He could play a lot of places," Painter said of U-M's hidden gem. "He's a good player." And yet he's now back where he was as a true freshman, vying for playing time on a roster loaded with talent. Back then he was learning from future first-round NBA Draft pick Trey Burke, the player Beilein told Albrecht he'd be playing behind for "five to 10 minutes per game." Now he's competing for minutes with Walton, the other point guard Beilein brought up before offering Albrecht and telling him he'd probably be a career backup. Beilein's words didn't scare Al- brecht off, though. If anything, they made him more determined to prove himself. And the Wolverines would have been lost without him last year, a 16-16 season that would have been much worse had he not been on the floor. Having him back this year — as well as Walton and LeVert — bodes well for the backcourt, guards coach LaVall Jordan said. "It's exciting to have those guys back out there. They know what's going on, have a good idea what Coach Beilein wants," Jordan said. "And having Derrick and Spike back at the point is huge. Spike obviously showed up on the biggest stage — everybody remembers the national championship game. Last year he was our MVP and had to run the show, so we had to depend on him to play heavy minutes. "It's good for practice because there's a lot of competition for spots, guys pushing each other. Everybody is trying to find a way to get on the court. We always tell guys, 'It's your job to try to make it hard for us as a staff to make decisions.' They are do- ing that." This is a big year for Albrecht and LeVert especially, Jordan noted. The seniors have played on the biggest stages and know how it feels. Last year might have been an anomaly given the glut of injuries, but it didn't make it any easier, Albrecht said.