The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN BASKETBALL said on his Dec. 2 weekly radio show. "Hopefully, it's before too long." Walton ranked third on the team in scoring with 9.6 points per game through seven contests, while adding 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, second only to senior LeVert in both categories. Beilein said he was mak- ing "good progress" prior to the SMU contest, adding the Wolverines had options in his absence. "Caris handles the ball a great deal for us, Muhammad gives us a really good defender, but I suspect if Derrick can't go you'll see Spike [Albrecht] in there, as well," Beilein said. Albrecht is still recovering from a double-hip surgery he underwent in the offseason and is not back to form. He's no longer in pain, but he's still trying to get rid of the stiffness and become the athlete he was prior to his injuries. "I'm kind of just not practicing every day, always getting ready," he said. "I'm always available to play, but between school, classes, practice for two or three hours, I don't really have a window to get rehab done." He does practice the days before games, however, while rehabbing on other days. He also rides the bike be- hind the bench to loosen up before his number is called. Albrecht said he hoped to return to 100 percent this year, though Beilein said he was uncertain that would be the case. LeVert and Abdur-Rahkman will continue to get more reps at the point in Walton's absence while Al- brecht continues to recover. "What I have to think about is stuff that we have drawn up for Caris is different than what we do for the one man," Beilein said. "Just some of our quick hitters. Now we have to talk to him about, 'Okay, in these particular plays, this is what you should be look- ing for.' "The beauty of the two-guard front is that you can trade some things. It's never happened before that Caris had to be the primary handler. Now we're trying to get some things for him back to what did we do for Trey [Burke] to get him open. That's what we're drawing on." Junior wing Zak Irvin, too, is still trying to regain his shooting form after offseason back surgery slowed him. He was averaging 6.9 points per game and shooting only 20.0 per- cent from three-point range through Dec. 8. "It's a work in progress," Beilein said. "I'll shoot with him a little before we go out … he's had some habits he's had in shots at different times that were not good, and he's had some great habits. "He's got to learn to control his own shot, what he's doing, and that's going to make him better at it." CENTER POSITION STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS Michigan's center spot was still unsettled in early December, with sophomore Ricky Doyle and fresh- man Moritz Wagner the two vying for the most playing time. Doyle was averaging 16.6 minutes per game and Wagner 11.1, as of Dec. 8. "It all comes down to foul trou-