The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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admitted, especially for a guy averag- ing 3.9 assists per game. "It's a tough thing to figure out sometimes," he said. "Some guys think every shot's a good shot. We've got to encourage him to shoot it when he's open, pass it when he's not." Beilein has encouraged him a lot, Walton admitted. "He's been saying it the last year and a half," he said with a smile. "I'm trying to pick my spots and then be more aggressive with it. I've got to get an understanding of when I need to hunt for my own shot." He's still a work in progress, but he's making strides. His turnover with six minutes to go turned what might have been a four-point game into a three-pointer at the other end in an 87-70 loss at Purdue, and he also turned it over a few times in transi- tion against Maryland when Robin- son was available on the wing. That element of his game is fixable, Beilein said. "He comes up the court and gets a little tunnel vision sometimes of what he's trying to do," the coach said. "I was upset with his turnovers. It was the exact same thing he did with five to go in the Purdue game. He just went down and said, 'I'm going to pick this ball up go and make a play,' even though there was not one there. "As he sees this — he's a smart kid — he's going to get better and better at it. If I'm a guard and thinking as- sists, I want to get that ball to Duncan or Zak whenever I can. He's still got to continue to look at that, and we'll work with him on it." Even when he's struggling, he's of- ten too valuable to take off the floor. He's the "floor general," sophomore Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman noted — the guy who controls the game and calms everybody down on offense. He helps his teammates on a daily basis in practice, where he's always aggressive. "He and Caris are two of the hard- est guards to cover in the country," Abdur-Rahkman said. "That helps the team, and they always help me when I miss the open roll man, things like that. He's helped me see the floor better since I got here." OWNING THE GLASS There's no teaching his rebound- ing instincts, though. Walton is prov- ing to be the best Michigan has ever had at his position. He averaged 4.7 boards per game as a 6-1 sophomore, is at 5.4 this year through 18 games and — impressively — led the entire Michigan team in defensive rebounds (77) and was tied for the best average. Teammates like Abdur-Rahkman say it's because he's a bulldog, the toughest guy on the court who "is very aggressive and has an intensity as though it's the last rebound every time." Beilein realizes he is watching something special. "He got a rebound in practice where I just said, 'Wow,'" the coach noted. "Sometimes you have these play- ers and look at weaknesses they may have, blind spots they may have … but I thought, 'I'll probably never have another point guard that re- bounds and elevates like he does.'