The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
tion and a transfer. After key returning players suc- cumb to injury, everything tumbles out of control. Certainly a second round of injuries have taken their toll, but some wonder about recruit- ing near misses and highly regarded preps who haven't yet made a big impact for the Wolverines. Asked about the frustrated fan mantra of why the Wolverines haven't capitalized better on their huge success in 2013-14, the former coach could clearly empathize with U-M's efforts. "That's much easier said than done," Dakich cautioned. "People say, 'Oh, you're supposed to capital- ize.' What does that mean? You're supposed to go out and take guys that don't fit your system? You're supposed to take a ton of one-and- done guys? "I don't know exactly what that means. I get the point because that's what a lot of people say. But let's be honest — what Michigan has done, in terms of their recruiting, is pretty damned good. "Now, the jury is going to be out on the next phase of recruiting, after Stauskas and all those guys." The next phase is on the court now, minus Albrecht and also LeVert, for the Big Ten campaign up until now. Again, Dakich insisted, those losses can be overcome, but they're not in- significant. He pointed out that players who can score 17 in a half in a national championship game don't grow on trees. He also noted Albrecht's miss- ing leadership, in terms of know- ing Beilein's system forwards and backwards. "The people that say, 'Injuries are not an excuse,' are people that have not coached and watched their teams struggle on a daily basis because of injuries," Dakich chided. "The media will say, 'Oh, injuries are no excuse.' I say, yeah, you haven't dealt with them. "To everybody, some guys are dis- appointments in recruiting. Okay. But again, the jury is out. This isn't a done deal yet. We're sitting here with a bunch of tough games to go, let's see how they do." How they did find an answer to the numbing routs the first week of February said plenty. Getting LeVert back in slow stages could be huge, and Dakich assured those throw- ing the switches know exactly what they're doing. "Everyone would want to have John Beilein as a coach," Dakich stressed. "As a Michigan fan, I'm not worried about the coaching end of it. The coaching is great. "I'm worried about guys making plays when they've got to make plays and getting stops when they need to get stops. A lot of times, that's just on individuals deciding that kind of stuff is more important than knock- ing in a jump shot." Against Purdue, they decided to hold the Boilermakers to their lowest point total of the season. They took a couple of hard body blows, but hit mid-February still standing. "The games are going to be tough, and you have to be tougher," Beilein assured. ❏