The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Wolverines to the NCAA title game and was tabbed as the consensus National Player of the Year, then went from bleeding blue to spend- ing green. This year's lineup could have fea- tured seniors Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III, Nik Stauskas, LeVert and Albrecht. Go ahead, torture yourself with that one for a while, amid snack runs leading up to "One Shining Moment." The former three were also good enough to fast break for the pay- check. The latter two stayed, and saw their chance taken from them. Double hip surgery did in Albrecht, while double foot/leg troubles cost LeVert the better part of the last two Big Ten seasons. While the Wolverines have more than held their own against the other high-profile basketball program in this state, the high-level consistency difference centers on standout se- niors. The No. 2-seeded Spartans feature Big Ten Player of the Year Denzel Valentine, along with a pair of other All-Big Ten seniors. Whatever dossier Tom Izzo keeps to retain his veterans certainly works. Other top-level seniors in the past five years include Branden Dawsen, Travis Trice, Keith Appling, Adreian Payne and Draymond Green. Over that same span, the Wolver- ines featured five-year performer Jordan Morgan, along with program- builders Zack Novak and Stu Doug- lass. This year, LeVert and Albrecht would have added to the list. Instead, they're making the best of it, and doing all they can for a team that squeezed into the dance hall through a back window. "Coach B has really encouraged Spike and me to take more of a coaching role in the process," LeVert assured. "That's where we want to see guys step up and play well in big games. That's been the main thing, just keeping the guys going and helping out any way we can. "It's tough, especially with it being my senior year, my last go at things. I'm really proud of the way the team has played." Albrecht refused to play the victim, while acknowledging the chasm be- tween his experience as a true fresh- man and a sidelined senior. Not once, he insisted, has he asked "Why me?" "Oh, no," he said. "My dad has bad hips, so I kind of saw it … I didn't expect it to come this early. But I never do that — the victim think- ing, the blame game or anything like that." Neither have the Wolverines, which is why they celebrated a Big Ten Tournament win over conference champ Indiana and, two days later, a shot at a bigger college basketball shindig. Someday, they might shock the world — with a lineup stocked by major senior contributors. But not right now, when the only breaks they catch show up on a med- ical chart. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine.