The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70101
WOLVERINE WATCH JOHN BORTON T U-M Still Shooting For Hoops Crown here are the two seniors that none of the big boys (and few of the littler boys) wanted four years ago. There are the under- the-radar big men, the freshman point guard and sophomores who slumped so badly during portions of Big Ten play the milk carton scans began in earnest. John Beilein's team stood eighth- best in the Big Ten in shooting, overall and from three-point range, coming out of its Feb. 12 home win over Illinois. regular season, the Wolverines loomed a half-game out of first place in the toughest conference in America. Figure that one out, and Russell And with five games left in the Crowe might have a spot for you in the sequel to "A Brilliant Mind." If ever there was a team that rep- resented more than the sum of its parts, it's this one. Head coach John Beilein has the Wolverines competing for a Big Ten title when few "I don't know that I'm a scientist at it, but we really tried to under- stand the season, and the pace of the season, and tried to figure out what is the best way for your team to be good in February," Beilein said. "Usually, if they're good in February, they're going to be good in March. "We felt really good. You have two of your shooters with shoot- ing stats like we had, and the team is 18-7 at one time. That was pretty good news. So spin it around." The Wolverines have spun the heads of opponents and their own fans in clawing to 9-4 in the league. Those shooters Beilein referenced — Tim Hardaway Jr. and Evan Smotrycz — had combined to con- nect on 22 of 106 (20.8 percent) from three-point range in Big Ten play, entering the Illinois game. They both came out nailing threes, and Illini head coach Bruce Weber knew he was in for a bad day. "When your two worst three- point shooters go 4 for 4, Hardaway and Smotrycz in the first half, it's a killer for you," Weber lamented. "You know they have so many other weapons and they spread you out. Good teams make plays. Guys step 8 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 up and make plays." The Wolverines survived mind- boggling slumps from two who re- ally aren't their worst long bombers, by a long shot. Hardaway nailed 44 percent from three-point range in Big Ten play a year ago. Smotrycz connected on better than 50 percent in non-conference play. But their Big Ten struggles this year made it even more unlikely a team guided by Trey Burke, the freshman point, and seniors Zack Novak and Stu Douglass, would be mentioned in the same breath as the title contenders. The Wolverines don't boast where you just see it all, and you just react out of habit. That's where they are right now. It's amazing, some of the things they're doing in practice. I'm sure some of our fresh- men are looking at it and saying, 'How did they figure that out?' "The game slows down. And right "But you get to that fourth level, now, they're seeing the game at a re- ally good pace." Right now, they're seeing a chance few would have dreamed four months ago. They might not win the Big Ten, but they're pounding on the door in the most unlikely fash- ion imaginable. thought that would be possible this season. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN a surefire NBA talent like Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, or a beat- you-bloody big man like Michigan State's Draymond Green. What they do feature involves more heart than witnessed by elephant cardiologists, and an uncanny sort of togetherness and grit. That comes from the veterans, Beilein stressed. "They are unconsciously compe- tent in everything they do," he said of Novak and Douglass. "They see it all right there. That's what we're trying to do with our freshmen, all the time. A freshman comes in, and he is unconsciously incompetent. He's looking around and he doesn't have any clue. off the one-two punch Feb. 1. They went from the left jab of an 11-2 sea- son in Brady Hoke's first year in the big office to the right cross of a con- sensus top-10 recruiting class. This year's crew features a boat- load of beef on both sides of the line of scrimmage, replenishing sorely short-supplied areas. It also includes a very healthy crop of linebackers, and others to step in and become the building blocks for future Big Ten title contenders. They're detailed at great length in this issue, but Michigan's coaching staff won't spend much time read- ing about them. It's already working on the next group, recruiting coordi- nator Jeff Hecklinski assured. "We're in the process of watch- ing every 2013 kid we can watch, from an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint," Hecklinski insisted. "People say, "Hey, are you going to rest now? You going to get some sleep?' "No. You know what? Tomorrow morning, we're coming right back in and we're shutting off the lights, putting the film on, and finishing evaluating the 2013 class." Hoke expects the Wolverines to be The football Wolverines finished *** relentless in pursuit of Big Ten titles. His coaches are setting the pace. ❑ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @JB_Wolverine.