The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Trey Burke's Decision To Stay Excites Wolverines per game. He also set a U-M fresh- man record with 156 assists on his way to Freshman of the Year honors in the Big Ten, chosen by a media panel. Burke ran the show for the Wol- verines, helping guide Michigan to its first Big Ten championship since 1986. A host of teammates were on hand for the announcement about his return, and left no doubt about their feelings. "I'm not going to lie," redshirt ju- nior-to-be Jordan Morgan noted. "I was pretty excited when I heard the news. We're just happy. We're genu- inely excited to have him back, but we would have supported him either way he decided to go." Tim Hardaway Jr., with Burke and Morgan a returning starter for 2012- 13, admitted there will be plenty of anticipation for his junior season in maize and blue. "We were very, very happy," Hard- away said. "We've got our guard back, and we're trying to continue on in this process of trying to reach all of our goals next year. "It will definitely take it up another Burke averaged a team-high 14.8 points per game and set a U-M freshman record with 156 assists en route to Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. A PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL a 5-11, under-recruited point guard jumping to the NBA after one year. Days after Trey Burke finished a Big Ten Freshman of the Year campaign, the possibility became all too real. Burke sought out information t the beginning of the season, it wasn't even a fleeting concern — of playing in the NBA. Whenever it got to the stressful points or the depressing points for me, I just em- braced the moment. "It felt more like the recruiting through the NBA's Advisory Board, working with head coach John Beilein, as well as consulting with his parents and other trusted friends regarding a possible jump. When Burke stepped to a podium in Michi- gan's Player Development Center on April 9 to confirm a return to Mich- igan for his sophomore season, he acknowledged the departure nearly happened. "It was definitely stressful at times," Burke said. "When it got to that type of point, I just relaxed and decided to look at it as a positive. I know a lot of players would love to be in position to conquer their goals 42 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2012 process. It was a really tough deci- sion. After praying on it, talking to God about it, and my family and my coaches, it was best for me to come back." That confirmation — known sev- eral days earlier by Beilein — became some of the best recruiting news of the season. "We're obviously very excited notch. We really were trying to find our groove earlier in the season. The last couple of games, when we were putting points up and distributing the ball very well to our teammates and getting everybody involved, that's when we were really meshing together as a team. "If we just keep working as the summer goes on, including the whole team, we'll get our confidence and our chemistry down pat." Jon Horford, who will be a redshirt sophomore next year after missing nearly the entire season due to injury, also expressed excitement about the year to come. "It's really cool," Horford said. about the future of this team," Beilein said. "This is an exciting part of basketball today. There is so much change and transition. You can't look at it as doom and gloom. The game continues to survive, and it survives with young men faced with very im- portant challenges and decisions." Burke led Michigan in scoring this past season, averaging 14.8 points "Trey is obviously a great player, and he brings this team to a whole other level. Having him back is great for the team. It's great for the basketball program. It's going to be great for Trey. "Everyone is just going to feel more comfortable after another year with Trey. Trey is so good at getting everyone involved, that kind of stuff just rolls together. It's going to go re- ally smoothly." Burke himself has some high goals for the Wolverines. He noted Michi- gan's chemistry won't be affected at