The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 51 2017-18 BASKETBALL PREVIEW "I love that part of us right now. We have a great connectivity as a team." He also likes the team's commit- ment to defense. That's been a prob- lem on teams of years past, including a long stretch last season, but this team is ahead of the curve, based on the early returns. "We see it in practice. With [as- sistant coach] Luke [Yaklich], like [former assistant] Billy [Donlon] … it comes down to players. [Former assistants] LaVall Jordan and Bacari Alexander did an excellent job, too," he said. "It comes down to the players. 'X' [sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson] is bringing it every day at everybody. [Graduate transfer point guard] Jaaron [Simmons] re- ally knows how to play defense, as well, and [redshirt sophomore wing] Charles Matthews has really showed an ability to defend people. "We won't be great [at times]. Maybe we'll go through something like last year when we were one of the worst, but then grew and got better." — Chris Balas MICHIGAN WILL BE TESTED BY 2017-18 SLATE With the Michigan basketball sea- son right around the corner, head coach John Beilein spoke with the me- dia and was asked about this season's schedule. The Wolverines have a five-game stretch starting on Nov. 29 that has certainly caught Beilein's attention. Michigan will face North Carolina on the road in the Big Ten/ACC Chal- lenge first, host Indiana at home Dec. 2, travel to Ohio State two days later, return home to play UCLA Dec. 9 and finish with a game at Texas Dec. 12. "It hurts me. It hurts my stomach," Beilein said. "What happens before Christmas is as challenging as it's ever been. There's that one string of games that's just incredible. I hope it's going to help us. What I hope is that we don't have any key injuries through that time. I hope that we can develop quick enough." Michigan will have played just seven games before that challenging stretch, but will need to be ready to play since those résumé-building op- portunities could go a long way when tournament selection time comes around. "I hope that we're ready to take on the challenge of game after game after game after game after game. That's five in a row, and then we have De- troit [Michigan plays Detroit Mercy at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 16]," Beilein said. "It's really a gauntlet that we're go- ing to run the whole preseason. I'm sure it's going to prepare us for the Big Ten, but I don't want it to be a 2-10 prepared. It's a difficult schedule, and we could be close but not have the record in many of those games. "Whatever happens we'll embrace it." It's not the only difficult part of Michigan's schedule. The Big Ten Tournament has been moved up a full week due to Madison Square Garden being unavailable during the week- end immediately prior to Selection Sunday. That puts teams that make the NCAA Tournament in a position where they won't have a scheduled game for over a week. Beilein isn't too worried about it, however, and said it's what he was used to when he was the head coach at Richmond and Canisius. "I think it's okay, we'll work it out," Beilein said. "If we're fortunate enough to be in the NCAA Tourna- ment, we'll have like an intra-squad scrimmage, just to get that one game scrimmage in there in-between." He even mentioned the idea of playing Michigan State in a scrim- mage during the off-week. "All the mid-majors are going through the same two-week waiting period that we will now," Beilein said. Michigan starts the regular season at home on Nov. 11 against North Florida. There is also one exhibition game scheduled for Nov. 3, when they host Grand Valley State. — Andrew Vailliencourt FRESHMAN TRIO IMPRESSING IN THE EARLY GOING Michigan has a trio of freshmen vying for playing time, and at least one — power forward Isaiah Livers — seems to be a cinch to see the floor this year. The 6-7 standout is pushing fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson. Livers is even more athletic than he thought, head coach John Beilein admitted, and has had some 'wow' moments in practice. "He is already athletic and with [strength coach Jon] Sanderson, if he puts two to six inches of vertical jump more on him, that's going to be something," Beilein said. "His at- titude has really been good." The guards, too, have impressed in showing a willingness to learn and compete. "Jordan Poole is a good athlete," Beilein said of the 6-4 shooting guard. "I wouldn't say he jumps out of the gym, but he is shifty. He shifts gears and cuts as good as any fresh- man I've seen. "A lot of young kids don't know how to cut. We work at cutting, but this kid really can cut. He's going to get open whether he's cutting to get open or go backdoor." Point guard Eli Brooks, too, could contribute. "He really has a feel for the game," Beilein said. "He can really shoot it." 2017-18 MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Nov. 3 Grand Valley State (BTN+)^ 7 p.m. Nov. 11 North Florida (BTN+)* 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 Central Michigan (BTN) 7 p.m. Nov. 16 Southern Mississippi (BTN+) 7 p.m. Nov. 20 vs. LSU (ESPNU)# 11:30 p.m. Nov. 21 vs. Notre Dame/Chaminade# 8/10:30 p.m. Nov. 22 vs. TBD# (TBD) TBD Nov. 26 UC Riverside (FS1) 4 p.m. Nov. 29 at North Carolina (ESPN)& 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 Indiana (CBS)! 12:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Ohio State (FS1)! 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 UCLA (CBS) 12 p.m. Dec. 12 at Texas (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Dec. 16 vs. Detroit (ESPNU)@ 12 p.m. Dec. 21 Alabama A&M (ESPNU) 9 p.m. Dec. 30 Jacksonville (BTN) 6 p.m. Jan. 2 at Iowa (ESPN/2)! 7 p.m. Jan. 6 Illinois (BTN)! 12 p.m. Jan. 9 Purdue (ESPN/2)! 9 p.m. Jan. 13 at Michigan State (FOX)! 12 p.m. Jan. 15 Maryland (FS1)! 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at Nebraska (BTN)! 9 p.m. Jan. 21 Rutgers (BTN)! 12 p.m. Jan. 25 at Purdue (ESPN2)! 7 p.m. Jan. 29 Northwestern (FS1)! 7 p.m. Feb. 3 Minnesota (FOX)! 2:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at Northwestern (BTN)! 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at Wisconsin (CBS)! 1 p.m. Feb. 14 Iowa (BTN)! 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18 Ohio State (CBS)! 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at Penn State (BTN)! 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Maryland (ESPN/2)! 12 p.m. Feb. 28-March 4 Big Ten Championship (at New York, N.Y.) March 13-April 2 NCAA Championship (at various sites) ^ — Exhibition; * — Maui On The Mainland at Crisler Center; # — Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawai'i; & — ACC/Big Ten Challenge; ! — Big Ten game; @ — at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit