The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/90932
2012-13 BASKETBALL PREVIEW Nik Stauskas Is Shooting For Big Results Freshman Nik Stauskas took almost no time at all to announce his arrival as a new weapon in John Beilein's offensive arsenal — five minutes, to be precise. That's the length of a Beilein drill known as 50-in-Five, in which the Wolverines featured. Needless to say, that drew some attention. "That's something I work on a lot, try to knock down 50 threes in a five-minute span. The rookie from Mississauga, Ont., via St. Mark's School in Massachusetts, didn't stop at 50. He nailed 78 threes, a feat unmatched by any Michigan shooter Beilein has uncanny three-point shooting videos on YouTube. "It's just something I want to get better at to help this team out. I don't work on that kind of stuff just to do that in the drills. I work on it to help the team out in games. Obviously, it's nice to set some sort of record, but at the end of the day, we've got to knock them down in games. " noted Stauskas, already well known for his Stauskas believes he can do so, even with Big Ten-level defenders closing out on him. He's seen some competition before, the freshman cautioned. "Not only here at Michigan, but I've tried out for the Canadian Men's National again here, but that's something I'm looking forward to doing." " Stauskas said. "Obviously, I'm going to have to prove myself Beilein insists Stauskas is more than just a shooter, and that will play in his favor when the regular season begins. "He's just got a natural ability to find the bottom of the basket, Stauskas and the rest of Michigan's freshmen still have to defend well, Beilein cautioned. They're learning those college-level skills, and in the meantime, one of those rookies continues raining threes. " — John Borton " Team, I've been playing with NBA guys, and I've proven to myself that I can do it at the next level, "What separates Nik is what we hope will make him a very difficult guard. Some guys are just shooters, but if you come out on Nik, he can put the ball on the floor and get to where he wants to go to. Some guys can do that and then can't throw drop-off passes and see the court. He has been able to do that thus far. " Beilein observed. talent he's seeing these days. "I've been a passer, a distribu- tor, my whole life," he said. "When you've got guys like this, on this team, it's a lot easier to pass them the ball. When you've got guys who can finish and shoot like they do, it's great." Hardaway can certainly shoot, av- eraging 14.6 points per game as a sophomore. His three-point marks- manship (28.3 percent) fell off sig- nificantly last season, but he became Michigan's leading scorer at the free throw line (108 of 151, 71.5 percent) and finished third on the team in as- sists (73). In addition to seeking the stroke that allowed him to connect on 36.7 percent of his triples as a true fresh- man, Hardaway continues to hone his ball-handling skills. If he can de- liver at shooting guard, it changes Michigan's backcourt dynamic. "He's put a lot of time into it," Jor- dan noted. "He's watched Zack [No- vak] and Stu do it, even though he was playing over on the wing more. The thing that I've always admired about Tim is he prepares as well as anybody I've ever been around. You give him things and he eats it up. He'll be ready." A Burke-Hardaway combo would certainly draw some notice. "Defensively, teams will focus on those two guys," Jordan said. "They'll draw a lot of attention. What's great for us is, those guys are great passers. It benefits every- body, when you have willing guys who share the ball and who are looking for open teammates. It's not like they're going to take something that's not there or force things." As noted, though, the other op- tions at shooting guard are numer- ous. Stauskas brings great shooting ability and can put it on the floor when necessary. He'll need to defend at the college level, Beilein cautioned, but that's simply a learning process. LeVert, meanwhile, appears to be During his first 50-in-Five drill, in which the Wolverines try to knock down 50 three-point- 56 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2012 Michigan's secret weapon and is quickly becoming less of a secret at Crisler Center. The freshman from Pickerington, Ohio, committed to Ohio University, but was granted a release following the departure of the head coach there. ers in a five-minute span, freshman Nik Stauskas nailed a record 78 treys. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN He signed on with Michigan, and the one they call "Baby Durant" not only grew three inches from his ju-