The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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the NCAA Tournament in more than a decade. They hadn't savored a Big Ten championship in more than 20 years. They were a little cynical, a tad testy, and pondering whether their basket- ball team would continue looking as run down as Crisler Arena. They won- dered if the new guy could scrape up enough three-point shooters to out-fi- nesse some Big Ten teams and maybe sneak into a semi-meaningful March. What many weren't doing involved listening to top basketball minds like M 2012-13 BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY JOHN BORTON ichigan basketball fans felt a bit beaten up when John Beilein rolled into town five years ago. They hadn't seen story of Zack Novak and Stu Doug- lass, the recruiting leftovers that spiced up a championship stew. Instead, the Wolverines boast a returning All-Big Ten point guard in Trey Burke, another savvy veteran in the backcourt in Tim Hardaway Jr., unprecedented muscle on the boards in the Beilein era, and a freshman class studded with eye- openers. Beilein usually proves a master at managing expectations on Media Day, but he didn't really try this year. For the first time in his tenure, he didn't need to tamp down temporary giddi- ness or assure his team wouldn't be as helpless as anticipated. The Wolverines Are Battling To Win In The Nation's Toughest League IN THE MIX Bob Knight and Rick Pitino, who iden- tified Beilein as one of the best strate- gists in the game. They didn't allow themselves to believe when others in- sisted Beilein's basketball brain com- bined with Michigan's sleeping giant status in basketball could become a powerful combination. They heard about plans for Crisler, but couldn't imagine Crisler Center, with waterfalls, escalators, practice courts and roughly $100 million worth of upgrades. They couldn't conceive of a basket- ball team ranked No. 5 in the Big Ten in preseason polls, much less No. 5 in the nation. The answer is right there in black and white. The first USA Today coaches' poll of the season thrust the Wolverines into that No. 5 slot. Beilein's crew stands as one of three Big Ten squads in the honored hand- ful, behind No. 1 Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky and Ohio State. The defending Big Ten champions no longer feature the gritty, feel-good belted out: "How do you like me now?" Head coach John Beilein's squad was ranked No. 5 in the country in the preseason USA Today coaches' poll, the Wolverines' highest ranking in a major poll since the 1993-94 season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL As country singer Toby Keith once raw materials than he's had at any point in his Ann Arbor sojourn. He also knows that won't affect how hard he and everyone around him works to get more out of what's there. "John Beilein's always going to have a chip on his shoulder," he said. "Never worry about that. I'm always trying to find a way to be the best team that we can be, in every single fashion that we can do that. And I hope my team reads that. "I don't think we'll come into this thing thinking we are anything more than just 15 guys with four coaches that are out there just to enjoy every day, and to really work as hard if not harder than anybody — to be smart, if not smarter than other teams." He knows of no better way to ward off believing in the hype. away," he said. "Every season is a roller coaster. I'm sure there are go- ing to be games that we don't do as well as we would have liked, and maybe that crept in there somewhere. But there are going to be other games where we play well and it's 'Hey, we played with a sense of purpose and a chip on our shoulder.'" "That keeps all that other stuff He doesn't need to shun the rank- ings to get his team's attention. As a matter of fact, he could bring them into the discussion, if he so chose. Beilein insists he pays no attention NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 51 Deep down, he knows he has more