The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MEN'S BASKETBALL of confidence beyond that of most freshmen? "Basketball is something I've done for so long. I've been playing since I was 7 years old. At the end of the day, it's just a game. When I go out there and play, no matter what the stage is, I play my game. I play how I know how to play. "Nothing really surprises me, when I go out and do it. That's how confident I am in how many hours I've put in the gym." • What is your reaction to seeing what your teammates accomplished last year in the Big Ten? "The rings ev- eryone has from last year, they're pretty impressive. Just seeing those, it moti- vated me to go get one this year. I wasn't a part of that team last year, so for every- one coming back, it's a good honor for them. I'm hungry to get one this year. • What are your thoughts on Michi- " Five Questions With Freshman Nik Stauskas • What allows you to play with a level fensive rebounding, and we're shoot- ing the ball at a pretty good clip. I don't think it's sensational, but it's one we're happy with. You get a few offensive rebounds and stick-backs, that's a quick percentage booster." Plus, Beilein noted, the Wolverines have defended well early, even one freshman in particular. "Glenn Robinson has done a great job, with what [Zack] Novak used to do defensively," Beilein said. "He's so solid, either on the ball or off the ball. It's made us not have to make up for typical freshman errors. "It's really helpful for us. He and Jordan Morgan have really helped us defensively, many times this year." gan being ranked No. 3 in the nation? "It's just a number that's being placed on us. We're a bigger target now I guess, for some teams. At the end of the day, as long as we play our game like we know how to play, none of that really matters. "We know we're a target now. That's pretty obvious. Stauskas has a well-deserved reputa- tion as an outstanding shooter, but he has been putting plenty of work into his rebounding and defense as well. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN that feeling sometimes, where I know if I'm not going to get that many, I have to knock this one down. We'll see where the offense takes us. Right now, I'm pretty comfortable with where we're going. • Is it tougher getting into a three-point rhythm on limited attempts? "I get " that's been my main thing, just shooting. I feel like I get labeled sometimes, but I'm doing a pretty good job of showing people I can do more. I've been focusing on my rebounding and my defense. Putting the ball on the floor and passing, that's just something that will come with it. • Are you unfairly labeled as just a shooter? "A little bit. Most of my career, " " showed us we can continue to do that. Now, if you don't go in there, you don't box people out, you can't rebound with anybody. "The other thing that helps you rebound is if you're keeping people from penetration. Then you don't get caught in rotations where you have the wrong guys rebounding, or they're in poor position." Beilein's Michigan teams have — John Borton spent most of their time floating around the bottom of the Big Ten in rebounding margin. They've made up for it with a very low turnover rate, but so far, this year's team is experiencing the best of both worlds. They're still turning over the bas- Morgan (6-8, 250) still supplies a re- bounding presence in the middle, but he's supplemented by true fresh- man forward Mitch McGary (6-10, 250), healed-up redshirt sophomore forward Jon Horford (6-10, 250) and redshirt freshman forward Max Bielf- eldt (6-7, 245). Also, junior guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is crashing the boards with regularity. Another plus early on, Beilein pointed out, involves Michigan's of- fensive efficiency. The Wolverines' marksmanship has improved, and it shows on the scoreboard. "It's the number of points we score ketball only 10 times per game, but they're hovering near the top of the Big Ten in rebounding margin, pulling in an average of 14 more re- bounds per contest than opponents. Redshirt junior forward Jordan 54 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2012 around Crisler Center with three fin- gers aloft following Michigan's ad- vancement to No. 3 in the Associated Press poll Nov. 26. The distinction produced little more than a shrug and a "see-me-in-March" take from the veteran head coach. "I don't feel anything about it," Beilein said. "It's so premature. Any of these rankings right now are so premature. Why even pay attention to them?" At the same time, when it's another John Beilein wasn't running RANKING DOESN'T RATE HIGH ON BEILEIN'S LIST sport, Beilein himself pays attention to them, so on some level, he under- stands all the fuss. "I realize it sells," he said. "People want something to talk about. It's great buzz. I get all that. It's part of the world. Every time Major League Baseball will have some type of rank- ing, I'll be looking at where the Car- dinals are. Where are the Tigers? "But to do it in November [for basketball], it's probably mean- ingless. December, still. When you get into January and February and March, where we stack up as far as the NCAA Tournament, where we would be seeded if we were fortunate enough, that's what I care about." He certainly cares what his players per possession," Beilein said. "I think it's leading the Big Ten. It's a good number. If you score over a point a possession, we're really pleased with that. We've been scoring over that. "We've got two things happening. We've got low turnovers, and we're getting extra possessions from of- are thinking, Beilein acknowledged. That means having the discussions involving where the Wolverines' fo- cus needs to remain. "I don't think I can stop them from looking at it," Beilein said. "We don't talk about it at all. We just talk about how we can get better that day. I know that's coach-speak, but it's the