The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 26, 1987 - Page 9 Rush Delivery BY JEFF RUSH Is Michigan tired... .. or is it the sleeper? Wandering through a Wisconsin weekend: MADISON *Is anyone tiring of Michigan coach Bill Frieder'saying his players are tired? He repeats the statement so often that it is going to replace the white towel over his shoulder as his trademark. *Whom was Frieder referring to when he said during Saturday's post-game press conference, "We're a player or two away from being a good team"? A song comes to mind (forget Frieder's threat to punish prize recruits Terry Mills and Rumeal Robinson for speaking to the press after being told not to): And here's to you, Mills and Robinson Frieder loves you more than you will know Whoa-oh-oh God bless you please, Mills and Robinson Crisler is the place where you will play We can't wait *Think (read: salivate) for a minute about next year's team. Gone will be Garde Thompson and Antoine Joubert, both scheduled to graduate. But junior Gary Grant, the best NBA prospect on the team, has already said he intends to remain at Michigan next year (and possibly try out for the 1988 Olympic basketball team). Sophomore Glen Rice is becoming a star, and sophomore center Mark Hughes and red-shirt freshman center Loy Vaught are improving ' with every game. Grant and Rice already are outstanding. Hughes and Vaught should be solid starters next year. Add the 6-10 Mills, who has an excellent shooting touch for a man of any size, and the physical Robinson at guard, and Frieder has the makings of an even better team than now. Finally, Michigan also might land Scan Higgins of Los Angeles Fairfax, one of the top five prep players in the country. A 6-9 swingman, Higgins has been compared to Kansas' Danny Manning. With a team that deep, Frieder better not complain next year about his players being tired. -For all Frieder's talk of the team being tired, have the Wolverines really looked as if they have been playing tired? Michigan has now won four games in a row, and five of its last. six. The team's only loss during that stretch was an 86-85 defeat against third-ranked Indiana. But Frieder's not yet done worrying. "We've got Hughes, who should be the power forward, playing center," explained Frieder after Saturday's victory. "That creates problems. We've got Rice, who should be the small forward, playing power forward. We've got Joubert, who should be playing at guard, playing small forward, so it creates pressure on everybody." Hey, it wouldn't be right if Frieder didn't worry about something. He has to earn his salary somehow when the team is playing so well. -Is there any way possible that Gary Grant could play better basketball? Against Wisconsin, Grant scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, and stole the ball three times. Statistics don't do justice to Grant's court presence. Wisconsin's Trent Jackson scored 18 points in the first half Saturday. With Grant moving over to cover him in the second half, Jackson managed only six more points before fouling out. Grant has similarly shut down Indiana's Steve Alford, Michigan State's Darryl Johnson, and Syracuse's Greg Monroe. "Gary Grant does everything," said Frieder. "He's a helluva player, I'm telling you. When you look at his stats he shoots, he scores, he always defenses the best player on the other team and does a sensational job.He gets us I don't know how many rebounds a night." Imagine what Grant would do if he weren't so tired. Glen, Gary grant Blue By RICK KAPLAN Special to the Daily MADISON - Glen Rice and Gary Grant are getting into a groove, and the record is not missing a beat. The Michigan basketball team, led by Rice and Grant, ran its record to 13-6 with an 84-78 victory over the surprisingly competitive Wisconsin Badgers. The Wolverines never trailed in the second half, but Wisconsin (10- 11 overall, 0-8 Big Ten) made Michigan work the entire game. Michigan's domination of the boards and overall team quickness proved crucial in closing minutes as the Badgers' comeback fell short. WOLVERINE COACH Bill Frieder felt Wisconsin's lineup change helped his team gain a 40- 28 rebounding edge. "They went to a smaller lineup to match our guards, and that allowed our inside people to get some key rebounds," he said. Rice pulled down the most important rebound with 20 seconds left in the game. Michigan led 81- 78, with Wolverine guard Antoine Joubert at the free-throw line. Joubert missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity, but Rice outmuscled Wisconsin center J.J. Weber for the ball. The sophomore forward was fouled and hit both free throws to clinch the win. Rice scored 27 points and had eight rebounds. Michigan built its lead on short Rice jump shots. He scored 12 points in the first 12 minutes of the half, all on jumpers from the paint or the foul line. "When they were playing zone, there were a lot of open spots," Rice said. "They weren't stopping me from going up the middle." "RICE WAS sensational," Frieder said. "When he's open, he's got such a nice stroke, you've got to get it to him." Wisconsin coach Steve Yoder was frustrated with his team's defensive work against Michigan's 1985 Mr. Basketball. "We don't adjust very well on the floor to the player that's hot on the opposing team," Yoder said. "Rice - I don't know how long you've got to let the guy shoot before somebody has enough sense to go out there and cover him." Having Grant cover Wisconsin's Trent Jackson was an important adjustment by Frieder. The Badgers' sophomore guard scored 18 points from long-range in the first half, including two three-pointers. With Grant, Michigan's defensive star trailing him in the second half, Jackson scored just six points (on two triples), and fouled out with 5:08 to play. "I went to Grant because Jackson was killing us in the first half," Frieder said. "I chewed my assistant out because we should have done it earlier." IN ADDITION to shutting down Jackson, Grant played his typical all-around game. The 6-3 junior scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out seven assists, and made three steals. A Grant free throw began a 5-0 Michigan spurt that closed out the 0 victory first half, putting the Wolverines ahead 42-38 at the break. Rice swished a 19-foot jumper with 1:06 left to give Michigan a 40-38 lead. After a Wisconsin miss, Joubert drive the lane for a bucket. The Wolverines got the ball back with six seconds to play in the half after the Badgers' Shelton Smith traveled. Frieder reinserted guard Garde Thompson, who had sat out for three minutes with three fouls, into the lineup to take the final shot. The senior missed a 20- foot three-point attempt at the buzzer, however. The teams traded the lead in the early going, with the Badgers building their biggest edge at 15- 12. Michigan then ran off a 10-2 streak, led by two inside baskets by back-up center Loy Vaught. The Badgers got back up from the floor with nine minutes to play in the game. Smith, a junior guard, sank two straight three-pointers to cut an eight-point Wolverine advantage to 67-65. The 9,593 Badger fans at UW Fieldhouse raised the noise level. Two minutes later, though, a three-point Joubert jumper again put Michigan up by five, silencing the fans and the Wisconsin rally. I i Rice ... hot hand New York (Jersey) saddles the Broncos (continued from age 1) absolutely magnificent today. It might be the best game a quarterback has played in all games this year." Most of Simms' heroics came after a first half in which Denver outplayed the heavily favored Giants, going off with a 10-9 lead that easily could have been 20-7 or 20-9. Early in the second quarter, New York held Denver without a point after the Broncos had a first- and-goal from their one. Rich Karlis missed field goals from 23 and 34 yards for Denver - one after the goal-line stand. IN THE third quarter, the Giants outgained the Broncos 163 yards to two and scored 17 points. From the time the Broncos led 10-9 until the Giants led 33-10, Denver was held without a first down. New York's second-half surge started innocently enough. Three plays netted nine yards, and the Giants' punting team ran onto the field to punt from its own 46. Suddenly, the Giants shifted out of punt formation, and Jeff Rutledge, the second-string quarterback, came up behind the center. The ball was snapped, and Rutledge snuck for one yard and a first down. SIX PLAYS later, Simms hit tight end Mark Bavaro for 13 yards, the Giants led 16-10, and the rout was on. Denver, which went the entire third quarter without calling a running play, was forced to punt on the next series. Phil McConkey returned the punt 25 yards to the Denver 36. Eight plays later, Raul Allegre's 21-yard field goal made it 19-10. After the ensuing kickoff, Denver punted again, and again New York scored. They went 68 yards in four plays with Joe Morris scoring from one yard out following a 44-yard flea-flicker pass from Simms to McConkey. Elvis Patterson intercepted an Elway pass the next possession, setting up a six-yard scoring pass. V' ill MARC The Medieval and Renaissance Collegium, The German Department, and The English Department announce Get ready for the April 25th MCAT with a: FREE Administration & Disucssion of a MINI MCA TExkam * Learn How to Anticipate the Exam-maker " Determine Where to Concentrate Your Efforts * Understand the MCAT and its Purpose " Sharpen Your Test-Taking Techniques 8 PM, Tuesday, January 27th MICHIGAN LEAGUE - HUSSEY ROOM ALL STUDENTS WELCOME - NO CHARGE Presented by: INQUISITION & SORCERY TRIALS (13 -15th centuries): PEOPLE'S VERNACULAR v.s. THE LATIN OF THE LAW a lecture by PROFESSOR MADELEINE JEAY McMASTER UNIVERSITY January 29, 4 p.m. E. Conf. Rm., Rackham reception following in Rm. 3308 MLB ECEL XTest Preparation 1100 S. UNIVERSITY 996-1500 Cali 763-2066 for further information , 'JJ-Im-= c )L'-AV1 A t ) : ZI Ni)I Ltz, W-iR CSt)ft , T F Z', 7/'t)Z', t ML> i) LfI AiI El 4:t A / 0 Date: January 27, 1987 Sign up at your Place: CareAr PInament Office tnodv! ...: