Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday - February 17, 1992 CAGERS Continued from page 1 stopped running, and they con- strained us to a half-court game." State not only increased its de- fensive intensity in the second half but made greater use of an inside of- fense. The combination of Matt Steigenga, Anthony Miller, Dwayne Stephens and Peplowski dominated the lane during the Spartan's 17-3 run at the end of the game. The four garnered 47 of Michigan State's 70 points, led by Peplowski's 18. In addition to the many points, the foursome caused Michigan's in- side players to commit fouls in the attempt to stop them. "Toward the end, we were doing a better job of getting the ball in- side," Heathcote said. "And we were getting more fouls." Michigan's force in the paint, Chris Webber, left the game 9:36 into the second after picking up his fourth personal foul. Though the Wolverines trailed by only three with 1:55 remaining, they were unable to stop the run- away State train. Montgomery hit two layups and sank three shots from the free-throw line to tally seven of his eight points in the final minute. MICHIGAN STATE (70) FQ FT Rob. Mn. M-A M-A 0-T A F Pts.. Steigenga 28 4-10 0-0 3-7 2 1 9 Stephens 32 1-9 4-8 1-2 2 2 7 Peplowski 34 6-9 8-11 2-12 2 3 18 Respert 30 5-14 2-2 1-1 2 2 15 Montgom'ry 38 2-6 4-6 0-3 4 3 8 Snow 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 u00 Miller 20 4-7 5-7 3-5 1 1 13 Weshinsk'y 10 0-5 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Zulauf 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Haley 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 200 2260 21-34 11-34 13 12 70 FG%- .367. FT%- .618. Three-point goals: 5-11,* .455 (Respert 3-4, Steigenga 1-2, Stephens1-4, Weshinskey 0-1). Team re- bounds: 6. Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 9 (Miller 3, Peplowski 2, Respert 2, Stephens, Montgomery). Steals: 7 (Peplowski 2, Montgomery 2, StephensRespert, Miller). Technical fouls: Respert :12, 2nd. MICHIGAN (59) FG FT Rob. Mn. M-A "-A O-T A Pts.. Webber 30 5-12 1-2 1-8 0 4 12 Jackson 21 1-1 0-0 0-8 2 4 2 Howard 33 5-14 2-2 2-5 2 5 12 Rose 37 7-13 3-5 4-9 4 1 19 King 28 3-8 2-2 1-2 3 4 8 Voskuil 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 Hunter 10 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 Pelinka 13 0-2 0-0 1-5 1 0 0 Talley 11 1-3 2-2 0-0 1 0 4 Riley 15 1-1 0-0 0-3 1 2 2 Taylor 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0" 0 0 Totals 200 23-55 10-13 10-44 14 22 59 FG%- .418. FT%- .769. Three-point goals: 3-13, .231 (Rose 2-4, Webber 1-4, King 0-3, Talley 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocks: 5 (Webber, Howard, Rose, King, Hunter). Turnovers: 21 (Howard 6, Rose 6, Jackson 3, King 3, Riley 2, Webber). Steals: 2 (Jackson, Pelinka). Technical fouls: Howard :12, 2nd. MichiganState..;... 30 40- - 70 Michigan............ 36 23 - 59 At Crisler Arena; A-13,609 (paid) Rose sweetens lineup for young Wolverines by Matthew Dodge Daily Basketball Writer What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. - William Shakespeare Unless he plays point guard for Michigan. Jalen Rose, the long-shorts wear- ing, trash-talk swearing, 6-foot-8 pilot of the Wolverine fast break is one of a kind. Each of Michigan's vaunted rookies has a defined role on the court. Juwan Howard posts up and hits turn-around jumpers. Jimmy King spots up for long-range bombs. Ray Jackson attacks the offensive boards with a passionate nose for the ball. And Chris Webber knocks down stunning slams on a regular basis. Rose does all of these things. His appointed position is point guard. - He officially superseded Michael Talley's starting spot two weeks ago. One now wonders why Rose hasn't been allowed to run the show all season. Against Michigan State this weekend, the Detroit native led the Wolverines in scoring (19 points), rebounds (nine, including four offen- sive), and assists (four). "I like to run the point," Rose said. "I get to see the court a lot bet- ter, and can see all the angles. We have a chance to score when the team is forced to run a half-court game. I have the opportunity to get the ball to the man who's been hot, or to the big fellas down low." Rose's point guard responsibili- ties were given to him by default. Talley has shown many inconsisten- cies, and King is an ideal off-guard. When Rose, who began the season as Steve Fisher's starting off-guard, got his chance to run the offense, he did not disappoint. The lanky lefthander is currently fifth in the Big Ten individual scor- ing race (17.8 ppg), and tenth among the conference assist leaders (3.6 apg). Rose is the only Big Ten point guard in the top ten of both cate- gories. "I feel the team has enough con- fidence in me," Rose said. "The coaching staff and the players have confidence in me. If you feel every- one has cons, "ace in you, it makes you feel good." Fisher giv o.. Earvin Johnson-prototype e freedom he needs. Rose playo 37 minutes against the Spartans. Fisher seems to understand that any succe the Wolverines enjoy will be greatly de- termined by Rose. When Michigan won at Notre Dame last week, Rose hit free throw after free throw to ice the victory. Irish coach John MacLeod was im- pressed. "Rose looked like an eight-year NBA veteran out there," MacLeod said. The Wolverines have a lot of rough edges. As the floor general, much of the burden falls on Rose's slight shoulders to iron out those rough spots. "Right now, (Michigan's) talent is better than the basketball," Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote said. "When the talent catches up with that, they're gonna be awe- some." With Jay Rose running the show, that day may come sooner than Heathcote thinks. 0 Michigan's Chris Webber goes up for a rebound as Michigan State's Mike Peplowski and Anthony Miller look on Saturday night. Michigan forward Chris Webber puts up a shot over Michigan State's Dwayne Stephens. Webber scored 12 points in the defeat.. SPARTANS Continued from page 1 The Spartans put their mouth- guards back in, stepped on the court, and closed the game out with a 12-3 run. Montgomery, Peplowski, and Steigenga scored all 12 points. They shut down the young guns, and elim- inated Michigan's Big Ten title aspi- rations. "I wouldn't call it revenge," Spartan forward Dwayne Stephens said. "But it would have been a heartbreak to lose again." "We definitely didn't want to get swept this year," rookie sharpshooter Shawn Respert said. "That was a win (in January) we should have had. This counteracts and balances the scale." Webber operated all last week under a severe misconception: that State was too ready, too excited, and too riled up for the second intrastate title fight. The game seemed to mean more to the Spartans than to Webber. He insisted that this game was not more important than the Big Ten title race. But Michigan State got the best of both worlds: it had the last laugh on the cross-state upstarts; and it now sits alone in third place in the Big Ten, with a 7-4 conference mark. Michigan's hopes have been dashed. The Wolverines are 6-5, good for fifth place, behind Indiana, Ohio State, MSU, and Minnesota. "I'm not caught up in the ri- valry," Webber said last Thursday. "But I could appreciate beating them. It just matters what happened the first time. We don't use that fake hype that they use. It doesn't matter what you say before the game, it just matters what you do once you're on the court." So right. The Spartans would agree with you, Chris. KING Continued from page 1 for King to produce that smile. There were so many expectations for the rookies. So many that it was literally impossible to live up to them all. And when Michigan dropped its first Big Ten game, to Minnesota, then followed it with another loss at home against Purdue, the weight of those expectations became almost unbearable. "It was a big adjustment for him during those times," says King's father, Jimmy Sr. "He had some trouble trying to figure out just what his role was on the team, what things he needed to do and not do. But he's learned." King has also learned how to deal with all the attention from the media that has enveloped the five rookies. "Sometimes, maybe something gets blown way out of proportion or your words get twisted, so you just have to choose what you say," King says. "You have to say it so that there's no way somebody can twist it around." In high school, King never had to deal with problems like that. But now, a long ways from his home in Plano, Texas, he does have to deal with those things. Constantly. "It's something you just have to learn, you know. There have been a lot of adjustments like that. You're always gonna miss home, but I've got my family up here - my fellow classmates, my teammates - and I've got family about 2 hours away." And the five first-year players really are like a family, much to the delight of King's mother, Nyoka. "We are a very close-knit family and I talk to Jimmy three or four times a week," she says. "But I never have to worry about Jimmy,. because the other guys are there for him." That may very well be what makes this group so unique. "We really didn't get the feeling of being true freshmen, with all that attention," he says. "But you know, there's so many of us, we just pull each other up. We're all just one - just one big group. And the other guys on the team helped us out, too, telling us what to expect." And with that, the big smile resurfaces. "You know, we don't believe in being freshman on the court," he says. This has been a theme that the five newcomers have harped on all year. "This isn't the first year we've played the game," King continues "We've been playing all our lives," 01 Jimmy feels lucky to have had the basketball influence. "I sort of got the whole spectrum from them," he says. "Ryant was the offense side. He's a real good shooter. Sometimes it seems like he never misses. And then Roderick, he plays 'D.' He plays the kind of 'D' that makes people mad. And my father, he was like the coach, watching me and telling me what I was doing wrong." Jimmy, helping him pare down the list. "It was hard," he says. "I narrowed it down by basketball and schooling. Who had the best basketball program, who had the best academic program." His mother, Nyoka, says that the family wanted to make sure Jimmy realized that basketball was secondary. "We've always told Jimmy that the campus the same weekend, and they hit it off. "Juwan is outgoing, just a real nice person," King said. "He makes you feel just like you knew him from before." Howard and King were joined by another Texan, Ray Jackson, and then last spring by Detroit superstars Chris Webber and Jalen Rose. Michigan's coaching staff had struck gold. Five Xs. Jimmy King shares a moment with his parents, Jimmy Sr. and Nyoka, after Michigan's victory over Notre Dame. 'It's more or less like a meat market. You know, before the cattle can go through the gates, you've got to check them out.' -Brian Townsend Michigan linebacker From there, the coaching reigns were passed on to the coaches at Plano East High School, where the school is set up so that ninth and 10th graders attend a separate high school before moving up to the senior high That played a big part in hiding the talent of Jimmy King, especially from the college recruiters who didn't start calling until King had moved up to the varsity team. King led Plano East through soma adversity to an 18-14 record hi, Dior year. The team's longtime co, esigned at the beginning of the scason and Adair took over the coaching duties after full-time practices had already begun. The following year, King and his teammates pledged to make the playoffs. They did, going 26-7, winning a playoff game for the first time in the school's 10-year history, before finally bowing out to the eventual state champs. "Jimmy was a great leader," Adair said. "A lot of kids in that situation would start thinking they were the star, that they were bigger than the program. But not Jimmy. "I had to get on him to shoot the academics comes first," she said. "We tell him that with his talent, the basketball will always take care of itself." With those guidelines, the list was down to five schools. Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, Georgetown, and Notre Dame - Jimmy was born in South Bend and the family moved to Plano when he was five. Adair lived in Michigan for 34 years, coaching high school basketball in Battle Creek for nine. He told a friend, Jim Lawson, about a kid named Jimmy King. Lawson knew former Michigan assistant Mike Boyd, and the Wolverines came calling. "The relationship with Michigan was great," King says. "They weren't pushy or anything, always calling the house, and always sending letters. They maybe did it once or twice a week, while sometimes schools would do it every day. That's another reason I came here." And when Boyd left to take the head coaching job at Cleveland State, that didn't change. "When he left he called me and said, 'Michigan is the still the best Now it is just a matter of cashing in with the talent. That, it seems, will not be such a big task after all, because of the attitude that all five share. "Basically, the freshman, we all like the same things, and we all do the same things, so I think that's why we're all so close," King says. "We're all competitors. We like to win. We don't ever quit. And we won't ever quit." It's a trait that people who have been around King have seen for a long time. "When he would play pickup games, hie wanted to play hard," Adair said. "Jimmy would say, 'We're not playing for fun. If we're not gonna play to win, then forget it.' And if the other guys wanted to screw around, he'd just go and practice his shooting and work on his game." The work has paid off. The positive attitude has carried him this far, and will no doubt propel him much further, his mother says. "I always tell Jimmy, 'You're the cream of the crop. And the cream always rises to the top. So if you just take care of business, everything else SHERAN Continued from page 3 "I wouldn't mind going in the earlier rounds, but I just want to get into a camp," he said. "If it doesn't work out, I've got plans B and C al- ready set up." . But with all the anticipation and said. "They said things like, It's not for fun anymore - it's a business now.' "That's true, but as an athlete, you've got to think of it as being fun, just like any other career. So when he said that, I was thinking, 'this will be fun and games.' Anderson agreed. "My motiva-