Page 6-The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- January 25, 1993 Solid play marks Jackson's return to Wol by Ken Sugiura Daily Basketball Writer If you were in the business of comparing basketball players to parts of the human anatomy, you might call Ray Jackson a pinky. If you weren't - and most of us aren't - you would call Jackson one of the five sopho- mores, a player who doesn't get all the notori- ety that the others get. But you might also add that when he's missing, the hand, er, team, suffers because of it. In other words, kind of like a pinky. Analogies to the human body aside, when Jackson returned to the Wolverine lineup after a 25-day, seven-game absence Saturday night against Illinois, let it be known that no one gave him the finger. "He had a big impact," Michigan guard Jalen Rose said. "Not only were we happy to have Ray back, but Ray came up with a tremendous spark. He came in and got two or three dunks in a row, and got a couple offen- sive rebounds and baskets." Jackson, who had been out of the lineup since separating his left shoulder in Michigan's win over North Carolina Dec. 29, made his 1993 debut midway through the first half to a standing ovation from the Crisler faithful. "I liked that a lot," Jackson said of the greeting. "I thank the fans for that. I think they really helped me a lot. That got me going." The 6-foot-6 sophomore responded with eight points - including a high-flying slam on a Chris Webber feed - before the first half came to a close. His return seemed to be the kickstart the sluggish Wolverines needed, as they went on a 20-11 tear during his 5:42 stint. "That's what we needed," Webber said. "That's what we were missing. That's what sparked us." In the last two minutes of that segment, Coach Steve Fisher reunited the Fab Five on the court, and the fivesome outscored the Illini, verine lineup 9-2. Coincidentally, during that span, in scor- ing his final points of the night on a putback, Jackson scored his 200 and 201st points at, Michigan. "I think (Illinois) underestimated me, think- ing I was still maybe hurt or something," Jackson said. "So I just tried to take advantage of that. "Once I get it going, though, it'll be differ- ent. They'll start respecting me more," he, chuckled. Getting it going will likely take some time, and with the depth that Michigan has, Jackson can afford not to hurry his recovery.a "1 just want to work my way back in slowly," he said. "I'm not 100 percent. I'm not trying to rush anything 'cause we're winning and we're on a pretty good roll." The good news of his return was aug- mented by Jackson's post-game evaluation of his shoulder. While he noted some stiffnessA and tightening during and after the game, team trainer Dave Ralston said this was to be ex-w pected. "That's just a response to activity," Ralston w said. "He played pretty aggressively, and hisy. body is just responding by protecting itself (by becoming sore)." Jackson's return to the lineup gives Michigan, at least for the time being, a clean bill of health for the first time in awhile. James Voskuil (tendinitis), Michael Talley (flu), Jason Bossard (back) and Jackson have all been sidelined, with Jackson healthy, Fisher again has all of his players ready to continue their assault on the Big Ten.< "I think it's just a boost for the team," Jackson said. "Everybody's healthy again. (Talley) had the flu earlier and now he's back and now I'm back. I think it just helps support the team." "He played great considering the time off," KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Dai Webber said of Jackson. "Once his shoulder's Ray Jackson, seen here dunking earlier this season, made an equally thunderous comeback in 100 percent, we'll be unbeatable." Michigan's 76-68 victory over Illinois Saturday night. ILLINOIS Continued from page 1 good ball games," Illinois coach Ldu Henson said. "We need his offense. "We shot the ball better in the second half. In the first half, we were doing things right, but we weren't making our shots." 0 "To Illinois' credit they crawled and clawed," Fisher said. "Kaufman, in the second half, really played well." Rose and Kaufman stole the spot- light away from an anticipated battle between Illinois' big man, Deon Thomas, and Michigan's Juwan Howard and Chris Webber. Thomas, while scoring 18 points, grabbed only five rebounds to Howard's eight and Webber's nine. As a team, the Wolverines outre- bounded their opponent for the first time in four games, 38-31. "We came out hard on the* boards," Howard said. "There'sno reason why a team should outre- bound us." Despite the letdown, the Wolverines were happy with the vic- tory. "(Stopping the Illinois rally) is a sign of maturity," Juwan Howard said. "We stood up like real men.". Fisher, however, was cautious with his praise. "We had some brilliant stretches where we really played exceptionlly good basketball and I don't want to forget that," Fisher said, "but I don't want to forget either the 19-point lead that dissipated way too quickly. I promise you when that situation presents itself again we will handle it better than we did tonight." MOTIVATION Continued from page 1 in history as one of the finest displays in basketball history. Sure, Ray Jackson's return excited the crowd, and his play did indeed prove to be a spark to his teammates. But it would have been more surprising if Jack- son's first appearance back hadn't inspired everyone. For all intents and purposes, the game was another day at the office for the Wolverines. Revenge didn't play a role here - Michigau defeated the Illini in both meetings last year. Nor was there any local flavor to spice things up; neither Chicago (home of Juwan Howard and Rob Pelinka) nor Herrin (Steve Fisher) can be found within a truckful of toupees from Champaign. So what motivation was there to defeat the Illini? "We both were tied for second place (in the Big Ten)," Rose ex- plained, "so it was just a matter of who wanted to be in second place. We wanted to be in control of our own destiny down the stretch, so we have to stay motivated." O.K., there's some legitimacy to that. But in all likelihood, the Wolverines could have lost this game and still finished better than Illinois come season's end. "They're college players going through a very short career," Michigan coach Steve Fisher said. "When you turn around, it's over. So part of it is the coach's responsibility, but part of it is the player's responsi- bility ... Some are easy; some are a little harder. We shouldn't have great difficulty getting up for a Big Ten game." Assistant coach Perry Watson echoed Fisher's philosophy, but in harsher, non-sound bite terms. "You don't need those kind of fac- tors to have motivation," Watson ex- ILLINOIS (68) FG FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pt.. Kaufmann 33 10-24 5-6 0-1 2 3 27 Bennett 34 3-8 0-1 4-9 0 3 6 Thomas 36 7-10 4-6 2-4 1 0 18 Keene 26 4-12 0-0 0-5 0 3 9 Clemons 23 3-8 0-0 2-3 3 3 6 Wheeler 20 0-3 0-0 0-1 3 1 0 - Michael 6 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Taylor 17 0-0 0-0 0-2 4 2 0 Davson 5 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 2 Totals 20028-68 9-1313-31 1316 68 FG°/-.412. FT%- .692. Three-point goals: 3- 12 250 (Kaufmann 2-6, Keene 1-4, Michael 0-1, Wheeler 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 11 (Kaufmann 3, Clemons 2, Taylor 2, Wheeler 2, Keene, Michael). Steals: 5 (Bennett, Kaufmann, Taylor, Thomas, Wheeler). Technical fouls: none. MICHIGAN (76) PG FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pt. Webber 36 4-10 4-5 1-9 3 2 13 Voskuil 14 1-2 0-0 0-4 2 2 3 Howard 31 4-8 1-2 1-8 1 4 9 Rose 39 10-14 3-7 0-5 5 2 25 King 33 5-6 1-3 2-3 2 0 12 Pelinka 16 1-3 2-2 2-3 1 3 4 Riley 12 1-5 0-0 2-3 0 3 2 Talley 9 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 Jacs.n 10 4-5 0. 0 1-3 2 2 8 Totals 20030-5411-19 9-381719 76 FG%-556. FTaa- .579. Three-point goals: 5- 12, 417 (Rose 2-3, Webber 1-3, King 1-2, Voskuil 1-2, Pelinka 0-1, Talley 0-1). Team rebounds: none. Blocks: 7 (King 4 Riley, Voskuil, Webber). Turnovers: 18 (Howard 5, Webber 5, Rose 3, King 2, Voskuil 2. Riley). Steals: 4 (King, Rose, Voskuils Webber). Technical fouls: none. Illinoist ha..............29 39 - 68 Michigan ....gT.........s40 36 ,- 76 At Criser Arena; A-13,562 plained. "As a player, every time you play, the motivation is trying to win and play your best. A lot of times, people will try extra incentives by saying,s They beat you,' but as ath- letes, you don't need that." And that, my friends, is today's lesson. Clearly, Michigan possesses more talent than Illinois. But that does not guarantee a victory, espe- cially in the Big Ten. Otherwise, why would Fisher and his staff use the re- venge motif against squads such as Minnesota and Wisconsin? The Wolverines motivated them- selves solely by the desire to win. No gimmicks. Just another "W" in the standings. Perhaps the 80-year old Jalen Rose won't be able to recall this game. But if Rose and his teammates can motivate themselves for all contests as they did this one, he surely will remember this season with pride. Penn State, Ohio State outclass 'M' women cagers by Jaeson Rosenfeld Daily Basketball Writer The Michigan women's basket- ball team hit a brick wall this weekend. After dropping their last two con- tests against Indiana and Wisconsin in the closing minutes, the Wolver- ines (0-6 Big Ten, 1-14 overall) found out why Penn State and Ohio State are in the upper echelon of the Big Ten. The No. 7 Nittany Lions muscled past Michigan, 81-61, while the No. 8 Buckeyes ran over the Wolverines, 90-73. In Sunday's contest at Happy Valley, Michigan's hopes of keeping it close against Penn State (4-1, 12- 1) were dashed less than four min- utes into the game when center Trish Andrew picked up her third foul. Andrew was then forced to ride the pine for the remainder of the half, watching the Nittany Lions run off 14 unanswered points in a four minute stretch starting at 12:55. Michigan coach Trish Roberts saw Andrew's early foul trouble as a turning point. "When Andrew went out of the game, there was definitely a distinct difference in our offense," Roberts said. "And that took us out of our game." The Wolverines, without Andrew and injured forward Nikki Beaudry (foot blisters), were no match for the Nittany Lions on the glass. Penn State crashed the boards for a 50-35 rebounding advantage, with forward Kim Calhoun grabbing 13 caroms. Although Wolverine Shimmy Gray responded with 13 boards of her own, she could hardly make up for Andrew's one-rebound perfor- mance in 18 minutes of play. While Andrew was finding out what it was like to be a spectator, the Nittany Lion's top gun was also forced to watch the game from the sidelines. Penn State's leading scorer Katina Mack (17.3 ppg) sat out the contest with a foot injury. Forward Helen Holloway picked up the slack in Mack's absence scoring a game-high 23 points. Aiding Holloway in the front- court was 6-foot-1 freshman Angie Potthoff, who despite only averaging 1.7 points-per-game stepped up and scored 15 points for the Nittany Li- ons. Penn State coach Rene Portland said the play of Potthoff and other reserves was key to the Nittany Li- ons' success. "Considering all the odd situa- tions that were put around today's game because of injury and foul trouble at the beginning of the game, I thought the kids came out of it fine," said Portland. "Al! and all we got some quality time out of our bench players." . In Friday's contest at Columbus, the Buckeye's (5-0, 13-1) scored the MICHIGAN (61 FG FT Rob. Min. M-A M-A O-T A F Pts. Stewart 31 4-6 0-1 0-2 0 2 9 Gray 39 5-16 0-0 5-13 3 3 10 Andrew 18 6-12 2-2 0-1 0 4 16 Nuanes 40 7-16 0-0 1-4 3 1 16 McCall 30 0-1 0-0 0-0 5 4 0 Heikkinen 20 2-5 3-4 3-6 5 1 7 Turner 20 1-4 1-2 1-2 1 1 3 Tota s 20025-61 6.913-351716 61 FG%- .403. FT%- .667. Three-point goals: 5- 13, .385. Team rebounds: 7. Blocks: 3. Turnovers: 25. Steals: 5. Technical fouls: None. PENN STATE (81) FG FT Rob. Min.M -A M -A O-T A F Pts. Holloway 25 8-14 5-5 4-6 1 0 23 Lazor 15 1-4 1-2 1-4 1 $ 4 Henry 14 4-7 2-2 2-6 0 2 10 Donovan 26 1-6 0-0 2-6 5 1 2 Kretchmar 22 2-8 0-0 1-2 3 0 4 Nicholson 22 1-3 4-4 0-0 5 0 6 Reimers 16 3-3 0-0 1-4 2 2 6 Calhoun 25 4-11 3-4 9-13 0 2 11 Potthoff 13 6-9 3-5 3-4 0 1 15 Coleman 9 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Thayer 11 0$6 0-0 2-2 _0 1 0 Totals 20030.7518.2225-501712 81 FG%- .400. FT%/- .818. Three-point goals: 3- 12,_250. Team rebounds: 3. Blocks: 4. Turnovers: 18. Steals: 15. Technical fouls: None. Michigan............ 34 27 - 61 Penn State.......44 37 - 81 At Recreation Hall, A-3,750 tirst basket on a Nikki Keyton layup and never looked back. Ohio State led the entire way holding leads as large as 21 points, with Keyton lead- ing the way with 20 points. Keyton's 7 boards were also a team high, leading the Buckeyes to a 42-33 advantage on the glass. All 12 Buckeyes who saw action garnered at least one board, damaging the Wolverines' cause beyond repair. "Rebounding hurt us," said Roberts. "We gave Ohio State too many second and third chances." SF U L L C OU R T When the lavers outnumber the fans... by Rachel Bachman Daily Basketball Writer As I fumble for my press pass, the aging usher smiles and says, "go ahead," without looking at it. I get the feeling that he wouldn't mind if I was Amy Fisher, just as long as I was willing to sit through 40 minutes of women's basketball. It's just 10 minutes before tip-off, and Crisler Arena sounds like a ffat house at 9 a.m. on a Sunday. The scene - lower deck seats checker- boarded with a scant few faithful fans; upper deck shadowed and empty is a far cry from the donut-consuming lines of students which form hours before men's games. Let's face it: if women's basketball games were parties, the hostess would be crying in her Hawaiian Punch. Blame it on a team that has yet to win a home game. Blame it on a school that has historically favored (to put it mildly) men's sports. The result is this: by closing your eyes and listening to the applause, you can practically count the number of people watching a game of women's hoops. Recently, though, our friends at Marketing and Promotions have dried their tears and tried to plug the games as gala events. Their latest publicity concoction involves the Greek system. Whichever fraternity or sorority has the most total members in attendance at three designated home games wins a free big-screen TV. That's one heck of a party favor. The second and third place houses, respectively, will receive a free performance at their house by the band "Code Blue" and a new VCR. The first game at which Greek attendance was tallied, Jan. 13, yielded a turnout of only 250 house members. John Krieg, an M&P representative, attributed the low number to bad weather. Still, the number augmented considerably the team's average attendance of about 600. No, I didn't forget a zero. What hundreds and thousands of students in Ann Arbor have yet to discover is that women's basketball games are virtual gold mines. Even if you don't qualify for the big screen TV, there are plenty of reasons to drag your atrophied body away from Jeopardy and head to a women's game. First, it's free. Need I say more? Second, you will find none of the inconveniences typically associated with going to a men's game. There are no lines outside or at concession * stands. You can sit courtside even if you arrive late. And, in the bathroom, you could read the Sunday edition of The New York Times without so much as a knock on your stall door. Last, the games have a unique atmosphere. At what other Division I basketball game could you hear the announcer say during a time out, "If you have misplaced your watch, come get it at the scorer's table"? EIGH TH T I R E GET AWAY FROM IT ALL... T- SHIRT PRINTERY " A's MULTI-COLOR PRINTING CHAMPS! " STAFF ARTIST SUPPORT. * 2-DAY RUSH SERVICE AVAILABLE. " U-M P.O. #'s ACCEPTED. " LOCATED ACROSS THE BRIDGE FROM GANDY DANCER. * 5% DISCOUNT WITH THIS AD 994-1367 1002 PONTIAC TRAIL ANN ARBOR * MINIMUM ORDER1 12 SHIRTS a Standings after Game 1 Alpha Xi Delta ....................56 Theta Chi .............................41- Aloha Gamma Delta............34 Game 2 Friday Feb. 12 7:30 pm -m q