Page 4-The Michigan Daily-Sports Monday- February_1,1993
I
Ken Sugiura
Close but no Suir d |0
Hawkeyes remember
Street in their own way
IOWA CITY - It doesn't matter who you are. In some way, you
are happy for Iowa. You might not have known Chris Street, but you
dhave heard the stories.
The intensity and emotion with which he played the game. How
Iowans loved their favorite son for the spirit and the joy he had for bas-
ketball and for life.
If you are Michigan, you are ambivalent, of course. But still, you
can feel for your conference brethren.
You still want to win, but simultaneously you understand the close-
ness that a team has, and how disruptive and tragic losing a teammate
might be.
"I'm happy. I'm not happy for what happened to us..." you say tap
dancing around the question. "The better team today won."
If you are Iowa coach Tom Davis, you grieve, but realize there are
still games to be played. And so you go about trying to put back the
pieces, not with fiery speeches, or "Win it for Chris" slogans, but more
subtly.
"He's been laid back," Iowa's Acie Earl says. "He didn't try to press
guys. Different guys took it different ways. You could see it in the
game. He didn't say really anything about it. He was just trying to let
everybody come into their own flow."
And Russ Millard, a little used redshirt freshman, the memory of
Chris cannot leave you.
"I think of him all the time. There is never a second that I don't
think about it," you say.
And you respond - playing in your first game ever at Carver-
Hawkeye Arena - with a big game. Not the biggest numbers - nine
points and five rebounds - but you play each of your nineteen minutes
in the same hard-nosed style that Chris was known for.
"I was just trying to hit the boards hard and keep a body on Chris
Webber and Juwan Howard," you say.
Perhaps today is a little more poignant because you are close to the
Street family. You spent time at their house last summer, working at a
basketball camp in Indianola, Iowa, Street's hometown. And in the
madness that ensues after the game, with fans spilling on the court, you
look for the Streets.
"I was determined (to be the first to greet the Street family)," you
say. "I was seeing them sitting over there and Mr. Street was guiding
me along during the game, so I just wanted to be the first."
Similar emotions over come you, Acie Earl. With Street's jersey
number, 40, shaved into your head, you can't - and won't - get this
out of the way.
Someone asks you if you have, and you respond with a glare. You
put things like injuries or bad games behind you; this is neither. It is a
dear, dear friend.
"There is nothing that is going to ease the pain of something like
that," you say. "You just go out and play as hard as he would and give
115 percent because in the same situation, he'd do the same."
And if you are an Iowa fan - perhaps one who had seen Chris since
his freshman year - you respond too. You might not be able to console
the Streets or the team directly, but you do what you can.
And when you are done celebrating on the court after the game, you
walk out into the bright sun of an Iowa afternoon.
Half a continent away, there is a football game that will probably
grab most of the headlines, but you don't care. Today has been much
more than "Super" already.
BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Another 'M' nose hits an elbow
by Andy De Korte
and Ken Sugiura
Daily Basketball Writers
IOWA CITY - The Michigan
basketball team already has one
masked avenger - Chris Webber.
It may soon have another.
Senior forward James Voskuil
suffered a swinging elbow to his
nose from Iowa's Russ Millard
during a tussle for a rebound. The
play occurred shortly after the 12-
minute mark of the second half, but
play was not stopped until Michigan
gained control at the 11:32 mark.
While the current prognosis is
uncertain, Voskuil was in plenty of
pain after the game.
"I don't know if it's broken,"
Voskuil said, sporting a knot the size
of a large marble on the bridge of his
nose. "They are going to take X-rays
later. Right now, I've got a terrible
headache."
Although there was no malice in-
volved in the play, Voskuil was not
pleased with the lack of a call by the
official.
"There should definitely have
been an offensive foul called,"
Voskuil said.
Voskuil's injury may have served
as the motivation for the Wolverines.
When he left the game with a towel
held to his nose to impede the bleed-
ing, his team trailed by seven. Upon
his return to the floor, Michigan had
its only late-game lead at 75-73.
CLEAING THE GLASS: When
Michigan hit Carver-Hawkeye
Arena, after having the rebounding
edge in only one of its last four
game, Iowa was certainly a threat to
beat them as well. Iowa leads the
nation in rebounding margin (17.9).
In the five games before Michigan
- against Indiana, Ohio State, Min-
nesota, Duke and Michigan State -
the Hawkeyes out rebounded their
opponents, 220-168.
However, anchored by sopho-
mores Juwan Howard 12 rebounds
and Webber's 11, the Wolverines
prevailed against the Hawkeyes on
the glass, 42-40.
Former Battle Creek Central
0
0
Center Juwan Howard wrestles the ball away from an Iowa defender in yesterday's 88-80 loss to the Hawkeyes.
Howard scored only seven points in the Wolverines' second Big Ten defeat of the season.
standout Kenyon Murray bested his
teammates, including All-American
center Acie Earl, to lead the
Hawkeyes with seven rebounds.
WHERE'S THE WHISTLE?
Michigan had a tough time with the
referees yesterday. The Wolverines
were whitled for 31 personal fouls to
16 for Iowa. At the half, Ray Jack-
son, Eric Riley and Webber had
three fouls apiece.
The 31 fouls surpassed by eight
Michigan's previous season high,
recorded against Minnesota.
"We had a tough time keeping
them off the foul line. They were on
the line a lot," Michigan coach Steve
Fisher said. "We did not do a good
enough job playing defense without
fouling. We have been, but we didn't
do it today."
COURT JESTERS: Hawkeye
center Earl played the role of come-
dian for Jalen Rose. As Rose is con-
sidering leaving Michigan for the
NBA after this season, Earl, a senior,
had an offer for him.
"I told him if he stayed out of the
draft, I'd send him some money next
year," Earl said. "I don't want him
taking my money. We usually jaw at
each other every year. They're nice
guys."
Earlier in the second half, Iowa
guard Mon'ter Glasper lobbed a
pass to Earl for a slam dunk. The PA
announcer decided that merely ac-
knowledging Glasper's pass would
not do it justice.
"Acie Earl on a great assist from
Mon'ter Glasper," he bellowed.
MICHIGAN (80)
F0 FT Rob.
Min. M-A MWA O-T A F Pts.
Pelinka 10 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 4 0
Howard 37 3-7 1-3 2-12 4 5 7
Webber 28 8-16 0-2 4-11 2 5 17
Rose 38 8-15 1-1 2-8 6 2 19
King 37 4-8 1-2 2-8 5 3 10
Jackson 15 5-6 2-2 0-0 2 4 12
Riley 14 4-7 1-2 1-2 0 4 9
Talley 11 0-2 0-0 0-1 3 2 0
FG%- .515. FT%- .500. Three-point goals: 6-
16,_375 (Rose 2-5, Voskuil 2-3, King 1-3, Webber
1-3). Blocks: 4 (Riley 2, Howard. Webber).
Turnovers: 20. Steals: 3 (King, Riley, Voskuil).
IOWA (88)
Fa FT Rob.
Min. H-A M-A O-T A F Pts.
Winters 19 2-6 2-2 1-2 1 4 6
Lookinbill 15 0-1 1-2 0-2 1 2 1
Earl 29 6-10 7-9 2-6 1 3 19
Smith 28 3-8 0-0 0-2 7 2 6
Barnes 32 10-20 5-10 3-4 2 1 27
Webb 18 2-4 1.2 1-6 0 3 5
Millard 19 2-7 5-6 1-6 0 1 9
Murray 21 3-7 7-9 3-7 1 0 13
Glasper 9 0-1 0-0 1-1 6 0 0
Bartels 8 0-0 2-2 0-0 0 0 2
Skeet 2 0-0 0. 0)0 00
Total. 20028-6430-4214-40 18 16 88
FG%- .438. FT%- .714. Three-point goals: 2-
8,.250 (Barnes 2-6, Smith 0-1, Lookinbill 0-1).
Blocks: 8 (Earl 5, Murray 2. Webb). Turnovers: 9.
Steals: 1 (Barnes 3, Mrray 3, Winters 2,
Glasper 2. Earl. Smith. Millard, Bartels).
Michigan 44 36 - 80
low a................ 44 s44s-- 88
At Carver Hawkeye Arena; A-15,500 (paid)
HOWARD
Continued from page 1
Cherokee Parks (Duke), Alan
Henderson (Indiana) and all those
guys," Howard said. "I can
remember going to camp, everyone
was always speaking about those
guys, and they were leaving my
name out. It kind of got me mad. It
made me go there with more of a
vengeance to play even harder and
put my name on the map. I tried my
best to outwork my opponent, and I
came out as the MVP of the camp.
That camp made me feel good about
myself, and people started
recognizing me."
Fisher ranked among those
people who began to appreciate
Howard's efforts. But the coach was
.xot in the best negotiating position.
He was about to start a campaign in
which his Wolverines would fail to
make the NCAA tournament for the
first time in seven years. And he had
infuriated Michigan faithful a year
earlier when he failed to convince
big man Eric Montross, whose father
and grandfather had attended the
university, to come to Ann Arbor.
Nevertheless, Howard listened to
what Fisher had to say.
"I felt comfortable with (Fisher)
during recruitment, and I kind of
liked his coaching style," Howard
said. "He was nice and calm; out
there on the floor you didn't see him
getting all hysterical, so I felt
comfortable with that. I knew he had
a team that wasn't looking too good,
but previously they had just lost to
.Loyola Marymount (in the NCAA
tournament), and the year before
they had just won a national
championship, and I knew it wasn't
luck of the Irish. He had just won a
championship, so he had to do some
kind of coaching to do that.
"So I said I could come here and
help this program the best way I
could, and I wanted to go to a Big
Ten school, and Michigan was just
the best one right here. The
"He's the one, when (ESPN
analyst Dick) Vitale was saying,
'Can Fisher recruit'? They lost
Montross. Can they get a good
player, a mune player?' and other
colleges were saying, 'Don't go
there, because you'll be The Lone
Ranger,' Juwan stepped up to the
plate and said, 'I like it, I like the
school, I like the kids, I like the
coaches, that's where I'm going,"'
Fisher said.
Only two days later, Fisher
scored the second of his super
quintet when King committed. There
in the spring signing period.
Suddenly, the man who had saved
Michigan became just another
member of the Fab Five. However,
individual notoriety was not
Howard's top priority.
"I could've chosen to go to a
school where I could be the key
player and get all the attention,"
Howard admitted. "I didn't want to
do that. I wanted to come to a
program where I could play to win."
Webber and Rose had the
advantage of being the local boys;
several Michigan fans had
previously seen the duo either on
television or in person.
Consequently, they received the
brunt of attention. Howard insisted
this lack of publicity did not faze
him.
"It didn't bother me at all," he
said. "They (Webber and Rose) were
highly touted players coming out of
their schools. Webber was the No. 1
player in the nation; Rose was in the
top ten. (They were) coming from
the state of Michigan. I understand
those things, and I respected that.
They knew we were all here as a
team, not as individuals."
"Everybody on this team is
overshadowed by somebody else,"
Voskuil said. "That's just the way it
works. Jalen half the time is
overshadowed by Chris, and Chris
half the game by Jalen. To a certain
degree we're all overshadowed by
each other."
To do some overshadowing of his
own, Howard resorted to hard work.
Eschewing the laziness and
stubbornness that often accompany
star freshmen, he molded himself
into a far superior player.
"He worked hard to improve
himself in all aspects of the game
because he has tremendous
motivation to be a player," assistant
coach Perry Watson said. "He came
out of a tough Chicago public school
league, but he didn't play in one of
those high-profile programs.
"I know when he first cane here
hr- cam a lrnt o-f kl-,,c uthat he.har11t t
"In high school, you can try just
about anything and get away with
it," Howard said. "In college, you
want to make the big play, but
sometimes you don't get that chance.
Last year I kind of rushed a lot of
my shots. That's why I probably
didn't shoot too well from the field.
This year, I feel more comfortable
out on the court. Last year I was
shooting a little off-balance; I was
too anxious. What really helped me
this year was that I had one year
under my belt and I'm learning the
game more."
"He's come a long way,"
Chicago Vocational coach Mike
Cook said. "He has a soft touch on
his shot, and his rebounding has
improved. I'm very happy and very
pleased with him."
Most people agree that Howard's
talent and attitude will take him to
great heights. Neither all-America
honors nor being picked as a NBA
lottery (top 11) selection are far from
his reach.
"Those are my goals," Howard
said. "I'd like to see it happen. I
don't want to cross out that national
title. That's more important."
"Maybe not this year, but I think
next year he'll definitely be a
preseason all-America candidate,
based on what he's accomplished
and will continue to accomplish this
year," Watson said.
As Howard's play improves, he
becomes more of a household name.
As any star knows, though, it often
helps to possess a feature that
distinguishes you from the masses.
Like a goatee, for instance. Howard
once sported this facial design, but it
disappeared this year.
"We were in Venice (this past
summer), and I was teasing Jason
Bossard," Howard recalled. "I had
kept this goatee since my junior year
in high school, and I hadn't seen
what I look like since then with just
a mustache. So I was asking
(Bossard's) opinion about how he
would think I would look with a
mustache. I was covering my chin
and looking in the mirror. I said,
'Well, I'm gonna give it a try.' So I
cut it off, and I cane downstairs, and
I saw Mrs. Fisher and Coach Fisher,
and they were looking at it, and they
said, 'Well, it looks nice,' and I was
asking Jalen, and Jalen said it wasn't
bad, give it a try. So I've kept it like
this. But you'll see me one day and
I'll grow that goatee back. A lot of
people have been asking for it.
Coach (Jay) Smith gets mad because
I don't have the goatee anymore. He
said I don't have that mean look
anymore."
He does sport the look of a man
about to make his mark. And
although he may never gain the star
status of a Webber or Rose, it may
prove better for him in the long.run.
"This is good experience for him
in preparation for the NBA," The
Pool Sheet columnist Brick
Oettinger said. "He's learning you
have to play within a team."
I Much like any talented member
of a renowned program, Howard will
eventually get the notice worthy of a
player with his talent and attitude.
And as long as the Michigan
basketball show continues to score
high ratings, the viewers will
become more comfortable with the
Juwan character. The public may not
have instantly fallen in love with the
Norm Petersons and Cliff Clavins of
the world, but it will never forget
them. And Howard can only hope
that his perseverance will result in
the same immortality.
Howard
was little doubt that Howard's
decision played a large role in
King's going to Michigan.
"I first met Jimmy when we both
visited here at the same time in
September," Howard said. "I kind of
felt comfortable with him; I felt like
I had known him for years. I talked
to him while everyone was
recruiting him, and I told him
Michigan was on the top of my list.
So we kept in contact, and he started
to think the same as me. I told him
that I was going to go ahead and
sign, and I told him, 'Make the best
decision for you.' He decided to
C