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