Hockey
vs. Western Michigan
Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Kalamazoo
Volleyball
vs. Purdue
Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Cliff Keen Arena
Three walk- ons given chance after tryouts
New additions fill out 'M' roster
By TIM RARDIN
DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER
With just nine scholarship players on his depleted
game roster, Michigan basketball coach Steve Fisher
knew he needed bodies. He wasn't looking for anyone to
replace departed Chris Webber or the bench. He just
needed bodies.
As assistant coach Brian Dutcher said, "We're just
looking for kids who are going to help us in practice."
Now, more than a week after he and his staff held open
tryouts Nov. 1, Fisher has three.
Emerson Moore, a fifth-year senior from Detroit, Alex
Lengemann, a sophomore from Imlay City and Neil
Morton, a junior from Ann Arbor, outlasted the 61-other
players who showed up at the initial tryouts to earn a spot
on the Wolverines' practice roster.
This marked the second straight season that Michigan
has held open tryouts, though no walk-ons were invited
back last year.
"We probably made a lot of students angry," Fisher
joked regarding not taking anyone last year. "Some of
them probably thought they played hard enough and well
enough to be on the team."
The three who played well enough this year know their
limited roles on the team.
"Whatever I was asked to do, I gave itmy all," Morton
said of his earlier playing days. "That's what I'm trying to
do here. I know I'm not going to make any waves as a
walk-on."
In fact, Morton and Lengemann aren't allowed to
make even a slight splash this year.
Lengemann, who transferred from Division III Alma
College and Morton, who made the move up from NAIA
Aquinas College, are ineligible for a year according to
NCAA rules.
In fact, Morton, the only walk-on selected as a result of
this November's tryouts, hadn't even planned to play
basketball here. But when he found out about the possibil-
ity, he decided to continue his career a little longer.
"I had no intentions of playing basketball when I
transferred," said Morton, who started practicing with the
team Monday. "I transferred for academic reasons."
Moore and Lengemann, invited to work out with the
team this summer, have been practicing with the Wolver-
ines since the get-go. Both went through this year's
tryouts as a formality.
For Moore, who went to Detroit's Renaissance High
School along with fellow walk-on Chris Fields, the situ-
ation has been a dream come true.
"It's a great experience. The guys encourage you a lot
and help you get better, because you're trying to help them
get better," he said.
Now that Michigan has held open tryouts for the last
two years, Fisher plans to continue the tradition, regard-
less of need.
He wants to develop a tradition similar to that of
Illinois and Iowa, which often keep several players from
their annual tryouts and rotate them in practice.
"I'd like to do it (have tryouts every year). It could only
help," Fisher said. "That might be interesting. The kids
like it, and I think we'll get a couple of kids who will be
bigger fans than they were before."
With three taken this season, the total of walk-ons
taken at Michigan since 1982, when Fisher arrived as an
assistant, is now 13.
-JuwuEs: With a very shallow lineup this year, injuries
will be a factor. And if this year goes anything like the past
week has, the Wolverines could be in for a long campaign.
Center Juwan Howard has missed all but one day of
practice since last Thursday, due to lower back spasms.
Howard suffered from the same problem the latter part of
last season.
Aftermissing three days of practice before he returned
Sunday, Howard pulled up stiff again Monday. He is
expected to return today.
"Hopefully, he'll be OK with some rest," Fisher said.
"I guess he'll have to be more conscientious with his
stretching."
"I'm feeling better," Howard said, after sitting out
Tuesday's practice. "It's nothing to be worried about."
In addition to Howard, though, freshman guard Bobby
Crawford also missed practice Tuesday and Wednesday
with a sore left hamstring. He is also expected to resume
practicing today.
Ray Jackson (sprained right wrist), Leon Derricks
(sprained left middle finger) and Dugan Fife (bruised left
forearm) are among the Wolverines who are hurt, but still
working out.
0
0.
ELIZABETH ULPPMANIDaIly
Michigan coach Steve Fisher barks out instructions at a recent practice. New Wolverine Alex Lengemann (15) has
been working out with the team along with fellow walk-on Emerson Moore since the summer.
FULL COURT PRESS
The day I tried to be a Wolverine
By TIM RARDIN
DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER
When I entered Michigan as a
naive, little freshman three years ago,
I honestly thought playing for, or at
least practicing with, the Michigan
basketball team was a possibility.
I decided then that I would try out
if given the opportunity.
I thought if I worked out regu-
larly, spent my days at the CCRB and
kept in reasonable shape, I might be
able, in a couple years, to walk on.
Of course, I was encouraged and
even inspired by the fact that Freddie
Hunter, former gym rat and walk-on
extraordinaire, made the team that
season. And the fact that the team that
year concludedits season with atough
loss to perennial powerhouse Colo-
rado in the NIT didn't hurt either.
Suffice it to say, there was hope.
Enter schoolwork. Extracurricu-
lar activities. A life. Fab Five.
Exit hope, stage right.
So when I found out this year that
Steve Fisher and his staff were in
need of three or four walk-ons to fill
out the practice roster, a glimmer of
hope returned.
I asked myself, "Does Coach
Fisher need a 6-4, white rail of a
player, who's vertical leap challenges
his shoe size, and who dribbles about
as well as Sly Stallone acts?"
Hmmm.
Then I thought, "Does Coach
Fisherneed a guy, who, rounded up to
6 feet 4, played inside for his entire
basketball career?"
Hmmm.
Yeah, right.
Even if I were at the top of my
game, and even if I had followed my
plan to play and workout on a regular
basis, I would not have had a prayer.
But, for posterity, perhaps for a
good story to tell my grandkids, and
especially because I had said that I
would three years before, I decided to
try outdespitea glaring lack of talent.
Thinking tryouts started at 6:30
p.m., I arrived well in advance to
watch the real team practice for a bit.
That, I found out quickly, was not a
good move on my part.
Let's just say watching Ray Jack-
son catch the ball in the lane and dunk
over what appeared to be the entire
team, or Jimmy King - my 6-foot-4
counterpart - shake and bake en
route to a rather authoritative toma-
hawk jam, was not exactly the boost
of encouragement I needed.
In any case, by the time 6:30rolled
around, nerves were eating me up.
I'm not sure why exactly. I had noth-
ing at all to lose. Or did I?
Regardless though, I was still the
only one there. "Hey," I thought,
"maybe no one else will show up.
Fisher said they'll take three or four.
Maybe they'll have to take me."
But that thought promptly made
its way out my mind's revolving door
when I was informed that tryouts
didn't start until 7:30. Oh well, if
Fisher won't pencil me in for my
skills, perhaps he'll admire my
promptness.
I can see it now.
"Remember that walk-on we had.
What's his name? Lousy player, but
boy was he always on time."
Speaking of time, I now had a lot
of it to kill. So I picked up a ball and
shot around by myself for a while.
It was nice. Crisler was empty, but
in my mind, you couldn't have
squeezed another person in the arena.
The basket and I had established a
deep understanding. Imusthave nailed
at least seven buzzer-beaters to win
national championships. If only I
could try out by myself.
But, once again, my sheltered
hopes were shattered as swarms of
Wolverine wanna-bes filed into
Crisler. Sixty-four in all, including
me. Appropriate number for a basket-
ball get-together, eh?
I mingled for a bit. I debated
whether I would tell the coaches I was
a reporter for fear they wouldn't take
me as seriously.Then I realized, even
if they did, it wouldn't matter. So I
talked with them for a bit.
Fisher opened the session empha-
sizing thathe andhisassistants weren't
looking for the flashy types. They
didn't need someone to replace Chris
Webber. They didn't even need any-
one to replace the Fred-man.
"There'llnever be another Freddie
Hunter,".Dutcher told me beforehand.
"Well, I guess you should never say
never. Let's say it is rare to find
someone as good as Freddie Hunter."
Fisher closed by encouraging us
to play as hard as if we were playing
North Carolina in the title game.
I wanted desperately to tell him I
had just single-handedly beat the Tar
Heels not once, but seven times, just
30 minutes earlier. But I held back.
They ran us through some basic
layup drills, some one-on-one and
five-on-five stuff. Simple concepts
really, but such drills quickly reveal
those who actually have a shot at
making the team, and those who only
think they do.
And also, of course, people like
me who satisfied neither category.
Nearly two hours later, tryouts
were still going, but I was not. (Un-
fortunately, having got the starting
time wrong, I naturally got the ending
time all screwed up as well).
Previous plans beckoned. So much
for making the team.
Walking up the tunnel out of
Crisler, with the unmistakable sound
of sneakers squeaking in the back-
ground, the theme song from Hoo-
siers played in my mind, hatching
goosebumps all over my body.
OK, maybe not, but I was still glad
I showed up. -
And as it turned out, the tryouts
weren't nearly as trying as sitting
around waiting for them.
u
:
; .
New offense key to spikers hopes vs. OSU
By MELINDA ROCO
FOR THE DAILY
The Michigan men's volleyball
team will have something new up its
sleeve when it takes on Ohio State
Saturday at Perrysburg (Ohio) High
School.
"We'll have a middle hitter in ev-
ery other position in the rotation,"
Wolverine coach Pam Griffin said.
"With three middles, we'll have more
movement on the block and will be
able to run a faster offense."
The Wolverines lost to the Buck-
eyes during the semifinals of the pre-
season Big Ten Invitational in early
October. Griffin said she hopes the
three-middle offense will give Michi-
gan added attacking power to beat
Ohio State's blocking game.
"With our two-middle offense,
Ohio State has us beat in every posi-
tion," Griffin said. "We want to take
advantage of our strong middle hit-
ters to run the attacks from both the
middle and the right side.
"It's an offense we've wanted to
run during the season, and this will
give us the opportunity to try it on one
of the toughest teams in the division,"
she added.
"Ohio State is a very consistent
team," outside hitter Bill Seeley said.
"They block and pass well, and their
hitters don't make a lot of mistakes.
For us to beat them we'll have to mix
the offense and run more motion."
Todd Coffey, Andy Spitser and
Brad Yeager will make upMichigan's
full middle contingent. With an aver-
age height of 6feet 3, the three middle
hitters will work to shut down the
Buckeyes' attackers with the bigger
block.
"The new lineup is working well
in practice," Yeager said. "Now, it's a
matterof using it in a game situation."
Michigan has had an impressive
preseason thus far. The Wolverines
tied for third at the Big Ten Invita-
tional in Columbus, finished in the *
semifinals at the Michigan State Clas-
sic and took Michigan State to a five-
game match last weekend.
"We're stillworking out thekinks,
but our overall game looks pretty
good," Griffin said. "We'll continue
to work on our consistency and our
mental game throughout the rest of
the preseason."
"We have a very strong program,*
this year," outside hitter Chad Engel
said. "I think we'll play much better
this weekend than when we played
against Michigan State. Ohio State is
the top team in the Big Ten right now,
and we tend to raise our level of play.
to that of our opponents."
"When we lost to OSU at Big
Tens, it was our first time really play-
ing together," Yeager said. "We're
playing at a very competitive level
already, and in the long run, we can
only improve."
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