Men's Basketball
at Iowa.
Saturday, 3 p.m. (Raycom)
Iowa City
Si
TS
Hockey
vs. Lake Superior State
Tomorrow, 7 p.m. (PASS)
Yost Ice Arena
Th icia SDiy- hrda Jnur ,I94 Pg
M'makes statement in Big
Ten opener
Unlike Ruth, Respert
not worthy of guarantee
By RACHEL BACHMAN
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
It was as predictable as a Jack Nicholson appearance at an L.A. Laker
game.
Michigan State was hardly the favorite going into last night's 75-64
Michigan victory, but that did not stop Spartan shooting guard Shawn
Respert from guaranteeing a victory at Crisler Arena.
A guarantee? Can we have our money back, Shawn?
Predictions are as much a mainstay of modern basketball as trash talk
and bad foul shooting. But from Respert?
Granted, the otherwise nondescript, 6-foot-3 junior from Moo U is
deceptively talented. His 22.9 points per game leads his team and is second
in the Big Ten. But come on,
Shawn. Must you make such
FU L claims'?
Dugan Fife said Respert's
O U RT comments -clipped from a local
newspaper - were recognized by
DESS Michigan, but they did not strike
fear in the hearts of the men in
maize.
"We did put it up on our wall, (but) that didn't really change our game
plan," Fife said.
MSU coach Jud "I dressed in the dark" Heathcote took notice of his
guard's spoutings, going so far as to condone them.
"If you went up and asked any of our players 'Would you guarantee a
win?' they'd say 'Yes'," Heathcote said. "I like our players to be
confident."
Others joined in the tarot card and tea leaf reading tradition, including
Atlanta Braves pitchers-turned-college-hoops-fans Steve Avery and John
Smoltz.
"I'm going with Michigan," said Avery, who is from Taylor.
"I'm predicting a good game," Smoltz, a Lansing native, ventured. "If it
was in East Lansing, I might say more. .
As Avery foretold just minutes before tipoff, Michigan eventually
prevailed. It was only natural.
After all, the Wolverines had won two in a row against the Spartans,
and held an 81-54 series advantage over MSU. Only lowly Northwestern
has given up more to Michigan (83).
The last time the Spartans felled their intra-state rival was Feb. 15,
1992, when the Fabs were still Five and still freshmen.
Michigan's destiny was to win. Any other outcome would be an
aberration of a very predictable pattern, one that continued when MSU lost
the great state of Michigan recruiting war but began much earlier.
And the bottom line is, Blue was better.
When Respert made his prediction, he did not harken memories of a
pre-Super Bowl III Joe Namath, who dared to foretell a victory over the
favorite Baltimore Colts.
See FCP, Page 10
Wolverines march past
Michigan State, 75-64
By BRETT FORREST
DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER
Michigan State junior guard
Shawn Respert had strong words for
the Michigan men's basketball team
before last night's game at Crisler
Arena. Unfortunately for him, he
could not follow through on his guar-
antee of a victory, as his Spartans (0-
I Big Ten, 9-4 overall) fell to the
Wolverines (1-0, 9-2), 75-64.
Respertand Michigan's Jalen Rose
shared game-high honors with 22
points. Wolverine center Juwan
Howard had 17 points, while sopho-
more guard Dugan Fife had another
big game for the Wolverines.
"Dugan Fife had his best game
since he's been at Michigan," Wol-
verine coach Steve Fisher said.
The sophomore hit three of four
three-pointers on the way to 13 points
for the evening. He also had five steals,
the last with 1:33 left on the clock,
effectively ending any comeback
hopes for the Spartans.
"I was really impressed with the
game Dugan Fife played," Michigan
State coach Jud Heathcote said. "He
really surprised us."
Michigan was trying to rebound
from a surprise of its own. The Wol-
verines faced their first test after be-
ing shellacked by Arizona in the Fi-
esta Bowl Classic. They answered the
challenge when it mattered most.
"It's a big game, not just because
it's Michigan State," Fife said, "but
because it's a win, it's the first Big
Ten game and because it comes after
the loss to Arizona."
Michigan seemed to have the game
in hand early in a lackluster first half,
holding the lead from the first bucket.
Every time Michigan made a move,
though, the Spartans countered.
Michigan went cold in the middle
of the opening half, going 4:48 with-
out a hoop, yet Michigan State could
come no closer than two points. With
29 seconds left, Rose hit a difficult
jumper, only to be answered by Snow
with just three ticks remaining on the
clock
While MSU went 4-flr-4 from the
line in the first half, Michigan did not
see the charity stripe until the 8:50.
mark of the second stanza.
MSU dominated the glass througlh
out the game, grabbing 19 boards to
Michigan's 10 in the first halt' and
edging the Wolverines, 40-27, over-
all. Sophomore forward Quinton
Brooks had 14 rebounds. while senior
center Anthony Miller added 13.
"We weren't aggressive enough
when we were going for the re-
bounds." Jimmy King said. "In future
See MSU, Page 10
MICHIGAN STATE (64)
Ft' FT
MIN M-A M-A
Brooks 28 5-9 0.0
Weshinskey 33 1-8 0.0
Miller 33 3-7 6-6
Snow 36 71.4 0-0
Reslert 34 818 34
Garavaglia 16 0-2 0-0
Beathea 13 1-1 00
Feick 7 0-0 0 0
RE
04
4-14
01
7-13
0-2
3-4
0-2
0-1
0-0
A
3
4
3
1
0
2
0
F
3
2
1
II
4
2
1
2
0
PTS~
10
2
12;
16
22
2
0
Totals 200 25-59 9-10 15.40 1414 64
FG%: 424. FT%: .900. Three-point goals: 5-18.
.278 (Respert 3-7, Snow 2-7, Weshinskey 0-4).
Blocks: 3 (Brooks, Miler, Weshinskey).
Turnovers: 23 (Miller 6. Snow 6, Brooks 3,
Weshinskey 3, Respert 3, Beathea 2). Steals: 7
(Snow 4, Brooks 2, Miller). Technical Fouls:.
none.
MICHIGAN (75)
Jackson
King
Howard
Fife
Rose
Derricks
Crawford
Saint-Jean
Moore
MIN
27
33
34
37
37
19
10
2
11
FG
M-A
4-8
5-114
8-14
47
6-12
0-1
1-4
0-0
0-0
FT
M-A
1-2
12
12
2-2
6-6
0-0
0-0
0-0
0.0
RED
Q-T
01
2-5
2-4
1.6
2-3
27
0-0
0-1
0-0
0-0
A
3
6
3
7.
2
0
0
0
0
F
4
2
5
3
0
0
s
0
0
PTSj
9
11.
17
13
22-
0!
3i
0
0I
ii
Totals 200 28.60 11-14 10-27 1515 75
FG%: .467. FT 2786. Three-point goals: 8-18,
.444 (Rose 4-6, Fife 3-4, Crawford 1-4, King 0-3,
Jackson 0-1), Blocks: 7 (Jackson 2, Howard 2,
King, Fife, Derricks). Turnovers: 16 (Howard 5.
Jackson 3, King 3. Fife 2, Rose, Derricks,
Crawford). Steals: 9 (Fife 5, Jackson. King,
Howard, Rose). Technical Fouls: none.
Michigan State...33 31 -- 64
Michigan .36 39 -- 75
jAt: Crisler Arena; A: 13,455
ELIZABETH LIPPMAN/Daily
Juwan Howard shoots over Michigan State's Anthony Miller in last night's
75-64 victory over the Spartans in Michigan's Big Ten opener. Howard
finished the game with 17 points and six rebounds before fouling out.
Fisher's big-man wish may come true
6-foot-8 Ndiaye could become Senegal's gift to Michigan hoops
By TIM RARDIN
DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER
If Michigan basketball coach Steve
Fisher went to the doctor to get some
medicine for his ailing team, he would
likely be prescribed an intimidating
shot blocker with a heavy dose of size
and strength, and a touch of athletic
ability.
Fisher could get just what the doc-
tor ordered in the form of 6-foot-8,
230-pound Makhtar Ndiaye, a native
of Dakar, Senegal, a looming fresh-
man transfer from Wake Forest.
Because of recruiting violations
announced by the NCAA against the
Demon Deacons' basketball program
Dec. 30, Ndiaye is no longer eligible
to play for Wake Forest. Since in-r s-
tigation began last summer, he is
been allowed only to practice with the
team.
Now, he is eligible to play imme-
diately, wherever he decides to trans-
fer. Ndiaye has narrowed his choices
down to Michigan and UCLA, and is
expected to make a decision this week-
end. Should he choose Michigan, he
could play as early as Saturday against
Iowa.
The infractions against the Wake
Forest basketball program involve
James Davies, an interpreter hired to
talk to Ndiaye's family during the
recruiting process. Apparently,
Davies - who lives just outside the
Winston-Salem campus - main-
tained contact with Ndiaye before and
after he signed with the Demon Dea-
cons, and gave him transportation and
a place to live.
It is not believed that any member
of the Wake Forest basketball staff
knew of Davies' behavior.
"There are a series of violations
that involve an individual who was
hired by the Wake Forest basketball
staff as an interpreter," said associate
executive directorofthe NCAA David
Berst, who heads up the enforcement
and eligibility appeals staff. "He be-
gan to be involved much more di-
rectly and provided benefits that were
considered improper, that benefited
Wake Forest.
"We do not believe that Makhtar
did anything wrong intentionally. We
believe he is innocent."
Ndiaye, who speaks fluent French
as well as English, Spanish and a
number of African dialects, arrived in
Ann Arbor Tuesday and attended last
night's game against Michigan State
at Crisler Arena.
Fisher and his staff were hoping to
keep Ndiaye from making the trip to
UCLA, where he is scheduled to visit
today in time for the Bruins' game
against Oregon.
Ndiaye would not comment on his
decision following the Michigan State
game, but the Wolverines certainly
hope he will opt for the cold and snow
of Ann Arbor. There is no doubt they
can use him.
After the Boston University game
Monday, Fisher said, "We don't have
the intimidating shot blocker that we
had a year ago in Chris Webber and
Eric Riley. If we can solidify a de-
fense that can be tough in theBig Ten,
we're going to be good."
He has 6-foot-9 Juwan Howard,
but he is by no means a big shot
blocker. With the Big Ten season
now underway, Ndiaye - who aver-
aged 8.1 blocks a game his senior
year - could not only fill that role
but could add needed depth to the
inexperienced Michigan bench.
Ndiaye played his senior year at
Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, where
he helped the squad, which also in,
cluded North Carolina's prize recruits
Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis, to
a 30-0 record and a No. 3 ranking in
the final USA Todaypreppoll in 1993.
In less than 20 minutes per con-
test, he averaged 10.1 points, 10.3
rebounds on 63 percent shooting in
addition to the 8.1 blocks.
Such numbers make Fisher sali-
vate, but for now, all he can do is
wait.
I I
EVAN PETRIE/Daily
Maktar Ndiaye, a 6-foot-8 forward from Senegal, attended Michigan's 75-64
victory over MSU. Ndiaye is being recruited by the Wolverines and UCLA and
could play as early as Saturday if he signs with Michigan.
. _ ;
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