8-- The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 30, 1995 Grapplers By Danielle Rumore Daily Sports Writer The No.17 Michigan wrestling team entered its match against No.25 North- western Saturday with a two-game Big Ten winning streak. The Wolverines had not won three straight conference matches since 1992-1993. Accomplishing such a feat did not seem too difficult for Michigan, which hadwon 61 outof68 dual meets against the Wildcats previous to Saturday. The Wolverines won again, 20-15, in a meet which proved to be more than just an addition to their win column. victorious The meet remained close as the score fluctuated the entire evening. But that excitement was overshadowed by a scary moment in the 177-pound match. Junior Jesse Rawls, Jr. suffered a knee injury with 56 seconds left in the second period of his match against fourth-ranked Rohan Gardner. Rawls screamed out in pain and grabbed his right knee. He laid on the mat for a few minutes before he was able to move his knee and walk, and he was forced to forfeit the match. "He's moving it pretty good, so we're gonna cross our fingers," coach despite Rai Dale Bahr said. "Right now, we're not quite sure (what happened)," said Robin Moore, one of the staff trainers. "He's going (today) to see another one of the staff physicians and get some more tests done on his right knee." The Wolverines split the first four weight classes with the Wildcats. Fresh- man Brandon Howe (126) defeated Micah Hey, 11-4, and senior Mike Ellsworth (142) beat his man, 7-1. Northwestem's Jeff Mirabella(118) and Tony Pariano (134) captured their classes by defeating senior Matt Stout, A VIs injury 6-1, and freshman Brian Aparo, 11-6. Victories at the 158 and 167-pound classes gave Michigan a 13-9 lead en- tering the 177 pound class. Rawls' for- feit handed Northwestern six points, which placed it in the lead. Michigan regained the lead, 16-15, going into the heavyweightmatch. Then, Michigan freshman Airron Richardson came out on fire to defeat Wildcat Rob Chicoine, 12-4, solidifying the victory. "I was using the frustration that (Rawls) must have been feeling," Richardson said. "I was using that in- tensity to drive my own." LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL PROGRAMS OFFICE 3116 MICHIGAN UNION ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 313/763-4186 Would you like to talk about feelings concerning your sexual orientation in a safe place? Support groups are now forming for men and women. MEN'S SUPPORT GROUPS Tuesdays, 6:30 pm (Union rm. 4117) Wednesdays, 7:00 pm (rm.4117) Thursdays, 6:00 *and* 7:30 pm (both in fem. 3110) JACKSON Continued from page 1. The attention is the price he pays for being the man of this team. After watching the likes of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard lead, it's his turn to be the go-to guy. "He's gone from being the only member of the Fab Five that didn't play in the most prestigious post-sea- son all-star games (in high school) to where he thought he was the fifth wheel, to where he is now the leader ofthis team," coach Steve Fisher says. "Ray Jackson is our leader - vo- cally and in how he plays." Learning to take on the leadership role didn't come easy for Jackson this season. As his team struggled through a difficult 6-5 pre-conference sched- ule, Jackson forced his game. He took shots he shouldn't have, made passes that found no one. "It took some time to get used to," Jackson says. "I put too much pres- sure on myself early on in the season -I tried to make too much happen. It caused me to lead the team in turn- overs, and make some unfortunate mistakes at tines. It hurt the team." Accepting responsibility for his team's problems was Jackson's first step in reaffirming his command of the game. The second step, according to Fisher, was Jackson becoming sure of himself as both a player and a person. "There probably was a little inse- curity manifesting itself when he wasn't scoring a lot," Fisher says. "I think the pressure he put on himself was part of the reason he got off to a slow start, and our team got off to a slow start. He tried too hard to prove that he was really good, rather than allowing the game to come to him." Whatever problems Jackson had to overcome, he did keep one aspect of his game finely tuned - his de- fense. When he first came to Michi- gan, he had a reputation for playing stingy defense, and he quickly made that reputation fact. This season especially, Jackson has honed his brand of defense. He often sizing against the opponent's best player and shutting him down. "He's physically strong and big enough to guard a guy inside," Fisher says. "And he is strong enough and athletic enough to guard apoint guard. He's a guy you can put on anybody and be confident that he can do a good job defensively." Just ask Tennessee-Chattanooga's Brandon Born about what Jackson can do. The Moccasins' leading scorer, and one of the most accurate shooters in Division I, made only four field goals SPORTSMonday PROFILE Name: Ray Jackson Team: Men's Basketball Year: Senior Accomplishments: Wolverine co- captain for 1994-95 season. Member of Heralded Fab Five recruiting class. when he faced Michigan December 4. Or ask Purdue's Cuonzo Martin, who was on many experts' preseason all-Big Ten team. He shot just 3-of-11 with Jackson in his face January 3. OrIllinois' Jerry Hester. A double- digit scorer, the small forward shot 0- for-6 and scored no points when Jack- son defended him January 17. But especially ask teammate Jimmy King. "I've had to go against him in practice for three years - and no one defends like Ray Jackson," King says. "He's real quick, he's physical, and he's a great anticipator. He'll really make you work for everything you get. Trust me, I know." But Jackson knew that he was going to have to do more than just play great defense if he wanted to lead the Wol- verines to victory. He had to find his shot without forcing bad attempts; he had to take it to the hole more aggres- sively without being reckless. Ironically, he may have found a balancing moment in one of Michigan's worst losses of the season -against Penn State January 8. When King, the Wolverines' most prolific scorer, came up empty in the 73-63 loss, Jackson took over. He scored 24 points, and better yet, played as smart as a senior should. "I've always had flashes of offense," Jackson says. "I just had to slow it down, take it easy and notrush anything - and I've been doing that lately." He has not scored fewer than 13 points in any of the Wolverines' last six games since. Michigan, not coin- cidentally, is fighting for first place in the Big Ten. King, a Fab Five colleague of Jackson's, knows yet another side to his roommate and best friend. King calls him the joker of the team, al- ways smiling and laughing. Someone who says something to soften tense and challenging moments. "He's just a fun person to be around," King says. "He's like my brother. We've been through so much. Every time you see him play, he's always laughing, pumping up the crowd, pumping up his teammates. That's Ray Jackson." Freshmen Maceo Baston has also seen this side. The talented forward is Jackson's roommate on the road, and has benefited from being around a man who knows how to handle the pressures of the rookie spotlight. "We talk about life in general, com- ing out of high school and into college and how he adjusted,"Baston says. "He told me get out on the court and show what I can do. He told me to play like I played at Spruce H. S." This personality never shined as much as it should have in Jackson's first three years at Michigan. And how could it? With Webber, Rose and Howard around, Jackson was hardly the center of attention. Webber was the No. 1 pick in the 1993 NBA draft. Rose was savvy and controversial. Howard was always being comple- mented for his stoic and admirable personality. "He was lost among the Fab Five," Fisher says. Now with three of the Fab Five collecting professional paychecks, people around Michigan are curious about Jackson's personality. For in- stance ... His favorite music group? "Geto Boys," Jackson says. His favorite food? "Soul food." His favorite recreational activity? What else? "Relaxing and sleeping." Of course, in 20 years, people may not ask him about such trivial matters anymore. They'll want to know instead what it was like to be part of the greatest recruiting class ever, about going to two straight NCAA title games. And perhaps, if things work out right for Jackson, they'll want to know what it was like to play in the NBA, too. In short, they will want to know about Ray Jackson, the basketball player. And he'll have no problem an- swering the questions ... as long as they don't wake him up from a nap to ask. 9 WOMEN'S SUPPORT GROUPS 9 Mondays, 5:00 (rm. 3116) *and* 7:00 pm (rm. 4117) Wednesdays, 3:30 pM (rm 4117) SOTR SUPPORTGROUPSFOR MEN & WOMEN 9 Iter LGStudents:Wednesdays, 5:00 pm (rm. 3116) LGBParentsGroup: Thursdays Noon (rn. 4117) 0 LGBP( support groups are open to all people. No University affiliation required to participate in the groups. For more information please call our office at 763-4186. 0 0 __. INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM .r' ' i ' FANTASTIC! 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