momm- rjmw. A=Z..*-r---_ 7A..zt'..
Rift speech ess
Michigan women's tennis cohBItsy itwas unable toseak as
schduled yesterday atithe M chig 'Leagae Undergrpund as part of the
"From the Coach's Mo th' series'due to a famity emergency. Assistant
coach Susan Somm&M1ev filled in for Ritt and answered questions
regrarding subjects such as the Wolverihes' goals for 1995 and their
tough schedule,.
Page 5
Thursday
March 9, 1995
Fab Two
make their
flial stand
By Scott Burton
Daily Basketball Writer
Jimmy King and Ray Jackson had a
long list of people to acknowledge after
"heir final home game last night. There
werethe CrislerArena fans, coach Steve
Fisher, and of course Chris Webber,
Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard.
They may have overlooked some-
body, though, someone whodid as much
to drive Jackson, King and the rest of
the Fab Five to all their successes than
anyone else.
His name is
. ° Bill Walton.
As you
may remem-
ber, it was
Walton who
Court before the
1993 NCAA
Press Tournament
called the Fab
Five-led Wol-
verines the mostoverrated, underachiev-
%ng team he had ever seen. This was the
same Fab Five that had just one year
earliercomeonegameshortofwinning
the National Championship. The same
Fab Five that went 15-3 in the Big Ten
going into their second tournament.
At the time, Walton's comments
perhaps could have been passed off as
nothing more than a contrived hyper-
bole. But the statement was given cred-
ibility, coming from a man who led
UCLA to two NCAAToumament titles.
The Fab Five's initial response was
polite dismissal. They had been criti-
cized rudely about every aspect of their
game before- from their baggy shorts,
to their trash talking, to their inconsis-
tent play - and always kept on doing
what they were doing.
But Walton's comments were
harsher than anything the Fab Five had
heard before, and they deserved a spe-
cial response. So not only did the Wol-
verines goon to beat Walton'sBruins in
the 1993 tourney, but they under-
achieved their way to the NCAA finals.
Such an accomplishment was an act
of defiance that perfectly embodied
Jackson and King's careers. They cre-
ated history while spitting in the faces
of people who said they defamed it,
'achieving in circumstances where no
one had before.
"When people talk about you and
put you down, it only makes you stron-
ger," Jackson says.
It's no surprise that Jackson and
King are doing the same thing this
season.WithRose, Webberand Howard
having departed to the NBA, and with
Michigan beginning the season 6-5,
there have been Walton talk-alikes
*abound. And with each critic has come
a prompt response.
Jackson isn't a prime-time scorer:
Jackson leads the Wolverines in scor-
ing, assists and rebounds this season.
King can't lead Michigan to big
victories? King accomplishes some-
thing that Webber, Howard and Rose
had never done - beat rival Indiana in
Assembly Hall.
* Andappropriatelyenough,asMichi-
gan gets ready to say good-bye to the
legacy that was the Fab Five, Jackson
and King have saved their biggest act
for last. After being taunted with chants
of 'NiT, NIT' in road games, and read-
ing in newspapers all year that a fourth-
straight NCAA Tournament bid was in
question, they have cocked their heads
and taken care of business.
Michigan has won three of its last
four games, and yesterday's victory
over Penn State likely gives the Wol-
verines the victories they need forabid.
Such a precarious balance on the tour-
nament bubble may not seem like much
compared to the accomplishments of
past Fab Five squads.
But for a team that relies on guts
rather than talent more than any Wol-
verine team in a long time, reaching the
CAA Tournament is remarkable.
Overrated? Underachievers? Mr.
Walton, I believe Jackson and King are
finally done proving you wrong.
'M' stakes NCAA claim
Wolverines' win over Penn State raises hope for bid
By Ryan White
Daily Basketball Writer
The members of the Michigan
men's basketball team can breathe a
collective sigh of relief.
With their 67-60 win over Penn
State (8-9 Big Ten, 16-10 overall) last
night at Crisler Arena, the Wolver-
ines (11-6, 16-12) all but assured
themselves of their fourth straight
NCAA Tournament berth.
"I would hope so," said Michigan
coach Steve Fisher when asked if the
victory would get the Wolverines into
the post season.
"We had a brutal non-conference
schedule, and to win 11 games in this
league merits without a doubt, to me,
a place in the 64."
Michigan is helped by the fact that
a team with 10 Big Ten victories has
never been overlooked by the NCAA's
selection committee. Since the tour-
nament expanded its field to 64 teams
in 1985, 50 straight Big Ten teams
with at least 10-8 records have quali-
fied.
Ray Jackson, who along with
Jimmy King played his final game at
Crisler, finished with a game high 20
points for the Wolverines. Freshman
Maceo Baston had 13 and Travis
Conlan scored 11, including three of
four 3-point attempts.
"Steve (Fisher) had an ace up his
sleeve with Conlan," Penn State coach
Bruce Parkhill said. "We didn't ex-
pect him to knock those outside shots
down."
The Wolverines used a 10-0 run
halfway through the first half to open
up a 10-point lead and Michigan never
looked back, increasing the lead to as
much as 17 in the second half.
The defense that had keyed the
Wolverines for much of the season -
and that was missing last Sunday at
Iowa -returned as Michigan forced
19 turnovers and seven steals.
"I thought we played pretty good
tonight," Fisher said. "On the defen-
sive end I thought we played really
well."
We had a brutal
non-conrference
schedule, and to
win 11 games in
this league merits
without a doubt, to
me, a place in the
64"
- Steve Fisher
Michigan basketball coach
In spite of the Wolverines' im-
proved defensive effort, Penn State
big man John Amaechi poured inl9
and once again forced Michigan into
foul trouble.
Both Baston and Makhtar Ndiaye
finished the game with four fouls and
Maurice Taylor fouled out with 14
seconds left in the game.
In the teams' first meeting, a 73-
63 Nittany Lion win Jan. 8, Ndiaye
and Taylor each fouled out.
Fortunately for the Wolverines,
however, last night they had the
services of Baston, who missed the
first game due to an academic prob-
lem.
Michigan now turns its focus to
Sunday's game against Purdue in
West Lafayette. The game is really
about what seed Michigan will re-
ceive, not about whether they will
receive an invitation at all.
"We should get a bid," King said.
"But we want to get a better seed than
we think we'll get right now."
PENN STATE (60)
Fa FT RIB
MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS
Carlton 24 3-7 0.0 1-2 0 2 7
Sekunda 22 3411 1-1 0-3. 4 1 7
Amaechi 35 7-9 5-9 5-14 2 4 19
D. Williams 16 1-3 0-0 0-1 1 2 2
Earl 39 2-7 1-2 0-0 4 3 7
P. Wiliams 13 0-2 2-4 1-3 0 0 2
Lsicky 23 2-7 4-4 0-2 4 3 10
Bartram 16 0-1 2-2 0-2 1 3 2
Joseph 8 2-2 0-0 0-5 0 4 4
Athouse 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 01 0
Rogers 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0
Kopcha 1 0-0 0-0 0-000 0
Machamer 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200 20-49 15.22 9-38 16 23 60
FG%:.408. F%: .682. Three-point goals: 5.21,
.238 (Earl 2-4, Lisicky 2-7, Carlton 1-3). Blocks: 2
(Amaechi 2). Turnovers: 19 (Amaechi 5, Earl 3,
Lisicky 3, Bartram 2, Carlton 2, Joseph, D.
Williams). Steals: 3 (Amaechi, Earl. Sekunda).
Technical Fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (67)
Fa TREB
MIN M-A M-A 0T A F PIS
Jackson 34 8-16 4-5 1-4 2 3 20
Taylor 23 2-7 0-0 1-2 1 5 4
Ndiaye 25 3-6 0-0 3-7 0 4 6
Fife 25 1-2 1-2 0-3 2 1 4
King 34 2-10 3-9 0-4 3 2 7
Baston 25 6-8 1-3 6-7 0 4 13
Conlan 19 4-5 0-0 0-5 2 1 11
Mitchell 10 0-4 2-2 1-1 0 0 2
Ward 1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 0 0
Morton 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Zitzrnann 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 00 0
Lengemann 1 0-0 0-0 0-001 0
Fields 1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 200 26-60 11-22 1436 1020 67
FG%:.433. FT%:.500. Three-point goals: 4-12,
.333 (Conlan 3, Fife). Blocks: 5 (Taylor 2. Baston,
Fife, Ndiaye). Turnovers: 11 (Jackson 3, Taylor 3,
Baston 2, Conlan 2, King 2). Steals: 7 (King 3,
Conlan 2, Baston, Jackson). Technical Fouls:
none.
Penn State.........27 33 - 60
Michigan .... . 36 31 - 67
At:Criser Arena; A: 13562
man year, but in his senior season, he
has become Michigan's most valuable
player.
He leads the team in scoring, assists,
free throw percentage, and is second in
rebounds.
"I didn't think about it being the last
game," Jackson said. "Once the season
is over I will have the chance to sit back
and put it into perspective."
The Fab Five made their mark on
college basketball and now the curtain
has fallen.
DUG "LAS ''A"ER/ aly
Maceo Baston and his Wolverine teammates swatted the Nittany Uons,
67-60, last night at Crisier Arena for their 11th Big Ten victory.
FAB FIVE
Continued from page 1
ing that hanging up in my den."
With all the festivities out of the
way, they had a game to concentrate on.
Jackson got on the board two min-
utes into the game and King followed
with a reverse lay-up seconds later. But
King struggled with his shot for the rest
of the night.
He did leave Crisler faithful with
something torememberhim by, though.
Withjustundersix minutesremain-
ing in the first half, King got out on the
fast break. He went in all alone and
gave the crowd one last dunk. That
gave Michigan a 10-point lead and the
Nittany Lions seemed to wilt after that.
The Wolverines took a 36-27 lead
into halftime.
In the second half, Jackson contin-
ued his onslaught, amassing a team-
high 20 points. Michigan had a double-
digit lead in the last minute setting up
one final farewell.
King left the game with 31 seconds
remaining with Jackson following him
in front of a standing ovation.
"It was a great feeling," Jackson
said. "With the fan support I've had for
four years here it will be sad to leave."
They leave with excellent creden-
tials, though.
With his seven points last night,
King became only the eighth player in
Michigan history to reach 1,500 points
and 500 rebounds in a career. Jackson is
only the 15th Wolverine to top 1,000
points and 500 rebounds in a career.
"I'm proud of how they've handled
themselves this year," Fisher said. "Ray
has emerged as the team leader. It makes
me proud to see how he has grown not
only as a player but as a person.
"Jimmy, ever since the second Wis-
consin game, has been our best player.
He's been aggressive and he's been
smart."
Jackson and King are the only play-
ers in school history to rank in the top 25
in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.
"It went by pretty fast," King said.
"I can remember games as a freshman
and sophomore.".
During the Fab Five era, the Wol-
verines are 97-34. In conference play
over the same period Michigan's record
is 50-21. Only Indiana has.won more
Big Ten games in that time.
This season, Jackson has come on
as the Wolverines' team leader. He was
the least heralded of the bunch fresh-
--N
- z I t 9
-1
7
1
h
THURSDAY NO COVER AT
RESTAURANT VSPORTS $SAt
Also featuring:
20 a wing
$3.25 pitchers Coors Light
$5.00 pitchers Long Island Ice Tea
1220 South University
21 and over after pm
665-7777
The Sixth Annual
P re-Med Students' Symposium
presents
The Ethics of Health Care
Saturday, March 11, 1995
10:00 am - 3:30 pm
Michigan Union
Pre-register at CP&P or 4121 Michigan Union or
register on the day of the event.
Funded by MSA
For more information call Cara at 995-4536.
w
:
For fast relief from the nagging ache of taxes, we
recommend TIAA-CREF SRAs. SRAs are tax-
deferred annuities designed to help build additional
assets-money that can help make the difference
between living and living well after your working years
As the nation's largest retirement system, we offer
a wide range of allocation choices-from TIAA's
traditional annuity, with its guarantees of principal
and interest, to the seven diversified investment
accounts of CREF's variable annuity. What's more,
rifer "' w'r r f a 1) ._ --"_.__-._ i l 1'_.,.._i i . .....'t :,,i.,.4. i ..4 ....., I,,.,
I