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. 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