The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 5, 1996 - A Blue cagers prepare for clash with Watson's Titans By Alan Goldenbach Daily Sports Editor It's tough to get up-for a game where your opponent considers it a rivalry but you see it as another cupcake-type, early-season game. That's what the Michigan men's bas- ketball team will be facing tonight when Detroit comes to Crisler Arena. And undoubtedly, the Wolverines are thinking ahead to a little get-together on Sunday in Durham, N.C., against 10th-ranked Duke. But Michigan has to focus on the business at hand before psyching itself up for its biggest non-conference game of the season. The seventh-ranked Wolverines (3- 0) and Titans (2-2) will be squaring off for the sixth straight year and 23rd time overall. Michigan has won the last eight meetings between the two teams by an average of almost 16 points and holds an 18-4 advantage in the all-time series. But as the cliche goes, records are put aside when revenge is brought into the equation. And that has been a recent, factor in this intrastate matchup. Detroit coach Perry Watson served as an assistant to Fisher for two seasons - from 1991 to 1993 - before taking his current position. He undoubtedly wants to show up his former mentor. Leon Derricks, the Titans' starting power forward and third-leading scorer, played his first two seasons at Michigan before transferring to Detroit. While at "We had a tough game with them last year at their place. It's going to. bre a tough game this year They' re a good team." -- Steve Fisher Michigan basketball coach on the Detroit basketball team Michigan, Watson recruited the 6-foot-9 Derricks out of Flint Northwestern High School. In 1994,. after a year of being apart from Watson, and two years of playing limited minutes behind Juwan Howard and Chris Webber, Derricks headed about 30 miles east to Detroit. But the Wolverines have some Detroit ties of their own. Assistant coach Scott Perry served in a similar position for the Titans from 1988 to 1993 under then-Detroit head coach, Ricky Byrdsong. Perry went on to take an assistant's post at California before finding his way to Ann Arbor. Detroit's squad is composed entirely of state-bred talent, mostly coming from the city's metropolitan area. Leading that group are a pair of presea- son first-team all-Midwestern Collegiate Conference selections, Derrick Hayes and Carl Pickett. Hayes is a junior transfer from Iowa State who played at Detroit Southwestern High School. Pickett, an Ann Arbor product, was the Titans' leading scorer last year at 14.3 points per game. Although Hayes paces Detroit in scoring with a 15.5 average, Pickett has slumped miserably in his last two games, scoring only seven total points against not-so-powerful power- houses Austin Peay and Hawaii. But Fisher is counting on Detroit playing up to the level of its opposition instead of the way it did in losses to Bowling Green and Hawaii. "I'm like every coach," Fisher said. "I always worry. (Detroit) has kids that we didn't recruit and that's added incen- tive. They've got Perry Watson who coached here for two years. That's added incentive. "We had a tough game with them last year at their place. It's going to be a tough game this year. They're a good team." That might going a bit too far with the let's-be-nice-to-the-underdog approach. Michigan's 68-48 victory last year at Cobo Arena in Detroit can hard- ly be considered close, although the Wolverines led by only four points at the half. If they're not careful, the Wolverines could be in for more than they bar- gained for. Hardly playing basketball at the caliber of a top-10 team, Michigan's recent nailbiters against unranked foes, Cleveland State and Bradley, make it a prime candidate for an early-season upset. However, the Wolverines have been getting solid scoring numbers from Louis Bullock and Maurice Taylor - but they sometimes haven't been show- ing up until the second half of games. Michigan's top two scorers are averaging MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily The Michigan men's basketball team will take on the Detroit Titans, who are coached by ex-Michigan assistant Perry Watson, tonight at 7:30 at Crisler Arena. The seventh-ranked Wolverines beat Bradley, 66-64, in overtime Monday night. a combined 49 points per game. In addi- tion, Bullock is connecting on over 56 percent of his shots from behind the arc. Taylor has stepped up his defense --his block on Bradley's Cameron Rigby as time expired, secured the Wolverines' 66-64 victory Monday night. Center Robert Traylor is pacing Michigan with his 69.6 field-goal per- centage and 8.7 rebounds per game. He will certainly get a couple of big Detroit bodies to knock around in the post in Derricks and 6-foot-9 center Brian Alexander. HELPING OUT: The Michigan Athletic Department is asking fans coming to tonight's game to donat non-perishable canned goods or dr boxed goods. All food will be collected at the door and will be donated to the Salvation Army-Arbor Haven. iT Ci 4 AAR- VAQ 4 0 Fro Vision Center YOUR EYECARE PROFESSIONALS DR. JACQUELYN 1. WILLIAMS Independent Doctor of Optometry Located in Walmart Vision Center Comprehensive eye exams starting at $39 Contact lens exams starting at $85 7 7 * 4 M For 6 pairs of Fresh Look® disposable color contacts * Profeaional fee not included i;