The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 26, 1997- 11 Blue can't /ut teams awa, sits i NIT' NEW YORK - Steve Fisher cer- tainly has his work cut out for himself. If the beleaguered Michigan coach returns next season - which right now, seems to be a pretty safe bet unless the pending NCAA investigation gets out of hand - he's got a chalkboard's worth of material that is neccessary to "right the ship" (as he said was what eeded to be done after Michigan's loss Purdue a month ago). He's going to have to draw up a play- book exclusively for Louis Bullock, who needs to, and should, get 20 shots per game. He's going to have to get his big men to move in the paint. Fisher also ALAN as to give anoth- GOlDENBACH er -we're hoping The Bronx he gave one Bomber already - lesson in fundamentals. But what Fisher needs to teach this team more than anything else is some- thing that is characteristic of every championship team - in any sport. Killer instinct. The Wolverines had the opportunity to exhibit it in the first Salf when they were ahead 28-16 with seven minutes to go. But rather than continuing to stifle an already horrendous Arkansas shoot- ing attack, Michigan opted to play role reversal. The Wolverines went the next 5:22 without a field goal. And then, after a running jumper by Bullock, they went'dry from the field for another 4:15, until they were down or the first time since the game's open- ng minutes. The box score doesn't do this game justice - it was much closer than the the 15-point margin. This game was tied with about 10 minutes to play. Michigan blew it open in the end with a bunch of free throws, when Arkansas was forced to shoot quickly and often from deep range. The most dissapointing part about this lack of a killer instinct is that the layers don't realize they lack it. "We had them down in the first half, and we sensed we could beat them by 20 points, Traylor said. "But they fought back. They put together a good run late in the first halff" But why was Arkansas allowed to fight back? "We made a couple of mental errors," Traylor said. Ah-ha! "When we were up four or five points midway through the second alf," Travis Conlan said, "we knew we ere 14 or 15 points better than this tean, and then we showed it." Why not show it earlier? Michigan did this against Indiana in the game that started their downward spiral this season. The Wolverines' 20-point lead didn't scare the Hoosiers like it should have. No killer instinct. Another meaty lead evaporated again three weeks later when Michigan comghed up a 13-point, second-half a to Illinois in a game that, in hind- sight, probably cost the Wolverines a berth in the NCAA tournament. And just last week, after it took Notre Dame 11 minutes to score two field goals, Michigan couldn't blow the Irish out of the building. They didn't put them away but got very lucky, as riskher said after that game. They didn't put Indiana away, and it blew up in their faces. They didn't put Illinois way, and it happened again. And that's why they're playing in the NIT - against teams that don't know how to come back when they're down, like Arkansas. Just look where Indiana and Ilinois wound up in the postseason. Yep, the NCAAs. --Alan Goldenbach can be reached over e-mail at agold@umich.edu. MICHIGAN (77) FG FT REB MIN M-A M-A 0T A F PTS aston 30 3-7 3-6 4-10 0 2 9 Taylor 37 6-9 7-10 4-15 2 0 19 Traylor 23 3-8 1-4 2-6 0 4 7 0llock 29 6-12 0-1 1-1 0 4 15 C.dnlan 26 0-1 2-2 1-3 5 3 2 Hughes 30 3-8 4-5 0-3 3 4 10 Ward 18 4-8 5-7 0-3 0 1 15 Streets 2 0.0 0-000010 Oliver 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 D. Taylor 1 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Dekuiper 1 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Vignier 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 200 25.56 22-3519-5210 19 7 6:..446. FT%: .629. 3-point FG: 5-9, X556 (Bullock 3-6, Ward 2-3,). Blocks: 7 (Baston 4, Taylor 1, Traylor 2). Steals: 8 (Taylor, Traylor, Bullock, Ward). Technical Fouls: none. ARKANSAS (62) FQ Ft RES MINEM-1 M.AO04TA FPTS NCAAs Jackson took hard road to Final Four Injury-riddled guard looks to help Gophers earn respect for Big Ten in NCAA tourney' The Baltimore Sun obby Jackson has made a career out of coming from nowhere to become a star. He did it at Salisbury High School in North Carolina. He did it at Western Nebraska Junior College. And now he is doing it at the University of Minnesota. On the college level, it has taken five years and nearly as many injuries for Jackson to reach his current status as the player who has led the Gophers to the school's first Final Four. Minnesota will play defending champi- on Kentucky on Saturday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. But injuries have long played a part in Jackson's career. "As a freshman, he didn't come out for the JV team because he broke a toe right before tryouts," Sam Gaely, Jackson's coach at Salisbury, recalled- yesterday. "We didn't know how good he was. He just kind of showed up as a sophomore and he started three years." The broken toe was followed by a stress fracture in his foot as a junior and some muscle problems in his leg as a senior. Along with poor grades that made him a Prop 48 player, it was a factor in Jackson's not being recruit- ed by any Division I programs. So through a connection with Western Nebraska Coach Dave Campbell, who had played college ball in Salisbury and had done his student teaching there, Gaely sent Jackson off to Scotts Bluff, Neb. Shortly before the start of preseason workouts his fresh- man year, Jackson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. "I think the year off helped him," Campbell said Monday. "It gave him a chance to work on his academics and in the weight room. That's a devastat- ing injury to a young kid like that. But he's a fighter. Once he got here, Bobby was on a mission. He was a model citi- zen and a heck of a player." Said Jackson: "I thought about leav- ing, but my mom and my (high school) coach told me to stay out there. It was a big adjustment being in Nebraska, with all the cornfields, but I don't know if I would be here if I didn't go." Not that Jackson's transition to Minnesota was any easier than it had been to Western Nebraska. After grow- ing up in a town of 28,000 midway between Greensboro and Charlotte, then adjusting to a small town three hours from Denver, Jackson had to get used to Minneapolis. And, as usual, there was another injury. This time he broke the same foot in which he had suffered a stress fracture. He wound up missing the first seven games last year and, while he ended up averaging a team-high 13.3 points, he shot just 40.6 per- Tour cent from the field and 29.5 tiUM percent on 3-pointers. "Having been injured Saturda before helped me, but I don't UaNorth think I was ever 100 percent (2N6) last year," Jackson said. (23-9}t This year has been a lot 11Ktt different for Jackson. The ~ Minr quickness he showed in)a' . leading Western Nebraska to a third-place finish in the Televish national junior college tour- nament two years ago has Monday returned and, with it, Semlf Jackson has gone from ners, 9: being honorable mention Televisk All-Big Ten to the confer- ence's player of the year. Aft gam0 After starting quietly in RCA Do the opening two rounds of tndiana: the NCAA tournament, Jackson broke out for a career-high 36 points and nine rebounds in a 90-84 double-overtime victory over Clemson in the Midwest Regional semifinals in San Antonio, then followed with 18 points and nine rebounds in an 80-72 victory over UCLA. As a result of his performance, Jackson was named the regional's most outstanding player. He also saw his stock in the NBA draft go up, perhaps turning him from a second- ey round pick into a middle to Ut late choice in the first round. SeeJackson seems comfort- semis able in the spotlight, but arizona doesn't seek it out. 2o p.m. "I didn't get much nation- y (34.$) al attention before the tour- ta (31- nament, but I'm not the type :7 of person that cares much about it" said Jackson, who CBS is averaging a team-high 15.0 points. "I'm just out final there to enjoy myself, 3l win- improve my game and do p.m. whatever it takes to help my team win." In the game against it the UCLA, it meant playing a ? in great deal of point guard IS because starter Eric Harris was limited to 23 nonpro- ductive minutes by a sprained shoul- der. Depending on how Harris' injury heals this week, Jackson might be asked to do the same against a team known for the relentless pressure it puts on opponents, especially point guards. "As I've said, I'll do whatever it takes," Jackson said. For Jackson, that often translates into rebounding. Ever since he was in high school, Jackson has been a relent- less rebounder, in particular on the offensive boards. Even at 6-foot, he is third among the Gophers in rebounding, with better than six a game. He also leads his team in assists. Asked about his penchant for rebounding, Jackson said: "I've just got a knack for getting to the ball.' Said Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins: "Jerry Sloan was the best rebounding guard I ever saw, but he was 6-5. Bobby's not nearly as tall, but he has some of the same instincts." Haskins said Jackson's adjustments to playing for Minnesota came as he gradually accepted a system that prides itself on a balanced offense and using a lot of players. While Jackson and junior Sam Jacobson get most of the recognition, their ability to get others involvedin w the offense makes for the happiest of locker rooms. "We knew when Bobby came here and we saw him playing in some of tho summer leagues that he was going to be a great player," Jacobson said. "But he's improved so much this year as he s gotten more comfortable with the sys- tem." It is no small coincidence that Jackson's sudden stardom can be traced to the first injury-free season he has had in a long time. Back home in Salisbury and out in Scotts Bluff, his former coaches can see a difference. "Everyone's very excited about what Bobby is doing," Gaely said. "But we've seen him do this before.' Said Campbell: "He's not a one- dimensional player. That's whatsepa- rates him from a lot of guards around the country." U U 4 COMMU EDUCAT RECREA Said Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins: "Jerry Sloan was the best rebounding guard I ever saw, but he was 6-5. Bobby's not nearly as tall, but he has some of the same instincts." r NITY 0EOW iON& &UMR iON SFAVLM! & baseball .- softball YOUTH R baseball Kfast pitch FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 313-994-2300 EXTZ2 Wildcats' run makes them 'Unbelievables' LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentuckians have a penchant for giving nicknames to their favorite University of Kentucky basketball teams. It started in 1948 with the Fabulous Five. Along came the Fiddlin' Five in 1958. Rupp's Runts captured their hearts in 1966. The Unforgettables emerged in 1992. And then the Untouchables from last year's national championship team. And this season? "Somebody gave me this nickname, I think it's more the Unbelievables because I don't think I quite believe it," said Kentucky coach Rick Pitino, who picked up the label from a Danville (Ky.) Advocate-Messenger sports writer. It does seem unlikely that the Wildcats, who play Minnesota in the semifinals Saturday night in Indianapolis, would be in position to defend their national title. Four players from last year's team that finished 34-2 are playing pro ball. Another player from that team was red- shirted and another transferred. And midway through the season, leading scorer Derek Anderson went down with a knee injury. But Kentucky (34-4) is two games away from becoming only the second team since UCLA in 1973 to repeat as national champion. "This team has played a top-five schedule, and being young, I think they've accomplished more than any basketball team I've coached," said Pitino, who has his third team in five years in the Final Four. "The only one that would rival this team is Providence" in 1987. Even the players are surprised by how they progressed during the season. 'We've come through it all and we're in a position now that nobody thought we would be in, especially when Derek went down," said guard Cameron Mills. "If we can pull off two more victories, then I would definitely agree with that nickname." -4 Grade A Notes at Ulrich's Bookstore 549 E. University " Second Floor " CALL 741-9669 I PEACE CORPS 4~ "THE TOUGHESTJOBYOU'LL EVER LOVE" Peace Corps Representatives will be on campus March 24-26 1 Information Tables m