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Bradley not just a name
- tli
Boykins leads- Eagles
l + - T ._
r
Nulling the load
As great as Anthony Parker was - he
was an honorable mention All-America
selection -- coach Jim Molinari and
Bradley must move forward.
But that's not to say Parker's talents
won't be missed.
Parker, now playing for the NBA's
Philadelphia 76ers, wps Bradley's most
valuable player the past three seasons.
Playing without Parker will be unique
to the Braves, but the man who built the
program into its present success -
Molinari - remains at the helm.
Molinari revitalized the program and
restored it to national prominence -not
to mention postseason play
In his tenure at Bradley, Molinari has
guided the Braves to four postseason
berths, including an NCAA tournament
appearance in 1996. Last season, the
Braves joined Michigan in the NIT field.
During Molinari's six seasons in
Peoria, Ill., the Braves have compiled a
100-78 record, highlighted by a 26-game
home winning streak.,
Sandwiched between five games at
Just last week, 5-foot-5 Earl Boykins
stood head and shoulders above his sum-
mer league teammates.
He led the USA Basketball 22-and-
under squad to a 6-0 record at the World
University Games in Italy and was the
high scorer, averaging 15.7 points per
game. The diminutive guard from
Eastern Michigan was named the basket-
ball player of the year by the organiza-
tion. The award qualifies him for the U.S.
Olympic Committee's sportsman of the
Crisler Arena, the Dec. 8 trip to Peoria,
Ill., will be a change for the Wolverines.
- Mark Snyder
year award, and he still has a year of col-
lege eligibility left. Eastern Michigan,
shut out of the NCAA tournament and
the NIT last year, will travel to Ann Arbor
to face Michigan on Dec. 10.
Spearheaded by the fiery point guard,
the Eagles' late-season charge ended in
the MAC championship game last sea-
son against Miami (Ohio). They missed
the MAC's automatic NCAA tournament
bid and were snubbed by the NIT.
In only his second season since replac-
ing Ben Braun, Milton Barnes will lean*
heavily on returning starters Boykins and
Derrick Dial to shoulder the scoring load.
Dial's 17.7 points per game last season
were second on the team. His swingman
capabilities give Barnes another versatile
threat on offense.
- Mark Snyder
By Dan Stills
man
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Mocs to
"
miss star
Big results lead to big expectations
- something Tennessee-Chattanooga
is learning very quickly.
In a preseason media poll, the Mocs
were picked to finish first in the
Southern Conference. The newfound
respect comes from a third-round
appearance in the NCAA tournament
and a place in America's heart as the
1997 tournament's Cinderella team.
While they lost three front-line
players - most notably Southern
Conference player of the year Johnny
Taylor - the Mocs need to fill the
void.
Tennessee-Chattanooga coach
Henry Dickerson plans to place junior
college transfer Francisco Colon in
Taylor's position.
Colon should fit right in. He knows
all about success, having played for a
junior college national champion last
season.
- Mark Snyder
ere he was. An intimidating fig-
*ure of monstrous proportions. Six
feet, and eight inches, totaling 300
pounds of human flesh, standing tall
and strong. Nothing could hurt him.
And yet there he was, escaping the
room, in tears. At the podium was his
coach - his former coach, that is.
Two days before, after months of
controversy and allegations, Steve
Fisher was fired as Michigan basket-
ball coach, a job he held for more than
seven years.
His players, lined up in support,
stood to the side of the podium as
Fisher told the world his side of the
story. There, right in the middle, was
Robert Traylor.
But Traylor almost wasn't there.
Five months earlier, it was Fisher who
convinced him to return to Michigan
for his junior year, when he had all but
decided to go to the NBA.
Traylor, motionless like the rest of
the players, stood stone-faced -
S watching the podium as Fisher directed
his eyes and words at him.
"You were going to go pro," Fisher
said. "But I talked you out of it for
your best interest. You believed in
Steve Fisher, and now you have to
prove that I was right."
It was all too much for Traylor, who
could not hold back his tears. Daylight
shined into the room, briefly, as
Traylor headed out the door into the
parking lot, the door slamming shut
behind him.
But a couple of minutes later, a
composed Traylor returned, reclaimed
his place in line and listened on.
Traylor matured that day.
But not nearly as much as he has
since coming to Michigan two years
ago. Numerous learning experiences
have changed Traylor on and off the
court.
One thing, however, has remained
constant. He's always been emotional.
"Robert's an emotional guy, and it's
important he remain that way," Fisher
said. "But not without control. He's no
longer as easily frustrated now with
officials' calls or no-calls."
That on-court adjustment represents
a larger change in Traylor's overall atti-
tude.
"I was young, so I was kind of wild
and free," Traylor said. "Whereas now,
I'm a lot more mature and I know that
I have to take care of myself and be a
leader for my teammates."
The way Traylor leads has also
changed. A high school star out of
Detroit Murray-Wright and a former
Michigan Mr. Basketball and
McDonald's All-American, Traylor's
superior basketball skills have always
earned him the admiration and respect
of teammates. What makes Traylor
better than other big men in the game
is that he can move - and quickly.
Few things are more frightening for a
defense than a 300-pound mass rum-
bling down the court with the ball.
Traylor also has tremendous foot-
work, for a man his size, that allows
him to break free under the basket for
his patented slam dunks. While his raw
talent has always allowed him to lead
by example, Traylor has more recently
grown into more of a vocal leader.
"He had a presence when he came
in, he led by example," Michigan
assistant coach Brian Dutcher said.
"Hopefully, he'll continue to lead more
vocally."
And lead he does - with passion.
Although he shares the captain's role
for the second consecutive season,
Traylor is the Wolverines' undisputed
leader.
"Every time he comes out on the
court you can't help but get excited,
because he has so much emotion and
is so involved in the game," said fellow
captain Travis Conlan. "Rob's a real
vocal leader. You need that on a team."
And after this past offseason, the
Wolverines need a leader more than
ever.
Actually, it all started near dawn one
morning two Februarys ago. That's
when a car containing Traylor, four
teammates and a recruit rolled over. At
the time of the accident, the group was
returning to Ann Arbor from Detroit.
The short term effect for Traylor
was a broken arm that ended his sea-
son. The long term effects were
unimaginable at the time.
The trip itself violated NCAA rules
because the players had taken a recruit
beyond the allowed 30 miles from
campus. Later, it was revealed that the
players had also stopped by the house
of Detroit booster Ed Martin. That
sparked investigation upon investiga-
tion and numerous allegations against
the Michigan basketball program, and
against Traylor himself.
For Traylor, everything came to a
head six weeks after Michigan won the
NIT championship last March.
Surrounded by
allegations of
wrongdoing,
Traylor thought it
might be best to
leave Michigan.
A~During the span
of a week, Traylor
f met several times
with Fisher, who
>' repeatedly tried to
persuade him to
stay in school.
Nevertheless,
on April 30,
Traylor decided to
forego his final
two years of eligi-
bility and leave
school early. He
even scheduled a
press conference
to make the
announcement.
Two days later,
Traylor changed
FILE PHOTO his mind. It had
been a short, but
intense growing experience.
"It was the fact that (Fisher) was
going to be here, and knowing that we
hadn't done anything wrong, and the
players on this team," that convinced
him, Traylor said.
But even though a University-hired
law firm could only prove Michigan
had committed minor violations,
Fisher was fired two days after the law
firm's report was released on Oct. 9.
And Traylor was devastated.
In what might have been a taste of
the truth, or just another emotional
fluctuation, Traylor said he would have
never come back had he known Fisher
would not be the coach.
"I never imagined that (Fisher)
wouldn't be here this year. I still look
around sometimes and say, 'What's
going on? Where's coach Fisher?' You
get used to being around a person and
then all of the sudden, he's just gone."
With time, Traylor has become more
accepting of the situation.
Overall, Traylor is more understand-
ing of a lot of things since coming to
Michigan, even one of his biggest
nemesises of late - the media.
The media may have influenced
Traylor's temporary decision to leave
Michigan. Besides the allegations
against Traylor, articles were written in
which his grandmother and aunt were
accused of accepting improper gifts.
"I can understand them writing stuff
about me;" Traylor said. "I'm a player
here. But when they start writing stuff
about my family and my friends, I did-
n't think that was correct. Those peo-
ple have nothing to do with Michigan
basketball.
"That kind of drove me to my deci-
sion to leave. But at the same time, I'm
a young adult and I have to stick
around and tough things out"
The ways of the media are nothing
new to Traylor. Back when Traylor
announced he was coming to
Michigan, he was asked whether he
would like to play in the NBA in two
years. Traylor said he would like to
improve enough in that time so the
NBA would be a possibility. To his
shock, the newspapers proceeded to
report that Traylor was planning to turn
professional after his sophomore year.
What has changed is how Traylor
perceives the media.
"Coming out of high school, I
thought the media was the greatest
thing ever," Traylor said. "In Detroit, I
was great, so I always had a great per-
ception of the media. Now, I know it's
a business. It's not personal that they
like you or dislike you. They're doing
they're job."
Traylor's view of the other harsh
critics - the fans - has also changed.
"When I used to come just to watch
games, I would think it was so great,"
Traylor said. "Now, the fans are iffy. If
you're winning they're in here and as
loud as can be. But when things aren't
going as well, they're kind of down,
which is kind of just like the players
are. If you're winning you're all smiles
and happy, but if you're losing you're
down. I think the
fans are more like
players, but off W
the court."
The Crisler
fans went
berserk
when, in a
game
against Ball
State last
season,
Traylor
threw all his might
behind a slam dunk ano
shattered the backboard int.
hundreds of pieces.
Despite making highlight
reels nationwide, Traylor
says his most memorable
moment in a Michigan
uniform is not what most
people might think.
"A lot of people
think it's breaking the
backboard," Traylor
said. "But I think it's
beating Duke at
Duke (last season).
It was great for
myself, my team-
mates, our coachinE
staff and just every-
body dealing with
Michigan basket-
ball. It was just a
great moment."
That type of
thinking repre-
sents another
trait in
Traylor
that
has Fi
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