The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 20, 1997 - 9A Ward shines; backcourt struggles again 10i19 Bullock and * kkcourt mate Robbie Reid Itruggled last flight, committing 10 turnovers and ;dishing out Just six assists. ., SARA STILLMAN/Daily By Jim Rose Daily Sports Editor Jerod Ward wasn't superhuman last night. He wasn't a hero. But he was active. And for Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe, that's a step in the right direction. "Jerod Ward was very active early in the game" Ellerbe said. "I was happy with the way he worked out on the floor. His activity on the boards really helped us get off to a good start." With Ward banging the glass early, the Wolverines were able to exploit Cleveland State's halfcourt zone-defense en route to a 14-point halftime lead. Michigan outrebounded the Vikings, 24- 18, in the first half and went on to win the game, 77-59. Ward scored 14 points and grabbed nine boards. His rebound total was second-best in the game, behind only teammate Robert Traylor's 15. And here's an even more impressive statistic: Ward had four steals last night. Now, if it were Travis Conlan with a four- steal game, it wouldn't merit comment - but Ward had only 17 total steals last season. "That's me. If you want to call it the new me- OK," Ward said. "That's me. That's something you can expect to see through the season, and it's only going to get better." After the game, the ultra-reserved Ward was still reserved, but he did admit that Michigan's season-opening loss to Western Michigan was "quite embarrass- ing" for the team. He also admitted he was not mentally prepared for the opener, and said the Wolverines wanted to "make a statement" in last night's contest. "We challenged Jerod a little bit," Ellerbe said. "He's a senior. He's gotten a lot of support from people in the pro- gram, and we're giving him some oppor- tunities in terms of minutes and options within the offense. And he's starting to take advantage of them." ON THE OTHER HAND: Although Ward's teammates were pleased with his effort last night, there was one player who probably didn't benefit from Ward's strong performance: Brandon Smith. He. electrified the crowd with a couple of nifty second-half moves to the hoop and played a strong game overall, scoring nine points in just 15 minutes of action. Ellerbe said with Ward playing the way he was, it was difficult to find extra minutes for Smith. "Brandon improves a little bit each game," Ellerbe said. "He's a guy that should really be out on the floor for more than 15 minutes, but it was hard tonight with Jerod playing so well." The tattooed freshman, who thrives on the fast break, is already becoming a bit of a fan favorite. "Sometimes it looks like he doesn't play hard because he's so smooth out there," Ellerbe said. BACKCOURT BACKUP: Robbie Reid and Louis Bullock struggled for the sec ond-straight game, amassing .10 turnovers together and just six assists. Bullock, who made just one of his nine shots in the loss to Western, was 5 for 15 last night. And after entering the season. having made at least one 3-pointer in 44- straight games, Bullock is 0-for-i4- behind the arc this season. r Compaq Presario 1090ES Notebook CLEVELAND STATE 59 MIN M-A MAO-T A F PTS fferson 27 3.9 0.0 4.7 1 3.6 8awens 27 4-14 1-2 3.8 0 5 11 Bowie 22 2-8 0-0 3.7 0 5 4 McKey 24 2-7 2-2 1-4 6 0 6 Maison 32 9-20 2-2 2-2 0 3 26 Jackson 16 1-3 0-0 0-1 0 5 2 Hocevar 6 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Brooks 18 1-4 1-2 0-2 1 1 4 Siqutaris 10 0.4 0.0 1-3 0 0 0 Brewster 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 D11k(4 17 0-6 0.1 01 1 1 0 if 200 22-75 6-9 18.42 9 23 59 :.293. FT%: :.667. 3-point FG: 9-25.360 odison 6-13, Bowens 2-4, Brooks 1-3, aris 0.4, McKey 0.1) Blocks: 3 (Bowens 3). 58: 7 (McKey 3, Bowens, Jackson, Skoutaris, Dixon). Technical Fouls: none. MICHIGAN (77) FGFT REB MIN MA M-A OT A F PTS BAiton 24 5-7 7-11 1-5 1 4 17 Ward 28 6-11 2-5 1-9 1 3 14 Traylor 32 5-9 3-4 5-15 1 3 13 Reid 38 2-8 4-4 1-7 1 1 10 Bullock 36 5-15 2-2 0.3 5 3 12 Oliver 5 0.0 0.0 01. 1 1 0 Asselin 6 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 0 2 Smith 15 3.3 2-3 1-2 1 1 9 Vi nier 16 0.0 0-0 0-1 2 0 0 ais 200 27-55 20-2910-4613 16 77 .491. FT%: .690. 3-point FG: 3.15, .200 iid2-6, Smith 1-1, Bullock 0-6, Ward 0.2). Bocks: 5 (Traylor 4, Vignier 1). Steals: 10 (Reid 4, Ward 4, Bullock, Smith). Technical Fouls: none. . Cleveland St........21 38 - 59 Michigan..,,..35 42 - 77 At: Crisler Arena GRIESE Continued from Page 5A Re Bowl. Fast forward to 1996. Griese lost his Wrting spot to Scott Dreisbach. But in the final game of the season against the ldckeyes, Griese came in at halftime and carried the Wolverines to a 13-9 vic- tory, again spoiling the Buckeyes' unde- fat&id season. 'So what's the secret against the Buckeyes? '"tSecret? I don't know. The secret has been good weather," Griese joked. Bit all kidding aside, Griese has trav- an interesting road to get where he is now. And the only secret to Griese's success this season is hard work, dedica- tion and a commitment to fundamentals. :And it has all paid off. Griese is cur- rehtriy ranked 19th in the country in pass- ing efficiency, just two spots behind Tennessee's Peyton Manning, the front- rutier for the Heisman Trophy. e Griese's ascent is even more remark abie considering he never possessed a arm. He has racked up 1,895 passing g'ards for the season with short, method- iiei'passes, helped by a few key blocks. """Brian Griese is doing a great job run- fII - that football team," Ohio State &4ch John Cooper said. It's strangely appropriate that Griese will cap off his collegiate career against ofhib State. A victory will give Michigan a 6se Bowl berth. "I had always dreamed of (the Rose l), but Inever thought it would come To that,' Griese said. "I haven't had a 0lem relaxing. You only get to live ohe and go through this (type of) expe- GERMAINE &ttlnued from Page 5A aid doesn't make predictions for the sea- sbih:But he does share the team goals to win the Big Ten, take another trip to the ose Bowl, and the ultimate dream - to wpa national title. Alot of things have to happen:' he saad. "We just have to do it" Ie said he wants to take another trip to th( Rose Bowl "really bad." *It's hard to put into words. I've al ays dreamed of going to the Rose Bl." lV 4- '4 make next year easier? With the Compaq" Presario 1090ES, you can download photos off - the Web, grab facts from the CD encyclopedia, drop them -' rN iQ ' into your report and e-mail it to your professor. And at only 7.3 pounds, you can do it at school, at home, even at the pizza shop. But while Compaq sells more computers than any other company on earth, this offer is not long for the world. It's good only until December 31, 1997 or while supplies last TO ORDER YOUR OWN CALL 1-888215-8872 M-F 7-7(CST); Sat 9-3 (CST) For more information, visit your campus computer store. $o- o O O O2 '" -I _a4 a:4 if, 0 'moo r, r 2 e2 4 COM PAQ