12 -- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 17, 1999 Mail drop n two basketb By Chris Duprey aily Sports Editor Michigan basketball coach Brian Ellerbe prob- ably went through yesterday's mail like this: junk, advertisements, more junk, letters of intent ... wait right there! Official US mail might have been responsible for delivering the letters, but it was Ellerbe and his aggressive staff who delivered Avery Queen and Bernard Robinson. They became Michigan's two newest recruits yesterday after the basketball office received complete signed letters of intent from both. Some feel that Michigan's recruiting effort this fall was subpar since the Wolverines failed to land one of the marquee big men they were pursuing. But with Queen and Robinson, Michigan has become a deep squad for next season at both guard positions and wing forward. "I'm not sure any program in the country has a setter roster at those three spots," said Clark Francis, recruiting analyst and publisher of The Hoop Scoop. Ellerbe was equally pleased. Queen and Robinson "without question, fit into the overall plan toward developing a champi- anship caliber basketball program," Ellerbe said in a released statement. The Wolverines are hoping that good things :ome in small packages. Queen is listed between 5-foot-4 and 5-foot-8, but Francis estimates that 5-5, 5-6 is fair" - but don't call him the next - 8{ a<'4R iS.,. ar 5", , Sa S "I'D LOVI H OWY U IN THE- I'M GI TO I TO CHEI /E-- c(gA I'44 ets Ellerbe )all recruits Muggsy Bogues just yet. "Bogues was a lot stronger, and that's one of the things that's going to hurt Avery," Francis said of the former NBA guard, who stood at 5-foot-2. "He beats you with quickness, transition, and out- side shooting." Queen will be Michigan's fourth quality guard that can make decisions on the run and distribute the ball down low. Queen's 11.5 points and 6.5 assists as a junior last season at Maine Central Institute show that ability. Michigan focused hard on Queen this summer. The Wolverines were in a tough position, trying to find a skilled player, but one who would be will- ing to fight for playing time with the three fresh- man guards they have already. Robinson gives Michigan another reliable option on the wings. Standing 6-foot-6 but weigh- ing just 185 pounds, the wiry Robinson will learn the trade from Brandon Smith, an established small forward, and freshman LaVell Blanchard. A native of Washington, D.C., Robinson is well known inside the Beltway for his prowess in the summer leagues, where he attracted most of his attention. "I probably saw him play 30-to-40 times over the summer," Francis said. "He's a phenomenal athlete. He now is a very effective 3-point shoot- er." The fall signing period ends today, meaning Ellerbe won't likely receive anything more than junk mail until spring. ____________ 7- i I,, ; Hockey notches pair of defensemen Free&E~ay. S _ (2 worda yo uwonIt hear Cmilng ut of her mouth.) D'A A I.\ANE, Daiy Already Red Berenson and the Michigan hockey team have signed Mike Komisarek and Andy Burnes for the 2000-2001 season. The signing period ends today. - .BERKA Continued from Page 11 mind when talking about those teams. No game consisting of teams that would have a hard time beating the Michigan Daily IM flag football squad is the best rivahy. So after I left the library, I went to a coffee shop and heard some talk about the Stanford-California game. I can see how this would be a big game, as both schools enjoy coffee but have radically different viewpoints on world politics. Both the Cardinal and the Golden Bears have similar prowess on the football field. But both teams stink. Which just leaves one other rivalry to consider. This rivalry is between two bor- dering states and has tradition steeped in elegance and entertainment. For those who play in it, it is one of the most influ- ential games that they will play in in their football lives. The perenial battle of titans that I'm talking about is none other than TM By Chris Grandstaff lady Sports writer The Michigan Hockey team entered this year's recruiting race with one thing in mind - sign defensemen, defense- men and more defensemen. And they've done just that. Yesterday the Wolverines signed high- ly touted defenseman Mike Komisarek. Komisarek, from Battle Creek, scored four goals and recorded five points in fif- teen games for Team USA's under 18 team. Komisarek would be the Wolverines' second recruit in as many years from Team USA. Michigan standout freshman Andy Hilbert was a member of the red, white and blue last season - if his play is any indication of the talent level on Team USA, the Wolverines should be in good shape with Komisarek next season. "I'm pleased that he's coming," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "I hate to characterize a player before I've seen him play, but I've heard people say that he's a clone of Jeff Jillson. "He's a physical right-handed defense- men with a huge upside. He has a lot of talent, a lot of size and will bring the right kind of attitude to this team." Jillson, Michigan's sophomore the Minnesota-Iowa game. Yes, I realize that this game never means anything on a national scale. I also realize that at least one, if not both, of these teams have a horrible record coming into this game. But this rivalry is tight as hell. Why? Because you play for a pig, which supersedes the poor-quality of the two teams. The Floyd of Rosedale trophy, which is awarded to the winner of this grudge match, is a bronze likeness of a pig. In 1935, the governors of Minnesota and Iowa bet on the game, with the prize being a pig named Floyd. Minnesota won, but Floyd died that year. So the uni- versities designed the pig-shaped trophy and have fought for it ever since. Ok, it's a dumb story. But the fact that two universities would get all worked up over a pig is pretty darn cool. - Ti Berka gets worked up over pork chops and foods of the like. He can be reached via e-mail at berkat@umich.edu. defenseman, was the first collegiate play- er selected in last summer's NHL draft. The Wolverines have now received two official letters of intent - both fro defensemen. Michigan also signed Andy Burnes of the Compuware Ambassadors. Burnes. a 6-foot-0, 184-pound defenseman, will join last years Compuware signees J.J. Swistak, John Shouneyia and Mark Mink. Michigan has until midnight tonight to add any more players before the fall sign- ing period ends. The Wolverines have one more oral commitment, but they cannot comment on him until receiving his letter of intent. "We've had a good early signing peri- od," Berenson said. "We weren't looking to sign a lot of players because we have a small senior class, but we did want to get some defensemen and we've done that:" The Wolverines, who usually keep nine blueliners on their roster, saw that number drop to six after the unexpected} departure of wouldbe co-captain Mike Van Ryn to the pros and the transfer of2 other players. Despite the fine play of the Michigan defense so far this season, two more defensemen will provide the added depth the Wolverines will need at the position, next year. SPARTANS Continued from Page 11 One Michigan State student whp wanted anonymity said that members of the Izzone have bought many tick- ets already. "The Izzone can easily buy a bunch of tickets," the student said. "All they have to do is have a ton of people buy them in sets of four. 'I think they've already bought several tickets." Brooks plans to try to send a cam- pus-wide e-mail to inform students of the change and to build excitement for the game. "We feel it's a tremendous benefit, for the whole campus," Brooks said. "We're trying to talk with ITD now. As we try to improve our atmosphere, we want to push a pro-Michigan advantage. That's our job." 6C-OILEGIAI ASS/f/ED www.CollegianClassifieds.com Your classified ad on the web. Totally free. ree Ess to yoU"Cd 311 delivery 11ilyne1 E TO FIND OUT LIK YUREGGS MORNING, BUT DING BACK MY ROOM CK MY EMAIL: ' x::?:: 4,. Do you use Hotmail, Yahoo!, Eudora, Outlook, or Netscape Messenger to read your email? Now, you can get email, stock quotes, reminders and more delivered right to your phone, handheld device, alpha-numeric pager, or one central email account. It's Free*! Sign up now at http://mailmycell.com *At this time, you need to have Internet access and associated telecommunications charges may apply. Hotmall, Outlook, Yahool, Eudora, Netscape Messenger are trademarks of Microsoft, Yahool, Qualcomm, and Netscape, respectively. lcom 16 This is a sample message, forwarded from Yahool To a coll phone. } ri ". " . : 5± I