- - - - - -~ - -- 6B - The Michigan Daily - TIPOFF 2000 - Thursday, November 9, 2000 w w Vital season looms for Michigan basketball FORECASTThe Michigan Daily predicts Maryandtobreak out and capture the 2001 national title in Minneapolis. The Michigan Daily - TIPOFF 2000 The F Daily. basketball writer Rap and only dubious awards wgrins slightly to keep from smil- Hing while measuring his steps for- ward and back. He's careful and confident and moves with ease to where the bounce pass meets his hands before the ball meets the net in a snap of cord. Brian Ellerbe is just days from opening his fourth season as Michigan's general. Expectations couldn't be higher, the pres- sure has yet to be greater, but that's not important. Ellerbe is on a roll. He's made at least a half dozen from behind the arc and he's taking small steps back with each one. It's a mid-afternoon practice and the place echoes with the squeak and bounce of anticipation that comes in an autumn mix of shoes and layup drills. The mood is light and Ellerbe can't miss. Maybe the start of the season represents something new for a program desperately trying to move on - again. Maybe the fear of predicted mediocrity has given this team something to prove. Or maybe some- thing that faded in GEOFF the clamor and con- GAGNON troversy of press A conferences and G-Thang police reports has been replaced by the dawn of a new season. But this season finds Michigan in a unique spot, straddling the fence between the promise of the future and the struggles of the past. And after a series of sub-par seasons that have moved the Wolverines away from the national spotlight, this year must be the one in which Michigan proves it's more than a perpetual rebuilder. This must be the year in which Michigan shows it's a legitimate program on the rise. The line between good and good- enough is a thin one and it's one that Michigan has skirted since its days among the country's elite programs just under a decade ago. From the high of Final Four berths and national acclaim to the lows of off-court slip-ups and on-court letdowns, the' last 10 years have been a mysterious mix of emotion that has now left critics questioning and fans waiting. Hasty postseason exits have come to represent a squad high on hope but run- ning near empty on accomplishment. Yet for all the frustration and speculation, for all the condemnation and hesitation to restore Michigan to its rightful place among college basketball's elite, hope has not been lost. Credit the fans who filled the Maize Rage section a year ago when a group of upstart Wolverines re-ignited Crisler with a 6-0 start and brought enthusiasm back to the program. Credit those who stood by the squad when a 12-2 start evaporated into an eight-game skid, when questions of scandal and violations prompted sus- pensions. And be sure to credit those who've supported the embattled program through a tumultuous off-season that's seen transfers, arrests and questions of character. For every cow-bell toting, face-painting Maize-Rager who cashed in last year's headband for this year's fresh start, hope springs eternal. Perhaps what's made the last several years so difficult is not that a return to glory is a fleeting delusion, but that it seemed so attainable. Last year's freshman class - a recruiting catch rated among the nations' best was reduced from five to two, and swing-man Brandon Smith trans- ferred. Ellerbe calls it addition by way of subtraction. But the truth is that Michigan needs to cultivate its young talent in order to produce the experience needed to build a program that must start this season. The Final Four Maryland Ever heard of Matt Hahn? player missing fh last year s ~nu.Three Ai :xreri candidates mrake stoping this team a daur- inq task Duke A young Duke team fell short in last year's tournament, but as talent gains experience, Krzyzewksi cou d guide his squad to their ninth Final Four under his tute- lage. Seton H8lI- Eddie Grfffin, Darius Lane and Samuel Dalembert make this team, which made last ea' Sweet Onderella fashior apable of rnaking a deep run i March, like Florida did last year. Arizona All five starters, especially 7-2 center Loren Woods, should be first round picks in the NBA draft. Not even Lute Olson could lose in the NCAA first round with this All Star lineup. Odds and ends Freshman of the year Eddie Griffin (Seton Hall) Player of the Year Shane Battier (Duke) Coach of the year Henry Bibby (Southern Cal Surprise team Dayton Tournament Cinderella College of Charleston Most overrated Michigan State Brian Cardinal award (Most punchable Big Ten player) Lucas Johnson (Mllinois) Makhtar Ndiaye award (Most transfers in NCAA career) Luke Recker (Iowa) Dan Earl award (Player who must be on their eghth year of eligibilit y Joe Crispin (Penn State) i- [i F I Family owned since 1915 Ann Arbor's oldest recycling business tkAt iUS WE BUY ALN-FERROU METALS WE HAVE SCRAP METAL FOR YOUR ART PROJECTS Big Ten 1. Illnois - No one can compete with their backcourt 2. Michigan State - Everyone will miss Cleavess huge mouth 3 Iowa - A healthy Recker makes them title competitive 4 Indiana - Will miss Guyton more than they miss Knight 5 Wisconsin Bennett ball less likely to sneak up this year 6. Michigan --- See this publication for brilliant, expan'ded coverage 7 Penn State - So content to go to the NIT 8 Ohio State - No Redd, no Penn, no tournament hopes Live ft f Is 9Nov It'st 6: e * FRI FeT Hay * Le, Bri * FR' A7 day, 6-ia P.m. 41 Street Toledo, OH 43620 Ma Open every Fr 2445 Monroe5 r - Monday-Friday 7:30am - 4pm Saturday 7:30am - 11am 915 Maiden Lane Ann Arbor MI 48105 734662 0317 Fax: 734.662 7975 9. Purdue Keadys team appears unusually talentless Friedman's Scrap Metals 10. Northwestern - Carmody may run spread offense 11. 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