The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - January 29, 2001- 3B
Compliments scarce
as M' underachieves
DAVID
DEN HERDER
By David Roth
Daily Sports Writer
Being Sue Guevara.
Dealing with the complications of
' veling through a mysterious tunnel
eren't necessary to figure out what was
going on inside the head of Michigan's
women's basketball coach.
Co-captain
and starting NORTHWESTERN 59
guard Anne -
Thorius had MICHIGAN 74
gone down
with a sprained ankle. Post players
Jennifer Smith and LeeAnn Bies had
somehow stayed alive with four fouls.
nd Michigan (6-4 Big Ten, 13-7 over-
) had survived the embarrassment of
losing to basement broomers
Northwestern fO-9, 4-14), who were
looking for any sort of positive to take
back to Evanston.
"Thank God it's over," Guevara said.
Michigan's 74-59 victory, a lack-
adaisical effort compared to its 42-point
romp of the Wildcats ten days ago, did-
n't exactly register as a step forward.
"We came out with a lack of intensi-
," Raina Goodlow said. "When we did
try to pick it up, it was in spurts. We did-
n't put a whole game together today. I
felt there was a lot of frustration out
there."
After the game ended, the Wolverines
huddled up at center court to confer. The
meeting was not self-congratulatory.
"It was mostly negative because we
didn't play the game that we should
have," Goodlow said.
9Michigan hoped to blow out
Worthwestern, which has lost its last five
games by an average of 39 points. But
YESTERbAY'S GAME
Northwestern (59)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A O-T A F PTS
Sears 36 3-10 4-7 1-7 2 4 10
Win 25 2-9 0-0 0.1 2 3 4
14 1-2 0-0 0-4 C 5 2
tier 37 6-14 4-8 0-0 5 3 19
Messenger 16 2-2 0-0 1-1 a 1 4
Fisher 1 0-0 0-00-0 0 0 0
Leonard 21 5-8 1-2 2-2 1 1 14
Koester 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Zylstra 26 0-3 0-4) 14 0 5 0
Russell 22 3-5 0-0 5-8 0 2 6
Totals 200 22-53 9-7 15-34 11 24 59
FG%: .415. FT%: 529.3-point FG: 6-16..375 (Butler 35,
Leonard 3-6, Will 0-4. Zystra 0-1). Blocks: 0 Steals: 5 (Sears 3,
Will, Russell). Turnovers: 22 (Butler 7 Sears 5. Messenger 4,
Leonard 2. Will, Dolland, Zyistra, Russell). Technical Fouls: none.
the Wildcats matched the Wolverines in
shooting percentage in the first half and
tightened the game to a 50-47 contest
with less than eight minutes to play.
"We made a statement to ourselves,"
Northwestern coach June Olkowski said.
"No, it's not a good feeling to lose, but
my kids showed character today by com-
ing out and giving effort that we can
give. Giving this performance on the
road is one step closer to where we've
got to be."
Emily Butler kept Northwestern close
by making opportune 3-pointers. Butler
shot 60 percent from behind the are and
led all scorers with 19 points.
Northwestern's players and coaches
came out showing that they had learned
from their mistakes in the previous
game.
Northwestern "had us scouted down
to a tee," Guevara said.
The Wildcats came after Smith and
Bies, and each found herself in early foul
trouble. Bad became worse when
Thorius headed to the training room with
a bum ankle.
With the trio as onlookers, Goodlow
and Alayne Ingram stepped up and fin-
ished with team-highs of 15 points.
"I had to be more of a leader out
there," Goodlow said. "You lose a lot of
leadership with (Thorius) hurt and Bies
on the bench."
Ingram knocked down a key 3-pointer
with 7:08 to put Michigan up by eight
and defuse the chance of a Northwestern
comeback.
"I knew I had to step up," Ingram said.
"People look to me for leadership. I had
to run the offense and get stuff done."
Along with Ingram and Goodlow,
Whose expectations,
anyway?
BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily
Heather Oesterle attempts a layup over two Northwestern defenders. Michigan found the
Wildcats to be a lot peskier this time than in its first game with Northwestern.
Heather Oesterle scrapped together a
well-rounded performance with 13
points, nine rebounds and six assists.
"She's a garbage player" Guevara
said. "She does all those little things that
people don't really notice until you get
the stat sheet afterward"
Oesterle was a main contributor to
Michigan's free-throw shooting,
attempting 12 foul shots. The Wolverines
had twice as many opportunities from
the line as the Wildcats and hit 27-of-35
from the stripe, compared to
Northwestern hitting just 9-of- 17.
"We didn't get to the line enough,"
Olkowski said. "Are we not strong
enough, do we not draw the attention ?
I'm not quite sure."
once knew a Michigan coach that
was fond of reminding media-
types exactly what they were deal-
ing with.
"You have to remember," he would
say, "these are kids."
That would have made me, sitting
there with my recorder, also a kid. I.
thought that was fair enough.
It was intended as some kind of dis-
claimer - "don't expect too much,"
or something to that effect.
That's a stigma that I'd more or less
tacitly agreed to most of my life.
Around the time I enrolled at this uni-
versity, it went without saying that
expectations of my peers and me were
implicitly lower.
Sure, we could "play a
great game" or "put on a Why ar
great show" - consider- entrus
ing. Considering we were uphi
just kids, students, whatev- Michlga
er. dards ,
In a way, it was comfort- dar
ing. It gave you a little comi
wiggle room, lowered the teXpec1
standards a bit, and didn't
subtract any points.
It was a perk of youth that I figured
extended at least through college -
after all, I'd been hearing about the
joys of "being a college kid" for years.
But as I became a part of the
University, I began to notice subtle
changes in the way my peers behaved.
The wiggle room that everybody
knew existed was still available, but
people were inadvertently pushing it
aside.
The first example seemed unique.
The men that constructed a perfect
football season the autumn of my
freshman year were, I figured, a notch
above the rest of us. But the spirit that
promoted such excellence, I found,
seemed to permeate the entire cam-
pus.
It was an attitude, if nothing else. I
watched as it turned up in every
aspect of Michigan life - from ath-
letic performance to musical perfor-
mance to dramatic performance to
academic performance. And allowing
yourself to consistently be impressed
- even amazed - by your friends
eventually leads you to raise your own
expectations.
This past weekend, as I sat on the
floor of a sound-stage-turned-theatre
watching the student-produced play
"Philadelphia, Here I Come," I real-
ized that the disclaimer I had adhered
to for so many years had dissolved
te
pol
an
completely. The students had given a
masterful performance. Period. There
was no need to apply a special stan-
dard, no need to lower expectations.
Maybe that journey - from dis- .
claimers to expectations of excellence
- maybe that's college.
From everything I'd been taught, it
is certainly Michigan.
Which is why a statement coming
from the Athletic Department last
week is a little disheartening.
In a story examining Michigan s"^
basketball attendance epidemic, the
Detroit Free Press quoted Michigan
ticket manager Marty Bodnar as say-
ing that Michigan doesn't measure its
attendance against North Carolina or
Kentucky, and that a fair-
people er measure would be
ed with schools like Florida State
ding and Nebraska.
s Stan- 'The thing is, if you
uddenly look at it as far as other
schools across the coun-
m"iSng try that are football pow-
3tiOnS? erhouses, they don't nec-
essarily have strong bas-
ketball programs,' Bodnar told the
Free Press.
"If you'compare us to those other
schools we do pretty well in support
for basketball."
Sentiment like that caught me com-
pletely off guard - especially
because it came from the front office.
Why are people entrusted with
upholding Michigan's standards sud-
denly compromising expectations?
Since Michigan is a football power-
house, Bodnar's reasoning goes, it
can't be expected to have solid basket-
ball attendance. Oh well, nothing we
can do here.
Hey, for a football powerhouse,,
we're doing pretty good. For a football
powerhouse.
Four years ago, when I had no rea-
son to reject disclaimers, I might have
accepted that logic.
This past weekend I realized that
what my peers have been doing the
past four years is simply impressive.
Not impressive for a bunch of stu-
dents or impressive for a bunch of
kids - just plain impressive. This
university creates and perpetuates
such excellence.
To hear that officials would lower
any expectation for this university is-'
unsettling.
David Den Herder can be reached at
dden@umich.edu.
Shock's star conducts Criler clinic
By Benjamin Singer
Daily Sports Writer
MICHIGAN (74)
FG
Oesterie 37 311 -
low 3C 33-3
Thorius 15 1-3 c- 01 2 2
Ingram 33 5-
Jara 1 0-0 0- 00 0 0
Leary 6 0-1 0- 1 C 0
Schumacher 5 0-0
Robinson - 3 0-C0 - 00 0 0
*andy 24 2-2
Dykbouse 1 0-0
Smih 22 3-5
Totals 200 23-49 2-3 03 21 7
FT
712
4
20s
REB
4-9
i-5
0.1
0-0
36
A
6
0
2
3
5
0
1
i
0
0
0
18
F
2
3
4
2
3
0
C
0
0
2
1
4
21
PTS
13
15
10
2
15
0
0
0
0
6
0
12
74
The WNBA's Detroit Shock sent
director of community relations Eve
Claar and all-star power forward Wendy
Palmer to teach the fundamentals of bas-
ketball in a clinic at Crisler Arena before
yesterday's game between Michigan and
Northwestern.
"In order for them to be great players,
they have to work at the basics first and
get that down;' Claar said.
Palmer stood in front of attentive chil-
dren and shared some of her basketball
philosophies.
"My motto is offense does not win
games, defense does," she told them.
She showed defensive stances and had
the children emulate her. For most of the
clinic, it was Claar, a high school coach
at Birmingham Groves in the Auburn
Hills area, who gave the instructions
while Palmer walked around the court,
almost acting as an assistant.
"Eve is really the clinic specialist,"
Palmer said. "I'm just here to help in any
way and interact with them on a more
personal basis."
With smiles and a playful nature,
Palmer exhibited a sincerity in her work
for the community, as well as her skill.
"Once we get out there with the kids,
that's what it's all about," she said. "I
enjoyed giving back to the game. I don't
want to give back when my shoes are
hung up and the ball stops bouncing ---I
want to give back while they can still see
me put everything to use that I tell
them."
This is the third year in which the
Shock has set up clinics at different local
universities to share its basketball
knowledge. Claar and Palmer held a
clinic just last Thursday at Michigan
State. before the Spartans hosted the
Michigan women's basketball team.
Some Wolverines took a peck at the
yesterday's event before the game.
"I think it's awesome that they take the
Palmer's career stats
Games 119
Starts 93
APG 1.3
STL 94
BLK 33:
PPG 13.2
FT% .667
time to come down here to Ann,
and work out with these little1
Arbor
girls,"
FG%: .469. FT%: .771. 3-point FG: 1-7, .143 (Ingram). Blocks: 3
(Goodlow 2. Oesterte) Steals: 11 (Gesterle 3. Ingram 3, Bies,
Thorius. Leary, Gandy, Smith). Turnovers: 15 (Goodlow 5,
terle 3, Gandy 2, Ingram, Leary. Robinson). Technical Fouls:
Northwestern ....27 32 - 59
Michigan ........34 40 - 74
At: Cnsler Arena
Attendance: 2,421
BIG TEN STANDINGS
guard Alayne Ingram said.
Mary Rogers from the Detroit Shock's
front office reported that last year's
attendance at the clinic in Crisler
reached 50, whereas this year it totaled
75 - an encouraging sign for the
growth of the Shock and women's bas-
ketball. In addition to learning from
Claar and Palmer, participants of the
clinic were invited to stay for the follow-
ing Michigan game.
"It's kind of a close sorority of
women's basketball fans, players and
coaches," Claar said. "We just want to be
here to support them and hope that
they'll come out and support us."
Parents and coaches brought their
children to come learn from the Shock's
star forward, but gained more than just
lessons in drills. With the WNBA still a
relatively new league, it needs to show
young female athletes positive role mod-
els they can look to follow.
The opportunity to meet with Palmer
and watch the game allowed the kids "to
be able see players playing at higher lev-
els and dream to be at that level;' Claar
said.
Conference
Team. W L
Purdue 9 0
Wisconsin 6 3
enn State .6 3
ichigan 6 4
Iowa 5 3
Illinois 5 3
Ohio State 4 5
Indiana 4 5
Michigan State 2 6
Minnesota 1 7
Northwestern 0 9
Overall
W L
19 3
12 7
14 6
13 7
10 8
10 10
14 5
13 .7
8 11
8 11
4 15
HOLD ON TIGHT,
YOU KNOW WE'RE A
L1TTLE BIT PANGEROUS
DAILY S.PORTS:
Y sterdays results:
*hio State 83, INDIANA 76
PURDUE 75, Wisconsin 70
MICHIGAN 74, Northwestem 59
Illinois 88, MINNESOTA 81
PENN STATE 97, Michigan State 49
r:
Detroit Shock forward Wendy Palmer practices her Harlem Globetrotter moves as
the Director of Community Relations Eve Claar teaches the kids.
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