The Michigan Daily -_portsMonday -- Aprl 2, 2001 -3
Roommates lead men's track relay in Raleigh
DAVID
By Shawn Kemp
Daily Sports Writer
In their first collegiate outdoor track
meet, two freshmen helped lead the
Wolverines to a strong showing at the
Raleigh Relays in North Carolina this
past weekend.
South Quad roommates Brian Turn-
er and Mason Ward each ran on the 4 x
1500-meter relay team Friday before
racing in their individual events on Sat-
urday.
Turner led off the fifth-place relay
team in first place, but as the field
spread out with Terrence Rindler and
Tommy Greenless running the second
and third legs, Ward ran by himself
and finished with a total relay time of
15:56.45.
But running the day before didn't
tire the youngsters, as Turner ran
1:50.89 to finish third in the 800-meter
run, and Ward finished fifth in the
1500-meter run, cocking 3:50.79.
"Neither of us ran pressed races the
day before - we didn't extinguish a
lot of energy," Ward said. "(The relay)
got us relaxed for the next day, and we
went into the next day feeling pretty
loose."
Ward's time in the 1500 meters was
.5 sectnds off a personal best, while
Turner's 800-meter finish was just .07
seconds off his personal best.
Another freshman in the mix was
sprinter Anthony Beal. In his second
meet of the outdoor season, Beal led
off the 400-meter relay (14th place),
the 800 relay (21st place), and the
1600 sprint medley relay (15th place).
In both the 400 and sprint medley
relays, Beal handed off to two-time
NCAA qualifier Ike Okenwa.
With Okenwa's experience and
speed, Beal said, "It was exciting
handing off to someone I knew could
go fast."
While Okenwa can usually be relied
upon to run fast, not all runners have
the same consistency:
Although Mike Wisniewski finished
third in the 10,000-meter run in
30:17.34, he was not pleased with his
performance.
After finishing last in the 5,000-
meter run at the indoor NCAA Cham-
Something legendary in the air
America's boy - I o couple f The Seuoia -
Shane Battier if a CO Loren qoods
Some say he'll be president one coud He's had his share of ups and
day, but today he's trying to y/ears it coud e downs this season and in his career
cement his image as one of college but finally is finding his stride in the
basketball's all-time best. The o f\BA a me. tourney. At 7-1, he combines strong
Michigan native showed wh his rlow-post moves with a solid mid-
intangibles are the subject of For now is one range umpshot uncharacteristic of a
national jocking, keying Duke's 's neplayer his size. The Wildcats will
comeback over Maryland Saturday i best I, - need him to give a dominant inside
with savvy play. of :estC a p ~ performance.
Mr. Everything - QfSI m S Mr. Almost Everything -
Jason Williams vll., Gilbert Arenas
Sometimes he's wild, sometimes - Playing on the West Coast, he is the
he's a chucker, sometimes he can best player nobody knows about.
barely even dribble, but the best The sophomore guard can dribbie
player in the country will eventuc4 ' .' penetrate with the best of them but
get on a roll - he proved all has a sweet touch from the outside
ofmth.H a those things as he bounc:;'."; .:;.;.tomach.Hmy be the second
a ainst the Terrapins. When best player in the count after
Wliams is on a hot streak, 1* wills f Jason Williams, antoihcul
kill you i every facet of the ":'+ : be shio out party.
Themanchid -The High Fler -
Mike Dunleavy i Richard Jeerson
He ar has the face of a 1 2-ya
and everyhopposing stu ent Saturday, Michigan State's Jason
and dvery.opposing............. 4 Richardson thought he was floating
in the county has made sure rr' ........past just another forward for an
aware of it. That hasn't stopp .._.}:::.<' easy layup. Instead he was made a
6-9 swingman from developi . fri_ s::._chump in what will go down as one
one of the most versatile playr r :"". , of the most memorable highlights of
th onry, playing dfnead. ;*<y~ the tournament, when the ultra-ath-
shooting from the perimeter ike=a.letic Jefferson came flying out of
guard while rebounding like a :_, ::.." now here to block the sophomore s
power forward. { f-finger-roll.
Silent but deadly - Captain Consistency -
Afe nCarlos Boozer 4 ;% Michael Wright
After an unbelievable freshma Scorin in double figures in 31 of
cam paign, Boozer has morph 5 . the Widcats 35 games while aver-
into Duke's forgotten man. Aftt ::.:;{aq ing 15.7 points per game, the
seein his numbers diminish e ,';} 6'7 forward is the one player Ari-
a mis-season foot injury put hi 'kr*zona can always count on for a
completely on tebcbunrs k:}soiprfmance. Alon with
is sti Ilethal in the bost and th Woods, he provides a dominant
Wildcats will be wise not too ost presence that could sink a
look him. .. ikesquad that is relatively thin
t inside.
Stars in support: Duke -Ch id Nate Jame | ne Edgerson and Jason Gardner.
ALrona v awesome arsenal looks tile bound
pionships, Wisniewski felt he could
use that race as motivation to run under
29 minutes in his race in Raleigh.
"I was trying not to dwell on how
horribly I did at nationals, but it's real-
ly frustrating," Wisniewski said. "I was
really disappointed."
Wisniewski led the race for the first
two and a half miles, and then faded
back into the pack until the finish.
Also finishing third for the Wolver-
ines was thrower Nick Rogers. Rogers'
toss of 164-6 was just three feet off his
personal best, and five and a half feet
off of first place finisher Robert
Hardin's 170-0.
The Wolverines will travel back to
North Carolina next weekend for the
Duke Invitational.
GOODSTEIN
Continued from Page 1B
Izzo most likely knows that Michigan
State is not capable of contending for a
national title year-in and year-out. It
doesn't have the name draw that Michi-
gan does. It doesn't have the history and
tradition that Kentucky and UCLA have.
It doesn't have academic excellence that
Stanford has. And it doesn't have the
mysterious allure that Duke has.
What does it have?
Izzo's stock will never be higher.
Really, who could blame him for taking
a job in the NBA? You do get to coach
at the highest level. And you do make a
lot more money.
Nearly S2 million a year more.
With a legitimate chance of winning a
fourth consecutive Big Ten title -
something only two other schools (Ohio
State and Indiana) have done - and has
a chance to defend his national title -
something only one school (Duke) has
done since UCLA's glory cays, Izzo
retuned for a chance to make history. A
chance to cement his name as one of
college's best coaches ever.
Now, with the cracks in the cement
showing, he has more reasons than ever
to leave.
Raphael Goodstein can be reached at
raphaelg(y.umich.edu.
WI DCATS
Continued from Page 1B
Arizona Till close this season in true
storybook fashion. And what an ending
that would be, for a team still mourning
the loss of coach Lute Olson's wife,
Bobbi, who died of cancer Jan. 1.
"It's been real tough, what the
coach has gone through and what the
team has gone through," Jefferson
said. "It keeps coming up continuous-
ly. That's the hardest part for us as a
team. We've been talking about it a
long time. The season is dedicated to
Mrs. Olson."
Leaderboard
Michigan Daily/Piza House Chal-
lenge results. The championships are
worth six points.
Entry Points Winner
1. J. Rush 89 Duke
2. L: Buck 83 Duke
P. Westcott 83 Duke
4. A. Levin 82 Duke
5. A. Kurjan 81 Arizona
M. Jo 81 Duke
6. M. Vootsinas 80 Arizona
M. Grimes 80 Duke
D. swiech so0 N MW
J.R. Griffin 80 Arizona
E. Saltzstein 80 Duke
Columnist, Spartans belong
in- the Twilight Zone
There's Old Faithful. There's
Haley's comet. And for me,
there's Michigan State in the
Final Four.
It's a reliable benchmark that
seems to accompany every cigar.-
worthy occasion.
Once upon a springtime, some-
where on Lake Michigan's eastern
shore, there was a proud former
Spartan, nine months pregnant,
cheering her alma mater through the
NCAA tournament and into the
Final Four. Michigan State crushed
Penn and Indiana State to earn its
first national title - but this Spartan
didn't have any time to celebrate.
Just as Sports Illustrated was pub-
lishing its headline - "The Magic
Show" - she was giving birth to a
future Wolverine.
That was 22 years ago today.
I don't really remember it, but
that's what I'm told.
Some people say that the Final
Four in 1979 was the most important
ever. The title game featured Magic
Johnson against Larry Bird,dtwo
players that would go on to redefine
the NBA.
I don't really remember it, but
that's what they say.
People back then sometimes
called Larry Bird "The Bird." Turns
out the nickname was even in a
Detroit Free Press headline after the
title game.
Of course The Bird in Detroit
those days was actually Mark
Fidrych - the eccentric Tigers
pitching ace.
Curiously, the same day that
Larry Bird was losing the NCAA
title, The Bird was busy telling
reporters that he was still injured,
was not going to pitch any more in
spring training. He might not, he
said, be ready for opening day.
His story got buried under the one
about Larry losing in the Free Press.
Opening day was snowed out that
year. Twice. I don't remember it,
but that's what I've read.
It was 37 degrees for the first
pitch, not thrown by The Bird. He
was still injured and wouldn't be
ready for the next opening day, or
the next, or the next after that - all
the way up to tomorrow.
Presumably tomorrow, that is.
Yesterday's snowfall had me a bit
worried.
Either way, I plan to see the first
pitch first hand. Unlike Michigan
State's Final Four appearances,
opening day in [)etroit happens
every year, be they ;;gar-worthy
times or not.
I try never to niss it. This year,
seats cost me about :30, about the
same as a cap and gown.
In 1979, box seats were $6.So
I've heard.
I imagine there are plenty of peo-
ple who remember.
I imagine there are some who
remember each of the 21 opening
days since I've been around. But 1
doubt anyone could name each start-
ing pitcher.
Opening day is special, I think,
because it happens every year. it's
like May I)av or New Year's Eve -
an annual chance for a new b Ogin-
ning. Everybody knows it's coming
- a yearly chance to celebratefjt's
like a birthday.
Except for your first birthday,,,,f
course. That's something that more o-
less happens unsystematically, give o:
take nine months. It's more like the
Final Four - cause for a cigar.
Mine just happened to coincide
with Sparty.
At least I thought it was a ccinc-
dence.
The Spartans played in the Fial
Four again Saturday night, their
third appearance in as many years.
But this Wolverine didn't have;
much time to think about it - he
was busy buying a cap and a gown.
He has to wear them so he can giad-
uate and smoke a cigar.
It's something that doesn't happeu
every year, didn't really hate to
happen at all.
But tomorrow, just the same,,he'l
be watching baseball, like he ;does
every year about this time.
Like he will do every year about
this time, cigar or not, snow or not,
37 degrees or not.
And someday down the road ;
among opening days, there will
probably be a wedding, maybe be a
kid or two or three. But before rush-
ing out to buy any more stogies, thi
Wolverine might keep an eye on
those hoopsters in East Lansing.
For some reason, we click.
David Den Herder's loyalt
belongs solely to Michigan basket
ball. He can be reached a
dden(qumich.edu
DEN HERDER
OK, so we were wrong. We
picked Maryland to win the NCAA
Tournament at the beginning of the
season, and they didn't.
But all of you patting yourself on
the back for predicting a Duke/Ari-
zona final have about as much
insightfulness as Billy Packer's
"Keys to the Game." It doesn't take
a cheap suit coat and a microphone
to know that Michigan State needs a
standout game from star Jason
Richardson to beat Arizona. Any
* drunken idiot could tell you from his
couch that Maryland wouldn't advance
to the final unless leading-scorer
Lonny Baxter played well inside.
Had we been right, we probably
would have been the only sports publi-
cation in the country to pick the correct
preseason champion. So blow it out
your ass.
As for tonight's championship
game, Arizona and Duke are playing
like the two best teams in the tourna-
ment and showed Saturday why every-
one else picked them to be in the final
at the beginning of the year.
Without a doubt, the Wildcats are
the most athletic team in the country.
Saturday, they forced an uncharacteris-
tic 15 turnovers from the Spartans by
jumping into what appeared to be open
passing lanes and taking the ball in for
breakaway dunks.
All five Arizona starters - arguably
the most talentedstarting five in the
country - scored in double figures
against Michigan State. To win the
title, the Wildcats will need more of
the same tonight.
The other key for Arizona will be
slowing the perimeter game of the
sharp-shooting Blue Devils. Unlike
the Spartans, who rely on taking the
ball to the hoop and banging inside,
Duke prefers to move the ball around
the 3-point line until it finds a shot it
likes.
Saturday against Maryland was a
typical game for the Blue Devils. Fail-
ing to knock down early 3-pointers -
they shot just 2-of-12 in the first half
from beyond the arc - the Blue Dev-
ils found themselves down by as
many as 22 in the first half. But when
Duke finally got the lead for the first
time in the game with 6:49 to
play, it came on a 3-pointer from
Jason Williams.
Duke has lived and died by the
three all season, especially since
Carlos Boozer broke his foot with
only a few games left in the ACC
regular season. Arizona's best
hope is to slow down the Blue
Devils' transition game and deny
them open looks from behind the
arc.
Unlike Duke, Arizona has no major
shortcomings on offense. Early on Sat-
urday, the Wildcats pounded the ball
inside to center Loren Woods and
scored many of their points in the
paint. When Michigan State sunk back
into the paint on defense, Arizona's
perimeter players made their open
looks, shooting 7-of-14 on 3-pointers.
Duke's best hope on defense is to
disrupt the Wildcat's rhythm and try
and take them out of their halfcourt
game. If the Blue Devils can trick Ari-
zona into an up-tempo running game,
they might be able to simply outscore
the Wildcats.
In contrast, if Arizona can slow
Duke down and force the Blue Devils
to play a halfcourt game, it will simply
out-talent a Duke team that only goes
seven men deep.
Arizona 81, Duke 72
The Michigan Daily:
Just crazy enough
to make sense.
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