The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 12, 2001- 3B

RAPHAEL
GOODSTEIN

M' drops exhibition
to Nike Elite, 79-71

Not a 'new attitude

Lions still lovable losers

Tt hit me last week following the
Detroit Lions' seventh consecu-
tive loss to start the season -
they tacked on number.eight yester-
day - that this team is destined to
lose.
I came to this realization last
week while listening to an interview
in which Herman Moore referred to
his team in the third person. My
roommate let Moore off the hook,
noting that his experiences during a
decade of losing are similar to the
ways in which children develop
schizophrenia - "When a child is
abused as a kid," my
roommate said, "he Right arou
sometimes begins to while the Lions
see himself in the trying to make
third person so that to the Bears an
he doesn't have to
deal with the situa- myself trying to
tion. Soon, he's skipped classes
developed multiple
personalities.
. "Herman's been beaten for so long,
he's viewing himself not as a member
of the Lions, but as another person
not affiliated with the team."
I've long defended this organiza-
tion while others mocked it, but last
week, I really had nothing to say to
my roommate's observation. I mean,
my roommate wasn't really even
mocking the Lions.
He was just correct.
This team is used to losing - and
it's going to take a lot more than new
heads of their household, coach
Marty Mornhinweg and team presi-
dent Matt Millen, to change this.
I used to defend this team because
I saw a lot of myself in it.
Right around Christmas time,
while the Lions were desperately try-
ing to make up for their losses to the
Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago
Bears, I'd find myself trying to make
up for skipped classes and failed
tests.
While Detroit was trying to pull
off an upset, I was trying to ace a
final.
The key was to have been just
good enough for the late rally to be
meaningful.
Things would typically work out
well for everyone.
The Lions would sneak into the
,playoffs, barely giving coach Wayne
:Fontes another year of job stability,
while I would write a good paper,

ind
we
up
d
sar

barely passing the class.
The problem is, the Lions got
greedy. Mediocrity wasn't good
enough, and ownership fired Fontes.
And at this time, I considered turning
a new leaf as well, but first, I figured,
I'd see how this new-leaf thing
worked for them.
Out went Fontes, in came Bobby
Ross.
But the Lions were as average as
ever - just consistently average. A
3-5 start followed by a 6-2 ending
was replaced with a 4-4 start and a
5-3 ending. They still barely made
the playoffs, but it
Christmas time, just didn't seem as
ere desperately fun.
for their losses While some take
engalsI l'd find the Denver Broncos
g 'd approach - do well
ake up for all year -- I failed
rnd failed tests. to see the excite-
ment in this. Maybe
you do well at the
end, maybe even win a couple of
Super Bowls, but the Fontes way
seems so much more lovable.
In any event, Ross couldn't deal
with the Lions' penchant for medioc-
rity and quit in the middle of last sea-
son, and former Michigan coach
Gary Moeller took over - with a
three-year contract.
After all, if Moeller used to lead
Michigan to annual first-place finish-
es, why couldn't he do the same with
Detroit? Or so thought the Fords, the
family that owns the Lions.
I'm not exactly sure why analogies
don't apply to football, but for some
reason Moeller-to-good college foot-
ball team didn't equal Moeller-to-
good pro football team.
So Moeller was out.
And in came Millen, Mornhin-
weg and his Harley Davidson, and
"a new attitude," as the Fords
advertised. But, after eight straight
losses, it looks like only Millen,
Mornhenwig and the Harley David-
son are new. The attitude is really
just Fontes' old attitude.
Not new, just lovable.
But as long as I'm still hoping for
a good final exam grade in History,
who am I to judge?
Raphael Goodstein wants to thank
Jeff Ponitz and Jordan Stancil. He can
be reached at raphaelg@umich.edu.

By David Horn
Daily Sports Writer
There was a stretch during the
first half of yesterday's 79-71 loss to
Nike Elite in which Michigan bas-
ketball looked, defensively,-exactly
like the kind of team coach Tommy
Amaker has been talking about for
over a month. They were smart, fast,
aggressive and commanding - for
about five minutes. The rest of that
first half was a disaster, as the
Wolverines allowed Nike Elite to
mount a 14-point halftime lead.
"We showed two different halves
of a basketball game," Amaker said.
"I thought our defense wasn't what
we needed it to be -- our transition
defense really hurt us. And I
thought they did a great job of capi-
talizing at times when we didn't
rotate back."
Michigan did put together a
stronger second half, as sophomore
guard Bernard Robinson (who was
kept out of last weekend's exhibition
for disciplinary reasons) and fresh-
man forward Chuck Bailey led the
way offensively. Bailey's nine
rebounds led the team. The Wolver-
ines improved their shooting per-
centage in the second half to
43.2-percent, up from a dismal 35.1
percent in the first half.
But after tying the game with
under five minutes to play, Nike
Elite guards Ted Dupay (who would
be starting for Billy Donovan's
Florida Gators' if not for his gam-

bling infractions) and Curt Smith
took over. The two combined for
Nike Elite's final 11 points as
Michigan stumbled in the final min-
utes, missing key shots and sloppily
handling the ball.
But when the game was over, the
defensive failures of the first half
were what lingered in the minds of
the Wolverines.
"I don't think we had the same
defensive intensity as we had in the
first (exhibition) game," Robinson
said. "That's something that Coach
was stressing all week, so that's
something we have to work on."
Amaker saw his team's inability to
recover after missed shots and
turnovers as the primary defensive
mistake. In the first half, Nike Elite
scored 11 points off of Wolverine
turnovers, compared to Michigan's
four off of theirs. The point leader
for the Elite was forward Rick
Hughes (17 in the first half, 26 in
the game), who was being guarded
by the freshman Bailey.
"He had to guard some pretty
experienced guys," Amaker said of
Bailey. "It frustrated him. We need
to be more aggressive with attacking
the rim or getting offensive
rebounds. But I thought Chuck did a
nice job for his first start, and play-
ing that many minutes."
Offensively, the Wolverines were
led by 16 points from senior center
Chris Young. His post points were a
welcomed sight for a team that
expects to have trouble producing

MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Michigan center Josh Moore has a herniated disc, hampering his abilities on the
court. He had three fouls in six minutes.

down low. But the outside shooting
was not as promising. The team's
field goal percentage - 39.2-per-
cent over the whole game - suf-
fered without the sweet jump shot of
LaVell Blanchard, who sat out due
to continued problems with his
ankle.
Leon Jones, Avery Queen, Gavin
Groninger and Dommanic Ingerson
shot a combined 1-of-42 from the
field, and 7-of-24 from behind the
three-point line.
"I'm not overly upset or disap-
pointed in our shot selection,"

Amaker said. "I'm thinking that
we're going to be able to shoot the
ball better than that in the future."
"When you've got a look, shoot
it," Queen said. "That goes for
everybody."
Queen and his teammates all have
the go-ahead from Amaker to shoot
the three - and from outside -
when open.
"We're not going to be able to
beat people up on the inside ... so
we have to understand who we are,
and be able to make shots," Amaker

Big trouble: Moore's back is getting worse

By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
There are days when Michigan
center Josh Moore can't roll out of
bed because of the herniated disk in
his back.
Moore even said that instead of
progressing, his back is getting
worse.
Moore said it's not a matter of
improving his
condition, as BASKETBALL
"the disk is not Notebook
going to miracu-
lously slide back
in place overnight." Instead, it's his
threshold for pain that will make the
difference in how much of an
impact he can make, for an already
depth-stricken post.
This dismal situation isn't good
when he is expected to bang with
the biggest bodies in the Big Ten
this season. His output on the court
can get frustrating at times - as
seen in his performance in yester-
day's final exhibition against Nike
Elite: six minutes, three fouls.
It's not the type of imposing first
impression that Michigan's 7-foot-2
center was looking to make in his
2001-02 debut, but it was one that
he has to stare down. Moore admit-
ted that the only way for his back to
fully heal is through surgery, but
he's apparently not ready to submit
to that.
"You never want to jump to sur-

gery," said Moore, who rehabilitates
his back by riding a bike, enduring
strenuous pool workouts and taking
several medications. "I want to see
if I can fight it out. It would be self-
ish of me to have surgery right now
since they need me."
The only other proven post player
on Michigan's roster that is over 6-
foot-7 is Chris Young, the Wolver-
ines' starting center.
Moore has to constantly battle his
back in practice, as the injury has
limited the amount of time he can
work on his footwork and improve
his conditioning.
Moore said he practices only
when his body permits.
"Some weeks I can go four days,"
Moore said, "but some days I can't
get out of bed."
Moore's absence was magnified
by the fact that LaVell Blanchard,
Michigan's co-MVP last season,
never even took off his sweats yes-
terday after warm-ups. But it was
his left ankle that kept him off the
court this time, instead of his prob-
lematic right ankle that forced him
to miss the second half of last
weeks' exhibition against the EA
All-Stars.
Amaker said that Blanchard was
healthy enough to play until the
practice the day before the game,
where he twisted his left ankle near-
ly three-quarters of the way
through.
BROKEN GLASS: Even with the

absences of key post players such as
Moore and Blanchard, Amaker was-
n't pleased with the 45-31 rebound-
ing advantage that Nike Elite held.
But he was more upset that the
Wolverines didn't get back on
defense --- as Nike Elite turned the
end of the first half into somewhat
of a slam dunk contest.
"It's kind of hard to say we
weren't doing either," Amaker said
about his team not crashing the
boards and still not getting back.
"Our transition defense really hurt
us."
Michigan regrouped after half-
time and out-rebounded Nike Elite
in the second half. Freshman Chuck
Bailey led the Wolverines for the
second-straight game with nine.
RETURN TO FORM: Sophomore
Bernard Robinson also niade his
season debut after sitting out last
game due to suspension. He netted
13 points in 21 minutes, including
an electrifying dunk that brought
the crowd to its feet late in the sec-
ond half. But Robinson said that he
still "felt a little winded" and is
experiencing pain in his groin as
well.
NEW LOOK: The much-anticipated
completion of the student bleachers
brought smiles to the face of loyal
Maize Ragers, who have been wait-
ing a long time for the renovation
that was delayed due to labor prob-
lems.
"I was really impressed," said
Engineering junior Jim Shehadi,
who has been a member of the
Maize Rage for three years. " You
could tell how much an impact it
could have on the game and how
much of an effect the crowd can
have on changing the momentum."
One opponent the Maize Rage
picked on all day was Nike Elite
guard Ted Dupay, a former standout
at Florida who experienced several
gambling infractions that led to his
NCAA banishment. The student fan
club gave him an earful, singing

Kenny Rogers' famous song "The
Gambler" at the first break in the
action. Dupay answered by scoring
12 points, with several of his seven
assists coming late in the game to
help preserve Nike Elite's victory.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE: Michigan's
resiliency was proof of how the
mentality of the Michigan basket-
ball team has changed in the past
year. Junior guard Gavin Groninger
commented on the Wolverines'
comeback after Nike Elite's daunt-
ing runs of 10-0 and 16-2 in the first
half. "I think that's the point where
we may have laid down last year,"
Groninger said. "But this time we
fought back and didn't look back."
YESTERDAY S GAME
MICHIGAN (71G FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Jones 20 16 1.2 0.0 2 2 3
Blanchard 0 0-0 0.0 0-0 0 0 0
Young 30 7-11 2-4 2-3 1 3 16
Gotfredson 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Groninger 25 3-14 0-0 2-1 2 0 8
Queen 36 3-10 0-0 0-2 6 1 9
Bailey 30 4.7 0.0 3-6 1 1 11
Ingerson 15 4-12 1-2 2-1 2 2 8
Robinson 22 6-11 0-0 1-1 0 213
Moore 6 1-3 1.1 0-1 0 3 3
Adebiyi 10 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 2 0
Totals 200 29-745-914-17 15 16 71
FG%:.392. FT .556. 3-point FG: 5-9 276 (Queer
3-9, Groninger 2-7, Ingerson 2-5, Robinson 1-5,
Jones 0-3). Blocks: 1(Young). Steals: 5 (Robinson
2, Queen 2, Jones). Turnovers: 11 (Queen 3, Young
2, Robinson 2, Gotfredson, Groninger, Bailey,
Jones). Technical fouls: none.
Nike Elite (79)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Cunningham 24 3-7 0-0 0-7 3 1 6
Hughes 40 11-144-8 5-11 0 2 26
Shaw 15 0-0 0-0 2.1 0 4 0
Smith 32 7-13 2-3 1-0 3 0 20
Dupay 27 4-8 3-5 0-2 7 1 12
Burgan 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Trawick 24 1-4 0-0 2-6 1 4 2
Buie 16 1-5 0-0 0-1 0 1 3
Hail 22 5-6 0-0 0-2 2 1 10
Team 0 0-0 3-2 0-0 0 0 0
Totals F 200 32-579-161332 16 1479
FG%: .561.' FT%:..562. 3-point FG: 6-14,.429
(Smith 4-7, Dupay 1-4, Buie 1-1, Hall 0-1, cunning-
ham 0-1). Blocks: 5 (Hall 2, Trawick 2, Hughes )
Steals: 8 (Trawick 3, Dupay 2, Hughes, Shaw, Hall)
Turnovers: 20 (Hughes 4, Trawick 4, Dupay 4, Buie
2, Hall 2, Smith 2, Shaw, Team). Technical Fouls:
none.
Nike Elite..........................48 31 - 79
Michigan.........................34 37 - 71
At: Crisler Arena
Attendance: 7,309

Ilini d ash Blue's
hopes In Tourney
WOMENS SOCCER
m~mmme CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Allison Topp
Daily Sports Writer
As the Michigan women's soccer
team took the field against Illinois
Friday, they appeared to be sleep-
walking, not fully aware that the
game was about to begin. The
Fighting Illini took advantage of the
Wolverines' lackadaisical play to
score the most important goal of the
game just 55 seconds into the first
half - off a corner kick by fresh-
man Christine Sinak.
By the time the Wolverines
snapped out of their trance, it was
Stoo late.
"We weren't game ready and they
caught us a bit off guard," assistant
coach Scott Forrester said after the
2-I loss. "The game lasts from
when the whistle blows to begin the
game until the last second. We have
to be ready for every minute."
Junior forward Abby Crumpton
netted a goal for the Wolverines at
8:41 into the first half off of an
assist by junior Andrea Kayal to tie
the game. Crumpton's goal contin-
ued her five-game scoring streak.
After the goal by Crumpton,
Michigan seemed unable to find the
back of the net. The scoring drought
was not caused by a stagnant
offense - Michigan had seven
NCAA Bound?
The NCAA will announce its 2001

shots - but the problem was mere-
ly finishing on the chances Michi-
gan had in the second half.
Illinois was held scoreless in the
second half by a Michigan team
that blanked 10 opponents during
the regular season. Second team
All-Big Ten goalie Suzie Grech
came up with the ball on two heart-
stopping saves that kept Michigan's
hopes alive in the second half.
"We were hoping to use the wind
to our advantage in the second
half," Forrester said. "That didn't
happen and it ended up hurting us
in overtime."
As Michigan battled against the
wind, Illinois freshman Tara Hur-
less scored the winning goal of the
game with 19 seconds left on the
° clock.
"At thebeginning of the overtime
period we had three great opportu-
nities to put it away," Forrester said.
"We didn't capitalize on them and
didn't see any other opportunities
the rest of the game."
The game was a bit of deja vu for
the Wolverines as Illinois beat them
2-1 in overtime earlier in the sea-
son.
The loss knocked the Wolverines
out of the Big Ten Tournament, but
all is not lost on the season since
the NCAA Tournament is around
the corner. Michigan is ranked No.
20 in the nation by the NSCAA
coaches poll and has a good chance
of earning one of the 64 bids which

Cooling off
After shooting at a sizzling percentage from the field and behind the arc in
their first exhibition against EA All-Stars, the Wolverines' cooled off consid-
erably in yesterday's game against NIke Elite.
Field Goals Three-pointers Overall FG %
EA All-Stars
Gavin Groninger 9-14 7-11 64.3
Dommanic Ingerson 4-12 2-6 33.3
Avery Queen 1-4 1-4 25.0
Leon Jones 5-11 2-7 45.5
Team 31-60 13-31 51.7
Nike Elite
Gavin Groninger 3-14 2-7 21.4
Dommanic Ingerson 4-12 2-5 33.3
Avery Queen 3-10 3-9 30.0
Leon Jones 1-6 0-3 16.7
Team 29-72 8-29 39.3


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