5B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 3, 2001
Trash talk
"If you can jump off the floor like I do, you
can get to the basket whenever you want."
- Boston College sophomore guard Ryan Sidney on his
ability to drive to the basket against Michigans guards.
SATURDAY'S GAME
Boston College 83
Michigan 74
Players of the Game
Chris Young
(Michigan)
Young led the Wolverines with 16 points,
and his four dunks kept the Crisler crowd
in the game. After he picked up his fourth
foul, the Eagles went on a 13-2 run.
Ryan Sidney
(Boston College)
Sidney, a native ofAnn Arbor burned
Michigan en route to career highs in
points (29) and rebounds (15). He also
iced the game with a late steal and slam.
'M'
needs to speed up the 'learning
curve
r ith just over two minutes left Saturday, as
A the upset-minded Wolverines clawed to
within two points against Boston College,
an unusual sense of optimism
resonated throughout Crisler
Arena.
The rejuvenated Maize Rage
started to rattle the Eagles with
jeers and the rest of the crowd i
rose to its feet as even the usual-
ly stoic alumni awoke.
It was an unbridled enthusi-
asm that hasn't entered the JOE
arena in more than two years. S
Michigan fans actually believed
that their Wolverines could win The one
a game of this magnitude. and only
Too bad the Wolverines on
the floor haven't learned how to do that yet.
Not many expected Michigan to upset defending
Big East champions and fifteenth-ranked Eagles on
Saturday. After all, this is the same Michigan team
that was the underdog when it lost to Bowling
Green a few days before. That loss came one game
after it lost to another MAC team, Western Michi-
gan.
As in those two losses, the Wolverines on Satur-
day lacked the toughness and execution they needed
down the stretch to come out on top.
Their last few possessions resembled middle
school basketball tryouts - turnover, shot blocked,
turnover, foul. That disturbing pattern has occurred
in all of Michigan's losses this season.
Players and coaches echoed the feelings that this
Michigan basketball team still "needs to learn how
to win."
"If we wouldn't have made that key turnover or
made those key shots," senior tri-captain Chris
Young said, "things would have went differently.
"In all three games we've lost, we've been one or
two possessions away from winning - being 5-0."
But Michigan was supposed to "learn how to win"
against more beatable teams like Oakland, Fairfield,
Western Michigan, and Indiana-Purdue Fort-Wayne
(who?). Instead, the Wolverines are running out of
mulligans and now they need to make every shot
count.
The Wolverines are 2-3 with four games remain-
ing until their rugged conference schedule begins.
One of those four games is against No. 1 Duke
(enough said) and another is at San Francisco,
which should be a true test for a Michigan team that
is 2-13 in its last 15 games away from Crisler.
The Wolverines can't afford to turn the ball over
late in the game, miss crucial layups, lose their man
on defense and lose focus on offense.
"Growing pains" are commonin a transition, and
losses to Duke and Boston College are understood.
But Bowling Green fans rushing the floor in a victo-
ry celebration and watching Western Michigan
shoot more than 70 percent on 3-pointers shouldn't
happen to any team donning the maize and blue.
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker has'made his
statement. He started two walk-ons in Mike Got-
fredson and Rotolu Adebiyi instead of his two best
players, LaVell Blanchard and Bernard Robinson,
on national television against Boston College. But
will "sending a message" solve the problems?
Even with all the inconsistencies, the Wolverines
have still found themselves within two points in the
late minutes of their three losses.
While that's a positive, Michigan fans' patience
can be short-lived - as evidenced in their mass
exodus from Crisler with 25 seconds left Saturday.
Just as the clock wound down on the Wolverines
Saturday, so too does the window of opportunity
close on the time they have to learn how to execute.
"Honestly, I don't know what (the answeris),
said a puzzled Young. "Just learning the game of
basketball well enough to make those plays."
If Michigan doesn't learn soon, it may be too late.
Joe Smith can be reached atjosephms@umich.edu
EAGLES
Continued from Page 11B
and block his shot."
With Young back in the game, Michigan
chipped away. Trailing by seven with 3:29
remaining, freshman Dommanic Ingerson
was fouled shooting a 3. He sank all three
foul shots, cutting the lead to four. After
Bell converted two foul shots and Young hit
the front end of a one-and-one, sophomore
Bernard Robinson finished the most excit-
ing play of the day.
With Michigan trailing by five, Young
snagged a defensive rebound and found
Queen for an outlet pass. Taking advantage
of a two-on-one, Queen made a no-look
pass to Robinson who, fully elevated and
fully extended, hooked fhe shot off his left
hand and managed to draw a foul from the
Eagles' Kenny Walls. Robinson sank the
foul shot to cut the lead to two.
That was as close as the Wolverines ever
came. That play was followed, on successive
Michigan possessions, by a four turnovers,
two of which came out of Robinson's hands.
"I think our kids are doing a lot of things
to put themselves in a position to win...."
Amaker said. "When ... we don't make
those crucial plays and we don't as a staff
call the best plays ... our margin for error is
non-existent."
SATURDAY'S GAME
Boston College (83)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Agbai 38 7-13 0-0 3.10 2 2 14
Wals 34 1-8 2-2 0-2 1 5 5
Doornekamp 11 0-2 0-0 0-2 2 4 0
Bell 40 10-20 8-8 2-4 4 2 28
Sidney 38 12-21 2-8 .9-15 4 4 38
Watson 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Bryant 26 3-6 0-0 1-5 3 3 7
Ross 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Totals 200 33.71 12-18 1343 18 22 83
FG%:.464. FT%: .666. 3-poin FG: 5-19, 263
(Walls 1-4, Bell 0-5, Sidney 3-6, Bryant 1-3, Ross
0-1). Blocks: 3 (Bryant 2, Sidney). Steals: 11 (Sid-
ney 4, Bell 3, Walls 2, Doornekamp, Agbai).
Turnovers: 13 (Sidney 3, Bell 3, Agbai 2, Walls,
Bryant, Ross). Technical fouls: none.
MICHIGAN (74)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Groninger 24 1-6 0-0 0-2 1 2 3
Adebiyi 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Young 26 6-7 4-5 1-7 3 3 16
Queen 40 3-5 1-2 1-3 6 4 9
Gotfredson 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ingerson 32 3-8 7-11 0-3 3 2 16
Robinson 21 3-9 3-3 1-1 2 1 9
Blanchard 33 6-15 1-2 5-11 1 1 15
Bailey 18 1-2 1-2 2-3 1 1 6
Totals 200 23.52 20-28 10-3217 17 74
FG%:.442. FT%: .714. 3-point FG: 8-19, .421
(Ingerson 3-4, Blanchard 2-5, Queen 2-3, Groninger
1-5, Robinson 0-2). Blocks: 2 (Young, Bailey).
Steals: 4 (Robinson 2, Queen, Adebiyi. Turnovers:
21 (Blanchard 5, Queen 4, Bailey 3, Young 3,
Robinson 2, Ingerson 2, Groninger, Adebiy). Tech-
nical fouls: none.
Boston College...................42 41 - 83
Michigan............................38 36 - 74
At: Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor
Attendance: 10,681
Dropping the ball
Ball handling has been the bane of the Wolverines' existence in their three
straight losses. Swingmen LaVell Blanchard and Bernard Robinson have had
particular difficulty in their handling, but none of their teammates are faring
much better.
"There's no question that our key guys have to take care of the basketball,"
said Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said last Wednesday.
Boston College 53, Michigan 51 - Blanchard dunk to tie the game attempt
fails, but the innovative forward hangs on the rim to allow the ball to drop in. He is
called for offensive goaltending.
-Coming offthe off-ball screen, Robinson
cuts right while Blanchard throws the ball out of bounds to his teammate's left.
- Point guard Avery Queen penetrates and
dishes to Blanchard, who watches the ball bounce off his chest.
Boston College 77, Michigan 73 - On the possession following his dramatic
3-point play, Robinson is called for traveling.
Boston College 79, Michigan 73 - Robinson's 3-pointer is blocked by Ryan
Sidney.
- Sidney intercepts a Chris Young pass
and ices the game with a dunk.
Moore contemplating
season-ending surgery
Bennett expects return; Hart leaves Buckeyes
BIG TEN
Team
Ohio State
Illinois
Minnesota
Northwestern
lowa
Indiana
Michigan State
Purdue
Michigan
Wisconsin
Penn State
STANDINGS
Conference Overall
W L W L
0 0 3 0
0 0 6 1
0 0 4 1
0 0 4 1
0 0 6 2
0 0 4 2
0 0 4 2
0 0 3 2
0 0 2 3
0 0 2 4
0 0 1 4
By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
Chris Young DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Hometown star
torches Michigan
for rejectingbm
By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Writer
Boston College sophomore guard Ryan Sidney loves
referring to himself in the third person and describes him-
self as "a crazy person."
But after his incredible performance against Michigan
on Saturday, the name that suited him best was: The one
that got away.
Sidney scorched the Wolverines for career-highs in
points (29) and rebounds (15) in the Eagles' 83-74 win.
"We tried everything - different matchups, different
defenses," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I was in
awe of how he played."
During his junior year at Huron High School in Ann
Arbor, Sidney was contacted by Michigan recruiters.
Sidney transferred to Pioneer High School for his senior
year and led his team to a 23-3 record, scoring 22 points
per game.
But former Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe made no fur-
ther effort to land the 6-foot-2, 205-pound standout.
"When I was a young kid I really wanted to come (to
Michigan). But as I grew up it became less and less as I
got less and less interest," Sidney said. "After I started get-
ting letters from other places, I was like 'Maybe this isn't
where I want to be.' "
Michigan didn't appear to need guard help at the time,
with Jamal Crawford and Kevin Gaines set to lead the
team into the 21st century.
"People make choices, and Michigan made its choice,"
Sidney said. "I'm happy where I am."
Sidney has at least one reason to be happy at Boston
College - All-American Troy Bell. The two combine to
form one of the best backcourt tandems in college basket-
ball.
"Is there a better backcourt in the country? I don't
know. You tell me," Sidney said. "You can't ask me a
question like that because you write all the papers. If I got
to write, I'd be No. 1 in everything."
But Sidney had plenty of fans - other than himself -
at Crisler Arena on Saturday.
More than 400 friends, family and children that he
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
said that his Wolverines are a totally
different team without senior center
Chris Young in the lineup.
And fairly soon, Michigan's margin
for error inside could decrease dramati-
cally as its lone legitimate backup at
Young's
position, BASKETBALL
7-foot-2
s o p h o - Notebook
m o r e
Josh Moore, said he's once again con-
templating surgery to repair a nagging
herniated disk in his back - and possi-
bly missing the remainder of the sea-
son.
Moore said he'd talk with the coach-
es soon to make a final decision.
When Young is out, "we don't have
the same presence inside - on offense
or defense," Amaker said. "And it
makes a difference for our team. We
don't have many guys who can step in
there - leaving us not much margin
for error."
Not having the ability to go to
Moore off the bench for the rest of the
season would only exacerbate Michi-
gan's evident weakness in the post.
While Moore said that he doesn't
want to give up the year of eligibility,
and still feels that he can be effective in
the Michigan lineup, Moore realizes
the dismal reality that he's already con-
fronting.
"I mean, I'm literally sitting out the
year anyways," a somber Moore said.
"I don't want to (give up) but how
much time do I got left?"
Amaker hasn't played Moore in
Michigan's past two games against
Bowling Green and No. 15 Boston
College mainly because he said
Moore's injury hampers him from
being as effective as the Wolverines
need him to be on the court.
Amaker rewards consistent practice
players with playing time, but with his
injury, Moore simply hasn't had
enough time on the court in practice to
prove himself. While no one wants to
get on the court as much as Moore, he
said he practiced only once last week,
taking a cortizone shot last Tuesday
and receiving nerve treatment on Fri-
day. Not only does this sporadic sched-
ule take away from Moore's rhythm,
but it also narrows his window of
opportunity to impress the Michigan
coaches.
"I've been trying everything I can to
get better," Moore said. "And I can't
get better. All this poking and probing
is wearing and tearing on me. I just
have to tink of what's best for myself."
HIGHER LEARNING: Michigan fresh-
man Marcus Bennett said he expects
to return to practice on Wednesday
or Thursday, pending the results
from an exam he's waiting on. The
Michigan coaching staff has not
played Bennett in its five games this
season due to academic concerns
they've had with him, and coach
Tommy Amaker still labels the situa-
tion "day-to-day."
Bennett, who's in the school of
Kinesiology, said he's sought extra
help in the past few weeks in the
form of tutoring, and has received
great support from his teammates
and coaches.
HART-BREAKING: Freshman JaQuan
Hart decided to leave the Ohio State
basketball team this past weekend
because "he did not want to continue
his education," said coach Jim O' Brien
in a released statement. After being
turned away prior to this season by
Michigan because Hart didn't meet its
academic requirements, he was plan-
ning on sitting out this year as a partial
academic qualifier. While he was not
eligible to play in games, he was prac-
ticing with the team. Hart could not be
reached for comment.
GONZO-GONE: It is doubtful that junior
backup quarterback Jermaine Gonza-
les, who also saw sparse action as point
guard in five of Michigan's basketball
games last season, will return to the
hardwood after his football season is
over.
WTKA reported last week that Gon-
zales was planning bn just sticking
with football, as he's likely to compete
for the starting quarterback position
next season.
Michigan basketball assistant coach
Charles Ramsey said that there haven't
been talks with Gonzales yet, and
while he'd love for Gonzales to join the
team, he understands Gonzales' situa-
tion.
NOTES: After leading the Wolverines
with an average of 17 points per game
during his first three games, junior
Gavin Groninger has combined for just
three points in Michigan's past two
games ... Amaker started two former
walk-ons against Boston College in
Mike Gotfredson and Rotolu Adebiyi,
to go along with Young, Groninger and
Avery Queen ... Michigan committed
a season-high 21 turnovers, and in the
second half it shot only 66 percent
from the foul line.
Last Friday's results:
No.17 MtHreN SrATE81, IUPUFort Wayna68
IOWA 73, Alabama State 64
PURDUE 75, William & Mary 58
Last Saturday's results:
Boston College 83, MICHIGAN 74
IowA 86, Southern Methodist 69
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 72, No. 24 Indiana 60
WISCONSIN 70, Wisconsin-Green Bay 57
kuNols 80, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 56
No. 17 MICHIGAN STATE 80, Lamar 71
MINNESOTA 89, Texas Pan American 72
TEMPLE 75, Penn State 63
Yesterday's games:
Oakland AT PURDUE, INC.
North Carolina-Wilmington AT OHo STATE, INC.
Today's games:
Temple AT WISCONSIN 8 P.M.
Tomorrow's games:
IUPU-Fort Wayne AT MICHIGAN, 7 P.M.
Notre Dame AT INDIANA 7 P.M.
North CaolinaWikTngtonATM N7EA,8P.M.
No. 2 Illinois AT No. 4 ARIZONA, 8 P.M.
No. 7 Iowa AT NORTHERN IOWA, 8'P.M.
Wednesday's games:
No.22 Michigan State AT No.6FuniA, 7 P.M.
Lehigh AT PENN STATE, 7:30 P.M.
Xavier AT PURDUE, 8 P.M.
Friday's games:
Minnesota AT GEORGIA, 7:30 P.M.
Saturday's games:
Arkansas AT No. 2 ILLINoIS, NOON
No. 1 Duke AT MICHIGAN, 2 P.M.
Wisconsin AT OHIO, 3 P.M.
Indiana AT No.16 BALL STATE, 4 P.M.
Purdue AT No. 3 ARIZONA, 4:30 P.M.
Penn State AT PITTSBURGH, 7:30 P.M.
Kansas State AT NORTHWESTERN, 8 P.M.
No. 7 Iowa AT IOWA STATE, 8 P.M.
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
In the battle of Ann Arbor natives, Ryan Sidney, right, soared
higher than Michigan's LaVell Blanchard, left.
baby-sat formed a "Sidney Section" behind the Boston
College bench. He even filled out 60 special ticket
requests for his extended family.
"This was a tremendous homecoming for Ryan,"
Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "Guys really
pulled together and did the best job they possibly could to
make this a special game for Ryan."
The Michigan fans were not so kind to the local boy, but
that didn't bother him a bit.
"I was hoping that they would boo me, and they did just
that," Sidney said. "I like being booed. It makes me feel
welcome. It means they like you, but they just don't want
to tell you that they like you. I felt the love."
One of his high school friends, Chris Dames - who
Sidney called a "surrogate brother," - brought a sign
which read "The Real Star of Ann Arbor - Ryan Sidney,
#5."
The sign was seized and destroyed by Michigan fans
late in the game, but it didn't really matter to Sidney's
fans.
Their hero had already ripped up the Wolverines on the
court that he always dreamed of playing on.
I
NEXT WEEKEND:
T
WEEKEND NOTES
No. 8 KANSAS 105, No. 3 ARIZONA
97: Playing its fourth ranked oppo-
nent this season, Arizona finally
looked like the inexperienced
team that the media had built it
up to be.
After beating Maryland, Florida and
Texas in its first three games this
season, the Wildcats (3-
1) couldn't overcome a
15-point halftime
deficit to Kansas.
For the first time this season, the
Wildcats' freshmen didn't play
up to the level of their
upperclass teammates,
shooting a combined 9-37
on the day.
TEXAS 83, No. 11 STAN-
FORD 75 (OT): Texas'
Royal Ivey is only 6-3, but
Saturday the sopho-
more played like he
was seven-foot in
holding Stanford
All1-A m...,.,-..
26 points and 11 rebounds to the
Longhorns' victory, and was also
responsible for sending the game to
overtime by hitting his second of two
free throws to tie the game at 65.
With the score 71-70 in favor of
Texas, the Longhorns went on a 6-
0 run with 1:35 left to clinch the
victory.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 72, INDIANA 60: As if
losing to Indiana State last year
wasn't bad enough, the Hoosiers
HOW THE TOP
Team Record
1. Duke 5-0
2. Illinois 6-1
3. Missouri 7-0
4. Arizona 3-1
5. Maryland 5-1
6. Florida 4-1
7. Iowa 6-2
8. Kansas 4-1
9. Virginia 4-0
10. UCLA 2-2
11. Stanford 3-1
25 FARED
This weeks results
Beat No. 7 Iowa 80-62
Lost to No. 5 Maryland 76-63
Beat Jackson State 106-68
Lost to No. 8 Kansas 105-97
Beat No. 2 Illinois 76-63
Beat New Hampshire 108-56
Lost to No. 1 Duke 80-62
Beat No. 4 Arizona 105-97
Beat Virginia Tech 69-61
Lost to Pepperdine 85-78
Lost to Texas 83-75
Jason WilliamsA
' DUKE
The No. 1 team in the country will
storm into Crisler Saturday at 2 p.m. The
rivalry between the two schools has
diminished of late, but with a new head
coach (and former Duke assistant) in
Tommy Amaker, the Wolverines hope for
a strong showing against the Blue Devils.
Duke's guards - Jason williams and
Chris Duhan - may be the best in the
nation.
'M' STATS
Player
Blanchard
Ingerson
Robinson
Groninger
Young
Min
30.8
20.4
27.2
26.4
24.8
A
1.6
1.8
3.0
2.0
1.2
Reb
8.0
1.4
2.2
2.4
5.0
Pts.
13.6
12.4
11.0
10.6
9.2
ii~-.. A - - L,
:)
P