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TUESDAY
JANUARY 29, 2002
9
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Mason to take on new role in East Lansing
By Chris Burke.
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - After 36 years (23 at
Michigan State) and 916 wins, Michigan State
hockey coach Ron Mason decided that he had
had enough.
The 62-year old Mason officially announced
that he would step down from his current posi-
tion effective at the end of the season in order to
be named the 16th athletic director at Michigan
FState.
"It was a difficult decision to give up coaching
Spartans are no
taking 'M igt
By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Writer
EAST LANSING - There is no fear in East Lan
but the struggling Spartans know that their upco
game with Michigan will not be another gift-wral
blowout.
"The balance of power has definitely evened
Michigan State forward Adam Ballinger said. "I'm
that they feel like they have a great opportunity to
here -and they should."
The Spartans have won the last seven games agains
Wolverines, and the last six have been blowouts, in(
ing a humiliating 114-63 loss two years ago.
But graduation and early departures to the NBA
whitttd down the talent pool for coach Tom Izzo.
This year's inexperienced and often injured Mich
State team has struggled to meet its expectations. Y
starting the year at No. 15, the team is precariously c
to last plao6 in the Big Ten.
The Spartans (11-8) can't afford to lose many r
games if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament.
But they really can't afford to lose this rivalry g,
especially considering that this will be their only cra
the Wolverines all year.
"This game is for all the bragging rights," said fi
man and Indiana-native Chris Hill, who got a crash cc
in the rivalry from his mentor, Marcus Taylor - a I
ing native. "Since we only play once, the winning te
fans are going to talk about it all year, so we have tc
this one."
Michigan State's primary concern in the big game
familiar problem for Michigan as well - foul trouble
"Michigan has some real weapons in the front cc
Ballinger said. "If it means giving up a layup, than I
what we have to do."
That's hardly the rough and tough attitude of Mich
St-te's championship teams.
But this season's team has been softened by inji.
Six-foot-nine junior Adam Wolfe is out for the year w
torn hamstring, Ballinger is playing at "80 percent'
Izzo says Jason Andreas' tailbone less than 80 percent
That leaves the Spartans - and the Wolverines -
just one healthy scholarship player over 6-foot-7 apie
Things have gotten so desperate in Spartyville tha
football team's freshman quarterback Aaron Alexa
has joined the team to build depth in practice.
"He's crazy," Ballinger said. "He's jumping arounc
fouling everybody - but that's a good thing for us."
Michigan State still holds a home-court edge, bui
air of invincibility that surrounded the Breslin Cent
gone, thanks to a 64-63 upset by Wisconsin on Jan
that ended the Spartans' 53-game 'home winning strea
"We learned it's not automatic," Taylor said. "We
just suit up and expect to win because we are at home
and it will always be a major part of my life,"
said Mason at a press conference held yesterday.
"I'm very excited and proud to be the athletics
director at Michigan State."
"You always wonder when the time to stop
coaching is going to be - if you had asked me in
September, I would've said that I'd coach as long
as I can."
The current athletic director at the university,
Clarence Underwood, will retire, allowiV, Mason
to assume administrative duties as of July 1.
"It became clear that the candidate who fit our
requirements and even more was Ron Mason,"
Michigan State President M. Peter McPherson
said. "We were looking for an athletics director
and we got a legend."
Mason holds the title as the winningest coach
in college hockey history, with an overall record
of 916-376-81. That includes a 627-266-67 mark
in his 23 years heading the Spartans.
"One thousand victories would have been nice
to get," Mason said. "But it was never something
that was a major thing for me - my goal has
always just been to win the next game."
The selection of Mason to inherit the athletic
See MASON, Page 10
JON
SCHWARTZ
It's still too soon to
expect a Breslin win
When Michigan hired
Tommy Amaker to run its
basketball program, it was
a decision met with nothing but
jubilation - except in East Lansing.
It was a decision that showed
Michigan's determination to find
success on the hardwood, a realiza-
tion that Michigan wasn't willing to
play second fiddle anymore..
Michigan fans were ready to buy
back Crisler from its neighbors at
State. More importantly, they were
ready to celebrate in East Lansing.
Some probably circled Jan. 30 -
tomorrow - on their calendars.
Well, here's the thing: Michigan
probably won't win tomorrow.
Michigan might not win in Breslin
next year. Maybe not the next year,
or the year after that.
But sometime, in the not too dis-
tant future, a trip to East Lansing
won't be a two-hour prison sentence.
Michigan fans, the NCAA Tour-
nament is a pipe dream this year.
Next year, it might be, too.
But sometime, in the not too dis-
tant future, Michigan fans will still
be cheering well into March. And it
won't just be for the team playing
Michigan State.
Back in April, when Amaker was
making his welcome tour, speaking
at every function in the greater
Detroit area that would allow him, I
asked him a question about the not
too distant future. I commented that
he was all smiles, offering nothing
but excitement for the prospects of
Michigan's future. But could we
expect that in February?
He told me that it would depend
on the team's record. But, he added,
he was once told by an elderly
woman whose name he didn't even.
know, that she respected him
because she could never tell by his
face if he had won or lost.
Well February is just three days
away. And Michigan State is just
one. But knowing Amaker, the two
should not be at all connected.
Amaker is a rock. He does things
his way, and doesn't give a damn
what people think about him. He
faces criticism for starting players
with Hall-of-Fame heart but junior-
varsity talent, and he doesn't budge.
People question his team's perform-
ance, and he doesn't make excuses.
He smiles because of his plan. His
plan isn't about this year, and it
might not even be about next year.
He smiles because of the not too
distant future, and what his program
- it's not just a team, but a program
that he's building - will do.
Michigan might lose by 30 tomor-
row. If things go well, it might lose
by five. And if things go ridiculous-
ly well, it might even win.
But a win over Michigan State
does not mean that Amaker's work is
done, just as a blowout loss doesn't
make him a failure.
Fans are always going to be fickle.
The same students who avoided
Crisler Arena like the plague over
the past three years will be waiting
in line for tickets if Michigan can
get a win tomorrow night.
Fans view this as the game of
Michigan's season. There aren't two
this year, so this is the one. Even
with an 8-9 overall record, this is a
one-game season in the minds of
many.
But in my mind, it's the least
important Michigan game in a long
time. If the Wolverines win it doesn't
mean that a tournament invite is
coming. If Michigan loses - well,
Michigan is supposed to lose.
There's no surer sign of a downtrod-
den program than comments like
"but we did beat Michigan State"
when asked to explain a sub-.500
season.
I hope that Amaker realizes this. I
hope that after the game - win or
lose - he's still smiling, still think-
ing about the many tasks that lay
ahead.
This team's revitalization will
come soon - Amaker and all
Michigan fans will accept nothing
less.
It will come in the not too distant
future. But not tomorrow.
Jon Schwartz can be reached at
jlsz@umich.edu.
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Michigan's Lavell Blanchard soared above Vermont, but a bigger challenge lies ahead tomorrow night.
Big Ten does 180; Hoosiers, Buckeyes on top
Daily Sports Editor
When asked his opinion on the
"most surprising
team" in the BASKETBALL
Indiana coach
Mike Davis couldn't help but feel a lit-
tle biased.
"Indiana," Davis said with a chuckle.
No one else in the conference is
laughing -- especially the three teams
predicted to finish atop the Big Ten.
Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State each
find itself in the bottom half of the
conference, while the upstart Buckeyes
and Hoosiers are overachieving and
taking the early lead with 6-1 records.
"It's a different league because
everyone wins at home, and it's tough
-X to win on the road," Davis said.
Everyone, that is, except for the
Hoosiers. While accumulating the tra-
ditionally strong home performances,
Indiana has proven to be one of the
leagues only road warriors - stealing
three games away from Assembly Hall,
including a 77-66 victory at Iowa on
Jan. 13.
Only Indiana (3-1) and Ohio State
(2-1) have winning records on the road,
Which is a major reason they are lead-
ing the conference. On the other end
of the spectrum, the Spartans,
Hawkeyes and Fighting Illini have
combined for a uncharacteristically
dismal 1-10 record away from home.
Another key to the Hoosiers' success
is the inspired play of co-Big Ten Play-,
er of the Week Jared Jeffries. Last sea-
son's Big Ten Freshman of the Year,
Jeffries shared his third weekly honor
of the season with Minnesota's Tavarus
Bennett. Bennett scored a career-high
21 points in helping the Golden
Gophers upset Ohio State, 89-71, in
Minneapolis - ending the Buckeyes'
nine-game winning streak and handing
them their first Big Ten loss in more
than a year.
But Davis said that no player is as
important to his team's success than
Jeffries, who has led Indiana in scoring
and rebounding in 10 of its 19 games
averaging 17.9 points and 7.8
boards.
Iowa coach Steve Alford thinks the
sophomore forward has the entire
package.
"He's the only player in the Big Ten
that can play all five positions," Alford
said. "He can shoot from 21 feet out,
he can take it to the hole, he can pull
up or post up, he plays solid defensive-
ly and is a weapon in transition - he
can hurt you in a lot of different ways."
Davis said that Jeffries has never
been a "go-to-guy" in his playing
career, but is adjusting to the role. With
other teams often double and triple-
teaming Jeffries, Indiana's perimeter
players like Dane Fife have been able
to exploit, opposing defenses from the
outside - shooting 40 percent from 3-
point range.
The Hoosiers set a school and Big
Ten record with 17 treys in their 88-57
thrashing of No. 12 Illinois on Satur-
day, which left Indiana players like Fife
admittedly "laughing" and Illinois
coach Bill Self to somberly say, "the
loss made us feel like we were a ways
behind them."
IOWA WoEs: After losing four of their
past five Big Ten games, including
road games at Northwestern and Pur-
due, the Hawkeyes are reeling - right
out of the conference race.
"We're not in the title hunt," Alford
said. "So we're going to try to finish in
the top half of the league."
Alford said his struggles stem from
several factors. He's disappointed that
his star Luke Recker is still struggling
to get back into shape after coming
into the season overweight, he's frus-
trated with his team's inability to stop
anyone defensively and is "discour-
aged" with the inconsistency of his vet-
eran players.
Alford also placed some of the
blame on himself.
"I'm doing a poor job communicat-
ing how I want things accomplished,"
Alford said.
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