PeRiTSgan tilq michigandaily.comIsports sportsdesk@umich.edu WEDNESDAY MARCH 6, 2002 8 Jones could see time at point Simply the best The Big Ten coaches and media concurred on the five best players in the conference. By Steve Jackson Daily Sports Editor According to Michigan coach Tommy Amaker, Leon Jones could see significant time at the point guard spot against Northwestern tomorrow. Avery Queen, who has logged the vast majority of the minutes at BASKETBALL the point this season, has not Notebook practiced this week because of a bruised knee he suffered on Saturday against Ohio State. "I don't know that he had ever missed a practice this year," Amak- er said of Queen. "He's a pretty tough kid, so when he sits out I Cagers cla know he's hurt." Queen wore a brace on his left knee and rode a stationary bicycle while his teammates practiced yes- terday, but he remains confident that he will be able to play tomorrow. "We aren't as concerned (about not having a true point guard on the floor), because they aren't a team that is going to fast break you as much or dribble drive you as much," Amaker said. "So, there will be an opportunity for Leon to play more at (point guard), but that is contingent on Avery's health." AND THE WINNER is: The Big Ten coaches and media announced their choices for the all-conference team yesterday. Michigan forward LaVell Blanchard was named to the third team by the media, and no other im Wolverine received recognition. "It's an honor, but it's not where I want to be," said Blanchard, who made the second team last year and the third team as a freshman. Blanchard was a preseason candi- date for Player of the Year in the Big Ten. But despite leading the team in scoring for the third straight season, his numbers in conference play are down dramatically After posting 17.6 points and nearly eight rebounds per game last season, Blanchard has tallied just 13.4 points and 6.3 boards in Amaker's new offense. "Anytime you have transition, things can happen sooner than you predict or they can happen a little later," Amaker said. "If you look at Bill Carmody (who is in his second NAME Brian Brown Jared Jeffries Kirk Penney Marcus Taylor Frank Williams TEAM Ohio State Indiana Wisconsin Michigan State Illinois Pos G F G G G PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jared Jeffries FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Rick Rickert, Minnesota COACH OF THE YEAR: Bo Ryan, Wisconsin year at Northwestern), I don't know what people said about his offensive system last year, but I'm sure they don't have problems with it today." Whatever the reason for Blan- chard's statistical decline, the Wolverines' 10-17 record certainly didn't help his cause. TOM FELDKAM P/Daily Michigan freshman Eric Nystrom has been one of Michigan's top clutch goal scorers this season, and he was rewarded for it on Monday. Werner, Nystrom nab CCHA rookie honors By Chris Burke Daily Sports Writer The Michigan hockey team wrapped up a CCHA regular season title this past weekend, and on Monday the conference honored two Wolver- ines that have been a big part of the team's success. Freshmen Eric Nystrom and Eric Werner were named to the HOCKEY seven-player HOCKEY CCHA All-Rookie Notebook team. "It's nice to get recognized - the other guys on the team are pretty good players too," Nystrom said. "I think I got lucky to get on there, and it's pret- ty special." The two Wolverines joined Western Michigan's Jim Dwyer, Michigan State's Jim Slater, Alaska-Fairbanks' Aaron Voros and Ferris State's Matt York and Mike Brown on the team that is selected by the league's coaches, who are not allowed to vote for any players on their own team. Nystrom, a forward, has scored 24 points (15-9-24) - good enough to lead all Michigan freshmen in scoring and place him second on the team in goals. Werner, meanwhile, has been one of the Wolverines' steadiest defensemen. He is one of just five Michigan players to have played in all 36 games, and he has also tallied 21 points (3-18-21) and a plus-16 rating - tied for fourth best on the team. "For them to do as well as they did and to get that kind of recogni- tion is good," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "You have to have a pretty special season to be recog- nized at that level." Junior forward John Shouneyia was also recognized by the league on Mon- day, when he was named offensive player of the week for his goal and three assists in Michigan's sweep of Western Michigan this past weekend. BANGED Up: Every college hockey team has its share of bumps and bruis- es when the end of the season comes, and the Wolverines are no exception. Defenseman Andy Burnes and for- ward Jason Ryznar both missed prac- tice yesterday due to injury. Burnes is expected to be in the lineup for Michi- gan's CCHA playoff series against Lake Superior beginning Friday, but Ryznar will be a scratch. Burnes "has a bit of an ankle sprain but he's fine," Berenson said. "Ryznar will be out this weekend. He broke a finger on his hand - we'll look at him for next week." Ryznar's absence from the lineup will most likely give freshman Milan Gajic an opportunity to get back on the ice. Gajic sat out both games against Western Michigan to allow junior Mike Cammalleri to return to action. FINALLY ON THE BOARD: Heading into the playoffs, the Wolverines appear to have found another scoring threat on offense. Well, sort of. Junior J.J. Swistak tallied a short- handed goal over the break in Michi- gan's 6-3 victory over Ohio State on Feb. 23. It was Swistak's first goal of the year, ending a 60-game scoreless drought for the junior. "I've had so many chances this year, I've hit posts and haven't been getting the bounces," Swistak said. "It was a relief." But while Swistak has not estab- lished himself as a top-notch scorer for the Wolverines, his contributions have not gone unnoticed during Michigan's hot streak in the second half of the season. . "His niche on this team is to be a solid defensive player, a penalty killer and a physical player," Berenson said. "Those are things he's good at, and he's been doing them. Right now he's playing the best hockey of his career." improvement By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor Michigan has a new coach this season, but the results seem very familiar. The Wolverines hold nearly an identical record (10-17) and equally poor rankings in several key statistical categories. But Michigan tri-captain Chris Young feels that the Wolverines are "a lot better than last year's team." What could make the senior center feel so pos- itive about a team that is one loss shy of tying last year's dismal 10-18 mark - its worst finish in nearly two decades? "Guys are so much more into the game than last year," said Young, who late last season admitted that he thought his Wolverines quit try- ing. "Last year, we wouldn't bring that intensity at all in a 40-minute game. And now we're play- ing it for 20-25 minutes, and even longer." Several Wolverines have pointed to the fact that there's been much better leadership and trust this. season. These are less tangible, but they're signs that the program is going in the right direc- tion. "It was more separated last year, and some guys wanted to go out and do things on their own," Michigan junior guard Gavin Groninger said. Players said that practices have improved dra- matically since the departure of former coach Brian Ellerbe, whom they said often did not have a plan for practice. But energetic and spirited workouts haven't translated into success during games this season. Granted, Michigan does have one more Big Ten win this year, but the Wolverines still fin- ished in 10th place in the conference and last in several important statistical categories. For example, first-year coach Tommy Amaker claimed that a newly inspired effort on the defen- sive end would be one of the pillars to his pro- gram. While there has been improved effort and Better than what? Many feel that this season's men's basketball team is much improved since last year. But upon closer inspection, it seems that Michigan may not have improved as much as it hoped to. DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Even after six consecutive losses, senior center Chris Young still insists that the Michigan program is In better shape than at the end of last season, when the Wolverines finished 10-18. choosing a concentration? The LS&A intensity, Michigan still finished in last place in the Big Ten in scoring defense, field-goal per- centage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense and steals: But Young said that these numbers are deceiv- ing, as he sees a lot of improvement on the defensive end. Last year, "we had no sense of help-side," Young said. "Now we have guys in the passing lanes, we got guys helping other guys. And it's like, 'dang we're still not winning.' "It's just frustrating that we've made so many improvements - just on the defensive end alone from last year - and yet we're still not able to put together a win." Offensively, the Wolverines have proved to be just as inept. Michigan finished last in assists, ninth in scoring offense, 10th in field goal per- centage and last in assist-to-turnover ratio. "We just need to put the damn ball in the bas- ket," Amaker said. In the few categories Michigan improved upon from last season - scoring defense, scoring margin, steals and free throw shooting - the Wolverines finished last in the conference in all of them except for an impressive second-place performance from the charity stripe. But Young said that each Wolverine is more "invested" in the team, spending more hours before practice to improve themselves than ever before. "We played well against all the top teams in the league," Young said. "Granted, the final scores haven't really reflected it. But we showed a lot of effort and played pretty well for at least half the game. "And that showed that we can play with pretty much anybody." But the Wolverines have a chance to turn things around and create a springboard for next season in the conference tournament, starting tomorrow at 4:30 p.m., when they take on North- western in what Amaker calls a "winnable game." "There's new hope, new life," Amaker said. "You never know when you can make your mark." .1 Record Big Ten rank Road wins 20-point losses RPI Bad losses (below 100 in the R Quality wins (top 50 in the RPI) Last season 10-18 10 2 6 130 2 PI) 3 This season 10-17 10 1 8 151 4 1 Concentration & Adising . rJ - Fair can help! Seniors have exceeded expectations -" ' - where: Michigan Union Ballroom when: Thursday, March 7 11:00am-3:00pm INV By Matt Kramer Daily Sports Writer One thing will be certain Saturday night in the minutes before the No. 4 Michigan women's gymnastics team takes on No. 13 Denver and unranked Washington at Crisler Arena: Coach Bev Plocki is going to be crying. That's because Plocki must say good- see website for Concentration Fair Week programs and events: http://www.Isa.umich.edu/saa/conefair bye to her five seniors - Jodie Rosen- berg, Shannon MacKenzie, Amy Kucz- era, Melissa Peterson and Erin McWatt. "I always cry," Plocki said. "I have a really hard time with senior night because it's so bittersweet. I'm so proud of all these kids, but on the other hand, I don't want to lose them at all." Four years ago, Plocki never would have dreamed that this senior class would have produced so much. The seniors have gone 70-20 in their four years, winning three Big Ten and NCAA Regional Championships and losing just one Big Ten meet. Rosenberg and MacKenzie, arguably the two most important seniors on the team this season, are both walk-ons who came to Michigan hoping to spe- cialize in one event. But they've ended up providing the team with consistent scores on two or even three events per meet. CRISLER ARENA Who: No. 4 Michigan (82) vs. No. 14'Denver (6-2) and Washington (3-5) When: 4 p.m. Latest Five Michigan seniors, who boast a combined 70-20 career record, will compete in their final home match. we would ever be doing and have come a long way." Plocki says that Kuczera and Peterson are both gymnasts that showed the grit and determination to overcome injuries. "What I'm going to remember most about Amy is her dedication," Plocki said. "She has persevered through so much injury and back pain, and to be able to continue to even do gymnastics as a senior is a statement to her passion for gymnastics." None of the gymnasts have had to go through as much under the X-ray machine asPetersn. 9 E k3