Thursday January 3, 2003 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu ORTeiSigtn 3tilg 5A Horton, D' show JOE SMITH they are human By Seth Klmpner Daily Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN - Michigan fans had been dreading to see the chink in the armor of their freshman phenom Daniel Horton, and yesterday they lamentably got a chance to see it dur- ing a 67-60 loss at Illinois. The loss snapped a 13-game winning streak that began before the exam period began during the fall semester. With 11 minutes to go in the second half, Illinois' own standout freshman guard, Dee Brown, challenged Horton and forced him to labor the ball across halfcourt by playing tight defense. Once across, Horton seemed all too glad to get the ball to a teammate. "The thing is, you pick up the pres- sure, but the other guy is a McDonald's All American, and he has jets too so you can't just pick him up," Illinois coach Bill Self said of Brown's play on Horton. "He did an unbelievable job of picking his spots and made a couple of blunders, but not many." Just a few minutes later, Horton let go of a lackadaisical pass headed toward the Michigan bench. The pass seemed to lack the energy and mental readiness that usually accompanies his play and was one of the first times this season that Horton appeared to be flus- tered. The freshman finished with seven turnovers, matching his point total, to go along with iwo assists. Horton, who is leading the team in minutes played, clocked in 39 last night, receiving his only minute of rest in the first half. Long nights like these are not unusual to the freshman, who has played 38 minutes or more in eight of his last 10 games. He is averaging 37.3 minutes per game to go along with 18 points in Big Ten play. Horton "has played beyond his years for the majority of our games," Michi- gan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I thought tonight was a game where for- moments, he played like a freshman. And you have to remember that he is going to have moments where he is going to play like a freshman. I think he has earned that right and deserved that right." But the problem for the Wolverines was that Horton was not the only one who seemed to hit the wall. Michigan's zone defense, which was able to frus- trate Illinois all first half, lacked the same intensity in the second. The second half was a separate story for Illinois, which broke out of its 25- percent shooting funk to shoot 11-for- 21, as Brian Cook dropped 26 points on the Wolverines in the half. The Wolverine defense, which has carried the team through the end of games during the winning streak, seemed to be nonexistent. In the past several games, Michigan has been able to clamp down in the closing minutes, holding its opponents scoreless during key stretches at the end of the games. This defense had been allowing Michi- gan to hold onto leads and win the game from the charity stripe. During a seven-minute span in the second half, Illinois chipped away at a 10-point lead to tie the game at 53 apiece with 5:54 to go. But the run the Wolverines had been making in previous games was nowhere to be found, as Illinois wore them down. It did not help that Cook, who went 6-for-6 from inside in the second half, effortlessly answered every Michigan bucket as the Wolver- ines tried to pull away. While senior LaVell Blanchard did- n't think his team was fatigued in the second half, the 39 points allowed in the second half, a conference high for the Wolverines, indicates otherwise. In the end, it was the fresher legs that were the difference in the game, as the Wolverines struggled to keep up with a team that played with the ener- gy of five puppies. But the Wolverines will not get a chance to rest their tired legs, as they will have to hit the road again this weekend to play at Minnesota. Get on the bandwagon: no headbands allowed The campus was buzzing. Maize and blue headbands were the latest fad. And the Michigan basketball bandwagon was picking up steam. It was autumn of 1999. A group of five talented freshmen strutted into Crisler Arena, gearing up to take Michigan hoops to new heights. Silky, smooth freshman Jamal Crawford attracted a cult-like follow- ing for his trendy headband, brash con- fidence and uncanny ability to take over games. And he put the Wolverines on his shoulders. In the first six games, Crawford put on his headband and Superman cape, nailing two game- winning shots. Sound familiar? And along with backcourt buddy Kevin Gaines, sharp-shooting guard Gavin Groninger, hometown-hero LaVell Blanchard and little-known enforcer Leland Anderson, the fresh- man-laden Wolverines shocked the nation with a 12-3 start. Sound familiar? It should. This year, a similar group of fresh- men have revitalized the once-proud program recently decimated by dou- ble-digit losses, off-court issues, a fired coach and endless amounts of embarrassment. And the reason this year's version of the "Fab Five" will bring the Wolverines back from the national doghouse and into the penthouse is that they don't have the selfish and detrimental characteristics that tore apart the 1999 team. "The biggest difference between my (freshman) class and this class is the cohesiveness," Groninger said. "People had agendas my year, they were look- ing to go to the next level, at least a couple of them. "These guys are a cohesive unit. They embrace their roles. And they love playing together." Yes, the 1999 team may have been more talented, more flashy and more successful in the first six games (6-0). But the Wolverines also had bigger egos, bigger rap sheets and a bigger problem just making it to their sopho- more years. Unlike this year's team, which is in the driver's seat of the Big Ten race at 6-1, the 1999 Wolverines'dropped eight of their first 11 conference games on their way to a somewhat dis- appointing 15-14 season - ending in a first-round NIT loss to Notre Dame. See SMITH, Page 8A AP PHOTO Michigan junior Bernard Robinson tries to stop Illinois guard Deron Williams as he pulls up for a jump shot. Michigan's winning streak was broken at 13. BIG TEN Team Michigan Purdue Illinois Wisconsin Iowa Indiana Minnesota Michigan State Ohio State Northwestern Penn State STANDINGS Conference Overall W 6 5 5 4 3 4 3 3 2 0 0 L 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 W 13 13 15 14 11 14 11 11 9 8 5 L 7 4 3 4 5 5 6 8 9 9 12 CROSS STREET I rFKt tanning with packages 45 Minutes + 10 Free $13.95 90 Minutes + 20 Free $21.95 180 Minutes + 40 Free $34.95 More Deals! Call Today! Expiration March 20, 2003 New Lser Research of you have moderate to severe acne you may qual for a research study involving new laser technology at the University of Michigan Department of Dermatology oyou 'w, ,a oreceive up tp $OO *r yo3rPAr cPsI of you are interested in participaing, cafl the Univerasty of Michigan Department of Dermatology to find out more. o0Ti number is: ( 34) 764-D RM leUUniversity of Michigan ~ Medical Center Yesterday's results: LIJNOIs 67, Michigan 60 Minnesota 76, PENN STATE 75 PURDUE 70, Ohio State 65 WIScoNSIN 69, Northwestern 50 Saturday's games: Michigan at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m. Northwestern at Ohio State, 12:15 p.m. Purdue at Iowa, 8:05 p.m. Penn State at Wisconsin, 4:37 p.m. 215 W. Cross Street Ypsilanti, M1 480-1054 _ N UN 02/03 winter season Your team of the future You can join it today at Micron {. ;: ,. fry y.:, ,,,; ,. .: fl .. f +, ;,, $10 Rush Tickets on sale 10 am-5 pm the day of the performance or the Friday before a weekend event at the UMS Ticket Office, located in the Michigan League. 50% Rush Tickets on sale beginning 90 minutes before the event at the performance hall Box Office. Egberto Gismonti A versatile cross-over artist, Egberto Gismonti's piano and guitar music is a unique fusion Sat 2/1 8 pm of Brazilian soul and Michigan Theater smooth jazz that BBC called "beautiful music, beautifully played." ich UMS hosts faculty mem- bers from the University Chamber Players of Michigan School of Sun 2/2 4 pm Music this free per- formance of music by Rackham Auditorium Mendelssohn, Henze and Reinecke. Vienna: Lusthaus This splendid revival of Martha Clarke's 1986 (revisited) dance-theater piece Conceived and directed presents the world from by Martha Clarke which the art, political Fri 2/78ideals, and bloodshed 8 pm of the 20th century were Snt 2 R nm hnrn thrnuh maic nnd Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of semiconductors, values people who are firmly focused on the future and who have the vision to imagine things beyond the expected. Think fast. Think Micron. The future of technology can be your future, too. Meet Micron! Information Session Tuesday, February 4 1311 EECS, 6:30 p.m. Pizza and sodas will be provided. Applicable Majors: Computer Engineering Electrical Engineering Micron offers a generous benefits package, including: 401(k) with company match Competitive Base Pay Time Off Plan Employee Stock Purchase Plan N- A -w I IN 4A -- -A - - A lf- \./M ANI