catbe IThdt gu p i
1September , 2002
michigandaily.comC
sportsdesk~umich.edu SOT
Jackson stars,
pass defense
still far behind
By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
Washington sophomore wide receiver Reggie
Williams is known for his swagger and brash
trash talk.
B ut Michigan star corner Marlin Jackson didn't
hear a peep from him on Saturday.
That's because Jackson virtually shut down the
All-America candidate, limiting him to just three
catches for 29 yards when the two went head-to-
head. Jackson said he studied film on Williams,
and noticed opposing corners had success aggres-
sively jamming him at the line - a style Jackson
loves to utilize.
"That's the kind of corner I am," Jackson said.
Williams' other three catches came when Jack-
son either left the field due to injury, wasn't cover-
ing Williams or blitzed quarterback Cody Pickett.
Williams finished with six catches for 72 yards
but zero touchdowns.
"I believe I did, if I recall, win the battle," said
Jackson, who posted a career-high six pass
breakups. "He was a great player, but it wasn't
his day."
It wasn't just that Jackson held Williams in
check, but the timing of the cornerback's
breakups.
Minutes after Michigan had taken a 14-0 lead
with a deep ball to Braylon Edwards, Washington
tried to answer the call with a bomb to Williams.
But Jackson stayed in Williams' hip pocket, and
swatted away the pass.
Late in the second half, with the Huskies threat-
ening, Jackson shadowed Williams on one of his
patented fade routes into the end zone. But Pick-
ett's pass was underthrown and Jackson knocked
the ball out of harms' way.
"He's just a great cover corner," Williams
admitted.
Even though Jackson locked down Williams, the
Wolverines still gave up 318 yards passing.
"We can't do that," said defensive end Dan
Rumishek. "If you expect to win against good
teams, you can't give up over 300 yards passing."
Rumishek said the main reason Pickett picked
apart Michigan's secondary was the lack of pres-
sure the Wolverines highly-touted defensive line
could put on the junior quarterback. Michigan,
which broke a school record with 50 sacks last
season, sacked Pickett just twice Saturday.
Rumishek said he was surprised how much
Washington utilized three-step drops, which left
Michigan pass-rushers painfully so close, yet so
far from Pickett.
"I cannot tell you how frustrating that was,"
said defensive tackle Norman Heuer. "You always
Robinson gears up
to lead Blue offense
By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Writer
With the graduation of senior center
Chris Young, finding a capable leader
will be a pressing concern for the
Michigan men's bas-
ketball team this sea-
son. But another,
equally important
concern for the play-
ers will be adjusting
to a new, up-tempo
style of play.
Michigan coach Robinson
Tommy Amaker has
already said that without an experi-
enced post player this season, the
Wolverines will have to spread the floor
and look to push the ball more often.
"It's one of the things we tried to
implement last year,"Amaker said. "We
want to extend the floor defensively and
create some type of tempo. We had two
solid performances last year in Indi-
anapolis (at the Big Ten Tournament),
and we would like to see if we can build
off that."
One player that has the opportunity
to take advantage of this new style is
junior Bernard Robinson. Considered
to be the most athletic player on the
team, a quicker pace should give
Robinson more room to create his own
shot or run the fast break. The question
is whether or not he is ready.
"I think it's obvious he should be a
very key member of the basketball
team," Amaker said. "He had a very
productive summer."
After spending one term taking sum-
mer classes in Ann Arbor, Robinson
was selected to play for the 2002 Big
Ten Conference Foreign Tour team
from Aug. 8-18. Coached hy Illinois''
Bill Self, the team was composed of
such talented players as Michigan
State's Chris Hill, Indiana's Tom
Coverdale and Northwestern's Winston
Blake. In five games on the tour,
Robinson averaged 10.2 points, 6.8
rebounds, and 1.4 assists in just 17.2
minutes per game. Against the telecom
Baskets Bonn on Aug. 11, Robinson
led the team with 18 points and 14
rebounds. It was his best game on tour
and the team finished with at 4-1 over-
all.
Amaker says Robinson seems to
have benefited a great deal from his
summer abroad.
"He came back really excited,"
Amaker said. "He played with some
really great players, and I think it was a
really good experience for him."
Prior to the start of last season,
Robinson was stricken with mono,
which did not allow him to start the
season at full strength. Amaker feels
that the illness not only hurt Robinson
early on, but did not allow him to ever
reach his full playing potential. With
those health issues completely out of
the way entering this season, more is
expected out of Robinson.
"I'm not sure if he ever really recov-
ered from that last year," Amaker said.
The make-up of this season's team
should give Robinson an excellent
opportunity to shine. Last season, the
presence of Chris Young on the floor
hindered Robinson's ability to create on
his own. But with so many inexperi-
enced players joining the team, Robin-
son could be asked to lead Michigan's
offensive charge.
"I think he feels healthy and very
confident,"Amaker said.
Markus (30) and Julius Curry (26) denied Washington receiver Paul Arnold the ball on this play, but-could not
contain the Huskies' passing game as quarterback Cody Pickett passed for 38 yards.
want to get there, but if you cannot get the sack 22 yards on the ground and 267 yards passing -
you want to put a hit on him so he knows that you respectable numbers against one of the Pac-O's
are there." top offenses.
Heuer said it was even more troubling that "If you take that long pass and that long run out
Michigan nearly forced the Huskies to be one of their yardage, you come out of there saying that
dimensional on offense - holding them to 81 was as good a defensive effort as you could ever
yards on the ground, most of which came on a 59- ask for," Carr said. "That's what skews it."
yard run by Rich Alexis - yet not being able to Carr was especially annoyed with Fredrick's big
stop them through the air. catch, especially because Michigan knew the
The Wolverines were mostly victimized when Huskies were passing. On third-and-20 in Wash-
they gave talented Washington receivers Eddie ington's first possession of the second half,
Jackson and Charles Fredrick big cushions in zone Fredrick beat double coverage by brothers Julius
coverage. Tight end Kevin Ware also found his and Markus Curry and watched the ball slide
way underneath Michigan safeties for four catches through both of their hands and into his grasp.
and 38 yards. The 51-yard touchdown gave Washington its first
But Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said a couple lead, 20-14.
big plays made what he considered a solid defen- "We just came in level-headed knowing they
sive game lose its luster. Without Alexis' 59-yard have a good offense and were going to catch some
scamper and Fredrick's 51-yard touchdown recep- balls," Markus Curry said. "We just couldn't break
tion, Michigan's defensive totals would have been down like that and let them beat us deep."
European vacation
Michigan junior Bernard Robinson spent his summer in Europe playing for the
Big Ten Conference Foreign Tour team. Here's a recap of his performance frpm
each game. Asterisks indicate that he led the team in that category.
Date Opponent FG Reb Ast Blks Pts Min
8/10 Tus Treis-Karden 3-9 8 1 1 6 17
8/It Telecom Baskets Bonn 7-12 14* 0 2 18* 20*
8/13 Leige Basketball Club 3-8 4 5* 0 8 15
8/15 Spirou Charleroi 4-8 4 1 0 8 19
8/17 RicohAstronauts 3-7 4 0 0 11 15
Totals 20-44 34 7 3 51 86
Average .455 6.8 0.6 1.4 10.2 17.2
Shots fired at Jalen Rose
in attempted carjacking
1~1
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A pas-
senger in a car driven by Chicago
Bulls guard and ex-University of
Michigan star Jaten Rose was hospi-
talized yesterday after being shot in
the face during an attempted carjack-
ing.
The NBA player was unhurt and
the passenger's injury was not life-
threatening, Los Angeles police Offi-
cer Ed Funes said.
The pair were traveling in the 2002
Bentley Azure in the westside com-
munity of Brentwood around 3 a.m.,
Funes said. A Cadillac Escalade
pulled up behind them and a man got
out and approached the passenger
side of the Bentley.
"The suspect pointed a gun at
Rose's vehicle and told him to give
up the car," Funes said.
Rose, 29, sped away but the sus-
pect started firing, striking the 34-
year-old passenger, Funes said.
Authorities withheld the passen-
ger's name because the suspect is still
at large and his motive remains under
investigation, Funes said.
"We don't want to put their safety
in jeopardy," he said.
Rose, who was part of the Wolver-
ines' vaunted "Fab-Five" in the early
1990s, was traded in February from
the Indiana Pacers to the Chicago
Bulls.
"The police are investigating the
matter, and we have no further com-
ment at this time," Rose spokeswoman
Alyson Sadofsky said by telephone
from her office in Washington, D.C.
If
Former Wolverine Jalen Rose escaped
injury in yesterday's carjacking attempt.
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Women's Soccer
Friday, Sept. 6
U-M vs. Western Michigan
4 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8
U-M vs. Eastern Michigan
2 p.m.
Home games at the U-M
Soccer Field on State Street.
Admission is FREE!
Men's Soccer
Friday, Sept. 6
Michigan vs. IUPUI
6 p.m.
Elbel Field
Admission is FREE!
14For
M e Athle
Field Hockey
Saturday, Sept. 7
Michigan vs.
Central Michigan
10 a.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8
Michigan vs. Ball State
1 p.m.
Home games played at
Phyllis Ocker Field on
State Street.
Admission is FREE!
Presroted Ity:
Home matches at """ SAR
Cliff Keen Arena Visit the Michigan Experience prior
to every home footbalttgame.
Admission is $4 for adults; $2 for Inflatable games, free
children and senior citizens. samples, giveaways and more!
U-M students admitted for FREEI.Located in the South Blue Lot off of
Stadium Drive.
more info. on Michigan Admission is FREE!
etics visit MGoBlue.com.