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. * o .ws Ma aNr-a.ua ~Aoft~j 1i I Tl .inqmyygiw w....in~nnwqn uu~J.u A inw.wwmm I - One of the LARGEST selections of USED BOOKS! * Shop online at ecampus.com 24 hours a day! - Shipping right to your door! * No lines, no hassles! - Guaranteed low prices! * Also find IVO's, CD's college & greek apparel, laptops, at prices lower than your college bookstore! r D i FREE TmShir11 ~t~i 11 1 k~Arrchae iL nter coupon code "1100" at checkout. num ame ame mme NJm I i nos L:1e e a inHuE Li an1L rin ic 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.