The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 9, 2002 - 5B
Talkin' the talk
"They haven't won yet, but they're on the
verge of starting to win.'
- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on where he believes
Tommy Amaker's Michigan program is at this point in the
season.
SATURDAY'S GAME.
Michigan 59
Duke81
Players of the game
Chuck Bailey
(Michigan)
Sophomore Chuck Bailey had
11 points and three rebounds
off the bench on 5-of-6 shoot-
ing.
Daniel Ewing
(Duke)
Sophomore Daniel Ewing had 17
points, eight rebounds and four
steals in 33 minutes for the
Blue Devils.
Spirit of giving hurting Blue
Cagers can't handle Duke press as they commit 25 turnovers
By Seth Klempner
Daily Sports Writer
DURHAM, N.C. - Before the
game on Saturday, Duke coach
Mike Krzyzewski made sure his
dogs were in the house.
Then he unleashed them on the
Wolverines, implementing a trap
that bewildered and confused
Michigan throughout the entire first
half of the game. This tenacious
Duke defense led to 19 turnovers
and 10 steals in the first 20 minutes.
Michigan finished the game with a
season-high 25 turnovers.
With the Blue Devils up by 19 at
halftime, Krzyzewski called off the
dogs, only occasionally running a
full-court press for the rest of the
game. With more room to bring the
ball up court, Michigan committed
just six turnovers in the second half
en-route to the 81-59 loss.
Since Duke did not pressure as
much, Michigan was able to use
more of the shot clock and set up its
offense. It also meant that the
Wolverines, who ended the day
without any fast-break points,
would not have to try and run with
the faster Blue Devils.
"We were trying not to have the
turnovers that would lead to fast
break points (that would) get the
energy of the crowd and the build-
ing up and rev up their team even
more," said Amaker, who played
four years at-Cameron Indoor Stadi-
um from 1984 to 1987. "Those were
the (turnovers) that I was disap-
pointed with the most..
"Those points were more than just
the two points that they scored -
they were demoralizing for us."
The Blue Devils swiped the ball
away from the Wolverines 14 times
- six of which were by guard Chris
Duhon.
Duke was able to score 20 points
off Michigan turnovers in the first
half alone, while the Wolverines
were only able to muster four points
off six Duke turnovers.
One of the more spectacular
turnovers for Michigan came mid-
way through the first half, when
point guard Daniel Horton tried lob-
bing the ball up court to an open
man to break the trap. With the ball
at the top of its arc, Duke senior
Dahntay Jones jumped at midcourt,
grabbed the ball out of midair and
turned right around on the Wolver-
ines defense.
Many of these turnovers were
caused by careless ball handling and
throwing the ball into Duke players'
hands, allowing for easy transition
points.
"We were being careless with the
ball and making mental mistakes,"
freshman Lester Abram said. "Most
turnovers are mental mistakes.
When you just throw the ball to
your man and they can just come
and steal the ball away, that is a
mental mistake."
It was this ability of the Blue
Devils to get in the passing lanes
and break up or steal haphazard or
errant passes that led to many of the
Wolverines turnovers. Duke's guard
corps, which is considered some of
the fastest in the nation, was able to
pressure Michigan's perimeter play-
ers all night long.
"We have been really concentrat-
ing on our team defense and helping
one another out," Krzyzewski said.
"We are not just moving individual-
ly but moving collectively. That's
how you get the turnovers."
LaVell Blanchard and Bernard
Robinson, who were called on to
help break the trap while Horton
suffered from foul trouble, com-
bined for 13 turnovers between
them. Blanchard led the team with
seven.
Turnover trouble has been a prob-
lem since day one for the Wolver-
ines. With 25 on Saturday against
Duke, Michigan is averaging just
under 17 per game.
The Wolverines have also been
inconsistent, taking care of the ball
better in some games than in others.
They racked up 20 and 21 against
St. Bonaventure and Western Michi-
gan, respectively, but just had nine
against Virginia Tech and 12 against
Central Michigan.
"I think for us, the most difficult
part was taking care of the basket-
ball," Amaker said. "For us to get
ourselves going and get a chance to
get our program.going, we need to
value the basketball a lot more than
we showed here."
SATURDAY'S GAME
Michigan (59)
FG FT REB
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PTS
Abram 28 5-7 3.3 1-3 0 4 14
Horton 28 3-8 0-0 0-3 3 4 9
Robinson 30 2-9 0-0 1-5 3 2 4
Brown 26 2-2 4-7 2-7 2 4 8
Blanchard 27 4-10 0-1 1-4 2 2 9
Harrell 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Groninger 16 0-4 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Hunter 14 1-4 2-3 4-5 0 3 4
Bailey 20 5-6 1-4 1-3 1 5 11
Adebiyi 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Totals 200 22-51 101810.321 U27 59
FG%:.431. FT%: .556.3-point FG: 5-14, .357
(Abram 1-1, Horton 3-6; Robinson 0-2, Blanchard 1-
3, Groninger 0-2). Blocks: 3 (Abram, Robinson,
Hunter). Steals: 3 (Robinson 2, Hunter 1).
Turnovers: 25 (Abram 3, Horton 3, Robinson 4,
Brown 2, Blanchard 7, Harrell 1, Hunter 2, Bailey
2) Technical fouls: none.
Dube (8K)
Redick
Ewing
Sanders
Duhon
Jones
Buckner
Horvath
Melchionni
Dockery
Williams
Randolph
Thompson
Johnson
Means
Totals
MIN
27
33
11
33
25
3
5
4
17
17
17
4
1
3
200
FG
M-A
1-6
6-15
2-2
5-10
6-11
0-0
1-1
0-1
2-5
2-3
4-6
0-0
0-0
0.1
29.61
FT REB
M-A 0-T A FP
0-0 2-7 1 3.
4-5 4-8 0 0
0-0 1-3 0 2
4-6 1-3 5 0
5-8 1-3 2 2
00 0-0 0 0
0-0 0-0 0 1
0-1 2-3 0 0
1-2 1-1 2 4
1-2 2-3 0 4
3-4 1-5 2 4
2-2 0-0 0 2
0-2 0-0 0 1
0- 0-2 0 0
20.3216-40 12 23
PTS
3
17
4
15
17
0
2
0
5
5
11
2
0
0
81
FG%:.475. FT%: .625 3-point FG: 3-18, .167
(Redick 1-5, Ewing 1-5, Duhon 1-5, Jones 0-3,).
Blocks: 5 (Jones, Williams 4). Steals: 14 (Redick 1,
Ewing 4, Duhon 6, Horvath 1, Dockery 1, Randolph
1). Turnovers: 13 (Redick, Ewing 3, Sanders, Duhon
2. Dockery, Williams 3, Randolph, Johnson). Techni-
cal fouls: none.
Michigan...........25 34 - 59
Michigan...........44 3,7 - 81
At: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
Attendance: 9,314
BIG TEN STANDINGS
TONY DING/ Daily
Duke junior Chris Duhon rockets a cross-court pass in the key past Michigan
senior LaVell Blanchard. Duhon finished with 15 points, five assists and six steals.
Team
Indiana
Illinois
Minnesota
Iowa
Wisconsin
Purdue
Northwestern
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Michigan
Conference Overall
W L W L
0 0 6 0
0 0 5 0
0 0 4 0
0 0 5 1
0 0 5 1
0 0 4 1
0 0 4 2
0 0 2 2
0 0 2 2
0-0 0 5
0 0 0 6
Bailey provides unexpected spark
By Charles Paradis
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan's Chuck Bailey scored 11
points off the bench.
DURHAM, N.C. - Coming in to Sati
game against Duke, Michigan forward C
Bailey was averaging just over
nine minutes per contest this
season, but against the Blue BASKETI
Devils, Bailey logged 20 valu- Noteboo
able minutes.
Bailey had a season-high 11
points against Duke on 5-for-6 shooting.I
important as the minutes and points Bailed
vided were, he also provided a spark c
bench for the Wolverines.
Michigan freshman Graham Brown sta:
center for the Wolverines and was another
tional leader against the Blue Devils. E
dropped in eight points and pulled down a
high seven rebounds.
"I thought Chuck gave us a lot of ens
coach Tommy Amaker said. "I was really p
with Chuck and Graham. I thought both
BLUE DEVILS
Continued from Page 1B
Duhon, who left the game early 1
because of a wrist injury, shined on;
defense for the Blue Devils, collecting'
six steals. The junior also starred on the;
offensive end by scoring 15 points and1
five assists.1
Duhon could have had more points,1
but he unselfishly laid the ball off to
his teammates many times, including1
Jones, who pleased the crowd with
spectacular wind-mill dunks.1
"(Duhon) has shown great leader-
ship, and even today in how he was
passing on the break," Mike Krzyzews-
kids competed and played very hard. They stayed
within themselves. Sometimes it is very difficult
to do that in this type of environment, where you
can easily come unglued at the seams. That is
something we were very concerned about - if
we could keep things in a semblance of order.
And I thought those kids, more than anybody
else on our team, were doing that the best."
Bailey shined for the Wolverines, thanks, in
part, to his energy. All season long, Bailey has
provided energy from the bench, and against
Duke, it was no different.
"I just came in with the appetite that 'we just
got to go at these guys and get a good start','
Bailey said. "We came in with a lot of confi-
dence, a lot of poise and patience.
"I just try to be the spark off the bench or in
the starting lineup to give our team energy. That
way we can get rolling."
TROUBLESOME FOULS: Part of the reason Bailey
got off the bench early was because Michigan
freshman Lester Abram picked up a pair of fouls
in the game's opening minutes. The talented
swingman could do nothing but watch for most
of the first half as the Wolverines fell behind.
"That was real frustrating, because I know I
could have been out there helping my team,"
Abram said. "It was frustrating being on the
bench with two quick, quick fouls."
Michigan had problems with fouls in the first
half, as all of its starters picked up at least two
fouls and point guard Daniel Horton collected
three on his own. This pressured the Wolverines
in to playing walk-on Sherrod Harrell at the
point, but more often than not it was jonior -
Bernard Robinson who brought up the ball.'The
loss of Horton led to several of the Wolverines'
19 turnovers in the first half. Amaker said
Duke's quickness, especially on the perimeter,
and Michigan's foul trouble, dug itself a hole the
Wolverines could not get out of.
"For us, the most difficult part was trying to
take care of the basketball," Amaker said. "We
had foul trouble with our point guard, Daniel
Horton, and that really put us in a bind right
away."
Tomorrow's games:
Minnesota vs. Arkansas-LR
N. Iowa at Iowa
Penn State at Clemson
Eastern Illinois at Illinois
Wednesday's games:
Bowling Green vs. Michigan
Temple at Penn State
New Hampshire at Wisconsin
8 p.m.
8:05 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
8 p.m.
7 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
8 p.m.
Last Saturday's results:
Duke 81f Michigan 59
Indiana 91, Illinois-Chicago 62
Wisconsin 91, UNLV 74
Iowa 63, Southern Mississippi 63
Illinois 62, Arkansas 58
Purdue 95, San Diego 65
Northwestern 62, Bowling Green 60
Ohio State 71, Tennessee Tech 64
Pittsburgh 82, Penn State 60
Yesterday's games:
Michigan State 79, Cleveland State 47
Minnesota vs. Nebraska
ToDAY's games:
Vanderbilt at Indiana
BURKE
Continued from Page 1B
toward winning next year for this
team..
The rotation in 2003-04 will likely
feature one senior (Bernard Robin-
son), two juniors (Chuck Bailey and
transfer J.C. Mathis) and a combina-
tion of 10 sophomores or freshmen.
No, Michigan didn't beat Duke on
Saturday, and no, they are not a bad
enough team to be 0-6 right now. But,
believe it or not, there are some posi-
tives developing in this season.
Center Graham Brown is slowly
beginning to look like he belongs in
the post. Bailey's play has not only
earned him a place on the court, but
also made that scenario unavoidable
if the Wolverines are to be successful.
Freshmen Daniel Horton and Lester
Abram are taking on the look of a
four-year starting backcourt.
There is talent here - more than
0-6 talent. Add in new faces like
Mathis, Dion Harris, Brent Petway
and Courtney Sims and then-eligible
Amadou Ba next year, and Michigan
- if the NCAA allows it - becomes
a postseason threat next year, no
doubt about it.
"They haven't won yet," Krzyzews-
ki said. "But they're on the verge of
starting to win."
In the meantime, Amaker and
Michigan fans can take heart in the
fact that, even for the greatest of col-
lege basketball minds in Coach K, it
didn't click right away.
Michigan needs stability and a
coach willing to devote himself to
making this program great again.
Amaker brings both of those quali-
ties, and deserves more than a full
season and six games to prove what
he can do, just like Coach K has done
at Duke.
ki. "He probably could have scored
about three or four more buckets on his
own but he is always looking for some-
body else. He wants these guys to get
going."
Despite the loss, even Krzyzewski
gave credit to the Wolverines, especial-
ly the defense which held the Blue
Devils to just 17 percent from beyond
the .arc. Krzyzewski repeatedly
expressed his respect for Michigan and
the game it played Saturday.
"They haven't won yet, but I think
they are on the verge of starting to
win," Krzyzewski said. "They played
really hard today. They had a good look
on their faces, Michigan did."
UP NEXT:
Crazy talk
The Cameron Crazies may have given Tommy Amaker a warm welcome for his return
to Duke, but they weren't as kind to his players. In addition to their standard jeers,
the Crazies came up with a few special ideas for the Wolverines. Many fans even held
up dollar signs with Chris Webber's photo and "In Ed Martin they trust" written on it.
"Show me the money" - Although this may not be completely original, it fit pretty well
against Michigan. The memory of Ed Martin seemed to be fresh in the Crazies' minds.
"Six games, no wins" - As the game came to a close, this seemed to be the chant of
choice, as Michigan became one of the few teams in the nation to fall to 0-6.
"Lester, Lester" - As Michigan's most consistent player Saturday, the Crazies never failed to
constantly harrass freshman Lester Abram.
Kevin Netter
TONY DING/Daily
The Cameron Crazies packed Cameron Indoor Stadium yesterday as the
Blue Devils cruised to a 22-point win over Michigan.
I
BOWLING
GREEN
The Falcons are hurting in more
ways than one after losing a nail-
biter to Northwestern on Saturday.
Sophomore Germain Fitch, the Fal-
cons' best player, had a season-
ending knee injury last week.
NEXT WEEKEND:
CIIARLESTON-
SOUT.HERN
The Buccaneers (3-1) have started
strong and could give the Wolver-
ines trouble when they come to
town Saturday afternoon.
'M' STATS
- WEEKEND NOTES
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
No. 7 Oregon 84, No. 14 Kansas 78:
Oregon avenged its loss in last year's
NCAA Tournament by adding another
loss to Kansas' already shoddy
record.
Luke Ridenour led the way with 25
points, nine assists and seven
rebounds, while Luke Jackson added
26 points and nine rebounds. The
Ducks went on a 10-2 run to close
out the game, with Ridenour nailing a
3-pointer and then sinking a foul shot
to end it.
Kirk Heinrich oaced the Jayhawks
blistering 10-16 on 3-pointers.
Freshman Rashaad McCants, who
lead the Tarheels with 22 points,
injured his ankle in the waning
moments of the game. Fellow fresh-
man Sean May also added 14 points
and 10 rebounds.
Notre Dame 98, No. 2 Texas 92:
Just one night after knocking off
No. 9 Maryland in the first round of
the BB&T Classic on Saturday,
Notre Dame knocked off the No. 2
Longhorns in yesterday'stchampi-
onship game to win the tournament.
Team
1. Arizona
2. Texas.
3. Alabama
4. Duke
5. Pittsburgh
6. Oklahoma
7. Oregon
8. Florida
9. Maryland
10. Indiana
11. Connecticut
12. North Carolina
Record
4-0
5-0
6-0
5-0
5-0
4-1
5-0
3-1
4-2
6-0
5-0
5-2
This weekend's results
Beat San Diego State 89-81
vs. Notre Dame
Beat St. Bonaventure
Beat Michigan 81-59
Beat Penn State 82-60
Beat Hartford 92-52
Beat No. 14 Kansas 84-78
Beat Prairie View 76-63
Beat George Washington 93-82
Beat Illinois-Chicago 91-62
Beat Wagner 97-85
Lost to No. 18 Kentucky 98-81
Player
Blanchard
Horton
G
6
6
Min
31.5
31.7
A
1.2
2.8
Reb
6.2
3.2
Pts.
14.7
13.3