The Michigan Daily - SportsTuesday - September 2, 2003 - 15A
For a championship plan,
Blue should look to Bucks
J. BRADY McC
The Sports Tuesda
This is tough for met
day morning, for th
like 17 years, I wok
warm puddle of urine.
Nightmares like the on
cause any respectable Mi
lose control of his bladder
I dreamed that THE Oh
versity had taken over the
turned on CNN only to se
the first president of the U
to be inaugurated wearing
sweater-vest and a scarlet1
the rabid crowd in a rousi
of "Carmen Ohio."
The U. S. Senate and H
resentatives were throwin
Lights. The Senate handle
The House, "I-O!"
CLICK. I turned the TV
can't be right. I decided to;
East Ann house and make
were still OK in Ann Arbo
it. Riots on East Ann!
Grad students tipping
over cars! Jimmy Johns
being looted!
It started to sink in.
Ann Arbor had been
taken over by Buck
Nuts, and there was
nothing any Michigan
man could do to stop it.
So what triggered all
built an insurmountable lead against a
top-25 team, they didn't turn the ball
over once and had just one penalty, a
false start. That's perfect, not because
it's pretty, but because it is mistake-free.
Ohio State had just 347 yards of total
offense without Clarett, but it took
advantage of every red zone opportuni-
)LLOUGH ty it had, going 3-for-3 where it counts
y Column against a hapless Husky defense.
Michigan put up 613 yards of total
to admit. Sun- offense, having its way with Central
e first time in Michigan, but went 2-for-4 scoring
ke up in a touchdowns in the red zone in the first
half, which kept Central in the game
e I had would until the middle of the third quarter.
chigan man to The bottom line is that whether any-
r. one at Schembechler Hall will admit it
io State Uni- or not, Ohio State has set the bar for
World. I this season of Michigan football. And in
e Jim Tressel, order to function in this Buckeye world
Jnited States we're living in, the Wolverines need to
a gray model their philosophy after Tress and
tie, leading the Bucks: Strive for perfection, or
ng rendition don't strive at all.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr spoke at
louse of Rep- this week's media luncheon about how
g down Natty it's unrealistic for his players to be per-
ed the "O-H!" fect. I understand that. But I think the
illusion, realistic or not, is necessary for
Joff. That players to actually play a perfect game.
go outside my Saturday afternoon, Michigan made
sure things too many mistakes for a team that
r. Then I saw believes it can win a championship. The
Wolverines dropped
The bottom line is that touchdown passes in the
whether anyone at red zone. They gave up
218 yards rushing to the
Schembechler Hall would Chippewas. There was
admit it or not, Ohio State Michigan's token per-
has set the bar for this .sonal foul penalty, this
one by defensive tackle
season of Michigan Norman Heuer, which
football, moved the Chips closer
to scoring position. The
hed Ohio kicking game once again looked out of
hington Satur- sync, as Adam Finley made just 1-of-3
ow the answer. field goal attempts.
at good. Soil- Not to focus on the negatives or any-
thing, but this team has the potential to
have taken be great. We all know that. Unfortunate-
y morning, but ly, the same can be said for each team
f reality I I've watched the past three years. They
he Buckeyes all showed flashes of greatness, but
ke impotent were never consistently great.
Considering the reaction I had to
, but I honest- watching the Buckeyes play the first
n't going to time in 2003,I can't imagine how the
ip caliber Wolverines handled it. Their reaction
without Mau- will be key. Did they turn the TV off and
Bucks jumped say "Washington sucks anyway," or did
n without their they watch intently and think hard about
mething: why those Buckeyes are so damn good.
way. Until Michigan figures it out and
, resel may plays with the discipline of its greatest
Buck Nuts nemesis, we'll still just be Wolverines
e's returned living in a Buckeye world.
He demands And that's something this Michigan
le time hi o 'n an's bladdeIan't take.
BURNETT
Continued from Page 113
TMID: So there were no problems?
CB: It was time. I've always just left
it at that.
TMD: How excited were you at the
opportunity to come to Michigan?
CB: It was a dream come true. It's a
wonderful blend of the things I believe
are important and what Michigan is all
about. The tradition, the dignity, the
academic excellence - and now hav-
ing the institution to back it up.
TMD: You passed up a job with
Minnesota. What happened?
CB: They didn't have an athletic
director. The person hiring me was on
their way out. Minnesota at the time
had had separate programs. They were
combining their athletic department,
but hadn't hired the athletic director yet.
And then the NCAA sanctions that their
women's program had imposed upon
them hadn't been made public yet -
there was a possibility they would not
have post-season play after their first
year (this did not occur). Everything
was in limbo, and I just didn't feel it
was where I wanted to be.
TMD: Were you ever worried at any-
time that you wouldn't find a job?
CB: I am a very faithful person, and I
just felt like it would work out someway
- it might not have been the way I
wanted it to, but it was going to work
out - and it did.
TMD: Sue Guevara recruited some
new players last year. Are they still
coming?
CB: There are two that are incoming
freshmen. I inherited the same team,
and yes they are all here.
TMD: Do they have any qualms
about coming to Michigan with a differ-
ent coach?
CB: Whenever a team loses a coach-
ing staff, even just one member ... it's
kind of like losing a part of your family
because you know exactly what the
coaches expect of you because you
spend so much time together. These
players have had a loss. The people that
they know and trust and are a part of-
their staff is gone. I've always been very
protective of the players as far as us try-
ing to fulfill that trust factor but never
trying to replace the people that they
already knew.
TMD: How do you think you're
The Burnett File
Hometown: Centralia, Mo.
Coaching Experience:
- Southwest Missouri State head
coach (15 seasons), 1987-2002
- Southwest Missouri State assis-
tant coach (three seasons), 1984-
87
- Illinois assistant coach (three
seasons), 1982-84
- Illinois graduate assistant
coach (one.season) 1981-82
Playing experience: Kansas,
1977-80
Accomplishments:
-.701 winning percentage
- Guided Southwest Missouri
State to the Final Four in 1992
and 2001
- Was first female to receive full
scholarship from Kansas
going to get a big fan base going here?
CB: We definitely worked very hard
to get that fan base (at Southwest Mis-
souri State), and it was a very strategic,
step-by-step (process). It was kind of
like corporate America, where you
have a five year plan and here are the
steps you want to take with that plan.
Number one, you've got to win -
that's my responsibility and our staff's
responsibility. And I think, too, our
style of play is going to be one that
people are really going to appreciate.
The thing that I loved about our old
fan base was that even if we lost, it was
like our fans lost with us. They felt like
we worked so hard and they wanted us
to win. It wasn't a critical fan base
where as soon as you lose, it's like they
turn tail and go the other way. It's like
they share it with us.
One of the biggest things I like to do
is have our players have an identity
with the community where they know
the quality of people we're bringing
into the program, where they will
know Jen (Smith), they will know
Stephanie Gandy as people. I want
every seventy-year-old to feel like
that's their granddaughter, every little
boy and girl to feel like that's some-
body they know.
TMD: How is the team chemistry
right now and what will you do to
strengthen it?
CB: The press conference was April
21 and Michigan was just getting out of
class. As soon as class is over, coaches
can no longer work with their players
because the NCAA legislates that we
cannot. Of course we've been together a
lot in terms of camp. They are doing
summer workouts that we have imple-
mented with our strength and condi-
tioning coach. So it's been difficult for
us on a daily basis for them to really
know what they're in for. One of the
things that our staff's strength is, is con-
ditioning. We will be in the best shape
of anyone in the country. We want to
work that hard. That's how we are going
to be successful.
It's been a little bit difficult to devel-
op that chemistry that you're talking
about, but this group of players has
been up here all the time. They want to
know what the workouts are, they want
to get started on them.
TMD: It's been said before that you
are a very demanding coach. Some-
times this has been cited as a weak-
ness. How would you respond to that
perception?
CB: Well, I'll take you on a campus
visit. Kids come on campus, and we
will tell them what we will expect
from them in conditioning. We'll tell
them how hard they're going to work
in the weight room, we'll tell them we
expect them to sprint and run distance
and how that corresponds with on the
court. Hopefully, they've.been to a
practice where they will see (the inten-
a
sity). If that doesn't intrigue them, we
say, 'This probably isn't a good place
for you.'
The kids and the players that really
want to reach their potential - and I
always talk about it in four ways - as
an athlete and basketball player, aca-
demically, socially for them to become
the most well-rounded citizen and spiri-
tually. If they and their parents want
them to reach their potential in those
four areas, then this is the place to go. Is
that demanding? I guess if you're a lazy
person it's demanding. All the kids that
have ever played for me are those that
want that and have loved that. It is going
to be challenging. But how do you get
from the bottom of the Big Ten to the
top? You work harder than anyone else.
TMD: Do you feel like you have any
weaknesses as a coach?
CB: Absolutely. One of my weak-
nesses is I do not coach zone very well.
We're going full-court press and pres-
surized man-to-man. I don't like zones,
and I don't like to use them. Up front,
sometimes I probably should have
(used them). I could always become a
better communicator. I have learned
from a very young age that you can
learn from any kind of environment.
And that goes for me with any area of
life. I think it's more important to be a
great person - warm and loving -
than to be a successful basketball
coach. But then if you can combine
them, that's awesome.
TMD: Who would you compare
your coaching style to?
CB: That's a hard one. I've had many
mentors, but I don't know that there's
one that's totally similar. One of my
first mentors was Charlie Spoonhauer
who was the men's coach at Southwest
Missouri State when I was a young
coach, then went to St. Louis and is
now new at UNLV Roy Williams, for-
merly University of Kansas. I'm a
Kansas graduate. Not that I know coach
RYAN WEINER/Daily
The Michigan women's basketball team will be under new direction this season.
Williams intimately, but he has shared a
lot with me in terms of basketball. Dean
Smith of North Carolina. I'd like to say
that our work ethic and our half-court
defense would be like Tennessee's Pat
Summitt. Work ethic and commitment
to the game.
TMD: In light of what happened last
season (Guevara's controversial resigna-
tion), have you discussed that with the
players?
CB: I am so appreciative of me being
here, and I'm extremely respectful of
those that have come before. When
you're a woman in athletics, there have
been some major trailblazers that really
had to open doors for women in sports.
So anybody that's ever coached here,
and the players that were here before, I
have great respect for. I'm closing the
door on what happened.
I am blessed to be here. And I told the
players from the beginning that I will
respect their coaches that were here
before. They can feel free to say their
names and respect the coaches that were
here before because I am very open to
that. I am very open to the past coaching
staff. They are a part of Michigan histo-
ry, and I treasure that. I've left all that
behind in a very positive, respectful way.
Now it's my challenge.
TMD: Have you had to deal with
criticism because of last season?
CB: None. From the very first press
conference our staff has established that
we are just moving forward. We're not
going backwards to figure out anything.
Now it's just a matter of us figuring out
how to be successful and running the pro-
gram the way we want to. Everybody has
been awesome. It seems to me like the
University of Michigan, the community,
regional, even nationally - high school
coaches, players - everybody is ready
for Michigan to explode. And hopefully
we are the ones in the right time frame of
history. It's like everyone wants it to be sq
successful - let's just go do it.
this madness? If you watcl
State's 28-9 win over Wast
day night on ABC, you kn
The Buckeyes were just th
ing your pants good.
My subconscious mayl
things a bit too far Sunda
it was a result of the jolt o
received from watching tI
make the Huskies look lii
poodles.
I don't know about you
ly thought Ohio State was
be a national championsh
team this year - with or,
rice Clarett. But after thel
ahead 21-0 on Washingto
star tailback, I realized so
These guys aren't going a
Presdent I mean coach
not be a genius like many
would like to think But h
Ohio State to elite status. I
perfe .nAd ost of th
team responds by giving h
The Buckeyes finished
penalties and two turnove
night. But in the first half
iim just that.
with four
rs Saturday
, when they
J Brady McCollough can be reached at
bradymcc@umich.edu.
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