w w w w w w r---w 'W "W -I- _1w .,qw__ -mw -qqmpl --.r ,..r - c-.f ~'[ I 2B - The Michigan Daily - Tipoff2003 -- Thursday, November 6, 2003 The Michigan Daily - Tipoff TABLE OF CONTENTS 'HE BELIEVEDIN ME' PAGE 4 By viewing his players as individuals rather than just members of a basketball team, Michigan's Tommy Amaker has been forming special relationships since his coaching days at Seton Hall. TAKING THE LONG WAY PAGE 5 J.C. Mathis left Virginia just hoping for a chance to play. He found Ann Arbor, where he's become one of the Wolverines' leaders. THE ROAD TO MADNESS PAGES 6-7 Eligibile for postseason play again, the road back to the NCAA Tournament will be filled with potholes for the Wolverines to avoid. CRYSTAL BALL PAGE 8 The Michigan Daily basketball writers give a glimpse into the future as they predict what will happen with the Wolverines and the rest of the NCAA. SEASONED VETERAN PAGE 9 Senior Bernard Robinson has been through it all in his three-plus years at Michigan. Now he's poised for his biggest year yet. BIG MEN ON CAMPUS PAGE 10 The days of being too thin in the frontcourt appear to have passed Michigan by, as the Wolverines' lineup will include six big men. 2003-04 Roster No. 2 11 50 25 40 22 5 4 31 32 23 21 44 3 Wolverine Lester Abram John Andrews Amadou Ba Graham Brown Colin Dill (c) Sherrod Harrell Dion Harris Daniel Horton Chris Hunter J.C. Mathis (c) Brent Petway Bernard Robinson Jr. Courtney Sims Dani Wohl Pos. W W C F/C F G G G F/C F F W F/C G Ht. 6-6 6-5 6-10 6-9 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-3 6-11 6-8 6-9 6-6 6-11 5-11 Wt. 190 210 250 255 240 205 200 195 215 235 205 210 230 180 Elig. Freshman Freshman Freshman Sophomore Senior Sophomore Freshman Sophomore Sophomore Junior Freshman Senior Freshman Sophomore (c) 2003-04 captain Head coach: Tommy Amaker Assistant coaches: Charles Ramsey, Chuck Swenson, Andrew Moore Director of Basketball Operations: Kirsten Green Administrative Assistant: Lucien St. Gerard Production crew DAILY BASKETBALL WRITERS Chris Burke Daniel Bremmer Bob Hunt Dan Rosen EDITOR IN CHIEF Louie Meizlish MANAGING SPORTS EDITOR J. Brady McCollough MANAGING PHOTO EDITOR/COVER DESIGN Tony Ding COVER PHOTO Seth Lower COVER ILLUSTRATION Sam Butler BUSINESS MANAGER Anne Sause DISPLAY SALES MANAGER Leah Trzcinski AD DESIGN MANAGER Adrienne Barclay SPECIAL SECTIONS MANAGER Pam Fisher SPECIAL THANKS Beth Adelson Tomn Wywrot John Lowe COACHES & MEDIA PRESEASON BIG TEN RANKINGS 1. Michigan State (22-13, 10-6, T3rd) 2. Illinois (25-7, 11-5, 2nd) 3. Wisconsin (24-8, 12-4, 1 st) Last season's overall record, Big Ten record and Big Ten finish in paren- theses PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM Dee Brown, Illinois Devin Harris, Wisconsin Chris Hill, Michigan State Daniel Horton, Michigan Bracey Wright, Indiana Paul Davis, Michigan State* * Davis selected by coaches due to a tie, but not media PRESEASON TOP 10 Each week, The Michigan Daily sports staff will conduct a poll to determine the top 10 teams in the nation. Here are the results from the Preseason poll: 1. Connecticut (9) 2. Duke (4) 3. Arizona (1) 4. Michigan State (1) 5. Kansas 6. Syracuse 7. Kentucky 8. Florida 9. North Carolina 10. Missouri First-place votes in parentheses PRESEASON COACHES TOP 25 POLL By Daniel Bremner Daily Sports Writer The Big Ten Conference was solid last year, with eight of its 11 teams playing in postseason tournaments - five in the NCAA Tournament and three in the NIT - and this year should be no different. "l-a.. 4ii.4 ^'.a -.-. ~^ Big Ten Conference should be 'better, and improve on last year's .500 record in conference play. . Iowa KEY PLAYERS: Jared Reiner (senior), Glen Worley (senior) 2002-03 RECORD: 7-9, 17-14 2003-04 Ou.LOOK: Experience will be a key for the Hawkeyes, who boast five seniors on their roster. Leading the way will be Reiner, the Big Ten'stop rebounder (8. per game) last season. of a team that lost Rick Rickert points per game last year) to the draft. Rickert's loss will probably 1 big for the Gophers to overcome. ti Northwester KEY PLAYERs: Jitim Young (senior Parker (sophomore) 2002-03 RECORD: 3-13, 12-17 2003-04 OUTLOOK: Coach Bill -returning top reserves and a motivated new coach in Bruce Weber, and Illinois should still be a factor in the Big Ten race. Brown, named Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year by the media, will look to improve on last year's averages of 12 points and 5 assists per game. I I w - - --- ------ - - - I I I I I I I Indiana KEY PLAYERS: Bracey Wright (sopho- more), A.J. Moye (senior) 2002-03 RECORD: 8-8,21-13 2003-04 OUTLOOK: Indiana took three huge hits with the losses of Tom Coverdale, Jeff Newton and Kyle Hornsby - who combined for nearly 35 points per game. The Hoosiers will count on stellar performances from Wright and Moye, along with solid con- tributions from their role players to try 2003-04 OUTLOo: No. 3 in the Pre- season ESPN/USA Today Top 25, Tom Izzo's squad is poised for another NCAA Tournament run - last year, the Spartans were bounced in the Elite Eight by Texas. Standing in their way this season is a tough schedule, which includes road trips to Kansas, UCLA and Syracuse. Look for the Spartans' depth at the perimeter to be a big factor, as Michigan State looks to win the Big Ten for the fifth time in seven years. Minnesota KEY PLAYERS: Michael Bauer (senior), Maurice Hargrow (junior) 2002-03 RECORD: 8-8, 19-14 2003-04 OUTLOOK: The Gophers are another Big Ten team that will look to reach the NCAA Tournament this year after losing in last year's NIT semifinal. Bauer and Hargrow are both high-ener- gy players and will need to be the heart KEY PLAYERs: Velimir Radinovic ior), Emonte Jernigan (senior) 2002-03 RECORD: 7-9, 17-15 2003-04 OUTLOOK: The Buc were left with a gaping hole i backcourt with the losses of Darby and Sean Connolly to gi tion. That means junior Tony Sto" and sophomore J.J. Sullinger wil big shoes to fill. At 7-foot, Radi should provide a big presence middle as long as he can stay foul trouble. Penn State KEY PLAYERS: Ndu Egekeze (senio Jagla (junior) 2002-03 RECORD: 2-14, 7-21 2003-04 OUTLOOK: Coming seven-year stint at East Tennessee 1. Conn 2. Duke 3. Michi 4. Arizor 5. Kansa 6. Misso 7. SyracL 8. Florid 9. Kentu 10. North 11. Texas 12. Gonz 13. Illinois 14. Wisco 15. Oklah 16. Louise 17. Stanfc 18. St. Jos 19. Cincir 20. Notre 21. Wake 22. Pittsbi 23. Marq 24. Oklah 25. Maryl ecticut (25) (3) gan State (1) Ana s uri use (1) la cky Carolina (1) aga s nsin ioma ,ville ord seph's nnati Dame Forest wrgh uette Noma State and @I ]MI31 C E 11M MAST SHO0ES 619 E. LIBERTY * 662-0266 (ACROSS FROM BORDER'S BOOKS)