The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 15

'M' faces test against Terriers

MATCHUPS
Continued from page 12
but hit on just 10-of-14 field goals.
Edge: Michigan

By Josh Holman
Daily Sports Writer
It's no question that injury problems
are the story of the year for the Michi-
gan men's basketball team.
But the Wolverines (6-3) have had
their games against the High Points
and South Floridas of Division I bas-
ketball to sort out what injury-related

squad last year.
"They had a nice win here a year
ago," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker
said. "I'm hopeful we'll have enough
bodies to go out there and make it
competitive."
Injuries that will keep juniors Dan-
iel Horton and Graham Brown out for
three more weeks and junior Lester
Abram out for the season have forced

issues they can. Sooner
or later, they have to get
their minds focused on
the big picture again,
and - tonight's game
against Boston Univer-
sity (5-2) is the perfect
time to do that.
Last year's 61-60 loss
to the Terriers at Crisler
Arena haunts Michigan
fans to this day. It was

TONIGHT
Michigan vs.
Boston University
7 p.m.
Crisler Arena

Amaker to scramble for
some semblance of a line-
up. In the past two wins,
five players have logged
career-highs in minutes
played. And Amaker has
not used the same starting
lineup in any of the past
three games.
But one player in par-
ticular has found a com-
fortable niche in Amaker's

you're seeing the game and you're see-
ing what's going on," Petway said.
"You can come in and have a feel for
the game before you even start it. You
don't have to go through that feeling-
out process that the starters have to go
through."
Michigan will likely need Petway's
spark on the defensive end tonight.
The forward will probably find himself
matched up against Boston's Rashad
Bell, who is averaging 16.6 points per
game. Bell was recently named the
America East Player of the Week for
the second straight week.
"I've told (Amaker) that wherever
he wants to put me, I'll go there," Pet-
way said.
On a team riddled by injury, Amak-
er has been taking this opportunity to
test out players in new situations.
But the time for feeling out new
lineups is about to pass. After its
shot at revenge tonight, Michigan
travels to UCLA on Dec. 18 for its
first road trip in over two weeks.
Then, after two more home games,
the Wolverines begin their confer-
ence season at Iowa on Jan. 5. The
margin of error for the replacements
is getting smaller.
"We have to keep moving forward,"
Amaker said. "We play the players that
are available to play for us and hope
that we can get strong contributions."

INTANGIBLES:
Michigan is eager to get rid of
the bitter taste of its regular sea-
son-ending loss to Ohio State and
last year's loss to Southern Cal in
the Rose Bowl. Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr said recently that last
year, his team had too many dis-
tractions in Los Angeles leading
up to the game. As a result, this
year the team will spend less time
in California and stay in a differ-
ent hotel.
The Longhorns might not
know what to expect when they
get to Los Angeles, but they're so
ecstatic to be in a BCS bowl, it
shouldn't matter. Their wait has
been a long one, and Texas coach
Mack Brown said he is well aware
of the pressure his team has to
show everyone that it is deserv-
ing of a BCS bid.
Edge: Push

the kind of game the NCAA Tourna-
ment Selection Committee circles as a
key loss. Whether the loss itself kept
Michigan from dancing last season is
anyone's guess, but it certainly didn't
help the matter.
This season, the Wolverines find
themselves in a similar situation. They
are undefeated at home and - just
like last year - they haven't stumbled
in a game they were expected to win.
But there is one main difference:
The Wolverines fielded a healthy
MEFN'S SWIMMING
Bowman
settles in at
Canham
By Kevin Wright
Daily Sports Writer
Replacing a legend is never easy.
Just ask first-year Michigan men's
swimming and diving coach Bob
Bowman. Bowman has the difficult
job of living up to the standards
set by former coach Jon Urbanchek
- who won 13 conference titles and
one national championship during
his 22 seasons at Michigan.
"I'll never fill Jon's shoes," Bow-
man said. "My perspective is ... I
can only be the best me. I'm going
to run the program my way, but I'll
definitely get advice from Jon. I want
to carry on the best parts of his pro-
gram but add some of my own. It's
certainly intimidating living up to
the stats on the board (at Canham
Natatorium)."
While Bowman has never been
a head coach at a college program
before this year, he has an exemplary
resume. He was an assistant coach at
his alma mater, Florida State, dur-
ing the 1986-87 season. Then, from
1996 to 2004, he coached at North
Baltimore Aquatic Club, where he
coached Olympian Michael Phelps.
Last summer, he was an assistant
coach on the 2004 Olympic Team.
While retaining most of
Urbanchek's training regimen, Bow-
man has made a few changes to the
Wolverines' program.
"The biggest changes are probably
in our dry land program," Bowman
said. "We're a little more focused and
aggressive in that aspect. The train-
ing by (in) large is about the same.
We have a lot of similar philosophy
when it comes to training, so it won't
be a huge difference. But I think I
put a little more emphasis on speed
and technique."
In order to energize his swimmers,
Bowman has created short- and long-
term goals for his team.
"We have goals for the team which
include our performances at NCAA
and Big Ten Championships," Bow-
man said. "At the individual level,
there are certain goals of break-
ing records or making international
teams. I think that's what drives the
whole thing, their focus on goals."
Meanwhile, Bowman has goals for
himself as he coaches at Michigan.
He wants his teams to finish in the
top tier of the nation every year while
also contending for the Big Ten title.
As for Bowman's coaching philos-
ophy, he believes that players perform
best when they put forth maximum
effort in both meets and practice.
With continual improvement and
focus, the Wolverines should be able
to swim with the best, and Bowman
knows it's his job to make sure that

his swimmers stay motivated.
So far this year, the Wolverines
have adapted well to Bowman's
philosophy, with juniors Peter
Vanderkaay, Chris DeJong and Davis
Tarwater off to strong starts. The
ninth-ranked Wolverines (3-0) fin-
ished fourth in the Texas Invitational
last week.
Bowman plans to reinforce his
goals for the team throughout the
h rest of the season, while keeping

changing gameplan. Sophomore Brent
Petway scored 10 points off the bench
in Saturday's 71-62 victory over South
Florida. The performance came on
the heels of a four-point game against
High Point - a game in which he
started.
Petway has taken on the duties as
the team's much-heralded energizer.
And the forward has found that it is
easier to fulfill that role by coming off
the bench.
"It is easy to get that spark because

RYAN WEINER/Daily
Michigan will need a spark from Brent Petway against Boston University tonight.

Texas 27, Michigan 20


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