Thursday February 3, 2005 sports.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com PtmidRtS n OWN 01 8A Carr stuffs roster with top-five By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer Having spent almost all of the last month vis- iting and dining with some of America's finest high school football players, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr announced at yesterday's national signing day press conference that he had come away from the meetings with more than just a full stomach. Carr confirmed that 23 high school seniors had signed binding letters of intent, including six of ESPN recruiting expert Tom Lemming's top-100 players. As expected, headlining the Wolverines' class - which Lemming rated fifth-best nation- ally and second-best in the Big Ten - is Kevin Grady, a 5-foot-ll, 215-pound running back from East Grand Rapids High School. Grady holds several Michigan high school records, including state records for scoring and rushing yards, and is regarded as one of the top running backs in the country. "Everyone in (the East Grand Rapids) commu- nity had great things to say about Kevin Grady, both on and off the field," Carr said. Luckily for Carr, he got an early start on recruit- ing Grady. Carr has had a longtime friendship with Grady's uncle, and P.J. Cwayna, the son of Grady's high school principal Patrick Cwayna, played at Michigan. Because Grady verbally committed to Michigan in the fall, he was able to gain some valu- able experience by practicing with the Wolverines while they prepared for the Rose Bowl. "Because of NCAA rules, (Grady) was allowed to go to Pasadena with us," Carr said. "He probably got five or six practices in out there. And in a short time, I think everybody was impressed with his ability and saw the things you look for in a back." While Grady and fellow running back Mister Simpson of Cincinnati's Colerain High School, will have the mammoth task of competing with freshman Michael Hart for playing time, the Wol- verines' four defensive line recruits will be called upon to make an immediate difference. With the uncertain status of junior Larry Har- rison - who faces felony charges for indecent exposure - and the loss of Alex Ofili to the NFL Draft, new recruits Marques Slocum and Terrance Taylor will look to compete for playing time. Both Slocum and Taylor were named to the EA Sports All-American football team. In addi- tion, James McKinney, a defensive end from Lou- isville, Ky., announced his decision yesterday to attend Michigan. "The area we need freshmen to come in and help us is the defensive line," Carr said. "I think we have three guys that can do that. Watching film we thought (Slocum) was a guy that could really make a difference for us, and I think he will." McKinney, who could be used on both sides of the ball, and Slocum also played in the US Army All-American Bowl with Michigan recruit Zoltan Mesko, a punter from Twinsburg, Ohio. Mesko was signed to solidify Michigan's special teams and replace graduating punter Adam Finley. Carr was introduced to Mesko at a summer kicking camp, after Mes teams coordinat "We have a k our regular can called me up an kick.' I think tha as a punter." Mesko's faim States from Ror and company of American story." "I went dow a Monday -i holiday," Carr s incredible lunch ten courses, two chicken cordon b this sausage that ate and ate and a While other r up at the dinner help ease the big recruiting class ko's performances caught special after the graduation of Braylon Edwards and back- or Mike Debord's eye. up Jermaine Gonzales. To help returning starters kicking camp on a weekend after Jason Avant and Steve Breaston, Carr secured mp," Carr said. "And (Debord) Mario Mannigham from perennial power War- d said, 'you've got to see this kid ren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio and at (Mesko) will be a real weapon Laterryal Savoy from Mamou, Louisiana. After watching Mannigham play in a basketball game at ily immigrated to the United Cleveland's Gund Arena, Carr believes that Man- nania, and Carr enjoyed the food ningham's quickness will help him compete for a family he described as "a great immediate playing time. Savoy is a bigger receiver at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds and could play with a 'n (to visit Mesko's family) on style similar to Edwards. But before he makes a it was the Martin Luther King significant impact, Carr said Savoy has to work on aid. "Mrs. Mesko had the most building strength. that I've ever had. It was about The Wolverines also signed Antonio Bass from types of fish, triggerfish, catfish, Jackson, Mich., and Carr was thrilled to secure bleu, stuffed peppers, potatoes and such a strong in-state recruit. Carr spoke highly was made at a local place. So we of his abilities and suggested that Michigan fans te and had a wonderful day." might see Bass in a variety of positions. ecruits might not have measured "Antonio is one of the great athletes in recent table, Carr continued digging to memory to come out of this state," Carr said. "He hit to Michigan's receiving corps See SIGNING DAY page 9A Low five Harris, Sims held scoreless as skid hits five By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer At the halfway point of the Big Ten season, the Michigan bas- ketball team is close to sliding into oblivion. The Wolverines (3-5 Big Ten, 12-10 overall) lost their fifth straight game last night, falling to Minnesota 71-54. Two of Michigan's biggest offensive threats - guard Dion Harris and forward Courtney Sims - came off the bench after struggling of late and were held scoreless by the Gophers (5-3, 15-6). Guard Dani Wohl and forward Brent Petway were inserted into the starting lineup in their places - each of the five starters failed to score in double figures. Michigan coach Tommy Amaker indicated that he took Harris and Sims out of the starting lineup in hopes of finding a solution to the current losing skid. "We felt some kids didn't play up to their capabilities in the pre- vious game, and we were disappointed in that, and so you make some changes," Amaker said. "We're trying different things to see if we can ignite our team. Certainly that wasn't the answer tonight, but we're still going to search and see if we can find things that will give us a spark." Harris has struggled to find his shot recently, and last night might have been his lowest point of the season. The sophomore went 0- for-7 from the floor and fouled out after playing 27 minutes. "He's one of our key players and certainly our biggest key on the perimeter," Amaker said about Harris. "He's not close to being himself right now in terms of his play." With guards Lester Abram and Daniel Horton out of action, Harris has assumed most of the load on offense. "(Last night) I went out there and tried to put all of the scoring load on myself," Harris said. "It's hard knowing that guys are out and how much the team needs you." Junior forward Chris Hunter carried the Wolverines with his 17 points, but Michigan's frontcourt was unable to slow down its Minnesota counterparts. Minnesota center Jeff Hagen was constantly slipping through the Michigan defense, hitting all five of his field goals en route to 15 points and nine boards. "Jeff was physical and was able to stay out of foul trouble despite a lot of action down low," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said. "His offense was efficient, and he had a good feel on defense." Both teams struggled at times to find the scoring touch, espe- cially in the second half. At the 11-minute mark of the second half, both teams failed to score for over two minutes. That could have been the window for Michigan to erase the 11-point halftime lead, but the Wolverines only cut the lead to nine. The Wolverines turned the ball over 24 times, the fourth 20-plus turnover game of the season. Over the last two games, Amaker has stated that he believes his team is showing good effort but hasn't been able to execute its gameplan. With the next three games fea- turing a road trip to Colombus and a homestead against No. 1 Illi- noia and No. 12 Michigan State, the Wolverines will need to find out what is wrong in a hurry. "Guys just aren't sharp right now," Hunter said. "We have to find some kind of way to sharpen it up mentally and be more focused for long periods of time and make smart decisions." Blue 's psyche appears to be a realfixer-upper TONY DING/Daily Minnesota's Vincent Grier scored 14 points against Michigan last night. MEGAN KOLODGY Megology 101 After last night's 17-point loss to the Golden Gophers, it's time for Michigan coach Tommy Amaker and the rest of the Wolverines to take a seat on the proverbial couch for a little bit of psy- choanalysis. At this junction, it's obvious that Michi- gan is hurting. Five straight losses, a pleth- ora of injuries to both critical and backup players and the suspension of a star will do that to you. But despite the fact that the Wolverines have everyone but Daniel Horton and Lester Abram, who is out for the season, in the line- up, they've still suffered huge defeats in the last two games. Last night, Dion Harris, who previously led the team in points per game, had zero points and fouled out. Michigan's balanced scoring, which is typically its sav- ing grace, was nowhere to be found. As I watched both dedicated fans and Maize Ragers alike leave with 15 minutes to go in the second half, the problem became abundantly clear - this team's problems are not due to its physical deficits. They can be solely attributed to a damaged, now extraor- dinarily difficult to repair, psyche. Now, in most situations, I would be quick to chastise fair-weather fans, especially those who are supposed to be supporting a team that is currently swimming in dire straits. But with Michigan down by 11 at halftime, I couldn't really blame them - the Wolver- ines have not once come back after being down at halftime this season. That's right - never. Not when they were losing by just two points at UCLA or even when they were down by six at home against Boston Univer- sity did they come from behind to win. This trend begs the question, what hap- pens to this team when it gets into a tough position? Answer: At this stage of the game, it simply does not seem to have the confidence or psychological strength to overcome the mental roadblocks that accompany all the tribulations that it has undergone. This is not to say that it does not have the talent or the strength, or that it doesn't put in sufficient effort to win. With a few excep- tions, the Wolverines do and have. But for some reason, once they're down, they're out. There could be numerous reasons for this. Our most recent example - last night's wal- loping at the hands of a decent Minnesota team - would indicate that it might have something to do with a self-fulfilling proph- ecy. Sophomore Courtney Sims and Harris, two of Michigan's most prolific scorers, were not announced in the starting lineup. Neither scored a single point. As per team tradition, Harris and Sims learned that they would not take the floor an entire day before the game. That's one day to ruminate on exactly why you're not starting when, statistically, you probably should be. One day to wonder what you did wrong. In certain situations, this could be a productive practice, and this was certainly Amaker's intent. Yesterday marked Michigan's 14th unique starting lineup of the season. Evidently, Amaker is trying to crack the code - find the right combination - to get the Wolver- ines out of their funk and "ignite" the team. While this has allowed players such as freshman Ron Coleman, sophomore John Andrews and junior Sherrod Harrell a chance to mature and gain confidence, the lack of faith in Michigan's true starters, particularly Sims, has proven to be counter- productive. Of course, it is a coach's prerogative to send whomever he sees fit into the game, but, to the average observer, it appears as if Sims and Harris are playing down to the role of benchwarmer or crumbling under the pres- sure of having to perform well in the decreas- ing minutes they spend on the court. And when Sims and Harris don't play up to par, it brings the rest of the team down to where they were in the second half of yesterday's game - looking as if they were playing in a fog and not clearly seeing what was going on or anticipating what would happen next. While he might not have the answers, Minnesota coach Dan Munson sounds as if he's willing to lend a sympathetic ear while the Wolverines work through their troubles. "I've been on the flipside the last couple years, and I really feel what Michigan's going through," Munson said. "As I told (Amaker) before the game, 'There are very few people who understand what you're going through, and I think I'm one of them.' " Maybe Munson could help. His Golden Gophers are currently 5-3 in the Big Ten, and, afterall, he's been there. Hopefully for Michigan, a time comes when it can say the same. 0] Megan Kolodgy can be reached at megkolo@umich.edu. Chiropractic... The Right Choice For Your Future Is your dream to become a doctor, to study in beautiful surroundings, with a world-renowned faculty and state of the art facilities - what more could you want in a professional education? Logan College students receive all this and more! If you are ready to accept the challenge of graduate professional study in science, physiotherapy, nutrition, radiology, clinical sciences, chiropractic techniques and extensive clinical rotations, then Logan College is the place for you. Logan College of Chiropractic gives you the skills to help patients get well through non-invasive healthcare while preparing you to earn a substantial 7r~nw~nnnr~mnni tn~n.4L. .. n nntcbf,.%nn f lnrnr of n Pksranrn,n 0 I