The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - February 21 , 2005 - 5B
WHAT DID YOU SAY?
"I think it is going to be very
important for each individual
that is a supporter of Michigan
to stay strong with them.
- Former Michigan standout Glen
Rice on the state of the team.
YESTERDAY'S SCORE
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Indiana
Michigan
70
63
Robert Vaden
(Indiana)
The freshman played 39 minutes and
led all scorers with 18 points. He hit
4-of-5 from beyond the arc, part of
Indiana's 61-percent 3-point shooting.
Dion Harris
(Michigan)
Harris scored 15 points on 5-of-1l
shooting. He played 39 minutes and
led Michigan in rebounding as well
with seven.
ies ie'serYESTER
Blue retires Rice's jersey Indiana 70
RDAY'S GAME
No. 41 joins Russell, Tomjanovich and Hubbard
By Josh Holman
Daily Sports Editor
With Michigan in the middle of
a nine-game losing streak and its
star player being suspended for the
remainder of the season, the Maize
and Blue faithful have fallen on
hard times.
It took one of Michigan basket-
ball's biggest winners to finally give
them something to cheer about.
During halftime of yesterday's
game against Indiana, Glen Rice -
who played for the Wolverines from
1986 to 1989 - became the fourth
player in Michigan history to have
his jersey retired. His No. 41 jersey
joined the likes of Cazzie Russell,
Rudy Tomjanovich and Phil Hub-
bard, whose jerseys already hang
from the rafters of Crisler Arena.
"Since I was a little boy, this was
the house that Cazzie Russell built,"
Rice said while addressing the
crowd. "And I appreciate being able
to occupy a room in it."
Athletic director Bill Martin
helped Rice unveil his jersey at mid-
court during the halftime ceremony.
The No. 41 was then unfurled from
the rafters of Crisler Arena, allow-
ing the sell-out crowd to get as loud
as it did all day.
"It's going to be incredible to see
that that jersey's never going to be
worn again," Rice said. "I wish I
could put it on today."
Rice didn't put the jersey on,
but he did take his jacket off. He
stepped up to the 3-point line after
the ceremony to take a few shots.
He missed his first five attempts,
but, after the warm-up, he drilled
a shot from five feet beyond the 3-
point line in the same sweet form
that made him famous.
The Flint native is arguably the
most famous face in Michigan bas-
ketball history. He led the school
to its only NCAA Championship in
1989, an improbable run by a team
that few expected would make any
kind of impact.
Then-coach Bill Frieder resigned
two days before the NCAA Tourna-
ment began after accepting a job at
Arizona State. But the Wolverines
rode the coattails of one the greatest
performances in Tournament histo-
ry all the way to the title. Rice set
an NCAA Tournament record with
184 points in six games - a record
he still holds today.
Rice's incredible playing days in
college spawned a successful 15-
year career in the NBA, where he
was elected as an All-Star three
times and won a championship in
2000 as a member of the Los Ange-
les Lakers. He was also named the
All-Star game MVP in 1997.
The Wolverines paid honor to
Rice not only at halftime, but before
tipoff as well. After breaking the
team huddle, each member of the
starting lineup walked over to the
opposite end of the court, where
Rice was sitting, and shook hands
with the Michigan legend. The
crowd then cheered Rice until he
stood to acknowledge the fans.
This weekend's trip down mem-
ory lane actually included a few
firsts for Rice. It was the first time
back on the court of Crisler Arena
for Rice since the memorable 1989
season. He also viewed a tape of the
1989 NCAA title game with a for-
mer teammate on Saturday night for
the first time in his life.
"I was sitting alongside Loy
Vaught, and it got emotional," Rice
said in a press conference before the
game. "I didn't realize how great
that run was until I watched it. It
was one of a kind."
While a miracle run through the
NCAA Tournament may not be in the
cards for this year's Wolverine squad
- save for a miracle run through the
Big Ten Tournament first - Rice said
that support for Michigan now is as
vital as it has ever been.
"I think it's going to be very
important for each and every indi-
vidual that is supportive of Michigan
to stay strong with them," Rice said.
"Continue to give them the belief
and that confidence that there's a
light at the end of the tunnel."
Wilmont
Vaden
White
Strickland
Wright
Suhr
Ewing
Ratliff
Kline
Totals
MIN
17
39
24
35
28
18
13
22
4
200
i
2
FG FT REB
M-A M-A 0-T A
0-2 0-0 0-1 0
6-11 2-2 1-2 2
4-7 2-3 0-1 1
4-7 2-3 1-3 5
1-8 4-6 1-7 2
3-4 0-0 1-4 1
0-2 1-2 0-1 1
3-4 3-4 4-5 2
0-0 0-0 0-0 0
21-4614-209-2514
F PTS
10
2 18
2 10
3 14
3 7
3 9
0 1
2 11
0 0
1870
FG%: 45.7 FT%: 70.0 3-point FG: 14-23,
.556 (Vaden 4-5, Strickland 4-6, Suhr
3-4, Ratliff 2-3, Wright 1-4, Wilmont 0-
1). Blocks: 2 (White, Wright). Steals:
6 (Vaden 3, Ratliff, White, Wilmont).
Turnovers: 9 (Ratliff 2, White 2, Wright
2, Ewing, Kline, Strickland). Technical
fouls: None.
MICHIGAN 63
Coleman
Brown
Sims
Harris
Ha rre
Andrews
Petway
Hunter
Wohl
TEAM
Totals
MIN
36
24
22
39
17
25
22
11
4
FG
M-A
4-11
3-5
6-8
5-11
0-1
2-4
3-5
0-2
0-0
FT
M-A
0-0
3-4
0-0
3-3
0-0
3-3
0-0
2-2
0-0
R EB
0-T
1-2
2-2
2-6
0-7
0-2
1-2
1-1
1-3
0-0
0-1
A
2.
0d
0
1
4
0
0
F PTS
3 12
3 9
4 12
1 15
10
0 7
2 6
3 2
1 0
200 23-471112 8-181118 63
DAVID TUMAN/Daily
Glen Rice waves to the Crisler Arena crowd after his No. 41 was raised to the rafters.
FG%: 48.9 FT%: 35.3 3-point FG: 6-17,
.353 (Coleman 4-9, Harris 2-4, Andrews
0-2, Hunter 0-1, Sims 0-1). Blocks: 1
(Sims) Steals: 4 (Andrews, Harrell, Har-
ris, Sims). Turnovers: 12 (Coleman 3,
Harris 3, Andrews 2, Hunter 2, Brown,
Petway). Technical fouls: None.
Indiana ...........30 40 - 70
Michigan.........31 32 - 63
At: Crisler Arena
Attendance: 13,751
Recent games show that cagers still have desire
M' STATS
What can I say that hasn't already
been said?
It's been a long, tough season for
everyone involved.
The Michigan basketball team has now lost
10 straight games. Lester
Abram is gone for the
season after shoulder
surgery. Daniel Horton
is suspended for the rest
of the season after plead-
ing guilty to a domestic
violence charge. The
Wolverines are not going BRIAN
to the NCAA Tourna- SCHICK
ment. So where do we
go from here? Schick Happens
How about giving
them and Tommy Amaker a break.
Ask anyone who knows me and they'd tell
you I wouldn't have written this column a
month ago. I was disappointed and frustrated
with this team earlier this season, I thought
the team wasn't winning because a lack of
heart as opposed to players being out with
injuries. It seemed to me that the players just
didn't seem interested in trying to end the
streak and just went through the motions.
Now I've come full circle, and I feel bad for
these guys, especially after yesterday's loss to
Indiana. They're trying their best, and, at this
point in the season, it's just not good enough
anymore. The effort is there; it's just that this
is as good as Michigan can be with its current
roster.
I'll give you a perfect example. I decided
to play Michigan against the top three teams
in the Big Ten on EA Sports' NCAA March
Madness 2005 last week, but I removed Daniel
Horton and Lester Abram from the simulated
lineup. Needless to say, I lost all three games,
but I was well outside the margin of defeat by
ihe real club'' I lost by over 25 in each game.
So if Coach Schick can't do as well in virtual
reality as well as Coach Amaker did in actual
reality, I shouldn't be so bitter and cynical,
and maybe I should just shut up.
This revelation helped me see that Tommy
Amaker has done a pretty damn good job
recently, and he deserves a break from all
the naysayers on campus asking for his firing
already.
At times I questioned his coaching skills,
especially after the 29-point loss to Purdue,
when Amaker decided to use the players he
thought were playing hard and not the ones
who gave Michigan the best chance to win.
At the time, I thought that the players weren't
responding to Amaker's coaching, and I wrote
a pretty scathing column afterwards.
But now, I realize that was a great coaching
move, as Amaker used a blowout as a teach-
ing opportunity to show that he holds all the
cards. He sent a message to his starting play-
ers that going through the motions isn't good
enough to play for this team - you need to
have heart and passion as well.
Now his players have responded. Yester-
day's game showed the growth since that
time,-as five players - Dion Harris,Courtney
Sims, Ron Coleman, Graham Brown and John
Andrews - finished with point totals higher
than their current season average. This was
also the first time Michigan scored above 60
points since it played Wisconsin on Jan. 22.
It seems that the Purdue loss was rock
bottom for the Wolverines this season, and
recently we've seen a revival of the spirits of
Michigan. I'm not saying the players are happy
to be losing all the time, but I think they've
accepted that the stars just aren't aligned this
season and that's not a reason to not give 100
percent in recent games.
"We all really know what we all need to,"
forward Brent Petway said. "We are not really
looking at it as a struggle. We just have to turn
this thing around."
For a group of players that has basically
nothing to play for except pride, the Wolver-
ines sure have made an epic turnaround. It
seemed that Michigan was shaping up to play
progressively worse down the stretch, but now
it seems there is a renewed sense of commit-
ment to playing with pride - what Amaker
has wanted all along.
Amaker didn't make this year's injuries hap-
;pen, sp stop blaming hitfor the equivalent
of 73 games lost to injuries this season. With
the roster he was given, he's done the best he
can, and that's commendable. All I want is
the team to be competitive, and, if that means
a loss, I'll take it. I won't be happy, but I'll
accept it.
I definitely think that hasn't been said
before.
Player
Harris
Horton
Sims
Hunter
Coleman
Petway
Abram
Brown
Andrews
Mathis
Harrell
Ba
Wohl
Bell
Brzozowicz
G
27
13
27
22
27
25
3
18
25
16
24
3
13
14
2
Mi
36.3
32.1
24.1
19.6
26.8
20.8
28.7
23.7
18.2
18.2
14.2
1.0
10.5
9.4
1.5
A
3.4
4.2
0.6
0.8
1.1
0.9
1.3
0.7
1.5
0.3
0.7
0.3
0.9
0.6
0.5
Reb
2.9
2.8
5.5
3.6
2.5
0.8
4.7
5.3
2.0
1.3
1.4
0.7
0.8
0.5
0.0
Pts
13.5
12.4
10.2
9.8
7.1
6.7
6.7
5.4
3.6
1.9
1.8
0.7
0.5
0.2
0.0
BIG TEN
Team
STANDINGS
Big Ten Overall
vwn veg.. a u v wn
Illinois
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Indiana
Minnesota
Ohio State
Northwestern
Iowa
Purdue
Michigan
Penn State
13
10
8
6
7
7
5
4
3
3
1
0
2
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
11
27
19
17
11
17
18
13
16
7
12
7
0
4
6
11
9
9
12
9
16
15
18
Indiana owns
M'
of late
By Brian Schick
Daily Sports Writer
Indiana not only has Michigan's
number this season, it has had it for
the past four seasons. The Hoosiers
have now won eight straight against
the Wolverines and 11
of the past 12. Michi-
gan coach Tommy
Amaker hasn't beat
Indiana in his seven
attempts since taking
the helm in 2001.
"Coach Amaker hasn't got a win
out there versus Indiana, and I was
hoping to go out there and get a win
for him today," forward Graham
Brown said. "I go out there every day
and try to win one for the coaching
staff."
The Hoosiers have been a thorn
Michigan's side for some time, and
the losses to Indiana have been espe-
cially painful. Last year, a home
defeat at the hands of Indiana was
one of the key losses that kept Michi-
gan out of the NCAA Tournament.
Earlier this year, Michigan lost its
first Big Ten game of the year back
on Jan. 19 in Bloomington - a loss
that started the current 10-game los-
ing streak. Like yesterday's game,
Michigan was leading at halftime of
that game and late turnovers crushed
a chance of securing a win. Michigan
hasn't won in Assembly Hall since
1995.
"You just have to hand it to Indi-
ana, and we're just going to have look
towards getting them in the Big Ten
Tournament," Brown said.
As Indiana began to cool off from
3-point range in the second half, the
Hoosiers began to try and pound the
ball inside. Indiana's Robert Vaden
led all scorers with 18 points and
Hoosiers forward D.J. White scored
all 10 of his points in the second half.
The Hoosiers only managed to shoot
30 percent from inside the arc, while
the Wolverines hit for 57 percent
from 2-point range.
WRIGHT RETURNS: Indiana's Bracey
Wright, who is second in the Big Ten
in scoring average, returned to the
Hoosiers' lineup for the first time in
three games. He was listed as ques-
tionable for yesterday's game with
an ankle injury, and he struggled in
his return, going just 1-for-8 from the
floor and finishing with seven points.
"He is a great player, and I just tried
to do a good job on keeping him to
a low amount of points," said junior
Sherrod Harrell, who had to guard
Wright. "I tried to not give him easy
shots and tried to take him out of the
game and not be a big factor."
NOTES: Freshman Ron Coleman
scored 12 points yesterday, his first
game scoring in double digits since
Jan. 15 against Penn State. His 36
minutes were the most in six games
... Michigan failed to grab double-
digit rebounds for the ninth consecu-
tive game. The Wolverines grabbed
13 the last time they played Indiana
on Jan. 19 ... Yesterday's game was
Michigan's third consecutive sellout,
but the actual attendance was well
below the 13,751-person capacity.
HOOSIERS
Continued from page 1B
all of the Hoosiers' next 15 points
were scored by different people.
After struggling from behind for
nearly 11 minutes, Indiana gained
the upper hand for the first time
in the half. After three quick lead
changes, the Hoosiers managed to
come out ahead.
But in the end, it was turnovers
- which have been the bane of the
Wolverines' existence throughout
the losing streak - that put the win
out of reach. Indiana's D.J. White
hit a jumper off a turnover, and, just
over a minute later, A.J. Ratliff hit
a free throw after forcing another
turnover and drawing a foul.
Michigan's 11-to-12 assist-to-turn-
over ratio was the closest that it has
come to breaking even in the cat-
egory since it went 11-to-12 against
Purdue at the end of January.
Brian Schick can be reached at
bschick@umich.edu.
Michigan did have an exceptional
day from the charity stripe. It hit
nine of 11 attempts, and went 6-for-
6 on the front ends of its one-and-
ones. Sophomore John Andrews and
Harris both had perfect afternoons
- each nailed all three of his foul
shots.
The Wolverines maintained their
energy throughout the entirety of
the game - something they have
had trouble with in recent weeks.
This effort was best evidenced by
the four offensive rebounds they
grabbed in the last minute of the
game.
"I felt that they put it all on the
line and that they played with a
lot of heart and a lot of passion,"
Amaker said.
Michigan standout Daniel Hor-
ton was suspended on Saturday for
the remainder of the season after
pleading guilty to assault charges
last Monday.
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS:
Indiana 70, MICHIGAN 63
MINNESOTA 52, Ohio State 50
Illinois 75, IOWA 65
Michigan State 68, PURDUE 57
NORTHWESTERN 54, Penn State 39
TOMORROW, FEB. 22
Purdue at Indiana 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 23
Iowa at Minnesota 7 p.m.
Northwestern at Illinois 7 p.m.
Penn State at Michigan 8 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 24
Wisconsin at Michigan State 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 26
Iowa at Penn State, 12:17 p.m.
Minnesota at Purdue,2:32 p.m.
Michigan at Northwestern, 7 p.m.
SUNDAY, FEB. 27
Michigan State at Indiana, 12 p.m.
Wisconsin at Ohio State, 2 p.m.
TOMORROW, MARCH 1
Indiana at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
Ohio State at Iowa 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Northwestern 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Penn State 8 p.m.
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
Purdue at Illinois, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 5
Iowa at Michigan, 12:17 p.m.
Purdue at Wisconsin, 1:30 p.m.
Northwestern at Indiana, 4:30 p.m.
Penn State at Michigan State, 8 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH 6
Illinois at Ohio State, 2 p.m.
KEY STAT
14
The number of 3-pointers the Hoo-
siers hit in yesterday's game. Indi-
ana made just seven field goals
that were not 3-pointers.
UP NEXT:
PENN STATE
The last time Michigan won a game way back on
AP TOP 25
Week 14 (Feb 14.- Feb. 20)
Team:
1. Illinois
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. North Carolina
5. Wake Forest
6. Boston College
7. Duke
8. Oklahoma State
9. Syracuse
10. Arizona
11. Michigan State
12. Louisville
13. Gonzaga
14. Utah
15. Washington
16. Alabama
17. Pittsburgh
Record:
27-0
20-3
20-3
22-3
22-4
22-1
19-4
19-4
22-5
23-4
19-4
22-5
21-4
23-3
20-4
16-4
18-5
Last game:
beat Iowa, 75-65
lost to Iowa State, 63-61
beat Mississippi State, 94-78
beat Clemson, 88-56
lost to Duke, 102-92
beat Syracuse, 65-60
beat Wake Forest, 102-92
beat Villanova, 90-75
lost to Boston College, 65-60
beat Oregon State, 91-70
beat Purdue, 68-57
beat Saint Louis, 84-66
beat San Francisco, 75-73
beat Air Force, 65-56
beat Washington State, 68-55
beat South Carolina, 87-68
lost to Villanova, 80-72
.. ........-