Thursday March 10, 2005 sports. michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com POeRwodtgn tiS 9A: Writers take on Bummed out by Blu «w e? Give mid-majors a shot Big Ten hoops By The Michigan Daily basketball writers While driving to Chicago for the Big Ten Tournament, the Daily basketball beat decid- ed to reflect on the conference season and look ahead to this week's tournament and beyond. Biggest sur- prise of the Big Ten season: Eric Ambinder: Minnesota. The Gophers were supposed to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten this season, but Vin- TrnDA i«Iicl~riti t' united Cs tlnc cent Grier decided to play ball. Now, they're probably dancing. Megan Kolodgy: Michigan. I don't think anyone could have anticipated a season this heartbreaking. Will Illinois win the Big Ten Tourna- ment? E.A.: Definitely. They're extremely pissed off after losing to the Buckeyes. Expect Wis- consin to play them tight in the finals. Brian Schick: If the Illini don't, they're throwing it on purpose. When Illinois is fir- ing on all cylinders, it is nearly impossible to stop. No one in the Big Ten should give them much trouble, except maybe the Sparties. Will Michigan beat Northwestern? M.K.: I only brought one game's worth of dress clothes - so that might tell you some- thing. I guess I'll eat my words if they do. B.S.: It'll be close, but I actually think Mich- igan can squeak out a win if the frontcourt can hold Vedran Vukusic under 15 points. Josh Holman: Hell yes. We haven't seen a bright spot yet this season, so it must be on the horizon. Most NBA-ready Big Ten player: E.A.: Wisconsin's Mike Wilkinson. Dee Brown also has a shot, but Wilkinson moves SgHUrsAskHgs/saiy Sophomore guard Dion Harris looks to keep Michigan's season alive in the Big Ten Tournament. great for a big guy, can shoot and is extremely consistent. J.H.: He's too small for the NBA and he talks too much, but Brown translates his size into hellacious defense and has plenty of game to back up the talk. Which Big Ten coach will be fired in the off-season? J.H.: If Indiana loses Friday's game against Minnesota tomorrow, Mike Davis will be on the hot seat all offseason. B.S.: Ed DeChellis is definitely on the chopping block. Going 1-15 in the Big Ten, even for Penn State, isn't getting the job done. The team hasn't shown any improvement in the past few years. I don't see any "DeChellis Daquiri" ice cream flavor at the Penn State Creamery any time soon. Will any current Michigan player ever make an NBA roster: E.A.: Dion Harris has a chance if he plays his heart out for the next two seasons. Petway could be a second rounder in the future if he develops offensively. J.H.: Dion Harris is too small, Courtney Sims is too weak, and then, push comes to shove, you can't count on Daniel Horton. If Lester Abram's injuries don't scare away scouts, he may have as a great chance as any- one at Michigan. M.K.: If Brent Petway really works on some fundamentals - dribbling, for example - then maybe he could. The occasional 3-pointer at the end of the season gave me hope. Does Brent Petway have a future in rap music: M.K: Maybe - I think he needs better backup, though. Also, he might want to work on his general rhyming skills. I mean, rhym- ing Hunter with Hunter - twice? You've got to have something better than that. B.S.: I like "No. I." It's a catchy riff from the SportsCenter theme, and he won Mock Rock by break dancing by himself (when he had an injured shoulder, no less). Will Michigan make it to the NCAA Tournament next season? E.A: I don't want to jinx anything. M.K.: Why not? B.S.: I said that this year was supposed to be "the year" to make the Tourney and it wasn't, so I guess they won't go next year either. J.H.: Hell yes. iagara was down by four when I realized that my March Madness had already started. After the two teams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes, Rider had taken a 21-17 lead over the Purple Eagles in the championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. And I was standing up, alone in my dorm room, screaming at the tele- vision. A bid to the NCAA Tournament was on the line, and I wasc begging Niagara not to let poor defense keep it from the Big Dance. Such is the life of a mid-major (or lower) STEPHANIE WRIGHT college basketball fan. Wright on Target I grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., a city of dedicated sports fans without a major college team in the immediate area. Instead, we have a group of small and mid-major schools that we call the Big Four - Buffalo, Canisius, Niagara and St. Bonaventure. While Buffalo and St. Bonaventure are arguably the more high-profile programs, I've had a soft spot in my heart for the two MAAC schools ever since my middle school marching band served as Canisius's pep band at the 1997 tournament. For three straight nights, we had courtside seats, cheering for the Golden Griffins during the game and performing on the floor of HSBC Arena at halftime. We felt like part of the team. So when Canisius lost in the championship game, I think we were as devastated as the players were. This year, it's Niagara who has captivated the col- lective consciousness of Buffalo sports fans. It has been 35 years since Calvin Murphy led the Eagles to their last NCAA Tournament berth. Under coach Joe Mihalich, Niagara has played in three of the last four conference championship games but has lost each time. And this year, with MAAC Player of the Year Juan Mendez at center and the support of more than 6,000 local fans, the Eagles earned another shot at the title. They won the chance to dance, ultimately beat- ing Rider by 22 points. I almost wore purple on Tuesday to celebrate. But small conference basketball tournaments are exciting even without a hometown connection to spur your interest. It seems like every year, in the days leading up to Selection Sunday, there's a compelling story or a wild finish you have to see to believe. These games boast a desperation that the major conference tournaments lack. Because, for almost every team involved, winning the championship game is the only way to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. And a team from suburban Detroit probably knows that better than anyone in the notion right now. After compiling a 12-18 record in the regular sea- son, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies rattled off three- consecutive victories and stunned Oral Roberts to capture the Mid-Continent Conference crown and an automatic berth. That game had everything that makes these tournaments special - an underdog pulling off an upset, a last-second, game-deciding shbt and a no-name player turning into a hero. Pierre Dukes averages just four points per game and almost didn't make the Grizzlies' squad. But with 1.3 seconds left on the clock, Dukes sank his only shot of the second half to win the game for Oakland. Before he hit that game-winning shot, Dukes had virtually no chance of ever being remembered for his college basketball career. But once the ball dropped through the net, his legacy was secured, at least in the hearts of Oakland fans. While their excitement is understandable, it's almost ironic. Just think about what these teams receive for winning - a chance to be destroyed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. There are exceptions, like 2004 MAAC champion Manhattan knocking out No. 5 seed Floridi. But for every Cin- derella who finds her glass slipper, there are dozens of teams from minor conferences that get just once dance. Each small conference champion has basically ensured that its season will end with a loss. Obvi- ously, there are just two Division I schools that can be guaranteed to win their final game - the NCAA champion and the NIT champion. But most of the major schools have at least some hope of winning it, all. The fact that small conference champs have about' as much chance of winning the NCAA tourney as If7 have of making a WNBA roster makes their over-the- top celebrations even more remarkable. Take Oakland for example. Do the Grizzlies really believe they can compete with the North Carolinas of the basketball world? Probably not. But that didnt stop them from celebrating exuberantly at midcourt when the final buzzer sounded. Teams like Oakland are genuinely excited simply to qualify for the Big Dance. For a minor team that wins its conference champi- onship to advance to the NCAA Tournament, it truly is an honor just to be there. Just ask Mihalich. It has been his lifelong dream to coach in the NCAA Tournament. With his 80-year- old mother receiving chemotherapy to treat colon cancer, that dream took on a different urgency this season. Mihalich fulfilled his promise to his mother, and she gets to be there to see it - if only for a game. Did I say Buffalo didn't have a major college team? It does now. Niagara is going to the Big Dance. And I'll be wearing purple next weekend. Stephanie Wright can be reached'at smwr@umich.edu ire__ _ _& &...?__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _E_ _a__ __ _-___ _ .e..s.".'.4 . 0 iER InTERnSHIP ORTUnITH .4 .v There's still time! Application deadline is MARCH 11TH T Freshmen, Sophomores & Juniors: ATTENTION* Internship Opportunity Right on Campus!!! - Full and part time positions available for Spring and Summer semesters - Sell advertising to local and national businesses " Manage your own account territory - Earn a salary PLUS commission based pay - Flexible hours that work around your class schedule '4 4 . Pick up an application today at THE MICHIGAn DAILH . #x4 :