The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 2, 2005 - 11

Brown heads Big Ten team

ALEX DZIASDOZ/Daily
Senior Adam Bruh holds Michigan's career record for assists in a career with 28. He four this year are tied for the team lead.
Bruh leads M'nfnlya

By Jamie Josephson
Daily Sports Writer
He may sport a jersey with No. 7 written on the back, but
senior Adam Bruh has relied on anything but luck to get to
where he is today - co-captain of the Michigan men's soc-
cer team.
Currently holding the Michigan career record for assists
(28) and the program's record for assists in a season (13 in
2002), Bruh has worked his way up to having a commanding
presence on the field - and he points to his club soccer days
as the main crux of his development.
The Roslyn Heights, N.Y., native named his club soccer
coach, Paul Riley, as a big influence on his life both on and
off the field.
"We talk on a regular basis - and not just always about
soccer," Bruh said. "I was fortunate enough to have a coach
who didn't just care about soccer, but stuff outside of the
game also."
For eight years, from 1993 to 2001, Bruh played for
Riley on the Albertson Animals, where he started as an
attacking midfielder - which is also his current position
as a Wolverine.
"Adam is different from most regular players," Riley said.
"He's comfortable on the ball and makes beautiful passes. He's
very creative. For a big guy, he's got great balance too. He was
very classy (at a young age) and got better as he got older."
Bruh was the captain of the Albertson Animals for the last
three years he played for the team. Riley explained that, at
an early age, Bruh demonstrated impressive leadership quali-
ties that have contributed to his development as an effective
leader for Michigan. He mentioned that Bruh was always the
go-to guy for the club team and took nearly every free kick
the squad earned.
Michigan coach Steve Burns also pointed to Bruh as a
focal point of the Wolverine contingent.
"Bruh has this 320-degree vision of the field," Burns said.

"He knows what's going on all over the place. If you watch
Bruh, and not the soccer ball, he sees all the space manipula-
tion happening."
Riley pointed to Bruh's concept of sacrifice as the most
important part of Bruh's ascent to collegiate stardom.
"Adam had good leadership qualities and always stayed
after practice," Riley said. "We trained no matter what condi-
tions. It didn't matter. He was always out there. He did a lot
of things on his own. He was willing to give up a lot for the
game, even as a kid 16 years old. Bruh sacrificed a lot. If he
didn't do that, he wouldn't be where he is today."
Bruh has tallied two goals on the season and is tied for the
team lead in assists (4) with freshman Jake Stacy and fellow
co-captain Ryan Sterba.
Individual statistics for Bruh, though, fall far short of what
really matters to him as a Wolverine.
"As a senior, you want to contribute to the program as
much as you can," Bruh said. "But sometimes you can get
caught up in making your legacy, and it can be dangerous.
You have to keep everyone focused and always conscious of
the team's goals - to win for Michigan is the most impor-
tant thing."
But Bruh has, indeed, created a legacy for himself - on
and off the field.
"I just think Adam was one of those kids you remember
forever," Riley said. "He became my adopted son. He loves
the game so much."
Bruh plans on entering the MLS combine at the end of
January in hopes of playing professionally after his career
at Michigan ends this season. In preparation for this next
step, Bruh has been in contact with Michigan graduate Knox
Cameron, who currently plays with the Columbus Crew.
"Adam has a lot of potential to make it to the next level,"
Riley said. "I've been there when he's been injured, when
he's been happy and when he's been down. He's a brilliant
kid with a fantastic personality. I hope he goes on to MLS. I
think he deserves it."

By Jack Herman
Daily Sports Writer
CHICAGO - While players and
coaches trickled into Big Ten Media
Day on Sunday, there was a near con-
sensus as to who was the first per-
son every reporter
wanted to talk to.
As the returning
Big Ten Player of
the Year, and this
year's preseason
pick for that same
title, Illinois's Dee
Brown was soon enough surrounded
by a group that outnumbered the rest
of the journalists in the room.
But there was one person who
wasn't buying all the hype.
"It's crazy ... I don't think they
should even have that out, it's pre-
season and all," Brown said. "I don't
really pay attention to it. It doesn't
really bother me. It's all about the
team's success. It's all about wins."
Brown, who was named a first-
team All-American and Sportsline
National Player of the Year last sea-
son, said that, like always, he takes
little credit for the praise the media
heaps upon him.
"I blame it on my school - I
blame it on the success of my
school," Brown said. "Once a place
is successful, someone has to get the
individual accolades, which is crazy.
But I just take it all in stride."
Brown enters his senior season on
somewhat disappointing terms. He had
declared for last spring's NBA draft
before breaking his foot in a workout.
With his stock dropping, Brown decid-
ed to withdraw his name and return to
Illinois for a final year in which both he
and his teammates will face a number
of major challenges.
Brown needs to follow up on a season
in which his 13.3 points and 4.5 assists
per game were good enough to earn all
those awards. The Illini lost just two
games last year - including the NCAA
title game to North Carolina - but must
cope with the departure of second-team
All-Americans Luther Head and Deron
Williams to the NBA.
The loss of Williams is especial-
ly troublesome, since it will shift
Brown's role from shooting to point
guard, which, because of his size, is
what he'll likely play in the NBA.
But his inexperience at the position
is something that caused many pro
teams to shy away from him in the
spring. Despite this, Brown said he's
ready for whatever the new season
may bring.
"I just take it as I got to work hard-

4

JASON COOPER/Daily
Michigan State forward Paul Davis was named to the preseason Al-Conference
team, which also Included Dee Brown, D.J. White, Vincent Grier and Alando Tucker.

er because all that pressure," Brown
said. "It brings more people compet-
ing hard against you, more expecta-
tions of you doing well. It's kind of
nerve-wracking, but I'm just going to
take it on.
"This year in college, I'm going to
have fun. It's my last year."
RULES SCHOOL: You may have to
look closely to see them, but the
NCAA has instituted three new rules
for the upcoming season.
The first expands the use of instant
replay. Referees can now use video
to determine if a foul was commit-
ted before or after the end of a half.
If a foul occurred before the buzzer,
a referee should look at the tape to
add the appropriate amount of time
on the clock. This rule carries over to
buzzer-beater shots as well.
The second change affects the
handling of the shot clock after a
kicked ball violation occurs. Previ-
ously, a kicked ball would result in
the reset of the clock to 35 seconds.
Now, any violation with over 15 sec-
onds left will cause no reset, and any

violation under that limit will reset
the clock to 15.
The final rule will have little
effect on game play. It stipulates a
team will have 20 seconds to replace
a player who has fouled out, 10 sec-
onds less than previously allowed.
Although most coaches feel that
these changes, specifically the
kicked ball rule, benefit the game,
they have spent little time lecturing
players about them.
"We're not too caught up in them
because they're not that big a change,"
Minnesota coach Dan Monson said.
"I've gone over them with my play-
ers, but we haven't really emphasized
it too much."
NOTES: Michigan State earned the
top spot in the media's Big Ten pre-
season rankings. Illinois and Indi-
ana were ranked second and third,
respectively ... Joining Brown on
the preseason all-Big Ten team
were Indiana's D.J. White, Michi-
gan State's Paul Davis, Minneso-
ta's Vincent Grier and Wisconsin's
Alando Tucker.

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