Thursday
March 23, 2006
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Horton the real

By Kevin Wright
Daily Sports Editor
A collective groan echoed through Crisler Arena.
With a little more than 30 seconds left in the
first half and with Michigan holding a four-point
lead, senior Chris Hunter received a Daniel Hor-
ton pass at the top of the key. The 8,817 fans
grimaced as the 6-foot-l
forward hoisted a 3-pointer.MAI6
The senior shot just 1-for-5
from beyond the arc Monday
against Notre Dame and entered the game with a
.281 percentage from downtown on the season.
But much to the crowd's delight, Hunter's
three found the bottom of the net. And the Wol-
verines had the boost they needed.
"It was a good look," Hunter said. "I got good
rotation on it. I thought it had a chance, and it
went down for me."
Miami would never come within four points of
Michigan during the remainder of the game, and
the Wolverines finished off the Hurricanes, 71-65,
in the NIT quarterfinal game last night to advance
to play at Madison Square Garden in New York
City next Tuesday against Old Dominion.
With the win, Michigan will play in the NIT
semifinals for the second time in three years.
The Wolverines used a balanced offensive
attack and improved defensive intensity to fend
off Miami. Four Michigan players scored in
double figures, with Horton netting a team-high

19 points.
In the NIT, the Wolverines have finally fielded
a complete team. Junior Lester Abram and Hunt-
er returned from injury to play in Michigan's
Big Ten Tournament loss to Minnesota, but last
night, Michigan looked like the balanced team it
was touted as at the start of the season.
"It's a lot more fun when you know you can
go out and not have to pace yourself, knowing
that you've got guys that can come in for you
and produce offensively and defensively," junior
guard Dion Harris said. "For us that's a big
thing. We've just been playing as a unit."
The three-headed guard attack of Horton,
Abram and Harris came through for the Wol-
verines. Harris hit several key 3-pointers, and
Abram went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-
throw line. He also aggressively hit the glass,
collecting six defensive rebounds.
After struggling to stop teams at the end of the
regular season, Michigan played strong defense
in the early minutes of the game, helping it jump
out to a 14-5 lead.
But Miami stuck around, thanks to senior guard
Robert Hite. Hite scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting
from the field in the first half and finished with 19.
Hunter proved to be the spark for the Wol-
verines. He finished with 16 points on 5-for-9
shooting from the floor.
"I'm just trying to make the most of my oppor-
tunity out there playing significant minutes,"
Hunter said. "I have confidence in my ability....

I'm trying to take advantage of that and help this
team raise another banner."
Even though both teams shot over 40 per-
cent from the field in the game, the Wolverines
benefited from an edge at the foul line. Michi-
gan made all but one of its 22 free throws, and
Miami converted just five of six attempts.
"We were trying to see if we could beat the
zone down the floor," Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker said. "That's what we ended up doing
in the second half. I thought that was the dif-
ference for us. ... They didn't get their defense
as set as in the first half, and we got some foul
opportunities."
For the seniors, last night's game brought a
happier ending than the regular-season finale
against Indiana. Amaker looked at Michigan's
current NIT run as a chance for the seniors to
have a second chance to say goodbye to Crisler
on the right note.
"We had a chance to finish it right," Amaker
said. "We had to battle our way through every
step with Miami. ... Our seniors were the dif-
ference for us."
NOTES: Marshall High School star Patrick
Beverly was in attendance for last night's game.
Late in the recruiting season, the Chicago native
has become one of the nation's most highly-
touted guards. After originally committing to
play at Toledo before his senior season, Beverly
has entertained offers from Michigan as well as
Arkansas and St. John's since decommiting.

N.

4 at Crisler

ith 20 seconds remaining
in his final game at Crisler
Arena, senior point guard
Daniel Horton stepped to the line
to do what he's done so many times
before - put the game
away.
The nation's leading
free-throw shooter released
the ball, then watched
it bounce off the rim at
conceivably every possible
angle before it finally found
its way through the hoop.
"I was about to say, it's
about time we got a good +
bounce and had some
luck," Horton said.
It didn't exactly make up
for everything the Cedar B
Hill, Texas, native has Too

,CC
BE
oS

moms I

encountered in his four
tumultuous years here, but at
least it gave him the opportunity to look
back and laugh.
Last night, Horton and his fellow
seniors had a second chance to leave
Crisler Arena on a positive note after their
first attempt against Indiana was unsuc-
cessful. And although the second oppor-
tunity to leave Crisler a winner came at
the expense of missing the NCAA Tour-
nament, this batch of seniors made the
best of a bad situation.
Making the best of a bad situation?
Sounds like the motto of Horton and his
tenure here at Michigan.
Horton was thrust into the starting
lineup at the beginning of his freshman
year without the benefit of a role model to
ease him into the position.
He faced the disheartening task
of playing for a team that faced a
postseason ban.
And even after a relatively success-
ful end to his sophomore year with
his NIT Most Valuable Player award,
he faced the worst junior year anyone
could imagine.
Horton suffered an ankle injury,
watched his team fall apart as a result,
took a big hit to his character after plead-
ing guilty to domestic violence charges,
and then had the unimaginable task of
coping with the death of his day-old child
last spring.
That's a lot of downs for a single free
throw to make up for.
This season, Horton came back and did
whatever he could for the program.
On the court, he did everything in
his power to bring the Wolverines to the
Big Dance for the first time since 1998.
Michigan being in the NIT has nothing
to do with his first-team All-Big Ten play
this season.
In the locker room, he's said all the
right things. Even after disappointments,
he's been a great leader for the program,
never pointing a finger at his teammates
or injuries.
And off the court, he's shown that he is
a new man. He's the first person to admit
that he made a mistake, but his actions
also show that he's learned from that.
The past two days, ESPN Classic has
shown both the 1992 Elite Eight matchup
between Michigan and Ohio State and
the Wolverines' Final Four game against
Kentucky in 1993.
Since I was just a youngin' when the
Fab Five was making baggy shorts and
black socks commonplace in the basket-

ball community, watching the two games
was a nice reminder of where Michigan's
program once was.
Announcers and the media alike
were singing Chris Webber's praises,
saying he would leave a
lasting impact on the Wol-
verines' program. They
were right, but the state-
ment is more than ironic
in hindsight.
But even after Webber's
timeout heard round the
world and his departure
from Ann Arbor soon
thereafter, he was still con-
sidered a relative basketball
god at Michigan.
ITT That is, until good ol'
LL easy Eddie Martin came
'oon? into the picture.
Two-hundred-and-
eighty thousand dollars in
received gifts, lying to a federal grand
jury, and paving the way for sanctions
that led to the collapse of Michigan bas-
ketball can have somewhat of a negative
effect on someone's image.
Webber made mistakes, ran away
from them and left the teams that fol-
lowed in complete shambles as a result of
his selfishness.
Horton made a mistake, stayed in Ann
Arbor and has now created optimism for
future classes to follow.
"I think we have accomplished that
goal;" said Horton of the seniors' contri-
bution to the program. "I think we have
done a good job of turning this program
around and leaving it to where it's right on
the brink of power and being really good.
I think it's up to these younger guys to
carry that and maintain it.
"Every year, we have to (fill out) a little
card where we write how we want to be
remembered. I wanted to be remembered
as one of the best competitors that has
ever worn a Michigan uniform. I think
I've done that. I've come in and com-
peted every day in practice and in games.
Hopefully, I set the example as far as
being a competitor."
Horton's actions on the court both
during games and practices have done
the talking for how much Michigan has
meant to him during his time here. But
if that wasn't enough, he attempted to
put it into words following last night's
win over Miami.
"This program has meant a lot to me,"
Horton said. "I've grown up a lot, and I've
become a man in this program.... For me
to leave and not say anything, it would be
like me turning my back on (Michigan),
and I can't do that."
There's no doubt in my mind that Hor-
ton will be returning to Crisler Arena in
the future. But maybe he'll be returning
in the best way possible - in the fashion
that the Rudy Tomjanoviches and Glen
Rices of Michigan past have come back:
to see their jerseys retired.
That way, the No. 4 jersey of a player
who has had a positive impact on the
program will hang from the rafters in
the building that Horton said goodbye to
last night.
- Scott Bell's last game at Crisler
was bittersweet. He won't miss the
soggy hot dogs and stale popcorn, but
will miss watching Horton play. He can
be reached at scotteb@umich.edu


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