w w w TIPOFF '06 - ~- TIPOFF '06 6B - Wednesday, November 8, 2006 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 8, 2006 - 3B Fifth- By Mark Giannotto ( Daily Sports Writer A quick look around the Big Ten By Daniel Levy | Daily Sports Writer 1 lash back to April 1, 2004. over Minnesota, Michigan had an impressive You will see a sophomore cutting 14-3 record. The team then stumbled to a 5-7 down the nets at Madison Square Gar- mark to close the regular season and missed den following an impressive 62-55 Michigan the NCAA Tournament for the eighth con- victory over Rutgers to win the National Invi- secutive year. tation Tournament. Over two years, that's a 17-3 record with And this wasn't just your ordinary sopho- Abram, and a 15-25 record without him. more. On a team filled with young talent, this The silver lining in all of this is that Abram 6-foot-6 wing averaged more than 13 points a is back for his fifth go-around with Michigan. game, tops on the team. After that season-ending surgery in 2005, he This was a player who was on the fast applied for, and was granted, a medical red- track to stardom. Later that offseason, he was shirt. Which brings us back to last Friday, named a tri-captain for a 2004-05 Michigan when the old Abram began a familiar journey. squad that was expected to do big things. He is once again the captain of a Michigan But thehighofthatNIT Championshipjust teamfresh off an NIT finals appearance, long- made the fall back to reality hurt that much ing to be a part of the Big Dance. more. Little did Lester Abram know, the next two years would be the most difficult in his He can still'bring it', but for how long? basketball career. Although he's a fifth-year senior on ateam with seven freshmen, Abram said he doesn't Atleasthelooked good onthe sidelines feel out of place. The other seniors - guard Last Friday night in Michigan's open- Dion Harris, forward Brent Petway and center ing exhibition game against Wayne State, it Courtney Sims - have been along for all the looked like the Abram of old was back. He ups and downs, too. And with his continued sunk threes with ease, took it to the hole with pursuit of a degree, Abram doesn't regret his authority and established himself as one of decision to return for the 2006-07 campaign. the premier scorers on this year's Wolverine "A lot of my friends who graduated always squad. But when you think about it, the old tell me they wish they were still in school," Abram never really left. His body just didn't Abram said. "I'm like, 'School is fun to me.' let him play basketball. I'd rather be in school playing basketball than Entering the 2004-05 season, Abram was working right now." supposed to be a key cog alongsidethen-junior Butjustcplaying basketball has been an issue Daniel Horton, in the effort to lead Michi- given the amount of games he has missed the gan back to the promised land of the NCAA past two seasons. And it was obviously a con- Tournament. He started the first two contests cern for Amaker, because he surprised many of the season, but would play just one more when he put Abram on the Big Ten Foreign game the rest of the year. Following Abram's Tour Team that played games in Australia brief appearance against Notre Dame four this summer. Ordinarily, the roster for such games later, Michigan coach Tommy Amak- tours are comprised of younger players look- er announced that the junior would need to ingto gain more experience. undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. The coaching staff was worried that Abram With Abram in the lineup that season, the lost some of the explosiveness he had prior to Wolverines went 3-0. Without him, they went the ankle injury. It is his ability to slash into 10-18. the lane that injured his ankle in the first After toiling away at rehab for months on place. But Abram eased some of those con- end,itlooked like nothinghad changed -well, cerns with a strong showing, leading the Big except his jersey number. Through 16 games Ten team in scoring. as a tri-captain in 2005-06, he was averaging "In (Australia), I thought Lester was the 12 points, more than three rebounds per game Lester of old; fearless and attacking," Amaker and shooting more than 45 percent from 3- said. "He showed no signs of being shy about point range. He also got to wear his old No. the injuries that he's had the last two years. I 32 jersey, which he donned during his days at was very pleased with his production." Pontiac Northern High School. It looked like Abram's performance in Australia, com- a new beginning for Abram. His body was let- bined with his offseason workouts, convinced ting him do what he does best: play ball. Amaker to appoint Abram as the sole captain Butthenthere wasthe Jan.21 game against of this year's squad. Originally, Harris and Minnesota. Abram knifed into the lane, made Petway were to be tri-captains as well. a spectacular layup and drew a foul in the But don't expect Abram to change just process. The ecstasy of the basket was short- because he's the only official leader. Just like lived, as Abram lay on the floor, grasping his in his previous two stints as captain, he plans ankle in pain. to lead by example on and off the court, leav- And from there, frustration began to set in. ing the vocal stuff to others. "I just wanted to go play ball, instead of "Lester is just a guy who everyone can look ... watching my teammates," Abram said. "I to," Petway said. "You can't really question didn't want to be dressed in warm-ups and whether Lester is going to bring it, because he street clothes looking good on the sidelines always does. You always know that Lester is anymore." going to do what he has to do. ... If Lester is Abram made two more brief appearances doing it I have to do it too. I'm going to step the rest of the season, but he was never the up like Lester is stepping up. He's a real quiet same. And neither wasshis team.With that win guy, but when you look at him performing, he's always bringing it." Abram is adamant that these two injury- plagued seasons haven't changed his game. But unlike the past two seasons, in which Abram could always look to Horton to pick up the scoring burden on the occasional off night, it will now fall upon his surgically repaired shoulders. Devastating injuries change one's perspective. "I think there's a hunger there for Lester, and it should be," Amaker said. "(You have) been out of doing something for two years that yotireally love and you get a chance to get back at it and you have a senior year at it, I'm sure there is a pur- pose and a hunger about that kid. ... He's been out of the equation for a while for us and it's nice to be able, right now, to have him back in there." Every day Abram takes the court, his presence serves as a reminder of the potential Amaker's vaunted first recruiting class had - and because of Abram,' still has. Horton and. former forwards Gra- ham Brown and Chris Hunter came and went without an NCAA Tour- nament appearance. Now, Abram has one last shot at redemption for a class that has taken its fair share of ridicule over two disappointing seasons. "I would like to have made (the NCAA Tournament) while they were here, but unfor- tunately, we didn't make it," Abram said. "It's time to move on, and I feel like we have a real good chance with the team we have here now. It's up to us to focus every day and come to practice, working hard everyday." Moving on from injuries isn't just about healing physi- cally. Sometimes inju- ries canhaveunforeseen mental effects on a play- er's game. And with the slashing, physical style that characterizes Abram's game, there is a concern from outsid- ers that he won't be the same player he was before theinju- ries. How will the Abram of old deal with these new mental challenges ahead? Well, the Abram of old doesn't worry about stuff like that. "You can't have fears playing basketball," Abram said. "You can't be scared. I just try to go out there and play and whatever happens, happens." No one at Michigan is sure if Abram will last a full season. He hasn't done it in two sea- sons. No longer a naive sophomore, this griz- zled veteran is ready to put the past two years behind him and let his play do the talking. one thing is for sure: The old Lester can't flourish if he can't play. "I wish I was made out of titanium, so I couldn't break," Abram said. "It would be impossible for me to get injured. But I'm only human. Sometimes things happen, and it's up to you to overcome them." Bo Ryan's squads have usually enjoyed the luxury of sneaking up on teams, but this year the Bad- gers will be taking everyone's best shots. Wisconsin joins Ohio State as the only Big Ten teams ranked in the preseason polls (N. 9 in both). With last season's Big Ten Player of the Year Alando Tucker back for his senior season, many are picking the Badgers to win the conference. The question on everyone's mind is how big of an impact freshman Greg Oden will make for the Buck- eyes. The experts have already given their endorsement, with Ohio State coming in at No. 4 and No. 7 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today and AP polls, respectively. But fans will have to wait until Jan. 2 - Oden's expected return date after undergoing offseason surgery on his wrist - to get some answers. 3 The loss of Dee Brown and James Augustine means the Fighting Illini need to find new leadership, a new primaryballhandler and anewgo-to guy down the stretch. Chester Tay- lor, Jamar Smith and Rich McBride will have to run the offense, but Illinois' success depends on Shaun Pruitt down low. His activity should force defenses to collapse, leaving shooters like McBride and Smith open to do damage. Keep an eye out for how much of an impact Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson has on the attitude of this team in his first year at head coach. Seniors Roderick Wilmont and Earl Calloway will pester opponents on both ends of the floor, but the Hoo- siers' success ultimately rests with the health of their big man, D.J. White, who played in just five games last season due to a foot injury. 2006-07 Michigan Basketball Schedule Date Opponent Time Date Opponent Time 11/10 C. ConnecticutSt. 8pm 2/6 Ohio State 7pm 11/11 Davidson 4 pm 2/10 Minnesota 8 pm 11/12 Eastern Michigan 4 pm 2/13 Michigan State 9 pm 11/15 UW-Milwaukee 7 pm 2/17 Indiana 4 pm 11/17 Harvard 7 pm 2/21 Illinois 8 pm 11/22 Youngstown St. 7 pm 2/24 Minnesota 1:32 pm 11/25 Maryland-Baltimore 7 pm 2/27-28 Michigan State TBA County 11/27 N.C. State 7 pm 3/3 Ohio State TBA 12/7 Miami (Ohio) 9 pm Postseason 12/9 Delaware State 2 pm Big Ten Tournament 12/16 Northern Illinois 2 pm 3/8 First Round 12/23 UCLA 11 am 3/9 Quarterfinal TBA 12/28 Army 8 pm 3/10 Semifinal TBA 12/30 Georgetown 12pm 3/11 Championship 2:30 pm 1/3 Illinois 8 pm NCAA Tournament 1/6 Northwestern 1:32 pm 3/13 Play-In Game TBA 1/13 Purdue 8 pm 3/15-17 First/Second rounds TBA 1/17 Penn State 8 pm 3/16-18 First/Second rounds TBA 1/20 Purdue 12 pm 3/22-24 1/24 Wisconsin 8 pm 3/23-25 So Ea outh/West Reg. TBA st/Midwest Reg. TBA nal Four TBA atI Championship TBA 1/27 Indiana 1/31 Iowa 12 pm 3/31 Fin 8 pm 4/2 Nu Home games in bold 5 6 ly e The Spartans lost the most talent in the conference (Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown and Paul Davis were all selected in last summer's NBA draft). Subsequently, Michigan State enters this season and looking up at the conference's top teams. The Spartans will depend on Drew Neitzel to run their offense while they tryto find their identity. Purdue finished last in the Big Ten last season (3-13) thanks to a slew of injuries - seniors David Teague and Carl Landry both tore ACLs. Now the Boilermakers are healthy and looking to make a move in the Big Ten. Purdue returns 10 players from last year and will lean on Teague and Landry as they try to erase all memories of last season. Penn State returns four of its five starters from last season, led by Jamelle Cornley and Geary Clax- ton. That experience has made the Nittany Lions the trendy pick to be this year's sleeper in the Big Ten. But Penn State coach Ed DeChellis might find it's much tougher to beat teams when they don't overlook the Nittany Lions anymore. 84.9 10 RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Iowa is young this year with eight freshman and sophomores on its roster. That makes the play of senior Adam Haluska even more impor- tant. The Hawkeyes will need him to show the youngsters the ropes through the tough Big Ten season. Northwestern has never received a NCAA Tournament bid. This year won't be its first. The Wildcats lost Vedran Vukusic (last season's Big Ten scoring leader) and Mohamed Hachad (Northwestern's second scoring option) to graduation. Minnesota coach Dan Munson denied reports of his pending res- ignation last season, and this year could be worse. The Gophers lost their do-everythingslasherVincent Grier, who graduated, leaving a big void on an alreadvweak team. Drew Neitzel keys Michigan State's attack in a wide-open Big Ten race.