* The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

November 27, 2006 - 5B

CRASHING THE BOARDS

NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"Every team that's going to have
success has to have a heart and
soul. Right now, without a ques-
tion, hands down, Brent Petway
is the heart and soul of our team"
- Michigan basketball coach TOMMYAMAKER

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Courtney Sims
FORWARD
Sims continued his dominating presence in
the post. On Saturday, he scored a game-
high 18 points, grabbed a game-high 12
rebounds and blocked four shots. For the
season, Sims is averaging 17 points and 7
rebounds per game.

MAKING THE GRADE
The Wolverines may be out of class during basketball
games, but each week the Daily basketball writers will
grade the team and its fans.
OFFENSE
B At first, the Maize Rage had a bet-
ter chance of receiving passes
than anyone wearing a Michigan
jersey. But the offense settled
down and never let up in the
Final grade second half. Add another third
of a gradefor Petway's dunks.

Saturday's game
MICHIGAN 66- MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY 54
Sharing is caring
Dion Harris impresses coach in new role

Final grade
Final grade

DEFENSE
Maryland-Baltimore County isn't
exactly Duke, but an early lead gave
the Retrievers hope and put the
Michigan defense on its heels for a
bit. Fortunately UMBC's shooting was
atrocious and the defense finally came
to. Eight blocks isn't bad, either.
COACHING
Multiple players said that Amaker's
encouraging words at the half were
just what the team needed to erase
a mediocre 20 minutes from their
minds. Sometimes less is more.
Bobby Knight should take note.

CROWD
The Maize Rage may be the most
overzelous student section in
America, but we must give credit to
the few and proud Ragers that filled
Final grade the bleachers on Saturday. Nothing
can stop you, not even vacation.
Bonus points for the alumni band.
KEY STAT
The amount of turnovers the Wolver-
ines committed in the first half alone
against Maryland-Baltimore County.
SATURDAY'S GAME
MICHIGAN 66
Player MIN FG FT REB A F PTS
_____ M-A M-A 0-T
Petway 32 5-7 4-5 2-5 0 1 14
Coleman 29 3-6 2-2 3-6 2 1 9
Abram 22 2-7 0-0 0-2 2 4 5
Sims, C. 30 7-12 4-8 4-12 1 3 18
Harris 31 3-12 0-0 1-4 8 3 7
Smith 19 3-5 0-0 0-2 3 1 7
Morris 5 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Sims, D. 2 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Baker 5 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0
Shepherd 9 0-1 2-2 0-2 0 0 2
Udoh 16 2-2 0-0 2-5 0 2 4

By H. JOSE BOSCH worried over whether I'm making or
Daily Sports Editor missing, I'm justgoing to the nextplay."
Recently Amaker said he was most
After the graduation of Daniel Hor- concerned with Harris's inability to
ton, senior Dion Harris was the front gettothe free throw line. Currentlythe
runner to be Horton's replacement. team's second-best free-throw shooter,
Seven games into the season, Harris Harris didn't draw a single foul over
is still a little rough around the edges, the long weekend.
but he has established himself as the After Wednesday's game, the senior
team's starting point guard. point guard said he needed to drive to
Coach Tommy the basket more often to draw the foul.
Amaker was NOTEBOOK But he continued his trend of settling
encouraged by for outside shots against the Retrievers
his senior's assist to turnover ratio, on Saturday.
saying he looks at the ratio more than Still, neither coach nor player is
anything to gauge a point guard's per- especially concerned with Harris's
formance. Amaker isn't afraid to let shooting.
Harris shoot as long as the Detroit "I'm going to keep taking shots,"
native is smart with his shot selection. Harris said. "I don't think Coach is
"That's my biggest pet peeve about worried whether I'm making or miss-
basketball today," said Amaker, down- ing right now. For me, I'm just going
playing Harris' 3-for-12 shooting per- to keep shooting and be aggressive. I
formance on Saturday. "The psyche or think I can do both, getting assists and
identity of players, the majority of the being aggressive offensively."
time, revolves around their offense. He Put me in, coach: Even though the
had eightassiststoday, and he did some starting lineup hasn't changed once
good things, especially in the second this season, Amaker has used an 11-
half." man rotation, trying avariety of differ-
Six of Harris's eight assists against ent combinations on the floor.
Maryland Baltimore-County came late But Amaker acknowledged that
inthe second half. Harris notched assists once the Big Ten season rolls around,
on three straightWolverine baskets. his rotation will be much smaller.
Lastseason,missedbasketstranslat- "It's early in the year so we're
ed into nights of poor production. The experimenting and learning about
change from shooting guard to point ourselves," Amaker said Wednesday.
guard has made Harris a more respon- "We may not be able to go as deep as
sible teammate. He understands that we want because certain players need
to lead the team effectively, he must to get (more time).... We can anticipate
never think about the last play. Wheth- having a shorter bench in the future,
er or not he makes a perfect lob pass to but that's down the road."
a teammate or shoots an air ball. Once The three players with the most
it happens, he must move on. playing time off the bench have been
"I think, because I'm playing the sophomores Jarret Smith and Jevohn
point guard position right now, I can't Shepherd and freshman Ekpe Udoh.
get (upset) and then shut down in The freshman has been the most
everything else like distributing the impressive substitute and may be
ball and pushing itup or getting into our Michigan's sixth man by the time the
offense," Harris said. "That would hurt conference season begins.
us if I were to do that this year. I'm not The Wolverines' most highly touted

BEN SIMON/Daily
Senior Dion Harris had more assist (15) than points (12) over Thanksgiving weekend.
recruit, DeShawn Sims, hasn't seen just a dunker and shot-blocker and
much action since his brother was pointed out his limited offensive rep-
shot and killed on Nov. 3. Sims scored ertoire. Petway denied using the cri-
one point and grabbed two rebounds tiques as inspiration.
in eight total minutes of play over the "Ben Wallace makes $90 million and
weekend. he doesn't hit too many jump, shots and
Who needs a jump shot?: Following I'm a better free throw shooter too, I
Friday's game, Brent Petway was asked believe," Petway said. "There are plen-
if he used his detractors' criticisms as ty of ways you can affect the game and
inspiration for this season. everybody doesn't have to be able to
Many had accused Petway of being make jump shots to affect the game."

Cagers on the road to
dance with the Wolves

TEAM TOTALS f 200 25-54 12-17 14-44 17 16
FG%: 46.3 FT%: 70.6 3-poInt FG: 4-20, .200(C oleman
Smith 1-3, Abram 1-5, Harris 1-7, Baker 0-1, Shepherd 0-1
Blocks: 11 (Petway 4, Sims, C. 4, Coleman 2, Abram 1)
Steals: 2 (Abram 1, Smith 1). Turnovers: 16 (Abram 4, HE
3, Petway 2, Shepherd 2, Udoh 2, Coleman, Sims, C., Sin
D.). Technical fouls: None.

Maryland - Baltimore County 54
Player MINIMAIMFT EBIA

F

Eshietedoho 19 1-4 4-4 0-2 0 4
Housman 35 3-7 0-0 4-8 0 3
Greene 39 4-11 2-2 1-2 10 1
Pugh 34 3-7 0-0 0-8 2 1
Hodges 31 7-20 2-3 0-1 1 1
Seaborn 18 1-4 0-0 1-1 0 3
Spadafora 10 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0
Fry 14 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 4
TEAM TOTALS 200 20-57 8-9 7-25 13 17
Fq%: 35.1 FT%: 88.9 3-point FG: 6-16, .375 (Greer
8, Hodges 2-6, Pugh 0-2) Blocks: 0. Steals: 4 (Gre
2, Eshietedoho, Hodges). Turnovers: 11 (Hodges 3,
2, Housman. Greene, Spadafora, Fry). Technical fo
None.
Michigan........ 26 40 - 66 At: Crisler Ar
UMBC............ 24 30 - 54 Attendance:9

66
By MARK GIANNOTTO much a work in progress," Michigan coach Tommy
Daily Sports Writer Amaker said. "The road test is more along the lines
arris of where I'm curious to evaluate the team. Obviously,
ns, For the second consecutive year, the Michigan (North Carolina) State is going to be a good challenge
men's basketball team is 7-0. for us, and a good ball club. Being on the road against
And for the second consecutive year, that record anyone is always a challenge."
means very little. Michigan last faced the Wolfpack in 2003, also
In the 2005-06 campaign, the Wolverines reeled as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. In that game,
off seven consecutive victories against weak compe- then-freshman Dion Harris scored 14 points off the
PTS tition, only to see an unblemished record go down bench, leading the Wolverines to a 68-61 win.
the drain when they first faced a ranked opponent And although they are not ranked, the Wolfpack
6 (UCLA). (4-0) also come into tonight's game undefeated, hav-
6 So far this season, the Maize and Blue have fol- ing won their first four games of the season. But like ,
lowed the same template. Michigan has feasted on the Wolverines, North Carolina State is relatively
14 teams that are either shorter, slower or just plain untested, and is likely still adjusting to new head
6 worse. The Wolverines have yet to face an opponent coach Sidney Lowe, a former Detroit Pistons assis- E NOLAN AeHAMiAN
18 from one of the six power conferences, nor have they tant coach. ABOVE: Captain LesterAbram is ready ar the Wsltpack
2 played outside the friendly confines of Crisler Arena. Lowe counts on his starting lineup to do the bulkAm
But all that will change tonight when the Wol- of the scoring. All five starters have double-digit undefeated.
0 verines take on North Carolina State in the opening scoring averages, and four play over 30 minutes per "I think our schedule has been very challenging
2 game of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. game. Junior Gavin Grant and senior Engin Atsur for us," Amaker said. "We're proud to be 7-0 and we
54 It will be Michigan's first road game of the year, lead the way, averaging18.8 and 17.3 points per game, can look around the country and a lot of people aren't
and its first opportunity to gauge its progress head- respectively.. and it's not because they play all the NBA teams. It's
ing into the meat of the nonconference schedule. Whether the Wolverines are ready for a team the hard to be 7-0, no matter who you're playing and
ne 4- "We've shown the ability to play at a high level caliber of North Carolina State remains to be seen. where you're playing."
ene at times, and we've also shown that we're still very But one thing is for certain: For now, Michigan is Tonight's game will air on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

Pugh
uls:
ena
,078

Player

GP Min I Pts I R I A

- H -I 7

Sims, C.
Harris
Coleman
Petway
Abram
Smith
Udoh
Price
Shepherd
Sims, D.
Baker
Morris
DeVries
Merritt

z
7
7
7
3
5
6
6
1
1

26.9
29.0
28.9
24.7
25.3
19.1
17.1
5.0
12.2
6.8
6.5
6.0
3.0
3.0

17.0
12.3
--s
9.9
8.4
8.3
4.1
3.4
3.0
2.8
2.4
1.3
1.2
0.0
0.0

7.0
2.9
-s
3.9
8.3
3.4
2.3
4.4
2.0
2.3
1.6
0.0
0.2
1.0
0.0

0.4
5.1
1.4
1.7
3.7
2.9
0.7
0.3
0.5
0.4
0.7
0.2
0.0
1.0

BIG TEN STANDINGS
Team Big Ten Overall
Michigan 0 0 7 0
Illinois 0 0 7 0
Ohio State 0 0 6 0
Michigan State 0 0 6 1
Wisconsin 0 0 5 1
Penn State 0 0 4 1
Purdue 0 0 4 1
Indiana 0 0 3 1
Northwestern 0 0 3 2
Iowa 0 0 2 3
Minnesota 0 0 2 4
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MIcHIGAN 66, Maryland - Baltimore County 54
Illinois 75 - Bradley 71
MICHIGAN STATE 71 - OAKLAND 53
Wisconsin 77 - Auburn 63
PENNSTATE65-St. Joseph's61
NoRTHWEsTERN 4 0- North Florida 39
ARIZoNA STATE 67 - loWA 64
MoNTANA75-Minnesota 65

RETRIEVERS
From page 1B
efficient shooting and command-
ing blocks.
Late inthe firsthalfthe Retriev-
ers' Chris Seaborn attempted to
dribble drive to the basket for a
shot. But Petway blocked his path
and threw the ball - along with
Seaborn - back to the ground,
sending the crowd and his team-
mates into a frenzy.
It was just one example of Pet-
way's ability to put a charge into
the team and the fans.
"We expect that from Brent,"
captain Lester Abram said. "When
he's able to make an exciting play,
like a dunk or a big block, it brings
us up, the crowd up and it gets
everybody into the game."
Early in the game, the Crisler
Arena crowd had little to cheer

about. During the opening min- The Wolverines cut down their
utes of the game, Michigan looked offensive mistakes and committed
more like a jumbled YMCA youth just five turnovers in the second
team than a Division I college frame.
team. Fewer turnovers translated into
On the Wolverines' first two a smoother offensive game for
possessions, senior Dion Harris Michigan. The Wolverines went
sent passes that sailed into the on runs of 12-2 and 10-2 to help
crowd. The resulting turnovers put a fork in the Retrievers.
cost Michigan five points. The finish was much better
Several minutes later, Abram than Wednesday night's 66-54
caught the turnover bug. While win, when Youngstown State (2-
bringing the ball up court in 4) outscored Michigan 16-1 in the
transition, Abram lost control of game's final six minutes.
the ball and turned it over. Not Turnovers also hurt the Wolver-
too long after, the Pontiac native ines during that stretch, as seven
drove hard to the basket, only to of the Penguins' final 16 points
be called for a charge. Maryland were off Michigan turnovers.
Baltimore-County (2-3) scored on "I didn't like how we played our
the subsequent possessions. defense in the later stages of the
"I just told them, 'We're bet- second half," Amaker said after
ter than that. Let's flush the first Wednesday's game. "Give them
20 minutes. Let's go play the way credit. They stayed tough and kept
we're capable of playing,' " Amak- fighting and clawing and playing
er said. hard."