The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, December 4, 2006 - SB

CRASHING THE BOARDS

NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"I can't tell you that much."
- Senior BRENT PETWAY when asked what state Wof-
ford is in (South Carolina). The McDonough, Ga.,
native knew what conference the Terriers play in
(Southern Conference). The self-proclaimed "bas-
ketball guru" scored eight points and grabbed eight
rebounds in the Michigan victory.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Courtney Sims
FORWARD
Sims recovered nicely from a disappointing
performance against North Carolina State
last Monday, shooting 9-of-12 from the
field and scoring 19 points against Wof-
ford. Sims showed some shooting touch,
knocking down several long jumpers.

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.

a-
Final grade

OFFENSE
The Wolverines rebounded from a
woeful shooting performance against
North Carolina State last Monday and
shot nearly 62 percent from the field.
Every starter scored at least seven
points, creating the offensive balance
that Michigan had sorely missed.

DEFENSE
The Terriers were forced to take
A - 31 3-pointers over the course of
Saturday's game, and made just
11 of them. Michigan's man-to-
Final grade man pressure defense was at
its finest in the first half, and it
held Wofford to just 18 points.
COACHING
+ Players admitted that practice
was not fun this week after the
foss on Monday. And it looks like
the coaching staff's message was
Final grade heard, as the Wolverines came
p out strong and maintained that
effort throughout the game.
CROWD
When the game is a blowout,
f ans have to create their own fun.
And the Maize Rage did just that,
starting "U-C-L-A" chants, and
Final grade serenading the football recruits
who were watching the contest.
KEY STAT
1 I Senior Dion Harris's assist-to-turn-
over ratio, a welcoming sign for
a team in need of a point guard.
SATURDAY'S GAME
MICHIGAN 83
Player MIN FG FT REB A F PTS
M-A M-A 0-T
Petway 26 4-4 0-0 2-8 2 1 8
Coleman 27 3-7 0-0 0-4 1 0 8
Abram 28 3-5 0-0 1-6 3 2 7
Sims, C. 26 9-12 1-1 2-7 1 1 19
Harris 28 5-9 2-3 0-3 10 2 14
Smith 14 2-3 2-2 0-4 3 2 8
Udoh 16 2-6 0-0 1-0 2 2 4
Shepherd 15 1-3 0-0 0-1 1 1 3
Sims, 0. 11 4-5 1-2 1-2 1 1 11
Baker 7 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 3
Merritt 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Price 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 200 34-55 6-8 7-38 24 13 83
FG%: 61.8 FT%: 75.0 3-point FG:9-14, ..643 (, Smith 2-2, Harris
2-4, Coleman 2-4, Abram1-1, Baker1-1, Shepherd1-1, Sims, D. 0-1).
Blocks: 6 (Sims, C.3, Harris, Sims, D., Udoh) Steals: 5 (Harris 2,
Abram, Sims, D., Smith). Turnovers: 14 (Abram 5, Sims, C. 3, Cole-
man 2, Harris, Petway, Shepherd, Smith). Technical fouls: None.

Saturday's game
MICHIGAN 83 - WOFFORD 49
Freshman Simsounces back
Forward starts out on road to return
By DANIEL BROMWICH injury to his left knee, and was admit-
Daily Sports Writer tedly not totally ready for the team's
first road game, at North Carolina
As Michigan entered its first State. The coaches decided to reduce
extended layoff following a stretch his playing time, and give him thes :
of eight games in 17 days to open the space he may have needed to recover.
season, nobody looked forward to the Sims played more than six minutes
break more than freshman forward just once before Saturday.
DeShawn Sims. Sot the attention and time the team
"We weren't doing a lot of learn- has given him helped, and Saturday
ing or practicing; we were just playing may have served as a breakout perfor-
games," Sims said. "I felt once I got in mance.
a rhythm and was able to practice, put "The thing that he's had and the
a couple days of practice together, I word that I've used with him is spir-
knew the next time I got an opportu- it; he has a great spirit about him,"
nity, I was going to produce." Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said.
And produce he did. "And he never gets down about things,
In just 11 minutes against Wofford he keeps his head up,he keeps fight-
on Saturday, Sims recorded a career- ing and battling, and he recognized
high nine points on 4-for-S shooting that he was behind and he put in extra
and added two rebounds, one block work to get back up to speed, both on
and one steal to his stat line. and off the court. To see these thinks
But it was his energy that really materialize for him today, he's earned
helped the Wolverines. it, he deserves it, and it's nice to see it
On one series, Sims finished a base- happen."
line spin move with a shot off the glass. Black and blue: The Wolverines
On the ensuing defensive possession, experienced their first major injury
he rejected a Terrier shot attempt, and this past week when freshman guard
then followed the play down the court, K'Len Morris dislocated his left shoul-
finding an offensive rebound and put- der in practice.
back for his efforts. "I went up for a dunk, someone tried
"He played great," junior Ron Cole- to take a charge, and I fell, and I tried
man said. "He came in aggressive, and to catch myself on the fall, and that's
that's what we need - guys to take the when it happened," Morris said.
pressure off of Courtney (Sims) and This isn't the first time the Grand
Brent (Petway) and to come off the Blanc native has hurt his shoulder.
bench and give us a big lift." He dislocated it several times in high
The game had to be quite a relief school and middle school, and when JEREMY CHO/Daily
for Sims as well. The Detroit native he was young. Freshman DeShawn Sims had nine points and two rebounds in just 11 minutes on Saturday.
finally looks to be catching up to the "It's happened a few times," Morris
team. It was a tough road back for said. "It happened when I was really out its all-maize jerseys for the first ence games.
Sims after his brother was shot and little, too. I was a little rambunctious, time this season on Saturday. Previ- "I was watching the (women's bas-
killed in Detroit on Nov. 3. In addi- so I was injury-prone when I was ously, it had stuck to the more tradi- ketball team) play in them yesterday,
tion to trying to adjust to all the usual younger. I was always into trouble." tional white jerseys at home and blue and I didn't even know we had the
things a first-semester student-athlete Morris hopes to miss just a couple on the road, but Saturday's contest maize jerseys," DeShawn Sims said.
normally struggles with, Sims now of days, but the medical prognosis brought a change. "Maize has been working for us so far.
had an unfathomable new obstacle to indicates that he will more likely miss And the Wolverines seemed to wel- I know we've only won one game, but
overcome. three to four weeks. come the new look, which has been I love the maize. Everybody loves the
Sims also struggled with a minor Maize and maize: Michigan broke traditionally reserved for big, confer- maize."
Cagers finally dominate a lesser team

Wofford 49
Player f

FG FT REB AIFIPTS

Marshall 11 2-2 0-0 1-2 1 5 4
O'Connor 20 3-9 0-0 0-2 2 2 9
Whatley 31 2-7 0-2 1-2 0 1 4
Nichols 34 1-13 2-2 0-1 4 2 4
Estep 19 5-11 2-2 0-3 1 1 17
Sheehan 17 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 3
Godzinski 17 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 1 2
Lebolo 8 0-0 0-0 2-3 0 0 0
Salters 25 1-5 0-0 0-1 3 1 3
Nixon 9 0-1 0-0 1-1 1 0 0
Jackson 5 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 1 3
Hegamin 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Bellebaum 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
TEAM 2-4
TEAM TOTALS 200 17-57 4-6 9-24 15 14 49
FG%: 29.8 FT%: 4-6 3-point FG: 11-31, .355 (Estep 5-8,
O'Connor 3-8, Jackson 1-1, Salters 1-2, Sheehan 1-2, Godzin-
ski 0-2, Nichols 0-7). Blocks: 0. Steals: 5 (Whatley 2, Estep,
Godzinski, O'Connor). Turnovers: 13 (Nichols 5, Marshall 4,
Whatley 2, Bellebaum, Sheehan). Technical fouls: None.
Wofford.1. .. 18 31 - 66 At: Crisler Arena
Michigan.....43 40 - 54 Attendance: 8,117

The Michigan basketball team's 83-49 win
over Wofford on Saturday was as easy as
taking candy from
a baby.
Or shooting fish in a bar-
rel.
Or child's play.
Or a cakewalk.
Whatever clich6 you use
to describe what went on at
Crisler Arena should suffice. LJOSE
But I have a new one.
That win was like Court- BOSCHI
ney Sims blocking a 6-foot- -
nothing point guard. The Bosch
OK, so that wasn't very Watch
good analogy, but it actually
happened with five minutes remaining in the first
half.
Sims had no problem blocking Wofford's Shane
Nichols as he desperately heaved the ball toward
the net with the shot clock running out. Normally,
you get pumped for a block that big. You jump up
and down in the Maize Rage, you scream until your
voice gets hoarse, heck, you might even believe for
a split second that Michigan is a Final Four-caliber
team.
But you can't block out that little voice inside your
head that's saying, "This is Wofford! Of course the
Wolverines are going to dominate Wofford!"
That's right, they're going to dominate Wofford
and Eastern Michigan and Maryland-Baltimore
County and Youngstown State and the Sisters of the
Little Poor Elementary School. You have to expect
Michigan to win these games.
But Saturday's beatdown was much different than
the other cupcake games on the schedule. The Wol-

verines didn't just win; they embarrassed the Ter-
riers. And as depressing as the North Carolina State
loss was, you can't be anything but encouraged by
Michigan's performance against Wofford - ateam
that lost to the Wolfpack by just four points and
defeated Cincinnati on the road.
The Wolverines moved the ball effectively, taking
advantage of the Terriers' lack of speed, and they
controlled the boards, capitalizing on the size dis-
crepancy. And unlike those previous games against
bad teams, whenever the Wolverines had open shots,
they hit them.
Michigan shot the lights out, hitting 62 percent
from the field, including 9-for-14 from beyond the
arc. To put it in perspective, the Wolverines took 13
more shots against North Carolina State and made
one less 3-pointer. And the improvements don't stop
there.
Sims and fellow senior Brent Petway were forces
in the paint once again and Harris finally found his
jumpshot. Not to be outdone, the freshmen also had
a good day.
Ekpe Udoh continued his high-energy play at
the post, and DeShawn Sims showed a glimpse of
how great he'll beas his career continues. Michigan
coach Tommy Amaker has gotten heat for his recent
recruiting classes, but he may have the last laugh
after this one.
So, the Wolverines did exactly what they
should've done against an inferior team - they
pounded them.
And even though it's easy to criticize Amaker
for the team's soft schedule, the fact remains that
Michigan played a complete game for the first time
all season.
Even after taking a 25-point lead into the first
half, the Wolverines never eased up and added nine

Senior Dion Harris had 10 assists and just one turnover.
more points to win by 34.
Sure, Wofford is no UCLA or Georgetown, but
this game is a small step on the road toward actually
beatingteams like the Bruins and Hoyas.
- Bosch can be reached at hectobos@umich.edu.

Player

GP

Min Pts IR A

Sims,C. 9 25.9 16.1 7.1 0.4
Harris 9 30.0 13.8 3.1 5.7
Coleman 9 28.7 9.8 4.0 1.3
Petway 9 25.6 8.1 8.3 1.9
Abram 9 26.0 7.7 4.1 3.3
Smith 9 19.8 4.7 2.4 2.9
Udoh 9 17.3 4.2 4.1 0.9
Sims, D. 7 6.6 3.0 1.4 0.4
Shepherd 8 11.1 2.5 1.9 0.5
Price 4 4.0 2.3 1.5 0.3
Baker 7 6.6 1.6 0.0 0.6
Morris 7 5.3 1.0 03 0.1
Merritt 2 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.5
Devries t 3.0 0.0 1.0 0.0

TERRIERS driving the ball but cutting as well," Harris said. scored eight points apiece, while DeShawn Sims
From page 1B "We make hard cuts and get the ball, and we're still added nine.
aggressive as far as driving it and looking to dish it, Michigan endured a small scare late when stand-
not just looking for your own shot." out freshman Ekpe Udoh hobbled off the court with
The Wolverines (8-1) attacked Wofford's half- Amaker has stated numerous time that he wants less than five minutes remaining in the game. But
court defense on Saturday, and it paid off with the open guy to become the go-to-guy on offense. Udoh rejoined his teammates on the bench a few
layups and open jumpers. Michigan shot 62 per- The Wolverines took that philosophy to heart Sat- minutes later and didn't appear to be seriously hurt.
cent from the field, thanks to good execution, not urday, as just two players scored in double figures The only concern for the Wolverines on Satur-
just a hot day from the field. (Harris and Courtney Sims, who scored a team- day was the absence of Lester Abram in a game
"The biggest key is being aggressive, not only on high 19 points), and 24 of michigan's 34 baskets the team said it had to have. The captain turned
were assisted. the ball over five times and scored all seven of his
BIG TEN STANDINGS "We're pretty balanced and unselfish," Harris points in the final minute of the first half.
said. "I think we're the most unselfish team around But Harris and the rest of the Wolverines took
Team Big0Ten Overall right now." care of business on Saturday. The next step isto do
Michigan 0 0 1 Eon Coleman, Brent Petway and Jerrett Smith it again.
Ohio State 0 0 7 1
Wisconsin 0 0 7 1 THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Purdue 0 0 6 1 MICHIGAN 83, Wofford 49
Illinois 0 0 7 2 Arizona 84, Illinois 72 CHECK OUT OUR LIVE BLDG DURING
Michigan State 0 0 6 2 lowA 62 Texas-Pan American 46 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL GAMES
Penn State 0o 0o 2 MINNsSOorA 66 - Arizona State 63 M C IA A K T A L A E
Indiana 0 0 4 2 PURDUE 62 - Delaware State 40
PENN STATE 8o - Morgan State 71 FOR CONSTANT UPDATES ON THE
Northwestern 0 0 4 2 INDIANA 74- Charlotte 57
Iowa 0 0 4 4 oIOSTATE78-Valporaiso58 ACTION AT MICHIGANDAILY.COM.
Minnesota 0 0 3 5 *HoME TEAM IN cAPs