The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 5A
A year later,
Blue reflects
on Bo's lessons
By SCOTT BELL is today. He was a great coach and
Daily Sports Editor person and touched everybody's
lives when he was around. You
When the Michigan football don't forget a man like that."
team takes the field Saturday after- Author and University lecturer
noon to play its biggest game of the John U. Bacon, who was working
season, it will come exactly one on a book with Schembechler at
year after the passing of legendary the time of his death ("Bo's Last-
coach Bo Schembechler. ing Lessons: The Legendary Coach
Schembechler, probably the Teaches the Timeless Fundamen-
Michigan football team's most rec- tals of Leadership" was released
ognizable figure, died just a day this September), looks back fondly
before Michigan's 42-39 loss to No. at the 10 years he knew Schem-
1 Ohio State last season. bechler.
That week, Schembechler met "It was obviously a blast to talk
with reporters at a press con- to Bo once a week for a year and a
ference previewing The Game. half, and I will always feel lucky
Schembechler talked for nearly a about that," Bacon said. "I got to
half hour, refusing to sit on a stool see the So that others did not see.
a media relations official offered to The funny side, the thoughtful side
him. and, as (former Southern Cal coach)
A few days later, the 77-year- John Robinson said, dare I say the
old former coach addressed the sensitive side."
Michigan football team for a final Though the vast majority of fans
time. Though he passed away that didn't know Schembechler person-
Friday, his impact on the program ally, his impact on them and the
and the impression he left on play- school in general was clear.
ers who met him remains immea- The night of Schembechler's
surable. passing, hundreds of students met
"He's a true Michigan man and in the Diag for a candlelight vigil.
left a great legacy behind him," Bacon was one of the four people
offensive tackle Jake Long said. "He who made speeches that night.
made Michigan football into whatit "Through all the candlelights,
Bo Schembechler took over as Michigan's coach in 1969 and despite passing away last November, current players and coaches still draw from his lessons.
in the process, you could see tears
coming down on their faces," Bacon
said. "That's about 1,000 students,
almost all undergrads. None of
them had ever seen Bo coach. Some
of them were not even born when
Bo coached. Here they were crying,
obviously not mourning the loss of
a coach, but to a leader, certainly
one of the best this university's ever
had."
Even though he retired nearly
two decades ago, Schembechler
had his own office in Michigan's
football headquarters, which is
aptly named Schembechler Hall.
With his passing, this is the first
year Schembechler hasn't been
around during the season and won't
be around for the biggest week of
the year.
Considering the importance
Schembechler placed on the Ohio
State game, the experience for
players will be different this sea-
son than in years past. Safety
Jamar Adams admitted it's hard
with Schembechler not around.
He and his fellow seniors will have
to adjust not hearing a fiery post-
game speech from The General.
But Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
looked at this week differently.
"I think I'll always have Bo with
me," he said.
And Carr isn't alone.
"You cannotunderestimate what
the Ohio State game and its rivalry
meant to Bo - it was everything,"
Bacon said. "Bo did not know his
record against any opponent except
for his record against Ohio State
(11-9-1).
"Woody and Bo - that's Darth
Vader and Luke Skywalker stuff."
Players and coaches agree, say-
ing one of the best ways to pay trib-
ute to the legendary coach would
be to put as much emphasis on the
series as he did.
"Bo gave a great speech before
he left," defensive tackle Will John-
son said. "It was real sad when he
passed away. But we knew that he
would want us to go out and fight to
try to win that game."
'M' heads to D.C. to face G'town
ZACHARY McSI
Carl Hagelin has helped Michigan to the No.1 spot in the USA Today poll.
Heads no bigger
after top spot
By MARK GIANNOTTO
Daily Sports Writer
It's lucky the Michigan men's
basketball team won its tio
opening games last weekend.
Because heading into tonight's
contest at Georgetown, the Wol-
verines have just about every-
thing else going against them.
Michigan (2-0) will likelystart
two freshmen guards - Manny
Harris and Kelvin Grady - who
are both playing their first col-
legiate game away from Crisler
Arena. And they'll be up against
the Hoyas' veteran backcourt
tandem of senior Jonathan Wal-
lace and junior Jessie Sapp.
Georgetown (1-0) boasts a
future NBA lottery pick in pre-
season All-American center Roy
Hibbert, who will be matched up
with Wolverine sophomore Zach
Gibson, a player not known for
his ability to bang in the paint.
To makematters yorse, Mich-
igan coach John Beilein boasts
an unspectacular 3-4 record
against Georgetown while at
West Virginia.
"This was, last year, prob-
ably, the only game where (the
Mountaineers) weren't in it
from the beginning to the end,"
Beilein said. "It haunts me a
little bit there, but we're just
going to go in there and do our
best. It's a tough task playing
these guys."
But the Wolverines do have
those two wins (Redford,
Brown) to hang their hats on.
Some legitimately danger-
ous weapons emerged in those
,ictories. Harris proved to be
the type of slashing, shoot-
ing guard that coaches covet.
Sophomore forward DeShawn
Sims showed an ability to score
inside and outside, averaging
more than 20 points per game,
garnering Big Ten Player of the
Week honors.
It will take more than Sims
and Harris to beat the loaded
Hoyas. Even though it struggled
a bit to beat William and Mary
last weekend, Georgetown has
a legitimate chance to make a
return trip to the Final Four.
With Hibbert, Wallace and
Sapp, the Hoyas boast a scor-
ing trio that can match up with
the best teams in the nation. All
three had more than 15 points in
their opener.
But Georgetown has had to
adjust to the loss of forward
Jeff Green, who went No. S in
the NBA Draft Since this is just
their second game of the season,
the Hoyas may not have found a
rhythm yet, considering Green
was their leader and go-to player
See HOYAS, Page 8A
By ANDY REID
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan hockey team came
into the year with 12 freshmen and a
load of questions about how good it
could be.
The USA Today poll voters appar-
ently think those questions have been
answered. When the paper released
its top 25 poll Monday, the Wolverines
graced the top spot. It's the first time
the Wolverines have been No.1 in any
poll since Nov.21, 2005.
During practice Tuesday, players
still hustled for loose pucks, listened
intently to Michigan coach Red Beren-
son's every word and stayed on the ice
well after practice ended to work on
passing and shooting.
There was no indication during
Tuesday's practice the Wolverines
had let their new ranking inflate their
egos - a frequent problem for young
teams that receive such high praise for
the first time.
In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Michigan has placed so little
emphasis on polls and other outside
influences that many players weren't
aware the Wolverines were the cur-
rent top-ranked squad in the nation.
"Actually, I hadn't seen that yet,"
freshman Scooter Vaughan said. "It's
great for the program and everything,
but it's a little undeserving."
If Michigan is indeed undeserving
of its No. l rank, it has solely to do with
the fact that the Wolverines have yet
to prove they can compete with top-
tier talent.
Michigan has comprised a
9-1 overall record against oppo-
nents that boast a dismal 16-29-6
combined record (313). And the
Wolverines have gone 1-1 against
teams with winning records
- Minnesota and Boston College,
which are just two and one games
above .500, respectively.
"It's not like we've played
anyone with an 8-1 record," said
Berenson, who emphasized their
opponents' less-than-stellar
record to his team after Monday's
practice. "We've won the games
we should've and won some that
maybe we shouldn't have won ...
I think we've got to take the polls
with agrain of salt."
The schedule gets much tough-
er with the bulk of conference play
and series against No. 11 Notre Dame,
No. 3 Michigan State and No. 2 Miami
(OH) still looming.
To maintain the top spot, the Wol-
verines need to learn how to play a full
60 minutes, both Vaughan and Beren-
son said.
Michigan generally plays well in
the first and third periods. The third
stanza, in which the Wolverines are
plus-11, has seen arguably their best
play. In a game against Alaska last
Friday, Michigan went into the third
with a 1-0 lead, and eventually went
on to win by four goals.
But there is definite room for
improvement in the second period,
Berenson said.
"What's the attitude like when you
have a good start?" Berenson asked.
"Is it how good we're doing or how
bad the other team is. Or is it, 'Hey,
that other team is going to come out
harder, so we have to come out harder.'
So there's a little bit of a between peri-
od attitude adjustment that I think we
can make."
For Vaughan, the team can use the
No. I ranking as motivation for the
future.
"A lot of us aren't used to playing
at such a high level with so many fans
and people watching," Vaughan said.
"It could affect how some people play,
but hopefully we don't let it get to our
heads. Hopefully, we go out to prove
that we can be No. 1. I think we have
a lot to prove."
2-0 means much for Wolverines
By ALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan is 2-0.
That may seem insignificant,
but the Wolver-
ines' past says NOTEBOOK
otherwise.
Michigan last started the
season with back-to-back wins
in 2003.
Coincidently, today's squad
and that one beat Cincinnati
for their second win, this time
defeating them 55-46.
That season, the Wolverines
finished 14-17, the last time they
have come close to finishing a
campaign with a .500 record.
The three seasons since, the
team has finished an average of
15 games below .500.
If this season's quick start
leads to a record even mirror-
ing .500, this campaign will be
considered a success.
3-POINT BRIGADE: The
Wolverines attempted 29 shots
from behind the arc against the
Bearcats, knocking down 11.
Last season, Michigan never
attempted more than 27 threes,
and the team has passed that
mark in just its second game.
And it's been a collective
effort. Four Wolverines have
already attempted more than 10
3-pointers in the young season.
However, Borseth wasn't
pleased with all the attempts.
"We took way too many 3-
point shots and nothing around
the basket," Michigan coach
Kevin Borseth said. "We're
just not getting the ball inside
and scoring it."
Michigan is shooting 31.4
percent from behind the arc.
STARTER OR BENCH?:
Sophomore Krista Phillips
has been playing better off
the bench this season. Against
Cincinnati, Phillips had what
Bearcats coach Kelley Hall
called a "monster game."
Cincinnati was the victim of
Phillips's 17-point, six-rebound
and four-block performance
in 22 minutes. She was effi-
cient from the field (7-for-10)
and consistent from the char-
ity stripe (3-for-3), as well as
active on the defensive end,
(four blocks).
"We put Krista (Phillips) in
the game - she's obviously a
natural post player," Borseth
said. "We were able to get it to
her for the score, which was
the difference for us. She gave
us an inside presence."
Starting at center for the
exhibition game against Lake
Superior State two weeks ago,
Phillips had a sub-par game,
scoring seven points while
rarely looking to score. And
after playing just 12 minutes,
she was also clearly fatigued.
Against Akron, Phillips pro-
vided a spark off the bench in
just seven minutes, going 4-
for-5 from the field for nine
points.
After starting 21 of 29 games
last season and getting a taste
of starting and coming off the
bench this season, the Saska-
toon, Saskatchewan, native
may have hit her stride.
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