The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com- .J 0 December 3, 2007 - 5B CRASHING THE BOARDS NOTABLE QUOTABLE "We've got Tommy! We've got Tommy!" - Chanted Saturday by Harvard's student sec- tion, the Crimson Crazies, after its new coach, Tommy Amaker, defeated his old team, 62-51. The loss comes just eight months after Michigan fired Amaker for failing to make the NCAA Tournament after six years on the job. Saturday's game HARVARD 62 - MICHIGAN 51 AMAKER1, BLUE 0 Coach welcomes then bests former team PLAYER OF THE GAME Ron Coleman FORWARD Although Coleman wasn't the Wolverines' leading scorer, he was their most efficient player against Harvard. The senior scored 12 points, including two 3-pointers that gave Michigan a brief lead in the second half. He also grabbed seven rebounds. SATURDAY'S GAME Michigan 51 Player MIN FG FT REB A F PTS M-A M-A O-T Coleman 36 5-9 0-0 5-7 2 0 12 Sims 29 4-17 3-4 4-e a 5 12 Gibson 17 2-3 0-0 2-5 0 1 4 Harris 37 5-17 3-3 3-6 2 2 13 Grady 22 1-3 0-0 0-1 1 0 3 Smith 11 1-2 0-0 0-1 1 1 3 Lee 7 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Morris 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 wright 15 1-5 0-0 2-3 0 0 2 Udoh 23 1-3 0-0 1-3 0 2 2 TEAM 200 20-62 6-7 20-39 6 11 51 TOTALS FG%:32.3 FT%: 85.7 3-point FG: 5-20,250 (Coleman 2-4, Sims1-5, Grady1-3, Smith1-1, Harris 0-2, Lee 0-1, Morris 0-1, Wright 0-3). Blocks: 9 (Sims 3, Udoh 3, Gibson 2, Grady). Steals: 5 (Harris, Lee, Smith, Udoh, Wright). Tumovers:13 (Coleman 3, Gibson 2, Harris 2, Sims 2, Smith 2, Lee, Wright) By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Writer CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, who for the previous six years was Michigan coach Tommy Amaker, faced the potentially uncomfortable task of greeting his old team Saturday NOTEBOOK night. But because of lucky timing, Amaker could welcome his old friends without fans and media watching. Amaker bumped into the Wolver- ines as they entered Lavietes Pavilion and said hello to everyone he could. That included the players, radio crew, managers, coaches and even their wives. "They kind of said to me, 'Hey, it looks like you're doing it all up here. You're even greeting people at the door,' "Amaker said. He missed sophomore center Ekpe Udoh but shook his hand during pre- game warmups. After the Boston Col- lege game Wednesday, Michigan coach John Beilein said he would not address the Amaker issue with his team. ALMOST AS BIG AS YALE: Hosting the Wolverines, a Big Ten team with a strong alumni base in the area, Har- vard saw quite a passionate crowd Sat- urday night. The atmosphere was electric as 2,050 fans packed Lavietes Pavilion, about a third of them with Michigan allegiance, to see Amaker's new team take on his old one. Michigan was one of Harvard's more expensive home games in the Crimson's two-tiered pricing system and the only home game listed as tele- vised on Harvard's schedule "When ESPNU comes to Harvard, that's a pretty big deal," Crimson cap- tain Brad Unger said. "It has to be the first time in Harvard history. For something like that to happen, every- body realizes it's a pretty big deal and a pretty cool thing." As both cheering sections seemed to compete with each other - "Let's- go-Blue" cowbelling vs. "We've got Tommy" chants - the Crimson Cra- zies got the last laugh, rushing the court after the game. "For our kids, and our program, I'm proud,". Amaker said. "I'm proud for our student body, who showed up here in full force. To have a chance for us to have our place filled, and to build on this, will be big for us. Hopefully, we can." Even though the atmosphere was unique for Harvard - one Crimson player said professors were even talk- ing about the game last week, which he said is completely unheard of - the Wolverines weren't unsettled. HARVARD 62 Player MIN FG - FT REB M-A M-A O-T AI F PTS Harris 34 3-9 3-4 4-8 5 2 9 Magnarelli 37 5-9 1-2 3-7 2 1 11 Housman 35 2-6 3-4 2-6 2 2 8 Lin 35 4-13 0-0 1-6 5 3 9 Pusar 25 5-11 2-2 5-7 2 1 12 McGeary 22 4-8 0-0 0-0 0 1 11 unger 9 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 0 2 carey 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 TEAM 3-7 TEAM 200 24-59 9-13 18-41 17 10 62 TOTALS FG%: 40.7 FT%: 75.0 3-point FG: 5-18, .278 (McGeary 3-7, Housman 1-2, Lin 1-6, Pusar 0-2, Unger 0-1). Blocks: 5 (Harris 3, Magnarelli 2). Steals: 7 (Housman 3, Carey, Lin, Magnarelli, Pusar). Turnovers: 9 (Harris 2, Housman 2, Lin 2, Carey, Magnarelli, Pusar). Harvard................. 28 34 - 62 At: Lavietes Pavillion Michigan............22 29 - 51 Attendance: 2,050 'M' STATS GP Min Pts R I A Player EMMA NOLAN ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Former Michigan coach and current Harvard coach Tommy Amaker was all smiles after his Crimson squad upset the Wolverines Saturday, It was Michigan's fifth loss in six games since beginning the season 2-0. "We're Michigan," Udoh said. thought this was an area that could be as they went to the bench during their "Everybody's going to go hard. Every a strong area for Michigan," Amaker lowest-scoring game of the season. team is going to try to go at your heads. said. "That was the thought behind "I think that sometimes we've had It was expected. It just wasn't our it, in addition to the great Harvard good shots and passed them up to take night." name." tougher shots," Beilein said. The series with the Crimson was Now on the Crimson sideline, Michigan, which went 20-for-62 scheduled while Amaker was at Michi- Amaker still sees value in the game. (.323) from the field, didn't make things gan. The Wolverines beat Harvard 82- "It's hard to get teams like a Michi- any easier on itself, failing to capitalize 50 at Crisler Arena last year. gan to come to places like this," Amak- on numerous fastbreak opportunities, "We thought this area's an out- er said. "We're grateful that this was scoring just four points in transition. standing area for our alums, as you able to take place." Beilein said the Wolverines haven't could tell here tonight, a good recruit- NOT SO SHARPSHOOTING: Beilein done any three-on-two or two-on-one ing base because we had a few kids that repeatedly seemed to scold various drills in about eight days because of we recruited from here, so we always Wolverines about their shot selection limited practice time. Harris 8 31.3 16.6 4.3 3.1 Sims 8 24.5 12.4 4.1 0.8 Coleman 8 32.8 7.4 5.5 2.3 Grady 8 22 7.0 1.4 2.6 Gibson 8 17.3 6.1 3.6 0.3 udoh 8 22.8 5.4 3.3 0.5 Smith 5 13.2 4.0 2.0 1.2 Wright 8 17.8 2.9 3.4 0.8 Lee 8 8.6 2.0 1.4 0.8 Morris 8 9.3 1.3 1.0 0.4 Shepherd 7 5.7 1.1 1.0 0 Merritt 2 2.0 0 0.5 0 Block 1 1.0 0 0.0 0 Giannotto 0 o 0 o o CRIMSON From page 1B Getting outrebound by a team that boasts a starting line without a true center and three guards under 6-foot-2 isn't fun. Having an assist-to-turnover ratio of.46 when your system emphasizes ball control isn't fun. Allowing a team that doesn't start a senior to finish with 17 assists against just nine turnovers isn't fun. Letting six players, none of whom are on scholarship, score at least eight points isn't fun. So what does that leave? A loss that - although no one in the Michigan locker room would admit it - is embarrassing. Amaker maintained the win was great for Harvard, but it had no personal ramifications for him. Even so, the "We've got Tommy" chants from the Crimson Crazies before they rushed the court must have given him some satisfaction. And even though the Wolverines maintained this was just another game, the post-game locker room vibe was particu- larly tense. Players struggled to explain the loss. Many couldn't even lift their heads to respond. Maybe they were too tired to talk. Beilein wasn't trying to make excuses, but he said fatigue may have caught up to the Wolverines, playing their fifth game in11 days. Michigan (3-5), trailing 37-26 with 15 minutes left in the game, put together an 11-0 run sparked by the dribble drives of freshman guard Manny Harris, who led the team with 13 points. After the Wolverines surged to knot the game at 51 with 3:38 left, Michigan didn't seem to have any gas left in its tank. An unintimidated Harvard squad closed the game on an 11-0 run of its own, scoring on fastbreak lay-ups. "(The Wolverines) are just regular dudes," Crimson for- ward Evan Harris said. "They lace up their shoes the same way. They tie their shorts. They're not super people out there dunking." As Harvard (4-4) capped off its game-ending run, Beilein sat at the end of the Michigan bench, clenching his hands together as he stared at the ground. Even with his preseason proclamation, the first-year coach could never have imagined such a low as a loss to Harvard. Now the Wolverines, who have lost three in a row and five of their last six, have to hope it doesn't get worse. BOSCH From page 1B begins relying on the finger twirl. Now the "Tommy Twirl" is giving anoth- er school reason to hope. The Crimson faith- ful stormed the court. Things are looking up for the Harvard program, and the sky's the limit. The Harvard has already sold out the rest of its home games. Dickie V. has already sworn off Duke and has anointed Harvard as his new favorite team. ESPN has already promised to show the rest of the Crimson's home games on national TV. Everyone is catching the fever. So as the court flooded with elated stu- dents thrilled to be proud of something. other than their SAT scores, I pulled aside a student to find out just how big this win "We don't get many Division I big-time programs to our house," Harvard freshman Anthony Spadafino said. "To be able to upSet a team like that at home is huge." I envy you Mr. Spadafino. Without a single senior starter, Amaker will mold your team into an Ivy League powerhouse. With Amaker's reputation of developing talent, not only are conference championships in your future, but NCAA Tournament berths are as well. As for Wolverine Nation, it's panic time in Ann Arbor. Hey, Beilein is a great guy, but I don't think he's quite up to the task of developing talent. Winning at least 20 games in a season with six different teams is no sign of prog- ress. How about losing one game at Harvard? Isn't that bad enough to erase 30 seasons of work? And it's great he can draw up 17,000 dif- ferent plays for his offense, including ones that can score a basket off an inbound. Amaker needs just one play - the finger twirl. That's it. And that will be the lasting image from Saturday. The Crimson storming down the court, led by their fearless leader and his index finger, delivering a knockout blow to the Wolverines. - Bosch knows this was just one game. It's called sarcasm. He can be reached at hectobos@umich.edu. U MORE ONLINE at michigandaily.com/thegame BLOGS Be sure to check out our blog, The Game, where you'll get the latest information on the football team's continuing search to replace Lloyd Carr. EMMA'NOLAN ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Sophomore DeShawn Sims had 12 points against Harvard, but shot a dismal 4-for-17 from the field.