5A - Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
OUTCLASSED
Young Michigan squad can't
hang with talented Illini
By MARK GIANNOTTO
Daily Sports Editor
CHAMPAIGN - Illinois
seniors Shawn Pruitt and Brian
Randle taught the Michigan
men's basketball team a tough
lesson
last MICHIGAN 57
night ILLINOIS 75
- the
immeasurable value of four years
experience in college basketball.
In their 75-57 loss to Illinois,
the youthful Wolverines couldn't
stop the Fighting Illini duo,
which combined for 38 points
and 17 rebounds.
Despite the play of the Illinois
frontcourt, the latest setback for
Michigan (1-4 Big Ten, 5-12 over-
all) differed from past lopsided
road losses against Georgetown
and Duke, where losses seemed
inevitable.
This one was closer than the
final score indicates. A nifty
floater in the lane by sophomore
DeShawn Sims culminated a
seven-point run and tied the
game at 43 with 12:35 remaining.
From there, it was all Illinois
the Wolverines had no answer
for Pruitt's play in the second
half. Whether battling man-to-
man coverage, double teams, a
1-3-1 zone or even a 2-3, Pruitt
found ways to be score.
The senior finished the game
with 19 points, including eight of
the Illini's first 12 in the second
half.
"We weren't going to be able to
guard him," Beilein said. "(Soph-
omore) Ekpe (Udoh) is about 220
pounds and was just having trou-
ble with the leverage he creates."
on the other end of the spec-
trum was the play of Michigan's
youth.
Freshman Manny Harris, who
said after the game he was lim-
ited by a right foot injury, had a
career-low five points, commit-
ted three turnovers and had no
assists. Sims had 13 points but
shot just 6-of-15 from the field.
And after his first double-double
of the season against Northwest-
ern Saturday, Udoh was ineffec-
tive, finishing with six points
and six rebounds without a field
goal.
The Wolverines' inaccuracy
The breakdowns on offense
started from the game's outset.
The Wolverines' nasty habit of
slow starts struck again as Mich-
igan missed eight of its first nine
shots, turned the ball over four
times and allowed Illinois to
jump out to a 17-5 lead.
The sluggish beginning
prompted Beilein to go to his
bench.
Sophomore Anthony Wright
and senior David Merritt teamed
up to dig the Wolverines out of
their hole, burying four 3-point-
ers in as many minutes - a rarity
for this team.
Led by the duo's hot streak
from the outside, Michigan
countered with its own 14-0 run
and took its first lead of the game,
19-17.
But then Randle stabilized the
Illini. He answered Michigan's
outburst, scoring on a putback
on the ensuing possession. The
forward had 15 first-half points,
including 10 after Michigan tied
the game, giving Illinois a four-
point lead at halftime.
It was just another on-the-
court lesson for a Michigan team
(1-4, 9-9). The Illini went on a 13- continued. Theyshot a paltry 35.7 still learning what it takes to beat
0 streak over the next five-plus percent from the field, something older, wiser and tougher compe-
minutes, eliminating Michigan's Beilein has lamented constantly. tition.
hope of winning its second- "We're a team that's going "It's still us trying to find our-
straight Big Ten road game. to struggle to score until we selves," Harris said. "It's stuff
Michigan coach John Beilein improve our shooting," Beilein we could have controlled, but we JEREMY cH(
tried everything on defense, but said. broke down." Sophomore center Ekpe Udoh is rejected by Illinois forward Brian Randle in the Wolverines' 75-57 loss in Champaign.
Foot injury, Illini defense hold Harris to career-low five points
By H. JOSE Bosch comfort in the first half, but went half, Harris went 0-for-3 in the defend him. The duo effectively cut minutes of play, Michigan coach points per game combined, ha
Daily Sports Editor straight to the bench before warm- second. Even with the injury, the off lanes to the basket, forcing the John Beilein needed a spark from a 16-2 Michigan run.
ups at halftime. When Michigan Detroit native still played the most freshman to pass. his bench. He got an explosion. "If (the energy) is low, you
CHAMPAIGN - Freshman coach John Beilein asked what was minutes on the team (33). Illinois coach Bruce Weber told Trailing 17-5, redshirt freshman to bring it up," Merritt said. "T
Manny Harris scored a career-low wrong, Harris pointed to his right Even when playing at full his big men to step up on Harris's Anthony Wright rattled off back- the mindset - to bring a lot of
five points in last NOTEBOOK foot. Despite receiving attention strength, Harris struggled to curls and the rest of his team to try to-back triples. Then senior David gy, play good defense and hi
night, but he said from the team's trainer, Harris con- find open shots against the Illini to slow him down in transition.The Merritt made two 3-pointers of his open shot when it's there."
ad led
want
'hat's
ener-
Rt the
his poor play had more to do with a
hurt foot than a stifling defense.
Harris showed no signs of dis-
tinued to tread lightly during the
final moments of warm ups.
After going 2-for-4 in the first
defense. The Illini defense focused
on Harris, including rotating Ches-
ter Frazier and Brian Randle to
strategy worked as Michigan didn't
score on the fast break.
THE SIXTH MEN: After a flat 10
own to tie the game at 17.
In less than four minutes, the
two players, who average two
Porter leaves Hensick's shadow
with spectacular senior year
"The Dual'" a rivalry
Senior has shown
himself to be one of
Michigan's greats
By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
Stars like T.J. Hensick and
Brendan Morrison dominate any
discussion of Michigan hockey
history. Even casual fans know
Morrison won the Hobey Baker
Award in 1997, and Hensick led
the nation in scoring last year.
But what about Kevin Porter
and Billy Muckalt?
After playing in the shadows
of Hensick and Morrison for the
majority of their careers, Porter's
unexpected senior season this
year and Muckalt's a decade ago
warrant their inclusion in a dis-
cussion of Michigan hockey's
greatest players.
This year's captain, Porter
was a quiet contributor as one of
Michigan's top three scorers the
past two seasons in Hensick's
shadow. Now, he is tallying goals
at a faster rate than any Wolver-
ine since the 1993-1994 season.
The Northville native's 20 goals
and 37 points lead the country,
making him a frontrunner for
the Hobey Baker Award, hockey's
equivalent of the Heisman Tro-
phy.
"Porter is playing as well as
any forward we've ever had
here," assistant coach Billy
Powers said. "To see him be the
all-around player that he is and
the leader that he is, with the
added responsibility that he's
taken on with the 'C,' and to
still be this successful, (is) not
surprising, but as a coach, it's
probably more rewarding."
The center was close to forgo-
ing his senior season to play in
the NHL but instead returned
to lead a freshman-heavy team
predicted to finish fourth in
the CCHA. The Wolverines are
now the top-ranked team in the
country.
As with any No. 1 team, talk
of a national championship
is always lurking in the back-
ground. Michigan's last title
=' .<'
,
Se
PETEy s caHOTaTENFE.LS/D
Senior Kevin Porter is skating into history as Michigan's 2007-2008 ca ptain.
Michigan-Ohio State.
Two of the most sto-
ried
schools in one of
the most storied
rivalries in col-
lege sports.
Heisman
Trophy win-
ners. National
Championships. IAN
Gold medalists. ROBINSON
Yes, I said -- - -
gold medalists.
I'm not talking pigskin here.
I'm talking about the purest sport
- track and field. And this weekend,
the two programs return the sport
to its purest form - the dual meet.
The dual-meet series between
the two schools dates back to 1907,
although the meet hasn't been held
since 1993. Back in the day, world
record-holders Jesse Owens (for
Ohio State) and Bob Ufer (for Michi-
gan) dominated the competition.
At that time, dual meets were
commonplace. But nobody on Mich-
igan's roster has competed in that
format since high school.
In a sport that has become too
focused on qualifyingtimes and dis-
tances, this weekend's iconic meet,
"The Dual," returns track and field
to its roots ina fan-friendly setting.
Othertrack meets can be difficult
to follow: too many teams compet-
ing, no logical story line, too much
time between events, little to no
atmosphere.
But these shortcomings won't
be a problem at the Indoor Track
Building this weekend.
It will be just Michigan and Ohio
State. The winning team will win
The Pennant, a trophy designed by
Michigan distance runner Brandon
Fellows, and take it for a victory lap.
Unlike other track meets that can
drag on all day; The Dual will start
at noon and finish by 2:30.
The program is making every
effort to keep fans entertained
throughout the meet. The Men's
Glee Club will be on hand to sing the
National Anthem and "The Victors."
The cheerleading team will perform
- something I've never seen at a
track meet. The announcer will give
energetic and informing play-by-
play that makes even the most casu-
al fan feel like an aficionado.
Admission, by the way, is free.
The only thing missing will be
the dogs that perform at basketball
games - Michigan associate head
coach Fred LaPlante actually tried
to schedule them for the event, but
Merritt and Wright had help
from the bench. Michigan got 28
points from non-starters.
revived
they'll be in Florida.
The team is taking The Dual as
seriously as the Athletic Depart-
ment is trying to make it entertain-
ing for the fans. Whenever the team
needed extra motivation during the
offseason, LaPlante reminded his
athletesthe number of days left until
The Dual. It's all built up to this.
The most exciting event should
be the 60-meter dash. Junior Adam
Harris, fresh off a school record-
setting performance in the team's
first meet of the season, will square
off against defending Big Ten 200-
meter champion Anthony Cole in a
showdown between two of the fast-
est athletes in the country.
This is the type of matchup that
will make this weekend's meet the
most exciting home meet in years.
It's the tradition between the two
schools that will restore the three-
year, six-meet series (indoor com-
petitions in Ann Arbor and outdoor
ones in Columbus) to its place as one
of the nation's top dual-meet series.
All of this combined should
convince you to head down to the
Indoor Track Building Saturday.
It has me convinced.
- Robinson can be reached
at irobi@umich.edu.
came from the sticks of Muckalt
and the 1998 Wolverines.
Muckalt, who also considered
bolting for the NHL after playing
in Morrison's shadow, returned to
Ann Arbor and registered one of
the best seasons in Wolverine his-
tory with 32 goals and 35 assists.
And just like Porter, Muckalt's
senior season put him into the
national spotlight.
"They found out his senior year
who Billy Muckalt was," Michi-
gan coach Red Berenson said.
"And I think everyone is finding
out who Kevin Porter is."
Both rosters were freshmen-
heavy, posing a tremendous chal-
lenge to each team's seniors.
"There's ahuge burden on these
guys that there hasn't been in the
past," said John Bacon, author of
Blue Ice: The Story of Michigan
Hockey. "I can't remember a class
since 1998 that's had more pres-
sure on it."
Certainly, no one expected
Michigan to be this good this
quickly, but Porter's season could
put him in the same category as
the all-time great Wolverines -
especially if he finishes his colle-
giate career the way Muckalt and
the 1998 team did.
"Your legacy is your career,
but the senior year is the icing on
the cake," Berenson said. "I think
Porter's giving himself a chance
to be right up there with the best
players that have played here."
I