The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 9A Gotta love the trash 'stache Why West Virginia's Alexander should be on your list of favorite Tournament players It happens to me every year when the NCAA Tournament rolls around. There's one person who just catches my attention for being far and away the goofiest basketball player alive. Last year it was UNLV's Kevin Kruger. He admitted to getting Grant Hill's autograph after his father, Lon Kruger, had just lost to Hill's Duke squad in the 1994 Final Four as the coach of Florida. He then C) 4C l ct proudly showed ittohis dad as DANCE he emerged from with Mark the losing locker room. For the two years before that it was West Vir- ginia's Kevin Pittsnogle, the gangly farm boy with a ton of tattoos and the trashiest mustache I've ever seen. Well, now that the first weekend of the 2008 NCAA Tournament is complete, we have the newest mem- ber of the "I'm so ridiculous that it's hilarious" club. Meet West Virginia's Joe Alex- ander. Like his fellow Mountaineer, Pittsnogle, he's got the trash 'stache and scraggly chin strap down. He is missing the tattoos, but I guess we'll have to let that slide. A couple of those weird symbols that somehow mean "god of war" on his shoulder would have put him over the top in my book. But to really make an impact on me, a goofy NCAA Tournament phenomenon also has to be good at playing basketball. And after watching him dominate a couple games in the Big East Tour- nament and then lead his team to victory over Arizona and Duke this past weekend, I'm convinced Alex- ander has a future in the NBA. He has the perfect complement of inside and outside moves and can simply take over games on offense. To give you a Michigan parallel, he's exactly the type of player John Beilein wants sophomore DeShawn Sims to become. It wasn't until the second half of the Duke game Saturday that Alex- ander had me completely hooked. Blue Devil freshman Kyle Sin- gler streaked down the court for what appeared to be an easy layup, when out of nowhere came the unstoppable force that is Joe Alexander. And instead of walking away or even posing to the crowd after his monster block, Alexander did something that just made me tingle with ~13n t 3 excitement. He turned FLOOR to Singler, gave Giannotto him what I'm officially naming "The Alexander Look of Death" and just started trash talking right in front of a CBS camera. And it didn't stop once the game was over. After cementing his leg- end with a 73-67 win over Duke, Alexander was asked about the Blue Devils' eight McDonald's All Ameri- cans. His response was to arch his eyebrows (like The Rock, for all you pro wrestling fans) and ask back, "Who?" Then, when asked to describe a scream of his duringthe first half that followed a blocked shot against Duke's DeMarcus Nelson, Alexan- der explained himself succinctly. "I told him he shouldn't shoot anymore," Alexander said. "He was actually very nice to me the rest of the game." Adding to his on-court antics, Alexander offered this postgame nugget to guarantee him a place in my book of athletes who are truly absurd but command my admira- tion. "We knew that coming in that they were just goingto stand around and not rebound," Alexander said. See DANCE FLOOR, Page 19A Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez instructs players during spring practice. He confirmed yesterday that junior Justin Boren was nolonger on the team. Boren bids Blue goodbye Junior offensive lineman leaves the football team., Rodriguez won't comment By DAN FELDMAN Daily Sports Editor Michigan's offensive line, already an inex- perienced unit, took a big hit this week. Junior Justin Boren left the Wolverine football team Monday, leaving the offensive line with just one returning starter (redshirt sophomore Stephen Schilling). Boren was expected to start at left guard or center. He started every game last year, splitting time between the two positions, and earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention. Rumors about Boren's departure have swirled the last couple of days. The first question Michigan coach Rodriguez faced yesterday at a press conference was wheth- er he had any personnel situations to talk about. In response, he gave a brief rundown of quarterbacks, running backs, wide receiv- ers and tight ends. "I can only talk about the guys that play for Michigan." When asked specifically about attrition, Rodriguez admitted Boren had left the team, but didn't offer many details. As expected, Rodriguez deflected specific questions about Boren. "I only talk about the guys that play for Michigan," Rodriguez said. "I sound like a broken record there, don't I?" Boren didn't immediately return an e-mail seeking comment. But he spoke to the media after the Wol- verines' first spring practice March 15. He said the new coaching staff and its "scream- ing and yelling" was different thanthe previ- ous staff, but the team would get used to it. Boren also spoke about the difficulties of learning a new system, especially one that required offensive lineman sprinting to the line to run a no-huddle offense. He was asked whether he was still having fun. "It's still football," Boren said. "Football's not going to change. It's just going to take a while to get used to. Get used to the coaches, get used to the system and get used to the whole atmosphere." Another potential explanation may have been the Wolverines' new and notoriously strenuous training regimen under Mike Bar- wis, director of strength and conditioning. "Coach Barwis, as far as I'm concerned, is the best in the business," Boren said after that first practice. See BOREN, Page 10A Duo dominates in the paint Jones and Skrba provide depth off the bench for 'M By ANTHONY OLIVEIRA Daily Sports Writer While senior Janelle Coo- per awed the crowd with her near-perfect outside shooting in Michigan's win over Virginia Commonwealth Monday, there was a pair of forwards that was perfect from the inside. Meet juniors Ashley Jones and Stephany Skrba. The two combined to go 5-for-5 from the field in the 75-57 victory. Nineteen points of those points came off the bench. And most of them couldn't have happened at a better time. When VCU senior Krystal Vaughn cut an early 14-point Wol- verine lead to just five halfway through the first half, the juniors scored 12 of the next 19 Michigan points to help build the lead back up to 13. The Wolverines didn't let become a frequent contributor. the lead slip below double-digits And when her name is called, it's for the rest of the game. usually with Skrba. "They provide us a great lift off "They kind of feel each other the bench," out well," Williams said. "AJ assistant really has a knack to get the ball coach Mike SKRBA to Stephany, and Stephany kind of Williams knows it's coming." said. "Either That "knack" has come from could proba- Jones's improvement as a passer. bly be start- Williams said she now does a bet- ing but they ter job of keeping her eyes up and give you having two feet on the ground to suchabonus HEIGHT:6-2 deliver the ball. Jones recorded coming off POSITION: three assists in Monday's contest. because Though she works 35-40 min- they're a Frwatd utes almost every day with coach- little more HOMETOWN: es in player-maker drills, which athleticthan TorontoOntario emphasize individual skills, what the players may be more important to her they come teammates is the intensity she in for." brings to the floor. That's a "One of things I feed off her is strongstate- her energy," Skrba said. "And she's RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Michigan coaches Red Berenson (right) and assistant coach Billy Power look on during Michigan's game at Miami in February. Coach surprised by success ment, considering Jones wasn't even playing substantial minutes until five weeks ago. Butsince connectingwith Skrba for three easy lay-ups in Bloom- ington on February 17, Jones has a very emotional player but in a positive way." While Jones's emergence has come from behind the scenes, Skrba's has been on display since See JUNIORS, Page 10A Be 'al At C( ber, th was pit confere A lot The both confer onship gest su And th the on heads a 1 overa nament "No Red Be could'v cess. " that. I' I alway ably be way. TI marks.' Bere renson has been facet of the game - goalkeeping, offense, defense and youth - as I smiles'during uncertainties. But in the conference play- dream season off championship last Saturday against Miami (Ohio), the Wol- By ANDY REID verines proved yet again that Daily Sports Writer Berenson had nothing to worry -- about. CHA Media Day in Septem- The defense and netminder e Michigan hockey team Billy Sauer stifled the most potent cked to finish fourth in the offense in the nation. The offense ence. took advantage of its chances. And Lhas changed in 183 days. the team's freshmen played well Wolverines, winners of beyond their experience. the regular-season and But none of that's new. ence tournament champi- Week in and week out, Michi- s, have been one of the big- gan has brought its A-game to the irprises in college hockey. ice, and Berenson knows that ded- te national pundits aren't ication has been the catalyst to the ily ones scratching their Wolverines' many successes. it Michigan's run to the No. "We didn't win this first seed ill seed in the NCAA Tour- necessarily this weekend," Beren- t. son said. "I told them they won it way," said Michigan coach in October, November, December. erenson when asked if he They won it on the road at North- e predicted his team's suc- ern (Michigan) and Lake State, I wouldn't have believed Nebraska (Omaha) and Miami. m always an optimist, and They paid their dues and have ys think our team is prob- gone through a tough season. I tter than it is, but there's no can't remember a Michigan team here were so many question having a tougher schedule. And " look what they did with it." nson cited almost every After the Wolverines toppled Miami in the championship, all of that hard work finally came full circle. Once the team arrived back at Yost Ice Arena, Berenson pulled his team in for a speech that senior alternate captain Chad Kolarik will remember for a long time. "I've never seen him that excit- ed, that's for sure," Kolarik said. "He's been all smiles this year. It's been a lot different than my first three years here. My freshman year was pretty good, but we were expected to do a lot. The past two years, we let him down." It was evident by Berenson's beaming smile after the Wolver- ines' tournament title that the coach is proud of this squad's accomplishments. But he's not ready to reflect on the season just yet. With four games between Mich- igan and its first national champi- onship since 1998, Berenson wants to keep his team focused. "This has been an amazing sea- son, really," Berenson said. "But I don't want to look back and enjoy it now, because it's not over. We need to make the most of it now. This is the best part." Blue's weakness turned into strength Michigan's mastery of pommel horse key to season's success By COLT ROSENSWEIG Daily Sports Writer It doesn't catch your eye when you walk in the arena. The pommel horse, a leathery rectangle with two protruding wooden handles, is usually placed off in a corner. Pommel horse per- formances don't have the explo- siveness of the floor exercise or the drama of high bar. I Butthe event is oftenthe differ- ence between a win and a loss. For the first time in years, Michigan has a strong pommels squad, ranked fourth in the coun- try. The current incarnation of the horse team, like most things with pommel horse, took shape slowly. Finally, with the postseason loom- ing, the squad has settled into a rhythm as comfortable as a good pommels routine. "I just know that I feel confi- dent in all the other guys and their ability to hit," senior co-captain Paul Woodward said. "So it takes pressure off each individual. ... Instead of worrying about staying on the horse, you're worried about trying to make a big score." To the casual observer, a pom- mel horse routine seems boring, even easy. But it takes years for a gymnast just to learn a simple circle, where his legs make a full rotation around his center of grav- ity. For the length of the routine, the gymnast supports his entire body weight on his hands. And the horse is the most unforgiving apparatus in the gym, requiring not just strength but pinpoint balance, endurance and steadiness, too. "You have avery small area and not a lot of space to move your hands," sophomore David Chan said. "If you miss something on floor or (parallel) bars, you can save a fall by taking a step. But if you're off on pommels, there's nowhereto putyour hand -you're just going straight to the ground." Junior Phil Goldberg and fresh- man Ben Baldus-Strauss have been providing hit routines to lead off the rotation, giving their teammates a boost of momentum and a little more wiggle room. "Even if you're the best team, pommel horse is an area where you can ruin it just like that," See POMMEL, Page 10A