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6B - Tipoff - Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Is 'Manny Fresh'
the answer?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - Tipoff - 3B
BI G EN PREVIEW
Manny Harris had a
stellar freshman year. Is
he ready to make Michigan
basketball important again?
By Andy Reid
Daily Sports Editor
Photo by Rodrigo Gaya
The Michigan men's
basketball locker
room is a testament
to consistency. Every
locker is exactly the
same - stark-white uniforms, navy
blue warm-ups and sweats hang in
closet-sized cubicles, each accom-
panied by a plush blue chair. You'd
be hard-pressed to tell them apart,
if it weren't for the numbers on
the jerseys and nameplate square-
ly attached to the polished wood
above each player's space.
That is, every locker except one.
While the other players have
no personal items in their lockers
except street clothes and shoes, a
large poster is tacked up inside the
locker belonging to Corperryale
"Manny" Harris. Itmashestogether
pictures of Michael Jordan to form
a question mark with a tagline that
reads, "ANY QUESTIONS?" The
poster might just be an homage to
His Airness, but there's a clear mes-
sage to draw from that giant ques-
tion mark Harris sees every day.
Nobody, not even Harris, knows
quite what to expect from him this
year.
The pressure on Harris to per-
form this season is astronomical.
He has proven himself as a pure
scorer and one of the best slashers
in the Big Ten. But Michigan coach
John Beilein wants more from him
this year. He expects Harris to
not only be a top scorer, but also a
vocal leader, a distributor, a 3-point
threat and a master of his compli-
cated offensive scheme. Harris has
to be an all-around player, more
mature and more developed. And
he knows that.
"At this point now, you just gotta
come to the conclusion that it's not
about you anymore," Harris said.
"It's about the team. And whatever
it takes for the team to win, then
you will get yours. If the team wins,
you will get yours."
Just as it's almost impossible
to know how the Wolverines will
fare this year, it's futile to predict
whether Harris can fill all these
roles.
This quiet, unassuming 19-year-
old is a preseason first-team All-
Big Ten selection as a sophomore.
He worked with LeBron James to
improve his game this summer. But
only time will tell if those experi-
ences will amount to anything this
year.
SHUTTING DOWN 'MANNY FRESH'
You can't average more than 16
points per game as a freshman and
not expect to be the center of every
defense's attention in your sopho-
more campaign.
The '3' on Harris's jersey this
year might as well be a giant target.
Teams will look to stop him by any
means necessary, and they'll prob-
ably use film from the Michigan-Il-
linois series last season as a how-to
manual. That's because Fighting
Illini guard Chester Frazier might
be the Big Ten's resident expert on
stopping Harris - or at least slow-
ing him down.
"When I guarded him, he scored
some points, but I don't think he
had the same success he had against
a lot of other guys in the league,"
Frazier said.
But the now-senior was being
modest, to say the least.
In the 68 minutes Harris played
in two games against the Illini last
year, his combined stat line was
cringe-worthy: 6-for-21 from the
field, including 1-for-6 from behind
the arc, 19 points and a 2:3 assist-to-
turnover ratio.
Frazier's philosophy is easy
enough: Put constant pressure on
Harris to separate him from the rest
of Michigan's offense. If he could
back Manny into the corner while
the Wolverines set up, Harris
would be largely ineffective.
But you can't keep him away
from the ball all game.
"Basically, in their offense,
once he gets the ball, he's
attacking," Frazier said.
"You gotta try and keep him
out of the paint, cause once
he gets in the paint, he's pretty
much unstoppable."
With three minutes left in Mich-
igan's home game against Illinois
on Feb. 23, Harris took the ball at
the top of the key with the Wolver-
ines up by two points. He slipped
straight by Frazier, whose hips
weren't squared up, giving Harris
an inside path. A touch floater from
the lane sealed the win for the Wol-
verines. Even with Frazier's blan-
ket coverage, Harris proved he's a
playmaker.
Purdue's Keaton Grant had a
different outlook on covering the
Detroit native.
Give him the ball. Let Harris try
to beat you with a hand in his face.
"If you put him in situations
where he's gotta make the plays,
he'll wear his own self out," Grant
said. "Make him handle the ball all
the time. If he wants to shoot all the
balls, make him shoot all the time.
Make it so he gets frustrated."
It worked in Ann Arbor on March
9, when Grant held him to 10 points,
zero assists and seven turnovers.
The blueprints to shut him down
as a scorer are laid out for the many
teams that struggled to defend him.
All they have to do is follow Frazi-
er's and Grant's leads.
That makes Harris's maturation
into the all-around player Bei-
lein thinks he can be essen-
tial to Michigan's success
this season.
By JASON KOHLER
and RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Writers
1. MICHIGAN STATE
WHAT'S GOOD: Junior forward
Raymar Morgan is back. The first-
team preseason All Big Ten hon-
oree can play power forward in a
small lineup and the three spot if
Michigan State goes big. Unlike
most of the conference, the Spar-
tans aren't lacking down low, and
6-foot-10, 245-pound Goran Suton
is a brute force.
WHAT'S NOT: Losing Drew
Neitzel at shooting guard hurts,
but an athletic Chris Allen should
fill his shoes. Highly touted recruit
Delvon Roe had two knee surger-
ies in the last year, and the forward
missed his entire senior season of
high school ball.
2. PURDUE
WHAT'S GOOD: The Boiler-
makers return all of their starters
from last year's NCAA Tourna-
ment squad. Purdue shot 39.6 per-
cent from behind the arc last year
- the best in the Big Ten. Most
of the threes came from a trio of
sharpshooters - guards E'Twaun
Moore, Keaton Grant and forward
Robbie Hummel. Hummel enters
his sophomore season as the pre-
season Big Ten Player of the Year.
WHAT'S NOT: The Boilermak-
ers were ninth in the conference
in rebounding last season and lack
a bruiser down low. At 6-foot-8,
Hummel led the team with 6.1
rebounds per game, and Purdue
coach Matt Painter will have to
move Hummel inside more often
or get his players to be more physi-
cal inside.
3. WISCONSIN
WHAT'S GOOD: Wisconsin
coach Bo Ryan's trademark of solid
team defense and few fouls should
shine with senior forwards Marcus
Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft. Lan-
dry improved greatly in his first
three seasons and can shut down
big men better than most in the
conference. Krabbenhoft is a tough
rebounder and returns as the Bad-
gers' leading assist man.
WHAT'S NOT: With the depar-
ture of three valuable seniors,
Brian Butch, Greg Stiemsma and
Michael Flowers, the Badgers will
need production from some new
players.
4. OHIO STATE
WHAT'SGOOD:OhioStatecoach
Thad Matta can flat-out recruit.
Rivals.com rated the incoming
Buckeye class as the fifth-best in the
country, including the website's No.
1 rated player, B.J. Mullins. Mullins
is a 7-foot-1 beast of a man and will
be a GregOden-like impact player -
but a better shooter.
WHAT'S NOT: Although Matta
put together one of the nation's top
recruiting classes, it's likely some
of his recruits will bolt for the NBA
at the end of the season. The Buck-
eyes' success will depend on how
well the freshmen can adjust to the
college game.
5. ILLINOIS
WHAT'S GOOD: The Illini have
a strong backcourt in returning
guards Demetri McCamey, Chester
Frazier and Trent Meacham. And
remember Alex Legion? The Oak
Hill Academy standout was set to
joinMannyHarrisandKelvinGrady
in Ann Arbor last year, and decom-
mitted in favor of Kentucky. He left
the Wildcats after a single semester.
He's now with Illinois, and eligible
to play in mid-December.
WHAT'S NOT: The fronteourt.
The Illini's two probable starters,
sophomores Mike Tisdale and Mike
Davis, averaged just over 10 min-
utes per game last season.
6. MINNESOTA
WHAT'S GOOD: In his first sea-
son in Minneapolis, coach Tubby
Smith turned the Gophers around
from nine wins to 20. Guards Blake
Hoffarber and Lawrence West-
brook will lead the offensive attack.
Lanky 6-foot-11 freshman Ralph
Sampson III and 6-foot-9 freshman
Colton Iverson will make an imme-
diate impact in the post.
WHAT'S NOT: After all the posi-
tive momentum the Gopher's built
in the regular season, they ended
last year with two tough losses. Last
year's top three scorers graduated,
and Minnesota will have to rely on
its younger players.
7. MICHIGAN
WHAT'SGOOD:Everyoneknows
stars Manny Harris and DeShawn
Sims will lead this young team. But
roleplayerslikeredshirtjuniorZack
Gibson, sophomore Kelvin Grady
and freshman Stu Douglass will
help. Douglass can lace threes from
NBA range and should impress this
season.
WHAT'S NOT: After a dismal
first season in Ann Arbor, Michigan
coach John Beilein hopes his team
doesn't approach the program-
record 22 losses again. The Wol-
verines struggled on the glass last
season, and the transfer of forward
Ekpe Udoh to Baylor doesn't help
the already meek frontcourt.
8. PENN STATE
WHAT'S GOOD: After suffering
a late-season knee injury, senior
Janelle Cornley returns in the back-
court. At 6-foot-5, Cornley has the
skills to turn out consistent dou-
ble-doubles, but he'll have to stay
healthy.
WHAT'S NOT: Even with young
players and a few returners, there's
not much depth at the forward
spot. Penn State also lacks size on
the perimeter, but freshmen Chris
Babb and Cammeron Woodyard,
who both stand at 6-foot-5, could
provide some assistance.
9. IOWA
WHAT'S GOOD: Senior forward
Cyrus Tate will be the lone bright
spot for Iowa. Tate, a team co-cap-
tain of the young Hawkeyes, came
in for an injured Jarryd Cole mid-
way through last season and led the
team in rebounds. He also shot an
stellar 66.7 percent from the field.
WHAT'S NOT: The lack of a true
center follows the Big Ten's short-
age down low. After losing five play-
ers from last season, Iowa has seven
new faces, six them are on scholar-
ship.
10. NORTHWESTERN
WHAT'S GOOD: The Wildcats
return eight starters, but most of
themhave never experienced a win-
ning season. There are three play-
ers returning that averaged over 10
points per game last season, includ-
ing forward Kevin Coble, who aver-
aged 15.9 points and 5.4 rebounds
per game.
WHAT'S NOT: Last year, the
Wildcats finished with just one
conference win (against Michigan).
Although the incoming recruiting
class is filled with big men, North-
western lacks a dominant post pres-
ence and was dead last in the Big
Ten last season in rebounding.
11. INDIANA
WHAT'S GOOD: Almost nothing.
FROM A SCORER TO A PLAYER
Beilein loves to make his team
run.
Players run sprints when they
slack off in practice. Even the
big men run when they can't
complete shooting tests, which
include making free throws,
3-pointers, layups and jumpers
in a certain amount of time.
They run when they do any-
thing wrong.
But Beilein has never made
a player run for finding an
open pass instead of taking
a 3-pointer - until this sea-
son. e
See HARRIS, Page 7B1
(TOP) AL GOLDI/AP: (BOTTOM) BRENT DRINKUT/AP
(Top) Junior Raymar Morgan and (bottom) sophomore Robbie Hummel are both
preseason All-Big Ten first team selections on two of the Big Ten's top tearns.
After Kelvin Sampson was fired as win the Big Ten. This year, the
head coach last year for recruiting Hoosiers are a expected to finish
violations, almost all of his players last. They return two players who
left the program. With few return- combined for 1.6 points per game
ing players, the Hoosiers will last season. With 10 new players
have to rely on the eight incoming and so much inexperience, first-
freshmen and two junior college year Indiana coach Tom Crean
transfers. should trade notes with Beilein on
the growing pains of coaching a
WHAT'S NOT: At this point last young, new team. It's going to be a
season, Indiana was a favorite to long season in Bloomington.