0 0 0 0 0 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.