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8A - Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Freshmen duo With'M'off target, Sims
gives Blue jolt serves as lone bright spot
4
play
and
any
ith increased on Nov. 15 at Kentucky on 4-of-4
3-point shooting. But recently,
ing time, Boylan she hasn't exploded like she did
in her first game.
I Reynolds have "We've gone to our bench in
swered the call a hurry with those three kids,"
Borseth said. "They give us a dif-
ferent look. They give us the scor-
By TIM ROHAN ing threat. Boylan and Reynolds
Daily Sports Writer automatically can score."
Borseth said Wednesday that
Senior forward Carly Benson
tapped teammate Carmen Reyn-
olds's thigh when asked about
Reynolds's performance during
the press conference after Michi-
gan's loss to Penn State Monday.
It was an excited, happy motion,
a "you take this one" sort of
action.
Reynolds, a freshman forward,
might not have had to face the
pressure of answering the on
the spot questions before that.
But she certainly knows how to
handle game pressure, which has
led to her increased playing time
recently.
In the last four games, Reyn-
olds has played an average of 23
minutes per game, up from an
average of 10.5 minutes in her
first four collegiate games.
Michigan coach Kevin Borseth
initially played just one post play-
er off the bench. That's when the
hardworking freshman stepped
in.
The Wolverines (3-10 Big Ten,
10-14 overall) boast four seniors
in their starting lineup, but a
youthful injection usually comes
midway through the first half
of each game. Reynolds, fresh-
man guard Courtney Boylan
and junior center Krista Phillips
have been the first players off the
bench.
The future of Michigan wom-
en's basketball has been personi-
fied by Reynolds and Boylan this
Reynolds played with a nota-
ble maturity Monday, scoripg a
career-high 20 points on 4-of-7
shooting from 3-point range. She
filled the stat sheet by snagging
four rebounds and blocking two
shots in 28 minutes.
Boylan believes Reynolds's
ability to score in the post opened
up the perimeter game as taller
defenders were forced to guard
her.
Borseth knows Reynolds has
the ability, but the future will tell
if she can consistently play at this
high of a level.
"She's good in traffic," Borseth
said. "She can shoot well. She
passes well. She sees the floor.
She's got really good hands, so
if you throw it in there and you
collapse on her real fast she's
just able to make some real quick
decisions that most players aren't
able to make."
Boylan has been no slouch,
either. She scored a career-high
18 points in her first college game
before the season started he
didn't even know which players
he was going to play, let alone
what the pair of freshmen could
do.
"At the beginning of the sea-
son, Coach was like, 'We need
more production off our bench.
We need you guys to come out
there and make a contribution,' "
Boylan said.
"And I think that's happening
now."
Boylan and Reynolds each
believe they have learned the
most through in-game experi-
ence and that has translated into
success.
The three came off the bench
early to spark a comeback at
Northwestern and to provide
scoring punch against Penn
State, but the Wolverines lost
both games. Reynolds and Phil-
lips combined for 30 of the team's
56 points against the Nittany
Lions.
Borseth thinks Reynolds's play
will continue to improve, and
her presence is valuable for this
team.
"As a freshman, (Reynolds)
is going to learn as she goes,"
Borseth said. "She may shine
from now on in the rest of the
year, but she may just complete-
ly flop. ... But before this whole
thing shakes out, she's going to
be a very good player.
"Sooner or later, you are going
to throw everything at this kid
including the kitchen sink, and
she is going to know where it's
coming from, wihen it's coming,
and how to deal with it when it
gets there."
The Wolverines have lost eight
of their last 10 games, but the two
freshmen have been one of Mich-
igan's most refreshing surprises.
The team hasn't been consistent
all year, but Borseth knows he
can rely on his duo of super-subs
to make something happen when
they get on the court.
Reynolds's ability to go inside
and out and Boylan's scoring
swagger would make any coach
happy.
"You really need to have kids
coming back every year that can
refuel the system," Borseth said.
"The more experience they have,
the better it's going to be."
Even though the sun seems
to be setting on the Wolverines'
season and their tournament
chances, their future is undoubt-
edly bright.
Wolverines shot just
4-of-24 from 3-point
range against MSU
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily SportsEditor
During warmups before Tues-
day's home loss to Michigan State,
junior forward DeShawn Sims took
a short break from layups.
He walked over to the Spartans'
bench and embraced Michigan
State coach Tom Izzo.
The two smiled and high-fived
like old friends, and they had every
reason to be amicable.
While at Detroit Pershing High
School, Sims was one of the nation's
top players and heavily recruited -
especially by Izzo and then-Michi-
gan coach Tommy Amaker.
Izzo saw Sims's agiliiy in the
post, an attribute that would have
fit well in the Spartans' post-ori-
ented system. Sims decided to head
to Ann Arbor, and Izzo signed for-
ward Raymar Morgan.
"I see it as, if I get one guard,
(Amaker) is getting the other,"Izzo
told the Lansing State Journal in
February 2005, when Sims was an
uncommitted high school junior.
"That's just the way it kind of works
nowadays. ... They're gonna always
recruit well, and we're gonna
recruit well. I do think this (rival-
ry) is still growing and is gonna get
better and better and better."
In Tuesday's 54-42 loss, the
Spartans earned their eighth vic-
tory in the last 10 meetings in the
rivalry.
But if anyone was going to put a
stop to Michigan State's domina-
tion, it was Sims.
The Spartans' defense suffocated
Michigan's 3-point opportunities.
Five times in the first half, the Wol-
verines forced desperation shots as
the shot clock neared zero.
After the break, Michigan took a
different approach.
The Wolverines had just three
assists in the entire first half.
Freshman guard Zack Novak
picked up three in 82 seconds, all of
which went inside to Sims on con-
secutive possessions and brought
Michigan within eight points.
"It was trust in the offense,"
Novak said of the second half. "I
think in the first half, we got away
from things too much and botched
some of plays up, and we can't do
that. We have to have more poise
and I think that we had that in the
second half."
Sims finished with a game-
high 18 points. Against 6-foot-10
Spartan center Goran Suton, Sims
showcased the agility that's always
gotten him attention.
"Find somebody," Michigan
coach John Beilein said of the
absence of scoring options besides
Sims. "It's tough right now. (Fresh-
man) Stu (Douglass) got in foul
trouble, our other guys are in a
shootingslump. We went to (sopho-
more) Manny (Harris) alot, and we
went to DeShawn, and DeShawn
played well."
Izzo said he wanted to hold the
Wolverines, who average more
than 26 3-point attempts per game,
to eight or nine made shots.
Izzo's technique worked and the
Wolverines tied a season-low per-
centage from behind the arc, con-
necting on just 4-of-24.
Even with the extra defensive
pressure, Novak said Michigan
could have gotten more shots by
having a quick release and using
ball fakes. But the Wolverines never
a
4
SA D ALSALAH/Daily
Junior DeShawn Sims scored a game-high 18 points against the Spartans on Tuesday.
found that rhythm from the outside shot an impressive combined 19-of-
and instead relied heavily on Sims. 38 from behind the are.
When the Spartans lost at home "When you don't get a lot of shots
to Penn State and Northwestern - and you're a 3-point shooter, then
their only conference losses of the you can never get in the groove,"
season - 3-pointers were the cul- Izzo said after his team's win. "I
prit. thought that was the biggest differ-
The Nittany Lions and Wildcats ence in the game."
Pateryn adjusts to speed, agility of college game
Defenseman nmay
have to fight to keep
ice time once
Mitera returns
By GJON JUNCAJ
Daily Sports Writer '
When injuries to senior cap-
tain Mark Mitera and junior Steve
Kampfer decimated the No. 4
Michigan hockey team's defense
during the season's opening week-
end, the squad's deepest unit
quickly became its weakest link.
With the Wolverines already miss-
ing freshman defenseman Brandon
Burlon because of an ankle sprain,
it seemed like an appropriate time
for the time to panic.
Fourmonths latertherehasbeen
one silver lining to those nightmar-
ish two nights: the development of
Greg Pateryn.
The freshman blueliner was
forced early into a lineup that was
suddenly without two of its best
defensemen and has played in 26
of Michigan's past 28 games.
The Sterling Heights native
acknowledged having trouble
adjusting to the speed of the col-
legiate game, and during the first
semester, Pateryn rarely exploit-
ed his greatest advantage over
fleet-footed opposing forwards
- his size.
Even at 6-foot-2 and 220
pounds, Pateryn didn't check as
hard or as often as can normally
be expected with such an impos-
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CHRIS DZOMBAK/Daily
Freshman Greg Pateryn logged more ice time than initially expected after injuries to defensernen Mark Mitera and Steve Kampfer.
ing frame. adjustment period seems long since was only slappers.
"I think it can happen with a past. As he acclimated himself to "Now, he's looking at situations
lot of freshmen, (with) really a lot the speed, his mistakes became and even down in Joe Louis Arena
of information being thrown at fewer. And as his confidence rose, (against Michigan State), you can
them," assistant coach Billy Pow- so did the number of hits. see he was making passes, and he's
ers said. "A little bit of a change "You could put him on the ice for not just burying his head and tak-
in speed, (and) all of a sudden, the 14 minutes and he could be a plus ing slapshots."
rushes are coming at you quicker. player," Powers said of Pateryn, Though Paterynwon't win many
The counters are coming at you. who has a plus-4 plus-minus rat- sprints in practice, his instincts
quicker, so you end up getting into ing. "It just lessened the load of not and anticipation have masked his
more of containing and thinking having Mark (Mitera). He couldn't relative lack of agility.
the game a little bit more. play Mark's minutes or Mark's role. "I think it's a little bit of hav-
"I think that's what you saw Nobody could've. But it was good ing hockey sense, but also putting
with Greg." that Greg was a little bit over-ready your priorities first," Pateryn said.
Now, with six games left in the for this." "Make sure no one gets behind you
regular season, Pateryn's extended Powers noted Pateryn's offsea- or beats you wide. That's all posi-
son training last summer as a tioning, just kind of where to be at
major contributor to his devel- the right time and not get yourself
CJ 250 -opment. A Montreal Canadiens in situations where you need to
draft pick, Pateryn attended Mon- really bury yourself ina hole just to
treal's rookie camp to improve his stay on the ice."
agility, his most glaring weakness For all the strides he has made
TUDIO-LECTURE COURSE coming out of the United States this season, Pateryn's hold on the
Hockey League. sixth defenseman spot is still tenu-
Abbey of Pontlevoy, "I had a personal trainer over ous. Since Kampfer returned at
the summer," Pateryn said. "We the Great Lakes Invitational Dec.
C E worked on lateral quickness and 27, Pateryn has played in favor of
just quick sprints, skating on the sophomore Scooter Vaughan in 10
ne 12, 2009 ice with power skaters. When I of Michigan's past 12 games. But
Four Credits was in Montreal, they actually Powers said the coaching staff
videotaped my skating and cri- wants Vaughan to play before the
Expression Requirement tiques what I needed to work on." end of the regular season - possibly
N SESSIONS: Powers said Pateryn's heavy- this weekend.
footed skating was the coaching Additionally, Mitera .hopes to
& Architecture Bldg. Room staff's chief concern during his return from a torn anterior cruci-
Michigan Union Pond Room recruitment. The two spoke last ate ligament within the next three
year about how critical the offsea- weeks, meaning there's a chance
rt of students' lives and work. son would be for his development Pateryn's season will end with him
trtsonearth.org/studentu on both ends of the ice. on the bench.
"I see a lot of myself in him last "ThereasonIsaywehaven'treal-
year, struggling with the speed," ly spoken about (who Mitera would
sophomore defenseman Tristin replace) is because it should make
ON EARTq Llewellyn said. "When we first got our whole defense better," Powers
him, I don't think he knew how to said. "Because they all know once
sMultidismipioary Learning and TemTeahing snitiative take a wrist shot or a backhand, it he gets back, no one's safe."-
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