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8 - Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Curry is the smart and
safe choice for Lions
INDIANAPOLIS - unit that ranked dead last in scor- backed upby a strong performance
F orget Georgia's Matt ing defense and yards allowed. He's at the Combine. He ran a 4.56 sec-
Stafford or Baylor's Jason versatile and has the ability to play ond forty-yard dash, fastest among
Smith. The Detroit Lions any of the three linebacker posi- linebackers, and tied for the highest
should select Wake Forest senior tions. If Detroit plugged him in next verticalijump for linebackers at 37.0
linebacker Aaron Curry with the to Sims, it would have a solid tan- inches. He also had 25 reps of 225
No. 1 pick of the 2009 NFL draft. dem in the middle of the defense. pounds on the bench press.
Draft experts are clamoring for And whenit comes to turning His athleticism and character
the Lions to fix around bad teams, Curry's been jump off the page when you evalu-
their franchise TIM there before. ate him, but his overall intangibles
with a big left ROHAN "In my career playing football are what make him the best pick
tackle or a On the NFL Draft high school and in college, I've for the Detroit Lions.
strong-armed entered programs where things If the Lions select him, they'll
quarterback, but neither would weren't going so well at the time, know exactly what they are get-
even come close to addressing all of and things have always man- ting, and that's something Detroit
Detroit's weaknesses. Curry can't aged to switch around when I got needs desperately.
either - one player can't plug all there," Curry said. "And (my teams And Curry has got a message for
of the Lions' holes - but drafting have) always been able to handle the Lions management, too.
Curry wouldbe a great start. adversity of people saying we "I want (NFL teams) to know
Quarterbacks are a risky invest- weren'tgoingto be good because that my personality and my char-
ment. No matter how talented they of a previous season." acter is contagious," Curry said.
are, there is always the likelihood Curry's impact on Detroit would "I'm a hard worker on and off the
of beinga bust. And the Lions can go beyond the field. His personal- field ... They realize that when
find a left tackle with the 20th ity alone shows the capability of Aaron Curry steps in the weight
selection in the first round. This turning around a dark decade for room he's serious, he's working
year's class of tackles is deep, so the Lions. Throughout his press hard he's going to go until the
there will be some good talent left. conference at the NFL Combine, whistle blows.
Curry, at almost 6-foot-2 inch, Curry had a smile stamped on "You're going to have to drag
254-pounds, is the safest bet in the his face. But that upbeat attitude Aaron Curry out of the weight
draft. Not only is he a great player, almost turned to tears when he room. You're going to have to drag
but he is also has the kind of char- was questioned about the adversity Aaron Curry off the practice field,
acter the Lions need. It doesn't he had faced in his life. out of the film room. You're going
hurt that he likes Detroit, either. After his sophomore season at to (have to) tell Curry to chill out
"As far as Detroit No. 1, it would Wake Forest, Curry came home on some community service ... it's
be a dream come true," Curry said from school to find that his mother just the type of person I am."
at the NFL Combine on Feb. 21 in had been evicted from their home. The Lions have a lot of holes
Indianapolis. "If I could pick, sure, He ended up staying with a friend to fill, but they could start build-
I would want to go No.1 overall. It forthe summer while his family ing their franchise back up with a
would justbe a great feeling to go was homeless, and he said his work rock-solid pick in Curry.
out to Detroit and play alongside ethic has been shaped by the event.
(Detroit linebacker) Ernie Sims. "I realized I had to do some-
(It) would be amazing, being that thing," Curry said. "And football ONLINE:
I watched him play in the ACC as was it. ... Those are the moments CCHA TOURNEY
a freshman, and I always admired that you think about in the fourth
his style of play." quarter when there's a play that BREAKDOWN
Lastyear, Currytallied 101 total needs tobe made, and you know
tackles, two sacks and an intercep- you have the opportunity to pro- Daily hockey writer
tion for Wake Forest en route to vide for your family for the rest of Chris Meszaros
winning the Butkus award, given their lives." the rest of this
to the nation's top linebacker. His Curry had the opportunity after predicts
senior year statistics mirrored his his junior year to leave college weekend's
junior season and were slightly bet- early, go to the NFL and support tournament games.
ter than in his sophomore season. his family. But he made what he
Inserting him into a defense said was a tough decision to stay in http://www.
without many solid, consistent or college and improve his game. ' michigandal ly.com
name-brand players will improve a His collegiate success was
Beilein doesn't think Blue
is a lock for Big Dance yet
ByJASON KOHLER
Daily Sports Writer
John Beilein knows his team's
work isn't finished.
The Michigan men's basketball
coach also refuses to speculate
about how much
more it will take NOTEBOOK
for the Wolver-
ines to make their first tournament
appearance in more than 10 years.
But in his press conference yes-
terday, he gave some hints on how
he thinks the NCAA Tournament
selection committee should evalu-
ate tournament-worthy teams.
"I know, traditionally, teams that
have as many wins in the top-50
wins, in the top-100 wins, things like
that, and finish strong, have done
well as far as selection," Beilein said.
Beilein was slyly pleading Michi-
gan's case.
According to ESPN, the Wolver-
ines have the 10th-best strength of
schedule and have beaten six top-50
RPI teams and 10 top-100 RPI teams.
They have also finished strong, win-
ning four of their last six games.
Beilein would prefer not to leave
anything to chance by winning the
Big Ten Tournament and earning
the conference's automatic bid.
But he also knows how difficult
that will be.
The seventh-seeded Wolverines
open the Big Ten tournament against
No.10 seed Iowa on Thursday.
A loss would put their tourna-
ment hopes in jeopardy. A win
would push Michigan one step clos-
er to Selection Sunday.
"You cannot count on anything,"
Beilein said. "You have to go in there
and say, 'Listen, all these games are
very important.' ... You are the only
one that can control your destiny
right now. There are so many other
things that are going on that are out
of your control."
MVP?: Sophomore forward
Manny Harris may have stolen the
spotlight this season, but junior
forward DeShawn Sims has made
a strong case to be Michigan's most
valuable player.
Harris leads the team in points
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Junior DeShawn Sims has come up big in Michigan's marquee games this season.
and assists per game. But Sims has
been the go-to player in all of the
Wolverines' big wins this season.
UCLA: Sims nailed a dunk in the
final seconds to seal the win and
scored 18 points.
Duke: Sims outmuscled the
Blue Devils for 28 points and 12
rebounds.
Purdue: Sims scored a career-
high 29 points and hit a late 3-point-
er that put the final nail in the
Boilermakers' coffin.
Minnesota: Sims had the hot
hand early and late in the game,
scoring 24 points with seven from
the free-throw line.
The junior has hit his stride down
the stretch. In his lastfive games, he
has averaged 19 points per game.
"He has been one of our better
practice players from January on,"
Beilein said. "I just like what his
attitude has been. He'll have his
moments, but his overall attitude
has been really good about wanting
to be the best player he can be, and
he has worked really hard at that."
The 6-foot-8 forward is playing
more aggressively and his turn-
around jumper has given teams fits.
Following Saturday's 67-64 win
over Minnesota, Sims was asked
about his improved scoring num-
bers. He simply responded, "That's
my thing."
THIRD SCORER: All season, Bei-
lein has said Sims and Harris need
some company as Michigan's top
scorers.
On Saturday, redshirt freshman
guard Laval Lucas-Perry was the
team's third scoring weapon with 19
points.
But Lucas-Perry isn't the only
freshman guard to show up big
on the stat sheet this season. Zack
Novak and Stu Douglass have both
scored 20 points in a game and are
known to burn down the nets with
their long-distance shooting.
With Lucas-Perry just one point
short, Michigan almost has five
players who have scored 20 points
or more this season. In all of Beil-
ein's 31 years of coaching, he can't
remember having a team with that
many go-to scorers.
"As long as you know you have
enough guys to do it, you just are
hoping you can just push the right
buttons at that time," Beilein said.
"That someone will emerge at the
right time."
BIG TEN'S BEST: Last night, Har-
ris was named as a first-team All-
Big Ten selection by the coaches
and media. He was a second-team
selection last year. Sims was picked
on the second team by the media
and third team by the coaches.
Michigan State guard Kalin
Lucas was awarded Big Ten Player
of the Year, and his coach, Tom
Izzo, was selected as Coach of the
Year by the coaches. Penn State
coach Ed DeChellis was given the
honor by the media.
6
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