8A - Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
After a disappointing finish in '09,
Blue looks toward upcoming year
By CAITLIN SMITH
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan baseball team
spiced things up from the conven-
tional peanuts and Cracker Jacks,
kicking off its season with a "Meet
the Wolverines Night," yesterday.
The event consisted of a clown, free
food, decorative balloons and young
fans enthusiastically running from
player to player to receive auto-
graphs.
"The meet and greet is about pro-
moting and celebrating our great
tradition in baseball," Michigan
coach Rich Maloney said. "We have
a nice festive time in preparation for
the season and hopefully get people
excited to come out and watch the
boys play."
As the team's veterans, junior
Ryan LaMarre and senior co-cap-
tains Mike Dufek and Chris Berset
have experienced several meet and
greets over their years as Wolver-
ines.
"This event shows that the sea-
son is right around the corner,"
LaMarre said. "It gets the fans
ready to go, and it lets the young
guys who haven't done this before
get their feet wet and sign some
autographs."
The players may be enjoying
their stardom now, but they have
yet to swing a bat in competition.
Michigan's season opener is in just
over a week against Jacksonville
State in the Texas Tech Tourna-
ment. The Wolverines will then
continue their play on the road for
more than a month.
Michigan will face opponents
Louisville, St. Johns and South Flor-
ida at neutral venues, slightly easing
the challenge of playing away from
home. But a number of games will
be held at the opponents' stadiums,
toughening the competition. This
should be expected by players as
they represent Michigan - a state
known for snow-filled winters.
"It's hard to win on the road, first
of all," Maloney said. "Then you
factor in the statistic that the top 75
teams in the NCAA win 79 percent
of the time at their home venue. So
for our kids to travel, we're goingto
have to be road warriors."
Regardless of any on-the-road
apprehension along the way, Michi-
gan's ultimate goal is to make it to
Omaha and compete for a national
championship in June.
But the team must first redeem
itself after a disappointing finish
last year.
Michigan placed seventh in
the Big Ten at the end of the 2009
season. While this could hardly be
considered a disastrous finish, it
knocked the Wolverines off their
three-year pedestal as Big Ten
champions.
"We kind of got a little bit spoiled
there," Maloney said. "But we want
to get back, we want another taste
of it. We have a very, very difficult
schedule - the toughest by far in
the history of Michigan baseball.
But the good thing is, you learn
things together, you battle through
it together, and you grow as a team
together."
Pitching has been a key area of
concern for Michigan in the offsea-
son with the departure of ace Chris
Fetter, but the team has a solid com-
bination of speed and power.
"We need to be more consistent
all-around," LaMarre said. "Last
year we had our pitching show
up one night, our hitting show up
another, our defense another. So,
I think we are looking to put it all
together and really show up every
day."
Michigan also has several fresh-
men that will immediately enter
the starting lineup, including short-
stop Derek Dennis and outfielders
Patrick Biondi and Ben Ballantine.
Dennis was selected in the 10th
round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the
Tampa Bay Rays. He tuned down a
professional contract signing bonus
to be Michigan's shortstop this sea-
son.
"Dennis is a guy that was highly
acclaimed out.of high school," Malo-
ney said. "He is what football would
call a five-star player. He turned
down $700,000 to come to Michi-
gan. So he is out there, very on the
national scene. He is the guy every-
body else wished they would have."
Dennis could have been signing
autographs in Tampa as a profes-
sional athlete. Instead, he chose
to represent Michigan, bear the
inclement weather and sign team
posters at a Wolverine meet and
greet.
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SA- ALSALAH/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein, in his third year at the helm in Ann Arbor, admitted
on his radio show that the Wolverines may be in a rebuilding phase this season.
Scoring attac..k
of Gophers will
challenge 'M'
SAI)ALSALAH/Daily
Senior co-captains Chris Berset (loft) and Mike Dufek (right) are two of the Wolverines' hey components after not making the Big Ten Touroament last season.,
By GJON JUNCAJ "He had a sophomore year just
Daily Sports Editor like (sophomores) Zack Novak and
Stu Douglass are having," Beilein
There were goals - promising said of Hoffarber, who shot just 34
ones. Best of all, they seemed well percent last season after hitting 43
within reason. percentfrom downtown asa fresh-
The Michigan men's basketball- man. "Kids just go through these
team was on an accelerated course things."
back to Big Ten relevance. Look- "(Minnesota) could make a run
ing to earn its second consecutive right now. We're going to try to
NCAA Tour- . get in the way. ... We're going to be
nament berth, Mihigan a ready."
the Wolverines With four days between games,
appeared to Minnesota the Michigan coaching staff will
have the pro- Matchup: have had ample time to address
gram's founda- Michigan 11-12; several mismatches on paper.
tion in place, Minnesota 14-8 The Golden Gophers are allowing
one their coach When: Tonight opponents to shoot a league-low
- John Beilein at 7 p.m. 39.7-percent, while the Wolverines
- described at Wh Wil are next to last in shooting with a
length in the hams Arena 41.1 percent rate.
preseason. Since Michigan's 3-point
After 23 TV/Radio: offense is likely to remain at or
games, Michi- ESPN near the bottom of the conference
gan (4-7 Big Ten, the rest of the way, Beilein figures
11-12 overall) has gradually fallen his team's best chance is to bring
behind that curve. And for the the ball closer to Minnesota's
first time publicly, Beilein hinted giant frontcourt - with caution, of
that the Wolverines' goals for the course.
remainder of this season have now Led by sophomores Colton Iver-
morphed into something more son and Ralph Sampson III, the
intangible. Golden Gophers are the leading
"I had one of the recruits ask me shot-blockers in the Big Ten at 6.3
one time - he was born in 1990 ... swats per game.
if Michigan was ever good in bas- "Your shot could end up in the
ketball," Beilein said during his rafters when you're trying to take
weekly radio show Monday. "That it to the basket," Beilein said. "Our
just blew me away, for a guy who mid-range game - we've got to
had watched all these great (Wol- pull up from 10-15 feet instead of
verine) teams. We will get it back, taking it all the way to the basket
but it looks like we're in a bit of a sometimes."
rebuilding phase already in year outside of junior guard Manny
three." Harris, however, no one on Michi-
Contrast that realization with gan's roster has shown they can
tonight's opponent - Minnesota consistently hit those mid-range
(S-S Big Ten, 14-I), which has hit jumpers. And with the Golden
an extended rough patch of its Gophers ready to throw a combi-
own, having lost five of its last nation of man, zone and pressing
eight games. defenses, the Wolverines will have
But Minnesota, sitting at No. 62 to rely on execution more so than
in the RPI rankings, is still in firm any innovative X's and O's.
control of its destiny in its hope for With less than a month remain-
back-to-back NCAA Tournament ing in the season, and the same
invitations. And though they still recurring problems still at the
have to play themselves off the forefront, Michigan seems past the
bubble, there are plenty of signs point of any breakthrough adjust-
pointingto abignight forthe Gold- ments.
en Gophers. "We're a very small team,"
Minnesota leads the Big Ten Beilein said. "So it's very difficult
in overall scoring (75 points per to go do things inside. ... (Big Ten
game), largely because of guards teams) are goingto makeyou shoot
Lawrence Westbrook and Blake it from the outside, and they're not
Hoffarber, who are combining for going to letyou drive into the lane.
25 points on 51-percent shooting "For whatever reason, we have
this season. Hoffarber has under- not been able to shoot the ball well.
gone one of the most dramatic And as a result, they keep pack-
improvements in the country, lead- ing it in.... It's not as schematic as
ing the nation with a 50-percent people would think.Sometimes it's
clip from behind the arc. just personnel."
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