8 - Tuesday, March 30, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com MANNY HARRIS IS NO LONGER A WOLVERINE NOW WHAT? THIS IS THE END By Nicole Auerbach & Joe Stapleton Daily Sports Editors NO WORRIES The Wolverines lose their leading scorer, their go-to guy over the past three years. Sure, his numbers were slightly down this year and he barely made third team All-Big Ten, certainly a step down from previous seasons. But as he showed in what is now officially his final game at Michigan - the Ohio State heartbreaker in the Big Ten Tour- nament - he's capable of single- handedly taking over a game and putting his team in position to win it. Harris was also the guy oppos- ing defenses keyed on and tried to shut down, which opened up teammates when Harris drove and dished. Paired with the graduation of senior forward DeShawn Sims, Harris's departure isn't just unfortunate - it's potentially apocalyptic. Who were Michigan's two lead- ing scorers this year? ... Drumroll, please. After Harris and Sims, who was the third-leading scorer? Current sophomore Zack Novak, with seven points per game. That's right - seven. The fact is, Harris and Sims were the only two Wolverines who could create their own shots. They were playmakers in the tru- est sense of the word. Now that they're gone, Michigan is left with a roster full of complementary players. That's not a dig at Novak or sophomore Stu Douglass or fresh- man Matt Vogrich. They are all very capable players and could surprise people next year. But from what we've seen out of them so far, it doesn't look like any of them are ready to carry the scor- ing load like Harris or Sims did. One player who could step into the playmaker role is freshman Darius Morris. The California native showed flashes of big-time ability last year. But that's the problem: Going into next year, there are no sure things. Will the shooting improve next year? The players who are supposed to be the team's best shooters seemed to be cursed at times this year, and who's to say that won't happen again? Will this year's redshirt fresh- men, Blake McLimans and Jordan Morgan, step up next year and be able to bang in the post? Can Morgan, who has been plagued by injuries his first year, stay healthy? All freshmen not named John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are essentially toss-ups, and that rule holds true for the recruiting class Beilein has coming in next year. The class isn't even entirely secured, as Michigan is still wait- ing on a decision from one of the state's premier talents, Trey Zei- gler. The bottom line: Harris leaving early leaves Michigan without its two leading scorers and without a proven playmaker. It could be a very long year, to say the least. The average Michigan fan's reaction: We're fucked. It's understandable. The Wolverines struggled this year with two of the best players they've had in years (the other being DeShawn Sims, who is graduating), so they're guaranteed to be terrible without them, right? Wrong. Yes, Michigan will miss Manny. No, there doesn't appear to be anyone on the team ready to step in and fill the scoring role Harris and Sims have vacated. This means Michigan will have a hard time especially early in the season. But this doesn't mean the Wolver- ines are doomed. Here's the thing: Michigan coach John Beilein didn't recruit Harris or Sims. They were former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker's recruits. While Beilein came to Michigan with two really, really talented play- ers, they weren't necessarily ideal for his system, which meant he had to make adjustments. Think of the stars Beilein had at West Virginia, like Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle. Both of those play- ers were talented, but they also fit perfectly into Beilein's system, one that is predicated on shooting and high basketball IQ. Even the center in Beilein's system needs to be able to step out and hit shots with all the time he spends on the perimeter. Beilein tried to mold both Harris and Sims to fit into his system. Har- ris played point guard for most of his sophomore campaign, and Sims steadily moved outside his junior and senior years, finally becoming a consistent threat from beyond the arc midway through this year. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be. Harris is a guy who needs the ball in his hands to make a differ- ence. That isn't a bad thing - there are few players in the country better than Harris at creating their own shot off the dribble and drawing fouls - it just means that he was never going to truly fit Beilein's sys- tem. And near the end of this year, Beilein realized Sims is at his best in the low post, where he's one of the most creative players around. Now, Beilein doesn't exactly have the Fab Five coming in next year, but he has some exciting players who seem to fit into his system. Evan Smotrycz out of the New England Prep League is a 6-foot-9 forward who can shoot and play the wing; Tim Hardaway Jr. out of Miami is a lights-out shooter who averaged more than 30 points per game this year; Jon Horford out of Grand Ledge, Michigan's most recent com- mit and brother of Atlanta Hawk Al Horford, an NBA All-Star, is a proj- ect, but he's undeniably talented. Next year also means Blake McLimans and Jordan Morgan, both of whom redshirted this sea- son, will be making their debuts, automatically giving the Wolverines some newfound size in the post, if Morgan can stay healthy. While Harris declaring for the draft may seem likea death blow to Michigan's hopes for next year, it does give Beilein a chance to move on with some of his own recruits - recruits he hand-picked for his sys- tem, which has been proven to work. Don't run for the hills just yet, Michigan fans. There's plenty of room for optimism next year. 0 6 0 Former Wolverine Manny Harris led Michigan in scoring last season, and with- out him, the Wolverines may struggle to find a top scoring threat. After Harris and senior DeShawn Sims, the highest-scoring Wolverine this season was Zack Novak, with seven points per game on average. FOLLOW DAILY- -- SPORTS ON Katzman to get first start since injury TWITTER By BEN ESTES @mchdailysports DailySports Writer It's been a longtime since senior left-hander Eric Katzman has toed the rubber in a starting role for the Mich- igan baseball m team. Eat4 Just 'over Michigan * l10 and a half Machup months to be Eastern10-14; - 3 exact - he Michigan12-9 .os. .. estarted the Wolverines' When: Today second-to- 3P. last game Where: Ray *l of the sea- Fshen Stadum+ son, on May Live Blog: michi- 16 against gandailycom Northwest- '' ern. Back then, Michigan (12-9) was 30-23, and Katzman's loss helped seal the team's postseason-less fate. The circumstances will be slightly different when the senior makes his first start since offsea- son hernia surgery against East- ern Michigan Tuesday afternoon at Ray Fisher Stadium. The Wolverines have won six straight games and finally have some momentum after an incon- sistent start to the season. The Eagles (10-14), like Michigan's last tiao opponents, Fordham and Indiana University-Purdue Uni- versity Fort Wayne, are a beatable. Of course, that was also the case in 2009, when Eastern came into Ann Arbor and left with a 3-1 upset victory. That result is still in the players' minds, despite the opening of Big Ten play and a trip to Indiana scheduled for this weekend. "We're going to go out there and try and take that game, obvious- ly," Senior catcher and co-captain Chris Berset said after Saturday's 12-3 victory over the Mastodons. "We haven't forgot last year, so it's probably a little motivation right there. We can't look past anybody and ... last year we lost to them so we can't really look past them this year." The coaches have brought Katzman along slowly this sea- son, as he continues to recover from his operation. Katzman has appeared in relief four times this season, most recently with his performance in Friday's victory. He threw one inning and allowed one walk, but he also struck out two and appeared to be close to normal form. "I felt much, much improve- Senior Eric Katzman had to recover from hernia surgery this past offseason. ment," Katzman said. "Each week it's gotten extremely better and today was a day where I felt I could help the team out. (Sitting out has) been tough, but I've been trying to help out in other ways. It feels real good to finally be out there and putting up zeros." The Eagles average seven runs a game and are hitting just .289 as a team. The matchup against EMU should serve as a great opportuni- ty for Katzman to ease back onto the mound. To compare, both squads have played Jacksonville State this sea- son. Michigan scored 33 runs in two blowout wins over the Game- cocks, while Eastern managed just 23 in three games. But after last year's result and the way the early part of this sea- son went, don't expect an over- confident effort out of the gate. The team will be looking to back it's senior starter in his return. "We're going to keep trying to build him up," Michigan coach Rich Maloney said of the injury. "When he gets back to 100 percent we'll be a lot better team because he was our best returning pitcher and he hasn't pitched much yet. I feel like there's just been a lack of strength since his hernia opera- tion. Hopefully we can get him back to form." INJURY NOTES: When junior outfielder Ryan LaMarre original- ly went out with a broken thumb, the prognosis had him out for six weeks - putting him back in the lineup this weekend against the Hoosiers. But his status is still unclear. Though he has been rehabilitat- ing as swiftly as possible, Maloney said he might not be ready to play in Bloomington (though he would definitely be back by next week- end's series against Purdue). "Day by day," Maloney said. "If he can end up playing, certainly we would love to have him out there. But we need to make sure he is feeling really good before we do that." Meanwhile, the team's bad luck with thumbs continued this week- end. Redshirt freshman Kevin Krantz, who was one of a host of players attempting to replace LaMarre in the lineup, fractured his thumb in the fourth inning. Krantz will see a hand special- ist to determine whether he needs surgery. It is unknown how long he will be out until he receives that evaluation.