The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
March 14, 2011 - 3B
NO.8 SEED
From Page 1B
pegged the Wolverines as solidly
in the tournament after their
victory over Illinois in the Big
Ten Tournament quarterfinals
on Friday.
"I just have to always prepare
myself for (disappointment),"
Beilein said. "You just never
know what's going to happen.
I would have been very disap-
pointed (if we were left out)
- never shocked, but very dis-
appointed. But now that I see
where we were seeded, I don't
know what I was so worried
about."
Indeed, it appears that Michi-
gan would have been safely in
the field even if it had lost to the
Fighting Illini.
Beilein explained his team's
surprising seed by pointing to
the strength of the Big Ten -
seven conference squads made
the tournament - and the fact
that the Wolverines finished in
fourth place.
' Two seasons ago, Michigan
held a similar watch party on
Selection Sunday.
The situation was slightly
4 different then - the program
was trying to make it back to
the NCAA Tournament after an
t 11-season drought.
It was a much more nerve-
wracking evening in 2009, as the
Wolverines were among the very
last teams announced. there.
This time, Michigan's name "You work so hard for it. It's
was called before the selection been a long two years. To get
show even hit its halfway point back (to the tournament) is just
- and the team was on more unbelievable."
solid ground, widely considered Coach Bruce Pearl's Tennes-
above the bubble. see team will present an interest-
But considering the expecta- ing matchup for the Wolverines.
tions for the Wolverines before The ninth-seeded Volunteers
the season and that their con- are talented and athletic, hav-
ference record stood at 1-6 in ing beaten Villanova, Pittsburgh
mid-January, it was no surprise and Memphis this season - but
that the celebration upon hear- they're also enigmatic, as they
ing Michigan's selection was fell to Charlotte and the College
of Charleston.
And there's an intriguing
potential matchup in the third
"It's every kid's round with No. 1 seed Duke. But
dream and Sunday wasn't about Michigan's
dreamI and n~ extgame - it was about achiev-
we're living it ing something few, if any, thought
We t was possible for this team at the
right now " beginning of the season.
rg o It will go down as one of the
best coaching jobs of Beilein's
career.
just as raucous as it was two And for the 58-year-old, there
years ago. The fans in Crisler was nothing more gratifying
Arena burst into cheers as the than seeing the joyful reactions
players leapt up excitedly, hug- of his players.
ging and congratulating each "It's just everything to a
other. coach, to watch (that)," Beilein
"I almost had a heart attack," said. "You coach a lot of teams,
freshman guard Tim Hardaway 35 now I've probably coached ...
Jr. said. "It's every kid's dream, to watch them go through the
and we're living it right now." excitement, it's magical because
Added junior guard Zack they've worked so hard, and
Novak: "I wasn't nervous up they've been focused all year
until we came out here today, long.
and after that, I was a nervous "To have part of their dreams
wreck ... It's just a dream come come true, right in front of your
true to see your team's name up eyes, is a wonderful thing."
OSU LOSS
From Page 'lB
Two starting Buckeyes -
point guard Aaron Craft and
shooting guard David Lighty
had to sit most of the first half
after collecting two fouls early.
Then Jordan Sibert, who came
in as a result of the early foul
trouble, recorded two personals
as well.
Unlike the Wolverines, Ohio
State is not known for having
much depth to its roster. How-
ever, coach Thad Matta fina-
gled with the lineup, went into
halftime holding onto a 31-27
advantage and then was able to
play his starters in the second
stanza.
"We got them into a bit
'of trouble," Morgan said. "I
thought that maybe we could
use that to our advantage a little
more, but we didn't. In the sec-
ond half, I think all their starters
were in again."
And once the Buckeyes had
their starting five in the game,
L it seemed like they could do exe-
cute at ease on both the offen-
sive and defensive ends.
Ohio State shot 47 percent
from the field and collected
39 rebounds to Michigan's 33.
Sullinger tallied a game-high 13
rebounds to give the Buckeyes a
lot of second chances.
"That's also something we
can't let happen," Morgan said.
FAB FIVE
From Page 1B
JENNINGS
From Page 1B
James had four teammates
in Cleveland - it wasn't the
Cavaliers, because the "Chosen
One" worked alone. For him,
his chalk fell to the ground just
as easily as his opponents. And
when he left, Cleveland fell
apart.
And maybe that's what
people thought would happen
to Ann Arbor when Manny
Harris and DeShawn Sims left.
Maybe people thought their
dust would fog the air and the
remaining Wolverines would
crawl on hands and knees to the
exits. Maybe that's why student
ticket sales plummeted this
season.
But maybe people were too
focused on the names on the
backs of the jersey, rather than
the one on the front.
In the past 10 seasons, only
once has the Naismith College
Player of the Year, the award
that honors the top men's bas-
ketball player, been given to a
player partipating on the team
that won the National Champi-
onship.
Ever since a team meeting
after the Wolverines' 69-64 loss
to Minnesota on Jan. 22, Michi-
gan has been playing with a dif-
ferent mentality on the court.
"I watched that film and was
really disgusted with myself, I
knew I needed to step up. Not
just in terms of my on-the-court
performance, but just being a
better teammate," Morris said
at the time. "Afterward, I called
a team meeting and I apolo-
gized to everybody and every-
body else stepped up too and
said they've been lacking too
at being a good teammate and
holding each other accountable
to go out there and playing hard
all the time."
Morris and junior captains
Stu Douglass and Zack Novak
have pulled this team together
into a single cohesive unit. They
don't care about who scores.
They leave the statistics to the
statisticians.
But not every group of play-
ers in the country can say that.
With just under six minutes
left in Michigan's Big Ten Tour-
nament semifinal game against
Ohio State, a Morris layup
was blocked by the 6-foot-8,
255-pound Dallas Lauderdale.
When Lauderdale returned to
earth, he was holding up two
fingers.
That didn't signify how many
points the Buckeyes withheld
from the Wolverines that pos-
session.
It was the number of blocks
Lauderdale had that game.
Michigan was about to go on
a run, and Ohio State's senior
leader was bragging about his
stats.
But when Hardaway Jr. hits
a big shot, he doesn't count how
many he's hit. He doesn't let
life skills and financial literacy to
find success, whether it's on the
court or off it.
But either way, he'll urge the
students to confront life issues
the same way he and the rest of
the Fab Five did it - face-to-face,
talkingsmack alongthe way.
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Wolver
Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. cares more about the name on the front of
his jersey than the one on the back.
know how many points State on Saturday, Michigan cut
ored. He runs back down Ohio State's 17-point lead to just
or pounding his chest, four. And during that time, start-
ing the Michigan that's ers Morris and Jordan Morgan
zoned across there. were on the bench.
confidence on the court Two of the most important
pressed analysts and fans players, accordingto the statis-
But what they don't see is tics, sat while others who are
hen he misses a shot, it's less important, according to the
ass and Novak who slap statistics, pulled the Wolverines
st and say, "Good shot, into fighting distance of the No. 1
hooting." team in the country.
During that time, Michigan
assistant coach Bacari Alexander
turned and yelled to the bench,
ardaway Jr. "That's what we do. We fight.
Remember this game!"
esn t let you Could Jim Calhoun have
Show turned to his players at any point
now W duringthe Big East Tourna-
any points ment and say that? And if he did,
would his team have rebutted,
he has "No, that's what Kemba Walker
does?'.
Maybe those three boys,
enamored with Hardaway Jr.,
it now, the only thing could pass Matt Vogrich or Mor-
Wolverines' backs that gan without a second thought.
s is their new warm-up And perhaps, if Hardaway Jr.
at read, "TEAM, TEAM, passed them on the streets, they
." 'wouldn't think twice. But for
ir confidence on the the Wolverines this year, that
s manifested in the fact doesn't matter.
ey lack something on the Because their TEAM got the
A superstar. No.8 seed. Their TEAM is fac-
year, unlike last, there ing Tennessee. Their TEAM is
ever any Fab 5 throwback what's most important to them.
So Dallas Lauderdale, you
t's because for this Michi- hold those two fingers proudly.
am, there aren't just five But just remember it's a hell of
. There are 15. And in the alot easier to break two fingers
games, they've become than it is to break a fist.
SALAM RIDA/Daily
Sophomore guard Darius Morris attempts a shot, which was blocked out of
bounds by Ohio State's Dallas Lauderdale.
"It's hard when they miss shots it kills us and gives them a lot of
but then get their own rebounds. momentum."
he final minutes of the
rines' 68-61 loss to Ohio
-Jennings can be reached
at chanjen@umich.edu
ketball. The film details every-
thing that's been under wraps
since the early 1990s, from the
individuals - how they got from
the inner-city to Ann Arbor - to
their revolutionizing hip-hop
swag, to the massive payment
scandal involving Webber that
ultimately led to their deletion
from the record books.
"First and foremost, (we want
to show) that we were college
*-kids," Rose said after a private
screening on Friday. "So there
were things that we did that were
responsible, there were things
we did that were stupid. There
were times when we were able to
articulate ourselves, there were
times when we were ignorant and
immature. That was part of the
college experience."
And within, the movie presents
a pungent critique of amateurism
in a sport where the NCAA and
athletic departments take mil-
lions to the bank on the successes
of unpaid athletes.
The only significant figure
notably absent from the film,
however, is Webber himself, and
for fairly obvious reasons. Not
only did his relationship with
University booster Ed Martin
and subsequent dishonesty with a
grand jury tarnish the Michigan
basketball program, but his infa-
mous timeout call when there
were no timeouts left at the end
of the 1993 National Champion-
ship game against North Carolina
is still a sore subject.
Both events were discussed
extensively in the film.
"The elephant in the room, as
you saw in the film, is that Chris
chose not to give a 2011 inter-
view," Rose said after the screen-
ing. "But hopefully he'll find that
salvation in this life, like he could
bring some sort of closure to it.
Like I told him, I wish all I had
to say is that I called a timeout.
You think I want to be sitting
there with my grandmother or
son talking about me being in the
crack house? No I don't want to
talk about that, man. That's what
I told him."
Rose was referringto a pointin
his sophomore year, when he was
caught playing video games at
his friend's house during a drug
bust. But in addressing the issue,
he mentions that he was not in a
crack house - because he knows
from home what a real dope
house is.
Indeed, Friday's screening
at the Detroit Science Center in
front of mostly just Rose's friends
and family was personal for him.
Through every moment of his
career, he's brought a piece of the
Motor City with him.
And now, he's giving back.
The end of the movie briefly
mentions his plans to open the
Jalen Rose Leadership Academy,
a charter high school that will
find its home in the heart of the
city.
"For some of these kids, it's like
Beirut to finally get to school,"
Rose said after the screening.
"Your uncle's on crack, you've
never metyour dad, tryingto help
your mom feed the family, your
brother or sister is sick. Finally
you get to school and it'slike, 'You
expect me to learn?'"
In addition to the core cur-
riculum, Rose wants students to
graduate from his school with the
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MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily
Former Michigan guard Jalen Rose speaks at Friday's Detroit premiere of
ESPN's "The Fab Five."