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March 29, 2011 - Image 8

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8 - Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

8 - Tuesday, March 29, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

Morris submits name to UAC,
but hasn't entered NBA draft

MEN'S GOLF
Lioll Kim prepares as *
the Masters approaches

By BEN ESTES will make decisions based on the
Daily Sports Writer information we get."
After hearing back from the
Reports surfaced over * the committee, Morris 'will have
weekend that Michigan sopho- until April 24 to decide whether
more point guard Darius Mor- he wants to actually enter his
ris was ready to enter his name name in the NBA draft.
in the NBA Draft and forgo his Ifhe puts his name in the draft,
junior and senior seasons at the 6-foot-4 guard will be able to
Michigan. go through the pre-draft evalu-
But Morris isn't leaving the ation process to gather more
Wolverines - yet. information about his potential
Michigan coach John Beilein landing spot. As long as Mor-
announced Monday that Morris ris doesn't hire an agent at any
has submitted his name to the point, he can decide by June 13
NBA's Undergraduate Advisory - 10 days before the actual draft
Committee, a first step in what - to return to Ann Arbor for his
Beilein called an "information- junior season.
gathering" process for the Los For his part, Beilein isn't push-
Angeles native. ing his star point guard one way
Requesting an evaluation from or the other.
the UAC is notbinding in anyway "I will have given him (my)
for potential early entrants to the thoughts," Beilein said. "But I
NBA draft. By doing so, Morris stay pretty open-minded. There's
.will receive an assessment of his nothing we want more than to
draft chances from the commit- have Darius Morris have a career
tee no later than April 18. The in the NBA ... That's something
UAC will inform him whether that we'll work for, as we will
he'd likely be a lottery pick (top hopefully with many more future
14), a first-round pick or a second- players."
round pick. Prevailing wisdom holds that
Beilein also stressed that he if a player receives just a second-
initiated the process. round grade, he should return to
He said he called Morris into school - only first-round picks
his office shortly after Michi- receive guaranteed contracts,
gan's season ended with its loss and most second-rounders don't
to Duke in the third round of end up playing consistently in the
the NCAA Tournament. After league.
the consultation, the pair decid- But if Morris receives a favor-
ed - along with Morris's father able evaluation from the UAC,
Dewayne Sr. - to request a UAC he will have a tough decision
evaluation. to make. Beilein wouldn't say
"This is really a good issue whether he would advise Mor-
to have," Beilein said. "If we ris to return to Michigan if he
have these situations every year, doesn't garner a first-round
where we have young men that grade.
have the possibility of being "I think he's a very bright
drafted, or most importantly (of) young man with a great fam-
having a career in the NBA, these ily, and I'm sure they'll do what's
are good things to have. right," Beilein said.
"We all agreed that this was The coach also stressed that
the best way to go about it ... He the goal isn't just to get drafted

By KEVIN RAFTERY
Daily Sports Writer
At times, Michigan senior Lion
Kim has had trouble concentrating
on college golf during the Michi-
gan men's golf team's spring sea-
son.
"I didn't have a hard time in
the fall," Kim said. "I was just all
focused about helping this team
win golf tournaments and doing
well. But in all honesty, yeah it's
been kind of hard (focusing in the
spring)."
Kim, Michigan's captain, won
the U.S. Amateur Public Links
Championship in July to qualify
for this year's Masters.
In just over a week, the Lake
Mary, Fla. native will be walking
down the immaculate fairways of
Augusta National Golf Club, com-
peting against the best golfers in
the world. Can you blame him for
lacking a little concentration?
He's had a lot of time to think
aboutwhatit'sgoingtobelikecom-
peting with and against players
like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickel-
son, playing on Amen Corner - the
famous three-hole stretch of holes
11-13 - and experiencing what
every golfer dreams about.
"Once the spring season rolled
around, in my mind, I really used
the four tournaments that we
played as a preparation for the
Masters," Kim said. "But with
that said, I was still giving mybest
because at the end of the day I've
got to help my scores and help my
team out."
But Kim has practiced away
from the college game, too. He's
traveled to Augusta three times
since November, and he will be
there the weekend before the tour-
nament to get in some extra prac-
tice.
Though he'll be playing on a
new course - and one of the most

JAKE fROMM/Daily
Sophomore pointguard Darius Morris has until April24 to decide whether he
wants to enter his name in the NBA draft.

- it's to have a long career in the
NBA.
Many players have left early
thinking that they're ready for
the pros - some even as high
draft picks - only to flame out
because they weren't truly pre-
pared for the rigors of the NBA.
It's a situation the Wolverines
encountered just last year when
Beilein initiated a similar process
with two players - guard Manny
Harris and forward DeShawn
Sims. Harris decided to leave one
year early after the 2009-10 sea-
son. But Harris wasn't drafted,
leaving his professional basket-
ball career in a perilous spot.
Luckily for Harris, he made it
throughcamp with the Cleveland
Cavaliers and has earned plenty
of playing time in his rookie year.
But the uncertainty he faced

is what Michigan is trying to
avoid with Morris and any future
potential early entrants.
Another issue involved in
Morris's decision is a potential
NBA lockout for next season, as
the collective bargaining agree-
ment between the league and
Players' Association expires this
summer.
For now, Morris is in a holding
pattern until he receives word
back from the advisory commit-
tee - an evaluation Beilein said
will stay confidential.
"I can't predict (if Morris
will leave)," Beilein said. "We're
gathering information. I don't go
there and study all of who's com-
ing out and who isn't coming out,
and I think that until that time, a
lot will be determined on that.
"So I can't predict that."

difficult courses in the world - the
focus of his practice rounds has
been the same as ifhe were playing
in any other tournament.
"Short game," Kim said. "That's
where you score, around the
greens. You gottahave agreat feel-
ing with your shortgame, and most
importantly you have to have a
good feel for the greens, the slopes
and everything."
And of course, Kim spent some
time checking out the course as a
whole, too.
"(The course) was everything
I imagined it being," he said. "It's
absolutely stunning. It's exactly
how youwould see it on TV."
For Michigan coach Andrew
Sapp, watching one of his players
play in the Masters will truly be a
once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Sapp, a North Carolina native,
had chancesto goto the Masters as
a fan when he was younger, but he
declined the opportunity.
"I had some relatives that actu-
ally had tickets, but I wanted to
have a good reason to go," he said.
And now he's found his reason.
Sapp will be going heading to
Augusta on Monday, the day after
coaching his team at the LSU
Intercollegiate, to support Kim.
"It's almost as good as going
down to play yourself," Sapp said.
"I'm definitely looking forward to
being able to experience it with
him and seeing it more than just *
from a fan's point of view, but also
the players' point of view."
And for Kim, anything could
happen on the No. 1-ranked golf
course in the world.
"If I do well, it could open up
some doors in the future," Kim *
said. "But at the end of the day,
whatever happens, happens. I'm
just really looking forward to com-
peting in the Masters. And also,
most importantly, to have fun and
enjoy it."
mate

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