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 Conserving Resources Protecting the Cli Science For A Better Life 0 en 0I i i 46