8 Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 0
Against Jayhawks, Beilein's
1-3-1 zone scheme effective
JAKE FROMM/Daily
Freshman defenseman Mac Bennett has been in and out of the lineup all season.
Bennett scores
first- career
goal in 'M'win
CASANDRA PAGNI the rush."
Daily Sports Writer Joining the rush is one area
of Bennett's game he looks to
With the No. 7 Michigan hock- improve on in the second half of
ey team up 3-0 on Michigan State the season.
late in the third period on Sat- Although he needs to make
urday, the victory - and series sure to take care of his defensive
split - looked secure. Less than responsibilities first, Bennett saw
five minutes remained, and the the outcome of being aggressive
Wolverines had already given on the offensive end first-hand on
the 6,842 fans in attendance at Saturday.
Yost Ice Arena three goals to add "I want to see myself jump up
to their traditional goal-count in the play like (in that goal) lit-
chant. tle bit more often," Bennett said.
It was definitely icing on the "I'm a lot more comfortable skat-
cake, but freshman defenseman ing with the puck now than I was
Mac Bennett gave the fans at Yost in the beginning of the season."
one more thing to cheer about. Michigan (10-4-1-0 CCHA,
Senior forward Scooter 13-6-4 overall) carries eight
Vaughan passed from the top of defensemen on its current ros-
the right circle to Bennett, who ter, and while only six see game-
came from behind and rushed action each night, Michigan
to the left faceoff dot. Bennett coach Red Berenson knows how
tough it can be for the younger
defenders to accumulate any sort
of confidence.
"Every game he "If you're paired with one guy
Friday and another guy Saturday
plays, he's (it can be difficult)," Pateryn said.
"I've been paired with (freshman
playing a little defender Kevin Clare and Ben-
nett) a lot this year. (Clare) is a
better" stay-at-home guy, and Mac is a
run-and-gun guy, so its different
to know when to stay back or go.
But you just read off each other.
roofed the puck blocker-side for Sometimes you just play with
his first career goal, cementing players that have different styles."
the 4-0 win for Michigan. But Bennett, who has played
Bennett was so overwhelmed the majority of his games this
that he even didn't hear the Yost season with Pateryn, can play on
faithful erupt, but his teammates either defensive side.
saved the puck for him. That flexibility gives Berenson
After the game, associate head different ways to use the fresh-
coach Mel Pearson joked that man.
Bennett should, sleep with that "I like (Bennett's) skating,"
puck - and show off his shot more Berenson said. "He carries the
often. puck out of trouble. I like his
But his partner, junior defense- passing. He definitely can join
man Greg Pateryn, knew Bennett the rush. (His goal) was a classic
had the shot all along, example of something we practice
Pateryn had an inkling during everyday but we don't see enough
the Wolverines' morning skate of it in games.
that Bennett was going to catch "I like what he's giving to our
fire on Saturday. team. I think every game he plays,
According to both Pateryn and he's playing a little better."
Bennett, the two were skating In a game where confidence is
when Pateryn realized most of everything, Bennett is relishing
Bennett's shots were finding the his new-found offensive flair.
back of the net. And Michigan will take any
"Before the game, it was kind extra offense it can get, as the
of funny, I told him 'I think you Wolverines face a home-and-
got one today, you're going to get home series with Ferris State this
one. I feel it,' " Pateryn said after weekend - asteam that ranks first
practice on Monday. "And sure in team defense, allowing an aver-
enough, he went down and joined age of just 1.96 goals per game.
Michigan's youthful
defense forces
powerhouse Kansas
to shoot 35 percent
LUKE PASCH
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan men's basketball
coach John Beilein wins basket-
ball games two ways: shooting and
masterful defensive zones.
Well, it doesn't always work -
the Wolverines still lose games. But
on Sunday afternoon, there was
a definitive reason that Beilein's
team - one of four in Division-I
without a single fourth-year player
- pushed No. 3 Kansas to the brink
in a 67-60 overtime loss.
And even a seven-year-old with
the most rudimentary knowledge
of basketball could have told you
that Michigan didn't keep it close
because of shooting (the team fin-
ished with a miserable 4-of-28 per-
formance from 3-point range).
The Wolverines (1-2 Big Ten,
11-S overall)tied the game with
seconds left in regulation because
their defense kept them close
throughout the second half, par-
ticularly when Beilein deployed
his notorious 1-3-1 zone.
As Michigan finally started to
find its groove on the offensive
end, the shutdown zone allowed
the Wolverines to outscore the Jay-
hawks 33-26 in the second frame.
"I really can't explain it," Beilein
said on Monday. "Sometimes, it
just happens. And whether it's a
UConn, a Georgetown, a Villa-
nova, a Duke, there's things that
happen in a game, and it gets into
a flow when things don't go well,
and it starts to get a little mental."
And Beilein was right - it was a
bit mental, and Kansas came really
close to beating itself at Crisler
Arena.
Kansas coach Bill Self's squad
shot just 35.7 percent from the
field, and some of his more experi-
enced players turned the ball over
more than usual - especially in
the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Beilein may be good, but he
still needs some luck on his side
to coach such an inexperienced
team to a near victory over a top-
10 offense.
Illinois coach Bruce Weber
may have dubbed him the "mad
scientist" of college hoops at Big
Ten Media Day in November, but
Beilein doesn't have mythical abil-
ities.
Self admitted after the game that
his team played about as poorly as
they possibly could have against
the zone, even though it had pre-
pared for it in practice all week.
But whether Kansas beat Kan-
sas in the second half or whether
C
Freshman gaurd Tim Hardaway Jr. is positioned at the top of Beilein's 1-3-1 zone and plays an important role
Michigan beat Kansas in the sec-
ond half, the bottom line is that
the 1-3-1 was incredibly effective,
and fans shouldn't be surprised
if Beilein starts running it more
often as the season progresses.
On Monday, Beilein came close
to alluding to one of the reasons
why the zone works for his team
before retreating and remember-
ing that he doesn't reveal that type
of information to the media.
"The thing about the 1-3-1 is
that it's not as schematic as people
think," he said prior to the John
Beilein Radio Show. "It can be a
gimmicky thing at times, where it
just works. And then there's other
times where you really can apply
some strategy ... I can't speak too
much about it, but if it works, we'll
use it more."
Basically, the 1-3-1 is relatively
easy to coach and manipulate,
which
Wolver
Beil
with T
gin
at
it
top of
court l
other
Morgai
paint,'
take th
And
is essential for the youthful dribble around the perimeter,
ines. Hardaway floats laterally, look-
ein typically runs the zone ing to trap the ball with one of his
rim Hardaway Jr. at the wingmen.
When the ball goes to the cor-
ner, Douglass looks to trap the ball
with one of his wingmen, and the
'It can be a rest of the zone rotates to make up
for Douglass fleeing the baseline.
mmicky thing It's truly a team defense - two
players go to trap the ball, and the
times, where rest of the defense needs to move
as a unit to cover the gaps created
just Works." bythe shift.
And so far, the Wolverines have
proven they could do just that
against one of the top offenses in
the diamond, near the half the nation.
ine, and Stu Douglass at the "It's not schematic - it's a feel,"
end on the baseline.Jordan Beilein said.
n or Jon Horford mans the And on Wednesday night, he'll
while the other two players see if his team feels it against
e wing. . another one of the country's best
as the opposing guards offenses - No.2 Ohio State.
MILES
From Page 1
football coach is going to be,"
Coleman said. "I can promise you
that the athletic director is work-
ing very hard and that he will do
a good job."
Miles was asked about poten-
tial contact with Michigan dur-
ing a press conference early
yesterday afternoon in which his
star cornerback Patrick Peterson
announced he was leaving for
the NFL - Miles confirmed he
would be meeting with Michigan
at some point.
"If anything, we have a very
distant conversation with repre-
sentatives that would represent
the school," Miles told reporters.
"I'm told we will speak at that
time in a place that has not been
identified, and it's hard for me to
speculate to the substance of that
meeting."
Last Friday, LSU trounced
Texas A&M 41-24 in the Cotton
Bowl, extending Miles's career
record in Baton Rouge to 62-17
in six seasons - including a 5-1
record in bowl games. And Michi-
gan fans may celebrate the fact
that Miles led LSU to a 38-24
win over Ohio State in the 2008
National Championship game.
After the Tigers' win in the
Cotton Bowl, a reporter asked"
Miles if it was his last game as
LSU's head man.
He paused, then responded:
"It's a wonderful place. I love it
here."
Brandon started his nation-
wide coaching search last week
after announcing Rodriguez's ter-
mination.
Rumors have connected a wide
range of candidates to the vacant
position since then, from ESPN
Monday Night Football analyst
Jon Gruden to San Diego State's
Brady Hoke to Miles.
In his MGoBlue.com blog post-
ed yesterday, Brandon warned the
Michigan fan base to "not believe
everything you read or hear" and
called some of the reports "simply
ridiculous."
"I am sure all of the news
reports are interesting for our
fans," Brandon wrote. "But I am
too busy to follow the majority
of the news except to hear some
pretty wild stories about 'where I
am and who I am talkingto.'"
Brandon added that the public's
expectation of a speedy decision
was unrealistic.
"Some would suggest we should
complete this national search in a
matter of hours, but this is a criti-
cal decision for Michigan Athlet-
icts and it cannot and will nod be
made in haste," Brandon wrote.
-Daily News Reporter Kaitlin
Williams contributed to this report.
BRANDON'S CRITERIA: EVALUATING LES MILES
"MICHIGAN MAN" t DEFENSIVE COACH , COACHING RESUME RECRUITING
Miles played under Bo Schem-
bechler. He coached under Bo.
Brandon avoided saying that
Michigan's next coach needed to
be a "Michigan Man." He instead
made it clear that the next coach
needed to understand what Mich-'
igan was all about. Miles is one of
the few remaining options for the
Wolverines to hire someone who
coached under Bo.
LSU was one of the top teams
defensively in the entire nation
this season, ranking 11th in points
against. But with the Michigan
fan base clamoring for a coach
with a defensive emphasis, Miles's
success at LSU may not translate
into an improved defense, given
the lack of talent at Michigan and
his expertise on offense. But you
really can't argue with a top-15'D.'
Miles spent three seasons as There's no doubt Miles's teams
the Oklahoma State head coach have been loaded with talent. But
before moving to LSU in 2005. some of the talent on the Sugar
And in his third season, he led the Bowl and national title teams
Tigers to a national title - taking - including JaMarcus Russell,
down Ohio State in the champion- Dwayne Bowe and Glenn Dorsey
ship game. The Tigers have gone - was acquired during the Nick
to a bowl game in all six of Miles's Saban era. Part of Brandon's crite-
seasons at the helm, and he has 20 ria was the ability to recruit in the
years of experience as an assistant Midwest. Miles hasn't done that
coach in college and the NFL. extensively as a head coach.
MONEY
Brandon made it very clear that
he's not afraid to pay top-dollar to
get Michigan's next coach. Miles's
current deal with LSU runs
through 2014 and pays him $3.75
million annually. He also has a
reported buyout of $1.25 million.
Michigan was paying Rich Rodri-
guez about $2.5 million per year.
Brandon will probably have to up
Miles's salary to lure him away.
xN
SCHEME
His spread offense may not be
exactly what Rodriguez ran the
past three years in Ann Arbor, but
it's close enough to make an easy
transition. Jordan Jefferson quar-
terbacked the LSU offense this
season and he was able to throw for
more than 1,400 yards and rush for
450 yards. Denard Robinson could
excel with Miles. On defense, Miles
runs a traditional 4-3 defense.
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