8A - Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
bye, MEN'S BASKETBALL
'urmng ,Blue works Burke, Brundidge learning from a
on weak perimeter 'D' suddenly seasoned Wolverine team
I BY BEN ESTES It Dr
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily SportsEditor
Before last Saturday's game,
Michigan senior defensive line-
man Ryan Van Bergen said he
wanted Michigan State to run
right at him. The Spartans found
an easier way. They ran around
the Wolverines' beefy defensive
line.
Michigan State running back
Edwin Baker had four runs lon-
ger than 20 yardson the day.
Each came on carries to the out-
side.
The Spartans exposed the
Wolverines' secondary by run-
ning away from the line. And
after spending half the year try-
ing to separate itself from years
past, the secondary had an old
problem reappear at the most
inopportune time.
"I don't think we tackled
worth a darn," said Michigan
coach Brady Hoke on Monday. "I
don't think we played the perim-
eter of our defense worth a darn.
I don't think we took on blocks
and got off blocks and had very
good block protection."
Both safeties, redshirt sopho-
more Thomas Gordon and red-
shirt junior Jordan Kovacs, were
the most obvious culprits on
Baker's long runs.
But the damage could have
been worse. In the third quar-
ter, Baker had an open sideline
after a Gordon missed tackle
but dropped the ball. Michigan
recovered the fumble.
"They did a good job with
scheming us and knowing what
we were going to do and being
able to attack certain parts of
our defense," said senior defen-
sive tackle Mike Martin on Mon-
day. "(But) there's a new day and
(Tuesday) is a day we've got to
TERRAMOLENGRAFF/Danly
Senior defensive tackle Mike Martin and the rest of the Michigan defensive line
were the victims of Michigan State chop blocks on runs to the outside Saturday.
take advantage of."
The scheme has become a
recurring theme in the last two
weeks. Both of Michigan's oppo-
nents ran the ball to the outside
and neutralized the Wolverines'
strong defensive line.
But where Michigan State ran
the ball to the edge, Northwest-
ern tried to do it with the speed
option and bubble screens. In
both cases, success on the out-
side came from mistakes in the
secondary, either overrunning
plays or missing tackles.
With Michigan State's and
Northwestern's successes in
the first half, teams are likely to
attack the Wolverines' defense
with the blueprint the two
teams created. For Hoke, that
means using the bye week to
improve his team's now-incon-
sistent tackling technique and
prepare his defense to be more
equipped to handle plays to the
outside.
"I can assure you we can
work on block protection and
chop blocks and all those things
and make an emphasis," Hoke
said. "At the same time, there
were times where it was played
decently, but I didn't feel the
flow from our inside."
But after spending months
upon months working on tech-
nique and sprinting to the foot-
ball since, why did everything
break down at the worst pos-
sible moment? For Martin, it's
simple.
"They were able to make
moves on us when (bad tech-
nique) happened because we
weren't at the best we could
be," he said. "It's a focus. I think
guys get caught up in what the
other team is doing and not
(themselves).
"It's something that we can
fix, and that's a good thing."
Daily Sports Editor
John Beilein must feel like a
proud papa.
With six days of practice in
the books after team workouts
officially began last Friday,
the Michigan men's basketball
coach has already seen his expe-
rienced players doing their part
to help the wide-eyed freshmen
- one of the biggest tasks in the
early going. Beilein now has the
luxury of an experienced ros-
ter. It's a far cry from last year,
when the rebuilding Wolver-
ines entered the season with
no seniors and six first-year
players, most of whom were
expected to be needed on a
team believed to lack firepower.
This season, the task is
less onerous. Three scholar-
ship freshmen are joining the
roster, and two - freshmen
guards Trey Burke and Carl-
ton Brundidge - will likely be
counted on to help fill the void
left by Darius Morris, who left
for the NBA. Forward Max
Bielfeldt might also be called
upon for some added muscle
down low.
But Michigan has plenty of
other players who now have
experience, and they're help-
ing the new guys through their
growing pains.
"We've had incredible teach-
ers right now," Beilein said.
"This is a good problem to have
- we have too many people talk-
ing in the huddle.
"I had missed something
in film that (senior guard Stu
Douglass) picked up and said,
'Coach, can you show that one
time?' and then he said, 'Carl-
ton, that's what I was talking
about.' That's so good to have, so
we'll take this any time. "
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nen don't have a choice but It's been a bit of a whirlwind
pt quickly. Senior guard so far for the Wolverines. The
Novak said open gyms team has practiced everyday
ast summer were the most so far and is using the maxi-
titive in his four years, mum hours allotted, constitut-
having so many quality ing what Beilein calls his "Club
s meant that if you didn't Wolverine" training camp.
m, you had to sit out. Workouts haven't focused
freshmen got a taste of on specific schemes or lineups
tensity of college basket- yet - in fact, Beilein said he's
ith those workouts. With just tryingto figure out a top 10,
art of organized practices, with 12 players currently in the
e now seeing the complex- mix. Instead, they've been more
t too. about early-season basics, with
ut with a team determined the torrid pace as a test of Mich-
the bitter taste of its igan's conditioning. But that's
Tournament loss to Duke another hurdle that Burke and
Brundidge have cleared so far.
"What surprised me the most
is (Burke and Brundidge) are
"(They're) out there giving it their all and
they're not giving in to fatigue,"
taking said sophomore guard Tim
Hardaway Jr. "People are hold-
rerything in ing their knees and are tired, but
J c they're standing up, taking the
.e a sponge." criticism and taking everything
in like a sponge."
With the sudden luxury of
a deep roster, Beilein is hoping
its mouth, there's no time that his regulars won't have to
e coaches to slow every- play as much during games this
down so the new arrivals season - instead of 35 minutes,
get lost. perhaps 28 or 30.
far, though, that hasn't But in order for that to hap-
problem - in fact, they've pen, Burke, Brundidge and
med above expectations Bielfeldt will have to give the
e having to learn Beilein's coaching staff reason to believe
ive system, notorious for they can step in right away. The
nplexity. Wolverine veterans are working
n impressed with how to make that a reality.
y they're picking things "Now they're bonding with
ovak said. "They're doing the upperclassmen, so that's
d job with the offense. always good," Beilein said.
e's) really unselfish. I've "They're taking them under
very impressed with how their wings and (the freshmen)
assed the ball. are listening. I sent my first
rlton, his toughness. He's tweet of the week -'The upper-
y taken like five charges classmen are teaching and the
ctice. I hadn't taken five freshmen are all ears.' It's what
es at this point my fresh- we're seeing."
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ICE HOCKEY
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By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan senior forward Luke
Glendening shrugged in disbelief
after casually flicking the puck into
the net during a 10-3 win against
St. Lawrence on Thursday.
The goal was his third of the
game - his first hat trick as a Wol-
verine. And it looked so effortless.
There was the goal in the first
period that sparked the No. 1
Michigan hockey team's 10-goal
performance - a put-back off a
rebound from a shot by senior for-
ward David Wohlberg. Simple.
Then there was the feed by
Wohlberg in the second that left
half the goal open for Glenden-
ing. Easy. Later in the second,
the shrug-inducing goal came off
another rebound from a shot by
(you guessed it) Wohlberg.
And all Glendening could do
was smile like he stole something.
Of course, it wasn't as easy as
it looked. Michigan coach Red
Berenson said that Glendening is
one of the best on the team atscor-
ing from close range. That often
comes with a price.
"It can be brutal hockey when
you get into those areas," Beren-
son said. "Are you willing to pay
the price to go for a loose puck or
would you rather stay in the com-
fort zone? I think our team's doing
a good job of going to the net and
paying the price to score."
That opportunism has gone
a long way for the Wolverines'
offense. Offensive production
was the team's big question mark
entering the season.
That question mark has been
an exclamation point through the
first four games, largely thanks to
goals like Glendening's. Michigan
is averaging six goals per game,
good enough for the second-high-
est average in the nation.
Berenson said the Wolverines
take their cues from Glendening,
and that means dealing with some
pain to getthe goal.
"He is our best back-checker,
our hardest fore-checker and
most physical player and our
hardest worker," Berenson said
last Thursday. "When your cap-
tain is playing like that, then your
team cannot be far behind."
Putting up six goals per game
against teams like Niagara and
St. Lawrence far from guarantees
success in the CCHA, though.
After all, can Michigan continue
to rely heavily on opportunistic
goals?
Berenson said the game against
St. Lawrence was much closer
than the lopsided score indicated.
The difference was that the Wol-
verines' shots found the net.
CCHA goalies aren't likely to
allowgoalslikeGlendening'sthird,
when the rebound came off a shot
from behind the net as Wohlberg
tried to ricochet the puck off the
goalie. A CCHA goalie wouldn't
have let the puck squirt free. And
Michigan probably won't have
another opportunity to score three
goals against three different goal-
ies - as it did against St. Lawrence
- for many years.
"There's some luck involved,"
Berenson said. "You take those
point shots and sometimes they
go in, and sometimes they never
go in."
Still, goals off rebounds and
gritty play near the crease are a
large part of the game. Fearless-
ness in the crease can make a good
team great. And it's something
that can't really be coached.
"I think it's just a desire to be
there," Glendening said. "It's not
always the most enjoyable place
to be."
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OKTOBERFEST
The local district of GBU Financial Life,
GBU 630, a fraternal life insurance
organization, founded in Pittsburgh in
1892 and in Ann Arbor in1924, is hosting
its annual Oktoberfest dinner/dance on
Saturday, October 22, 2011, at the Grotto
Club on 2070 W. Stadium Blvd at 6:00PM.
The public is invited.
Cost of $25.00 includes typical Oktoberfest
dinner with dessert and coffee, beer, wine,
and pop. The Alr rausch Schuhplattler
from German Park Recreation Club will be
performing. Dancing will start at 7:00PM to;
the music of the Rheinl8nders. Door and
raffle prizes will be awarded. A sing-along
with German drinking songs is
also scheduled.
Reservations must be made before
Oktober 18 by calling Klaus Kummer
734-913-9371 or
Marianne Rauer 734-9S4-00S7.
Auf geht's zum Oktoberfest
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