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DID PREVIEW
Fear the freshman
How do they do it? How
do the Buckeyes lose three
integral starters over the
offseason - David Lighty,
Dallas Lauderdale and Jon
Diebler - and still retain so
much talent on the roster?
Head coach Thad Matta isn't
typically considered an elite
coach, but he's absolutely an
elite recruiter (what he says
to these kids to get them
to Ohio State is beyond
,s.) The Buckeyes' success
starts with you-know-who
- returning NCAA Fresh-
man of the Year Jared Sull-
inger. Barring injury, Sully
can take this team deep
into the postseason single-
handedly. Unfortunately
for everyone else, he doesn't
need to do it single-handed-
ly. Sophomore point guard
Aaron Craft, who may be
the least imposing player
in the conference outside of
*ichigan's Matt Vogrich,
is a highly capable point
guard. And senior William
Buford may be the top wing
in the league, and he's got
late-season experience.
Bottom Line: Craft to
Sullinger ... That connection
is easier than easy Mac. (Get
it?)
fIX4
S
Every year, Wisconsin
contends in the Big Ten and
makes the NCAA Tourna-
ment (the Badgers have made
the Big Dance in 13 straight
years, the fourth-longest
active streak in the country).
Chalk it up to Bo Ryan. The
Wisconsin coach never fails
to instill his principles on
his teams. Point guard Jor-
dan Taylor said that Ryan
won't recruit a player unless
he knows he fits the Badger
formula. The result is strong,
physical defense, efficient
(read: boring) offense with
his swing system, and solid
fundamentals. This season,
the Badgers have a star in
Taylor, perhapsthe bestpoint
guard in the country. The key
to Wisconsin's season will
be how it reloads in the front
court after three departures.
Ryan mentioned Jared Berg-
gren, Frank Kaminsky, Evan
Anderson and Jarred Uthoff
as bigs to watch. Guard Josh
Gasser returns in the back-
court after a solid freshman
season.
Bottom Line: Expect
typical Wisconsin. Biggest
disappointment? Mike Brue-
sewitz already shaved off his
ginger 'fro..
With point guard Darius
Morris being the only part
of the Wolverines' rotation
from last year to depart,
Michigan's lineup brings
back the most continuity
of the Big Ten teams. This
could work to the Wolver-
ines' advantage early in
the year when opposing
teams are still shuffling
their lineups and figuring
out what works. Fresh-
men Trey Burke and Carl-
ton Brundidge will replace
Morris's minutes, and the
rest of the roster can expect
to see similar roles. After a
breakout freshman season,
Tim Hardaway will look
to take on even more scor-
ing to bring up a Michigan
offense that finished near
the bottom of the Big Ten
in scoring. Senior captains
Zack Novak and Stu Doug-
lass will look to make their
third seasons as co-captains
count and help send this
team deep into the NCAA
Tournament. The next
benchmark will be getting
to the Sweet Sixteen.
Bottom Line: Michigan
hopes the new Crisler Arena
will house a Bentley-like
product.
Purdue loses its top-two
scorers but should be pretty
good this year. That sentence
only makes sense because of
Robbie Hummel. The fifth-
year senior forward was
injured for the latter part of
his junior year and all of his
fourth year. He returns for
the last season of his career,
which started out promising.
He scored in double-digits
each season and led the Boil-
ermakers in rebounding in
his two full seasons. Hummel
will be supported by senior
guards Lewis Jackson and
Ryne Smith, who both start-
ed last season, but were in the
shadows of seniors JaJuan
Johnson and E'Twaun
Moore. While Purdue put
together a 14-4 conference
record and finished second
in the Big Ten last season, it
got eliminated in the second
round of the NCAA Tourna-
ment and can't help but think
of how good it could have
been withsHummel on that
team. This team hopes to
open up the renovated Mack-
ey Arena in style.
Bottom Line: Robbie
Hummel. Robbie Hummel.
Robbie Hummel. Robbie
Hummel. Robbie Hummel.
It didn't matter that Mich-
igan State wasn't ranked
in either preseason top-25
poll. When the Big Ten rank-
ings came out, the Spartans
were right back where they
always are: the top three.
All-Big Ten senior forward
Draymond Green will need
to score, rebound and most
importantly, prevent the
leadership and chemis-
try issues that plagued last
year's team. The Spartans
have a strong frontcourt, but
need to replace their starters
in the backcourt, including
two-time All-Big Ten First
Team point guard Kalin
Lucas. Sophomore Keith
Appling will step in at the
point, while fifth-year senior
guard Brandon Wood could
be the second scoring option.
The Spartans will play good
defense, but need Appling
to be serviceable enough to
allow Green and Wood to
put points on the board. If
they can, watch out for the
green and white.
Bottom line: Nobody at
Michigan cares how many
days it's been since Michi-
gan State beat the Wolver-
ines in basketball, but it's a
big number.
Tubby Smith must feel a
little like Alice in Wonder-
land - you're not at Ken-
tucky anymore, Tubby. The
Golden Gopher headman has
found coaching Minnesota
a little more difficult having
made the NCAA Tournament
just twice in his four sea-
sons. Last year, the Gophers
didn't make any postseason
tournament after dropping
10 of its last 11 games to fin-
ish ninth in the conference.
The Gophers still have one
of the better frontcourts in
the Big Ten with preseason
All-Big Ten forward Trevor
Mbakwe and center Ralph
Sampson III. Mbakwe, in
particular, is a force. But just
like last season, point guard
is a weakness. Freshmar
Andre Hollins could seize
the job immediately, though
there are more experienced
options in sophomore Maver-
ick Ahanmisi and junior col-
lege transfer Julian Welch.
Quote: "Coming into
every season, I always cry
to lead the conference in
rebounding. I want to lead
in blocked shots too, but I
have to battle with this guy
(Sampson III) every day." -
Mbakwe
distinctly remember when I
realized Michigan was get-
tingsomething special in
freshman point guard Trey Burke.
It was March, and my bud-
dies and I were pre-gaming - er,
preparing - to go out on a Friday
night. I was DJ-ing on my friend's
Macbook, and
after choosing
a jam, I remem-
bered that
Burke's high-
lights from his
senior season
at Northland
High School in LUKE
Columbus had PASCH
been posted
online earlier
that day. So, with the bass still
thumping, I opened YouTube and
cued up the video.
For two minutes, I watched
Burke put on a clinic. He drains
contested threes and scores in the
lane over defenders eight inches
taller than him. And as elusive as
he is with the ball in his hands, he
still knows when to dish to an open
teammate. It's all very impres-
sive. But I was just about ready to
dismiss it as another recruiting
video that strategically highlights
a player's strengths and never his
flaws.
Then, the final clip floored me.
A defender picks up Burke at
half court, where he dribbles left
to right. Trying to beat the press,
Burke turns on the jets, but his
opponent sticks with him nicely.
Then, ina maneuver I wasn't
aware was physically possible
without shredding an MCL, Burke
plants his right foot and stops on
a dime. His defender, meanwhile,
hits the deck - he wanted to stop
with Burke, but his ankles gave out
instead.
As Burke calmly pulls up to
bury a 3-pointer at the buzzer, my
friends and I exploded in our best
impressions of those Andl Mix-
tape audiences from back in the
day (OHHHHHH HOWDID HE -
THAT WAS COLD-BLOODED).
Seriously. Go watch the video.
The clip comes at 2:27.
Bottom line: this kid can ball.
Inexperience aside, it's fair to label
Burke the most athletic player on
the Wolverines' roster - he may
very well be the best athlete Mich-
igan coach John Beilein has ever
recruited. And whatever he lacks
in height, he makes up for with
quickness and agility.
Ignore the coach-speak. Beilein
says he won't name Darius Mor-
ris's replacement at point guard
until after the exhibition matchup
with Wayne State on Friday. He
claims that senior co-captain Stu
Douglass is havingthe best fall
practices of his career, and Burke's
freshman cohort Carlton Brun-
didge knows how to score the bas-
ketball very well.
Granted, he's probably not
lying. Douglass and Brundidge
are solid guards that fit Beilein's
offense beautifully. But Douglass
is a combo guard who's best suited
as a shooter off the bench, and
Brundidge is a tad behind Burke in
his development and would ben-
efit tremendously from a redshirt
year, or at least a year with limited
minutes.
I sat down with Beilein last
Thursday at Big Ten Media Day
and busted his chops one last time
before leaving the ballroom. I told
him I knew he's just hiding his
cards from his conference coun-
terparts - that everyone believes
Burke is getting the nod. He
chuckled and reminded me that
when he was coaching his own son
at West Virginia, Patrick Beilein
only had two career starts.
Good point. Kind of. I guess he
was illustratingthat he doesn't
always do what people expect. But
I don't buy it.
Upperclassmen at Michigan
understand the pains of having a
freshman trying to run Beilein's
intricate offense. We watched
Morris's futile attempts a couple
years ago. It was ugly. His whole
season was a disappointment. And
until he blossomed in his sopho-
more season, we were all readyto
dismiss Morris as a lost cause.
So why make the same mistake
with Burke?
Because in some ways, Burke
provides an offensive attack that
Morris never could. The kid shot
3-pointers at a 47-percent clip (!) in
his senior season. Morris knocked
down just 25 percent of his triples
last year, and that was always con-
sidered his weakness.
Opponents tell you the hardest
part of defending Beilein's offense
is that he spreads the floor incred-
ibly well. His guards can shoot
from the perimeter, which consis-
tently keeps defenders honest and
out of the paint.
But when Morris ran the point,
defenses were able to sag off of
him and clogthe lane because they
knew he wasn't going to pull up to
shoot.
Big Ten coaches are terrified
at the prospect of Beilein having
a natural shooter at the top of the
key. His starting five - or at least
what I believe his starting five will
be - will consist of four deadly
shooters. Burke will bringthe ball
up and see Zack Novak (42 percent
from 3-point range in conference
play last season), Tim Hardaway
Jr. (44 percent), Evan Smotrycz
(36 percent) and center Jordan
Morgan.
And those guys aren't just
shooting specialists. They all know
how to get to the hoop when the
situation calls for it.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is
particularly frightened.
"The interesting thing for me is
the seeming obsession with Mor-
ris's departure," McCaffery said
Thursday. "That's one guy. Hard-
away is a pro, Morgan is a beast
and they've got like 100 guys that
could shoot threes and spread you
out.
"And you've got a great point
guard, who may actually - I don't
want to say he's better (than Mor-
ris) yet, but he definitely shoots it
better."
Beilein - you're not fooling any-
one. Burke's a youngster, and we'll
all have to get over the inevitable
growing pains that come with hav-
ing a freshman floor general in the
Big Ten.
But Burke is your guy. And your
opponents are afraid - very, very
afraid.
-Pasch will be quite
embarrassed if Burke is not named
the starting point guard. He can
be reached at LPasch@umich.
edu or on Twitter @LucasPasch
Young frontcourt bulks up, looks to take step forward
By NEAL ROTHSCHILD
Daily Sports Editor
If "bigger, faster, stronger" is
the goal, then the Michigan bas-
ketball team's frontcourt took care
of the "bigger" and "stronger"
parts this summer.
Four of Michigan's big men are
coming off their first year of expe-
rience and used the offseason as
an opportunity to bulk up, prepar-
ing to bang with the biggest of the
Big Ten this season.
Sophomore forwards Jon Hor-
ford and Evan Smotrycz, in par-
ticular, return to the renovated
Crisler Arena with more than just
the lessons from last season.
Horford, now 250 pounds,
came back 28 pounds heavier than
he was when the Wolverines fell
to Duke in the round of 32 of the
NCAA Tournament in March.
Smotrycz, now 235 pounds,
brought back 36 pounds to Ann
Arbor - thanks to some steak,
broccoli and cheese casserole and
vanilla cake with chocolate frost-
ing.
"(Strength and conditioning)
coach (Jon) Sanderson put a plan
together for me," Smotrycz said.
"My mom was cooking; all my
favorite stuff, I was working out
six days a week. I think that all
came together and I put it all on."
Michigan also returns its lead-
ing low-post scorer and rebounder
in redshirt sophomore Jordan
Morgan, as well as sophomore
Colton Christian and junior Blake
McLimans. Six-foot-eight fresh-
man Max Bielfeldt will also con-
tribute some size. Morgan will
likely start alongside Smotrycz,
with Horford seeing significant
minutes.
Assistant coach Bacari Alexan-
der said he is excited about what
Horford's and Smotrycz's weight
gains can add on the offensive end
and on the glass.
"You look at a person's ability
to rebound the basketball when
you talk about added strength,"
Alexander said.
"I think adding that dimen-
sion, you get a guy that becomes a
statsheet stuffer."
Alexander said that Smotrycz's
added weight also allows him to
initiate and welcome contact, yet
he still has the chance to knock
down shots.
As for Horford, Alexander said
he hasn't seen a body transforma-
tion over an offseason like that of
the 6-foot-9 sophomore.
An area Michigan's big men
will need to improve on is their
rebounding. Last year, guard Zack
Novak led the team in rebound-
ing and Morgan was the only
big man in the top five. Morgan
pulled down 5.4 boards per game
last year, and the next highest
totals from the post players were
Smotrycz's 2.3 and Horford's 2.0.
"We need to grab a lot more
rebounds, and it's probably one
of my main goals to help out with
the rebounding and do the dirty
work," Horford said. "Novak's a
good rebounder, especially for
his size, but it's definitely time for
a big man to step up and lead the
team in rebounding."
And with at least a year of expe-
rience under the belt of all the post
players except Bielfeldt, Michigan
can expect more fluidity, as the
guys know the offense and can be
more comfortable in it.
Whereas Ohio State, Wiscon-
sin, and Purdue all lost a promi-
nent post presence to graduation,
the lack of moving parts for the
Wolverines could be a distinct
advantage, especially at the begin-
ning of conference play.
Although the year of experience
should help the frontcourt's pro-
gression, the absence of a bonafide
point guard could hurt. Last year,
then-sophomore Darius Morris,
who left school early for the NBA,
was able to create opportunities.
off the dribble and get the big men
easy points with dump offs and
pick-and-rolls.
But the new point guard -
whether it's senior co-captain Stu
Douglass or freshmen Trey Burke
or Carlton Brundidge - won't
have the physical presence that
Morris had.
"One of the things that Darius's
length allowed is him to see a lot
of people that others can't see,"
said Michigan coach John Beilein.
"For our guards right now, Stu,
Trey and Carlton, that is a chal-
lenge because they're not as tall.
But they do have very good vision
on the perimeter."
A rapport with the point guards
can come with time, size cannot.
And that could pose a "big" prob-
lem for opponents.
_gw..
6B ( Tipoff - November 1, 2011
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