The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, November 3, 2011 - 7A
Wolverines look
to finish strong
Michigan coach John Beilein has been going up against legendary coaches Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) and Billy Donovan (Florida) in recruiting Mitch McGary.
McGary sweepstakes ending
Nation's No. 2
recruit to pick
between Michigan,
Duke and Florida
By DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan basketball sea-
son starts on Friday with an
exhibition against Wayne State,
but the program's most impor-
tant day of the week is Thurs-
day, That's when the nation's No.
2 recruit, Mitch McGary, will
decide between Michigan, Duke
and Florida.
It has been widely reported
that McGary's decision has
come down to a battle between
the Wolverines and Blue Devils,
with reports from ESPN.com and
Scout.com indicating that Michi-
gan is the front-runner.
McGary is ranked No. 2 by
both ESPN.com and Scout.com.
Though Rivals.com ranks him
as its No. 3 player, all three sites
agree that the 6-foot-S10 McGary
is the nation's top big man.
McGary would undoubtedly be
Michigan's most important bas-
ketball signee since top-ranked
Chris Webber in 1991, and the
biggest name to arrive on campus
since running back Sam McGuff-
ie joined the football program
in 2008. The Wolverines aren't
used to out-recruiting Duke or
Florida, who've combined to
win three of the last six national
championships. But McGary's
AAU coach and mentor Wayne
Brumm says that hasn't hurt
Michigan's chances.
"I don't see where that would
be a detriment," Brumm told The
Michigan Daily on Monday. "In
other words, if the person wants
to go through the recruiting pro-
cess as a fan, that's one thing: So
everybody loves the Yankees,
everybody used to love the Dal-
las Cowboys and everybody loves
the big names in college basket-
ball, so if you want to be a fan,
that's one thing.
"If you're informed and you
really do your research, you do
digging and you get to under-
stand the interworkings and
what's important, I don't think
that would keep Michigan from
competing against those kind
of teams or those kind of pro-
grams."
Brumm specifically had high
praise for Michigan coach John
Beilein and his staff.
"I think the strength' of the
staff would be a plus," Brumm
said. "They seem to have a very
good chemistry amongst the
staff, not only the team, but even
the staff. They seem to be highly
qualified, and of course Beilein
has tremendous integrity and
character, so to have a player
tutored by somebody like that, I
think it makes sense."
McGary currently attends
Brewster Academy, a prep school
in New Hampshire that sent
seven players to Division-I pro-
grams last year. He hails from
Chesterton, Ind., home of Michi-
gan senior guard Zack Novak.
McGary played primarily on
Chesterton's JV squad during
Novak's senior season but prac-
ticed alongside Novak and the
varsity team. According to Ches-
terton head coach Tom Peller, the
two are friendly, which is why
Novak was the logical choice to
host McGary on his official visit
to Michigan earlier this fall.
"When (McGary) came by in
the summer - and Zack always
comes by in the summer - they
got to be talking to each other
and there's a relationship there,"
Peller said. "They were on the
same team in a couple of pick-up
games and open gyms (through-
out the summer)."
McGary's connection to the
Wolverines doesn't end there. He
is the AAU teammate of incom-
ing freshman forward Glen Rob-
inson III - ranked No. 38 in the
country by Scout.com - who has
already committed to Michigan.
Unlike in football, where
recruits are restricted from sign-
ing binding letters of intent until
February, basketball recruits
have an early signing period
beginning on Nov. 9, which is
when McGary has indicated he
will sign.
"I think he's enjoyed his sta-
tus of being recognized as one of
the top basketball players in the
country," Brumm said. "I think
he's burned out a little bit of the
recruiting process because it
just gets old after a little while.
Everybody's saying, 'We love
you. We want you. We want you
to come here, you'll be a differ-
ence-maker.' You can only hear
that so many times. So he's bored
with the recruiting process."
At 250 pounds, McGary has
the size and tools to make his
presence felt immediately. His
offensive game is played pri-
marily with his face to the bas-
ket, which fits in perfectly with
Beilein's high-post offense.
McGary has an excellent mid-
range game and the ability to
knock down3-pointers. Givenhis
size and position, he is a remark-
ably talented ball-handler.
With his exceptional strength,
McGary already has the body to
outmuscle Big Ten post players
for rebounds and position.
"If he were to end up in the
Big Ten, he would be a huge suc-
cess, just a huge success," said
Brumm, who coached Purdue's
Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun
Moore. "I've seen him do things
with the ball that I've had point
guards not be able to do. He runs
- he outruns guards. I've seen.
him shoot the ball as well as any-
body.
"There's not another 6-(foot)-
10 kid that can handle him out
there, because he's going to blow
right by you, he's going to go
through you, he's going to shoot
it over you, but he can also post
you up and score inside. That's
what makes him unique. That's
what makes him special. That's
why he's No. 2 in the country."
McGary will make his deci-
sion public at 5 p.m. Thursday on
ESPNU's Recruiting Nation.
By SAMANTHA PEARSON
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's soccer
team hasn't given up hope just
yet.
Looking at the Wolverines'
record (1-4 Big Ten, 5-12 overall),
it's apparent they haven't had the
season they had expected. But
what the record doesn't show is
how close those losses have been.
Ten of those games were one-
goal losses, and six games went
into overtime.
"Our record is not reflective
of how good we actually are,"
said senior captain Adam Shaw.
"Those one-score losses are a
sign that we can compete with
any team."
The Wolverines have strug-
gled since winning last year's Big
Ten Championship and qualify-
ing for the NCAA College Cup in
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Four players from last season
traded in their maize and blue
jerseys to go professional after
last season, taking away over 95
percent of the team's goal scor-
ing.
With the lack of scoring this
season, Michigan has looked to
strengthen its counterattacking.
This tactic proved effective two
weeks ago in a 1-0 overtime vic-
tory against then-No. 4 Akron.
Junior midfielder Latif Alashe's
game-winning goal in that game
was one of just seven tallies that
the Zips had allowed all season
to that point.
"Anytime you play a team that
you think is better, you play more
conservatively," said Michigan
coach Steve Burns. "We made it
difficult for Akron because we
would counterattack."
Added Shaw: "We had to
change the way we were possess-
ing the ball. Counterattacks were
necessary to beat them."
Even after the thrilling win
against Akron, Michigan's diffi-
culties continued when it lost by
one goal to San Diego and Michi-
gan State.
With one game left in the reg-
ular season, the Wolverines will
look to prove themselves against
Northwestern at home on Satur-
day.
"When I think about beat-
ing teams, I think about playing
to the best of your ability both
physically and mentally," Shaw
said. "Tactics do play a part, but
attitude is more important."
Putting the last two games
behind them, the Wolverines
look to use the confidence from
the Akron game to help the Wol-
verines put an end to Northwest-
ern's eight-game winning streak.
Northwestern is the only unde-
feated team left in the Big Ten.
Burns described the Wildcats'
play as "statistical soccer" and
said he would not be surprised if
it was another 1-0 game.
"Tactics do
play a part, but
attitude is more
important."
"Northwestern is very good
at counterattacking," Burns
said. "Fans who come and watch
can expect it to be a very tacti-
cal game, and our counterat-
tacks will need to be our main
strength."
The Wolverines, who are
locked in at the sixth position in
the conference, will also look to
use this game as preparation for
the Big Ten Tournament, which
will be held Nov. 9-13 in Ann
Arbor. Despite the disappointing
season so far, Michigan still has a
chance to reclaim last year's title.
"In the Big Ten, there are no
easy games, and it is really wide
open right now," said Burns.
"I wouldn't be surprised if No.
7-seeded Penn State ends up
playing in the final."
.Added Shaw' "We are going
to play the rest of the season
with an attitude of no tomorrow.
Everything is on the line now,
and we are prepared to put our
game plan in."
Vaughan rehabbing with Michigan at Yost
By EVERETT COOK
Daily Sports Writer
The last few practices at Yost
Ice Arena would have looked a
little odd to Michigan hockey
fans familiar with the 2010-11
team.
Seniors Shawn Hunwick and
Greg Pateryn have been work-
ing alongside the familiar face of
Scooter Vaughan, fine tuning the
game plan for Western Michi-
gan.
But 2010, this is not.
When Vaughan finishes up a
drill, freshman forward Phil Di
Giuseppe skates over and replac-
es him.
Vaughan, who graduated
last semester, has been practic-
ing with No. 3 Michigan (2-1-1
CCHA, 6-1-1 overall) for the last
three weeks. He has been rehab-
bing a broken arm sustained in
the San Jose Sharks' training
camp, trying to stay fresh to play
professionally this season.
Vaughan was cut from the
Sharks after the injury, but will
be playing in the East Coast
Hockey League (ECHL) for the
Wheeling (W.V.) Nailers.
Michigan coach Red Beren-
son was happy to have him back,
as he is with most of his former
Wolverines.
It says something about a pro-
gram when a former player is
welcomed back into Yost - when
players talk about the "Michigan
family," they really aren't kid-
ding.
"They know that we are proud
of them and we care about them
after they leave," Berenson said.
fl-H,,
Former Michigan forward Scooter Vaughan leaves Ann Arbor on Monday to join the Wheeling Nailers in West Virginia.
"We can't do everything for
them, but at least we can help
them with the next step."
Even though Vaughan isn't
exactly a grizzled old man at 22
- Hunwick is 24 - he has sig-
nificantly more experience than
much of the roster, namely the
eight freshmen.
Vaughan imparted some wis-
dom on the younger players, as
much as someone who graduated
six months ago is able to. But he
has also seen why the team has
had success early this season.
"They are a good bunch of
guys," Vaughan said. "They seem
to really like each other and
spend a lot of time together away
from the rink."
Vaughan's presence around
practice, though, begs the ques-
tion of comfort. Is it weird to be
at your old digs, with so many
new faces?
"It's very weird - it's not my
team anymore," Vaughan said.
"I would love nothing more than
to have another year under my
belt and be able to play in Yost
with all the guys but my time is
done. I had my four years and it
was fun while I was here but it's
time to move on. It's nice to be
back. They treat their ex-players
well."
With Michigan suffering sev-
eral injuries, Vaughan has filled
a void on one of Michigan's five
lines in practice, so the last few
weeks have helpedboth Vaughan
and Michigan.
Vaughan will be leaving for
the ECHL on Monday, looking
to extend his career in West Vir-
ginia. His last few weeks in Ann
Arbor could only have helped.
"I think it's been good for him,
kept him fresh and kept him
skating," Berenson said. "The
players at the next level don't
skate any better than our play-
ers. He just needs a chance to get
in the game.
"I think he could play a game
in the NHL and not be out of
place. But it doesn't matter what
I think, it's what someone else
thinks and what someone else
needs."