The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, December 1, 2011- 7A
Terrapins dominate on the
glass, hand 'M' first defeat
Michigan freshman guard Trey Burke has taken his game to another level since he left the mainland for a Hawaii visit.
Ford calls Burke first-rounder
DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Writer
A year ago, few would've
guessed that byguard Darius Mor-
ris would've generated enough
buzz to even consider entering the
2011 NBA Draft.
But not long after the Michi-
gan men's basketball team's loss
to Duke in the NCAA Tourna-
ment, Morris left the Wolverines.
By the time Morris was drafted
" in the second
round by the NOTEBOOK
Los Ange-
les Lakers, Wolverine fans had
already turned their attention to
Ohio's 2010 Mr. Basketball in Ohio
and the expected future of Michi-
gan basketball, point guard Trey
Burke.
But after the offense struggled
mightily in the Wolverines' first
three games, it looked like Burke
would need another year to grasp
the offense, ala Morris in 2009.
Then the freshman exploded
onto the national scene at the
Maui Invitational, with several
NBA general managers in atten-
dance, along with ESPN NBA
Draft analyst Chad Ford.
And if Ford's impression of
Burke holds up, Michigan may be
sent scrambling for another point
guard replacement next year.
"The more I watch him, the
" more I think, 'I can't see how this
guy doesn't play in the NBA,' "
Ford said in an exclusive inter-
view with The Michigan Daily
in Maui. "(Point guards) who are
going to have the athleticism and
the poise and the court demeanor
- I wouldn't be shocked at all if he
was a first-round pick this year."
Burke, a four-star prospect out
of Columbus, was considered a
late bloomer and until his per-
formance last week on national
television, he had yet to catch
the country's eye. But since visit-
ing Hawaii, Burke has shown a
maturity beyond his years. His
athletic drives to the baskets are
drawing all the attention, but his
most underrated attribute has
been his ball control - he's aver-
aging less than three turnovers
per game.
"I spend the start of my year
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talking to our high school scout-
ing guys about who are the
freshmen to watch, who are one-
and-done candidates - he wasn't
mentioned," Ford said. "He was a
steady kid, not flashy like a lot of
the players can be. I think alot of
the scouting guys ... see that and
they say, 'He's not as good.'
"Well now when you see him
play that way in college, it's all
poise. He's unselfish, he's getting
people involved, he gets his own
shot, but he's not out there just pri-
marily looking for his own shot."
Though this year's draft is
already garnering talk of being
one the most talented, deepest
drafts in several years, Ford is
quick to point out that it's lacking
quality point guards, opening the
door for Burke.
"These sorts of players, pure
point guards like him, are one of
the hardest commodities to find
in the NBA," Ford said. "The thing
that I think is hard for people to
get their arms around about the
NBA Draft - because it's so differ-
ent than the NFL Draft - there's
five or six guys in a really good
draft that are going to be major
impact players on their team....
What you're really asking for most
of these guys is, can they be a rota-
tion player off the bench?
"One of the NBA GMs said to
me, 'Well look, think of the 30"
backup point guards in the NBA
and then look at him and what he
does and say, 'Could he do that?'
And I think the answer is yeah."
MORRIS MISTAKEN?: Last
year's draft was considered rela-
tively weak, giving Morris the
needed assurance that he'd be
a first-round selection if he left
Michigan. So when the Los Ange-
les native wasn't picked until
the second round - albeit by his
hometown favorite Lakers - fans
called Morris's decision a mistake.
Even Ford, who Morris sought
out for advice before declaring
for the draft, was surprised that
the guard left after his sophomore
year.
"He knew he was a borderline
first-round pick," Ford said. "I
think that he was getting some
bad information. Whenever you
have, in one ear, bad information
- but it's what you want to hear
- you tend to discount the good
information and go with the bad."
While the talk in Ann Arbor has
shifted to Burke, it could've been
Morris taking advantage of this
year's weak point guard class.
Had Morris come back this year
with improved shooting ability
and another year of coaching, his
stock would've risen considerably.
"I think myself, along with
a number of other people, were
pretty honest with him about
where (he was) and where he
could be if he went back to school
another year," Ford said. "There's
almost no point guards in this
draft. I think he would've went
considerably higher. I think we'd
be talking about Darius Morris
right now as a mid-first rounder,
maybe late-lottery pick."
Though he lost out on his
chance to be a first-rounder - and
the significant accompanying pay
raise - Ford won't call it a mis-
take.
"I hate to say that (was a mis-
take) because this is these guys'
dream," Ford said. "He got drafted
by the Lakers. He gets to play for
the Lakers and he's going to make
a ton of money. I'm not sure that
you ever characterize that as a
mistake."
MITCH OR MASON?: Incoming
f-eshman forward Mitch McGary,
ESPN.com's No. 2 recruit in the
country, has elevated Michigan
into the discussion of Final Four
contenders next year.
But because he went to prep
school for two years instead of
graduating high school on time,
he'd technically be eligible for
the upcoming NBA Draft.
"There was a lot of talk about
him flirting with coming to the
NBA," Ford said. "Obviously, it's
about athleticism and motor for
him.
"Whenever you get a player
with that size, that motor and the
athletic ability, that's a huge get
at the college level."
Ford compared McGary to
current Duke forward Mason
Plumlee. Plumlee was highly
recruited out of high school, but
the Blue Devil hasn't lived up to
expectations.
EMILY O'DONNELL
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan women's basket-
ball coach Kevin Borseth should
have knocked on wood before
commenting on the Wolverines'
outstanding rebounding ability.
Earlier this week, Borseth
said that Michigan (7-1) boxes
out its competitors with ease.
But against
No. 16 MICHIGAN 65
Maryland MARYLAND 74
(8-0), the
Wolverines were the ones boxed
out, and they fell to the Terra-
pins, 74-65.
"Rebounds really hurt us in
this game," said senior guard
Carmen Reynolds. "We reverted
back to our old ways."
Rebounds and transitions
caused the loss, as Michigan was
unable to keep up with Mary-
land's fast-acting offense and
quick reflexes on the boards.
"They had 51 rebounds, which
is over the top," Borseth. "That's
like a 36 ACT score. We couldn't
keep them off the glass."
But the Wolverines knew
it would be difficult to go up
against Maryland.
The Terrapins average 85
points per game and Michigan
averages 55, so Borseth devised a
plan to make up for the 30-point
difference. First, the Wolverines
would attempt to take 20 points
by stopping the Terrapins in
transition, and they would gain
10 points by outrebounding
them.
The plan worked in the first
half, as the Wolverines were able
to hold the Terrapins and the
score was tied at the half, 36-36.
But Maryland regrouped in the
second half and pulled away in
the last five minutes.
"Down to the five-minute
mark we were right there and
we got stuck on 59," Borseth
said. "They turned the defense
up at the five-minute mark and it
got really physical at that point.
They were a little more physical
than we were down the stretch."'
While Maryland had a leg up
on Michigan in athleticism, it
also had star sophomore forward
Alyssa Thomas, who scored 24
Senior Courtney Boylan, who has been a force on offense this season, scored
17 points in Michigan's loss last night.
points
Of her
in the
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01
battled
Seni
led th
points,
the fiel
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cute,"
to gett
and had nine rebounds. was able to take it to the basket
24 points, 19 were scored so I think that's.definitely key."
game's first half. Added Borseth: "She had a lot
u can see how good (Mary- of burden on her shoulders, but
is," Borseth said. "They she did a pretty good job for the
team."
Reynolds was also an asset
for the Wolverines, scoring
they had 51 15 points. Junior guard Jenny
Ryan led Michigan with seven
ebounds.... rebounds.
Michigan's first loss of the
at's like a 36 season came in its first real test,
,,T a task of the type of competition
Sthe ACT." Big Ten play will bring.
Coming off the loss, the Wol-
verines know they have a lot of
work to do on the boards and
I the whole way." in transitions. Michigan will
or guard Courtney Boylan have to be more prepared to play
ie Wolverines with 17 against more physical teams, like
shooting 44 percent from on Sunday againstvlowa State.
d. "We have to forget about this
urtney was able to exe- loss and work on our rebound-
Reynolds said. "We look ing," Reynolds said. "We got
ing the ball to her and she close, but we got to move on."
"fr mare infrmatin call 734/615-6449
The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts presents a public lecture and reception
-LSA
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Rackham Amphitheater
4:10pm
I, I