The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 7A

Michigan looks to
prove itself on road

ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Michigan coach Red Berenson tried out for the Michigan baseball team during his time in Ann Arbor. The catcher position was filled, instead, by Bill Freehan.
Red Berenson and baseball

By EVERETT COOK
Daily Sports Editor
The question is floated by a
Cleveland Indians representa-
tive.
He wants to know if any
Michigan hockey players have
any baseball experience - some-
thing that wouldn't be relevant
if the Wolverines hadn't just fin-
ished an outdoor hockey game
on ice that stretched from home
plate to shallow right field.
Seniors Greg Pateryn and
David Wohlberg give cour-
tesy chuckles, but refer back
to the glory days of T-ball for
their baseball experience. Then
Michigan coach Red Berenson,
the 72-year-old hockey legend,
throws out a story that is truly
from left field.
After Berenson's freshman
year of hockey at Michigan, he
and two other teammates want-
ed to try out for the baseball
team. How in the world Beren-
son learned how to play baseball
in the 1950s while growing up
in Regina, Saskatchewan isn't
exactly clear, but apparently the
man could hold his own on the
diamond.
His leg strength from hockey
made him a perfect candidate to
play catcher, which is what he
intended to do after hockey sea-
son in Ann Arbor.
The baseball team used to
practice in Yost - back when it
was the Field House - so before
the "Red Baron" became a main-
stay on the bench at Yost Ice

Arena, he made hi
Field House to ti
the Michigan bas
He arrived at pi
promptly turned
gan didn't need a:
No big deal, rigl
could this other!
out the man bl
son's path was Bil
set the all-time B
average in 1961 w
.585. Freehan wet
seasons for the I
where he was a
Star and a four-ti
winner. Not
too shabby of a
career.
In 1968,
Freehan won
a World Series
against the St.
Louis Cardi-
nals, the same
year Beren-
son scored six
goals for the
St. Louis Blues.
The two career
again in the 1980
son and Freehar
Michigan to coact
hockey and Freeh
Both careers seem
in the end.
But in this day a
lete could nevert
Berenson did back
basically be imp
cially for a sport l
can last for up to e
the year.
In Berenson's d

s way into Yost to actually stick to the season
ry and play on - fall, winter and spring - so
eball team. plenty of athletes were able to
ractice and was play more than one sport. Now,
away - Michi- the Michigan hockey team starts
nother catcher. practice in early September and
lht? How good runs until as late as April. Even
guy be? Turns if you wanted to do more than
ocking Beren- one sport, there are only so many
1 Freehan, who days in the year.
ig Ten batting But Berenson believes the
ith a whopping specialization of athletes starts
nt on to play 15 much earlier than when they
Detroit Tigers, arrive at college.
n 11-time All- "The sad thing is, even if you
me Gold Glove are a two- or a three-sport ath-
lete, you get
discouraged
at a young age
"He just never because each
sport takes up
ceases to amaze so much time
now," Beren-
Us w th the son said. "It's
hard to see
stuff he says." any of our
guys do that -
most of them
get discour-
rs overlapped aged. Even I would tell a kid, if
s, when Beren- he was a real hockey prospect, I
n returned to would tell him to get out of foot-
h, Berenson for ball or another sport as soon as
an for baseball. you can because you don't want
ted to work out to mess up your knees or shoul-
ders or whatever."
and age, an ath- Multiple sport athletes are
try to do what all over the Michigan roster -
then. It would senior Luke Glendening and
rossible, espe- junior Chris Brown played foot-
ike hockey that ball in high school, and Pateryn
ight months of almost played lacrosse at Cor-

lacrosse and hockey have, it's
not surprising that Pateryn still
values the lessons he learned in
high school.
"It was a good way to stay in
shape in the off-season, and you
actually pick up some stuff about
hockey, I thought," Pateryn said.
"You always had to keep your
head up because you couldn't be
looking at your stick, so it helped
with that aspect."
The last Wolverine hockey
player to play two sports at
Michigan was Matt Herr, who
was a captain on the 1997-98
squad and also played baseball.
Herr was drafted in both sports,
which is the big reason Beren-
son allowed him to do both. He
ended up playing for parts of
four seasons in the NHL.
But he was the last Wolver-
ine to do it, 14 years ago, and the
throwback story Berenson tells
is one that won't be repeated
anytime soon.
Back at the press conference,
Pateryn and Wohlberg chuckle
about Berenson's story.
They don't chuckle because
they don't believe Berenson -
they chuckle because they do
believe him.
"I think we laughed because
we weren't really surprised that
he said something like that,"
Pateryn said. "Anything that
comes out of his mouth ... you
couldn't be surprised at all. I
could never see him playing
baseball - especially in Cana-
da - but he just never ceases to
amaze us with the stuff he says."

By MICHAEL LAURILA
Daily Sports Writer
All season, Michigan women's
basketball coach Kevin Borseth
has preached the importance
of defense.
Whether it's
rebounding or Michigan at
blocking out, N'Western
defense has
seemed to be Matchup:
more of a focal N'Weigen t2-b
point than N
offense. When: Thurs-
When the day8 P.M.
Wolverines Where: Welsh-
take on North- Ryan Arena
western at TV/Radio:
Welsh-Ryan MGoBlue.com
Arena in Evan-
ston on Thurs-
day, they will be facing a team
that, according to Wildcats coach
Joe McKeown, centers its defense
around stopping the opposing
teams' top-two scorers every
game.
Focal point or not, the good
news for Michigan is that it has
done a tremendous job offen-
sively of spreading the ball out
among different players this sea-
son. The Wolverines have five
players who average more than
seven points per game as well as
a slew of bench players that also
contribute.
"On any given night, we have
Kate (Thompson) coming off the
bench who scores in double dig-
its, and we have Rachel (Sheffer)
who's a scorer from both inside
and out," said junior guard Jenny
Ryan. "Ifyoujust go down the list,
I don't know if they can key in on
(one player)."
Thompson, a junior forward,
averages 9.8 points per game, and
Sheffer, also a junior forward, is
scoring 13 points per game. The
Wolverines leading scorer, senior
guard Courtney Boylan, averages
13.1 points per game. The floor
general has been the consistent
leader for Michigan, playing 33.2
minutes per game - second only
to Ryan, who averages about a
minute more.
Though Michigan seems to be
in good shape offensively, it has
a difficult task ahead defensively.
Northwestern boasts two of the
best post players in the Big Ten -
junior center Dannielle Diamant
and junior forward KendallHack-
ney. Those two average a com-
bined 31 points and 11 rebounds
per game for the Wildcats.
As the Wolverines' starting
post player, Sheffer will have
the task of guarding this height.
However, she doesn't see it as her
versus them down low.
"Just like any other team, most
BigTen teams have a biggirl down

low," Sheffer said. "We just need
to come together on the defensive
end of the court. We front the post
so it's more of us coming together
than me doing all the work."
Michigan plays both man
defense and zone defense, but
either way, it takes a strong help
defense to stop opposing post
players. This is also because the
Wolverines, lacking a true center,
featurea guard-oriented offense.
Whether it's rebounding or the
imminent battle down low, Mich-
igan will have one other struggle
against Northwestern: playing on
the road. The Wolverines are 8-0
in the trappings of Ann Arbor this
season, but just 4-4 on the road.
Though the Wildcats may not
be a typical Big Ten powerhouse,
Welsh-Ryan Arena can still pose
problems for an away team, evi-
denced by Northwestern's 5-3
home record.
"Northwestern is definitely a
"(Evanston)
is definitely a
different place
to play."
different place to play," Ryan said.
"It's kind of more of an old-school
environment. And just like any
time on the road, you have to cre-
ate energy for yourselves and stay
confident in what you do, and for
better or for worse just stay con-
sistent."
However, Borseth plays down
the effects of road environment
on his team.
"All I think about is the x's
and o's, and the jimmy's and
joes," he said. "More so (at least),
than home court (and) away
stuff."
Even if the Wolverine faith-
ful don't make their way out to
Evanston, one Michigan player
at least will have a cheering sec-
tion on Thursday. Junior forward
Sam Arnold, a native of Medinah,
Ill. said she has "a lot of family
and friends coming, (and) it will
be fun." Medinah is only 45 min-
utes away from Evanston, which
should provide for a nice trip for
the Arnold crew.
The game on Thursday against
Northwestern will be important
for the Wolverines' confidence as
their conference schedule gains
momentum. Considering Michi-
gan's most impressive road win
came on Nov.11 against Florida, it
needs to prove it can win against
formidable foes on the road.

ay, sports used

nell.
With as much crossover as

Hardaway Jr's emotional sobriety

n a 2009 interview with
Sporting News, Ron Artest
made a stunning revelation
that he had a troubling halftime
habit.
"I used to
drink Hen-
nessy ... at
halftime. I
(kept it) in my
locker. I'd just
walk to the i_
liquor store DANIEL
and get it." WASSERMAN
In Ann
Arbor, anoth-
er star has a troubling habit -
sophomore guard Tim Hardaway
Jr. has a tendency to be drunk on
his own emotions before sobering
up at halftime.
Hardaway's half-to-half
change in production has been
well-documented, especially in
big games. None was more nota-
ble than last year, when Michigan
State visited Michigan in the
regular-season finale.
Hardaway was held scoreless
in the first half, as the Spartans
took momentum into halftime
despite trailing. But the Miami
native played perhaps his best
half in a Wolverine uniform,
scoring 20 second-half points to
lead Michigan to a victory - and
a season sweep - over Michigan
State.
His sometimes-inconsistent
play last year can be written off

as freshman struggles, but this
year's struggles are more con-
cerning. Though his point totals
this year are up from last year, his
shooting struggles over the past
month have been, as Charles Bar-
kley would say, "turrible."
In the nine games Michi-
gan has played since a Dec.17
matchup with Alabama A&M,
Hardaway has connected on just
11-of-59 3-pointers, an abomi-
nable 18.6 percent. Frequently,
Hardaway has spent first halves
chucking up out-of-rhythm deep
bombs before being reminded
at halftime to settle down, play
within the offense and attack
the basket, where he can often
score at will. Despite inconsistent
first halves, Hardaway has used
second-half scoring to keep his
point-per-game average above 15.
But despite his own mental
struggles, Hardaway was confi-
dent when asked Monday what he
would tell freshman point guard
Trey Burke in preparation for
Michigan State.
"Just the same advice that I've
been giving to him before every
Big Ten game," Hardaway said.
"This game is going to be bigger
than probably any other game
we've played all season, just
because it's an in-state rivalry
and everyone knows each other
pretty well.
"Just go out there and have
fun and try not to get emotionally

drunk."
But when Tuesday's first half
rolled around, it was Burke who
looked like the veteran everyone
expected Hardaway to be, while
Hardaway was the one who
looked like he was playing under
the influence of the big stage.
While Burke almost single-
handedly gave Michigan a seven-
point halftime lead, Hardaway
was held to just four points and
without a field goal.
At halftime, Artest would turn
to liquor to get his head straight.
Hardaway sought a much sim-
pler option: his teammates and
coaches.
"My teammates did a great job
at halftime," Hardaway said. "(At)
halftime, (senior guards) Corey
Person, Zack Novak, Stu Doug-
lass, they all came up to me and
said, 'That's why it's two halves,'
and, 'You've just got to keep
your head up and turn it around
because it's a long game still.'
"Coach Beilein also (talked) to
me, telling me to, 'Keep (on) a yes
face.'"
So in the opening minute of the
second stanza, Hardaway found
himself with the ball in transition
on a one-on-one. He did what he
does best, soaring to the basket,
clutching in midair before ham-
mering down a one-handed slam.
Within the next several
sequences, he made his presence
felt on defense, drawing two

offensive charges in the paint,
where Michigan State otherwise
seemed to have its way.
Michigan found itself trailing
by three points at the final official
timeout of the game with less
than four minutes remaining, and
the Wolverines would get the ball
out of the break.
The play was drawn up for
Hardaway to get a shot. The
same Hardaway who was shoot-
ing 1-for-7 in the game and who
hadn't scored a point in almost 16
minutes.
Naturally, like he's done in so
many late-game spots, he drilled
it. Moments later, after two Spar-
tan free throws, Hardaway drove
along the baseline and scored on a
layup in traffic.
And just minutes later, Hard-
away and his teammates were
dancing at midcourt.
Hardaway hasn't lived up to
the player he was expected to
be this year. Preseason worriers
that said he might go pro after
the season have gone silent. He's
not even Michigan's best player
anymore.
Hardaway's game - his first
half - need a lot of work. But
even if his emotions still get the
best of him early on, Hardaway
doesn't need any liquid courage to
turn his veins to ice late in games.
Wasserman can be reached
at dwassdumich.edu.

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