1 9 S w -w -W MICHIGAN BASCKETBALPREVIEW TIPOFF 2012-13 When John Beilein was hired in 2007, fans questioned whether Daily Men's Basketball Beat he could he could recruit or win on a national level. But after winning a Big Ten title last year, and bringing in a top-10 recruit- Everett Cook, Neal Rothschild ing class, Michigan sits at No. 5 nationally -a serious threat to Colleen Thomas, Daniel Wasserman reach the Final Four in Atlanta. After passing on the NBA Draft, Trey Burke is a preseason All-American, while Glenn Robinson Ill and Tim Hardaway Jr. give the Wolverines an electrictrifying offense. Will the team meet its lofty expectations? Follow the beat on Twitter:@ c k TABLE OF CONTENTS THE ALLEY-OOP: It's the type of play Beilein hoped to com- bat when he designed his 3-point shooting offense. Now that his team can slam, too, expectations have soared. YOUTH REVOLUTION: Beilein has transformed an under- dog system into a powerhouse will all the while staying true to himself and his offense. BREAKDOWN: The success of the Wolverines guard corps will dictate how well Michigan will contend in a talented Big Ten and how far it will go into the postseason. Cover illustration by GABRIELA VASQUEZ, photo by TODD NEEDLE No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Hometown 1 Glenn Robinson Ill F 6-6 210 Fr. St. John, Ind. 2 Spike Albrecht G 5-11 170 Fr. Crown Point, Ind. 3 Trey Burke G 6-0 190 So. Columbus, Ohio 4 Mitch McGary F 6-10 250 Fr. Chesterton, Ind. 5 Eso Akunne G 6-2 225 Sr. Ann Arbor, Mich. 10 Tim Hardaway Jr. G 6-6 205 Jr. Miami, Fla. 11 Nik Stauskas G 6-6 190 rr. Mississauga, Ont. 13 Matt Vogrich G 6-4 200 Sr. Lake Forest, Mich. 15 Jon Horford F 6-10 250 RS So. Grand Ledge, Mich. 20 Josh Bartelstein G 6-3 210 Sr. Highland Park, IlIl. 22 Blake McLimans F 6-10 240 Sr. Hamburg, N.Y. 23 Caris LeVert G 6-5 170 Fr. Pickerington; Ohio 32 Corey Person G 6-3 210 RS Sr. Kalamazoo, Mich. 44 Max Bielfeldt F 6-7 245 RS Fr. Peoria, Ill. 52 Jordan Morgan F 6-8 250 RS Jr: Detroit, Mich. Freshmen guards Spike Albrecht (left) and Nik Stauskas (right) are viable backup options this season and could become fixturesin Michigan coach John Beilein's offense in the near future. STAFF PICKS The Daily basketball writers do their best to predict what will happen in the world of college basketball this season. Everett Neal Colleen Daniel Cook Rothschild- Thomas Wasserman Michigan regular-season record 26-5 25-6 26-5 25-6 Big Ten champion Indiana Ohio State Indiana Indiana Big Ten second place Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan BigTen third place Michigan State Indiana Michigan State Ohio State BigTen Tournament champion Ohio State Indiana Michigan State Indiana Big Ten MVPCody Zeller, Indiana Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State Zeller Tiy Burke, Michigan Big Ten Coach oftthe Year Tom Crean Indiana John Beilein, Michigan Crean Crean BigTen supriseteam Northwestern Wisconsin Illinois Iowa Michigan MVP Tiny Burke Burke Glenn Robinson III Burke National layer of the Year Zeller Thomas Zeller Doug McDermott, Jr., Creighton National Freshman of the year Robinson Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA Nerlens Noel, Kentucky Muhammad. Michigan's season ends here Sweet 16 Final Four Eit Eight Elite Eight NCAA "Bracket Buster" Long Beach State Davidson ...:St. Louis Lehighc NCAA Final Four Indiana Ohio State Indiana Louisville Kentucky UCLA Louisville N.C. State NC State UNLV Kansas Missouri Kansas Michigan Kentucky Indiana Sophomoreguard Trey Burke shirked the NBA draft this spring to return as a he 2C j Tipoff - November15, 2012 40 il "Y.r. 1 .fi aINAW -dliner for Michigan coach John Beilein's 2012-13 roster. ALDEN REISS/Daily TheBlockM - www.theblockm.com 7C