8A - Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
8A - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
here's the mercy rule?
Michigan soars in
exhibition against
tiny Concordia
By DANIEL WASSERMAN
Daily Sports Editor
At 7:03 on Tuesday night, the
Michigan men's basketball team
finally laid last year's Final Four
squad to rest - unofficially at
least.
The Wolverines won the exhi-
bition's opening tip - and every-
thingelse - inal17-44 shellacking
over Concordia of the NAIA.
"Offensively, we knew things
were going to come for us," said
sophomore guard Nik Stauskas.
"It was a lot of fun out there. It
feels like a CONCORDIA 44
year since MICHIGAN 117
that Louis-
ville game, so just to get back out
there...it was just a great feeling."
For the second time in as many
years, sophomore Spike Albrecht
was the starting point guard in
Michigan's exhibition opener. But
unlike last season, when he was
merely a fill-in for the suspended
Trey Burke, fans got a real taste of
the Wolverines' backcourt - or at
least as much as their Washtenaw-
county neighbors could-muster.
Freshman point guard Derrick
Walton Jr. - Burke's replacement
- made his unofficial collegiate
debut, doling out two assists in his
first stint on the floor after check-
ing in at the 16:27 mark of the first
half. The freshman finished with
11 points and four assists, but it
was a trio of sophomores that cap-
tured the night's spotlight.
Stauskas scored 12 first-half
points - at one point outscoring
ished an easytransition layup and
then turned his own steal on the
ensuing possession into another
finger roll.
"It's exciting to get the jitters
out, the pregame jitters," Walton
said. "Going out there and making
those plays just boosted my confi-
dence going forward."
Robinson and LeVert closed
the half with a pair of monstrous
slams. Robinson then picked up
right where he left off, opening his
20-point second half with a pair
rim-rockers separated by just 20
secondsofeach other.
Even with the contest easily in
hand, Michigan left, its starters
and significant contributors in
the lineup until the game's clos-
ing minutes, giving the program
one of its most lopsided victories
(unofficially) of all time. Michigan
coach John Beilein waited until
the final official timeout to insert
his trio of freshmen walk-ons.
The Wolverines shot 81.5 per-
cent from the field in the first
half, and finished the game with
a 65.1-percent mark. And though
the crooked numbers probably
say more about Concordia's defi-
ciencies than Michigan's offense,
Beilein was pleased with his
team's decision making - a factor
he stressed can be independent of
the opponent.
The Wolverines' 26 assists a
sign of the team's unselfishness
and willingness to pass up a good
look - which it had plenty of - for
a better one. The headman was
even pleased with the missed field
goals he saw.
"It's a great selling point for our
team thatyouscore over100 points
and I can recall two or three shots
that I have to go talk to somebody
that,you know, wecouldgetbetter
than that," Beilein said.
TODD NEEDLE/Daily TODD NEEDLE/Daily
Sophomore guard Nik Stauskas outscored the Cardinals for part of the first half. Sophomore forward Glenn Robinson 111 led all scorers with 33 points Tuesday,
the Cardinals by himself, 12-9.
Guard Caris LeVert picked up
where Stauskas left off, racking up
a game-high 14 first-half points.
Proving that he can be more than
just a defensive specialist off the
bench, LeVert flashed athleticism
that he simply didn't have last sea-
son, driving through the lane with
authority while also displaying
impressive touch from inside and
outside the arc.
Meanwhile, forward Glenn
Robinson III put on an all-star
weekend-esque clinic, winning
the night's dunk and 3-point
shooting contests. The forward's '
athleticism was always there, but
after blowing away players and
coaches in preseason practices,
he publicly revealed a smooth
jump shot that could make him
one of the most dangerous, well-
rounded players in the country.
Robinson led all scorers with 33
points, knocking down four of his
six long-range attempts. While
his dunks will make the highlight
reels, his efficient mid-range mark
and improved ball handling -
which resulted in terrifying drives
to the basket - will encourage the
Michigan coaching staff the most.
"If they keep finding me open,
I'm going to keep knocking down
the shots," Robinson said. "I've
just got to keep getting reps up and
keep doing what I do."
Concordia kept the game close
in the first seven minutes, but
after Michigan's lead was reduced
to five, last season's national run-
ner-up took control. The Wolver-
ines scored the next 19 points to
pull away, and closed the half on a
46-10 run to take a 60-19 lead into
the break.
Much of the run came with Wal-
ton quarterbacking the offense.
With such dangerous weapons
spread across the floor, Walton
described his situation as a "point
guard's dream," but at times, he
did much of the work on his own.
In a consecutive sequence, he
knocked down a 3-pointer, fin-
LEVERT
From Page 6A
looked confident and relaxed.
Using a crossover and his tall,
lanky frame, LeVert was able to
weave through traffic on several
occasions in the first half. To put
an exclamation mark on his per-
fect 6-for-6 shooting display for 14
points in the first stanza, LeVert
took a fast-break pass from Staus-
kas with less than 10 seconds left
and hammered home a furious
dunk to cap off Michigan's 46-10
run to end the half
Playingeight minutes inthesec-
ond half, LeVert racked up eight
assists to complete a double-dou-
ble of 16 points and 10 assists. In
comparison, the Wolverines' two
designated point guards, sopho-
more Spike Albrecht and Walton,
combined for eight assists.
But LeVert didn't even know he
had that many. He was just happy
to be making an impact for his
team.
"I don't remember having
any of the assists," LeVert said.
"They did a great job -our team
of knocking down shots. I really
didn't even know until I came out
of the game."
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