8 -- Tuesday, March 25, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michiganclaily.com
8 - Tuesday, March 25, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
The timeout that sparked 'M'
Taylor, four-star
corner commits
By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE - In the
first series of plays out of the
timeout, the player to rise up
was sophomore forward Glenn
Robinson III.
With the lead at 13 thanks to
the Michigan men's basketball
team's 11th triple of the game
- it finished with 14, a school
record in NCAA Tournament -
it seemed that shots from deep
would keep falling in a game
that was starting to mimic the
seventh-ranked Wolverines'
Elite Eight matchup against
Florida last season.
But after a basket from
sophomore guard Nik Stauskas,
Michigan's lead in the Round of
32 against Texas shrunk to eight.
With the Longhorns
operating a mix of man defense,
a 2-3 zone and a 1-3-1 zone,
Michigan coach John Beilein
called a 30-second timeout with
8:27 left in the game.
In the timeout, Beilein could
have rehashed a few of the
previous possessions, which
resulted in a bevy of offensive
rebounds for Texas, and in
result, missed opportunities for
No. 2-seed Michigan (27-8) to
get the ball out in transition.
Instead, though, Beilein
focused on how to adjust
moving forward.
Pipeline continues
between Ann Arbor
and Virginia
By JASON RUBINSTEIN
Daily Sports Writer
After losing two five-star
recruits, Michigan's 2015
football recruiting class received
a much-needed jolt in the form
of cornerback Garrett Taylor,
Monday afternoon,
Taylor gave the Wolverines
coaching staff its sixth verbal
commitment. The 6-foot-1,
188-pound four-star prospect
chose Michigan over Stanford,
Michigan State, South Carolina
and Tennessee.
Taylor tweeted out his
decision Monday afternoon.
The Richmond, Va. native is
the third defensive back commit
of the 2015 class, joining Shaun
Crawford and Tyree Kinnel,
both four-star commitments.
"Michigan is a great school as
well as agreatfootball program,"
Taylor told Rivals.com. "We saw
all the academic facilities and all
the academic support they have.
They definitely have a good plan
for you to stay on track for all
four years and to graduate."
Three-star offensive lineman
Jon Runyan Jr. and kicker
Andrew David currently round
out the Wolverines' class.
Taylor became new
cornerbacks coach Roy
Manning's first commitment
at his new coaching position.
He also has the physical traits
that defensive coordinator
Greg Mattison covets in his
cornerbacks.
"The coaches there are great,"
Taylor told Rivals.com. "Coach
Mattison is trying to play more
cover 3 and man defense, so he
wants tall, long corners, and
''^LSEM"Aaily
Assistant coach Bacari Alexander helped inspire Michigan during a timeout that changed the course of the game.
I fit that description. I like to
play press-man coverage, so I
definitely like that.
"Coach Manning is my
position coach and recruiting
coordinator. He is a great guy and
I've built a strong relationship
with him."
Taylor has found his success
as an aggressive corner who
can jam receivers at the line
of scrimmage - something
the Wolverines have lacked in
recent years.
The new Michigan commit is
also strong in the run game and
has a knack for making big plays.
"Taylor's a smart kid,"
247Sports' Steve Lorenz said.
"He's usually going to make the
right play or put himself in the
position to make the right play.
"He's a huge pickup."
Taylor's commitment
further strengthens Michigan's
recruiting pipeline to the state
of Virginia. The Wolverines have
snagged two elite prospects from
the state in their last two classes:
freshman quarterback Wilton
Speight and sophomore running
back Derrick Green.
Taylor's commitment should
only grow this trend. The
Wolverines are currently in
the mix for a Virginia prospect
Clelin Ferrell - a four-star
defensive end in the 2015
class - who Lorenz believes
should take notice of Taylor's
commitment.
"This is (Manning's) first big
pull out of Virginia," Lorenz
said. "He's a pretty damn good
recruiter."
With Taylor's commitment,
Michigan is back on track to
welcome what could become a
top-ranked 2015 class.
And as a bonus, the
Wolverines have also secured a
stronghold on one of the nation's
top hotbeds of talent.
of the game late."
In Texas' first possession
out of the break - following
a Wolverines turnover in the
backcourt - Robinson sent
a ball flying out of bounds
as he swatted away Isaiah
"Coach
Beilein set
the tone in
the timeout
of staying in
the moment,"
said assistant
coach Bacari
Alexander.
"You know
'next
possession' was
was said. 'Win t
the things that
thought our g
that. We got b
player move
eventually, we t
Taylor's shot.
Soon after,
Robinson
"You're jUSt pulled up
seeing typical comfortably
for a midrange
Glenn right now" jumper and
then swished
a trey to bring
Michigan's
lead back to 11.
the word that "We encourage Glenn to play
he game' were aggressive every game," said
were said. I sophomore guard Caris LeVert.
uys embraced "He's one of the best players out
all movement, there every night. And we need
ment. And him to play aggressive every
:ook command night for us to win."
Added freshman guard
Derrick Walton Jr.: "He's back
to being his normal self and
taking shots with confidence,
driving the ball with confidence.
You're just seeing typical Glenn
right now."
The break also allowed
Michigan's coaching staff
to remind its players how it
started the contest - playing
eight straight minutes of non-
disruptive basketball that wore
out Texas and its big men.
"When you're sitting there
on the sideline, you know that
it's hard to play for 40 minutes
the way you play the first eight
minutes," said assistant coach
Jeff Meyer. "You know there's
going to be runs made."
As much as the different
zones the Longhorns brought
out and their ability to
offensive rebound in the
second half caused some
errors and confusion among
the Wolverines, the timeout
allowed Michigan to adjust for
the better and regain control for
the rest of the game.
"We decided to go back to
our man-action (offense), which
gave our kids a little bit more
comfort," Meyer said. "Our guys
made shots.
"There was just a comfort
level."
With Robinson leading his
team to victory at the most
important time of the year,
Michigan will need to ride him to
advance further in the Big Dance.
And after scoring 14 points
in each of Michigan's NCAA
Tournament games, it's hard to
forget Michigan's record when
Robinson has reached double-
digits over the past two years:
44-5.
Goree approaches record
By MAX COHEN
Daily SportsEditor
Cyesha Goree acted like it
didn't matter. Michigan coach
Kim Barnes Arico didn't even
know.
After the Michigan women's
basketball team dispatched
Duquesne, 68-52, in the second
round of the WNIT, Goree was
just two rebounds shy of tying
the single-season program
record. After recording11 boards
in the Wolverine victory, the
junior forward has amassed 309,
two fewer than Trish Andrew's
311 in 1993.
When Michigan heads to
Bowling Green for its third-round
game Thursday night, Goree will
undoubtedly break the record.
"No way," Barnes Arico said
in disbelief.
Added Goree: "I really haven't
focused on that. But it's just hard
work. I work really hard, I set
myself up to work hard in the
Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico has led the Wolverines to three consecutive 20-win seasons, a program first.
Wolverines top Dukes
By LEV FACHER the Wolverines 501 combined
Daily Sports Writer assists on the year, an all-time
program record.
The Michigan women's Goree's dominance continued
basketball team's second-round well into the second half, when
WNIT matchup with Duquesne back-to-back 3-point plays
was an pushed Michigan's lead to29 and
odd mix of DUQUESNE 52 her point total to 20.
offensive MICHIGAN 68 "It's all about being foused and
dominance checking in," Goree said. "My
and haplessness, turnovers and teammates really did a good job
assists, and a healthy collection of looking to push in transition
of 3-pointers and airballs. and establish an inside presence,
Whatever it was, it worked - and establish a transition game."
the Wolverines (20-13) advanced The contest had the early
to the tournament's third round makings of a blowout similar
with a 68-52 drubbing of the in proportion to Michigan's
Dukes (20-13) on Monday night 38-point first-round win over
at Crisler Center. Stony Brook. Despite three
Junior forward Cyesha Goree turnovers in the first four
held serve throughout the night, minutes, the Wolverines took
prevented from singlehandedly a commanding 15-5 lead that
matching Duquesne's first-half could easily have been larger if
rebounding and scoring figures not for the turnover epidemic
only by a pair of early personal that had Michigan coach Kim
fouls that confined her to the Barnes Arico on her knees
bench for six minutes. several feet feet onto the court
When Goree was on the floor, begging her players to take
she made her presence felt. better care of the ball.
Her 24 points and 11 rebounds The win gives Michigan three
marked her 13th double-double consecutive 20-win seasons for
of the year, and made her just the first time in program history.
the second player in Michigan "It's very exciting, I'm happy
history to grab more than 300 to be a part of something that's
rebounds in a season. It wasn't rarely done here," said freshman
the only record Goree helped set, guard Siera Thompson, who
either - her mid-first half layup continued her streak of having
off a top-to-bottom lob from made a 3-pointer in each of the
senior forward Val Driscoll gave 33 games she has played for
Michigan, scoring 12 points in
the process.
The outcome was largely
decided in the first half, giving
Barnes Arico the opportunity
to put in several players who
typically don't see game action.
Freshman guard Danielle
Williams made a rare early game
appearance just eight minutes
into the first half, a curious
decision by Barnes Arico given
that the Wolverines' lead stood at
just 10 points.
Michigan's rotation
throughout the regular season
stretched just six deep, with
freshman guard Paige Rakers
getting the occasional call
as the second player off the
bench - she ended up playing
10 minutes on the night. Senior
Kendra Seto and sophomore
Rebecca Lyttle both checked
in at the forward position with
three minutes remaining. Oft-
injured sophomore forward
Kelsey Mitchell made just her
third career appearance shortly
thereafter, scoring the first
points of her career on a pair of
free throws with 27 seconds left.
The Wolverines will take on
Bowling Green on Thursday
night in their first road game of
the tournament, a rematch of
both teams' season opener on
Nov. 8 - the Falcons won that
game, 63-52, on a neutral court.
pArRICi mBRRO/Dai y
Cyesha Gores has 309 rehounds this pear, just two shp of She program mark.
preseason. It's rea
close to achievin
never knew was re
Goree never i
was there befor
because she had
Monday than sh
freshman and so
combined. Last
season, she had
four boards to
go along with
just two in
her freshman
campaign. In
other words,
she has 303
more total rebou
- with games sti
- than she hash:
her career.
Against the
played the way s
vast majority o
controlling the
playing a stabiliz
Wolverine offens
In the first ei
the game, foul t
only thing that co
Duquesne's inter
weren't doing t
recorded six poi
rebounds before
with two fouls w
lly nice that I'm the first half.
g a goal that I "I thought she couldn't be
eally there." stopped," Barnes Arico said. "If
knew the goal Cyesha's playing like that, giving
e this season us an inside presence like that,
more rebounds it's tough to guard us."
he had in her Goree weaved her way to the
phomore years basket whenever she touched
the ball,
moving in
T circles around
"It's just all about her defenders
and seemingly
being focused." getting to
the rim
effortlessly.
Once she got
nds this season there, she didn't miss. Goree
ill to be played went 6-for-6 from the floor in
ad in the rest of the first half.
As the game progressed,
Dukes, Goree Michigan increasingly looked
he has for the to get the ball to Goree inside.
f this season, Though the defenders gave her
glass and less room, it didn't matter. With
ing role for the just under 13 minutes left in the
e. game, Goree had back-to-back
ght minutes of possessions in which she caught
rouble was the the ball inside, maneuvered
uld stop Goree. around her defender, made
rior defenders the layup and drew a foul. On
he job; Goree both occasions, she drained her
nts and seven free throw, and on the second
being pulled trip to the line, she extended
ith 11:53 left in Michigan's lead to a game high
of 31.
Goree started 8-for-8 fromthe
field and didn't miss a field goal
until she was double-teamed late
in the shot clock with 7:11 left in
the game. The misfire didn't halt
her momentum for long. The
forward finished 10-for-12 from
the floor.
With the game long ago a
blowout, Goree retreated to the
bench with three minutes left,
eliciting the loudest applause of
the night. Once the final horn
sounded, the entire team waved
goodbye to the crowd because
it may have been its last game
at Crisler Center this season.
Afterward, Goree led the team
into the tunnel, slapping hands
with everyone in her way, a
fitting end to a night in which
she scored 24 points to go with
her 11 rebounds.
Despite her obvious success,
she continued to downplay her
performance.
"It's just all about being
focused and checking in, that's
all," Goree said.
Goree still has one more
place to check herself into
during her next game, whether
she acts excited about it or not:
the record book.