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December 03, 2014 - Image 7

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The Michigan Daily, 2014-12-03

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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

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Wednesday, December 3, 2014-- 7A

W MENCS BASKETBALL
SWolverines edge 'Cuse

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Athletic Director Jim Hackett said he has created "swim lanes" to find Michigan's next coach, but did not reveal names.
Big nameshighlight eM's
replacem-ent for, Hoke

By SIMON KAUFMAN
Daily Sports Writer
All night long, sophomore
guard Spike Albrecht made a
sold-out
Crisler SYRACUSE 65
Center MICHIGAN 68
come to
its feet with crisp passes. But it
wasn't until he knocked down a
deep 3-pointer with 31 seconds
left in the game that the crowd
was cheering its loudest as he
helped Michigan edge Syracuse,
68-65.
Three times prior in the
second half, Albrecht put the
crowd on its feet - and he didn't
even have to score.
Early in the frame, Albrecht
drove to his right and dished
a crisp behind-the-back pass
to forward Ricky Doyle. The
freshman brushed off contact
and finished with a dunk then
knocked down a free throw to
complete the and-1 play, giving
the Wolverines (6-1) the lead.
Nine minutes later, with 7:49
left on the clock, Albrecht found
Doyle again. This time, the
junior guard pushed a bounce
pass to him and the 6-foot-9
forward finished with another
dunk, bringing the Wolverines'
lead to seven points.
Then, with just under two
minutes left and the shot clock
expiring, Albrecht took the ball
from the top .of the are, drove
toward the paint and dished to
the left block where Doyle was
waiting for him again. Doyle
missed the first shot he put up
but tipped in a second-chance
opportunity.
After , the game, Michigan
coach John Beilein said he tells
Albrecht, " 'Spike, shoot when.
you're open. Pass it when you're
not.' It's pretty simple."
Nine times, Albrecht passed
the ball to someone else in a
maize and blue jersey who
finished with a basket, and
eight times he opted to shoot
- knocking down four of those

attempts attempts and three
beyond the arc.
"Spike is really good attacking
the zone, he sees behind the
zone," Beilein said. "He makes
that entry pass into the high-
post area better than anybody,
so that's why we had him out
there so much."
Doyle, after having a breakout
game against Oregon during the
Progressive Legends Classic,
and putting up 15 points on
Saturday against Nicholls State,
finished with another strong
stat line,recording12 points and
six boards.
Syracuse tied the game
with 56 seconds left, and cut
Michigan's lead to only one after
Albrecht's late three, but the
Orange (5-2) were forced to foul,
sending Michigan to the line.
The Wolverines did
everything they could to give
away the game, but Syracuse
couldn't take advantage.
Sophomore guard Derrick
Walton Jr. missed on a 1-and-i
attempt, but the Orange were
unable to regain possession,
throwing a rebound out of
bounds.
Sixsecondslater,juniorguard
Caris LeVert went to the line to
try and ice the game, but he too
missed a 1-and-1 attempt. This
time Syracuse brought the ball
down the court but it couldn't
hold on to it, losing control as
the ball slipped out of bounds.
Following another Syracuse
foul, LeVert went to the line for
a second 1-and-1 attempt and
knocked down two free throws
to put Michigan up three points
- this time for good.
A 3-point attempt from
Syracuse fell short at the
buzzer to give Michigan its
first marquee win of the season.
Albrecht might have captured
most of the attention at the
pointguard position,butWalton
started the game after being
called a game-time decision on
Monday due to a left toe injury.
Be11ienid Walton told him he

was OK to play just 10 minutes
before tip-off and he wanted
to start Walton when he was
stretched out as opposed to
starting Albrecht and bringing
Walton in off the bench.
The two guards shared
minutes throughout the game,
but neither tould get the offense
going in the first half, as it shot
13-of-36 in the first frame.
In the first 20 minutes,
Michigan and Syracuse battled
back and forth with neither
team able to get shots to go. The
Wolverines started the game
0-for-7fromthe field, struggling
to get shots to fall over the
Orange's 2-3 zone defense. But
Syracuse's shooting woes kept
them from running away with it
early. Save for forward Rakeem
Christmas, who shot 5-for-6
from the field in the half, the
Orange went just 6-for-19 in the
frame.
Sophomore forward - Zak
Irvin kept Michigan in the
game throughout the first half,
knocking down two 3-pointers
and scoring 12 points. In the
second stanza, Irvin helped the
Wolverines push the lead to 10
- their largest lead of the game
- with just over seven minutes
to go to give it some breathing
room. He finished with a game-
high18 points.
Michigan's ability to get shots
to fall in the second half and to
start attacking the rim allowed
them to break down Syracuse's
defense.
"We were more aggressive in
the second half," LeVert said.
"In the first half we were kind of
conservative. We weren't really
penetrating to get in the middle
of it. In the second half, (the
ability to penetrate) opened it
up and we knocked down some
shots."
The Orange didn't hold back
at the end, and it used a couple
of late jumpers to cut the lead
and tie it, but sloppy play at the
end ultimately cost them an
onnortunity to get aead.n

By GREG GARNO
ManagingSportsEditor
After Brady Hoke was fired
Tuesday, Michigan Athletic
Director Jim Hackett now
turns to the task of finding his
replacement. He has a later start
than schools such as Florida
and Nebraska, who fired Will
Muschamp and Bo Pelini,
respectively. Muschamp was
fired nearly two weeks ago, and
Pelini was released of his head
coaching duties Sunday.
But what Hackett doesn't have
in time, he has in talent.
Michigan's brand and prestige
don't have the same luster it
did before Rich Rodriguez was
hired, though. How Hackett goes
about his search will, in part,
depend on those willing to take
on the challenge.
The Daily breaks down
potential candidates to become
the Wolverines' next head coach,
in no particular order or rank.
Dan Mullen, head coach,
Mississippi State:
Background: Mullen has led
the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record
this season, having lost only
to Alabama and Ole Miss. He's
46-29 at Mississippi State and has
developed a team that once sat at
the bottom of the SEC West into a
top-10 team nationally, including
a brief stay atop the polls. Prior
to Mississippi State, Mullen was
the offensive coordinator under
Urban Meyer at Florida and
served as a quarterbacks coach at
BGSU and Utah.
Pros and cons: Mullen is young
and he has experience against
big-name programs and in the
postseason. His track record
at turning around a program is
noteworthy, but his record in the
Southeastern Conference isn't
nearly as good.
Could it happen? Mullen will
certainly be pursued, but it will
be tough to convince him to leave
an already successful program
and go back to rebuilding.
Craig Bohl, head coach,
Wyoming:
Background: You probably
haven't heard of Bohl, but
perhaps you heard about the
powerhouse at North Dakota
State. Bohl, who finished 4-8 this
season, is in his first year with
the Cowboys. But he built the
Bison into a formidable program
in 10 years, winning three
consecutive Division I national
championships in his final three
seasons.
Pros and cons: Bohl has built
a program before and knows
how to make the most of less-
heralded players. He'd be more
than willing to take over a big
program and could handle the
transition process well. But he
has never regularly faced a Big
Ten-caliber schedule or played
against other Power 5 opponents.
Could it happen? Michigan
shied away from bringing in a
popular name last time, so it
could do so again if things don't
work out with the bigger names.
But the Wolverines will seek out

a proven name this time before
turning to a backup option. If
Bohl had a couple more years at
Wyomingto findsuccess it would
seem more plausible.
Les Miles, head coach, LSU:
Background: You might
remember Les Miles as the
original choice to replace Rich
Rodriguez in 2010 before Brady
Hoke was hired. Miles is 131-
49 at LSU and Oklahoma State,
holding a 7-5 record in bowl
games. He won the National
Championship in 2007 with LSU.
Pros and cons: Miles played
under Bo Schembechler and has
the experience at a big name
program that fans clamor for.
He has beaten top teams in the
SEC and would bring his strong
recruitinggprowess to Ann Arbor.
Miles is 61, though, and he
wouldn't necessarily be a long-
term option for a program that
looks to restore its consistent
success.
Could it happen? Miles is also
in a secure position since LSU is
a safe bet to finish with nine or 10
wins every season. But he's long
been tied to Michigan and could
wrap up his coaching career at
the place he started playing.
Tom Herman, offensive
coordinator, Ohio State:
Background: Herman doesn't
have any experience as a head
coach, but he spent the past nine
years as an offensive coordinator
at Ohio State, Iowa State, Rice
and Texas State. He's found
success at each school, most
recently coaching some of the
Big Ten's best offenses at Ohio
State. He turned freshman J.T.
Barrett into the conference's best
quarterback in just one year.
Pros and cons: Herman could
be an answer to Michigan's
offensive woes this season
and would be able to develop
sophomore quarterback Shane
Morris into all that he was
projected to be. But leaving
Ohio State for its biggest rival
might not be feasible. And most
importantly, he still lacks head
coaching experience.
Could it happen? It's not likely
that Michigan would turn to a
coordinator, though it wouldn't
be unprecedented. Still, there are
bigger names out there before
the Wolverines turn to Herman.
David Shaw, head coach,
Stanford:
Background: At 7-5, Shaw
may be having a down year,
but his track record has
otherwise turned him into a
solid candidate. In his first three
seasons at Stanford, Shaw led
his teams to the Fiesta Bowl
and consecutive Rose Bowls.
He coached for four years under
current San Francisco 49ers
coach Jim Harbaugh.
Pros and cons: Shaw is
a winner, and he's proven
capable of developing talented
quarterbacks such as Andrew
Luck and Kevin Hogan. But he's
also settling into a program that
he played and coached for, so

poaching him would be tough.
Could it happen? His ties to
Stanford are likely too strong,
but a sizeable paycheck could
change that. And the thought
that he would need to rebuild a
program would likely deter him.
Butch Jones, head coach,
Tennessee:
Background: Jones isn't
having the most successful
year in Knoxville, where the
Volunteers are currently 6-6.
But he took over both Central
Michigan and Cincinnati from
Brian Kelly and built those
teams up even further. He holds
a 61-40 record in his eight years
as a head coach.
Pros and cons: Jones has
experience taking over
programs and can recruit well.
He's also a Michigan native and
has enough experience against
top teams in the SEC. But he's
not fared well enough at a big
program to prove he can handle
Michigan.
Could it happen? After two
years, Jones is likely to stay put
at Tennessee for now. But he's a
good balance of a big name and
comes from small beginnings.
If he is willing to move, then he
could be a good candidate.
Jim Harbaugh, Head coach
(NFL), San Francisco 49ers:
Background: The name
everyone has called
for, Jim Harbaugh, is a
former quarterback under
Schembechler and now working
in the NFL. He holds a 43-16-
1 record with the 49ers, but is
havinghisworst seasonwith the
team, currently sitting at 7-5. He
coached at Stanford before that,
taking over alowly program and
finishing with an 11-1 record
after the 2010 season.
Pros and cons: Harbaugh
developed a strong offense at
Stanford and knows how to
develop talent even better. He is
a proven winner in college and
in the NFL, known for his terse
demeanor. But Harbaugh is very
controlling and does not always
get along with his players.
Could it happen? No matter
how hard you wish, it's not likely.
He's rumored to be leaving San
Francisco, but ESPN's Adam
Schefter has said he's not likely
to return to Ann Arbor. But if
Hackett were able to swing the
deal, it could be the beginning of
a turnaround.
Other options: Michigan
will have plenty of options
beyond those mentioned above.
Here are some other options
that could be in the mix.
Greg Schiano, unemployed,
previously at the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers and Rutgers.
Mike Gundy, head coach,
Oklahoma State.
Pat Narduzzi, defensive
coordinator, Michigan State.
Scott Frost, offensive
coordinator, Oregon.
Rich Rodriguez, head coach,
Arizona, 2014 Pac 12 Coach of
the Year (Just kidding. Wanted
to see if you were still reading).

Sophomore forward Zak Irvin scored 12 points on Tuesday, but his two three pointers helped swing momentum.
Jackson surprisedoke
fir ing, uncerta in on future,

By GREG GARNO
ManagingSports Editor
Even amidst the speculation
surrounding Brady Hoke's job
status, running backs coach Fred
Jackson was still surprised by
Tuesday's announcement that
Hoke had been fired.
Jackson said he had heard of
Hoke's firing through the news,
and not from Hoke himself
on Tuesday afternoon outside
Schembechler Hall.
"I didn't really expect it,"
Jackson said upon arriving. "I
know we didn't play as well as
people would like to see us play,
but I also understand it's all
about winning and losing and we
didn't win enoughgames."
Monday, the Wolverines'
running backs coach for the
past 23 years had been on the
road recruiting for Hoke, talking

to recruits about next year's
situation and "how good (the
running backs) can be." But one
day later, he was left wondering
about his ownjob.
"I'm going to coach football
somewhere," he said. "It might
not be here."
And he could do it again, as
interim Athletic Director Jim
Hackett said assistant coaches
would be meeting about their
futures. It should be noted that
Jackson has survived several
head coach changes before,
includingRichRodriguez in2010.
He worked under Gary
Moeller and Lloyd Carr, coaching
backs such as Chris Perry, Mike
Hart and Anthony Thomas.
"One of the messages we're
going to give them is that we'd
like to have our new coach have
the right to interview them,"
Hackett said. "I don't want

them to have to go through two
disappointments."
And after going through
coaching changes, Hackett has
seen how each coach has left the
program. But he wasn't prepared
to say whether Hoke had a fair
shot to finish coaching.
"I don't know how to answer
that question," Jackson said. "I
feel the administration makes
decisions based on when they
need a timetable made but I'm
not 100-percentsurewhat'sright
orwronginthatsituation.
"It's a situation now where I
feel uncomfortable that these
kids are putin this position where
they're not knowing everything
was goingto happen so fast."

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