6A- Thursday, December 4, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
64H
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Finally, Chatman y Brady
B rady Hoke's last words to
the public as Michigan's
gets comfortable football coach were an
answer to whether he wished he
By DANIEL FELDMAN one of Michigan's marquee non- had done anything differently
Daily Sports Writer conference games, especially in during his
the first half. four-year
Even before last week's After shooting 36 percent from tenure.
tournament, the Michigan men's the field and making just three "I don't
basketball team knew it couldn't 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes think so,"
rely solely on its star players to of action, Michigan sought to get he said
win games when competition was Chatman more looks from the immedi-
getting bigger and better. elbow and used him to help facili- ately, then
The Wolverines needed their tate kick-outs to 3-point shooters. paused ALEJANDRO
young big men to not only step up "We wanted to drive more, and briefly. "I ZONIGA
defensively against more veteran- that opened up the game," Doyle don't think
laden teams, but also score, said. "Kam getting those shots so."
The man to step up last week from the free-throw line, just It was
was freshman forward Ricky getting in the middle of the zone, the afternoon of Nov. 29, min-
Doyle, who continued his strong really opened it up to get those utes after the Wolverines had
play against Syracuse by contrib- 3-point shots we wanted and dropped a season-ending con-
uting12 points and six rebounds. dump-offs." test to Ohio State. Hoke hadn't
Perhaps lost in the shuffle of As criticalas it was for Chatman been fired yet - that decision
five double-digit scorers against to find open looks from the middle wouldn't come until Tuesday
Syracuse was another freshman of the paint, his ability to play afternoon - but he had to have Brady Hoke is famous for his line, "Th
forward, Kameron Chatman. beyond the arc and connect from known the decision was coming. But most of all, Hoke loved
Posting a near double-double deep was just as crucial for the You can't go 20-18 over your Michigan, enough that, in his
with 10 points and a team- Wolverines. last three years and expect to introductory press conference
leading nine rebounds, Chatman With the Orange chipping keep your job - not at Michi- on Jan. 12, 2011, he discussed
kept Michigan within striking away a 10-point Michigan lead gan. how there was "no doubt" he
distance in the first half. late in the game, Chatman made But since it had to end, at wanted to stay in Ann Arbor
"That would. have been an a triple from the left side of the least it did in the right way. forever.
eight-point, 10-point game at court to break up a 6-0 spurt Hoke learned of the decision "This is, to me - and has
half if it weren't for Kam," said from Syracuse. After missing in a meeting with interim Ath- been for a long time - the ulti-
Michigan coach John Beilein. "He his previous two attempts from letic Director Jim Hackett, not mate place where I wanted to
got rebounds, he saw out of the beyond the -arc, the corner three through a press release or a be as a football coach," he said
post, made a couple 15-footers. ... showed off the confidence he has media leak. And before address- then.
He's getting more comfortable been conjuring in practice. ing his players, he allowed them. He certainly didn't envision
now with who he is and how he "It's huge," Doyle said. "Kam to vote for the 2014 team cap- the season of nightmares he
fits in what we're doing." has been working hard. He's tains. endured, knowing that every
After seeing his minutes always in the gym, shooting his Hoke put the team first, just as loss brought him closer to say-
decrease against Villanova and jump shots. We all believe in him. he always did. He was virtually ing goodbye. But as he under-
Oregon - playing 19 and 15, We always know what he can do, everything the Michigan foot- stood from the beginning, at
respectively - the lone freshman and today he showed it" ball program thought it needed Michigan, 5-7 in year four was
starter could have grown discour- While Chatman's performance from its 19th head coach. unacceptable.
aged as Doyle's minutes increased against the Orange was He was a Michigan Man, You probably remember
and Beilein relied on a two-point encouraging, Beilein said his one who had helped guide the Hoke's oft-repeated line from
guard system. Instead, Chatman growth is still a work in progress. Wolverines to the 1997 national his introductory press confer-
took advantage against Nicholls "He's still learning where, championship as an assistant ence, when he pounded the lec-
State, taking a then-career-high you know, he's going to learn for coach. He played football the tern and delivered the message
eight shots and adding a career- four years," Beilein said. "He's Wolverine way, ignoring the that became the mantra of the
high 11 points and eight boards. still learning all the time where flashy spread offense for a sys- 2011 season.
Though the Colonels weren't he fits in what we're trying to tem based on power running "This is an elite job and will
the level of competition of the do. Sometimes it's good and and stingy defense. He hated continue to be an elite job. This
Wildcats and Ducks, Chatman's sometimes it's, 'well, OK, let's Ohio State so much he refused is Michigan, for God's sakes," he
play was important leading into watch the video and get better.' to call it by its name. said, proving from day one he
FOOTB WITING
In wake of Hoke's firing, recruits bail
[o e was fired
FILE PHOTO/Daily
is is Michigan for God's sakes," but he didn't live up to his own expectations.
understood the importance of
coaching the Wolverines.
Hoke followed by saying
"shame on them" to people who
believed Michigan was in a
downward spiral.
It was what Michigan fans
needed to hear. But then Hoke
led the Wolverines to a string of
results he knew would be unac-
ceptable from the get-go, when
he gave himself lofty annual
expectations.
"Our goal is to win the Big
Ten Championship," he said
that January afternoon. "Multi-
pally, consecutively. I made that
word up, the first one."
And he stood by that expecta-
tion, even calling the 2011 sea-
son a disappointment because
the Wolverines failed to reach
the Big Ten title game. When
the expectation was set at "con-
secutive" titles, Hoke knew
a 12-12 Big Ten record over a
three-year span wouldn't be
tolerated.
Hoke knew a 2-6 record
against Ohio State and Michi-
gan State wasn't acceptable,
either.
He understood that such poor
performances would turn his
"forever" job into atemporary
one.
Hoke loves Michigan. He
did from that first day, when
he spoke of how he "would've
walked here from San Diego"
to accept the job. Maybe that
was part of the problem - he set
expectations too high and deliv-
ered too little.
Michigan thought it needed
Hoke, and the marriage seemed
perfect from the start. Cer-
tainly, the response to his firing
from players demonstrates how
Hoke's love for the program and
everyone associated with it was
genuine.
But when it comes to ath-
letics, passion for a school is
always trumped by the necessity
to win.
Hoke knew that from the
start.
Zdfiga can be reached
at azs@umich.edu and on
Twitter @ByAZuniga.
By BEN FIDELMAN
Daily Sports Writer
One aspect of a football
program that changes drastically
with a coaching change is the
recruiting scene. And this trend
isn't new to Michigan, which
announced the firing of Brady
Hoke on Tuesday afternoon.
The lack of on-field success
this season has led to coaching
instability that had recruits
fleeing for months.
Recent de-commits include
Chris Clark, the top-ranked tight
end in the nation, and five-star in-
state running back Mike Weber.
Clark announced he had
reopened his recruitment
shortly after Jim Hackett's press
conference Tuesday. The senior
from Avon, Connecticut, hasn't
been shy to share his opinions on
"Due to the unfortunate
change in coaching at Michigan
and the unknown of who will
take over the program, I am no
longer committed to Michigan,"
Clark announced via Twitter.
"I still am very interested in the
program."
He took an official visit to
Southern California, and has
planned visits to Texas, North
Carolina and South Carolina by
the end of January.
Weber's decommitment added
to the avalanche of attrition, and
came at a comically fitting time.
He announced via Twitter just as
Maryland took a fourth-quarter
lead against the Wolverines on
Nov. 22. Weber also said he will
announce his new commitment
at the Army All-American Bowl
on Jan. 4.
Clark's decision marked
of Michigan's 2015 recruiting
class. Other notable names in
that group include five-star
running back Damien Harris,
five-star wide receiver George
Campbell, four-star linebacker
Darren Kirkland Jr. and four-star
defensive end Darian Roseboro.
The class now has just six
members, by far the least of any
Power Sschool.Floridaisthe next
lowest with nine - the Gators are
also in the midst of a coaching
change. For comparison,
Michigan's 2014 recruiting class
had 16 players enroll.
Another oddity is many com-
mits breached Hoke's proverbial
"no official visit after commit-
ting" rule. Multiple pledges took
visits to major Division I schools,
includingto rivals Ohio State and
Michigan State.
One of the biggest decommit-
back Brian Cole. He holds offers
from nine schools, including
Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue,
Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Other players remaining in
the class are four-star safety
Tyree Kinnel, four-star offensive
tackle Grant Newsome, four-
star quarterback Alex Malzone,
three-star offensive tackle Joe
Runyan Jr. and two-star kicker
Andrew David.
Any of the coaches rumored
to succeed Hoke at Michigan,
from LSU's Les Miles to the San
Francisco 49ers' Jim Harbaugh,
will presumably draw recruits
with them.
The Wolverines have until Feb.
4, 2015, National Signing Day, to
reload the class for the 2015 sea-
son. Hackett refused to divulge
his timetable for signing a new
coach, meaning the Wolverines
207 E Liberty, Ann Arbor
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
'M' drops Wake
Forest with ease
By JACOB GASE felt on the defensive end,grabbing
Daily sports Writer a career-high 10 rebounds to cap
off the double-double.
Facing an opposing lineup "My coaches have been on
with three starters over six feet, me this offseason about my
the Michigan women's basketball overall presence on the court,"
team was playing at its biggest Smith said. "My percentages
size disadvantage of the season have definitely gone up, my
to date. rebounding, just -my overall
But instead of relying on long- game."
range The Wolverines' offense may
shooting WAKE FOREST 69 have blown the game open,
to over- MICHIGAN 83 but it was the injury bug that
come first derailed Wake Forest's
the disparity as it has in the momentum. After jumping out
past, Michigan used a fast-paced to a 7-2 lead, the Demon Deacons
offense to attack the rim from the lost sophomore guard Jill Brunori
get-go. Behind a relentless attack to an apparentleg injury.
in the paint led by senior guard Following the injury timeout
Shannon Smith's 26-points, the just three minutes into the
Wolverines managed to cut Wake game, Michigan used a 2-3 zone
Forest down to size, 83-69. defense that stymied Wake
Smith gave the Wolverines Forest's offense. With the paint
their first lead with a driving completely locked down, the
layup between several defenders Demon Deacons were forced
to make the score 10-9, setting to take several low-percentage
the tone for an offense that never outside shots - including20 from
trailed the rest beyond the arc,
of the game. just seven of
strength of "W e just took whhfe.zone
our team is we a v n ge £ defense was a
have the ability advantage0 fame-specific
to shoot from theirdefense. decision -
the outside t defe se. Barnes Arico
as well as go had employed
inside," said exclusively
Michigan coach Kim Barnes man defense in the San Juan
Arico. "Shannon was able to Shootout last week. But facing
get out in transition and get a a player coming off a 40-point
mid-range game going. We just performance in Hambry, the
took advantage of their defense coaching staff made a change to
overplaying us and it opened up catch Wake Forest off-guard.
some lanes to thebasket." "I told my staff, 'I think I want
Senior forward Cyesha Goree, to play zone,' "Barnes Arico said.
Michigan's biggest threat down "'Go back and look and see what
low, was the primary beneficiary they do against zone' And nobody
of the onslaught in the first half. had played them zone this year. It
With several plays seemingly played out in our favor."
drawn up to get her the ball in the The Wolverines' long-range
paint, Goree scored 13 first-half prowess still appeared in flashes
points and wasn't fazed at all by - freshman guard Katelynn
the presence of 6-foot-3 Demon Flaherty came off the bench
Decon forward Dearica Hambry. with eight points and two treys
The 5-foot-7 Smith showed in her first two minutes - but
courage beyond her height, the game was won in the paint,. Q
fearlessly driving into the lane where Michigan scored 34 points
without ever taking a 3-point and outrebounded Wake Forest,
shot. She also made her presence 35-34.
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