Stanley scuffle
Sports editors John Leroi and Nick
Cotsonika debate the outcome of
the NHL finals. See Page 18.
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JL ORTS
Wednesday
June 28,1995
Bo says
Moeller
.made a
mistake
Schembechler tried to
reach coach and tell
him to keep his job
The Associated Press
DETROIT - Bo Schembechler,
who recruited Gary Moeller to play
football at Ohio State and later helped
make Moeller his successor at Michi-
igan, says his friend shouldn't have left
his job.
Moeller resigned as the Wolverines'
football coach, then later pleaded no con-
test to charges stemming from a drunken
scene and subsequent argument with po-
lice at the Excalibur restaurant in
Southfield April 28.
Schembechler was vacationing in
Florida, but called his old friend as soon
as he heard about the trouble. He
couldn't reach Moeller, but left a mes-
sage.
"I waited all day and night but he
didn't call me back," Schembechler
said.
C He was hoping to reach Moeller to
persuade him to stay on as head coach
through the turmoil.
"I wish he would have called me,"
Schembechler told the Detroit Free
Press.
Schembechler then went on a fishing
trip and Moeller, without speaking to his
friend, resigned.
"I was away from it all and I wasn't
in on the assassination," Schembechler
said of the release of audio tapes police
had recorded at the restaurant.
"All the tapes (of an intoxicated
Moeller crying and screaming) and that
stuff the Southfield police released ... I'd
never heard anything like it.
"His best strategy would have been
to throw himself at the mercy of every-
one and quickly say, 'This is a real
screw-up. And I'm sorry."'
Schembechler said he has spoke with
Moeller since he turned in his resigna-
tion. He wouldn't give details of the con-
versation but said Moeller was remorse-
ful.
Schembechler said he believes the
Wolverines will rally around interim
coach Lloyd Carr and that Carr will be
able to motivate them.
He also said that he will attend most
Michigan games this fall, but that he will
miss Moeller.
"Losing his job was a pretty stiff pen-
alty ... gosh, it's hard to take."
Schembechler served as
Michigan's atletic director during his
!ast two seasons as head coach of the
"'Wolverines, from 1988-1990 and took
the job as president of the Detroit Ti-
gers in 1990.
Moeller jumps
to NFL's Bengals
By John Leroi was alot of pressure on Gary that week
Daily Sports Editor Vice President for University Rela
Everyone knew Gary Moeller would tions Walter Harrison said Moeller'
find another job. Most people thought it settlement was "not unusual."
would be in the NFL. Though Moeller's settlment pays hit
Most people were right. as if he were fired, Harrison said tha
The former Michigan coach was Moeller resigned and was not forced ot
hired last Friday by the Cincinnati of the University.
Bengals as an offensive assistant in Moeller's hiring left the Bengals wit
charge of tight ends. 13 assistant coaches, the same number a
The move to Cincinnati may be a last year. Moeller will be taking over tigl
step down from a head coaching job at a end duties from Paul Alexander who 4
national powerhouse like Michigan, but movedto the offensive line.
Bengals coach David Shula, the son of Moeller's jump to the NFL comes les
legendary Miami Dolphin coach Don than two months after he resigned frot
Shula, believes the move to be more of a the Wolverines' head post after being su
lateral step - and one in the right direc- pended indefinitely by the University fo
tion for Moeller. lowing an April 28 incident in which h
"I am excited by the opportunity to was charged with disorderly conduct an
add such a fine coach to our staff," Shula assault after becoming drunk at th
told The Associated Press. "The success Excalibur restaurant in Southfield.
that Gary has had in the Michigan pro- He pleaded no contest to the charge
gram speaks for itself. He's a quality per- May 8 and was fined $200 and ordei
son who brings us knowledge and experi- to pay another $209 in court costs.
ence." "It's hard to believe that in tw
The University will pay Moeller hours, one's life can change so much,
$386,026 to buy out the remaining 2 1/2 Moeller told the judge at his sentencini
years of his contract, even though Moeller "I do truly regret what happened -
technically "voluntarily resigned." tried to accept the blame.
But Moeller's attorney Deborah "What's so hard for me now is (leap
Gordan hinted that he did not leave Michi- ing) my players. The thing I love s
gan on his own accord. much is to coach, not necessarily on Sa
"Gary Moeller would far prefer to be urday afternoon, but in practice."
coaching at Michigan," she said. "I think - TheAssociated'cP.
everybody knows what happened. There contributedlto this repo
MARK FRIEDMAN/Daiy
Former Michigan coach Gary Moeller will take $386,026 of the University's
money to Cincinnati where he wil become the Bengals' tight ends coach.
Ndiaye says Michigan isn't as tight as it looks
4
By Monica Polakov
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan men's basketball brings images
of friendship and unity. It's easy to
envision the team with their arms around
each other, hugging or patting each other on the butt
after a good play.
"I feel like I'm in a family here," said Makhtar
Ndiaye at the end of last season.
Now, with the summer here and the spotlight off,
Ndiaye, Michigan's 6'9" center from Dakar,
Senegal, reveals a different story.
"We have a lot of jealousy on this team," says
Ndiaye. "That's not fair to us, to the coaches, and to
you all, the people that come see us play."
Ndiaye explains that last year's sub-par season
was due to the lack of unity among the players. The
Wolverines were 17-14 overall and had an 11-7 Big
Ten record despite having two highly acclaimed
seniors and the top recruiting class in the country.
It seems that jealousy infiltrated every part of
their game - especially their talent.
"You'll be hoping somebody will get hurt so you
can play," says Ndiaye. "We'll win some games and
the people who didn't play wouldn't be happy for the
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team, or, they played and we would lose and
they'd still be happy because they played.
"When you come see us play, we're all
hugging. But we're faking it. It's not like that."
Back when the Fab Five was at Michigan, the
team was a unit, remembers Ndiaye. He recalls a
time when he and Leon Derricks would fight for
two minutes of playing time, while Juwan
Howard would easily have over 30 minutes. But
there was no jealousy. There was no fighting c
cursing or getting mad. "The team was tight,"
Ndiaye says.
What happened?
Why have things changed?
After thinking about these questions, Ndiaye
has come up with several reasons - one of whicl
is Michigan men's basketball coach Steve Fisher
"The coach tries to make everybody happy
and you cannot win by making everybody
happy," says Ndiaye. "Sometimes you have to
sacrifice some people in the right way. 0
"At Michigan he recruits a lot of talent and
everybody comes in here and thinks he's a
SEE NDAYE, PAGE 16
JONATHAN LURIE/Daily