The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 22, 2002 -13

Incoming freshman Chris Hunter looks on w
West Side High School to the Indiana class
HUNTER
Continued from Page 12
himself," Edmond said. "He dedicat-
ed himself to doing well for her and
himself."
"It was hard for me and some-
thing that I had to deal with," Chris
said. "It was something that was
very unexpected. Basketball helped
me take my mind away from it."
Not only did Hunter rededicate
himself to basketball, but Kimber-
ly's death also made him pursue suc-
cess in the classroom. He received
the Arthur L. Trester Mental Atti-
tude Award for class 4A which is
presented annually to the senior in
each classification who best dis-
plays mental attitude, scholarship,
leadership and athletic ability.
"Chris is an extremely gifted per-
son, athletically as well as academi-
cally," Boyd said. "He's a thinker, a
guy that understands the game."
With Georgia Tech, Indiana, Pur-
due, Michigan State, Ohio State and
Seton Hall all interested in Hunter's
services, Michigan needed an edge,
and it was Amaker who sealed the
deal for the Wolverines.
"(Amaker) came in and just killed
the home visit," Boyd said. "Right
now, his home visit ranks No. 1.
He's so down to earth and so sin-
cere. I can look through a guy who
is selling the car salesman bit. He
put Chris in his first recruiting class
and made him a marquee player."
Hunter joins blue-chip recruits
point guard Daniel Horton and for-
ward Lester Abram to form what
should be a dynamite nucleus of
Amaker's first recruiting class at
Michigan. But while Horton and
Abram have received more acco-
lades, Francis sees Hunter as the

AIA gives Bailey
By Bob Hunt
Daily Sports Editor
While sophomore guard Chuck Bailey has heard on ca-
pus about great experiences with Athletes in Action, it was
nothing like what he experienced this past June.
Through Bruce Dishnow, the AIA campus representative,
Bailey heard about AIA teams that have traveled all over the
world. But he never thought that he would participate.
"I knew about it, but I did not know that would be going
on it," Bailey said.
From June 10-14, Bailey traveled to the Ivory Coast with
an AIA team comprised of other Division I players and
played African teams including the 2001 African Champions
and the Ivory Coast youth national team. The AIA squad went
undefeated, going 5-0, but the experiences Bailey will never
forget were off the basketball court.
The team visited orphanages and a prison, getting a feel for
life in West Africa. Seeing how run down the country was
gave Bailey a new perspective on his life here in the States.
"It was a whole new world," Bailey said. "Everything was
just so outdated."
Bailey recalls seeing the prison with a gigantic wall guard-
ing its borders. The prison required all visitors to show their
r passports upon entering and exiting. So if one lost their pass-
port in the prison, they were not going out.
"It was wild," Bailey said.
The team also had local youth clinics near where they
stayed on the campus of the University of the Ivory Coast.
On the court, it was Bailey's first experience playing inter-
nationally, and with the trapezoidal key and goaltending that
goes along with it. Bailey said that the style of play was much
rougher than the Big Ten and that it took the entire team a day
or two to get used to both the style of play and the new rules.
hile his AAU team plays. Hunter led Gary Bailey also had to get used to playing with players he had
4A state championship last season. never known or played with before.
But the squad worked well together with the help of their
most prepared for next season. coach, Michigan State assistant Mike Garland. Bailey said "it
"He's got a chance to be an was weird" working with Garland because they knew each
impact player from day one," Fran- other personally. Garland is a real good friend of Bailey's
cis said. "He's the one guy who I godfather, the minister at his local church, and he recruited
think can step in and start and be Bailey while he was in high school. As for working under a
good enough to help him go to the
next level.
"He's very athletic, he can block DAILY SPORS
shots, he's explosive inside and he
can rebound. He can score away uN. Do01T. The Be s
from the basket some, too."
The graduation of center Chris
Young has left the Wolverines with a
gaping hole in the post and no
proven performers to fill it. Hunter
will have every opportunity to earn
the starting spot at center, as he will
be the only Wolverine taller than
6-foot-9. S
"I would be less than honest if I
said we weren't counting on a level
of contribution from Chris," Amaker TB
said. "It's one of the reasons he O E
wanted to be here. He wanted to A
provide that. We aren't very deep or I DM
experienced on the front line, and he
recognizes the opportunity that's in U
front of him."SC
Boyd praised Hunter's decision-
making and defensive ability but FR ID A Y
said that he can be more aggressive
and physical on the defensive end of j iii
the floor. Offensively, Boyd consid-
ers it crucial that Hunter touches the 27 Taps! Full Menu!
ball once during each possession. 75 cen
"I think he's going to be someone
who is going to be very hard to
stop," Boyd said. "I don't think a big
guy can guard him one-on-one. No,- your
one could in high school. He's got to e S0 Opun.nd 1i
do what he wanted to do." 0 O
What does Hunter want to do now O 9 environm
that he's a Wolverine? "I just hope to
bring this program back to first SATURDAY
class," Hunter said.
Now that's music to Amaker's 31MAYNARD495.iO(21&VERMTHPROPERID)
ears.

new perspective
Spartan, Bailey and Garland cracked a few jokes at each other
here and there. But when the team was supposed to wear its
green and white tracksuits, Bailey came out in his Michigan
warm-ups representing the Maize and Blue.
Bailey hopes that his experience playing internationally
will help him become a much stronger player next season.
Despite what happens, seeing what life is like in a third-world
country makes him appreciate what he has.
"It let me see how we take things for granted," Bailey said.
B-RoB GoES To EURoPE: Bailey won't be the last Michigan
player to cross the Atlantic this summer as junior forward
Bernard Robinson has been named to the Big Ten Conference
Foreign Tour team that will play European teams in Germany,
Belgium and the Netherlands from August 8-18. The team
will play five games against squads that have all finished in
the top five of their countries' leagues. Robinson will play
with Indiana's Tom Coverdale, Illinois' Sean Harrington and
Minnesota's Ben Johnson among others and will be coached
by Illinois head coach Bill Self. Big Ten teams have toured
Japan, France, Italy, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ger-
many, Austria, England and Ireland over the past 10 years and
" r nrrlar ad - ^^^rr

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DAVID KATZ/Daly
Chuck Bailey experienced more than lust basketball in Africa.