Monday July 23, 20071'
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
sports@michigandaily.com
734-764-8585
Three cagers take
trip to Asia during
summer break
FILE PI T
Bitsy Ritt (left) talks with Amanda Augustus (right) last season, when Ritt was coaching the Wolverines and Augustu
was her assistant. Augustus succeeded Ritt, but has since left to coach California. Ritt leads the search for a replacement.
Augustus leaves
'M' frCalifornia
By DAN FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Basketball is opening doors for
three Michigan men's basketball
players. Redshirt sophomore Zack
Gibson took a nine-day trip to Tai-
wan to compete with Athletes in
Action in the Jones Cup. Sopho-
mores K'Len Morris and DeShawn
Sims will go to China with Sports
Reach Tours in mid-August.
For Morris, the opportunity was
definitely something to be excited
about. When, he was asked about
the trip, set up by Michigan's
coaching staff, his reaction
was quick.
"I was like 'China? Basket-
ball? Yeah,' " Morris said.
Although both trips
were originally sched-
uled to overlap, but
Morris sod Sims
ed to the Far
East for a cou-
ple of weeks
scheduling
issues, leav-
ing Gibson to go
first.
Gibson aver-
aged six points
and fourrebounds
per game to help
the Mike Jarvis-
coached Athletes
in Action to a 5-4
record. Gibsonsaid
the high quality of
competition was the
most surprising
part of the trip.
"Everybody's
out there to win,
so these were
serious games,"
Gibson.
Gibson,
Michigan's
only return-
ing player list-
ed as a center,
used the com-
petition as a
chance to prepare for the upcoming
season after sitting out last year as
a transfer from Rutgers. He went
up against Korea's 7-foot-3 center,
Ha Seung-Jin, who played in 46
games for the Portland Trailblazers
from 2004-06. Seung-Jin scored
17 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 20
minutes against Athletes in Action.
Gibson made just 1-of-5 shots in 10
minutes that game.
A couple of times, the team went
to a night market for food. Gibson
took the safe route,
opting for kung
pao chicken
instead of
snails. Ath-
letes in Action,
a branch of
Campus Crusade
for Christ, also spent
time visiting an orphan-
age during the trip,dwhich
Gibsun said helped hint
spiritually.
Because the trips didn't
coincide, Gibson can offer
advice to Morris and
Sims. The Athletes in
Action players were
given a list of things that
were offensive in Asian
culture that an American
probably wouldn't think
twice about. For example,
showing someone the
bottom of your feetwould
be the equivalent of giving
See ASIA, Page 12
A.
By DAN FELDMAN
Daily Sports Writer
Maize and blue isn't much
different from blue and gold on
paper.
But what the distinction in
color combinations represents
is pretty meaningful to Amanda
Augustus.
After just one year on the job
as Michigan women's tennis
coach, Augustus is leaving the
Wolverines to become Califor-
nia's coach, where she played
from 1996-99.
"Amanda enjoyed her coach-
ing experience at Michigan,"
associate athletic director Bitsy
Ritt said through the athletic
department. "Yet, when your
alma mater calls, it can be dif-
ficult to say no."
A telephone message left for
Augustus wasn't immediately
returned.
Michigan hired Augustus,
who served one season as Ritt's
assistant, last July after Ritt
retired.
"I am very excited to step into
this role and guide Michigan to
new frontiers," Augustus said
through the athletic department
at the time. "I hope to mirror the
longevity of Bitsy's respected
(22-year) career."
But if that happens, it will be
in Berkeley, not Ann Arbor. In
her season at the helm, Augus-
tus guided the Wolverines to an
identical record (17-8), place in
Big Ten Tournament (second)
and finish (second round of the
NCAA Tournament) as the sea-
son before. But the Michigan
was No. 22 in the final FILA
Collegiate Tennis Rankings, its
highest ranking in 10 years.
At California, Augustus will
have to replace another main-
stay, Jan Brogan, who coached
the Golden Bears for 29 years,
including taking them to the
NCAA semifinals last season.
A search for Michigan's next
coach will begin immediately.
"I am excited to carry on the
program's great tradition and
continue to strive for excellence
through diversity," Augustus
said through the California
athletic department. "I look
forward to guiding the young
women to achieve both their
athletic and academic goals.
While I will be forever grateful
for the support and kindness of
the Michigan community, this
opportunity allows me to return
to California and be closer to my
family."
The last time a Michigan
coach served for just one sea-
son was in 2002, when baseball
coach Chris Harrison wasn't
retained after serving the year
as interim coach.