20 - The Michigan Daily - TIPOFF "95-'96 -- Thursday, November 16, 1995
The Michigan Daily --- TIOOFI
Gloomy Columbus: Buckeyes face down year
Swingmen are in question
Ward, Mitchell and White could lead Michigan to glory - or
V
Ohio State expected to finish near bottom
of league for second straight year * By Barry So[enberger
If you're 6-4 with a pretty good
jumper, you should have considered
transferring to Ohio State last year.
The Buckeyes could have used you.
While things aren't actually that dis-
mal at Ohio State, the point is clear -
the Buckeyes were not a good basketball
team last season. Ohio State (2-16 Big
Ten, 6-22 overall) battled Northwestern
all season for last place in the confer-
ence.
Indeed, the days of back-to-back
Buckeye Big Ten championships in
1990-91 and 1991-92 seem like eons
ago.
As for this season?
Well, there's just no getting around
it.
The cupboard is bare at Ohio State.
The Buckeyes return just six
lettermen. Two are walk-ons and an-
other, John Lumpkin, is on a football
--scholarship and will rejoin the basket-
ball team in January, as he did last
year.
To make matters worse, coach
very young team this year," Ayers said.
"But I like some of the freshmen play-
ers we have."
At least four of Ayers' nine frosh
figure to get significant playing time -
Damon Stringer, Jason Singleton,
Shaun Stonebrook and Jermaine Tate.
Stringer, a 5-11 guard, was Ohio's
Mr. Basketball last year and should
start for Ayers at the point.
"I think it all starts with Damon
Stringer," Ayers said. "Damon's got
the quickness that we like to see out of
our point guards. He can really push
the ball up the floor.
"Hopefully, (the freshmen) will
start to learn a little more about what
our system is all about."
Yudt is Ohio State's top returning
scorer (12.8 points-per game) and
rebounder (4.3 rpg). The senior will be
counted on to lead the youthful squad.
"I think with Yudt being a senior
and the only one with really any expe-
rience," Ayers said, "you've got to fig-
ure him into the starting lineup."
Ohio State BUCKEYES
Last year: 6-22 overall, 2-16 Big Ten
. Postseason: None
Returning starter:
z=: Rick Yudt (12.8 ppga 4.3 rpg)
Key losses:
Antonio Watson (14.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Rickey Dudley (13.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg)
Doug Etzler (16.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
Coach: Randy Ayers
Career Record: 104-74 (6 years)
Record at Ohio State: 104-74 (6 years)
YUDT
Randy Ayers welcomes back only one
starter - forward Rick Yudt. The
Buckeyes resemble Michigan in that
they are a team dominated by freshmen
and sophomores.
Unfortunately for Ayers, Ohio
State does not match the Wolverines in
a more important area - talent.
Most preseason publications
picked the Buckeyes near the bottom
of the Big Ten again.
"Obviously, we're going to be a
they could fade away
Michigan's swingmen have an identity
crisis.
The play of Jerod Ward, Willie
Mitchell and Albert White will probably be
the difference between fifth place and a Big
Ten title for the Wolverines. But which
Ward will show up? Will the Mitchell who
takes and makes smart shots come to play?
Is White big enough to play inside or quick
enough to play on the perimeter?
Add in former walk-on Neal Morton,
and the Michigan swingmen are a collec-
tion ofquestion marks.
Ward and Mitchell arrived in Ann Ar-
bor last year as a pair ofheralded freshmen,
but failed to make much of an impact.
Recruiting experts had tabbed Ward as
arguably the nation's best prospect, but the
6-9, 220-pounder struggled - to put it
mildly -during his first year. The son of
Baptist ministers, Ward was expected to
walk into Crisler Arena and become the
next Wolverine hoops deity, replacing Fab
Fivers Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and
Jalen Rose. This did not happen.
A lack of confidence had Ward scoring
in double figures in only five of the 20
games he played before a knee injury
ended his season.
Coming out of the Detroit Pershing
basketball machine, Mitchell was among
the nation's premier swingmen and drew
comparisons to Rose. His freshman year,
however, didn't come close to Rose's.
He shot only 38 percent, due in the
and never reappear
Other than Yudt, the Buckeyes do
not return anyone who averaged over 5.3
points per game last season. It appears
that the folks in Columbus will have to
wait a couple of years for Ohio State to
challenge for an NCAA berth again.
Like every other college coach in
By Brent McIntosh
smoother moves to the hole than should be
i legal for a man his size, and the ability to
leap small buildings in a single bound.
Opportunities for Ward to exercise the
moves that made him a recruiter's dream
were few and far between, however, in part
because Fisher played him with his back to
the basket. The coach has repeatedly said
that Ward's role will change this year.
"Ward's going to be a perimeter
player," Fisher said. "Last year I think we
n, did him a disservice by having him be in a
e. mindset that he could be our fourth big
7 man.
"This year, our fourth big man is Albert
d White. Albert wants to play, so he was ex-
ts cited when I said 'you'll get five extra min-
h utes if you play inside a bit.' Albert White's
re very athletic. He's a good defender on the
ball."
d A good defender maybe, but what on
November, though, Ayers remains op-
timistic.
"I look at us as a team that should
get better over the course of the year,"
he said. "And maybe factor down the
stretch in the Big Ten."
Don't hold your breath.
most part to questionable shot selection
and hit only 58 percent from the lin
Mitchell managed only single digits in 2
of the Wolverines' 31 games.
After a season in which Ward an
Mitchell averaged only 6.0 and 5.3 point
per game, respectively, Michigan coac
Steve Fisher has said that they will figur
more in this season's plans.
"The two guys that so far have playe
better have been Willie Mitchell and Jero
Ward," Fisher said after three weeks o
practice. "Jerod's shot the ball well in prac
tice, playing with a lot of confidence, an
Willie's in a lot better shape and appears t
be more comfortable."
Last season, Ward was completely in
effective most of the time -but there wen
flashes of brilliance, even if they lastec
only five or 10 seconds. It comes to thi
much of the time, Ward was patently me
diocre; when he's on, though, there are fev
people on the planet who can defend a 6-
man with an unblockable three-pointe
;.
U
Northwestern WILDCATS
Same old story at Northwestern
Wildcats could finish in Big Ten cellar again * By Paul Barger
d
A
C-
rd
s:
e-
w
-9
r,
See SWINGMEN, Page 9
Last year: 5-22 overall, 1-17 Big Ten
Postseason: None
Returning starters:
Geno Carlisle (11.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
Brian Chamberlain (5.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
Key losses:
Cedric Neloms (13.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
Dion Lee (12.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
Dewey Williams (8.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
Coach: Ricky Byrdsong
Career Record: 72-123 (7 years)
CARLISLE
Record at Northwestern:
20-36 (3 years)
Ricky Byrdsong is optimistic about
his team this year.
But he is having a great deal of diffi-
culty convincing others that his Wildcats
will be tough this season. Northwestern
managed only one Big Ten victory last
year and returns only three starters.
Among the departed are Cedric
Neloms and Dion Lee, who combined
for 25.7 points per game last season.
Sophomore guard Geno Carlisle is the
Wildcats' top returner. He averaged 11.7
points per game and 3.9 assists per game.
There is a great deal of depth in the
backcourt with four returning guards and
three freshmen. Since Northwestern was
usually out of most games soon after the
teams stepped on the court last year,
Byrdsong was able to give many of his
players much-needed experience.
"We exposed players to the rigors of
Big Ten play earlier than we probably
wanted," Byrdsong said. "However, in
the process, the underclassmen gained a
tremendous amount of experience that
should benefit us greatly down the road."
Carlisle is clearly the go-to guy on
this squad. He was one of the best fresh-
men in the conference last season, earn-
ing a spot on the Big Ten All-Star team
that played in Japan this summer. He led
Northwestern in both assists and minutes
played in his first campaign.
The Wildcats picked up five recruits
during the offseason, including 6-10 Joe
Harmsen, who is a first-team all-state se-
lection from Wisconsin. They also
grabbed 6-7 forward Matt Moran, who
averaged 26.1 points per game in his se-
nior season.
Perhaps the biggest boost to the
Northwestern program is the return of
center Evan Eschmeyer. Eschmeyer, a 6-
11 juniorhas missedthelasttwoseasons
with a stress fracture in his right foot and
will obviously need some time to re-ad-
just to competive basketball.
Still, even with these additions, most
onlookers feel that the Wildcats are des-
tined to finish at the bottom of the con-
ference for the second straight year. This
is a far cry from the 1993-94 team that
earned a bid to the NIT after upsetting a
highly-rated Michigan squad in the last
game of the season.
"I think we're going to be a much im-
proved team and that is not saying a lot,"
Byrdsong said. "I see a reflection of the
team we had two years ago that went to
the NIT."
Byrdsong is right about one thing -
it would be very easy for the Wildcats to
improve on last season's performance.
Northwestern does have an easy
nonconference schedule that includes
Youngstown State, Robert Morris,
Army, Central Michigan, Loyola (Ill.)
and Brown. Contrary to what Byrdsong
has been preaching, the early season
slate is about the only thing to be opti-
mistic about in Evanston.
Northwestern coach
Ricky Byrdsong
needs to replace his
top two scorers from
last season.
FILE PHOTO
ree.
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