Oh r.- kY a I A~ __Thy Nlihisan gly u-- TI" flC!S4 - Thursday; November -16.-1995 lfl - IIIC vI1G1116011 va11y Michigan faces tough slate :. Wolverines hope to improve nonconference record . By on last season's disappointing 6-6 Paul Barger One of Steve Fisher's greatest fears was realized last season when his young team struggled through its nonconference schedule. A 6-6 record with embarassing losses to Pennsylvania, Washington and St. John's almost kept the Wolverines out of the NCAA Tournament. This year's nonconference slate is not quite as difficult, but it still provides a great deal of challenges. Michigan opens the season in the Preseason NIT. If the Wolverines can win two games at home, they will head to Madison Square Garden in New York for the semifinals, where they will likely meet one of the nation's most talented squads. Arkansas, Arizona and Georgetown are all potential opponents. "If we can get to New York it would be terrific," Fisher said. "It would give our young kids some great experience." The NIT championship game falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Michigan then has what should be an easy game at home against St. Francis (Pa.) Nov. 27. The Wolverines than embark on a three-game road trip, which features a nationally televised clash with LSU. LSU features one of the top backcourts in the country - Ronnie Henderson and Randy Livingston. Livingston was the No. 1-rated high BEST WISHES TO MICHIGAN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS FOR GREAT '95 SEASONS school player in America, but his career has been plagued by injuries. The Wolverines will also take on Ball State and Detroit on the road. Duke comes calling Dec. 9 in a game that always seems to bring the best out of the Blue Devils. Michigan has lost six straight to Duke and Mike Krzyzewski. Last season in Durham, the Wolverines had an incredible moment of brilliance going on a 24-0 run, only to lose 69-59. Michigan seeks revenge against Washington Dec. 16 and then rounds out the nonconference schedule with Cleve- land State, UNLV and Davidson. The second two games are in Las Vegas Dec. 28 and 30. The Wolverines usually play a nonconference game in the middle of the Big Ten season, but none is scheduled this year. This is probably a good decision, considering Michigan's loss to St. John's on Super Bowl Sunday last year. The Big Ten schedule has added difficulty for Michigan this season. Fisher's squad begins a seven-game stretch Jan. 23 that includes two games at Indiana, Iowa and Purdue. Along with the Wolverines, those three teams are likely to be the Big Ten front run- ners. Michigan travels to East Lansing Jan. 13 and gets a return visit from the Spartans Feb. 27. The Wolverines have only one game against Ohio State and Minnesota. "Everybody plays just a little bit harder during the conference games," sophomore Travis Conlan said. "It is a tough league. We found out last year how hard it is to play in the Big Ten." The Wolverines do catch a break, beginning and ending the conference slate with back-to-back games with Wis- consin and Northwestern. Those teams are expected to finish in the Big Ten's second division. GUARDS Continued from Page 6 ners. It's called the CBA. That's the quandary for Fisher's guards this season. He doesn't need them to score a ton - this team has enough other weapons to do that. Fisher needs them to be smart, to control the ball, make heady decisions and drain enough jumpers to keep the defense honest. Michigan's guards may posess all those qualities. Then again, they may possess none. Fife is the only one who has played a lot for a full season. At times, he looks like he is the best shooter on the team. Problem is, he has to actually shoot if that is to matter. Fife has often been ten- tative when he has anopen shot. Fife will likely be the starter early in the season, but if he doesn't score enough for Fisher's tastes, the coach may turn to the younger, quicker Conlan. The sophomore didn't see much playing time early in his freshman campaign, but that all changed when Iowa visited Crisler Arena. Conlan played 38 minutes, mak- ing several key defensive plays and lead- ing Michigan to a stunning double-over- time victory over the Hawkeyes, keeping the Wolverines' conference title hopes alive. If Conlan is going to overtake Fife as the team's point guard, he will need to put in more performances like that. As for Bullock, all Michigan fans ex- pect of him is that he come in and shoot 60 percent from the yellow seats in Crisler. But the Wolverines' recent his- tory with long-distance shooting is poor. Michigan has not had a consistent 3- point shooter since Glen Rice was a Wolverine from 1985-89. Bullock will need to be quick enough and strong enough to create shooting opportunities. If none of the three emerges as a scorer, Fisher will have to turn to one of his bigger players to switch to guard. Jerod Ward is the most likely candidate. Ward is 6-9 but prefers playing on the perimeter. He could provide a scoring lift. If Ward settles in at another position, Willie Mitchell could emerge as a shoot- ing guard. But while Mitchell would present matchup problems for oppo- nents, he may not have the ballhandling skillsdor the outside shot to play shooting guard. Fisher knows Bullock, Fife and Conlan may not win many games for him this season. All he can really ask is that they don't lose too many, either. SWINGMI Continued from Page 5 offense? White played es guard to center at Inkster o ing named McDonald's A ranked consistently among 10 recruits. "I have confidence ins White said after his Michi coaches have confidence i And they should. Wb points, 15.9 rebounds, steals, and 3.0 blocks per -numbers that outshon U.S. Junior National Teal fellow Wolverine frosh) ithough Traylor's numbe Detroit's Public School L t the nation'sbest high scl White, Traylor, and Louis Bullock - in no pai may be the best three fre5 Ten; they are certainly the Duke BLUE DEVILS Last year: 2-14 ACC, 13-18 overall Postseason: None Returning starters: Ricky Price (8.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg) Jeff Capel (12.5 ppg, 4.1 apg) Trajan Langdon (11.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg) Key losses: Cherokee Parks (19.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg) Erik Meek (10.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg) Coach: Mike Krzyzewski Career Record: 431-186 (20 years) Record at Duke: 358-127 (15 years) MARK FRIEDMAN/Daily Willie Mitchell is one of three Michigan swingmen who will see significant playing time. Mitchell scored 5.5 points per game as a freshman last season. 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