BASKETRA ...
The Michigan Daily - SPQRTSMnnday .
-- Monday, November 20, 1995 - TB
The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday. November 20. 1995 - 7R
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esquad
veFisher was a sarcastic guy
after Friday night's game.
Sure the Michigan basketball
coach was happy -his team had just
WA1Ho6d Weber State, 80-62 - but he
knew itwas just the second game of the
seasorBetter opponents will soon
follow',eginning Wednesday with
Arizonain the semifinals of the
Preseason NIT.
In the media room, someone
nentioned last November's Arizona
win over
Michifn at the
Pala ,, andv
er'aresponse
was rather funny.{
"I've already.
Jooked at the"
game at the C"
Palace last year,"
he said. "I think if BARRY
we would've SOUENBE
gotten some calls, Sollenberger
.we would have in Paradise
been in the
game."
This was humorous, you see, because
heprobably hasn't been more sarcastic
ir hentire life.
The ref would have needed to be
Fisher to make that one close.
Michigan was actually in it early,
trailing.by just a point at the half. But
then Arizona star guard Damon
Stoudamire went crazy from long range
and that was that. The 78-57 defeat was
Michigan's second worst of the season.
ButMichigan is a different team this
season - one that is unlikely to get
blowh away by Arizona for the third
straight year - and the Weber State
wii iwproof.
Cmcch Ron Abegglen's squad is
hardly a world-beater, but it's already
clear that the No. 17 Wolverines won't
suffen through another 17-14 season.
Thbre's simply way too much talent out
ther6.And the five sophomores that
sened teso young last year appear to be
growing up in a hurry.
Friday night Michigan used the two
Ut sto dismantle Weber State -
Defense and Depth.
The perimeter defense that was
suspect against DePaul smothered
Wbe1 State's gunners. Abegglen's best
player,,Iimmy DeGraffenried, netted
'ny half of the 30 points he got against
FtesnoState and, for the game, Weber
'State-shot just .357 from the field and
.231 from 3-point land. The Wolverines
also forced 20 turnovers.
"QOviously, their defense created a
1otbfftarnovers," Abegglen said. "I
thinkwe had 15 in the first half-
ridiculous."
Then there was Michigan's depth.
.Wchile Fisher carries only 10
scholarship players, his bench seemed
inre&ibly deep Friday night. Nine
Wolverines saw significant playing
time; none of them played less than 19
minutes or more than 24.
Most importantly, no one was a
liability. From Maceo Baston to Albert
White, they all had their moments.
"Thope we can do that all season,"
Fishor said. "Use the depth; play all
nine.
Which brings us to Arizona.
The demise of coach Lute Olson's
program has been greatly exaggerated.
OLson's boys whipped the defending
national runner-up Arkansas on theY
road Friday, 83-73. Arizona (2-0),
which isn't ranked in the most recent
Assotiated Press poll, led from start to
finish in the upset of the No. 16
Razorbacks. The Wildcats have a
couple of budding stars - guards
Miles Simon and Michael Dickerson -
and two established big men in Joseph
Blair and Ben Davis. Add defensive
spgatist Reggie Geary to the mix and
its clear that Arizona is one of the top
25 teams in the country.
"They are good," Fisher said. "I
dont'ihink we've beaten them since
I've been here. They've gone out and
drilled us pretty good and then they let
,us mow about it."
ForJhe record, Michigan is 0-3
againt Arizona during the Fisher era.
.So what's the key to finally beating
the 'Cats Wednesday night?
Depth and defense.
If Fisher's nine can play with the
same type of defensive intensity as they
did against Weber State, the Wolver-
nes will make things tough on the
)Vildcats.
Fisher, remembering that his team
sot .313 from the field last year
against Arizona, wasn't making
predictions and, instead, simply said:
We'rt going to have to play better
than we did last year against them."
Herc's one vote that they will.
WEBER
Continued from page 113
17 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Unfortunately for the
Wildcats, performances like Alex Fisher's 3-for-15 shoot-
ing were more indicative of their play. Weber State made
a mere 25 of 70 shots from the field.
The Wolverines, on the other hand, created quite a fewl
easy scoring opportunities.
"From an offensive standpoint, we ran our break a
whole lot better (than against DePaul)," Michigan coach
Steve Fisher said. "We were able to, with the size we have,
get second and third chances."
Fisher gets a third chance of a different kind Wednesday
night. Arizona has whipped his Wolverines in each of the
past two years.
think w're
ready for Arizona.,
We're capable of
playing with x-any
team in the
country. We have
the talent. We just
have to get the
technique. "
- Maurice Taylor
Michigan junior forward,
on the Wolverines' next
opponent
MICHIGAN (80)
FQ FT KEV
MIN M-A M-A 0-T A F PT,
Baton 22 46 3-4 13 1 2 11
v.24 17 a 46 3 2 3
Ti-ir 2 6-12 11-4 4-10 2 3 13,
Co'in 19 2-3 0-0 15 3 0 5
F 21 12 0-0 22 1 1
Micel 23 3-9 3-5 2-3 3 1 9
Tyor 20 3-5 1-3 2-6 0 3 7
Ward 19 4.10 4-4 1-6 0 1 13
Bullock 24 48 4-4 0-3 3 1 14
Morton 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 10 0
Oliver 1 0-1 0.0 0-0 0 0 d
DeKuer 1 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
S vndlar 1 0-1 00 1-2 0 1 0
Totals 200 29-67 17-25 1848 1715 80
FG%: 433. FT%: .680. Three-point goals: 5-19.
.263 (Bullock 2-5, Conlan 1-2, Fife 1-2, Ward 1-
3, Morton 0-1, Oliver 0-1, DeKuiper 0-1, Mitchell
0 2, White 0 2). Blocks: 8 (Traylor 3, Conlan 2,
Taylor, Ward, White). Turnovers: 17 (White 4,
Taylor 3, Ward 3, Baston 2, Mitchell 2, Bullock,
Fife. Traylor). Steals: 8 (Conlan 3, Baston.
Bullock, Fife, Mitchell, Taylor). Technical Fouls:
none.
WEBER STATE (62)
FG FT RES
MIN WAM MA 0-T A F PTS
DeGraffenned30 6-14 1-1 2-6 0 2 131
Tebbs 30 713 22 34 1 1 11
Smith 25 1-4 2-3 1-5 2 2 4
Fisher 23 3-15 0-0 0-3 1 4 7
Emery 18 0-4 0-0 1-1 2 0 O
Baskerville 20 2-3 1-2 2-5 2 4 6
Hicks 18 2.10 0-0 1-2 3 1 5
Nielsen 6 1-2 00 2-3 2 1
Haws 11 13 0-0 1-1 0 1 2
Ketcham 9 1-1 0-0 0-3 0 2 .2
Mc"nt;re 10 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 2 2
Totals 200 25-70 S.8 16-41 1223 62
FG%:.357. FT%: .750. Three-point goais: 6-26,
231 (DeGraffenried 2-5, Baskerville 1-1, Hicks
1-5, Tebbs 1 5, Fisher 1-7. Emery 0-3). Blocks:
4 (Smith 2, Nielsen, Tebbs). Turnovers: 20
(DeGraffenried 5, Tebbs 4, Hicks 3, Emery 2,
Nielsen 2. Smith 2, Baskerville, McIntire).
Steals: 5 (Tebbs 2, Baskerville, Nielsen, Smith).
Technical Fouls: none.
Weber State.......28 34 - 62
Michigan......47 33 - 80
At: Crisler Arena; A: 13,408
t
Left: Michigan's
Jerod Ward goes
to the hoop
against Weber
State.
Right: The
Wolverines' Louis
Bullock eyes the
ball during
Friday's 80-62
win over the
Wildcats.
Photos by JONATHAN
LURIE/Daily
Walk-on DeKuiper gets his first score
By Paul Barger
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan's blowout victory over
Weber State gave Wolverine coach
Steve Fisher an opportunity to clear
the bench.
Ryan DeKuiper, Neal Morton, Ron
Oliver and Erik Szyndlar all played
the final minute of the contest. DeKuiper
tallied his first career basket on a feed
from Morton in the waning moments of
the game.
"This is one of the greatest feelings
ofmy life," DeKuiper said. "Neal could
have taken that shot,
but l am grateful that
he was so unself-
ish." 3sketbA
This was the first
action DeKuiper has Notebook
seen in his young
Michigan career.
REVENGE: There
is no question that
playing Arizona
Wednesday gives the Wolverines added
incentive. Michigan has been man-
handled by the Wildcats in the recent
past and is 1-4 lifetime against the Pac-
10 power.
Last season, the two teams hooked
up in the Great Eight Festival in Auburn
Hills, and Arizona walked off with an
impressive 78-57 victory. The Wild-
cats blitzed the Wolverines during the
1993-94 campaign, 119-95, in the Fi-
esta Bowl Classic.
"Last year we wanted to get revenge
for what happened the year before,"
sophomore Maceo Baston. "This year
we have a chance again. This type of
game is good for all of us."
Arizona handed Fisher his first loss
as the head man at Michigan, 82-75, in
the 1989-90 Tip-Off Classic.
BALANCED ATTACK: After only two
games, it is quite obvious that Fisher is
going to give a great deal of playing
time to his first nine players.
- Baston, Maurice Taylor, Albert
White, Dugan Fife and Travis Conlan
started both games, but each was con-
tinually rotated in and out of the lineup.
White and fellow freshman Louis Bul-
lock led the Wolverines in playing time
Friday, each seeing 24 minutes of ac-
tion.
The balance in playing time is mani-
festing itself in the points column. Fri-
day, four Michigan players scored in
double figures led by Bullock's 14.
NOT As FOUL: The Wolverines clearly
improved from the foul line Friday, but
shots.
The Wolverines did not light the
world on fire against Weber State, but
17-25 was obviously a huge improve-
ment.
TELEVISION TIME: Michigan will play
Arizona at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. If the
Wolverines are victorious, they will
take on the winner of the Georgetown-
Georgia Tech clash Friday at 9:30 p.m.
Both games will be televised by ESPN.
ESPN is scheduled to show fivemore
Michigan games this season (Dec. 5 at
LSU, Jan. 9 vs. Illinois, Jan. 31 vs.
Purdue, Feb. 13 vs. Iowa and Feb. 27
vs. Michigan State).
CBS will carry five Wolverine con-
tests (Dec. 9 vs. Duke, Jan. 21 vs. Penn
State, Jan. 28 at Iowa, Feb. 18 vs. Indi-
ana and March 2 or 3 at Illinois).
Most of Michigan's othergames will
be televised locally by Creative Sports.
INJURY UPDATE: Taylor suffered a hip-
pointer in the first half against Weber
State, but returned early in the second.
Even with the injury, the sophomore
pulled down 10 rebounds and tallied 13
points.
The bandage over Bullock's left eye
does not appearto be affecting his game.
He was cut during the first half of
Wednesday's game with DePaul, but
was able to return before the end of the
contest.
AP Top 25
1. Kentucky (34)
2. Kansas (24)
3. Villanova (2)
4. UCLA (4)
5. Georgetown
6, Connecticut
7. Massachusetts
8. Iowa
9. Mississippi State
10-. Utah
11. Wake Forest
12. Louisville
Pts.
(First place points in parentheses)
',550
1,548
1,369
1,316
1,228
1,204
1,063
874
870
833
809
803
13. Memphis
14. Missouri
15. Maryland
16. Arkansas
17. Michigan
18. Stanf'ord
19. Virginia
20. North Carolina
21. Cincinnati
22. Viginia Tech
23. Indiana
24. Purdue
25. California
775
733
723
629
613
603
582
438
409
287
272
256
200
Michigan walk-on
Ryan DeKuiper
scored the first
two points of his
college career
Friday night.
JONATHAN LURIE/Daily
j MIGHTY
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