8 — Friday, January 9, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Behind Enemy Lines: Richard Pitino
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
The Big Ten added another
young name to its list of top
college basketball coaches in
2013 when Minnesota hired
Richard
Pitino.
Pitino
spent
two years
working
as
an
assistant
to his dad, Rick, at Louisville
from 2010 to 2012. The elder
Pitino has reached seven Final
Fours and won two national
championships
during
stops
at Providence, Kentucky and
Louisville.
After
a
year
at
Florida
International in 2012-13, the
younger Pitino missed the NCAA
Tournament in his first year at
Minnesota but won the NIT.
In some ways, his defensive
style resembles his dad’s with
its full-court pressure. Last
season, Michigan beat Pitino’s
Minnesota team twice — 63-60
in both teams’ Big Ten opener
in Minneapolis, and 66-56 on
March 1 at Crisler Center. In
the latter game, the Wolverines
clinched a share of the Big Ten
title, while the Golden Gophers
dropped
to
7-10,
severely
hurting their chances of earning
an at-large bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
The Daily sat down with
Pitino at Big Ten Media Day in
October to discuss the coach’s
outlook on the season after
winning the NIT championship.
The
Michigan
Daily:
Last year, it seemed like your
team played with a little bit
of a chip on its shoulder going
into the NIT and getting the
championship. How does that
translate into this season?
Richard Pitino: The beauty
of winning the NIT is, when
you
make
the
NIT
you’re
obviously very close to making
the NCAA Tournament. That
means you missed out on the
NCAA Tournament. So you’re
disappointed. But then, what
I was proud of was our guys
regrouped, didn’t feel sorry for
themselves and then corrected
all the mistakes that kept us out
of the tournament. Our defense
got better, our rebounding got
better, we cut our turnovers
down — all those things I think
they learned from, and we
were really playing our best
basketball at the end. So there’s
a lot to be learned from winning
the NIT, and there’s a lot to be
proud of, certainly.
TMD: You won your last
game, which not a lot of teams
get to do. Does that, maybe even
rather than losing early in the
NCAA Tournament, does that
bring more confidence into this
year?
RP: It’s all how everything
is
perceived.
It’s
all
how
the
media
perceives
it
and the fans
perceive
it.
We
certainly
understand
that. What I
liked
(was)
we played a
really
good
game
versus
SMU (in the
title game). You can win some
games, and you don’t play really
well. I thought our guys played
a very good team, a very well-
coached team in SMU, and they
performed. That was nice to see,
and I think our guys are proud
of it, and they’re excited to build
off of it.
TMD: Mid-season last year,
you
played
four
top-15
teams and split
those
games.
When
you’re
a team with
postseason
aspirations
like you are,
how tough is
that schedule
when you run
into a stretch
like that?
RP: It’s funny, because you
do these press conferences and
the media implies that, ‘Oh, you
got three tough games by then.’
There’s no easy games in the
Big Ten. You’ve got 18 of them.
I don’t even look at the schedule,
I really don’t. I couldn’t tell
you who we open up against
because I don’t want to have
that anxiety. I want to sleep at
night. Because there’s not one
easy win. I remember our first
win — Ben Johnson, who’s my
assistant coach, turned to me
because he’s been in the league
lately, he said, ‘It’s a win in the
Big Ten. That’s all you need to be
happy about.’ And certainly we
understand that.
TMD: Michigan won in your
building to start last Big Ten
season, then down the stretch
beat Minnesota at Crisler. Is that
something that enters into your
mind at all going into the season?
RP: No, I try to forget about
that.
(Laughs.)
Michigan
certainly is a very good team.
I thought we actually played a
much better game at their place
last year — I thought we played
pretty well, if I can remember.
Certainly they’re a very good
team. (Beilein) does a great job.
I don’t know if we play them
twice this year, but when that
time comes, we’ll address it.
TMD:
You
lost
Austin
(Hollins), but you’ve got Andre
(Hollins) back. Is he stepping up
as a leader for you?
RP:
Yeah,
absolutely.
I
haven’t decided captains or
anything like that, but if there’s
a clear-cut guy, it’s him. He’s
focused, he’s stepped up, he’s in
great shape, he’s healthy, which
is huge, and if there’s a leader on
this team, it’s Andre Hollins.
TMD:
You’ve
also
got
DeAndre (Mathieu) — it’s got
to be nice to have two senior
guards in that backcourt.
RP: It is. Our guys last year,
DeAndre had never been through
the Big Ten. He had never
played major minutes in a major
college program before. (Drake
transfer) Joey King was in the
Missouri Valley, so he goes up a
conference. Mo Walker lost 75
pounds. Elliott (Eliason) hardly
played. So we had guys who may
have appeared older, but they
were very, very inexperienced.
It’s not that way anymore, so
now they understand what needs
to be done. Now it’s a matter of
doing it.
TMD: Finally, you talked
this morning about a little bit of
the full-court press and a little
bit of the running game. Are
those some things you hope to
implement more this season as
you kind of get into your systems
more?
RP:
I
think
it
was
implemented,
it
wasn’t
implemented as well as I like
it to be implemented. In my
opinion, like any system that
you do, right or wrong, you’ve
got to recruit to it. So we bring
in a couple of guys this year, I
think they fit that, and I think
we’re going to continue to move
in that direction and hopefully
get stronger every single year.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Caris LeVert and the Michigan men’s basketball team host second-year coach Richard Pitino’s Minnesota team Saturday after a season sweep last year.
BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES
“There’s no easy
games in the Big
Ten. You’ve got
18 of them.”
‘M’ hosts Minnesota in pivotal series
Wolverines, Golden
Gophers battle at
Yost for early Big
Ten edge
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Editor
In September, the six Big
Ten hockey coaches gathered at
Joe Louis Arena and cast votes
to
predict
how
the
conference’s
second season
would
shake
out.
Not
surprisingly,
preseason
rankings listed
Minnesota
— which lost
to
Union
in
the
National
Championship
last
season
—
on
top,
followed
by
Michigan and
a young Wisconsin squad.
Now, three months later,
with the Badgers limping into
the new year at 2-11-1, it seems
this three-team race will come
down to the two facing off at
Yost Ice Arena this weekend.
While it’s only early January,
when
the
Wolverines
take
on No. 8 Minnesota in their
first series of 2015, the results
will likely play a major role
in determining the Big Ten
champion come March.
“We talked about it a little
bit this week, how hard it is
to win (in Minneapolis),” said
junior forward Andrew Copp.
“There’s some added pressure
on winning the weekend here,
for sure, and then trying to steal
some points up there.
“I think everyone in our
locker room knows, not just for
the Big Ten but for the Pairwise
(Rankings) too, we’re in a
pretty good spot if we win the
weekend.”
The
reigning
Big
Ten
champion, Minnesota (1-0-1 Big
Ten, 10-5-1 overall) currently
occupies fourth place in the
conference standings, having
earned a win and a tie in its only
Big Ten series against Michigan
State.
Though the Wolverines will
have the upper hand at even
strength — Michigan boasts
the No. 5 offense in the country,
scoring 3.65 goals per game —
the Golden Gophers will be even
tougher to beat if the game is
decided by special teams.
Minnesota
has
converted
on 30 percent of its power-play
opportunities this season, good
for second-best in the nation.
Four players — forwards Kyle
Rau,
Connor
Reilly,
Justin
Kloos and Travis Boyd — have
combined for 14 of the Gophers’
18 power-play goals, heading
the lethal unit.
Both teams will also benefit
from the return of key players
who participated in the 2014-15
World Junior Championships in
Canada.
Minnesota forwards Ryan
Collins and Hudson Fasching
returned to the team following
the
United
States’
loss
to
Russia in the quarterfinals.
The Russians also sent Swedish
forward Leon Bristedt back to
Minneapolis after the semifinal
round.
And though they managed
two
wins
and
a
Great
Lakes Invitational title, the
Wolverines managed just four
goals in the tournament without
three of their top six forwards
and
their
offensive-minded
defenseman in freshman Zach
Werenski. The offense will
welcome the return of freshman
Dylan Larkin — who scored
seven points, including a team-
leading five goals in four games
— as well as sophomores JT
Compher and Tyler Motte.
Larkin will return to his
position at center on the second
line, flanked by sophomore Alex
Kile and senior Zach Hyman.
Kile and Hyman skated on the
top line with Copp during the
GLI and stood out as the most
productive
trio
during
the
tournament.
Still, the versatility the three
displayed in those two games
means
Berenson
will
have
options should the lineup need
changing.
Beyond conference bragging
rights, a win over Minnesota
would be impactful to the
Pairwise Rankings at the end of
the regular season.
Though Michigan bettered
its resume with a win over
No. 5 Michigan Tech in the
GLI, it will need wins over its
strongest opponents to secure
a postseason bid. And given the
weakness of the Big Ten, the
Golden Gophers are the team to
beat.
Following an MVP-worthy
performance in net at the GLI,
junior goaltender Steve Racine
will likely get the start Friday
against
Minnesota.
Racine
made both losing starts against
the first-ranked Golden Gophers
in Minneapolis last season, but
sophomore
netminder
Zach
Nagelvoort secured the starting
position by March, when the
Wolverines
split
the
home
series.
No matter who starts in
net this weekend, Berenson
reiterated that there is still a
decision to make in practice
each week.
“I want them to battle,”
Berenson said. “I told coach
(Josh Blackburn) to tell them
that this job is wide open. We
need a goalie to step forward
and earn the right to be our
starting goalie.”
Still, Racine has been off
ice for the better part of the
last two weeks, and he, like
the rest of his teammates, will
have a tough first opponent in
Minnesota.
“I don’t know if playing (the
Golden Gophers) is nice or not,”
Berenson said. “I’ll tell you after
the weekend.”
Minnesota
at Michigan
Matchup:
Minnesota
10-5-1; Michi-
gan 10-7
When: Friday
6:35 P.M.;
Saturday
4:05 P.M.
Where: Yost
Ice Arena
TV: BTN; Fox
Sports Detroit
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Junior goaltender Steve Racine will look to continue his momentum from the GLI in this weekend’s series.
Behind Enemy
Lines: Cait Craft
By JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Writer
For the second time in a week,
the Michigan women’s basket-
ball team will be looking to use a
home rivalry game to build some
momentum in the Big Ten.
Just
seven days
after
a
thrilling
nine-point
victory
over then-
No.
24
Michigan State, the Wolverines
welcome another rival to Crisler
Center in Sunday’s matchup with
Ohio State.
The Buckeyes, who finished
last season with a 5-11 conference
record, come to Ann Arbor with
three Big Ten victories and an 11-5
overall record. Their most impres-
sive victory, an 85-68 rout over
No. 24 Rutgers in Columbus, came
against an opponent that beat
Michigan by 13 on Wednesday.
The Wolverines (2-2 Big Ten,
10-5 overall) nearly pulled off the
upset in Piscataway, at one point
eliminating a 19-point deficit to
tie the score midway through the
second half. But Michigan ulti-
mately dropped the game, 81-68.
The
Wolverines
will
face
a similar defensive challenge
on Sunday. Ohio State’s roster
features two guards scoring
over 20 points per game: fresh-
man Kelsey Mitchell and junior
Ameryst Alston. Mitchell has
averaged 25.7 points, more than
any other player in the country.
Along with Alston, junior
guard Cait Craft is one of two
upperclassmen in the Ohio State
starting lineup. Through three
seasons in Columbus, Craft has
endured a coaching change —
coach Kevin McGuff is in just his
second year — and become a role
model for a young team on the
rise.
The Daily sat down with Craft
at Big Ten Media Day in October
to discuss her role in the pro-
gram, her team’s young talent,
and of course, her brother Aaron,
the former Buckeye basketball
star.
The Michigan Daily: What’s
it been like playing for an up-and-
coming program with a second-
year coach?
Cait Craft: It has been differ-
ent. The whole style is different
here from my first year at Ohio
State, but I definitely like it a lot
better. I think it fits our team bet-
ter. Especially with the recruits
they brought in, his style of play
fits our team better than the old
style of play I was once a part of.
It is different, but I think every-
body has adapted to the change.
We have such a young team that
this style of play is all they know,
so it’s really not a transformation
for them at all.
TMD: Playing guard at Ohio
State, I’m sure you get asked a lot
of questions about your brother
Aaron. How do you feel about
your parallel stories, and do you
think it’s cool or annoying to be
asked about?
CC: It’s cool to be compared to
him. Personally, I think Aaron is
one of the best people that I know.
To be compared to him as a play-
er and a person, honestly, to me,
it’s a huge blessing and an honor.
Certain people get annoying —
certain people ask questions I
really don’t have answers for. But
it is nice to have him. Now that
he’s gone, it’s kind of awkward for
me, honestly. I haven’t adjusted
to it very well yet, it’s different.
It’s weird not having him.
TMD: Now that Aaron has
graduated, are you excited at the
opportunity to make your own
name for yourself without being
tied to your brother?
CC: I am. Around campus, it’s
like you should just introduce
yourself as, “Hey, I play basket-
ball,” or, “Hey, I’m Aaron’s sister,”
because that’s all people see. Peo-
ple don’t really know just me as
myself. In that respect, it’s kind
of nice to be my own person now,
not, “Oh, you’re still just Aaron’s
sister.” As nice as that is, I like to
be known for me.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES