6A —Thursday, January 15, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Walton indispensable for ‘M’

By MAX BULTMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Just when the Michigan men’s 

basketball team thought it found 
its lockdown defender, it couldn’t 
use him.

Michigan coach John Beilein 

planned 
to 
use 
sophomore 

guard Derrick Walton Jr. as the 
primary defender against Ohio 
State guard D’Angelo Russell. But 
when Walton had to sit most of 
the first half with a pair of early 
fouls, Russell — who torched the 
Wolverines for 21 points and six 
assists in the Buckeyes’ blowout 
victory Tuesday — was able to 
exploit the defensive drop-off 
and lead Ohio State to a 15-point 
halftime lead.

When Walton was in the game, 

despite his lingering toe injury, 
Michigan looked more alert. In 
the game’s first five minutes, 
the Wolverines led 12-9 and 
looked to be in a rhythm. Walton, 
though, picked up his first foul 
in the game’s first minute and 
his second nine minutes later, 
forcing Beilein to play freshman 
guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-
Rahkman for eight minutes.

With 
Russell 
creating 

an 
athletic 
mismatch, 
the 

Wolverines were forced to use a 
combination of Abdur-Rahkman 
and junior guards Caris LeVert 
and Spike Albrecht on the 
Buckeye freshman.

And when that happened, 

Russell flourished.

It wasn’t that Walton was 

able to lock down the freshman, 
but he did seem to be the only 
one capable of forcing him into 
mistakes. All three of Russell’s 
first-half turnovers came during 
the eight minutes Walton was on 
the court.

“We thought he would be a 

big part (of guarding Russell),” 

Beilein said. “We lose by 19 and 
we’re down 15 at half. I don’t 
think we’re down 15 at half if 
Derrick’s out there playing the 
whole time.”

Michigan didn’t just miss 

Walton’s influence on defense, 
though. 
In 
previous 
games 

this season, including against 
Minnesota on Saturday, Walton 
has been able to generate offense 
for the Wolverines by forcing the 
issue in transition.

He had only one steal against 

the Golden Gophers, but as 
the most athletic defender in 
Michigan’s lineup, he provided 
the most effective ball-handling 
on the break, leading to points 
in transition. The Wolverines 
tallied 
11 
fast-break 
points 

against Minnesota, but just two 
against Ohio State.

Perhaps 
most 
important, 

Walton’s stability defending the 
perimeter 
allowed 
Michigan 

to stay focused on its defensive 
rotations, even when trailing by 
double digits.

“We kind of got into scramble 

mode trying to rotate and trap 
guys to kind of dig ourselves out 
of that hole,” Albrecht said. “We’d 
just mess up on rotations on the 

backside and things like that, and 
they got a few baskets.”

Walton’s 4.8 boards per game 

are the second most on the 
team, making his presence on 
the floor all the more important. 
While the box score shows Ohio 
State technically outrebounded 
Michigan by just three, those 
numbers don’t accurately reflect 
the Buckeyes’ dominance on the 
glass.

And all of that is to say 

nothing of the sloppy play 
Michigan exhibited on offense. 
The Wolverines committed 13 
turnovers, as Abdur-Rahkman 
didn’t transition smoothly into 
Walton’s role.

Really, no one could. Walton’s 

lingering injury, and now his 
foul trouble Tuesday, proves that 
Michigan can’t afford to have 
him miss time.

Questions of not having a 

go-to player outside of LeVert 
have loomed over Michigan all 
season, but they were especially 
present with Walton on the 
bench. The sophomore guard is, 
by necessity, one of the veteran 
voices on the team, and without 
him, the Wolverines looked truly 
lost.

Racine and Nagelvoort continue to compete for time

By ERIN LENNON

Daily Sports Editor

It was almost exactly midway 

through regulation in the No. 19 
Michigan hockey team’s series 
finale against No. 16 Minnesota on 
Saturday when junior goaltender 
Steve Racine surrendered a third 
goal to the Golden Gophers. He 
then signaled for senior forward 
Zach Hyman to relay a message to 
coach Red Berenson.

A few plays later, Racine skated 

to the Wolverines’ bench with 
a broken skate that had been 
causing discomfort. Sophomore 
Zach Nagelvoort set up in the 
crease for the first time since Dec. 
5.

Racine did not return in the 

third period.

“It’s a tough thing to pull 

yourself in the middle of the 
game when your team is ahead,” 
Berenson said. “But at least he 
didn’t hurt the team. Nagelvoort 
had a chance to come in, and he 
helped the team, so it turned out 
fine.”

More than a 7-5 win and a 

series sweep, Saturday’s contest 
was a microcosm of Michigan’s 
goaltending predicament over 

the last two years — Racine 
seemingly securing the starting 
position before suffering an 
injury and Nagelvoort making 
a case for the position before 
Racine’s return.

On 
Saturday, 
Nagelvoort 

was as good as Racine when he 
needed to be, but wasn’t lights-
out. He allowed a pair of goals, 
including one late in the third 
frame to cut the Wolverines’ lead 
to two. Though the duo allowed a 
combined five goals on 31 shots, 
the shared win was largely due to 
Michigan’s four-goal first period.

So just when it looked like 

Racine — who had won his third 
straight game the night before — 
would all but ensure a fifth start 
against Ohio State, Nagelvoort 
changed the conversation once 
again.

“Both their job is just to 

stop the puck,” Berenson said, 
reiterating that decisions will still 
be made on a weekly basis.

In the moment, the switch 

wasn’t all that significant.

“About 
five 
minutes 
after 

Nagelvoort went in, I was asking 
the guys when Steve came out,” 
said freshman defenseman Culter 
Martin.

Added sophomore defenseman 

Michael Downing: “Honestly, I 
didn’t know Nagelvoort was in 
the net until the start of the third 
period.”

Under other circumstances, 

though, 
Downing 
and 
the 

defense may have discussed their 
approach to the distinct styles of 
each netminder.

“A lot of the times we just tell 

Steve to stay in the net,” he said. 
“He doesn’t play the puck that 
much anyways, so we just say stop 
the puck and just worry about 
that. With Nagelvoort, when he’s 
in the net, we know he plays the 
puck.

“We do talk before the games.”
Racine has a good glove, but 

gives up rebounds that often turn 
into golden follow-up chances for 
opponents rushing the net. He 
has worked to minimize those 
rebounds over the last year, but 
still relies heavily on the defense 
to clear pucks.

And yet, he has proven he can 

make the big saves and that he 
can do it consistently enough to 
merit a starting role, as he did 
during his freshman campaign.

Meanwhile, 
Nagelvoort 
is 

calm and confident, nearly to his 

demise. He is vocal and handles 
the puck much more aggressively 
than his counterpart. He has 
also been clutch, so much so that 
the Edmonton Oilers drafted 
Nagelvoort in the fourth round of 
the 2014 NHL Draft.

But for all the accolades, 

Nagelvoort has disappointed this 
season. He has allowed easy, and, 
at times, lazy goals.

It must be noted, though, 

that the Wolverines didn’t give 
Nagelvoort much room for error 
during his first 13 starts. He 
posted a 7-6-0 record in the first 
half, but five of those losses 
came against ranked opponents. 
And over that five-game stretch, 
the offense scored just eight 
times. Often the beneficiary of an 
offensive flurry, Racine is 5-1-0 
after earning just two starts in 
the first half. In six appearances, 

the junior posted a .912 save 
percentage 
despite 
having 

played half as many minutes as 
Nagelvoort.

Most 
importantly, 
the 

Wolverines 
are 
now 
equally 

confident 
in 
both 
starting 

candidates. Racine’s most recent 
stretch, especially, has given a 
young defense an opportunity 
to trust that he will hold strong 
when mistakes are made.

PAUL SHERMAN/Daily

Junior goaltender Steve Racine removed himself from Saturday’s game after a broken skate caused him discomfort. 

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Derrick Walton Jr. missed most of the first half with four fouls Tuesday.

‘M’ gritty before pretty

By BRAD WHIPPLE

Daily Sports Writer

On the first day of preseason 

practice, the Michigan women’s 
basketball team gave itself an 
identity, laying the foundation for 
the kind of basketball it wanted to 
play: a scrappy kind.

The Wolverines claim to be 

“the hardest-working team in 
America,” a phrase spoken by 
coach Kim Barnes Arico in the 
team’s pump-up video before 
games. It echoes throughout 
Crisler Center, holding Michigan 
accountable to be the tenacious 
team it promised it would be.

So 
far 
this 
season, 
the 

Wolverines have been living up 
to day-one expectations.

Sunday, Michigan (3-2 Big 

Ten, 11-5 overall) defeated Ohio 
State, 100-94, after an emotional 
overtime battle that featured 
six lead changes in the final 25 
minutes.

The stat sheet will tell you that 

the Wolverines shot 45 percent 
from the field, and that freshman 
guard Katelynn Flaherty scored a 
career-high 24 points on 6-for-11 
shooting beyond the arc, senior 
guard Shannon Smith scored a 
career-high 36 points and senior 
forward Cyesha Goree grabbed 
more rebounds than the rest of 
Michigan’s starters combined.

But the stats won’t tell you that 

Flaherty played a more physical 
game than ever before. They 
won’t tell you she dove on the 
floor with under two minutes 
left, stole the ball, gave Smith an 
easy fast-break layup and helped 
force overtime. They also won’t 
tell you that Smith took a charge 
in the early minutes of the game 
and pumped her fists in the 
air, setting the tone for several 

similar plays later.

Those 
are 
the 
intangible 

things that won’t show up on the 
scoreboard, but are perhaps the 
plays that matter most.

“Who cares if you have 30 

(points) at the end of the day?” 
Goree said. “At the end of the 
day, if you got that charge to help 
us win the game or that loose 
ball, those are things that people 
outside might not notice, but us in 
the locker room — coaches have 
noticed. That’s what we pride 
ourselves on.”

Barnes Arico quantifies those 

key-play moments by awarding 
block ‘M’ stickers to players after 
games. For the team to earn 10 
or more is extremely rare — by 
that point, Goree said, the team is 
“guaranteed to win.”

Sunday was one of those 

instances.

“You would think that was 

some 
kind 
of 
million-dollar 

prize,” Barnes Arico said. “Doing 
something that is your own 
individual sacrifice for the good 
of the team, you are rewarded 
with that sticker.”

Leading the team in the 

intangible count are Goree and 
senior forward Nicole Elmblad, 
who, along with Smith, embody 
the things Barnes Arico wants 
her younger players to be.

Goree is a robust rebounder, 

Elmblad is a selfless leader and 
Smith is a daring shooter.

They were the key components 

of Sunday’s victory, with Smith 
leading the offensive charge 
while Elmblad and Goree battled 
in the paint to open up guards 
like Flaherty. Now in their last 
year, it’s more important than 
ever to set an example.

“I thought those three guys 

really came together and willed 

our team to victory and wouldn’t 
allow us to lose tonight,” Barnes 
Arico 
said 
after 
Sunday’s 

game. “The three of them were 
sensational.”

Added Goree: “To just get 

Michigan State and Ohio State 
at home, and get both of those 
victories, we wanted to leave that 
mark to show (the newcomers) 
how important it was to us they 
can execute the same way when 
we leave.”

Back in November, Goree — 

who didn’t start once during 
her first two years in Ann Arbor 
and now holds the single-season 
rebounding record with 317 — 
said her progress could help 
inspire the team’s youth to do the 
same. It’s this younger generation 
that will lead the charge in future 
seasons.

“Our conference is exploding,” 

Barnes Arico said. “The best 
players in our league right now 
are freshmen and sophomores. 
The incoming classes that have 
signed with our league are just 
incredible.

“I need those younger ones to 

get scrappy.”

The Wolverines played their 

most physical game against the 
Buckeyes, living up to the mantra 
that the players — young and old 
— heard on day one.

After the game, Barnes Arico 

was thrilled by her team’s 
performance and seemed more 
energetic than ever — she had 
evidence that her team could 
be scrappy. With Barnes Arico 
at the helm, Michigan could be 
the hardest-working team in 
America.

But there’s still a ways to go.
“Tomorrow is a new day, 

though,” she joked. “That’s the 
problem.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

John Spooney: The renaissance man of track and field

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

He was two-sport athlete at 

Brown, but that time has long 
since passed.

Now he is an aspiring medical 

school student. He was once 
good enough for a tryout with the 
Baltimore Ravens. He has just ran 
the fourth-fastest 60-meter time 
in school history in his first race 
as a Wolverine. And he has come 
a long way from a childhood near 
Jacksonville, Florida.

Meet 
John 
Spooney, 
the 

renaissance man.

“Once you step on that track, 

you have to feel like you’re 
invincible. Because if you don’t, 
you’re bound to lose,” Spooney 
told the Akron Beacon Journal in 
a video interview after winning 
the Youngstown (Ohio) Division 
One regional title during his 
senior year at Macedonia High 
School.

From 
the 
look 
of 
his 

accomplishments, he has been 
feeling invincible ever since.

After 
high 
school, 
Brown 

was the only institution on his 
list that would let Spooney both 
play football and run track. With 
an offer from an impressive, 
academically-challenging 
university, Spooney chose to 
commit.

He made sure Brown didn’t 

regret its decision.

***

Meet John Spooney, the former 

fastest man in the Ivy League.

On the track, Spooney was 

a 
three-time 
Heptagonal 

Champion in the 100-meter — 
just the fourth person in Ivy 
League history to do so — and 
two-time champion in the 200-
meter, setting school records for 
the Bears in both events.

During his senior year, though, 

the three-time All-Ivy selection 
left the track to focus his attention 
on the gridiron.

“My senior year of football was 

just a big highlight,” Spooney said. 
“It was kind of a dream, I guess.”

His highlights on YouTube 

reveal the makings of a great 

player, providing plays that have 
to be seen to be believed. During 
the first play from scrimmage in 
a game against Penn, Spooney 
bounced off a defender and cut 
through the rest for a 93-yard 
touchdown. His next touchdown 
was another display of blazing 
speed, this time for 94 yards.

Eight 
touchdowns 
later, 

Spooney secured the Ivy League 
rushing title with 1,170 yards — an 
average of 130 yards per game — 
good for fifth in the nation. His 
outstanding 
senior 
campaign 

caught the eyes of some coaches, 
earning him an invite to a rookie 
camp tryout with the Baltimore 
Ravens.

As an undrafted free agent, 

Spooney’s chances to make the 
team were an uphill battle. And 
those chances shrank further 
when he was switched from 
running back to safety.

“I was lost a bit. I didn’t like 

it,” Spooney said. “Because of 
(the position change), I wasn’t 
able to perform to the best of my 
abilities and you have to be at a 
high caliber to be on the football 

team.”

Despite posting a faster 100-

meter time than one of the NFL’s 
speediest running backs, Chris 
Johnson, Spooney didn’t make it 
to the professional level.

But he didn’t let that phase 

him. He had other aspirations 
in his sights, one of which was 
medical school.

Following the conclusion of 

the Ravens’ rookie camp in May, 
one of Spooney’s track coaches at 
Brown began talking to a friend, 
a track coach at Michigan. Soon 
enough, Spooney was notified 
of an opportunity to run track 
for the Wolverines as a graduate 
student with one year of eligibility 
remaining.

Spooney kept his options open 

as the year went on. With summer 
around the corner, he had to make 
a decision.

“Once they got back to me 

about an opportunity to go to 
Michigan to run track, I didn’t 
want to close any doors.” Spooney 
said. “When I realized that 
football was a fleeting thing and 
when it was May I was like, okay, 

what do I need to do to apply to 
grad school at Michigan?”

***

Meet 
John 
Spooney, 
the 

scholar.

Before 
he 
even 
came 
to 

Michigan, Spooney had some 
obstacles in the way. He treated 
the process like he would as if 
he were in the running lane or 
looking for a hole between the 
offensive linemen for him to 
speed through.

“One thing that was kind of 

crazy was that I had to take the 
GRE in a really short amount of 
time, which was kind of stressful, 
but it worked out,” Spooney said. 
“I had taken the MCAT not too 
long before, so I was already in 
test mode.”

As a biology major, Spooney’s 

end goal is medical school. 
But, again, he is keeping his 
opportunities open. He has a 
few other ideas, one of which is 
the military. If the opportunity 
presents itself, he would also 
like to conduct research while 

attending medical school on the 
side, which was the original plan.

No matter how impressive 

John Spooney’s résumé may 
look, though, he is still looking 
to improve on the track. Even 
with the fourth-fastest 60-meter 
time at Michigan, he expects 
more record-setting days on the 
horizon.

“(The record is) cool, but as the 

season goes on, I hope I can get 
faster,” Spooney said. “It’s not a 
one-and-done kind of deal.”

For John Spooney, nothing 

is one and done. He is never 
satisfied, but is always striving 
toward self-improvement. He is 
a man of high aspirations, a man 
who those around him have no 
doubt will succeed, both as an 
athlete and a professional.

He’s a renaissance man, the 

former fastest man in the Ivy 
League and a scholar. But for a 
short time, Spooney will have 
another title. If only for one year, 
the men’s track team will be able 
to call him by another name.

John 
Spooney, 
Michigan 

Wolverine.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

