Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, February 27, 2015 — 7
Durkin, Drevno not afraid
to shake things up in spring
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
In his first season, Michigan
defensive
coordinator
D.J.
Durkin inherits eight starters
from a unit that finished seventh
in the nation in total defense last
season.
Yet none of them are assured
their spots again in 2015.
“What I want to do is make
sure all these guys (know) — and
I told them as soon as I met with
them — that they have a clean
slate to start from,” Durkin said.
“I want these guys to know that
maybe you’re a guy who hasn’t
played much, you have a new
opportunity to do that. Maybe
you’re a guy that’s played a lot,
but it’s not just going to be given
to you.
“You
gotta
go
earn
it.
That way, the whole room
understands they all have equal
opportunity to go earn some
snaps on the field.”
With
fifth-year
senior
linebacker Desmond Morgan
and redshirt freshman defensive
back Jabrill Peppers returning
from injury in addition to the
starters, there’s plenty of talent
on
the
roster.
Linebackers
coach Greg Mattison, the only
returning coach on staff, is also
back after coaching many of
the same players as defensive
coordinator last season.
Durkin said Thursday he
would rotate Peppers between
cornerback and safety as well as
try different players at defensive
line or linebacker, since the team
will experiment with both the
4-3 and 3-4 schemes.
“Scheme-wise and all that,
we’re a little different from game
to game, and that’s different
based on our personnel from
year to year, too,” Durkin said.
“We’re multiple in what we do
schematically, but I just want
a group of guys that are going
to play hard, be blue-collar and
always compete for everything
they do.”
After two days of spring
practice, Durkin naturally had
more questions than answers.
Over the next five weeks, he’ll
start
sorting
out
personnel
issues on the
field, not based
on past success
or film.
“It’s
new.
It’s
a
clean
slate
for
everyone,”
Durkin said. “If there’s a guy that
was a starter and played a lot,
he’s not guaranteed that spot. A
guy that didn’t play, he has every
right to go get that spot.”
Offensive coordinator Tim
Drevno, who came over from
Southern
California
in
the
offseason, will also take a fresh
look at things, even for an
offensive line which returns all
of its starters.
“Really, it’s just a clean slate,”
Drevno said, nearly echoing
Durkin. “I just turn on the film
and see who’s doing it at a high
level and doing it at the top of
their craft. At USC last year, I
started three true freshmen.
I’m really just trying to find the
best
players
out there, and
that’s the best
thing
about
it,
guys
go
out there and
compete to the
best.”
Drevno could perhaps tinker
even more than Durkin, given
that he has less experience
returning
on
the
offense.
His quarterback competition
should be wide open between
junior Shane Morris, redshirt
freshman Wilton Speight and
freshman Alex Malzone, and he
returns four running backs with
college
experience:
redshirt
junior Drake Johnson, juniors
Derrick Green and De’Veon
Smith and redshirt sophomore
Ty Isaac.
On the offensive line, he
has some reserves waiting in
the wings, though he did say
he could tell in practice which
players had experience.
“Yeah, at times I can,” Drevno
said. “Just because they’re a
little bit more grooved into their
technique.”
On paper, it appears Drevno
has more work cut out for him,
but he looked forward to the task
of getting his new team settled
and toughened up on the field.
“You demand it,” Drevno said.
“You love ‘em up, you get ‘em to
trust you, you invite them over
to your house for a barbecue,
you tell ‘em that you love ‘em and
you get them to play for you. It’s
pretty cool when it happens.”
One final tune-up for ‘M’
By MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Writer
After an emphatic 81-50 win
Tuesday over Purdue on Senior
Night, the Michigan women’s
basketball team celebrated the
accomplishments
of
senior
forwards Nicole Elmblad and
Cyesha
Goree
and
senior
guard
Shannon
Smith.
But then it
was
straight
back to work.
As students
travel to their
Spring
Break
destinations,
the Wolverines
(8-9 Big Ten,
16-12 overall)
will hit the road Saturday to travel
to Champaign to take on Illinois
in their final game of the regular
season. The Fighting Illini (5-12,
14-15) aren’t just a team below
them in the Big Ten standings, but
also a team Michigan has already
beaten this season.
The Wolverines can’t get too
complacent,
though,
because
a loss to a team ranked No. 95
in the RPI standings will be
deemed a “bad” loss to the NCAA
Tournament
committee
and
would most likely knock them out
of at-large consideration for good.
But if Michigan can replicate
the dominance it showed a
month ago in Ann Arbor, when it
defeated the Fighting Illini, 70-57,
the Wolverines won’t have to fret.
Michigan dominated Illinois
both in the paint and behind the
arc as freshman guard Katelynn
Flaherty went 5-for-9 from 3-point
range, leading the team with 21
points, while Goree and Elmblad
combined for 26 rebounds inside.
Starting off the game on a 10-4
run, the Wolverines never looked
back and extended their home
winning streak to five.
While the Fighting Illini shot
just 21.1 percent from behind
the arc and 38.5 percent overall,
Michigan turned the ball over 25
times, keeping the game much
closer than it seemed.
Since
the
victory,
the
Wolverines have struggled to
string together victories and have
gone 3-7, including three straight
games in which the Wolverines
lost late leads.
Illinois has not fared much
better since the Jan. 26 game
either, going 4-6. The Fighting
Illini picked up two wins, though,
against Minnesota and Ohio State,
two teams Michigan has lost to
this season.
Illinois, which starts three
underclassmen and a first-year
transfer, is led in scoring by guard
Ivory Crawford, who leads the
team averaging 15.3 points. Center
Chatrice White leads Illinois on
the boards with 7.1 rebounds per
game.
The Wolverines will also have
to watch out for forward Jacqui
Grant, who led the Fighting Illini
with 17 points and 10 rebounds the
last time the two teams met.
After the game in Champaign,
Michigan will travel to the
Chicago area to play in the Big Ten
Tournament at the Sears Centre
Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
starting March 5.
Since Michigan has already
locked up the No. 8 seed in the
tournament, it wouldn’t appear
the Wolverines have much to play
for.
But with an NCAA Tournament
at-large bid still on the line, this
last game can’t be treated as a
consolation game.
NOTE: It was announced
Thursday
that
Elmblad
was
named
to
the
Capital
One
Academic All-America third team.
After receiving recognition on the
second team last year, Elmblad
becomes just the second player
in Michigan history to earn two
national academic honors. She
has also garnered two Academic
All-Big Ten awards as well as two
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
awards in her career.
Michigan
at Illinois
Matchup:
Michigan 16-12;
Illinois 14-15
When: Satur-
day 12 P.M.
Where: State
Farm Center
TV/Radio:
BTN
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Offensive coordinaor Tim Drevno says all of his players will have to earn their roles heading into the season.
“It’s new. It’s a
clean slate.”
Q&A with Terps’
Evan Smotrycz
By DANIEL FELDMAN
Daily Sports Editor
The
Michigan
men’s
basketball team will be in
unchartered water when it
travels to No. 14 Maryland on
Saturday. Sure, the Wolverines
last played the Terrapins in
2008, but you would have to go
all the way back to 1937 to find
the last time the two played in
College Park.
Something
Michigan
will
find
familiar
Saturday,
though, is
fifth-year
senior
forward
Evan Smotrycz. The former
Wolverine
transferred
to
Maryland after his sophomore
year at Michigan in 2011, when
he helped the Wolverines win
a share of the Big Ten regular-
season title.
After sitting out a year,
Smotrycz was back in action
last season, averaging 11 points
and six rebounds per game.
While Smotrycz’s minutes
have gone down this season, the
Terrapins (11-4 Big Ten, 23-5
overall) have found success in
their first season in the Big Ten.
After defeating No. 5 Wisconsin
on Tuesday, Maryland stands
alone in second place in the
conference.
The Daily sat down with
Smotrycz at Big Ten Media
Day in October to discuss
playing Michigan, air travel
and sage advice he can give out
regarding the tough Big Ten
conference.
The Michigan Daily: When
did the idea of playing Michigan
again come into your mind after
transferring?
Evan Smotrycz: I mean,
right now, we’re just trying
to get better. But when the
schedule came out, I was
interested in seeing how many
times we play them and where.
(Michigan’s) only coming to us.
TMD: Is it upsetting you’re
not playing at Michigan? Maybe
the lobsters would have showed
up again.
ES: You know what, it would
have been nice if we could have
gone there and get a win. But
you know it’s a tough place to
play, so can’t say I’m mad about
it.
TMD: Do you think you’ll
be able to give analysis on
other Big Ten teams, or will
your knowledge be limited to
Michigan?
ES: I’m pretty familiar with
some of the stuff that other
teams
run.
Unless
they’ve
switched it up, because a lot of
the personnel has changed a lot.
But I have familiarity with the
venues and what it takes to win
on the road in the Big Ten. So I
think I’ll be of help.
TMD: The Big Ten basketball
Twitter
account
tweeted
a
photo out before of you talking
to Beilein. What do you two talk
about?
ES: Oh, you know. Just
exchanging
pleasantries.
I
haven’t seen him since I left.
I was talking to him and Tom
Wywrot, the communications
guy.
TMD:
Have
you
stayed
in contact with anyone from
Michigan?
ES: From two years ago?
Yeah, here and there I talk to
some guys. The guys on the
team now, the only guy I can
think of is Max Bielfeldt.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wolverines searching for
sweep against Wisconsin
By ERIN LENNON
Daily Sports Editor
Good things happen at Yost Ice
Arena.
Sunday, after 43 days away
from home ice,
the
Michigan
hockey
team
snapped
a
three-game
slide. With a
5-2 victory over
Ohio State, the
17th-ranked
Wolverines
(9-5 Big Ten,
17-11
overall)
reclaimed the
Big Ten lead
and a spot in
the
USCHO.
com poll after
falling out of
the top 20 one
week ago.
They will return to Yost this
weekend against Wisconsin in
near-desperate need of a sweep
if they want to secure an at-large
bid to the NCAA Tournament. If
Michigan loses any more than
one of its six remaining games, it
will likely have to win the Big Ten
Tournament to earn a spot.
But for the third straight week,
the Wolverines will have to prove
themselves, this time against a
Badger squad that’s peaking at
the right time.
“They’re a dangerous team,”
said
Michigan
coach
Red
Berenson.
“They’re
probably
playing pretty loose, and they’re
hoping get off to a good start
here.”
Ranked among the worst
in college hockey all season,
Wisconsin has had nowhere to
go but up since beginning the
season 0-8. But with a roster full
of freshmen, the Badgers have
improved steadily in the second
half. Wisconsin tied Minnesota
on Jan. 31 before stealing road
wins at Ohio State and Michigan
State in February.
Despite their recent success,
though, a loss to the Badgers
would doom the Wolverines in
the PairWise Rankings, as they
saw after dropping seven spots
following their Friday night loss
to Ohio State last weekend.
“Obviously we’ve had some
games where we’ve slipped up
and let some teams off the hook,
to say the least,” said sophomore
forward Tyler Motte.
That’s not to say Michigan
should lose either matchup to the
Badgers.
The Wolverines put up an
impressive
13
goals
against
Wisconsin (2-10-2, 4-20-4) the
first time they met, pairing a
come-from-behind win with a
shutout by sophomore goaltender
Zach Nagelvoort to secure a
sweep in January.
“It’s amazing,” Berenson said.
“When we’re really focusing on
defense, the offense kicks in.
That’s always the way it’s been
here. … Whenever we’re paying
attention to defense, we get the
puck more — otherwise you’re
chasing.”
But
with
the
offense
significantly cooler these days
— Michigan has scored just
10 times in its last four games
— the Wolverines will need
their goaltender to be as good
as Wisconsin netminder Joel
Rumpel has been this season.
Though junior Steve Racine
got both starts against the
Buckeyes, expect Nagelvoort in
net Friday. Racine played well
through two periods Sunday, but
allowed two sloppy goals with a
late lead.
“We can definitely play well
every night, but it’s just something
we need to stay focused on,” said
junior forward Boo Nieves. “It’s
the little things, like winning
faceoffs and possession.
“We saw in Minnesota that
when we didn’t have possession,
the puck was going in our net.”
Whichever goaltender starts
will benefit from a reignited
duo in freshman Dylan Larkin
and senior Zach Hyman. The
second-line forwards’ drought
coincided with Michigan’s three-
game losing streak, but the duo
combined for eight points Sunday.
Hyman — who became the first
Michigan player to surpass 40
points in a season since current
New York Rangers forward Carl
Hagelin — notched six points
against Wisconsin in Madison.
The offense may also get a
boost with the return of senior
center Travis Lynch to the fourth
line. Lynch has missed nearly
two months after having wrist
surgery in January. Since then,
the Wolverines have skated three
full lines, rotating the three
centermen in with the fourth
line.
Michigan has just three home
games remaining this season.
Good things happen at Yost, but
the Wolverines will need to be
great if they want to make the
NCAA Tournament for the first
time since 2012.
“We have to win,” Motte said.
“That’s our mindset right now.”
BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES
JAMES COLLER/Daily
Dylan Larkin recorded six points in last weekend’s series against Ohio State.
Wisconsin
at Michigan
Matchup:
Wisconsin
4-20-4;
Michigan 17-11
When: Friday
7:35 P.M.; Sat-
urday 4 P.M.
Where: Yost
Ice Arena
TV/Radio:
Friday: Fox
Sports Detroit
Plus; Saturday:
BTN