T

his isn’t what was sup-
posed to happen for the 
Michigan men’s basket-

ball team.

They were 

supposed to 
be a deep, 
experienced 
team capable 
of beating 
elite teams 
and making 
noise in the 
Big Ten.

They were 

supposed 
to lean on senior leadership 
from Caris LeVert and Spike 
Albrecht, the faces of the pro-
gram and the last two players 
remaining from the 2013 run to 
the Final Four.

They were supposed to 

rebound from a disappointing 
2014-15 campaign and make 
an NCAA Tournament run, 
and maybe even more, as John 
Beilein’s teams have become 
accustomed to.

But now, the team’s lead-

ers sit on the sidelines without 
uniforms, no win seems like a 
guarantee, and press confer-
ences that were once full of 
optimism and anticipation are 
now dominated by vague injury 
status updates, questions of 
mental toughness and a fear that 
all hope is lost.

Albrecht’s career is over, after 

nagging hip injuries and concern 
for his future well-being proved 
to be the only things that could 
keep him off the court. The 
Wolverines don’t have depth — 
they’re really only six or seven 
players deep, with no players 
beyond that showing any signs 
of making a positive impact in a 
game. They’ve beaten one elite 
team, No. 2 Maryland, but they 
were run out of their own build-
ing twice last week in blowout 
losses to Indiana and rival 
Michigan State.

And in perhaps the most 

mysterious story arc of the sea-

son, what initially looked like a 
minor lower-left-leg injury sus-
tained against Illinois on Dec. 
30 has turned into a 10-game, 
40-day absence (and count-
ing) for LeVert, the Wolverines’ 
unquestioned best player.

It’s been labeled a day-to-

day injury from the start, but 
as weeks turned into a month 
without any further clarity on 
what happened in the first place, 
LeVert remained held out of 
practice despite showing up to 
games without crutches, a walk-
ing boot or any other obvious 
signs of injury.

There were rumblings of 

LeVert potentially returning 
against the Hoosiers or Spar-
tans, with Beilein saying he was 
finally practicing. But when 
he took the court before both 
games, LeVert was in sweat-
pants and barely even touched a 
basketball.

“I don’t even know where he 

is right now,” Michigan State 
coach Tom Izzo told reporters in 
East Lansing leading up to the 
rivalry game. “I’ve never seen 
anything so quiet in all my life. 
I guess they’ve got better media 
than we’ve got, ’cause you guys 
would’ve dug in.”

He’s partially right — LeVert’s 

situation has been shrouded in 
mystery for weeks, but it’s not 
for lack of trying on the media’s 
part.

Beilein has been asked about 

LeVert at every press confer-
ence since the injury, so much 
to the point his tone borders on 
frustration when he spits the 
noncommittal clichés, “He did 
more today than yesterday” or 
“I’m not gonna share a time-
table.”

Might LeVert be voluntarily 

holding himself back? Not likely 
— according to roommate Der-
rick Walton Jr., they talk all the 
time about when he’ll make his 
return to the court. After all, he 
could’ve left the Wolverines for 
the NBA last year and nobody 

would have blamed him, but he 
came back to help the team.

And why is Beilein so cautious 

and guarded about the situation?

To some, it might seem 

unnecessary, but more likely, 
it’s just classic Beilein — being 
ultra-conservative, never tip-
ping his hand to opposing teams, 
never wanting to share more 
than he has to.

And really, all things consid-

ered, why should he be hasty? 
Why should he rush LeVert 
back? After all, LeVert has a pro-
fessional career to think about, 
and considering this is the sec-
ond straight year he’s missed 
substantial time with a lower-
body injury, bringing him back 
too soon and risking re-injury 
could have catastrophic effects, 
for both him and Michigan as a 
whole.

For a while, it didn’t really 

seem to matter that Beilein 
was playing it safe. In LeVert’s 
absence, Michigan played 
tough on the road against teams 
like No. 18 Purdue and No. 4 
Iowa, beat Maryland at home 
and took care of all the lower-
tier Big Ten opponents it was 
expected to.

But now things have gotten 

ugly, and the typical questions 
about leadership and mental 
toughness have come to the 
forefront. Suddenly there are 
no illusions that the team is fine 
without LeVert — it’s letting 
games get way too out of hand 
way too quickly.

Beilein has brushed off those 

excuses, claiming the Wolver-
ines simply aren’t good enough 
to hang with teams of that cali-
ber, regardless of who is injured 
and who is healthy, or who is 
leading the team and who is 
“mentally tough.”

And even with LeVert out, 

leadership is probably not the 
problem. Walton and fellow 
junior Zak Irvin have been 
thrust into the role before, gain-
ing wisdom beyond their years 

thanks to Michigan’s NBA draft 
turnover and injury problems of 
the last few seasons. 

The two are fine leaders — 

Irvin went on a fiery outburst 
during a second-half timeout 
against Michigan State, ques-
tioning the team’s resolve at a 
volume that startled many mem-
bers of the nearby students in 
the Maize Rage; and just a day 
after Walton vowed to “make 
his presence felt” against the 
Wolverines’ in-state rival, he 
engaged in a physical, back-and-
forth battle with the Spartans’ 
Bryn Forbes.

But despite Irvin and Wal-

ton’s best efforts, none of that 
was enough this week, and it 
probably won’t be enough going 
forward. According to Beilein, 
it’s tough to stop a team with 
a player like Michigan State’s 

Denzel Valentine, who can take 
over a game by making a few 
plays himself.

The thing is, the Wolverines 

have one of those players, too 
— he just hasn’t seen the floor 
since December.

“Take a player out of the 

lineup like Denzel (or LeVert), 
it’s tough,” Izzo said after the 
game Saturday. “(Beilein) won’t 
make an excuse, so I’ll make one 
for him.” 

Of course, Beilein may be 

right — maybe the Wolverines 
really aren’t good enough to 
hang with teams like Indiana 
and Michigan State, even if 
LeVert were healthy. Maybe the 
Wolverines’ win over Maryland 
was a fluke, and maybe people’s 
expectations are just too high.

Still, the Wolverines may be 

able to get into the NCAA Tour-

nament — they already have 
17 wins, a few more winnable 
contests on the schedule and 
résumé wins over the Terrapins 
and No. 24 Texas to go with a 
name-recognition advantage. 
But if Michigan wants to avoid 
getting its doors blown off by an 
elite team yet again in the tour-
nament’s first weekend, then it 
better hope LeVert’s mysterious 
timetable doesn’t keep getting 
pushed back.

LeVert alone may not be 

enough to save the Wolverines’ 
season, and his long-term health 
should always come first, but 
one thing is for certain: Michi-
gan sure could use him right 
now.

Jacob Gase can be reached 

by e-mail at jgase@umich.edu 

and on Twitter @JacobGase

8 — Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The curious case of Caris LeVert

JACOB 
GASE

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Caris LeVert (second from right) sustained an undisclosed left leg injury Dec. 30 and has not played since.

Wolverines get wake-up call

By KEVIN SANTO

Daily Sports Writer

The ‘Iron D’ trophy is currently 

sitting somewhere in East Lansing.

After allowing a goal in overtime 

Friday night, the 
No. 5 Michigan 
hockey 
team 

was left as the loser of the Duel 
in the D at the Joe Louis Arena 
in Detroit, while Michigan State 
claimed hardware to make its 
upset victory even sweeter.

The 
Wolverines 
recovered 

to defeat the Spartans, 4-1, at 
Munn Ice Arena on Saturday, but 
realistically, Friday wasn’t a game 
they were supposed to lose.

Michigan State entered the 

matchup with just two wins in 
the Big Ten and averaging 4.30 
goals against per game. Michigan, 
on the other hand, hadn’t lost 
since Dec. 12 and was leading the 
nation with five goals per game. 
Furthermore, the Wolverines beat 
the Spartans twice before, 9-2 and 
6-3, in January.

That’s why, after Saturday’s 

victory, senior forward Justin 
Selman dubbed the loss a wake-up 
call — a sentiment his teammates 
agreed with.

“We definitely didn’t come out 

the way we have been these past 
few games, especially after coming 
off a huge weekend in New York,” 
said senior forward Boo Nieves. 
“We can’t let teams creep up on us 
like that.

“Every game counts at this 

point, and we really want to win 
the Big Ten. To stay on top of that, 
we really need to show up every 
game and make sure that we don’t 
(need) to have any more bounce 
backs on Saturdays.”

By no means are the wheels 

falling off for the Wolverines. 
They are still first in the Big Ten, 
but the loss wasn’t pretty and 
dropped Michigan two spots in 
the PairWise Rankings to No. 6.

They’re still in the driver’s seat, 

but the loss could end up being 
the wake-up call the Wolverines 
needed.

“Sometimes 
when 
you’re 

winning, you’re giving up too 
much,” said associate head coach 
Billy Powers. “You can work on 

it, you can focus on it, but there’s 
not the urgency because you feel 
pretty good about what you’ve 
been doing as a player.”

RACINE IS ROLLING: It 

was quite the weekend for senior 
goaltender Steve Racine.

The veteran netminder put 

together his best series of the 
season 
against 
the 
Spartans, 

recording a .949 save percentage to 
the tune of 71 total saves.

The Wolverines allowed four 

goals in two games, the lowest 
total in a two-game series since 
they played Dartmouth Nov. 27 
and 28.

Earlier in the season, Michigan 

coach Red Berenson stressed how 
important it was to find a way to 
win games when the Wolverine 
offense can’t pour goals into the 
net.

Now, it appears Racine may be 

the key piece of that equation.

“He’s definitely doing his job 

and his part in a huge way,” Powers 
said. “In attempting to obviously 
contribute to that (goals-against) 
number coming down, I think 
he’s found a groove, found a 
game that is working for him — a 
mental makeup that is working 
for him. I think he’s backboning 
our defensive mindset, trying to 
improve.”

BIG STAKES IN THE BIG 

TEN: The state of the Big Ten 
doesn’t do Michigan any favors. 
Half of the conference has losing 
records, and any loss hurts the 
Wolverines’ 
position 
in 
the 

PairWise Rankings.

That’s 
evident 
from 
the 

past 
two 
weekend’s 
results. 

The sweep against Penn State 
boosted Michigan to No. 4 in 
the PairWise rankings, but the 
overtime loss against Michigan 
State dropped it immediately 
back to No. 6.

“You look at the Big Ten’s non-

league record, and I haven’t done 
that, but I’m willing to bet that 
there’s one or two leagues that we 
probably played against that we 
have not fared well with,” Powers 
said. “That’s a league issue. We 
have to be better as a group in our 
non-league schedule.”

Added Nieves: “It can be 

frustrating to see teams that 

maybe you think you’re better 
than or maybe you beat, they rank 
up higher than you or drop a little 
less quickly than you. It’s just the 
way the system is and we can only 
control what we can do.”

With half the Big Ten in 

disarray, 
every 
game 
holds 

enormous weight — as losses to 
teams like Wisconsin can ruin 
their standing, but wins to close 
out the season against Minnesota 
and Penn State could be statement 
victories.

A 
REALLY 
BIG 
RINK: 

Michigan will travel to take on 
Wisconsin this weekend for the 
second time this season. The last 
time the Wolverines played the 
Badgers, though, was on home ice.

Now, Michigan has to play on an 

Olympic-size ice rink in Madison 
— something the Wolverines will 
prepare for by practicing at the 
Ann Arbor Ice Cube for the next 
few days.

But the change may be good for 

Michigan, which may be able to 
take advantage of its speed on the 
larger rink even more so than they 
already have this year.

“Well, when I have the puck, 

I don’t mind (the bigger rink),” 
Nieves said with a laugh. “It’s 
fun to play on a bigger rink. It 
definitely changes the game up. 
You can use the perimeter better. 
Rink-wide passes are a little more 
dangerous.”

STUDY BREAK: About half 

the Wolverine squad didn’t take 
the ice for practice Monday. 
And part of the reason for that? 
Midterm season is approaching.

While 
Berenson 
gave 
the 

team an optional practice partly 
due to the physicality of last 
weekend’s rivalry series, he also 
recognized the players’ academic 
responsibilities — something he 
has become known for over the 
years.

“We talked after Saturday, 

(and) we knew that this would be 
a busy week in school,” Powers 
said. “We’ve done it in the past. 
… It worked out really well that 
you can get a mental break, or a 
physical break from going out 
on the ice, but you can feel good 
about having a few extra hours to 
work on school.”

NOTEBOOK

ICE HOCKEY

Alumni weekend inspires

By CHRIS CROWDER 

Daily Sports Writer

Before the Michigan women’s 

basketball team began its contest 
against Illinois on Sunday, the 
Wolverines borrowed a football 
tradition. Preceding the playing of 
the National Anthem and opening 
tipoff, alumnae of the women’s 
basketball program held up the 
classic banner reading, “Go Blue M 
Club Supports You” for the players 
to run under.

Michigan 
players 
ran 
out 

from under the banner during 
layup lines, going into the game 
hoping to come out with a win 
to make those who came before 
them proud. The special weekend 
also included an alumnae game 
before the current Wolverines 
squared off. This year’s team may 
have gotten the most out of this 
weekend not from the game, but 
hearing their predecessors speak.

Saturday, 
after 
a 
morning 

practice, the alumnae and current 
roster came together to have 
brunch. Former players, ranging 
from last year’s stars Nicole 
Elmblad and Shannon Smith to 
all-time great Penny Neer — who 
played basketball, softball and ran 
track and field at the University 
— talked to players about their 
experiences.

Sophomore 
guard 
Katelynn 

Flaherty, who scored a career-high 
36 points Sunday afternoon, not 
only enjoyed running under the 

banner for the first time, but took 
in all the wisdom the players of the 
past had to offer.

“I think a lot of (what the 

alumnae mentioned) was not 
what they regret, but what they 
would tell their younger selves, 
just to be confident and have fun,” 
Flaherty said. “They said to enjoy 
their four years here, which I think 
sometimes within this process 
some of us kind of get lost, you 
have bad days.

It just reminds us to appreciate 

where we are and the opportunity 
we have and that we’re at a great 
university playing under a great 
coach.”

The weekend also reminded 

Flaherty of fleeting time, as 
she realized she’s more than 
halfway through her sophomore 
season, and in turn, close to being 
halfway done with her collegiate 
career. It renewed her mindset 
to appreciate every moment she 
dons a Michigan uniform and 
steps onto the hardwood when 
her name echoes through Crisler 
Center during the starting lineup 
announcements.

Michigan coach Kim Barnes 

Arico also talked about the 
opportunity to wear a Wolverine 
uniform for the program, adding 
to Flaherty’s statements by saying 
it is something special that comes 
with pride and tradition. Barnes 
Arico loved having the connection 
between the alumnae and her 
team, as most of the alumnae told 

the players to be mindful while 
enjoying their time at Michigan.

“I think one of the common 

themes (from the weekend) was 
that the opportunity to play 
college basketball at this level at 
the University of Michigan is one 
of the greatest opportunities in the 
world, and to really embrace that,” 
Barnes Arico said.

While the Wolverines have 

gone through their ups and 
downs this season, losing in 
heartbreaking fashion by missed 
free throws or running out of gas 
down the stretch, the effort has 
always been there. Barnes Arico 
wants to ensure that each player 
is doing what they can, whether 
that means making an extra pass, 
taking a charge or even providing 
encouragement from the sideline.

The weekend only brought 

that point home even more. 
Playing on a team means being 
part of something bigger than 
yourself. It’s like having a club 
there for support before the game 
even starts. And Michigan didn’t 
need the banner to remember 
that.

“It doesn’t matter if you play 

five minutes a game or 35 minutes 
a game,” Barnes Arico said. “To 
be able to be a part of something 
bigger than yourself is really what 
the experience is all about. A lot of 
times, it’s about the people that you 
meet through the course of your 
career, more than, in 30 years, the 
wins and losses.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

The Michigan women’s basketball team learned lessons from a group of alumnae this past weekend.

