8 — Tuesday, February 16, 2016 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com LeVert: “I was thinking positive” By SIMON KAUFMAN Daily Sports Editor Despite injuring his lower left leg in December and potentially hurting his future NBA Draft stock, Caris LeVert said he never worried during his recovery. Monday, two days after returning to action in the Michigan men’s basketball team’s win against Purdue on Saturday, the senior guard addressed the media for the first time since his Dec. 30 injury at Illinois. The left- leg injury sidelined LeVert for 11 games. The injury occurred late in the second half of Michigan’s game in Champaign when LeVert’s left foot landed on the foot of an Illini player as he drove toward the basket. “It was definitely a little scary when it happened,” LeVert said. “It was a bang-bang play. It was kind of sore after the game, but, you know, God doesn’t make mistakes. I wasn’t too worried about it, just worried about how I could get better from it.” Following the injury, Michigan coach John Beilein said LeVert’s road to recovery would be a day- to-day process but never gave specific details regarding the timetable of his return or any information regarding the injury. Asked if not discussing the details of the injury was a matter of protecting his draft stock, LeVert said it was a program decision he made with Beilein, his mother and the team physician. He did confirm that it was a rest-only recovery and that no operation was performed on his leg. In his first game back Saturday, LeVert came off the bench for the first time since his freshman season. He logged 11 minutes — all in the first half — took only one field-goal attempt and a free throw, both of which he missed, and collected five rebounds. LeVert gave a few reasons for his unimpressive performance against Purdue. “I haven’t played in about six weeks,” LeVert said. “I was a little nervous getting back out there, and just game flow. I really don’t have a great rhythm right now, but it’s coming back to me.” He did say he was sore afterward, but Michigan’s co-captain said the pain was more from just playing and not specific to his left leg. “It’s just soreness like with playing,” LeVert said. “If you don’t do something for six weeks, your body’s going to be sore, so I’d say that’s the majority of my soreness.” LeVert said he does plan to play Tuesday against Ohio State, but that going forward, his playing time would be a game-time decision. Saturday, he didn’t know if he’d be able to play until after the pregame warmups. Beilein said that, in the future, they’ll reevaluate his ability to play each day. “Pain is still going to be his guide,” Beilein said. “If he’s feeling any soreness anywhere in his body, right now, we’ll pull him out and wait. This is important that he takes his time in getting back to full strength.” During his absence, sophomore guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur- Rahkman replaced him in the starting lineup and paced 10 points per game during that time. Meanwhile, junior guard Zak Irvin has begun to find his shooting touch after starting the season off streaky, and junior guard Derrick Walton Jr. has been capable of stepping up when the Wolverines need him most. Michigan’s play during LeVert’s absence — including wins over then-No. 3 Maryland and then- No. 18 Purdue — make game planning for future opponents difficult given the fluidity that the lineup has now. “We have these sets of plays run for different people, depending on how they’re playing us,” Beilein said. “It gets to be this huge puzzle. … So now you’re going into a game, and you don’t know if he can play or not. It’s frankly not smooth right now, because we’re just trying to get him back.” During the recovery, LeVert admitted his lowest point was during the week that Michigan played Indiana and Michigan State. He didn’t get to play those teams last year, either, as he was sidelined following a foot surgery. Still, though, he said he never had any regrets about coming back this year and didn’t get worried about what this year’s injury might do to a potential future NBA career. “I wasn’t thinking that way the whole time,” LeVert said. “I was thinking positive. You know that’s what I came back for my senior year for, to play in games.” GRANT HARDY/Daily Senior guard Caris LeVert missed 11 games since his lower left-leg injury against Illinois on Dec. 30. Tate remembers bond with LeVert By KELLY HALL Daily Sports Editor Tuesday, the Michigan men’s basketball team (9-4 Big Ten, 19-7 overall) will travel to Columbus to take on a middling Ohio State team that has only one win in the top-100 RPI. The Buckeyes’ less- than-ideal start to the season included consecutive losses to UT Arlington, Louisiana Tech and Memphis in November, after losing star guard D’Angelo Russell to the NBA Draft following last season. Now, with Russell gone, the team’s leadership has fallen on sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate and junior forward Marc Loving. Tate has done his part to keep the Buckeyes (8-5, 16-10) competitive, scoring 11.5 points per game in addition to Loving’s 12.5 points per game. Though Ohio State has been far from consistent, it has played tough recently, winning four of its last six Big Ten games. The Daily sat down with Tate — who has started every game this season for the Buckeyes — at Big Ten Media Day in October to discuss former high school teammate and current rival Caris LeVert, the unknown potential for a young Ohio State team and Tate’s expected contribution as a team leader. The Michigan Daily: I know that you were a teammate of Caris LeVert’s in high school. I heard a story about how he took a shot at the buzzer, and you tipped it in, and your team won 64-62 for the state title. What’s your relationship with Caris like? Jae’Sean Tate: Me and Caris went to high school together; we won a state championship together. But I’ve been watching Caris since I was in about the seventh or eighth grade. Just to see him progress and where he came from — it’s crazy. I promise you, I kid you not, he could not dunk his sophomore year in high school and then he just worked over the summer and, I mean, he just went through the roof. He got blessed to get a scholarship to Michigan, and he’s taken off ever since. TMD: Are there any hard feelings there because of the rivalry? JT: I’ve run into him a couple times while I’ve been (at Ohio State). It’s always good to catch up with old friends. That’s like my brother. TMD: You said that you remember seeing him play in seventh and eighth grade. Did you ever play with him at that young of an age? JT: No, he’s about three years older than me, so I would just watch him play against the older guys … (Our competition level has) always been high. Just to play against him his last year, and he’s finally healthy, I’m looking forward to it. TMD: Earlier today, Ohio State coach Thad Matta mentioned that you were going to have to be a big part of this team. Is that a lot of pressure? JT: I wouldn’t say a lot of pressure, because I feel like history repeats itself. Like I said, with me and Caris, that year we won the state championship, he left, and then I was the older guy. A few years later, I’m in the same position, where I’m on a young team and I have to be a leader, so I’m prepared for it, and I’m accepting it now. BEHIND ENEMY LINES Five things: ‘M’ tops Badgers By MINH DOAN Daily Sports Editor The Michigan hockey team was 27 seconds away from coming out of Madison with six points. Instead, Wisconsin forward Cameron Hughes found fellow forward Luke Kunin alone on the back post, where he ripped a one-timer past Wolverine senior goaltender Steve Racine to knot the game at four in the dying moments of regulation. The two teams played to a scoreless overtime period before Michigan won the shootout, 1-0, with three saves from Racine and a goal from junior forward JT Compher. The shootout win left the Wolverines with two of three possible points from the game and five of six points on the weekend. After being tied for first with Minnesota in the Big Ten standings coming into the weekend, the Gophers took over sole possession of first place with a clean sweep of Ohio State. Here are five things we learned from Michigan’s trip to Madison this past weekend. 1. Once again, Racine is strong between the pipes. The Wolverines rarely get outshot. But on Saturday, Wisconsin outshot Michigan, 44-33. Usually, this doesn’t bode well for the Wolverines. Racine was up to the task all night, though, stopping 40 shots as well as all three penalty shots. Even on Friday, Racine bailed Michigan out multiple times on odd-man rushes to keep the game out of the Badgers’ reach. Overall, Racine stopped 60 shots, and after his outing last week against Michigan State, where he stopped 71 shots in two games, his performance bodes well for the Wolverines as the season’s finish line nears. 2. The defense is still a work in progress. If you think you’ve heard this line before this season, chances are, you probably have. The Wolverines give up an average of three goals per game and are ranked 39th nationally out of 60 teams in team defense. One of Michigan’s problems this season has been its tendency to give up odd-man rushes. That problem was evident again this weekend, but Racine was able to limit the damage for the Wolverines in most scenarios. However, giving up four goals in one game to a team that averages 2.62 goals per game is concerning, and Michigan knows that work is needed on the defensive end. 3. The CCM line is pretty good. Yeah, I know, you already knew this. But week in, week out, the forward line of Compher, junior Tyler Motte and freshman Kyle Connor continues to score points, and bushels of them. This weekend, the trio combined for 12 points (five goals, seven assists) and was responsible for 55 percent of Michigan’s goals. 4. Dancs thrives on second line. After freshman forward Cooper Marody came down with mononucleosis, Michigan coach Red Berenson was forced to switch up his lines. Senior forward Justin Selman was moved into Marody’s spot on the third line, and sophomore forward Dexter Dancs was moved up from the fourth line. And in that time, he has played well. Dancs has tallied two goals and an assist, and has a plus- minus of +2 since his move to the second line. His goal Friday proved to be the game winner in Michigan’s 4-1 victory. 5. Bold prediction: Someone on the CCM line will win the Hobey Baker Award. Currently, Connor leads the nation in scoring with 48 points. But just five points behind him is Compher. And just a point behind Compher is Motte. In comparison, former Michigan forward Zach Hyman led the team last season with 54 points, while forward Dylan Larkin, who currently plays in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, finished with 47 points. With at least eight games left in the season, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that all three players could pass Hyman’s total. In addition, Motte and Connor are No. 1 and 2 in the goals category, while Compher and Connor are No. 2 and 3 in the assists column. While it isn’t obvious which player on the line is in the best position to win it, all three should be in good consideration for the award. MEN’S BASKETBALL JAMES COLLER/Daily Senior goalie Steve Racine has seen a resurgence of late between the pipes. Thompson’s defense key to Wolverines success of late Junior guard shuts down opponents’ big guns with skill, not size. By TED JANES Daily Sports Writer Siera Thompson is best known for knocking down 3-pointers and doling out assists, but it’s her defense that has been crucial to winning games. The junior guard on the Michigan women’s basketball team has shut down opponents’ best players all season, and lately, she has begun to show how important that truly is. Just two weeks ago, on Jan. 31, she forced Minnesota guard Rachel Banham to post a 1-for-10 effort from 3-point territory — Banham went on to tie the NCAA single-game scoring record with 60 points just a week later. And on Feb. 11, against Wisconsin, Thompson matched up with the Badgers’ best player, guard Nicole Bauman, and held her to just 10 points. Thompson’s defensive skillset doesn’t come from a menacing height or long wingspan, but simply her effort and mindset, as Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico always says. She has a meticulous eye for opponents’ tendencies and studies each with care leading up to games. “It’s my job to get the energy going on defense to try and stop the opposing team’s best players,” Thompson said. “I take a lot of pride and try my hardest to do that.” But Thompson hasn’t become the Wolverines’ top defender by practicing against the likes of sophomore guard Katelynn Flaherty — the most lethal scorer on the team (22.4 points per game, 2.4 assists). She has reached these heights by playing against the boys that Michigan scrimmages against in practices. Thompson, at just 5-foot- 7, doesn’t look as dangerous as some of Michigan’s other options, but the work she puts in against the “practice boys” makes her just as strong. “Usually whoever is the best one, I’m guarding him,” Thompson said. “If you can guard the boys, you can guard almost anyone of our girls, because (the boys) are so athletic.” Playing against boys is common practice for women’s teams around the NCAA, allowing teams to gain experience against players with different physical advantages than they would be able to find in a reserve team made up of girls. “Defense — so much is effort, and so much is toughness,” Barnes Arico said. “(Thompson) has that probably more than anybody on our team. I wish that some of that defensive effort would rub off on everybody else.” Michigan’s defense gives up an average of 70.5 points, the eighth-best in the Big Ten. Eighth out of a 14-team pool puts the Wolverines (7-7 Big Ten, 15-10 overall) in the middle of the pack, but it’s below the standard Michigan hopes to reach. Thompson, though, is setting the pace, and she has earned Barnes Arico’s full trust in that realm. But while going head to head with the Badgers’ Bauman, Thompson recorded four personal fouls, one of the few times this season she has been in danger of fouling out. It would have been far easier to just foul players like Bauman and Banham in pressure situations and force them to convert from the free-throw line, but Thompson is experienced enough — and Barnes Arico trusted her enough — to play smart without picking up a fifth foul. “Some games you have to feel out the refs,” Thompson said. “Sometimes they call more fouls than other games. That’s something I have to adjust to.” The Wolverines wouldn’t have been as successful on the offensive or defensive end if Thompson weren’t in the game. “She needed to stay in at that point,” Barnes Arico said. Lately, her defensive presence has been matched with an equally strong stint on offense, too. In Michigan’s current three-game win streak, Thompson is pacing 13.3 points per contest. Stops on defense lead to transition scoring, and her team-high 34 steals continue to boost the Wolverines. Thompson will face the challenge of stopping Shatori Walker-Kimbrough this week, in a rematch of the Jan. 14 close loss to then-No. 8 Maryland. The Terrapins’ guard is averaging 20.5 points through 14 Big Ten games. Last time she met with Michigan, she put up 15. This time, both teams have more on the line. Thompson will have to do more to stop her, and Walker- Kimbrough will have to do more to score. It’s just another opportunity for Thompson to pad her already impressive defensive resume. KICKER “It’s my job to get the energy going on defense.”