6A — Thursday, April 7, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Beilein on recruits:
“Just watch and see”
By LEV FACHER
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan men’s basketball
coach John Beilein could lose as
many as three players from his
2015-16 roster
to
transfers,
and he’s facing
the prospect of further attrition
— not just among his players,
but among his three assistant
coaches.
Beilein
acknowledged
Wednesday that at least one
of his assistants has received
interest from other schools for
their head coaching positions.
The trio of Bacari Alexander,
LaVall Jordan and Jeff Meyer
has been with Beilein for the
past six seasons.
Alexander, a Detroit native, is
among the rumored candidates
for the head coaching vacancy
at Detroit. He played for the
Titans
during
the
1997-98
and
1998-99
seasons
after
transferring
from
Robert
Morris.
Alexander was in the mix
for the job at Wisconsin-Green
Bay last offseason; Meyer was
reported at that time to be
among those receiving interest
from Liberty, where he served
as head coach for 16 seasons and
remains the winningest coach
in school history; and Jordan
was reported as a finalist for
the job at Butler before the
2013-14 campaign.
None of the opportunities
have panned out — yet.
“There is some interest from
some other universities, and
I’m thrilled about it,” Beilein
said. “I think that this is long
overdue. They are really ready
to be (head) coaches. The fact
that we’ve been together for
six years — that doesn’t happen
very often.”
Beilein declined to confirm
that
Alexander
interviewed
with Detroit and didn’t say
which
other
coaches
have
received interest, if any. There’s
no short list of candidates
to fill the potential vacancy,
but Beilein said he doesn’t
anticipate any issue filling the
position should the need arise.
“I don’t want to lose any of
them,” Beilein said. “But if they
have the opportunity, I think
it’s great.”
BEILEIN
TALKS
RECRUITING
CLASS:
Barring the unforeseen, Derrick
Walton Jr. is a lock to play the
majority of minutes next season
at point guard. But who backs
him up remains in question, and
hinges on whether senior Spike
Albrecht returns for his fifth
year of eligibility and whether
incoming
recruit
Xavier
Simpson proves ready for the
rigors of the Big Ten.
“He plays the game the right
way,” Beilein said of Simpson.
“He’s an elite passer. … We’re
counting on Xavier to come in
and be one of those guys, because
of his talent and the need for him
to play right away. We hope he’s
going to be ready to do that.”
Beilein also spoke briefly
to the perception that his two
incoming big men, 7-foot Jon
Teske and 6-foot-10 Austin
Davis, are longer-term projects
who
might
not
be
ready
to
contribute
during
their
freshman seasons.
“I would respond: Just watch
and see what happens,” Beilein
said.
Michigan is relatively set
at the ‘5’ spot anyway, with
rising junior forward Mark
Donnal looking to keep his spot
in the starting five and rising
sophomore
Moritz
Wagner
poised to make substantial
jumps after an inconsistent but
hugely
promising
freshman
year.
CAMP SANDERSON NOT
BEHIND HEALTH ISSUES:
As
injuries
have
piled
up
over the past several seasons,
Beilein has at times discussed
the prospect of reevaluating the
Wolverines’ training routines
and overall workloads in order
to ensure fatigue and stress
don’t contribute to missed time.
Even
with
senior
Caris
LeVert suffering his third lower
leg injury in three seasons,
Walton missing time for the
second straight year, Albrecht
missing the majority of the
season with dual hip injuries
and a smattering of other health
issues plaguing the program,
Beilein says strength coach
Jon Sanderson’s famed “Camp
Sanderson” summer workout
programs
don’t
hurt
—
if
anything, they help.
“They
were
all
isolated
injuries, and none of them
were in the exact same area,”
Beilein said. “It could just
be coincidence that it’s all
happened during this time.”
Moving forward, there are
some preventative measures the
team could take to gain a better
understanding of who might be
overworking themselves during
practice.
“We’re looking into using
workload-type
of
chips
in
our uniforms, in our shoes,
to see what we can do,”
Beilein said. “The times that
we experimented with them
this
year,
Derrick
Walton
was working at a completely
different
level
than
some
of our other guys were. You
don’t notice that — they’re all
practicing, but one guy’s going
a little harder than everybody.”
Beilein did leave things on
an optimistic note for LeVert,
who had surgery in New York
two weeks ago and is projected
as a likely second-round pick in
the NBA Draft on June 23. Once
LeVert recovers from his most
recent surgery, Beilein said he
expects him to be entirely done
with the current, injury-riddled
chapter of his career.
SCHEDULING TWEAKS:
Michigan
has
opened
its
last two seasons with games
against Division II schools:
Northern Michigan in 2015-16
and Hillsdale College the year
before. The NCAA Tournament
Selection Committee is thought
to
ignore
games
against
Division II opposition. The
Ratings Percentage Index —
among the committee’s most-
used tools — disregards those
games entirely.
“I’m rethinking the idea of
playing a Division II team,”
Beilein said. “That may be
something we want to examine
in the future. … I always like
to keep the money here and do
what we could within the state.”
Roster decisions loom for Michigan
By JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
As things stood on March 24,
the Michigan men’s basketball
team had four incoming recruits
and
just
three
scholarships
available. But when asked about
the team’s scholarship status for
next season, Michigan coach
John Beilein told WTKA Radio,
“It usually works itself out.”
Two weeks later, it already
has.
Last
Tuesday,
the
team
announced
that
sophomore
forward Ricky Doyle had been
granted his release and would
transfer. Wednesday morning,
the Wolverines revealed that
sophomore
guard
Aubrey
Dawkins would follow Doyle
out the door, heading to Central
Florida to play for his father,
recently
hired
head
coach
Johnny Dawkins.
Beilein no longer has to worry
about having too many players
on scholarship in the fall, but
now, with one extra scholarship
spot, he has a decision to make.
Does he offer that spot to
graduating senior guard Spike
Albrecht, who, not seeing a
place for himself on next year’s
roster,
recently
announced
his intention to play out his
remaining year of eligibility as a
graduate transfer? Does he add a
late recruit or bring in a transfer
of his own to help fill a team
need? Or does he simply leave
the scholarship spot open and
build his 2017 class?
“Anything is possible right
now,” Beilein said in his season-
ending
press
conference
Wednesday afternoon. “We’re
going to look at all the options
that we have. ... What does the
team need? What do we have to
do to plug some of the gaps that
we really have? We have some
interesting questions we have
to answer, but I can’t give you
those all right now.”
Beilein
mentioned
that
Michigan had deficiencies in
scoring, passing and defense this
season, and the team needs to
figure out the best possible way
to shore those up.
Though Beilein has come under
fire lately for his reservations
about graduate transfers within
conferences — he plans to meet
with
new
Athletic
Director
Warde
Manuel,
University
president Mark Schlissel, hockey
coach Red Berenson, women’s
basketball coach Kim Barnes
Arico and football coach Jim
Harbaugh to further discuss the
issue — he has no issues with the
concept of transfers in general,
and may use it to his advantage.
“I
have
nothing
against
graduate transfers at all,” Beilein
said. “I would consider transfers
from other schools, fifth-year
graduate transfers (to fill the
spot).”
Giving Albrecht his place back
on the team might seem like the
easy solution, but with junior
guard Derrick Walton Jr. back to
run the point again next season
and another point guard arriving
in the form of Xavier Simpson,
Ohio’s
2016
Mr.
Basketball
recipient,
Albrecht
and
the
Wolverines may no longer be the
best fit. Though Michigan might
be able to benefit from Albrecht’s
leadership and experience, it also
could be better off adding another
wing player to replace Dawkins.
Though the two sides will
discuss the possibility of a return
—
and
Beilein
understands
that more backlash may come
from letting a fan favorite
like Albrecht walk — Beilein
reiterated that the needs of the
team as a whole come first.
“I’m always gonna measure
everything twice so I can cut
once and find out what is the best
for Michigan basketball, in the
long range of the program and
the short range of the program,”
Beilein said. “I’ll make that
decision. (If) we take hits either
way, we take hits either way.
That’s the job of the Michigan
basketball coach — not to go
against public sentiment, but
to do what’s best for Michigan
basketball.”
The
Wolverines
aren’t
currently
expecting
any
further attrition, but Beilein
acknowledged the possibility
and expects the final scholarship
count to become clearer in the
next few weeks. Any further
status discussions — such as
the possibility of reclassifying
junior forward Mark Donnal,
who has two years of eligibility
remaining but had his redshirt
status
removed
before
this
season — will take place later.
NOTEBOOK
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
John Beilein has a four-player recruiting class coming in for next season.
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
Aubrey Dawkins announced Wednesday he would transfer to Central Florida, where his father is the head coach.
Wolverines upset
8th-ranked Duke
By PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 11 Michigan women’s
tennis team is no stranger to
playing ranked opponents. In fact,
it welcomes the challenge.
As Wednesday’s match wound
down, all signs pointed to No.
8 Duke walking away with the
victory,
but
the
Wolverines
refused to go down without a fight.
Michigan (5-0 Big Ten, 13-4
overall) rallied back from a 3-0
deficit to upset the Blue Devils,
4-3, in Durham, N.C.
“We talked about being loose,”
said
Michigan
coach
Ronni
Bernstein. “I wanted them to
go in with no pressure on them.
Obviously Duke’s a great team,
and I just wanted them to step up.”
At the beginning, this could
have
been
anyone’s
match.
All doubles pairs were evenly
matched,
but
it
was
senior
Ronit Yurovsky and junior Sara
Remynse at No. 3 doubles who
were the first off the court with a
score of 6-4.
Sophomores Mira Ruder-Hook
and Alex Najarian were not far
behind, though, with a different
result. They were down early in
the match and couldn’t recover,
losing, 6-3.
The winner of the No. 1 doubles
would secure the doubles point
for their team, and it appeared
the Blue Devils (8-2 ACC, 15-4
overall) would take it. Duke broke
Michigan’s serve to go up, 5-3,
challenging the Wolverines to
defend a match point.
But freshmen Brienne Minor
and Kate Fahey had something
else in mind, rallying back to
force the match into a tiebreaker.
But, they eventually succumbed
to Duke’s No. 19 doubles pair,
ultimately losing the match, 7-6.
The loss of the tiebreaker and
doubles point seemed to take its
toll on Michigan in singles play.
The Blue Devils won five out of six
first sets, and things didn’t look
good for the Wolverines.
Following a successful weekend
for Ruder-Hook, something was
missing in her 6-0, 6-1 loss.
“It was a tough matchup,”
Bernstein said. “The (Duke) girl
played well, and Mira just had a
rough day.”
Remynse finished shortly after
Ruder-Hook, losing, 6-2, 6-1.
Duke needed only one more
singles win to clinch the match,
and Michigan had a lot of work
to do. Still, it was clear the
Wolverines knew what was on
the line as they appeared much
sharper in their second sets.
No. 18 Minor was the only
Wolverine to win her first set, but
it was a battle even for her. She
narrowly won, 7-5. She was the
first to put Michigan on the board,
winning the second set, 6-2.
After Fahey and Najarian each
dropped the first set, they both
rallied to win the second set, 6-0
and 6-1, respectively.
Then
Fahey
and
Najarian
accomplished what seemed to be
the impossible — they won their
third sets and tied the match at
3-3. The No. 1 singles match would
decide the ultimate winner.
It was up to Michigan’s captain,
No. 16 Yurovsky, to lead her team
to a victory. After losing the first
set, 4-6, to Duke’s No. 25 Beatrice
Capra, Yurovsky needed to make a
change.
She won the second set in a
tiebreaker, moving onto the third.
With her confidence up and
victory in her sights, she could not
be stopped as she went on to win
the third set, 6-3, securing the
upset for the Wolverines.
Yurovsky was greeted by the
team rushing her court before
she even had the chance to let the
victory set in.
This win proves this team
is not limited to success just in
their conference, and that the
Wolverines have the potential
to be one of the top teams in the
nation.
“It just shows what kind of team
we can be,” Bernstein said. “It’s
probably one of the best wins. It
just showed tremendous heart.”
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Lineup flexibility
makes Michigan
more dangerous
By ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
As the No. 1 Michigan
softball team continues to
rank among the nation’s best
offensive teams, it does so
while keeping its batting order
relatively flexible.
It ranks first nationally
in team scoring average and
on-base
percentage,
second
in home runs per game, third
in
slugging
percentage
and
fifth
in
batting
average.
Michigan
coach
Carol
Hutchins
shifts around
her
lineup,
moving
players
both
up and down
throughout
the
course
of
the season to match the ebbs
and flows that their hitting
undergoes.
“You see kids get hot and
kids get cold,” Hutchins said.
“You kinda go with the flow.
You try not to react — kids
are going to hit for average.
Sometimes they’re going to be
3-for-3 or 0-for-3. But at some
point, if it looks like they’re just
not clicking in the order, you
may move them around, you
might put them down in the
order to get them going. It may
inspire them, it shakes them up
enough, it helps them get better
pitches down in the order.”
One player who has moved
around the order this season
is
junior
shortstop
Abby
Ramirez, who has both hit near
the top of the lineup and at the
bottom. Ramirez is currently
batting ninth as she returns to
form after an ankle injury.
“What I have learned is that
basically in any position you’re in,
don’t try and make it any bigger
than it is,” Ramirez said. “A lot of
times people think there is more
pressure at the top of the lineup
than at the bottom. When I did
get moved to the top of the lineup
I tried my best not to think about
that and just basically do the same
thing I was doing at the bottom.”
That approach has helped
Ramirez hit at a .373 clip,
which gives her the fourth-
highest
batting
average
on
the team.
And
the
lineup
isn’t
just
flexible
in
its sequence
— even with
the offense’s
success thus
far, there is
room for players to work their
way into the order.
Sophomore
infielder
Amanda Vargas is one example
of a player who has gradually
increased
her
at-bats
this
season, starting regularly now
as a designated player.
“It’s definitely never set
in stone,” said senior second
baseman Sierra Romero. “We
have a lot of players on our team
who want to be in the lineup.
It’s always a competition and
always a challenge, but it’s
good competition.
“Everyone’s working for that
starting spot. Amanda has been
doing a great job as our (DP).
She showed so much potential
when Hutch was randomly
throwing her in — she was
hitting bombs. So Hutch was
finally like, ‘We need to get her
in the lineup.’ She’s a perfect
example of doing what’s asked
and now she’s in the starting
lineup.”
SOFTBALL
“It’s always a
competition
and always a
challenge.”