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Thursday, July 28, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

Abby Cole joining basketball
team for 2016-2017 season

By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Editor

Abby Cole’s plan to play basket-

ball for the Wolverines hasn’t ran 
into any snags. 
Michigan 
vol-

leyball’s 6-foot-5 
senior made the 
announcement 
that she would 
play 
basketball 

this 
upcoming 

season 
on 
her 

Instagram 
in 

November, 
but 

the move was just 
made official Thursday.

“Following the holiday break 

during my sophomore year, I had 
some honest conversations with 
(volleyball 
head 
coach) 
Mark 

Rosen,” Cole told MGoBlue. “He 
was very supportive of my desire to 
play basketball again, knowing that 
my commitment to the volleyball 
program would not waiver. Mark 
connected me with Coach Arico, 
and when she offered me the chance 
to continue my basketball career, I 
could not turn her down.”

Cole will finish her final sea-

son of volleyball as one of the team 

captains. The AVCA Second Team 
All-American just received LeBron 
James-esque treatment by having 
her likeness on an enormous poster 
on the outside of Cliff Keen Arena. 

After the upcom-
ing 
volleyball 

season, Cole will 
join Kim Barnes 
Arico’s 
squad 

and 
then 
will 

have 
another 

year of eligibility 
left to solely play 
hoops during the 
2017-18 season.

“Her 
length 

is incredible, and she moves so 
well for her size,” 
Arico said in an 
interview 
with 

MGoBlue. 
“She 

is an elite-level 
athlete who will 
bring 
another 

dimension to our 
team. When she 
approached 
me 

about playing bas-
ketball, I was thrilled. She will be 
an amazing ambassador for our pro-
gram.”

In Cole’s senior year of high 

school in 2013, she was named 
Class A Player of the Year for basket-
ball and was a Miss Basketball final-
ist. She racked up two state titles for 
Grand Haven High School and aver-
aged 13.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 
7.9 blocks per game as a senior. She 
will play center alongside 6-foot-5 
sophomore center Hallie Thome, 
giving the Wolverines more of a 
punch down low.

This summer, Cole has played 

for the U.S. Collegiate National 
Volleyball Team in China. She 
was just named tournament MVP 
while averaging 11.25 kills per 
match. She is dominating in vol-
leyball at the moment, but will be 

brushing up on 
her basketball 
skills once vol-
leyball season 
ends. With her 
being one of 
Michigan’s best 
high 
school 

basketball play-
ers just three 
years ago, she’ll 

be a helpful addition to the wom-
en’s basketball team that reached 
the WNIT semifinal in each of the 
last two seasons.

“(Rosen) was very 
supportive of my 

desire to play 

basketball again.”

“Her length is 

incredible and she 

moves well.”

RITA MORRIS/Daily

Senior Abby Cole will play center for the women’s basketball team in addition to her role on the volleyball team.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

 The Wolverines will be heading to New York for the fifth straight season.

Non-conference 
schedule released

By ETHAN WOLFE 

Summer Managing Sports Editor

Wednesday, the Michigan bas-

ketball team’s 14-game non-con-
ference schedule was released, and 
like last season, it features lackluster 
competition.

This season’s exhibition game 

against Armstrong State on Nov. 
4 will include another matchup 
that holds ties to head coach John 
Beilein. In last season’s exhibition, 
the Wolverines hosted Le Moyne, 
where Beilein used to coach and 
where his son Patrick currently 
reigns as the head coach. Against 
Armstrong State, former Michi-
gan basketball star Cazzie Russell 
returns to Ann Arbor as the current 
assistant coach for the Pirates,

The Wolverines’ regular season 

non-conference slate, though fac-
ing marginally stronger opponents 
according to the ratings percentage 
index, will see another weak home 
schedule: Texas (Dec. 6) and Virgin-
ia Tech (Nov. 30) are the lone teams 
in the RPI’s top 100 that Michigan 
will host, with the matchup against 
the Hokies being apart of the ACC/
Big Ten Challenge.

The Wolverines’ opening games 

against Howard (Nov. 11) and IUPUI 
(Nov. 13) in Ann Arbor will take place 
as a part of the 2K Classic. Follow-
ing those two games, Michigan will 
fly out to New York City to Madison 
Square Garden for the 2K Classic 
Championship Round. There, the 

Wolverines will square up against 
Marquette (Nov. 17) and either Pitts-
burgh or SMU (Nov. 18) in the cham-
pionship or consolation game.

Perhaps some of Michigan’s most 

competitive non-conference games 
will occur on the road against South 
Carolina (Nov. 23) and UCLA (Dec. 
10). Both teams missed last year’s 
NCAA Tournament, but the Game-
cocks are currently ranked No. 72 in 
the RPI.

The rest of the non-conference 

games include home matchups 
versus Mount St. Mary’s (Nov. 26), 
Kennesaw State (Dec. 3), Central 
Arkansas (Dec. 13), Maryland East-
ern Shore (Dec. 17) and Furman 
(Dec. 22).

Though the home games seem 

unexciting, Beilein is excited about 
many of the games the Wolverines 
managed to land.

“We were successful in schedul-

ing some very competitive home-
and-home games for 2016,” Beilein 
said in a statement. “These games 
not only guarantee a strong RPI 
but provide our fans some excit-
ing non-conference games in Ann 
Arbor. These types of opponents 
have always proved to be excellent 
preparation for our tough Big Ten 
schedule.”

Barring any upsets in their non-

conference schedule, Michigan will 
likely have to repeat what it did last 
season against Big Ten opponents 
to secure another spot in the NCAA 
Tournament.

