8 — Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Now more than ever, ‘M’ needs Irvin

If the Michigan basketball 

team is a train, Derrick Walton 
Jr. might be the conductor. But 
Zak Irvin is the engine that 
drives it.

Prior 
to 
the 
Wolverines’ 

season-opening 
exhibition 

against 
Armstrong 
State, 

Michigan’s 
senior 
wing 

admitted as much.

“We know that the team goes 

as Derrick and I go,” Irvin said 
on Nov. 3. “We’ve recognized 
that and we know that we have 
to play at our best, be at our best 
— offensively, but defensively 
as well. I think we set the tone 
going into every game and we 
have to know that and we can’t 
have any let-offs.”

It was a refreshing dose of 

realism from the veteran who 
comprises a leadership group 
that has been quick to say 
this season’s outcome will be 
determined by a collective team 
effort. While that may be true, 
the stark reality is that this 
team could live or die by Irvin’s 
performances.

That much showed itself in 

the Wolverines’ matchup against 
South Carolina last Wednesday, 
where they learned for the first 
time that if Irvin doesn’t go, 
then they may not go at all. After 
committing eight 
turnovers 
and 

scoring just five 
points on 2-for-
13 
shooting, 

Irvin was forced 
to watch from 
the bench after 
fouling out with 
5:33 left to play 
as 
Michigan 

swallowed 
a 
61-46 
loss 

against the Gamecocks.

But Irvin rebounded from 

the dismal performance with 
a team-high 14 points against 

Mount 
St. 
Mary’s, 
leading 

Michigan to a 17-point victory.

“You go out there and hit 

your first shot 
and 
it’s 
like, 

‘Finally, 
thank 

you,’ ” Irvin said 
on Saturday. “I 
was 
definitely 

getting reps in 
before the game 
so I was happy 
to see the first 
three went in.”

Added Beilein: 

“I 
made 
the 

correlation. It was like Caris 
Levert’s (Southern Methodist) 
game last year. Nothing could 
go for him. He just didn’t make 

some plays that we’re used to 
Zak making. So I love it. He 
had great energy, he took the 
coaching really well the last two 
days about how he may be trying 
to do too much sometimes, 
about some tendencies that he’s 
had that are out there on scout 
that he’s gotta realize he can’t 
continue to do or people will 
take away.”

The 
pressure 
on 
Irvin’s 

shoulders is nothing new. His 
statement in early November 
was more a ceremonial token 
of 
seniority 
than 
a 
final 

declaration.

After spending his career in 

Ann Arbor playing on a team 
decimated 
by 
injuries, 
the 

Wolverines’ 
outcomes 
have 

been determined by Irvin for a 
long time now. There’s plenty of 
evidence of that, but last year’s 
matchup against Michigan State 
at Crisler Center may be the only 
evidence needed.

Michigan was blown out by 16, 

but Irvin tried to will his team 
over a hurdle by pouring in 19 
points on 8-for-16 shooting. He 
tried to inspire the Wolverines 
verbally, too, storming into the 
huddle and screaming at his 
teammates to wake up.

But now, to say Michigan will 

perform as Irvin does is truer 
than ever. 

While Irvin could rely on 

Kameron Chatman to come 

off the bench in relief last 
year, Chatman’s transfer left 
freshmen guards Ibi Watson 
and Xavier Simpson as the 
Wolverines’ best options to 
back 
up 
Irvin. 
Right 
now, 

those aren’t reliable options, 
as their defensive games have 
left something to be desired for 
coach John Beilein.

“I can’t give the rest — 

tomorrow, they have rest, and 
then we’ll work hard Monday, 
Tuesday with X and Ibi so 
that every day they get closer 
to getting in there,” Beilein 
said on Saturday. “If we’re still 
playing this way in the middle of 
January and February, it’s going 
to be a hard year. These guys, 

we’ve just got to bring them 
along, win games, rest, bring 
them along, win games, rest.”

As 
Beilein 
indicated, 
the 

freshmen development process 
is certainly a pressing one for 
his team.

Through six games, Irvin 

is averaging the most minutes 
played per game on the team 
with 33. If that number holds 
through 
the 
season, 
things 

could turn ugly for Michigan 
— especially given the fact 
that Irvin played 35 games 
after recovering from a back 
surgery last year. Given the 
Wolverines’ injury history, that 
workload could quickly become 
a dangerous test of fate.

That 
might 
not 
show 

up 
against 
teams 
like 
the 

Mountaineers, but the stakes 
are higher when facing Virginia 
Tech or a conference opponent. 
Irvin’s performance in the Big 
Apple showed he has the ability 
to handle that.

Eleven days ago, Michigan 

traveled to Madison Square 
Garden and left as the champion 
of the 2K Classic. Lost among 
Walton’s barrage of 3-pointers 
and 
redshirt 
sophomore 

forward DJ Wilson’s dunks in 
the tournament championship 
was 
the 
second 
of 
two 

performances that earned Irvin 
the tournament MVP honor.

Irvin combined for 32 points 

on 11-for-22 shooting and 13 
rebounds, en route to helping 
push Michigan into the top-25 
for the first time this season. 
But when Irvin went cold 
against South Carolina five days 
later, the Wolverines followed 
suit and went colder, losing that 
ranking as soon as they earned 
it.

And with the rest of the 

season ahead, the last 12 days 
have 
made 
it 
clear: 
Irvin 

was right at the beginning of 
November. As he goes, Michigan 
will go with him. 

KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Editor

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Senior wing Zak Irvin is a critical component of the Michigan men’s basketball team, which could see its fate swing with Irvin’s performance this season.

“We know that 
the team goes 
as Derrick and 

I go.”

