8 — Friday, January 20, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Behind Enemy Lines:
Illinois’s John Groce
After
a
narrow
loss
at
Wisconsin
on
Tuesday,
the
Michigan men’s basketball team
will come home to Ann Arbor to
face Illinois once again Saturday.
The last time the two teams
faced off was back on Jan.
11, when the Wolverines fell
to the Fighting Illini, 85-69,
in Champaign. Senior guard
Derrick Walton Jr. was called for
a technical foul in the first half,
which changed the course of the
game, as Illinois went on a 17-2
run to end the stanza and never
looked back.
After
the
game,
Fighting
Illini forward Maverick Morgan
called Michigan a “white-collar”
team, which didn’t sit well with
the Wolverines, so there will be
no shortage of motivation for the
home team.
The Daily sat down with
Illinois coach John Groce at Big
Ten Media Day in October to talk
about dealing with injuries, the
growth of his team and the next
steps the Fighting Illini need to
take to be a Big Ten contender.
The
Michigan
Daily:
Last season, you had a couple
“almost” wins when you almost
beat Maryland and you almost
beat Penn State. In your mind,
what does your team need to do
to get over that hump?
John Groce: We need to
get healthy, and we have. I’m
glad it happened now, but it
wasn’t fun going through it
(last season). But if you took any
team (in the Big Ten) and took
away their starting ‘1’, ‘4’ and ‘5’
and play the Big Ten schedule,
that’s a lot. Everybody has an
injury. Michigan’s had their
fare share of injuries too, and it
certainly hampers growth and
development, and they’ve done
a great job of thrusting through
that. I thought our guys had that
same mindset last year.
TMD: You mentioned that
you’re glad it happened today.
Why is that?
JG: I thought we played well
in the Big Ten Tournament, and
it showed their character that
they did want to keep playing.
I loved how well we played
overall, and I thought that was
great heading into this year.
Some guys got experience when
they might not have otherwise.
So now it’s become a blessing
(to) have all those guys that are
experienced and seasoned. It
bodes well for us.
TMD:
Now
that
you’re
healthy, what’s the next step
your team needs to take?
JG: The next thing for us is to
get back to defending the way we
did the first three years (of my
tenure). Of course, a lot of things
like injuries are tied to that last
year, but our defense was not
good enough. It was poor, and it
has to be a lot better.
TMD: What do you think
about the defense is lacking? Is
it the general hustle of the team
or may (it be) tied to X’s and O’s?
JG: I think it’s strength, and
we’re a lot stronger this season.
I think it’s experience. I think
it’s health, execution of the little
things and valuing the little
things. It’s a lot of different
things and we’re at a different
place in those areas than we
were a year ago with everything
we’ve been through.
TMD: When you talk about
the “little things”, do you mean
your team lacked grit? What do
you mean by that?
JG: We weren’t tough for me
overall. We played a lot of young
guys. They got knocked around
a lot and were baptized by fire.
Now the first three years (of my
tenure), we were tough dudes.
But we’ve got to get back to that
toughness and that grittiness,
and it’s exemplified certainly
on the defensive end and on the
backboard.
‘M’ shows defensive improvement
but happy medium yet to be found
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard
had five days to prepare his side
for a Michigan team lucky to be
stumbling into the Kohl Center
with a 2-4 Big
Ten record. In
the middle of
a
conference
basketball
season,
that
length of time
is almost an
eternity.
But
five
days
is
especially
excessive
considering
the discipline
of the Badgers’
roster and the
porousness
of
the
Wolverines’
defense coming into the game.
But at the end of the first half
Tuesday, Wisconsin had just 26
points on the
scoreboard.
The Badgers
didn’t
have
any
offensive
plays
worthy
of making the
SportsCenter
highlight
reel
for later that
night.
And
the
students, who
returned to the Kohl Center for
the first time after their winter
break, were planted in their
seats at halftime, too bored to
jump around after a forgettable
20 minutes of basketball.
In that half, and for the first
time in Big Ten play, Michigan’s
defense showed sustained signs
of life.
Sophomore
forward
Moritz Wagner and redshirt
sophomore forward DJ Wilson,
who were both exposed as
the soft underbelly of the
Wolverine defense against the
likes of Maryland and Illinois,
had firmed up.
Wilson
established
his
physical presence on the first
play,
blocking
Wisconsin
forward Ethan Happ at the
hoop, and contained forward
Nigel Hayes to 2-for-8 shooting.
Wagner had just as much
success
with
his
defensive
assignment
and
prevented
Happ from finding any rhythm
down low.
If
the
physicality
and
aggression the pair had shown
could have been matched for
another 20 minutes, Michigan
likely would have left Madison
reborn with a signature win
and realistic hopes of finishing
in the top half of the Big Ten.
But
in
the
second
half,
the
Wolverines
turned
the
aggression dial all the way to 11.
That proved to be
a costly mistake.
Within a span
of three minutes,
Wilson
picked
up three fouls.
Forty-three
seconds
after
that,
Wagner
picked
up
his
third foul. And
with 8:16 to go,
Wagner
was
called for his fourth.
The team that came into
Tuesday’s contest committing
the fewest fouls in the country
had two of its starters a whistle
away from disqualification at
the game’s most crucial stretch.
While the Wolverines left
the Kohl Center feeling more
confident in their defense than
they have been in recent weeks,
questions still remain on where
Michigan will move forward
defensively.
“Having us in foul trouble
obviously
doesn’t
help
us,”
Wagner said. “So, we’ve got
to find a way to be physical
without fouling, especially in
the second half. I think that
four-minute battle where we
just gave up too many easy foul
calls to the post and rebounds.”
Tuesday
night
was
an
overcorrection from the issues
the Wolverines suffered on
defense in their past few Big
Ten games. In their defensive
calamity
against
Illinois,
Wilson
and
Wagner
barely
moved
while
defending
at
times. They let guards heading
for the basket blow right past
them, and set themselves too
early for charges or too far from
the hoop to grab rebounds.
The
two
forwards
now
know where the two ends of
the aggression spectrum are,
and where they need to be
defensively
should
be
clearer
now.
“Our
maturity
level has to
grow
(so)
that
we
know what
is
a
foul
and
what
(is)
not,”
Wagner said. “(We need to)
practice harder to be able to
play defense without fouling.
It’s on us to change that.”
But other defensive issues
still persist, especially with
the Wolverines’ options off the
bench.
Freshman center Jon Teske
played
his
first
important
Big Ten minutes, much to the
delight of many Michigan fans
yearning for an appearance
from him. But in the three
minutes he spent on the court
in the first half, Teske showed
exactly why he doesn’t have a
larger role at the moment.
Though his seven-foot frame
is unique and not offered by
Wagner
or
senior
forward
Mark Donnal, Teske doesn’t
have the fundamentals to be
an imposing option down low
yet. The freshman gave up an
offensive rebound and an easy
layup while on the court, and
was
quickly
replaced
after
those lapses.
But even more important
at the moment, Teske doesn’t
have what makes Wagner and
Donnal more valuable for the
Wolverines offensively — a
3-point shot.
Redshirt
junior
guard
Duncan Robinson, who was
as
important
for
Michigan
as he’s ever been offensively
on Tuesday, still isn’t coming
off the bench with
the same level of
physicality
as
his
teammates.
At
a
point in the second
half
against
the
Badgers,
Michigan
coach John Beilein
grabbed
his
arm
muscle as Robinson
passed by the bench
after
allowing
a
basket, signaling to
the redshirt junior that using
his own could have prevented
the score.
The Wolverines will feel
some relief knowing the ranges
in which they have to defend
physically. Now, Michigan has
to find the defensive balance
for a full 40 minutes to reach
the potential it showed against
the Badgers.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner will need to maintain his new level of physicality in Michigan’s rematch with Illinois.
Wagner, Wilson contained Wisconsin’s big men before foul trouble beset them
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
Having us in
foul trouble
obviously
doesn’t help us
We’ve got to
find a way to
be physical
without fouling
Illinois at
Michigan
Matchup:
Illinois 2-4
Big Ten,
12-7 overall;
Michigan
2-4, 12-7
When:
Saturday
2:15 P.M.
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
BTN
MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor