8 — Thursday, January 26, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Greg Frey to join Michigan staff
It
appears
the
Michigan
football team will be filling its
vacancy on the coaching staff
with a familiar face.
According to a report from
Sam Webb of The Michigan
Insider, Greg Frey will be
returning to Ann Arbor as both
the offensive tackles/tight ends
coach and run game coordinator.
Frey previously served as
Michigan’s offensive line coach
from 2008 to 2010 under Rich
Rodriguez. This time around,
his hire fills the opening on
the Wolverines’ staff created
by former running backs coach
Tyrone Wheatley’s departure
for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While it was assumed that a
running backs coach would be
hired to fill Wheatley’s spot,
it appears that Michigan will
shuffle its staff around in some
manner — Tim Drevno has been
the offensive line coach for the
past two seasons and has also
been the offensive coordinator,
while Webb reported that Jay
Harbaugh — previously the tight
ends coach — will become the
running backs coach.
Frey brings a wealth of
experience to Ann Arbor. He
began his coaching career at
South Florida, where he was
the offensive line coach for
seven years. He spent one year
at West Virginia before moving
to Michigan with Rodriguez in
2008.
At Michigan, Frey teamed up
with Rodriguez to coach what
was eventually one of the most
potent offenses in the nation. In
2009, the Wolverines’ rushing
offense averaged 186 yards per
game and was ranked No. 25 in
the nation, while the unit as a
whole was ranked No. 59 in total
offense. They improved both
marks the following year to No.
13, at 238 yards per game, and
No. 8, respectively.
At Michigan, Frey earned a
reputation as someone who had
an eye for offensive line talent.
Under his tutelage, David Molk
won the Rimington Trophy —
given to the nation’s best center
— in 2010, while players who
Frey recruited and coached
such as Taylor Lewan, Michael
Schofield and Patrick Omameh
eventually reached the NFL.
After Rodriguez was fired
following
the
2010
season,
Frey caught on at Indiana. He
has served as the Hoosiers’
offensive line coach for the past
six years and the co-offensive
coordinator
since
2014.
Indiana’s offense reached new
heights with Frey coaching the
offensive line. The Hoosiers,
whose
rushing
attack
was
predicated on inside zone runs,
averaged over 200 yards on the
ground for three consecutive
seasons between 2013 and 2015.
Frey coached two All-American
offensive linemen in Dan Feeney
and Jason Spriggs and will be
called upon to develop the same
type of talent in Ann Arbor.
Michigan rushed for nearly
213 yards per game last year
behind a veteran offensive line
that featured left tackle/guard
Ben Braden, right guard Kyle
Kalis and right tackle Erik
Magnuson. All three seniors
will be gone next year, though,
leaving
just
two
returning
starters in junior center Mason
Cole and sophomore left tackle
Grant Newsome, who suffered
a season-ending injury against
Wisconsin.
FOOTBALL
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
Behind Enemy Lines
with Thomas Bryant
On Thursday, the Michigan
men’s
basketball
team
will
welcome Indiana into Crisler
Center for the two teams’ first
matchup of the season.
After a slow start to the Big Ten
season that saw the Hoosiers go
1-3, Indiana has responded with
three straight wins, including
a
seven-point
victory
over
Michigan State last Saturday.
With guard Yogi Ferrell gone
to the NBA and forward OG
Anunoby recently suffering a
right knee injury that will keep
him out for the rest of the season,
Hoosier center Thomas Bryant
has assumed an even bigger role
on the team.
While
Bryant
is
shooting
almost 17 percent worse than he
did last year, he is still averaging
11.9 points per game and his
rebounding average has increased
from 5.8 to 7 rebounds per game.
The Daily sat down with
Bryant at Big Ten Media Day
in October to discuss Bryant’s
decision to pass on the NBA Draft
and return to Indiana, playing
with Ferrell and the Hoosiers’
tough non-conference schedule.
The Michigan Daily: You had
a chance to jump to the NBA last
summer. What do you think of
the new rule that allows players
to test the waters before jumping
into the draft?
Thomas Bryant: I think it’s
great. It’s great for players to go
out there and test the waters and
get the feedback from NBA scouts
on what they need to improve on,
what they do well. Every college
basketball player’s dream is to
make it to the NBA, what better
way to get feedback than from
NBA personnel?
TMD: What were the biggest
factors that led you to go back to
Indiana for another year?
TB: I knew I needed to get
better. There’s some key things
I needed to get better at, and I
knew staying would actually help
me get better at those things.
TMD:
You
mentioned
conditioning earlier as one of
those things, but in terms of X’s
and O’s, what do you want to get
better at?
TB: I feel like I could be better
on both ends of the court and
being more versatile and more
vocal out there on the court.
TMD: Now that you’re in your
sophomore year, what did you
learn from your freshman year
and how can you take that into
your second year at Indiana?
TB: Just the mindset that I
need to have about playing college
basketball. It’s a lot different than
high school, and you just have to
have that mental mindset and
there’s a mental toughness that
you need to have on the court.
TMD:
Yogi
Ferrell
has
been somewhat of a villain for
Michigan fans over the past
couple of years. What was it like
playing with him last year?
TB: It was great. He knew a lot
about the game, and he brought
the most out of his teammates
each and every day. Whether it
was in practice or in a game, he
was a real leader.
TMD:
Your
team
was
undefeated at home at Assembly
Hall last year. What will it take
to go undefeated again there this
year? (Indiana is currently 12-2 at
home with losses to Nebraska and
Wisconsin.)
TB: We need to have the
same mindset that we had last
year, especially on the defensive
end. We have to have a pitbull
mindset
on
the
defensive
end because our defense will
transform our offense into a
great offense.
TMD: You have a pretty tough
schedule to open up the year with
games against Kansas and North
Carolina. Are you excited to play
the better teams in the country?
TB: Oh yeah. We look forward
to playing the better teams in
the country. We like that. All we
want to do is play great, top-notch
teams. We’ll take that with open
arms.
MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Wolverines beginning difficult
stretch with Indiana matchup
The
Michigan
men’s
basketball team has been doing
its own kind
of dance this
year.
It
seems
that for every
step
the
Wolverines
take forward,
they
take
another
one
backward. But
as
Michigan
enters
the
crucible
of
its
Big
Ten
schedule, the
room for anything but progress
is dwindling quickly.
Within the next 21 days,
the Wolverines will play both
Indiana and Michigan State
twice, while also facing off with
Ohio State before wrapping
up the tough stretch with a
rematch
against
Wisconsin.
And the journey through that
gauntlet all begins with a
matchup against the Hoosiers
at Crisler Center on Thursday
night.
“We’re
definitely
in
the
heart
of
our
(conference)
schedule now,” said senior wing
Zak Irvin. “We have a great
opportunity to be able to put
ourselves in a great position in
the Big Ten and also to be able
to get a NCAA Tournament bid.
We’ve got to take these games
seriously,
especially
against
an opponent like (Indiana),
Michigan State, Ohio State
coming up.”
Added Michigan coach John
Beilein: “… Now when you go
into the mid part of the season,
I think people know that you
can’t keep losing games and
expect to be in the hunt at the
end of the year in your league or
in the NCAA Tournament.”
If there were ever a good time
for Michigan to face Indiana,
it’s now.
After
entering
the
year
as the defending conference
champions
and
favored
to
compete
for
another
Big
Ten title, the Hoosiers have
struggled more than expected.
To make matters worse, it
was announced last Friday
that sophomore forward OG
Anunoby will be out for the
year with a right knee injury.
With
Anunoby’s
injury,
Indiana will be without their
fourth-highest
scorer
and
second-highest
rebounder
when it faces the Wolverines.
Still, center Thomas Bryant
is a consistent threat down low
for the Hoosiers, averaging a
team-high seven rebounds per
game with 11.9 points to boot.
Bryant has been a major factor
in Indiana’s current three-game
win streak against Rutgers,
Penn State and Michigan State.
Indiana will be a threat on
the perimeter as well, as it ranks
No. 34 in the nation in three-
point field goal percentage,
led by guard James Blackmon
Jr. who is coming off a show-
stopping performance against
the Spartans in which he scored
33 points on 11-for-16 shooting.
As Michigan prepares for
the Hoosiers, Blackmon will
certainly be on its radar.
“We believe that some guys,
if you let a guy just get it going,
as you know there’s a mindset
to that,” Beilein said. “There’s a
zone people get in. If they can
get into it, I don’t care who’s
guarding them. … You try to
get him (away) from doing that
by not making the mistake of
giving him a clean look to get
himself going.”
The Wolverines, in their own
right, have shown encouraging
signs as of late. After being
dominated in the post against
Illinois on Jan. 11, Michigan
showed signs of tremendous
progress
against
Wisconsin
and in its rematch against the
Fighting Illini.
The
Wolverines’
front
court
duo
of
sophomore
Moritz Wagner and redshirt
sophomore DJ Wilson managed
to limit Wisconsin forwards
Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes’
impact until falling prey to foul
trouble.
Then Michigan’s big men
built off their performance at
the Kohl Center. In the rematch
at Crisler Center on Saturday,
Fighting Illini center Maverick
Morgan and forward Leron
Black mustered just 10 points.
When the teams originally met,
the Illinois duo got the better of
the Wolverines, combining for
26 points.
The
Wolverines
have
struggled to string together
performances like that since the
beginning of the season. And as
they prepare to face Indiana,
finding consistency could be
the difference between a win
and a loss.
“This is a long season,”
Beilein said. “You just can’t get
too up, you can’t get too down.
You’ve gotta enjoy the season
and enjoy your year, but you’ve
gotta attack every game like
it’s your last game, because
anything can turn a game, and
any game can turn a season
around. That’s gotta be our
mentality and I think it is right
now.”
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
Indiana at
Michigan
Matchup:
Indiana 14-6;
Michigan 13-7
When:
Thursday
9 P.M.
Where:
Crisler Arena
TV/Radio:
ESPN2
We’re definitely
in the heart of
our schedule
now