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