8A — Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Slow starts are fixable 
for young Wolverines

Though 2-0, the Michigan 

basketball team hasn’t had the 
start it anticipated.

Against 
less-talented 
and 

undersized 
teams 
in 
North 

Florida and Central Michigan, the 
Wolverines were expected to roll. 

But that wasn’t the case. 
Michigan came out flat against 

both 
opponents, 
leading 
to 

closer-than-anticipated contests. 
Saturday, North Florida trailed by 
just two at the half and remained 
within single digits until roughly 
seven minutes remained.

Central Michigan, meanwhile, 

led by as many as 8 points during 
a first half it largely controlled 
Monday night.

“We thought the other day that 

(our players) warmed up really 
slow, and we weren’t as into it,” 
said Michigan coach John Beilein. 
“We were fired up to come out 
and play today. Assistant coaches 
did a great job in the locker room. 
We were fired up – didn’t make a 
difference.”

Conventionally, this wouldn’t 

be an encouraging trend for a 
team looking to make back-to-back 
Sweet 16 appearances. But the 
Wolverines’ slow starts shouldn’t 
be a cause for concern and – to an 
extent – are understandable.

For one, both the Ospreys and 

Chippewas play zone defenses – 
a strategy that just a few college 
basketball teams utilize. Adjusting 
is a challenge, even for Beilein.

“First of all, this is a first,” 

Beilein said. “In 1,200 games as 
a head coach, I think you add up 
high school, it’s probably 1,200 — 
80 minutes of zone in two games. 
What they’re doing is they’re 
trying to negate a lot of what we 
can do man-to-man.”

Added junior forward Moritz 

Wagner: “They played zone, so 
that kind of trumps everything a 
little bit because you’ve got to think 
completely differently. You’ve got 
to think differently than you’re 
naturally supposed to.”

It takes time to feel out a zone 

defense, and Michigan’s offensive 
attack proved that.

Michigan committed four of its 

six total turnovers against Central 
Michigan within the contest’s first 
seven minutes. And through nearly 
10 minutes of action Saturday, the 
Wolverines tallied just nine points.

Simply, in the early parts of 

games, Michigan’s offense has 
looked out of rhythm – an issue 
Beilein hopes will be fixed with 
more aggressive basketball.

“We’re passing, we’re passing, 

we’re 
passing,” 
Beilein 
said. 

“We’ve got to drive the ball. We’ve 
got to get two feet in the paint.”

Inexperience also has its part, 

too.

With three new starters, the 

Wolverines’ offense won’t be 
prominent immediately.

“It’s going to take a little time 

to gel,” Robinson said. “We gotta 
get used to each other. We’ve got 
young guys, obviously, but we’ve 
got to be a little bit better out of the 
gate.”

Michigan fans should also take 

solace in the fact that Monday’s 
shooting 
numbers 
are 
not 

representative of a normal game. 

Few 
opponents 
will 
shoot 

as well as the Chippewas did 
from deep – 10 3-pointers on 42 
percent shooting. The Wolverines, 
meanwhile, shot just 29 percent 
outside the perimeter. Fifth-year 
senior forward Duncan Robinson 
– a consistent marksman – went an 
ugly 2-for-8. 

But 
to 
start 
strongly 
in 

Michigan’s next game Thursday 
against 
Southern 
Mississippi, 

Robinson knows the other end of 
the floor takes precedent. 

“Probably defensive, first and 

foremost,” Robinson said. “The 
ability to get stops. I think shots 
will fall some games more than 
others. Tonight, especially that 
first half, they weren’t. You count 
on them, but you’ve got to (be able 
to) count on defense.

“Those first four minutes – 

those ‘four-minute wars’ we call 
them – we’ve got to come out and 
try to swing first. That’s going to be 
a priority for us.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL
For Metellus, blocked punt eases earlier stress

Josh Metellus relieved some 

stress this past Saturday. 

The sophomore safety said 

Tuesday night that he’s been 
practicing blocking punts all 
year and worried about whether 
he would ever do it in a game.

He finally did in the second 

quarter of Michigan’s 35-10 win 
over Maryland. It “felt soothing,” 
according to Metellus.

That relief may not have 

compared to what he felt early last 
week, when Metellus discovered 
he was eligible to play in the first 
half against the Terrapins.

In the third quarter of the 

Wolverines’ 
33-10 
win 
over 

Minnesota on Nov. 4, Metellus 
found himself in a scrum after 
the whistle. Golden Gopher 
lineman Donnell Greene threw 
a punch at junior safety Tyree 
Kinnel. Metellus walked over, 
stood in front of Greene and 
promptly found himself ejected 
for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The call didn’t sit well with 

Jim Harbaugh, who said last 

week that “it didn’t really have a 
lot of logic to it.”

“It didn’t seem like he threw 

a punch,” Harbaugh later said 
of the incident. “There was a 
scrum, the official said there was 
a scrum and they weren’t going 
to lose control of the game, so 
there were off-setting penalties.”

Metellus 
didn’t 
think 
he 

did anything wrong. He said 
Tuesday that he was “just trying 
to protect his teammate.”

“Coach told me next time, just 

don’t go over there,” Metellus 
said. “Just stay back. We already 
got the flag. There’s no reason to 
go over there to start something.”

He 
understood 
why 
the 

officials threw him out of the 
game, though, and was more 
worried about whether he’d be 
available for the first half of the 
Maryland game. But that wasn’t 
immediately made clear.

The rules state that any player 

ejected for targeting in the 
second half of a game must sit 
out the first half of the following 
contest. Metellus wasn’t called 
for 
targeting. 
But 
he 
was 

worried nonetheless whether a 

suspension would carry over.

In fact, he was so worried that 

was the first thing he checked 
once he returned to the locker 
room.

“I didn’t even take a shower,” 

Metellus said. “I just grabbed my 
phone and started Googling. I 
couldn’t find an answer.”

He found company in the 

training 
room 
in 
freshman 

receiver Nico Collins, who had 
injured his ankle during the 
game. Collins asked Metellus if 
he was suspended for Maryland. 
Metellus told Collins he had 
actually meant to ask him the 
same question.

The next day, people started 

calling Metellus, asking him 
about the incident and what it 
meant for Maryland. Metellus 
didn’t know the answer.

The 
whole 
situation 
was 

“funny” to teammate and close 
friend Devin Bush Jr.

“We were just joking about it,” 

Bush said. “Making fun of him — 
that he got kicked out the game.”

The 
mystery 
continued 

through the weekend. Metellus 
went 
to 
Schembechler 
Hall 

on Sunday, hoping to find the 
coaching staff. They weren’t 
around, and no one else he asked 
knew the answer either. The 
next day, he asked Harbaugh. 
Harbaugh didn’t know. And at 
that point, Metellus got pretty 
worried.

“I was just sitting there like, 

‘Damn, I probably am kicked 
out,’ ” Metellus said. “ ‘If they 
don’t know by now, I’m probably 
not going to play the first half.’ ”

But it didn’t take much longer 

for the situation to be resolved. 
After 
Monday’s 
practice, 

Harbaugh pulled Metellus aside 
and told him he wouldn’t miss 
any time.

So his burden was lifted — and 

luckily so for Metellus. After all, 
his blocked punt came in the 
second quarter. Had he been 
suspended, he would’ve still 
been worrying about blocking 
his first.

“Yeah, it just calmed me 

down,” Metellus said of the 
play. “I was stressing about 
getting one this whole season 
and I finally got it, so I just let 
everything go.”

Evans now avoiding ‘sophomore slump’

Chris Evans had never heard 

the term ‘sophomore slump’ 
before Tuesday night.

But Jim Harbaugh was still 

worried the sophomore running 
back would have one.

After a freshman campaign 

that 
Harbaugh 
called 

“outstanding,” it wouldn’t be 
easy for Evans to top it his 
second time around. In 2016, 
Evans ran for 617 yards and four 
touchdowns. Over the offseason, 
fans and media speculated that 
he’d be Michigan’s top running 
back this year.

But as the first few games 

of the season came around, 
Evans lost the starting role. He 
rushed for just 123 yards in the 
first three games and fumbled 
during that stretch against Air 
Force. 
Fifth-year 
senior 
Ty 

Isaac surged, and junior Karan 
Higdon seemed to get the right 
blocks every time he had a play 
called for him.

“The plays weren’t blocked 

as well, and the assignments 
weren’t on point when (Evans) 
was in the game,” Harbaugh said 
Monday. “Then Karan would get 
in, and it was kind of the luck of 
the draw with the hand that he 
was dealt.”

Evans 
was 
just 
getting 

unlucky. He’d get a turn in the 
rotation to run, but the offensive 
line didn’t develop the blocks he 
needed.

It was frustrating, but he 

couldn’t predict how the blocks 
would pan out, so he didn’t let it 
get to him. It took more than a 
few games for Evans’ impact to 
really show.

“About game seven, eight, 

nine it started evening out,” 
Harbaugh said.

That it did. Evans began 

getting more carries, and the 
results began to show. Against 
Rutgers — game seven — he 
caught 
redshirt 
freshman 

quarterback 
Brandon 
Peters’ 

first 
touchdown. 
Against 

Minnesota, he rushed for two 

touchdowns 
and 
191 
yards. 

And this last weekend versus 
Maryland, he tallied another 
pair of rushing touchdowns in 
the Wolverines’ third straight 
win.

The 
running 
back’s 

production, 
as 
Harbaugh 

realized, was really just a 
matter of time. Harbaugh had 
watched the tape of Evans’ first 
few games, and the running 
back hadn’t really been doing 
anything wrong.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but as a 

running back, you can’t predict 
how (the blocks) are going to 
be,” Evans said. “You just got to 
go in there and trust it and go 
hard at the end.”

Evans gained momentum over 

the last couple of weeks, earning 
praise 
from 
Harbaugh 
for 

making plays out of situations 
where the blocks didn’t come 
together. Harbaugh said that he 
likes the way Evans is running, 
catching out of the backfield, 
getting yards after contact and 
blocking as well.

“I just went into the season 

giving everything I got,” Evans 
said.

Earning playing time on a 

running back rotation with 
three key players — and a 
fourth emerging with redshirt 
freshman Kareem Walker — 
would be no easy task.

Evans, who splits carries 

evenly with Isaac and Higdon, 
said that he can’t have a selfish 
mindset. He understands that he 
might not rush for a 1,000-yard 
season when he only gets a third 
of the carries.

His counterpart this weekend, 

though, can’t say the same.

Wisconsin 
running 
back 

Jonathon Taylor is having the 
freshman season a running back 
can only dream about.

With 1,525 yards through 

the first 10 games, Taylor leads 
the Big Ten. He has run for 12 
touchdowns and averages seven 
yards per carry, and plays a 
critical part of the fifth-ranked 
Badgers’ offense.

He’s 
responsible 
for 
46 

percent of Wisconsin’s rushing 
attempts, and the other 54 
percent is split between 14 
different players. As the lead 
rusher, and a solid rusher at 
that, Taylor was bound to have a 
stellar season.

Evans admits that Taylor “is a 

great player,” but knows that his 
situation is different here in Ann 
Arbor than Taylor’s in Madison.

“We can’t be selfish,” Evans 

said of his teammates. “Like, 
‘Man, I wish I got all the carries, 
and I wish I rushed for 1,500 just 
like (Taylor).’ ”

He 
doesn’t 
have 
the 

opportunity Taylor does. Evans 
has never been and probably 
won’t ever be the only running 
back that Michigan relies on. 
He’ll keep sharing carries, and 
there will undoubtedly be plays 
he takes where the blocks don’t 
arrive.

But on the plays where the 

blocks do arrive, it’s up to Evans 
to make the most of them.

Munger continues 
thriving in her role

Always involved and always 

doing her job — Nicole Munger 
has a key role on the Michigan 
women’s basketball team, but 
is often in the shadows of her 
teammates.

After all, it can be quite 

challenging to stand out when 
sharing the backcourt with senior 
guard Katelynn Flaherty — the 
program’s 
soon-to-be 
all-time 

leading scorer. Some would take 
the easy way out by relying on 
the stars, while others would be 
discouraged and would throw in 
the towel.

But not Munger.
The junior guard plays a 

crucial role for the team and 
is an important piece to the 
Wolverines’ 
puzzle. 
She 
has 

received substantial playing time 
ever since joining the squad, and 
she found her spot in the starting 
lineup this season. Yet Munger is 
seldom in the spotlight.

Flaherty is a talented scorer 

who has keys to the offense. 
Junior 
center 
Hallie 
Thome 

controls the paint and often gets 
big blocks. Both have started for 
the majority of their careers and 
the fans and critics regularly take 
notice. But Munger shines too 
— she just doesn’t get the same 
glamour.

Munger is a reliable player who 

is always ready when the team 
needs her. She’s played an integral 
role in Michigan’s first two games 
this season against George Mason 
and Liberty, and has tallied 27 
points, seven rebounds and four 
steals so far, all while proving to 
be effective beyond the arc as well.

She put her hustle on display 

against Liberty. Early in the 
third quarter, an opposing player 
held the ball near the top of the 
key when, suddenly, Munger 

lunged forward, stripping the 
ball and causing havoc. The 
opposing player partially regained 
possession but Munger wasn’t 
done yet. She dove to the ground 
and fought to force a jump ball, 
switching the possession to the 
Wolverines.

There was no need for Munger 

to put herself on the line given the 
scenario at that time. Michigan 
was returning from a dominant 
first half and led 46-26. She 
could have gotten comfortable, 
but 
gritty 
basketball 
players 

like Munger never do the bare 
minimum.

She was a difference maker in 

the WNIT championship game 
last spring too. The Wolverines 
went into triple overtime against 
Georgia Tech when she stepped 
up, scoring seven points in the 
final overtime to help her team 
win its first banner.

She was clutch then and 

could be clutch this season too, 
as Michigan dreams of making 
it to the NCAA Tournament in 
March. She is exactly the type of 
hardworking, reliable player who 
could make the team’s dreams 
come true, and it’d be a lie if the 
tournament wasn’t on her mind 
too.

“There’s a lot that goes into a 

season, but I definitely think the 
tournament is what our eyes are 
set on,” Munger said at the team’s 
Media Day in October.

But Munger is more focused 

on the next game and the next 
possession, and will continue 
to provide the Wolverines the 
foundation they need.

“ … We have — I don’t even 

know — 25 games before that, so 
we have to execute from today, to 
tomorrow, to every day,” Munger 
said. “And hopefully we can 
just take it one day at a time and 
hopefully by the end of the season 
our name will be called.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Sophomore safety Josh Metellus finally blocked a punt against Maryland, only a week after he anxiously awaited a ruling on his potential suspension. 

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Sophomore running back Chris Evans had a slow start to the year, but has scored four touchdowns in the last two games.

TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer