The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Friday, December 1, 2017 — 7

A wake-up call in the heart of college basketball

C

HAPEL HILL, NC — In 
Chapel Hill, basketball 
isn’t so much sport as it 

is religion.

The 

hardwood 
floors 
carry a 
little more 
weight. 
The rafters 
preach 
hymns 
more than 
they list 
numbers. 
The sea of 
Carolina 
blue overwhelms. There’s more 
history in the building than in 
some museums.

Last Sunday’s loss to 

Michigan State and an 
embarrassing 45 point total 
isn’t so much disappointment 
as it is sacrilege. 

“It wasn’t very pleasant,” 

said North Carolina coach Roy 
Williams, in the aftermath of 
his team’s performance against 
the Spartans. “We got back at 
6:30 Monday, I laid down at 
7:15 a.m. and got up at 9 o’clock 
because it wasn’t doing any 
good. Then I got a haircut to 
see if that would help me. I was 
willing to try anything.”

A bounceback, conversely, 

isn’t so much desired as it is 
required.

The Wolverines took their 

lumps in Wednesday night’s 
86-71 defeat, a game that 
wasn’t nearly as close the 
score indicates. They proved 
incapable of competing with a 
team fueled by vengeance and 
its own home crowd. Like an 
elite program does, the Tar 
Heels responded.

In what is becoming an 

annual occurrence, the 
Wolverines got beat down by a 
superior team. But here’s the 
thing: That’s OK.

In the Big Ten/ACC 

Challenge a year ago, Michigan 
lost at home to Virginia Tech 

only one week after losing by 
15 to South Carolina. Ten days 
later, it fell to Lonzo Ball and 
UCLA by 18. 

Few even batted an eyelash 

— and for good reason. You 
play these games to win, sure. 
But above all, you play these 
games to dig deep and learn 
something about your team. 
Which is why, when Michigan 
coach John Beilein said he 
just hoped Michigan “would 
hang around” against North 
Carolina, he truly meant it. 
With much of his team in flux, 
he likely didn’t expect it to go 
into Chapel Hill and beat a top-
15 team on the road.

They didn’t “hang around,” 

of course. Michigan got run out 
of the gym by a team that was 
not only better but hungrier.

Early on, Michigan held 

its own. With the Tar Heels 
grasping a slim 34-32 lead, 
fifth-year senior forward 
Duncan Robinson grabbed an 
outlet pass and attacked the 
fast break. He elevated and 
laid the ball up, and when the 
easy layup fell off the front of 
the rim, the Michigan offense 
fell off a cliff. For the next 
30 minutes, North Carolina’s 
pace and relentlessness 
overwhelmed a lackadaisical 
Michigan team. North Carolina 
went on a 36-9 run to open up 
a 29-point lead, and leave no 
doubt about the result.

“I don’t think we were ready 

for the quickness, speed and 
the precision they run with, 
and we weren’t locked in 
defensively, we just weren’t 
locked in,” Beilein said. “We 
laid an egg for most of the first 

half defensively, half the first 
half offensively, and I gotta 
find out really the reasons 
behind that.”

Certainly, there are real 

reasons for concern.

The Tar Heels played 

with energy, the Wolverines 
looked sloppy. The Tar Heels 
executed with precision, the 
Wolverines were stagnant. The 
Tar Heels fed off the crowd, 
the Wolverines looked like they 
wanted to be anywhere else.

Michigan lacked a 

competitive “grit,” as Beilein 
described. That’s what 
disappointed him most.

“They came out with a 

real vengeance towards us or 
towards the Big Ten,” Beilein 
said. “We did not answer, we 
couldn’t answer.”

While the Tar Heels — the 

defending national champions 
— are not afforded the same 
patience the Wolverines are 
fortunate to have. In Ann 
Arbor, the expectations are 
high, but basketball isn’t a 
religion.

Each of the past five seasons, 

Michigan has lost at least 
twice before conference play, 
but it has still made the NCAA 
Tournament in four of those 
five seasons, and the Sweet 
Sixteen in three of those 
five. This early-season play 
is always exploratory, and 
with two transfers and three 
freshmen playing prominent 
roles, this season was never 
going to be an exception.

Beilein played 11 players 

in the first 15 minutes of the 
game, and hopes to eventually 
cut down to eight or nine. All 

three point guards — freshman 
Eli Brooks, sophomore Zavier 
Simpson and fifth-year senior 
Jaaron Simmons — played at 
least nine minutes. Beilein 
hopes a clear leader emerges, 
and that he can reduce that 
rotation from three to two. And 
he’s still waiting for a player to 
step up and get a bucket when 
the offense bogs down. For 
Derrick Walton Jr. last season, 
it didn’t happen until February, 
aligning closely with when the 
team took off.

None of these changes, 

though, will happen until 
Beilein is good and ready.

“I don’t know who those 

next guys are. If you know, you 
guys can let me know. … Just 
watch this team grow, you’ll 
like what they do.”

For some fans, his patience 

is frustrating when it comes at 
the expense of blowout losses 
and underachievement. Yet 
given his track record, Beilein 
has earned the benefit of the 
doubt. 

That’s the big picture. Here’s 

the immediate reality.

This was their first major 

test, and there’s no escaping 
the fact that they failed it. 

For better or worse, the 

Wolverines have no time to 
sulk. They return home to play 
a feisty Indiana team Saturday, 
hit the road again to play Ohio 
State on Monday, then return 
back home for UCLA the 
following Saturday — all before 
capping the gauntlet in Austin 
the next Tuesday against 
Texas. It is a slate of games 
that Beilein has regularly 
referred to as “the toughest 
stretch.”

Like North Carolina a few 

days ago, Michigan got a wake-
up call of its own Wednesday 
night. Now it’s time for a 
response.

Marcovitch can be reached by 

email at maxmarco@umich.edu 

or on Twitter @Max_Marcovitch.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

John Beilein and the Michigan men’s basketball team traveled to Chapel Hill, NC, on Wednesday night, only to come home with a 15-point loss to the Tar Heels.

Wolverines heading to Plymouth for exhibition with USNTDP

While 
preparing 
for 

Saturday’s 
exhibition 
game 

against 
the 
U.S. 
National 

Team Development Program, 
three Michigan hockey players 
eagerly await a package with 
championship rings. 

Prior to arriving in Ann 

Arbor, 
defenseman 
Quinn 

Hughes 
and 
forwards 
Josh 

Norris and Michael Pastujov 
spent the past two seasons as 
teammates in the USNTDP. The 
now-freshmen skated for the 
U-17 and U-18 teams, the latter 
of which finished with a gold 
medal — and rings — from the 
2017 U-18 World Championship 
in Slovakia. And in both 2016 
and 2017, all three won goal 
medals at the U-18 Five Nations 
Tournaments.

Last year, Norris led the U-18 

team with 51 points in 52 games 
and Hughes followed closely 
with 47 points — on nine goals 
and 38 assists — in 56 games. 
Their stellar résumés turned 
the pair into two of the highest-
touted prospects to join the 
Wolverines this season.

And Saturday, they will lace 

up against the team that taught 
them to improve their skills, 
form lifelong friendships and 
gave them an opportunity to 
represent their country.

“It’s 
kind 
of 
like 
a 

homecoming,” Norris said.

Michigan 
will 
head 
20 

minutes east to Plymouth for 
the first time in its 18 years 
of annual meetings against 
the USNTDP, but this contest 
wasn’t supposed to happen in 
the first place.

Not originally on the regular 

season 
calendar, 
Michigan 

coach Mel Pearson decided to 
add the matchup to the open 
weekend between series against 
Ohio State and Michigan State. 
And it couldn’t have come at a 
better time.

The Wolverines are coming 

off a two-game weekend in 
which they were outscored 
eight to three and swept for 
the first time all season at the 
hands of the then-15th-ranked 

Buckeyes. In its last six games 
— all against conference foes 
— Michigan has posted a 1-3-2 
record.

Pearson cites a need to face 

the right opponent to get back 
on track, and he believes he 
picked the perfect one.

“I’m very happy that we 

scheduled it because we need a 
game to get that bitter taste out 
of our mouth and just to play,” 
Pearson said. “They’re a good 
partner. I enjoy the program, 
it’s a good game for us.”

Throughout what Pearson 

refers to as a “work week,” his 
icemen have taken that motto 
in full stride, displaying an 
intensity in practice that was 
lacking in Saturday’s 5-1 loss.

“They’ve worked hard and 

the energy level’s been up, 
especially when we don’t have 
much to look forward to this 
week,” Pearson said.

Added Hughes: “Back to the 

basics and work hard. Obviously, 
last weekend was unacceptable, 
so we have to start over. A new 

start, a fresh start, whatever 
you want to call it. We’re going 
to have a good five days of hard 
work here and then against the 
U.S. team. It’s just a good week 
for us to focus and get all our 
priorities straight.”

Though already focusing on 

the looming Spartan home-
and-home series Dec. 7 and 8 
— and a hopeful return to the 
win column in Big Ten play — 
the Wolverines can’t overlook 
the task at hand against the 
USNTDP, especially following 
disappointing results against 
Ohio State.

The developmental program 

targets and trains elite youth 
hockey players under the age 
of 18 for USA Hockey. Over 
the years, it has produced 47 
Michigan 
players, 
including 

10 current skaters — some of 
whom have played with present 
members of the U-18 team, 
making the game that much 
more personal.

“I think they look forward 

to it,” Pearson said. “Most of 

the guys that come out of that 
program really appreciate what 
it’s done for them and they really 
have a sense of nationalism. 
They really play up the ‘USA.’

“I think they have a huge 

appreciation for the program 
and what they’ve done. We’ve 
got to convince them ‘Wow, 
you’ve got to play hard and 
we’ve got to beat them.’ You’re 
friends until the puck drops and 
then it’s business.”

Hughes notes the impact on 

player growth and attention 
to detail as the main aspects 
that lead to players excelling 
in 
college 
and, 
eventually, 

professional leagues.

“I owe a lot to the program,” 

Hughes said. “The development 
there, you don’t get anywhere 
else. It’s the best in the world. 
You see how they pump out 
players 
every 
year 
— 
it’s 

ridiculous. It’s a business there 
and they treat it like a job. 
It’s kind of like pro hockey, 
so it’s really good for you to 
experience as young kids, so 

when you come to (college), 
you’re ready.”

Both 
Norris 
and 
Hughes 

believe there was a bigger 
adjustment from youth hockey 
to the USNTDP than from the 
junior league to the collegiate 
level — a true testament to the 
development team steering its 
players in the right direction.

And 
after 
playing 
20 

games against older and more 
experienced college opponents 
last season, the freshmen say 
the program helped them make 
an immediate impact in the 
Michigan lineup.

“I feel like that was my 

freshman year,” Hughes said. “I 
feel like this is my sophomore 
year right now and I didn’t 
notice a transition at all. They 
made it really hard for us there, 
so when I came here — not that 
they don’t make it hard here — it 
was a little bit easier.”

Added Norris: “Learning how 

to play with different players 
and becoming mentally tougher. 
It’s not the easiest the first year. 

You’re 16 and playing against 
18-, 19- and 20-year-olds, so I 
think just finding ways to get 
through adversity and stuff like 
that. It’s a big deal to learn from 
that stuff and grow.”

Because 
of 
the 
team’s 

familiarity with the opponent, 
it would be easy to have a 
different-than-usual mentality 
in the locker room leading 
up to the game. But after 
recent setbacks, the team is 
approaching this weekend no 
different than any other.

“I’ve been involved in a lot 

of them over the years when 
I was here at Michigan and 
some years it was hard to play 
in them because you’re playing 
the high school kids,” Pearson 
said. “It’s a no-lose for them, 
but you’re expected to beat 
them. Sometimes you’d look 
past it, but not this year. I think 
because of the way things went 
last weekend and because of 
who we have the weekend after, 
it’s an opportunity for us to get 
our stuff together.”

Skating on the USA Hockey 

Arena rink in Plymouth for 
the first time since donning 
the USNTDP’s trademark red, 
white and blue sweaters — 
and mere days before Norris, 
Hughes and Pastujov receive 
their championship rings in the 
mail — will certainly be special 
for the three freshmen as well 
as the seven other players 
returning to their roots.

But even that — and the fact 

the exhibition doesn’t count 
toward 
Michigan’s 
overall 

record — doesn’t mean the 
Wolverines will take the game 
against the youngsters lightly.

“I played against Michigan 

last year,” Hughes said. “I 
thought it was a pretty big deal 
for me. I kind of know what 
those guys are thinking right 
now. I loved it last year, this 
year it’s probably not as cool, 
but it’s a game and we’re going 
to try 100 percent. It doesn’t 
really matter who we’re playing.

“I know all those guys and 

obviously I had a lot of good 
memories in that rink, so it’s 
going to be cool and I’m looking 
forward to it.”

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Freshman forward Josh Norris spent last year with the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he led the U-18 team with 51 points in 52 games.

MAX 
MARCOVITCH

BENJAMIN KATZ

Daily Sports Writer

