8 —Friday, February 9, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Harbaugh, Michigan looking to fill 10th assistant spot on coaching staff
While the Michigan football
team finalized a new class of
signees, one group on the team
could still use a little more depth.
The coaching staff, as of
Wednesday, has filled just nine
of the 10 available spots for full-
time assistants — despite the
10th having been temporarily
filled just a month ago.
Jim
Harbaugh
had
hired
Arkansas’
Dan
Enos
as
an
offensive assistant coach soon
after the regular season ended,
only to have Enos snatched away
by Nick Saban and Alabama a
few weeks later.
Harbaugh said he is currently
interviewing candidates for the
vacant spot, and the new hire
will be “focused on the offensive
side.” Harbaugh hopes to finish
the hiring process soon, because
spring practices begin March 22.
Rumors circulated online that
former Florida head coach Jim
McElwain had been linked with
the available offensive assistant
spot.
McElwain
was
fired
from Florida this season after
a disastrous year. The Gators
ranked 109th in total offense, but
many still consider McElwain a
strong coach. As of now, though,
the
McElwain
rumors
are
nothing more than rumors.
A recent hire, Ed Warriner,
joined Michigan just a few days
ago as an offensive analyst. His
title as an “analyst” extends
beyond the 10 available “assistant
coach” spots, meaning he isn’t
allowed to directly coach the
players, participate in practices
or contribute to off-campus
recruiting.
Harbaugh praised Warriner,
who
previously
worked
for
Minnesota as an offensive line
coach and run-game coordinator,
and said that he feels like they
are “becoming best friends.”
The two other new faces to the
program include Sherrone Moore
and Al Washington. Moore will
serve as the new tight ends coach,
and Washington as a defensive
assistant. Washington has not
been assigned a specific position
group yet at Michigan, but
previously served as a defensive
line coach at Cincinnati.
“We’re
thrilled
with
the
new
additions,”
Harbaugh
said.
“Sherrone
Moore,
Al
Washington, I think they’re
fantastic.”
Harbaugh said he had a
chance to sit in on offensive and
defensive meetings with both
coaches while traveling and
thought they were tremendous.
Outside
of
the
on-field
coaching and analyst spots, one
of Harbaugh’s other new hires
is Ben Herbert, Michigan’s new
strength and conditioning coach.
Herbert worked
for
11
seasons
at
Wisconsin
before spending
five years with
Arkansas.
He
joined
the
Wolverines
in
early January.
“Coach
Herbert
and
the
staff
are
extremely hard-
working,
very
detailed
and
have hit the ground running,”
Harbaugh said. “It’s early, but I
already see positive results. What
went into that was interviewing
multiple interested coaches, and
I really thought we got the right
man for the right position.”
All in all, Michigan’s coaching
staff hasn’t changed too much
at the top. Both the offensive
and
defensive
coordinators,
Tim
Drevno
and Don Brown,
are staying put.
Passing
game
coordinator
and
assistant
head coach Pep
Hamilton
is
sticking with the
program as well.
Michigan’s
former
safeties
coach
Brian
Smith departed for a defensive
coordinator position at Rice back
in December, but Harbaugh said
he doesn’t anticipate any other
coaches leaving.
The quick departure of Enos,
though, will likely leave the
program with a bitter taste —
at least until it announces a
10th coach. Enos had offensive
success with his previous teams,
something
Michigan
clearly
struggled with in 2017.
Harbaugh didn’t go into detail
about Enos’ short-lived tenure,
but he offered a few thoughts on
the state of the offense and how
he’s handling the situation.
“On offense right now, we are
going through a self-scout period
and looking at ways to get our
offense up to where our defense
is,” Harbaugh said.
Enos won’t be on the sideline
to help Michigan get its offense
up to speed, but if Harbaugh
can pull off a big name hire —
preferably one with a history
of offensive success — that
could silver line what has been
an
otherwise
disappointing
offseason so far.
The Wolverines have seen three staff departures this offseason as Brian Smith, Greg Frey and Dan Enos all moved on
TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
“Sherrone Moore,
Al Washington,
I think they’re
fantastic.”
Hallie Thome looked around
and realized there were no other
options. The shot clock was
winding down, there was nobody
near her and — with Northwestern
having pulled within single digits
to start the final quarter — the
pressure was on. For the first time
all year, the junior center rose and
fired from beyond the arc. She
nailed it.
“Our bench was up standing,
keeping us aware of the time (on
the shot clock), and so they’re
screaming, like, ‘Six, five’ and I see
everyone just running around,”
Thome said. “I said, ‘You know
what, my feet are set, just shoot it,
Hallie.’
“ … My grandpa will be so proud.
He calls me after every game and
he will be like, ‘You need to watch
the film. You have an open 3.’ I’m
like, ‘Grandpa, I’m not shooting a
3.’ ”
The absurdity of Thome taking
her first triple of the season in
such a situation did all that was
necessary to relax the Michigan
women’s basketball team, and
the game quickly got out of hand.
Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty
hit a 3-pointer, then another one.
An 11-point lead became 15. A
potential loss — one which would
have been Michigan’s third in a
row — became a 21-point, 84-63
win, barely a blip on the radar in
the throes of the season. There’s
a comfort in normalcy, and the
21st-ranked
Wolverines
(9-4
Big Ten, 20-6 overall) found its
embrace on Thursday.
“The world (was) coming to
an end last week,” said Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico. “You
know, you lose two games, holy
cow we hit a little bump in the
road. But it’s nice to see that our
kids responded tonight, and we had
some confidence.”
Thome carried the load early,
fighting off double-teams and
knocking in an array of hook shots
and turnaround jumpers from the
post. Though the Wildcats kept
it close during the first quarter,
Thome gave Michigan the lead just
as the period ended, swallowing
Lindsay Pulliam’s shot whole,
leading Flaherty to an and-one
transition layup.
Despite only five first quarter
points, Flaherty made up for it
by dropping 31 in the next three,
finishing with a season-high 36. If
the early goings were a showcase
for Thome, the rest was a display
of Flaherty’s dominance — the
basketball version of a Maori war
dance.
She hit one off a dribble-handoff
from Thome, then another off an
offensive rebound from senior
forward Jillian Dunston, then
another, pulling up after Dunston
reversed the direction of a screen to
open up space. For good measure,
she added two more before the first
half was over.
During the week, Barnes Arico
emphasized getting Flaherty open
off screens in practice, especially to
Dunston.
“If your girl’s gonna run to the
paint, that means every single time,
you can get Katelynn an open shot,
at least for a hair of a second,” she
told her. “And if you do, she’s going
to be able to knock that down.”
Northwestern
didn’t
have
much of an answer for Flaherty
last Monday in Evanston, when
she scored 27 on 10-of-21 shooting.
They never found one Thursday.
The Wildcats’ adjustment was a
collective shoulder shrug, as she
caroused to nine three-pointers.
Not to be outdone, Thome finished
with 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting
from the field, along with five
rebounds and a season-high four
blocks.
“People were doubling in the
post on Hallie and face-guarding
Katelynn the entire game,” Barnes
Arico said. “But they can’t do that
without their teammates getting
good screens and recognizing them
when they’re open. And I thought
that’s where we really took steps in
the right direction tonight, is being
able to find them and get them
touches when they were open.”
The Wolverines were on the
ropes heading into this game,
having lost two straight with
two consecutive road games and
a home contest against No. 10
Maryland coming up. This was the
game they had to win, no ifs, ands
or buts about it, and win they did.
“You go into the motions when
you start winning a lot of games,”
Flaherty said. “And I think these
past two days especially, we really
came in, worked hard and I think
our confidence is back.”
Hallie Thome: Michigan’s second option
With 36 points on Thursday,
senior guard Katelynn Flaherty led
the team in scoring – again. That’s
the way it always is.
But
center
Hallie
Thome
wasn’t too bad herself in the No.
21 Michigan women’s basketball
team’s
84-63
victory
over
Northwestern. The junior finished
with 25 points, the second most in
the game.
With a teammate in Flaherty
– one of the nations most prolific
scorers and the program’s all-
time leading scorer – Thome’s
offensive production can often get
overlooked. It’s easy to forget that
she’s finished second in scoring
for the Wolverines each of the last
three seasons and ranks eighth in
program history.
This
isn’t
something
that
necessarily bothers Thome. She’s
confident in her role.
“It never gets frustrating being
the second scorer – not at all,”
Thome said. “When you have a
person like Katelynn Flaherty on
your team, you get her the ball.”
In the shadow of Flaherty,
Thome’s notoriety as a scorer is
certainly repressed. In fact, she’s
not just adequate offensively, but
one of the biggest threats in the Big
Ten. With 16.9 points per game,
Thome ranks 10th in the conference
in scoring.
What makes Thome special isn’t
just that she scores, but how she
does it. Thome shoots an efficient
63.1 percent from the field – second-
best in the Big Ten. For comparison,
Michigan’s second best player from
the floor, Kayla Robbins, shoots 48.6
percent.
That was on full display against
the Wildcats, as Thome finished
8-for-12 from the field. But Thome
refuses to take all the credit for her
success.
“I think (my efficiency) is all my
teammates,” Thome said. “It’s a
testimony to my teammates to put
me in position to score. My coaches
and
teammates
have
instilled
confidence in me, so whenever
I get the ball I feel like I have an
opportunity to score.”
So how is Thome such an
efficient player? She has impeccable
shot
selections,
rarely
forcing
things. The 6-foot-5 center doesn’t
have
to.
Thome
consistently
positions herself in down low, using
her height advantage to get high-
percentage shots.
“She’s really the total package,”
said Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. “She has great size. She has
soft hands, she catches everything
that comes her way. Her footwork
is so good (that) her moves around
the basket are tough to stop. She
showed that tonight.”
Her height gives defenders
trouble, resulting in Thome getting
fouled often. As a result, she gets to
the free throw line at a high rate.
After going 8-for-9 on Thursday, she
has the second most attempts on the
team at a 113, shooting 77 percent
from the line. But even from the foul
line, Thome pales in comparison
to Flaherty, who has attempted
and made more free throws on the
season (105 for 120).
Thome’s
time
is
coming,
however.
With
Flaherty
graduating
after the season, Thome naturally
becomes the number one scoring
option for the Wolverines. And
Michigan will need her to fill the
void that Flaherty leaves.
While Thome won’t replicate
the play or offensive output of the
5-foot-7 Flaherty, she does possess
the talent to become the focal
point of the offense. Still, she will
need to diversify her game. This
would include further developing a
mid-range shot, thus allowing the
Wolverines to stretch the floor.
Thursday
night
may
have
foreshadowed a transformation
to come, as Thome hit the first
3-pointer of her career. The shot
came in the fourth quarter, as the
shot clock expired during a 6-0
Northwestern run. The shot will
certainly make Thome’s grandpa
happy, who calls her after every
game and urges her to shoot it from
behind the arc.
“It was a critical shot,” Barnes
Arico said. “I think we were up
eight, and that put us up 11. Hallie
has such tremendous touch. She is
a really good shooter. Her grandpa,
every time he sees me, tells me how
many threes she should be taking.
So when we do our practice shooting
drills, I’m like, ‘Can you make these
so we can make grandpa proud?’ ”
While
Flaherty
might
get
the attention, Michigan would
undoubtedly be a shell of itself
without Thome.
HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer
ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer
‘M’ gets back on track with 84-63 win
AHAD BOOTWALA/Daily
Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty led Michigan with 36 points.
AHAD BOOTWALA/Daily
Junior center Hallie Thome has thrived as Michigan’s second scoring option.