2B — January 9, 2019
SportsWednesday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Unlikely veteran Matthews dominates Langford
In the waning seconds of
Sunday’s game, it was Charles
Matthews who stood at center
court, dribbling the clock
out on the Michigan men’s
basketball team’s win over
Indiana. It was appropriate,
for a game where, for much of
it, the redshirt junior wing had
been a focal point.
Coming into the contest,
a
lot
of
the
focus was on
his
matchup
with
Hoosier
wing
Romeo
Langford. They
were
both
highly
ranked
recruits out of
high
school,
and in a way a
microcosm
of
the
different
ways recruits can turn out.
Langford is the player who’s
living up to his hype, an
instant star for Indiana who
revitalized the Hoosiers after
a down year. Matthews is the
guy who never thought he’d be
here, a fourth-year player who
transferred from blue blood
Kentucky after plans to go
one-and-done didn’t work out.
Matthews — as sophomore
guard Jordan Poole noted
after the game — doesn’t
usually think about matchups.
He just looks at what’s in front
of him and takes it from there.
But this matchup was a little
higher profile than most.
“He was fired up about
this matchup,” said Michigan
coach John Beilein. “Because
he’s got respect and he knows
how good that Langford is.”
And going against Langford,
Matthews had perhaps his
best performance of the year —
firing up not just himself, but
the team around him, carrying
it to its 15th straight win.
It was just the second
possession of the game when
Matthews stripped the ball
from Langford, then drew a
foul. After the inbound, Poole
hit a jumper.
Just over three minutes
later, Matthews threw down
a dunk right over Langford
— and to add insult to injury,
Langford
fouled
him
on
the shot. Matthews missed
the and-one, but the play
contributed
something
far
more important. Just four
minutes into the game, one
of Indiana’s best players was
already in foul trouble. He sat
much of the remainder of the
half.
“That was a
designed
play
to see if we
could get that
second
foul,”
Beilein
said.
“And
Charles
paid attention,
taking the ball
strong
then
right
then
...
not be as strong
with
it.
That
was a strong baseline drive,
and that’s who he can be.”
For the rest of the half, it’s
who he was. Matthews added
two more dunks in the half,
including one off an offensive
rebound.
He
imposed
his
will on the Hoosiers, not
letting them take anything on
offense or on defense en route
to 16 first-half points, three
rebounds and three steals.
And beyond that, Matthews
provided a veteran presence.
He may have been fired up
more than usual because of
the matchup with Langford or
the bright lights of a big game
at Crisler, but it carried over to
the rest of the team and kept
the Wolverines rolling to an
11-point win.
“It’s a huge energy boost,
for everyone, because he does
so much,” Poole
said. “He’ll get
a tip deflection
or he’ll go and
he’ll get a steal
or he’ll get a
tip rebound of
a 50-50 ball, so
being
able
to
see a leader out
there
hustling
and being able to
get easy buckets
and transition buckets and
being able to get the crowd
going and give us a positive
boost and positive momentum
in any time in the game is
definitely huge for a game like
this.”
And that goes back to
Matthews,
the
fourth-year
player who wasn’t supposed
to be here. But he is, and now
he’s transformed into a vocal
guy on a young team. He’s the
only fourth-year on the team,
so it falls to him to provide
the energy. As he got going,
Beilein realized it was time
to get the ball in Matthews’
hands more often. The coach
drew up plays for him and
trusted him to do his job.
Matthews
then
went
out
there
and
disrupted
everything,
from
Indiana’s
shooting to its
spacing to its
defense.
He
held Langford
to just 5-for-11
from the field.
He
grabbed
boards
and
forced
turnovers
to
salvage empty
possessions.
Against a team
like the Hoosiers, he made
sure Michigan left nothing to
chance.
“Don’t
discount
what
Charles — Charles is just
huge,” Beilein said. “It’s about
winning. It’s about winning.
This is his fourth year in
college.
“Just wants to win.”
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Redshirt junior Charles Matthews scored 18 points and held Indiana’s Romeo Langford to 5-of-11 shooting on defense.
“This is his
fourth year in
college. Just
wants to win.”
“He knows
how good
that (Romeo)
Langford is.”
With Livers out, Johns gets his chance and makes his introduction
For a minute there, Brandon
Johns felt like he was in high
school again.
With seven minutes left in
the second half, Johns gathered
a pass from junior point guard
Zavier Simpson and tried a left-
handed layup off the glass. It
bounced off the rim, but Johns
popped straight back up over
everybody and tipped the ball
into the cylinder.
On
Michigan’s
next
possession, Johns slipped a
screen, caught Simpson’s pass all
alone in the post and pummeled
the ball through the net with his
right arm.
Not
enough?
Twelve
seconds later, the freshman
forward — he of just 10 games
of college basketball — leapt up
to challenge Indiana forward
Juwan Morgan at the rim and
stuffed the All-Big Ten senior.
What was left standing of Crisler
Center after Johns’ dunk was set
ablaze.
“It reminded me a lot of East
Lansing (in high school),” Johns
said. “Different levels, but it’s
great to be out here.”
That 56-second sequence was
a throwback to Johns’ high-
flying, highlight-reel high school
career, during which he had 28.1
points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5
blocks per game as a senior.
But in that same sequence,
Johns arrived on the big stage.
His arrival was both long-
anticipated and sudden. Johns
rode the bench for most of the
Wolverines’ first 14 games as
he acclimated to the college
game. But for a Michigan
team that struggled to find
stability backing up junior Jon
Teske, the 6-foot-8 Johns’ raw
athletic ability was a tantalizing
prospect; a perfect complement
to the 7-foot-1 Teske at the ‘5.’
In the last week, Johns got the
break he needed.
Sophomore forward Isaiah
Livers missed last Thursday’s
game against Penn State due to
back spasms, and after feeling
less than 100 percent in practice
and warmups over the weekend,
was listed as doubtful minutes
before tipoff Sunday, his absence
opening up an opportunity
in the Wolverines’ small-ball
lineup. And just over midway
through the first half, redshirt
sophomore
center
Austin
Davis, Teske’s primary backup,
committed his second foul.
“It
was
the
need,”
said
Michigan coach John Beilein.
“He’s
making
progress
in
practice, but we’ve seen that a
few times in practice. … That
was a matter of foul trouble by
Austin, foul trouble by Jon and
Brandon getting in there.”
Added Johns: “I just knew
I had to be ready, know
everything, defense, offense, just
in case he does call my name, if
somebody gets in foul trouble I
can come out and contribute.”
He did just that, going straight
to work inside and inhaling
rebounds — four of them in
less than three minutes. In 13
minutes against the Hoosiers, he
would finish with a team-high
eight of them, along with eight
points and a block.
“That’s one thing I’ve really
been focusing on since I got
here
is
just
rebounding,
play with a high
motor,”
Johns
said.
“I
think
rebounding
was like what
everyone
thought
the
main thing that
I could do, and
if anything else
followed up, it’s
okay.”
In the second half, the rest of
Johns’ game materialized in full
force.
Just over six minutes into the
half, Davis was sent to the bench
for good after hacking Morgan;
his fourth foul in as many
minutes. With Teske on the
bench with three and Indiana
climbing back into the contest
after trailing by
as much as 17,
the
weight
of
the Wolverines’
perfect
start
came to rest on
the shoulders of
the callow East
Lansing
High
School product.
The Hoosiers
had cut the lead
to 55-46 when
redshirt junior forward Charles
Matthews surged into the lane,
his runner missing high off
the backboard. Johns saw it,
rocketed off the ground and
powered home the rebound.
Turns out, that impressive
display of athleticism was only
the appetizer.
Less than two
hours
before
his
rejection
of
Morgan,
it
wasn’t
even
a
sure thing Johns
would
play.
Now,
against
a
nationally-
ranked
opponent,
in front of a
national TV audience, one of
the most unlikely of players had
taken complete control.
“I
did
not
(see
Johns’
performance coming), but I
do know that he is capable,”
Matthews said. “Injuries allow
some people to step up and make
the most of the occasion. He
definitely had a big game, big
impact for us.”
After
the
game,
Beilein
noted
that
Johns had been
too
passive
in
practice
on
occasion.
The next step
in
Johns’
development,
according
to
Beilein,
is
bringing
the
same energy he showed on
Sunday more consistently.
“We’ll see how he does in the
next two days,” Beilein said. “But
there’s an argument for him to
be the first big man off the bench
after how he played today.
“... Just do this in practice and
do this in games. He would tell
you himself. We played four-on-
four the other day, full-court,
four-on-four, no rules, he was
a non-factor in the game. He’s
good, he’s good. He’s got to be a
factor in these games. … Playing
harder, playing smarter, just
embracing the contact is all I
need to do.”
“I love the kid. He’s going to
be a really good player.”
John’s
breakout
showing
didn’t end when the final buzzer
sounded. Nor did it end when
he led the Wolverines in singing
“The Victors” in the locker
room.
As he left the Crisler Center
media room and a swarm of
reporters behind, a man in
a
Michigan
sweater
came
up to him with a five-word
declaration.
“Welcome to regular playing
time.”
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Freshman forward Brandon Johns had eight points and eight rebounds in his breakout performance against Indiana, perhaps cementing a regular role in the rotation.
“It reminded
me a lot of East
Lansing (in
high school).”
“I did not
(see Johns’
performance)
coming.”
JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Editor
Jordan Poole emerging
Two months ago — back when
the Michigan men’s basketball
team barely cracked the top 20
and before its season had even
tipped off — sophomore guard
Jordan Poole was anointed as
the Wolverines’ star. Redshirt
junior wing Charles Matthews
and junior guard Zavier Simpson
were the leaders, but Poole,
seven months removed from the
program’s most iconic moment
in recent memory, was the face of
the team.
Then,
freshman
forward
Ignas Brazdeikis stole that title
and ran with it. When Michigan
made its introduction to the
national stage in a 73-46 win at
Villanova in mid-November, it
was Brazdeikis — not Poole —
who shone brightest. Through
five games, Poole was averaging
just 7.8 points per game, reaching
double-digits only once, while
Brazdeikis had done so four
times.
Since then, Poole hasn’t had
a game with under 11 points,
transitioning from the enigmatic
scorer he was a year ago to
the Wolverines’ most reliable
weapon.
“Coach
(John
Beilein)
is
definitely giving me the green
light, but he also trusts me a lot,”
Poole said on Sunday. “He wants
to put the ball in my hands, and
he definitely trusts me on making
the right play.”
Added
Beilein:
“It’s
the
complete package of having a
guy that you gotta trust he’s
gonna learn what good shots are.
But you don’t want to take that
hunting personality he has away
from him.”
In Michigan’s latest dominant
win — a 74-63 over Indiana on
Sunday — that trust was on full
display.
The first half was a showcase
of everything Poole offers the
Wolverines when he’s at his best.
Five minutes into the game, he
made back-to-back threes to
extend Michigan’s early lead to
eight and blow the roof of the
Crisler Center, as he did so many
times off the bench a year ago.
But after the break, he ran into
the type of adversity that would
have stymied his effectiveness
last season. Each of his three
3-point attempts clanged off
the rim and into the hands of a
Hoosier.
Instead of frustratedly jacking
up more threes, though, Poole
responded to each of his misses
by going inside the arc and
scoring, including a highlight-
reel crossover into a mid-range
jumper. While his second half
didn’t have the same pop as his
first half, all three makes came
after an Indiana basket as the
Hoosiers tried to claw back into
the game.
“We always look at what the
defense is giving us, and we can
tell that we were able to pivot
past some of the mismatches that
we had in the game today,” Poole
said. “I feel like we were able to
drive more in the second half and
space the floor and get threes in
the first half.”
Poole’s
performance
on
Sunday was no aberration. In
last week’s sluggish 68-55 win
over Penn State, he led all scorers
with eight points in a low-scoring
first half. When Brazdeikis and
Matthews made the headlines
with 12 points apiece after the
break, Poole remained consistent,
with nine of his own. Four
days earlier, as the Wolverines
scuffled to a five-point halftime
lead over Binghamton, it was
Poole who kept them afloat with
12 first-half points.
For the kid who had a tendency
to disappear as a freshman, that
ability to perform when he and
his team hit adversity has been
the biggest difference in Poole’s
10-game
double-digit
point
streak.
“Over the summer, I saw a
great growth in what’s important
in winning basketball,” Beilein
said. “As opposed to the way
he probably was playing his
freshman year.”
And when he and his team are
on?
Well, then he’s still Jordan
Poole
—
with
the
behind-
the-back passes and stepback
jumpers to prove it.
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
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