8A — Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

 
 

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For Charles Matthews, newly-minted leader, the time is now

Charles Matthews walked 
into practice last week with 
some words in mind.
The redshirt junior had just 
watched his Michigan team 
travel to State College and lose 
to the Big Ten’s doormat, an 
uninspiring performance from 
a group mired in the thick of the 
race for a conference title. He 
felt there was a lack of effort, 
focus, urgency — and said as 
much when asked about it after 
the game. Then he came into 

practice and told his teammates 
the same thing.
“He was talking about lack 
of discipline,” said sophomore 
forward Isaiah Livers. “Lack of 
personnel — the night before, 
you gotta read your personnel, 
know it’s your guy or potentially 
who you’re gonna guard.”
Livers left unsaid whether the 
Wolverines read those reports 
before the Penn State game. He 
didn’t need to say whether they 
did before Saturday’s 65-52 win 
over Maryland, a game in which 
Michigan’s 
defense 
clamped 
down in a way reminiscent of, 

well, Michigan’s defense.
The Wolverines’ lead built to 
25-10 early on, then plateaued, 
as 
offensive 
stagnation 
allowed 
the 
Terrapins 
back 
within 
three 
points 
midway 
through 
the 
second half. It 
was the defense 
they 
fell 
back 
on, and it was 
the defense that 
proved reliable. 
Over 34 minutes — a team-high 

— Matthews held point guard 
Anthony Cowan just 4-for-
12 from the field with three 
turnovers.
“He shut out 
anybody 
that 
he 
guarded,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
John 
Beilein. “Really 
an 
incredible 
performance. 
And 
he 
was 
tired, 
too. 
My 
assistants were 
thinking 
we 
should give him a timeout, and 
I just refused. I’ll call a timeout 
before we get him off the court.”
Beyond 
himself, 
the 
Wolverines’ performance early 
on — laser-focused, disciplined 
and 
jumping 
down 
the 
opposition’s throat — mirrored 
what Matthews stressed after 
Tuesday.
Getting vocal in practice is 
not Charles Matthews’ natural 
domain. During his time at 
Michigan, he has spoken up on 
occasion and with impact, but 
for the most part, Matthews 
has been cast as a leader by 
his actions. When applied to 
an upperclassman on a college 
basketball team, that phrase 
usually means someone is seen 
as a leader because of their age, 
but not much else. As much 
as Matthews has undoubtedly 

helped set a culture for the 
Wolverines, it’s junior guard 
Zavier Simpson whose voice 
is 
the 
loudest 
on 
a 
day-to-
day basis inside 
Michigan’s 
locker room.
That may be 
changing.
“The Charles 
that 
we 
all 
knew 
in 
that 
first 
semester 
is not that same 
Charles,” Livers 
said. “He was more of a leader 
by example. Now he’s starting 
to step up and speak more like a 
Zavier Simpson.”
Michigan couldn’t ask for 
it at a better time. Its play has 
leveled off in the last month. 
After ripping through the first 
12 weeks of the year undefeated, 
the Wolverines have lost three 
times in the last four — and 
they haven’t looked particularly 
good in some of the wins.
Things aren’t about to get 
easier, either. Two of their last 
four regular season games are 
against Michigan State, and 
March is an animal that can’t be 
tackled by a group approaching 
burnout. In what is likely his 
last year of college basketball, 
Matthews has taken it upon 
himself to make sure burnout 
doesn’t happen.

“He’d rather just lead by 
example, but we have such a 
young team,” Beilein said. “We 
don’t even have 
a 
true 
senior 
on 
this 
team. 
Somebody 
has 
to 
do 
— 
we 
need 
another 
voice 
beside 
(Simpson). 
Jon 
(Teske’s) talking 
more, too, but 
still, that’s not 
Jon’s 
deal. 
So 
we need another 
leader. And he’s doing it.”
Matthews declared for the 
NBA Draft last season, waiting 
until the last day to announce 
he would return to Michigan. 
Before this season started, he 
openly acknowledged plans to 
declare again — and this time 
without 
coming 
back. 
This 
isn’t 
technically 
his 
senior 
year, but he can graduate and 
doesn’t seem to long for college 
basketball.
All the signs are pointing in 
the same direction. To what he 
wants out of next month, and to 
why.
“He’s got a sense of urgency 
to win this year,” Beilein said. 
“And make a decision after the 
season, but win this year so that 
he doesn’t look back and say, ‘I 
didn’t do enough in my senior 
year.’ ”

Thome becomes third player in 
‘M’ history to reach 2,000 points

Hallie Thome scored just 
over 1,000 points during her 
illustrious career at Chagrin 
Falls High School.
Entering last Sunday’s game 
against Illinois, the senior center 
needed only one point to surpass 
2,000 points at Michigan. Four 
minutes into the first quarter, 
sophomore Hailey Brown lobbed 
the ball down to Thome on the 
right block. Just as she had done 
countless times before, Thome 
spun around her defender and 
converted the routine layup.
With 
the 
basket, 
Thome 
joined Diane Dietz and Katelynn 
Flaherty — who graduated last 
spring — on the Wolverines’ list 
of 2,000-point scorers.
“It means a lot,” Thome 
said. “It shows a lot about this 
program to have two players do 
it within a year of each other, so 
a lot of the credit should go to the 
coaches here for helping make 
the players so successful.
“And a lot of the credit should 
also go to the point guards we’ve 
had. For me being a post-player 
and not bringing the ball up, so 
it’s all about the guards giving 
you inside touches.”
Added Michigan coach Kim 
Barnes Arico on the WKTA 
Radio show: “It means from the 
minute she stepped on campus, 
she has made an immediate 
impact on our program. She’s 
been such a special player for us. 
I’m just so happy for her because 
she’s 
worked 
so 
incredibly 
hard and I think you saw that 
excitement from her teammates 
as well.”
Despite 
being 
a 
heralded 
recruit — a McDonald’s All-
American 
and 
Ohio’s 
Ms. 
Basketball her senior year — 
Thome never expected to be in 
this position.
“2,000 didn’t seem realistic,” 
Thome said. “To come to college 

and do that is mindblowing 
to me. Then again, credit to 
(assistant coach Melanie Moore) 
on developing me as a player 
to be able to grow and fill the 
shoes Michigan needed as a post-
player.”
Thome burst onto the Big Ten 
scene as a freshman, starting 
all 35 games for the Wolverines. 
She was dominant at times, 
recording a 31-point game and 
nine others with 20 or more. 
Still, compared to Flaherty or 
even Siera Thompson, Thome 
served as a secondary or tertiary 
option.
Thome 
eclipsed 
1,000 
points 
a 
year 
later, becoming 
the 
third 
sophomore 
in 
program history 
to surpass that 
mark. 
Even 
though Thome 
had 
followed 
in 
Dietz 
and 
Flaherty’s 
footsteps through the first half 
of her career, she remained 
skeptical of reaching 2,000.
“I feel like your first two years 
of college are your easiest in 
sports because the other teams 
only play you twice,” Thome 
said. “So they don’t really know 
how to guard you. I thought 
‘Okay, maybe I’ll get to like 1,500 
because people know I love to go 
left, so there goes my left hand.’ ”
Opponents may have learned 
of 
Thome’s 
strengths 
but 
stopping them was a different 
story entirely. Forming a tag-
team 
with 
Flaherty, 
Thome 
increased her point tally to 1,679 
as a junior.
Though 
Thome 
looked 
destined to reach the mark earlier 
this season, injuries, inconsistent 
play and Michigan’s overall 
depth and offensive balance 
have slowed her production. 
Nevertheless, Thome kept a 

positive mindset throughout.
“My injuries were nothing 
compared to what (freshman 
guard) Amy Dilk has faced and 
what 
(senior 
guard) 
Nicole 
Munger has faced,” Thome said. 
“So I’ve just tried to put it into 
perspective and realizing it is 
my last year, always tried to be 
positive. When you get injured, 
it’s easy to get negative and think 
about yourself and everything 
you’re missing out on, and that’s 
when things tend to keep going 
south for you.”
That mentality has paid off 
for her, as Thome has reached 
double-digit 
point totals in five 
of the last seven 
outings.
After finishing 
with 14 against 
the Illini, Thome 
is now just 63 
points away from 
passing Dietz for 
second on the all-
time scoring list 
— an achievement 
that appears likely with three 
regular season games remaining 
before the Big Ten Tournament. 
Flaherty on the other hand, who 
became the all-time leading 
scorer in Michigan basketball 
history last season when she 
passed 
Glen 
Rice, 
remains 
unreachable at the top.
For Thome though, talk of 
legacy and individual accolades 
can wait. Instead, she is more 
concerned with keeping the 
Wolverines’ current win streak 
intact.
“It was never really a concern 
of mine to score 2,000 points,” 
Thome said. “I just wanted to 
make sure our team was sticking 
together and finding a way to win. 
Accomplishing this goal is great 
and everything but it doesn’t 
change me or anything like that. 
Having this accomplishment just 
reflects back on my team and 
how selfless we are.” 

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

He’s got a 
sense of 
urgency to win 
this year.

The night 
before, you 
gotta read your 
personnel...

To come to 
college and 
do that is 
mindblowing...

 Wolverines searching at first base

Well then who’s on first?
Yes.
I mean the fellow’s name.
Who.
The first baseman.
Who.
The 
question 
may 
have 
originated from the famous 1936 
skit, but it holds true 83 years 
later as the Michigan softball 
team asks: who’s on first?
Since 
first 
baseman 
Tera 
Blanco’s graduation last May, 
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins 
has 
been 
searching 
for 
a 
replacement to round out the 
infield.
While Hutchins has stressed 
that there are many players 
being considered for first base, 
sophomore Taylor Bump and 
senior Alex Sobczak seem to be 
among the top contenders, each 
having started at least one of the 
nine games so far this season.
Throughout her career at 
Michigan, Sobczak has served a 
variety of roles in both the infield 
and the outfield, providing the 
Wolverines with strong defense 
from all over of the field. The 
Wolverines have gotten off to 
a rocky start, dropping five of 
their first nine games, and are 
currently unranked for the first 
time in 18 years.
“I’ve seen some good things 
from (Bump and Sobczak), but 
we’re going to need to see more.” 
Hutchins said last Tuesday. 
“When a player asks me ‘What 
can I do?’ Stand out. We’re 
looking for people who are going 
to stand out. The stand-out nine 
are going to be the ones who are 
the most regular.”
In looking for someone to fill 
the role, Hutchins has chosen 
to go back to the basics. She 
emphasizes 
the 
importance 
of fundamentals in seeking a 
starter, but also a player who will 
show assertiveness.
“We need someone on first 
base to help be vocal,” Hutchins 
said. “It’s a vocal position. And 

catch the balls that are thrown. 
That’s the job.”
Added Canfield: “Taylor and 
Alex have both been competing 
for first (base). I think they 
both have their strengths and 
weaknesses but I don’t think any 
of them are so dramatic that it’s 
that noticeable. They’re both 
working hard and doing what 
they can for the team.”
And with both players failing 
to “stand out” thus far, Hutchins 
isn’t limiting her search to those 
two.
“I’m 
looking 
for 
hitters, 
always,” Hutchins said. “We 
need people who can hit through 
the lineup. (Bump) has done a 
nice job there but we’re looking 
at who makes the bag.”
Bump, who has started seven 
of the nine games this season on 
first base, spent her freshman 
season primarily stationed at 
third base, creating an additional 
challenge to her in her new role 
on the other side of the diamond.
“It’s 
always 
a 
challenge 
learning a new position,” Bump 
said. “I knew I wanted to be 
in the lineup and I wanted to 
contribute the best I could this 
year.”
“One thing about switching 
from the left side to the right side 
is learning your range. On the 

left side, you go for everything 
you could possibly get to and at 
first base, you obviously can’t 
because you have to be able to 
retreat to the bag.”
Although the defense has done 
well so far this season with an 
average of .88 errors per game, 
the lineup is far from finalized. 
Going into the third weekend of 
the season, there is no timetable 
for when a consistent lineup 
will appear. But with struggles 
starting to mount, the sooner 
the lineup comes together, the 
better.
“We move people in and 
out,” Hutchins said. “We’ve had 
different (designated players) 
and that’s part of what goes into 
a 56-game season. We don’t have 
a totally set lineup. It would be 
nice to have one and I’d hope 
we’d have one by the time we 
get to Big Ten play. Some years it 
doesn’t work that way.”
These fluctuations don’t seem 
to bother the players who know 
this as par for the course. It may 
be frustrating but that’s what the 
Wolverines must do to return to 
a .500 record.
“I think people are just 
getting comfortable,” Bump said. 
“That’s what our game is. Our 
game is adjusting and adjusting 
to adversity.”

LANE KIZZIAH
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Sophomore Taylor Bump has started seven of the nine games at first base.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Redshirt junior wing Charles Matthews has owned his new role as a vocal team leader, showing a sense of urgency.

