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Sports
Friday, February 7, 2020 — 7
Plays with Pearson: Breaking down Lockwood’s winner against Ohio State
The
Michigan
Daily
sat
down with Michigan coach Mel
Pearson on Thursday and pulled
out a hockey whiteboard.
Pearson
drew
up
the
intricacies of a play from last
weekend’s
matchup
against
then-No. 11 Ohio State that
led to a Will Lockwood goal.
He broke down
where
players
went with the
puck, what they
were
thinking
with
the
play
they made and
how it all went
down — with the
X’s and O’s on a
whiteboard.
The
Daily
deciphered
the
board
and
pieced
together
a
series
of
drawings
that
represent what Pearson had to
show.
Here’s what he drew up.
***
Friday, the Buckeyes tied the
game with a power play goal
midway through the second
period. Momentum flipped then
and Ohio State started pressing
heavily against a stout Michigan
defense. With four minutes left
in the game, Lockwood took the
puck off a rebound and scored
a thrilling game-winning goal.
The Wolverines went on to
win the game, 3-2, due to the
hustling efforts of Lockwood.
The Michigan Daily: Can
you break down (senior forward
Will Lockwood)’s game winner
Friday?
Mel Pearson: Yes, Slaker
shot it, so Will came in and
came across like this. Slaker
came in from behind him so he
dropped the puck, and Slaker
came in and basically took the
shot.
Pearson: Will continued on
this way, and the rebound came
out to him. He took the one shot
and followed it in. Puck came
here, he actually took a second
shot, and it came here.
Pearson: So Will’s coming
here, and he comes in and cuts
across. This is his sort of path
that he took, and yes Slaker just
came in here and took the shot.
And then actually (Slaker) goes
to the net, but Will stayed with
the puck.
Pearson: That’s the biggest
thing.
After
the
shot
was
taken, he got the
rebound.
You
teach guys to go
to the net, and
then the second
one came to him.
He’s
fortunate
it
came
here
and then he’s so
quick. He’s got
such good speed
and quick hands.
When the goalie
made the save, he was here, and
Will just beat him back to the
post.
Pearson:
They
had
a
defenseman
here
but
the
defenseman for some reason
— this is how Ohio State and
other teams play. They sort of
hold in front. (The opposing
player) didn’t go down to meet
him here, and that gave Will
actually, Will’s probably a few
feet behind the goal line when
he stuffed the puck in. So, this
defenseman was taught not to
go back down and get him, just
sort of hold the post like this.
Pearson: Slaker’s coming in
like this. Oh, yeah. Again, Will
just comes in like this. He leaves
the puck for Slaker coming
down here. Slaker takes the
wide shot, gets a rebound. It’s
actually a good shot. Will, one
rebound, continues on, second
rebound, and then picks it up
and jam it here. Then Slaker
goes to the net here. Will’s so
quick like I said, he just put in.
TMD: Could he have made
the open pass to Slaker at the
net?
Pearson: He could have, but
I think you sometimes make a
decision, you don’t even look.
Especially when he first got out
here, I think his whole intention
was to beat the goalie to the far
post. A lot of
times you can
when that goalie
has come out to
play
this
shot
and
it
comes
right back, he’s
so
quick.
If
you’re fast like
Will and quick,
you
can
get
around to that
far post before
the goalie can physically move
there. That’s what happened on
that play. And good goal scorers
do that. You know, you see some
guys get in there, come way
out here like this and look for
the pass. They don’t have the
aggressive move to the net and
Will
has
that,
he likes to go
to the net. He’s
aggressive
and
he was rewarded
for that on that
play.
TMD:
You
talked
about
positioning
of
that defenseman,
do you teach that
differently?
Pearson: We do. We do so we
would, a lot of times, if there’s
a defenseman over here with
Will, we tell them to go with
him. The other guy holds. Some
teams will actually go with
them, and then when they get
to a certain point, if they don’t
have
contact,
they just let him
go.
This
guy
will try and pick
him up. But the
Buckeyes
don’t
normally do that,
they’re just sort
of playing off the
post. Will didn’t
come
out
far
enough for this
guy to challenge
him, so his feet are behind the
goal, his (stick) tip just wraps it
around. But we teach a different
(style). We’ll tell this guy to go
after him and this guy just hold
him for them. Look for anybody
here. Sometimes like I said, if
this guy’s too far ahead of him,
then he’ll switch
off,
he’ll
just
come to the front
of the net and let
this D go. But
you never want
to leave this area
here. You never
want
to
leave
that area. That’s
a
dangerous
scoring position.
Ohio State did
that. They didn’t leave that
area. Will just happened to
be so quick that he beat him
around the net.
MSU rivalry changing under Howard
The Big Ten’s best rivalry
returns on Saturday.
Over the previous decade,
no two teams have flexed more
dominance over the conference
than Michigan and Michigan
State.
No
team
is
more
emphatically circled on the
schedule for the Wolverines.
No regular season game carries
more meaning. No holds are
barred.
Heading
into
the
first
iteration of this showdown on
Jan. 5, there were a thousand
question marks regarding the
arrival of new coach Juwan
Howard.
What was the rivalry going to
look like under new leadership?
How was Howard going to
embrace the moment? Would
he
maintain
composure
or
succumb to the grandness of
the moment and the narrative
written
by
two
juggernaut
programs up to that point?
In that early-January game,
Howard answered many of
the lingering questions … by
receiving his first technical foul
of the season.
After the referees missed
a potential foul call on senior
center Austin Davis following
a drive to the hoop, Howard
was livid at the lack of response
from the officials. He stepped
on the court, and the ref made
a “T” with his hands, signaling
a marked departure from the
days of rivalry past.
In the previous Michigan era,
former coach John Beilein was
a resolute, composed figure on
the sideline. The epitome of his
program’s values.
On the other end of the
sideline,
Michigan
State
employed a more emotional
firebrand to run its ship. Tom
Izzo — the famed high-level
game manager — argued and
screamed
at
every
available
opportunity. In
their demeanor,
the two couldn’t
be
more
different.
But Howard’s
temperament
on the sidelines
is
a
marked
departure from
his predecessor.
“If there’s one thing I’m glad
about Juwan, to be very blunt
and honest with you, is John
was so buttoned up that I look
like a fool all the time,” Izzo said
after his program’s win against
the Wolverines. “And now both
of us look like fools, it makes it
an equal opportunity deal.”
Added Howard: “I’m going
to back up my team for all 40
minutes of the ball game. That
possession, I had seen enough.
I saw a lot of contact. … But
unfortunately it wasn’t called,
so I got a little beside myself.
I’m an emotional guy, and I’m
going to always fight for my
players.’
Howard provided a glimpse
— however small — into the new
era of the rivalry. The technical,
along with the new direction
Howard is taking Michigan
men’s basketball, are laying
the foundation for a new, epic
chapter in the showdown.
Playing with a newfound
passion and emotion on the
sidelines
is
one thing, but
picking
the
players to help
you write the
narrative
is
arguably
the
more important
element.
Under
Beilein,
the
Spartans
held the clear
recruiting advantage year in
and year out. When one top-
10 recruiting class fled to the
NBA or graduated, another
one quickly took its place.
Beilein famously only sought
the players that fit his system,
often leading to less-than-elite
groups of athletes.
But his ability to make more
with less made the rivalry that
much more exciting.
With
Howard
quickly
amassing one of the Wolverines’
most highly-ranked recruiting
classes in the last two decades,
things are going to look a lot
different when Michigan and
Michigan State suit up in the
future.
Poised and methodical versus
athletic and emotional. It’s an
oversimplification, sure, but an
apt characterization of the two
eras in Michigan basketball is
beginning to form. And through
the transition of these eras —
one man and one program is
here to stay.
“Juwan’s done a good job,
done a great job there,” Izzo
said after his first win against
Howard. “So he will do a
good job, but we’re not going
anywhere. We’re not going
anywhere.”
‘M’ hopes to find identity early
Carol
Hutchins
leaned
forward in her seat, pausing
before answering a question
posed by one of the reporters
clustered around her. The
room’s attention rested on
Michigan’s softball coach. Yet
the words that hung on the wall
behind her, displayed in white
lettering
and
accentuated
by a faded blue background,
became hard to ignore.
The Team, The Team, The
Team.
Bo Schembechler’s famed
phrase has grown synonymous
with all facets of Michigan
athletics,
softball
included.
For Hutchins, it’s a rallying cry
that merits echoing.
Hutchins believes her team
has the individual talent to be
a top-16 seed come May. But
reaching such a point requires
more than individual success.
With the 2020 season finally
here, Hutchins is about to find
out how quickly the group
learns how to play together.
“I like our group a lot,”
Hutchins said. “And now we
gotta learn how to go into battle
together. And everybody needs
to contribute. Contributions,
some of them are pitching,
some of them are getting
key hits in big situations and
sometimes it’s just as simple
as being the one in the dugout
who helps keep everybody up.”
The softball season, in a
sense, is a battle. It’s grueling.
It’s lengthy. And it requires
more than pure talent to
succeed. A team has to have
a collective will to win and
its hearts invested, a mantra
Hutchins has attempted to
instill within her players.
“We’re trying to get our kids
to understand that we need to
be risk takers, and just go for
things and not to be tentative,”
Hutchins said. “We practice
more
aggressive
things,
aggressive style baserunning
and we’re gonna have to be
that team that just gets out
there and gets after it. We have
to figure out a way to do it all
together, be together. That’s
gonna be us.”
This playing style will be
first put to the test on Friday,
when the Wolverines kick
off their five game season-
opening weekend in Tampa Bay
at the USF-Wilson Demarini
Tournament.
Friday’s
slate
provides an opportunity for
Michigan to shake off some
expected
rust
—
Georgia
State and Illinois State, its
two opponents, finished with
a combined record of 26-79 a
year ago.
For
the
Wolverines,
shaking off the
rust quickly is
key to avoiding
a repeat of the
doldrums
of
last February,
when
a
flat
start
dipped
the
program
to a low point
not
seen
since
2001,
the
team leaving its first two
tournaments under .500.
The rest of the weekend
schedule provides an uptick in
competition. A game against
No. 7 Florida, a perennial
softball powerhouse coming
off a College World Series
appearance, looms on Saturday.
While the Gators lost their top
pitcher, Kelly Barnhil, and
hitter, Amanda Lorenz, in the
offseason, they still pose a
formidable challenge.
So does host South Florida,
a team that made it to the
Tallahassee Regional in the
NCAA Tournament a year ago.
An early Sunday face-off with
Fresno State, a middle-of-
the-pack group that returns a
steady nucleus of players, caps
off the weekend.
“It’s going to be a learning
curve,”
Hutchins
said
of
the
early-season
gameplay.
“And I don’t know how this
year’s gonna go, but I know
one thing. As we evolve, as a
coaching staff, we’re gonna
assess every week what we can
do to help (the players) achieve
their goals.”
As
for
the
players, at last
Tuesday’s media
day, they wore
faces tired of the
offseason
and
itching to return
to
competitive
softball.
Internally,
it
seems as if the
page has long
been
flipped
from 2019 to 2020. Now, with
the season on the doorstep,
this year’s book can finally
begin to be written.
What
identity
will
this
year’s Michigan team write?
Is it a cohesive, aggressive unit
like Hutchins envisions, one
that embodies Schembechler’s
words? Or is it something
different, requiring perhaps
a steeper learning curve than
anticipated?
The five-game slate this
weekend
won’t
provide
a
definite answer — Hutchins
admitted that could take until
next month. But it will reveal
at least a glimpse of clarity.
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson sat down with The Daily to break down senior forward Will Lockwood’s game-winning goal against Ohio State on Friday.
He leaves the
pick for Slaker
coming down
here.
Will has that,
he likes to go
to the net. He’s
aggressive.
Will (was)
so quick that
he beat him
around the net.
JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Writer
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Editor
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Juwan Howard is often more animated on the sideline than John Beilein was.
I’m going to
back up my
team for all 40
minutes.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
The Michigan softball team opens its season Friday against Georgia State.
Now we gotta
learn how to
go into battle
together.