Smith makes return

Ellerbe wary of ACC games in December

Maybe Brandon Smith should fly halfway across the country before every game.

The sophomore forward flew from Texas to Michigan just hours before the game. After a slow start, it was the basketball doing the flying - from Smith's hands into the net. in a three-minute span, Smith hit three 3-pointers, grabbed two offensive rebounds, tipped in his own shot and hit a free throw, scoring 13 straight Michigan points.

"The first half, I took a little while to get going," Smith said. "At halftime, Coach (Brian) Ellerbe really jumped all over me. In the second half, I came out more aggressive looking for my shot and I was a little more productive."

Brandon Smith scored 12 points last night, hours after getting off a flight from his home in Texas. In one stretch in the second half, Smith hit 3-pointers on three

Smith, whose grandmother passed away this past Saturday, was at home in Amarillo, Texas, for the funeral. He missed Monday's 60-45 victory over Towson State.

"I've been going through a lot these past couple of weeks," Smith said. "It was tough to concentrate. Basketball has been the farthest thing from my mind. I haven't touched a ball in three or four days."

Give me an 'H': If Michigan guard Robbie Reid were playing a game of horse, pretty much everyone would have an 'H'.

Everyone knew that Reid has great range. And if he had any doubters, well, he pretty much shut them up yesterday.

Midway through the first half, Reid was dribbling the ball with about 10 seconds on the shot clock. He tried to pass inside, but had the ball deflected. When he grabbed it just shy of midcourt, the clock was running out of time and Reid was running out of options.

So Reid took two steps forward and launched the 30-footer.

And he hit it.

"When Robbie Reid hit that 3-pointer, it took a lot out of us," Bradley coach Jim Molinari said.

Reid was stellar all day. He hit three long-range shots in the first half and added one more in the second, scoring 16 total for the Wolverines.

Who needs a Challenge?: While the Big Ten-ACC Challenge might be great for college basketball, the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference, Ellerbe isn't sure how great it is for Michigan.

"We play Duke every year," Ellerbe said. "I hope that suffices as our one ACC game. We don't want to play two ACC teams in December."

The two-day event, which the two conferences agreed to earlier this week, has nine Big Ten teams taking on nine from the ACC. Ohio State and Indiana have already agreed to skip the Challenge.

consecutive trips down the floor.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily

12-03-98