By James Goldstein
Daily Sports Writer
ATLANTA - In this final stretch of the season, including Michigan's Big Ten Tournament championship run, the Wolverines are shooting at a remarkable clip from behind the 3-point line. Maybe it's time to give these 3-point hurlers a nickname heading into the national collegiate tournament that holds a moniker of its own - The Big Dance.
Michigan guard Travis Conlan has one in mind - 'The Bomb Squad.'
"We walked by and we saw some guy walking with a shirt, this big guy - this big, fat guy - he was on the bomb squad here in Chicago," said Conlan. "And I said: 'Hey, we got to get a couple of those shirts' and we started giggling about it. I don't t
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| MARGARET MYERS/Daily Travis Conlan looks to find another member of the Bomb Squad. Much of Michigan's success can be attributed to making the extra passes to the perimeter bombers. |
Memo to Bland, the team's equipment manager: Order them.
And Davidson, the Wolverines' first-round opponent this Friday, better take notice.
The Michigan 3-point shooters should have donned the Chicago bomb squad shirts, an appropriate symbol of their play lately, after their performances in this past weekend's conference tournament.
Even though Robert Traylor received the Big Ten Tournament's most valuable player award by dominating in the post, much of Michigan's success can be attributed to the red-hot shooting of Conlan, Louis Bullock, Jerod Ward and Robbie Reid from beyond the 3-point arc.
Their numbers during the tourney were remarkable. As a team, Michigan shot 50 percent from 3-point land on 28 of 56 attempts over the three games. For the season, the Wolverines scorched the Big Ten at a 41-percent clip from beyond the arc, nailing a school-record 212 treys.
Individually, the four players have told varying stories.
Reid, the Michigan guard who attempts most of his shots from behind the 3-point arc, led the way. The lefty whose shooting style looks like he is almost heaving the ball, couldn't miss this past weekend.
Reid hit 10 of 15 3-pointers, including a trey from the corner in the final minutes that quelled any chance of a Purdue comeback. Earlier in the season, Reid couldn't find the basket, a fact he chuckles about when asked about reasons for his current hot streak.
It's not the hair. Reid said the haircut he got at Campus Barber Shop had nothing to do with his 3-point resurgence. Even though he got some comments about his hair from friends and relatives, the new 'do had little to do with his performance on the court.
"That stuff is all trivial," Reid said.
Sometimes he just doesn't have explanations for his shooting.
"I make a few shots and everybody says, 'How did you do that?,'" Reid said. "The ball goes through the hoop. It's two inches to the left as opposed to two inches to the right."
For backcourt mate Bullock, accuracy is rarely a concern.
When Bullock's on, it looks as if the ball doesn't touch any part of the net. The school's career 3-point leader - with a three-year total of 252 3-pointers - is Michigan's go-to guy from beyond the arc.
Last weekend, he didn't disappoint. Bullock knocked down seven trifectas, scoring 20 or more points in two of the three games. But on Sunday, he was off and didn't put a point on the board until midway through the second half.
His shot had gone awry, but then, all of a sudden, Bullock drained a deep trey to remind the fans, players and coaches that you can't keep him down for an entire game.
Bullock accounts some of his success to his teammates also lighting it up from 3-point land.
"When those guys (Ward, Conlan and Reid) are knocking down shots on the perimeter, it takes a little heat off of me also because my man may start watching them and then I can get freed up," Bullock said. "We play so much better with four guys shooting well because we know the inside game will always be there."
But it was the loss of part of Michigan's inside game that Bullock felt was the turning point for the outside shooters. When Maceo Baston went down with a foot injury late in the season, sidelining the 6-foot-10 post presence for four games, the players knew they had to step it up.
"I think when Maceo went out, there was a sense of urgency among the perimeter guys because Rob Traylor was going to be the only guy down low," Bullock said. "We knew teams would really collapse on him. And he's done a great job all year of passing the ball back out, so it's a chance for us to step up and knock some shots down."
Conlan also attributes the surge in his 3-point shooting to the post players. The senior - who has played point guard, shooting guard and small forward this season - said it's much easier to set up for a 3-pointer with the opponents' players lingering in the post.
Having big guys like Traylor and Baston leaves the perimeter guys, such as Conlan, open.
"I'm shooting the ball probably the best I have all year," Conlan said. "I'm more confident obviously, but it's easy to shoot a wide open shot. When Traylor gets double-teamed, he kicks it out and I'm out there by myself for three seconds."
After injuring his wrist in the beginning of the season, Conlan is now playing the best basketball of his career. In addition to his 21 assist, two turnover performance over the weekend, he also nailed four of eight 3-pointers in the Big Ten Tournament.
It's all about the extra pass, whether it's a quick feed from the post to the perimeter or a return pass from the top of the key to the corner. Michigan shooters have thrived on unselfish play.
"We are much more patient on the offense," Conlan said. "We are making the extra pass. It's much easier to take an open shot than to have a hand in your face."
Contested or uncontested, Ward has been unconscious from the 3-point line of late. The 6-foot-9 senior forward has showed a soft touch from all points beyond the arc. In his last seven games, Ward has drilled 18 of 38 (.474). He ended the season red hot from long distance, draining eight of 18 treys.
Ward said the extra passing has partly led to his and his teammates' 3-point success as of late. But he also thinks that it's the mental game that counts.
"I think we are shooting well because we have a lot of confidence," Ward said. "Like anything in life, the more confidence you have, the more likely you will succeed."
How's this for confidence? In Michigan's Big Ten Tournament semi-final victory against Minnesota, Ward showed that his confidence is sky high. After Michigan stole the ball midway through the second half, Ward led a three-on-one fast break with many options.
Instead of giving the ball up, Ward pulled up at the top of the key and connected on a 3-pointer.
Ward's shooting performance in the conference tournament led to a spot on the all-Big Ten Tournament team. If Ward shoots as well in the NCAA Tournament as he has in the past few weeks, opponents could be in for a tough time.
Reid thinks that hot 3-point shooting rubs off on everyone else.
"Shooting well can be very contagious," Reid said. "If someone gets hot, it permeates to the other players and they feed off each other's emotions."
Heading into this year's NCAAs, if Michigan's outside game is on target, it will make it harder for Davidson and any future tournament opponent to guard the Wolverines.
Traylor showed that he's able to clog up the paint so opponents have to double-team him. But he's also displayed a patience that contributes to the solid outside game.
If the opponents tighten their defense on the perimeter, Traylor and Baston will have an easier time getting good shots.
It all comes full circle. The post game helps the perimeter game, and vice versa. If both click for Michigan, then the Wolverines could be in for a fun time in the next few days.
But don't ask Traylor to get involved in the Bomb Squad. When asked if he wanted to get in on the 3-point show, he said 'No, thank you.'
"Nah," Traylor said. "I'll stay in the paint where I should be and enjoy watching the shooters do their thing."
03-11-98
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