Coaches will play recruiting game, as well

When former Michigan basketball coach Steve Fisher was fired by athletic director Tom Goss last October, the Michigan basketball program went into a state of upheaval.

The changing of the guard was completed this summer with the hiring of assistants Lorenzo Neely and Kurtis Townsend, and administrative associate Tom Sorboro. Michigan also signed coach Brian Ellerbe to a six-year contract.

While Ellerbe has been in the Michigan spotlight for a year now, leading the Wolverines to a 25-9 record and a Big Ten tournament title as interim coach last season, the hiring of the new assistants represents a clean break from the Fisher era.

"They are both great coaches," senior guard Ron Oliver said of Fisher and Ellerbe. "Things should be pretty much the same around here except for a few differences in approach and coaching style."

The main difference that the new regime will bring is a different playing style. With a smaller lineup for this season than in past seasons, Michigan has discussed playing a more aggressive style.

MARGARET MYERS/Daily Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe has surrounded himself with a cast of assistants, picked as much for their coaching ability as for their skill at recruiting.

"We will probably play up-tempo basketball a little more under Ellerbe and the new staff," Oliver said.

The new assistants are hoping to provide a recruiting boost as well. While many schools have used blockbuster recruiting classes to improve their programs, Michigan has seen its recruiting efforts fail to pay large dividends, thanks to an NCAA investigation and instability within the program.

But the Wolverines now have some stability in the form of Ellerbe, named permanent head coach in April.

The Wolverines also plan to use Neely, a former head coach at Redford High School in suburban Detroit and a former Eastern Michigan player and assistant, to recruit locally.

With Neely's knowledge of the Detroit area, the Wolverines are hoping to tap into more local players. Once a Michigan stronghold, the Wolverines have only recruited one player, freshman Chris Young, from the Detroit area in the past three years.

Townsend, a native of San Jose, Calif., was a former assistant at Eastern Kentucky under Scott Perry, an assistant at Michigan under Fisher. However, Townsend's value is in his California roots, a place where Michigan has not recruited well in the past.

After graduating from Menlo Park Junior College in Menlo Park, Calif., Townsend spent nine years coaching high school in San Jose and three more years as an assistant at California.

Townsend "has a lot of contacts on the West Coast and is a very skillful recruiter," said assistant coach Scott Trost, the only holdover from the Fisher era, "We plan on using him as well as Neely, Ellerbe and I on the road in recruiting."

Sorboro, while not as visible as Neely or Townsend, will be a valuable commodity this upcoming season as well, taking care of the team's travel and other administrative details. A graduate of Bowling Green, Sorboro worked as an assistant under Ellerbe at Loyola (Md.).

09-08-98