Give it time
Six games under .500 and without a prayer of postseason play, the boosters began to clamor for his resignation in 1983. Hiring a 33-year old coach was an experiment that failed, they felt, and the school should fix its mistake. The move was noble and inno
vative, but impractical - it was time to return to fundamental basketball, and hiring a veteran coach was just the beginning of the cure.
The sixth man
Imagine the Wolverine and Spartan basketball teams going down to the wire in a close game. The building rocks and sways as cheers reverberate off the walls. Students sit so close to the action their chants and cheers pound the opposing players' ears. They
're almost on the court, and maybe they have the power of a sixth man. Now think where they're playing. The Breslin Center in East Lansing? Probably. But with a few seating changes, Crisler Arena could provide the same winning atmosphere.
Drop the charges
If you attend a men's basketball game, you can expect Crisler Arena to have a significant number of empty seats. The average ticket sale rate is 76 percent per game, but attendance is much lower because many ticketholders don't show up. This is pathetic f
or a school with 12 Big Ten basketball championships. To increase game attendance, the Athletic Department must focus on the core of the University community - the students.
Letters to the editor
Viewpoint: Superfan: Crisler changes would make the basketball program more fan friendly
Why do we fans love to watch hockey games at Yost? For me, it is the small arena which bears down on the ice like a hawk on prey. As a fan in Yost you know what you say, even if you are sitting fifteen rows up could be heard on the ice. You know that your
cheers carry throughout the 6,000 person arena.
Major NCAA rule changes
nvolves awarding a merited free throw(s) and there has been no change of team possession since the error was made. Play shall resume after the free-throw attempt."
Basketball editors preseason picks
Will they be good?: A first look at new Wolverines, new strategy and the real question on everyone's mind
It has a weird ring to it: 12-19.
Last season, Michigan stumbled to its worst record in 18 years as a lack of depth tired out the aging Wolverines.
Smith hopes to return for Big Ten campaign
Michigan basketball fans hope that Brandon Smith's modeling appearance before the Maize and Blue scrimmage this past Saturday wasn't a career move.
While the 6-foot-7 forward certainly looked like he was enjoying himself as he strutted through a tunnel of cheerleaders to unveil Michigan's brand-spanking new uniforms, his natural role in Crisler Arena is on the court, playing basketball.
One small step for LaVell ...: An Ann Arbor native comes to play for the team he grew up watching
They say you grow up faster being raised in a college town. The fast-paced lifestyle, the bustling social atmosphere - "everything moves so rapidly," says LaVell Blanchard, an Ann Arbor native. "People come in and out, because their parents come in for a
few years and leave, so your friends come and go."
Ellerbe's one-two punch: By Mark Francescutti
Two years ago, Brian Ellerbe looked at the makeup of the Big Ten and then at a gaping hole in his future roster.
Guards like Mateen Cleaves, Scoonie Penn and A.J. Guyton dominated the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the Michigan coach saw his two prized guards - Louis Bullock and Robbie Reid - walking out Crisler Arena's door at the end of the year.
Calm before the storm: By Jacob Wheeler
Soft-spoken veterans Josh Asselin and Peter Vignier sat alone at a table during the Big Ten's preseason press conference in Chicago two weekends ago. They enjoyed breathing room and a few scattered questions from reporters, while the media swarmed instead
around teams favored to win the conference and make noise in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite loss of point guard, Spartans shoot to win it all
Dave Thomas is known around East Lansing as more than just the founder of Wendy's fast food restaurant right now. This winter, it's his job to uphold tradition at the Big Ten university.
No, Thomas won't be working at Wendy's, but the ball-handling duties on the team have fallen into his inexperienced hands until All-American Mateen Cleaves returns sometime in January.
Experts are o'boisterous over Buckeyes, O'Brien
"It's magnificent. We're very fortunate," said Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien. "It turned out in a real short period of time ... people have responded magnificently."
Is this heavy praise for last season's barely believable Buckeyes, who cruised to the Final Four despite preseason pontifications to the contrary?
Can Illinois pull the Big Ten's famous
worst-to-first switch?
Illinois is in an interesting situation this season. The Illini are certainly not a favorite to win the Big Ten - and haven't earned the expectations that are buzzing in Columbus or East Lansing.
But the press has put them in something of a bind.
Old-school style can work for Boilermakers
If there is a team in the Big Ten that could be called old school, it practices in West Lafayette.
In the face of a running, gunning and stunning conference, Purdue is doing its best to maintain the tradition of Big Ten hoops. The centerpiece for the Boilermakers on the court is 6-8 forward Brian Cardinal, a preseason all-Big Ten pick and (gasp!) marqu
ee big man.
Knight doesn't need license to win 20
It's always an exciting Indiana season when Bobby Knight guides the Hoosiers.
Somehow, he always finds a way to eclipse 20 wins, which he's accomplished 20 times in his 28-year reign.
Badgers need offense
Since Michigan's motto for the season is 'Ready to Run,' maybe Wisconsin's should be 'Ready to Walk'.
You can envision coach Dick Bennett in the Wisconsin huddle during the Badgers' pitiful 32-point showing in their first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Southwest Missouri State last season.
Iowa trying to recover after huge roster loss
Only a team as deep as Iowa could lose so many key players and still be able to field a team.
Jess Settles' eligibility has expired - finally. J.R. Koch left after a productive career in the frontcourt. Role players Kent McCausland and Jason Bauer are gone. Guy Rucker gave up his eligibility by playing in a semi-professional league over the summer
.
Crispin brothers main act for Nittany Lions
If any college basketball team knows a way to fuel up for the season, it's the Nittany Lions. Penn State opened its exhibition season against Marathon Oil this past Tuesday, but coach Jerry Dunn's squad will be hard-pressed not to run out of gas when the
Big Ten season rolls around.
Weak guards leave Gophers in dirt
The good news for the Minnesota basketball team: over the summer the Gophers wooed the man who ended their season in last year's NCAA Tournament over to their side.
Dan Monson led inconspicuous Gonzaga on a fairy-tale ride to the Elite Eight last spring, which ended only when the Bulldogs collided with eventual national champion Connecticut. They had previously upset Minnesota in the first round.
'Cats nipped without big brother: Loss of Evan leaves Northwestern with little left
You've got to have respect for Northwestern. Anytime a team boasts a player the caliber of Eschmeyer, it has a chance in the rugged Big Ten.
Wait. Wrong Eschmeyer. Evan is no longer on the team. The only Eschmeyer on the roster is Jeff.
Jackets, Blue Devils part of 'M's Challenge
After three very winnable games against Oakland, Detroit and Western Michigan to begin the season, Michigan has the privilege of heading south to face Georgia Tech on Dec. 1 in the Wolverines' contribution to the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Pair to join 'M' in 2000
Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe has nailed down verbal commitments from two recruits already this fall, but he has still has yet to meet his biggest need - a quality post player.
Ellerbe secured point guard Avery Queen and wing Bernard Robinson, and he still has two scholarships left.
Just market it!
At the beginning of the of the 90's, Michigan basketball was at its highest peak. Coming off a national championship and into the Fab Five era it seemed like nothing could knock down the Maize and Blue from prominence.
11-11-99
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