'M' hoops holds first scrimmage

The stands at Crisler Arena were nearly empty yesterday, even emptier than they are during the basketball season.

In fact, only one fan and one reporter took their pick among thousands of empty seats to watch a Michigan intrasquad basketball game - minus the coaching staff.

The players hold scrimmages open to the public on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons until Oct. 16 when practice officially begins, third-year coach Brian Ellerbe takes the reigns and Crisler is closed to the public until opening night.

Since student ticket sales are up this year, said Tom Brooks, Michigan's director of sports marketing, the next three weeks might be the fans' last chance to see a young hoops squad in action - for free.

"There's a nice spike in the ticket sales since last year," Brooks said. "People are all excited with all the new freshmen coming in - especially LaVell Blanchard."

If pre-season, pre-practice pickup games are any indication - which they rarely are - the five new freshmen hoopsters will give the program a shot in the arm.

"It's wide open right now," said Gavin Groninger, a freshman from Indiana. "I think we could have three or four freshmen in the starting lineup. We all challenge each other."

Team veterans Josh Asselin and Peter Vignier know Michigan's future rests on the shoulders of Groninger, Blanchard, Kevin Gaines, Jamal Crawford and Leland Anderson. So the "old men" didn't dictate the tempo or the mood of yesterday's pickup game, they just let the fast break, run-and-gun offense take its course.

"That's going to be our emphasis this year," said senior Darius Taylor. "We don't have a real big team. But I think we have the speed to shock a lot of people."

Every once in a while the hoopsters would stop and re-hash the past 30 seconds of play because they'd forgotten the score, but neither Vignier nor Asselin - the most experienced players - would speak up and take charge.

They preferred to remain in the background and let the freshmen get accustomed to each other.

Feeling the weight: Last year's starting center, Peter Vignier, didn't play in yesterday's pickup game, and it had little to do with his ability on the court. The senior dropped a weight on his left foot before the scrimmage when the Wolverines were pumping iron.

He walked out of the tunnel halfway through the game and opted instead to take shots on a side-basket, showing a slight limp and a wince once when the ball touched his ankle.

Yet the injury is only a minor setback and is considered day-to-day.

"He just dropped a weight on his foot," said Taylor. "But it's nothing."

O captain my captain: Coach Ellerbe has yet to name his captain, or co-captains, for the upcoming season, and say he probably won't do so until after practice begins on Oct. 16. But with nearly half the team playing college basketball for the first time, his upperclassmen will play a pivotal role in breaking in the youngsters.

Asselin is the likely choice because he's seen significant playing time in each of the past two seasons and improved a lot last year with the absence of Robert Traylor and Maceo Baston.

"He's emerged as a leader," said Groninger. "He's been looking out for us younger kids and taking us under his wing. I think he probably will be one of the captains."

In yesterday's scrimmage Asselin took on sophomore Chris Young - Michigan's likely backup center - challenging him in the low post but also encouraging him to shoot the ball.

"Throughout our scrimmages Chris has really improved a lot and gotten a lot more aggressive," said Groninger. "He's playing bigger."

09-21-99