Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2009 0:53:59 GMT -5
Chris Balas
TheWolverine.com Senior Editor
"No more half steppin'."
Senior forward DeShawn Sims' has backed up his pronouncement following a lackluster loss to Utah with several solid efforts, and it rubbed off on his teammates Tuesday. Sims addressed the team with a speech before the game and helped lead U-M to a 76-46 win over Coppin State with 18 points.
It was a night of unexpected energy against an overmatched foe, one of unprecedented ball movement in which some shooting slumps ended, others continued. The Wolverines made the extra pass and moved the ball well and sophomore Stu Douglass finally matched an outstanding floor game with great shooting, going 6-of-10 from three-point range to lead the Wolverines with 20 points.
DeShawn Sims notched 18 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes.
"As far as our shooting woes, I don't think 33 percent [11 for 33 from three-point range] answers the question, but it's double what we just did at Kansas," said head coach John Beilein. "It's a step in the right direction, but the key today was holding them to 33 percent both [from two and three], limiting the easy opportunities they had."
The biggest thing was that his team seemed to have fun playing for the first time in over a month, he added.
"When you have fun on offense, you have a tendency to take it to the defensive end and really give a little extra," said Beilein. "If you look at that, 25 assists out of 30 [made shots], that's pretty good. If you look at the half, it was 15 out of 17. We really were [sharing]. Manny [Harris] didn't look at the basket the way I'd like him to, but at the same time I think he's a little slow trying to get by people [with his bad hamstring], and they really packed it in on him.
"One of his things was to make that extra pass, and he did it well. If we make a few more shots, he has 10 assists again."
Instead he finished with seven and only five points. For the first time all year, someone besides Harris or Sims led the scoring, Douglass filling the shooting role that had been lacking.
Coppin State didn't provide much of a test on the defensive end, giving up several uncontested looks. At one point, said Douglass, he "almost felt bad" at how wide open he was.
There were no apologies afterward, however, from Douglass, Beilein or anyone else. Beilein asked his team to match the intensity shown in the last 25 minutes of a 75-64 loss at Kansas, and they responded with a complete game.
"I complimented them on he Kansas game when it was 22 points [down] and we could have run for the bus. We didn't," said Beilein. "We hung in there in what was really an ugly situation and made it prettier than it was. I basically said I want the same type of effort. Then you also tell them win or lose, it doesn't make a difference for tomorrow's practice. We have to have a great effort. You're making up how practice is tomorrow, so there was a little bit of a threat, I guess."
The Wolverines never trailed after redshirt sophomore Laval Lucas-Perry tied the game at five with a triple at the 17:37 mark of the first quarter, opening a 41-18 halftime lead and coasting. They scored 22 points off of 19 Coppin State turnovers, scoring in transition and in their halfcourt sets.
Sims set the tone in the pregame with a speech reminiscent of former captain David Merritt's a year ago and backed it up with his solid play.
"He gave a little speech to the team ahead of time ? 'if anyone's not playing tough, including me, tell me,'" said Beilein. "I thought we came out and showed that. Coppin isn't Kansas, but I thought we came out with a lot of energy.
"Those are the things we need to incubate a little bit and sort of make them happen little by little, foster a bit more often, because they're not as spontaneous as I'd like them to be."
But it's a step in the right direction heading into Big Ten play, one he was pleased to see his team take.
The players will spend Christmas with their families at their homes this year, most leaving Wednesday by 11:00.
"We always have practice the next day, because when we come back, from day one we want to focus on the next game," said Beilein. "I also don't want them rushing home ? I worry about their safety leaving at night. We're going to get them on the way home by 11:00 tomorrow, 8:00 weights, 9:00 film and 10 to 11 practice."
Douglass notched five assists to one turnover and grabbed five rebounds in a solid all-around effort.
"He's been doing a little extra shooting on his own. We haven't panicked in that area yet," said Beilein. "We've been doing the same things we've been doing for years, the same thing ? as they grow, they get better. They just need to make these shots in games over and over and over to get used to it again."
Sophomore Zack Novak's form looked better than it had in weeks, but he suffered some bad luck in going only 1-for-7 despite shots that appeared on target.
"Novak was like 16 or 17 in a row he'd missed, and his first three or four were like in an out, in and out, in and out," said Beilein.
TheWolverine.com Senior Editor
"No more half steppin'."
Senior forward DeShawn Sims' has backed up his pronouncement following a lackluster loss to Utah with several solid efforts, and it rubbed off on his teammates Tuesday. Sims addressed the team with a speech before the game and helped lead U-M to a 76-46 win over Coppin State with 18 points.
It was a night of unexpected energy against an overmatched foe, one of unprecedented ball movement in which some shooting slumps ended, others continued. The Wolverines made the extra pass and moved the ball well and sophomore Stu Douglass finally matched an outstanding floor game with great shooting, going 6-of-10 from three-point range to lead the Wolverines with 20 points.
DeShawn Sims notched 18 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes.
"As far as our shooting woes, I don't think 33 percent [11 for 33 from three-point range] answers the question, but it's double what we just did at Kansas," said head coach John Beilein. "It's a step in the right direction, but the key today was holding them to 33 percent both [from two and three], limiting the easy opportunities they had."
The biggest thing was that his team seemed to have fun playing for the first time in over a month, he added.
"When you have fun on offense, you have a tendency to take it to the defensive end and really give a little extra," said Beilein. "If you look at that, 25 assists out of 30 [made shots], that's pretty good. If you look at the half, it was 15 out of 17. We really were [sharing]. Manny [Harris] didn't look at the basket the way I'd like him to, but at the same time I think he's a little slow trying to get by people [with his bad hamstring], and they really packed it in on him.
"One of his things was to make that extra pass, and he did it well. If we make a few more shots, he has 10 assists again."
Instead he finished with seven and only five points. For the first time all year, someone besides Harris or Sims led the scoring, Douglass filling the shooting role that had been lacking.
Coppin State didn't provide much of a test on the defensive end, giving up several uncontested looks. At one point, said Douglass, he "almost felt bad" at how wide open he was.
There were no apologies afterward, however, from Douglass, Beilein or anyone else. Beilein asked his team to match the intensity shown in the last 25 minutes of a 75-64 loss at Kansas, and they responded with a complete game.
"I complimented them on he Kansas game when it was 22 points [down] and we could have run for the bus. We didn't," said Beilein. "We hung in there in what was really an ugly situation and made it prettier than it was. I basically said I want the same type of effort. Then you also tell them win or lose, it doesn't make a difference for tomorrow's practice. We have to have a great effort. You're making up how practice is tomorrow, so there was a little bit of a threat, I guess."
The Wolverines never trailed after redshirt sophomore Laval Lucas-Perry tied the game at five with a triple at the 17:37 mark of the first quarter, opening a 41-18 halftime lead and coasting. They scored 22 points off of 19 Coppin State turnovers, scoring in transition and in their halfcourt sets.
Sims set the tone in the pregame with a speech reminiscent of former captain David Merritt's a year ago and backed it up with his solid play.
"He gave a little speech to the team ahead of time ? 'if anyone's not playing tough, including me, tell me,'" said Beilein. "I thought we came out and showed that. Coppin isn't Kansas, but I thought we came out with a lot of energy.
"Those are the things we need to incubate a little bit and sort of make them happen little by little, foster a bit more often, because they're not as spontaneous as I'd like them to be."
But it's a step in the right direction heading into Big Ten play, one he was pleased to see his team take.
The players will spend Christmas with their families at their homes this year, most leaving Wednesday by 11:00.
"We always have practice the next day, because when we come back, from day one we want to focus on the next game," said Beilein. "I also don't want them rushing home ? I worry about their safety leaving at night. We're going to get them on the way home by 11:00 tomorrow, 8:00 weights, 9:00 film and 10 to 11 practice."
Douglass notched five assists to one turnover and grabbed five rebounds in a solid all-around effort.
"He's been doing a little extra shooting on his own. We haven't panicked in that area yet," said Beilein. "We've been doing the same things we've been doing for years, the same thing ? as they grow, they get better. They just need to make these shots in games over and over and over to get used to it again."
Sophomore Zack Novak's form looked better than it had in weeks, but he suffered some bad luck in going only 1-for-7 despite shots that appeared on target.
"Novak was like 16 or 17 in a row he'd missed, and his first three or four were like in an out, in and out, in and out," said Beilein.