Michigan

Baylor Adds Michigan Transfer Ekpe Udoh

Press Release — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:41:31 -0700

WACO, Texas — Baylor head men’s basketball coach Scott Drew announced Thursday the addition of former University of Michigan forward Ekpe Udoh to the Bears program.

The 6-10 forward will sit out the 2008-09 to satisfy the NCAA’s transfer policy and will retain two seasons of eligibility.

A native of Edmond, Okla., Udoh played two seasons for the Wolverines and averaged 5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 67 career games (31 starts). He led the Big Ten with 92 blocks as a sophomore in 2007-08 and was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

“Ekpe has a personality that makes him a perfect fit for Baylor basketball,” Drew said. “He’ll be a great representative of our program. His accolades speak for themselves; he led the Big Ten in blocks and was on the league’s all-defensive team. Baylor fans will enjoy watching him play.”

Udoh’s 92 blocks set a new Michigan sophomore blocks record (second-highest total in school history), surpassing the previous record of 91 set by Chris Webber in 1992-93. Udoh’s 159 career blocks rank fifth all-time on U-M’s all-time blocks list.

The Wolverine’s “sixth-man” as a freshman in 2006-07 before entering the starting lineup nine games into his sophomore season, Udoh played in all 67 games during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

Udoh, who prepped at Santa Fe High School in Edmond, was born in Oklahoma but is of Nigerian descent. His full given name is Ekpedeme, which translates to “Lion.”

Baylor is coming off its most successful season in decades and will suit up an experienced squad in 2008-09. The Bears, who finished fourth in the Big 12 Conference and played in their first NCAA Tournament in 20 years last season, return eight of their top nine players and their top five scorers.

Three Stars of the Day: Teague, Johnson, Harris

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:09:41 -0800

Three Stars of The Day

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances. Either way, its our way of showing the love:

Jeff Teague / James Johnson - Wake Forest

The freshman duo combined for 50 points and 20 boards in Wake's huge win over #2 Duke

Manny Harris - Michigan

With a career-best 27 points, the freshmen led UM to a shocking 3-game winning streak

Tory Jackson - Notre Dame

On an off day for Harangody, Jackson stepped up with 17 and 10 assists against Rutgers

Other Top Performers

Garrison Carr - American - The Eagles consistent scoring machine had 24 against Colgate, AU's 5th win in a row

Jack McClinton - Miami - Hit six threes, including the eventual game-winner as the Hurricanes pulled out a win over GT

Joe Zeglinski - Hartford - The sophomore broke his previous best with 31 points as the Hawks continued their late-season surge

Previous Stars of the Day

February 15th - Tyrese Rice, Boston College

February 12th - J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State

February 10th - Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

February 9th - Hasheem Thabeet, UCONN

February 7th - Ronald Ramon, Pittsburgh

February 6th - Michael Beasley, Kansas State

February 4th - Todd Golden, Saint Mary's

February 3rd - Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

January 30th - Chase Budinger, Arizona

January 29th - Beasley/Walker, Kansas State

January 28th - Chris Godzinski, Wofford

January 27th - DeMarcus Nelson, Duke

January 26th - Hackett/Lewis/Mayo, USC

January 24th - Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

January 22nd - Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

January 21st - DJ Augustin, Texas

January 20th - Dezmon Harris, Weber State

January 19th - James Gist, Maryland

January 18th - Abbott/Harden, Arizona State

January 17th - Dionte Christmas, Temple

January 14th - Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

January 11th - Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin

January 9th - DJ White, Indiana

January 8th - Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin

January 7th - Wayne Ellington, UNC

January 6th - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt

January 5th - Damon Huffman, Brown

January 4th - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

January 3rd - Damon Huffman, Brown

January 2nd - Martin Zeno, Texas Tech

November/December Star of the Day Archive

Daily Dribble: Monday Report Card

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:38:01 -0800

The Report Card

A - Wake Forest

In the last Report Card, I gave Wake some love simply for getting to .500 in league play. But I wrote that .500 would be a distant memory as they faced Duke and UNC next. Who knew that they'd go on to beat Duke in impressive fashion, responding well after losing the lead and doing just about everything right down the stretch. Watching Cuse/G'Town on Sunday.. so much was said about the youth and inexperience of Syracuse.. using that as an excuse for bonehead plays down the stretch. But here was an equally inexperienced squad that played consistently solid basketball against the country's 2nd ranked team. Suddenly Wake is in the NCAA Tournament conversation.. and they now have more Top 50 wins that teams like Florida, Maryland, Ohio State & Syracuse.

B - Michigan

If you saw their three game winning streak coming, then you have some amazing predictive powers. After dropping to a dismal 5-17 record, the Wolverines have responded with wins over Penn State, Iowa, and Ohio State. Amazingly, Ohio State was the first team in the Top 125 that Michigan's beaten all year. Guess who their previous best win was against? Brown.. back on November 11th. As good as the win was for Coach Beilein and his young squad.. what does it say about OSU? If not for good name recognition and name recognition of the two other mediocre teams they've beaten (Florida & Syracuse), then the Buckeyes would be on the outside of the field looking in.

C - USC

I really want to like USC.. hot weather, attractive chearleaders, and cool young talent.. but strip all that away and you have a .500 Pac-10 team that has beaten one sure-fire NCAA Tournament team. Take away the UCLA win.. and you have a bunch of wins over bubble-level teams like Oklahoma, Oregon and Arizona State. I'm not suggesting USC is bad.. its just that I keep expecting more. Maybe I simply need to lower my expectations.

D - DJ Augustin

D is usually for Diebler, Ohio State's young shooting guard that has finally pushed his FG% above 30 on the season. Today, D is for DJ though.. as the Longhorns star guard is mired in an epic shooting slump. He's perhaps my favorite player in college ball today.. but the numbers don't lie: He's only hit 8 of his last 38 threes (21%).. and even worse, just 15 of his last 68 shots (22%). The only person who would take those numbers are another D.. Doug Gottlieb.

F - NJIT

I feel bad about this selection.. as the Highlanders represent my home state, and are an independent in over their heads. But 0-27 speaks for itself, especially now that they've completed their home schedule. Their only remaining games are at Longwood and Utah Valley State.. both probable losses. There is some hope against Longwood as they are the 325th RPI team and NJIT did beat them twice last year. But I'm just being kind, it would take a minor miracle for them to win.

The Daily Report Card tells you all you need to know about the day in college hoops. From good to bad and bad to worse, I'll be laying down the law.

Previous Best / Worst

February 15th - Oral Roberts / Big Ten Predictions

February 13th - Mike Green / Ed Donato

February 11th - Charron Fisher / Tim Morris

February 8th - Big West / Virginia

February 6th - Chris Lofton / Dick Vitale

February 5th - Bob Knight / Josh Heytvelt

February 4th - New York Giants / Washington State

February 1st - Nevada / Penn

January 31st - Kansas State / St. John's

January 29th - Winthrop / Dyson & Wiggins

January 28th - Rutgers / Doris Burke

January 25th - Ron Hunter / Princeton Offense

January 23rd - Kentucky / Archbishop Burke

January 22nd - DJ Augustin / Scott Sutton

January 21st - New York Giants / Marquette

January 20th - Maryland / ESPN.com editors

January 18th - Cleveland State / Marquette

January 17th - Drake / HP Laptops

January 14th - Roy Hibbert / Michigan State

January 10th - Tony Bennett / Saint Louis

January 9th - DJ White / CSTV

January 8th - Robert Morris / Schedule Makers

January 7th - Wayne Ellington / Illinois

January 6th - Herb Sendek / Kentucky

2007-08 Michigan Basketball Preview

Joel Welser — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 17:04:23 -0700

Michigan Wolverines

Overall Rank: #72

Conference Rank: #7 Big Ten

2006-07: 22-13, 8-8, 7^th (t)

2006-07 postseason: NIT

The Tommy Amaker era at Michigan ended how it started…full of expectations, but with no results. The John Beilein regime has begun, but the expectations are nowhere to be found, for this year at least. The Wolverines lose a ton of talent, but that may not be a bad thing. Coach Beilein has a history of taking down programs and turning them around in two years with good, unselfish team play. Michigan is not known for their unselfish play, so how well Coach Beilein’s style takes in Ann Arbor will be an interesting story over the next couple of seasons.

Who’s Out:

With the new offensive and defensive philosophy and losing the top four scorers in Dion Harris, Lester Abram, Brent Petway and Courtney Sims, U of M will certainly look a lot different this year. Harris was the only real danger from beyond the arc last season and led the team with 13.4 points and 3.6 assists per game. Abram struggled through some injuries, but he was an effective slasher when healthy. Sims never reached his full potential, but the center wrapped up his career averaging 11.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Petway was a monster on the defensive end and at least provided some excitement on the offensive end. Reed Baker saw some quality minutes as a backup guard and has opted to transfer.

Who’s In:

The newcomers do not quite equal the talent of the departed players, but team cohesion is much more important to the success of the Wolverines than pure talent. However, it is not like there is no talent headed to Crisler Arena. Corperryale “Manny” Harris needs some work on his perimeter game, but the 6-5 wing is a tremendous athlete and finisher. Once he gains some strength and can hit the mid-range jumper, Harris will be a great player. Kelvin Grady is the point guard of the future, but will spend some time as the backup to learn the ropes. At 5-11, he is a point guard, but he will bring some scoring prowess to the position. Small forward Anthony Wright redshirted last season and will look to impress the new coaching staff. Walk-ons Zack Gibson, C.J. Lee and Eric Puls will also be suiting up on game day this season.

Who to Watch:

Jerret Smith started at the point the last nine games of the 2006-2007 campaign and will take over full-time starting duties this year. Smith’s turnover numbers were a little high, but the experience at the end of last season will be helpful. Smith is also the best returning shooter from beyond the arc, but made less than one per game. Ron Coleman and Jevohn Sherherd will battle for starting spots on the wing. Coleman, a senior, should increase his 5.7 points per game with more shooting opportunities, but he will also help out on the glass and be a tough defender. Shepherd was stuck down the depth chart during his first two years in Ann Arbor, but he was a highly touted player coming out of high school. He will have every opportunity to live up to his potential and make a big impact as an upperclassman.

Final Projection:

The most potential is in the frontcourt where Ekpe Udoh and DeShawn Sims are expected to earn starting jobs. Udoh proved to be a monster on the defensive end and averaged 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last year mostly coming off the bench. Sims only averaged 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds on the season, but showed that he could have big games. In the NIT, Sims scored 14 points and reached double figures on two other occasions. When he got the minutes, the 6-8 Detroit native performed well. If he can keep it up through an entire season, the Wolverine frontcourt, although lacking depth, will be decent. Not only can the big guys not hit the long ball, but nobody on the team is a proven threat from behind the arc. That is not what one would expect from a John Beilein coached team and the entire season will depend on how the coaching staff and the players can come together and find a common ground on two drastically different approaches to the game. The players can buy into Beilein’s system, but they are not the versatile, long range shooters who keep turnovers to a minimum type of players that Beilein has been used to at West Virginia. It may not be pretty at times, but this is a team with enough talent to compete for a post season berth if the ball finally bounces the right away for Michigan.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Jerret Smith, Junior, Guard, 5.7 points per game

Manny Harris, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season

Ron Coleman, Senior, Guard, 5.7 points per game

DeShawn Sims, Sophomore, Forward, 3.4 points per game

Ekpe Udoh, Sophomore, Forward, 5.0 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2007-08 Preview | College Basketball Schedule | Discuss the Preview

A stunner in Ann Arbor, and other happenings on the season's first Saturday

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 22:44:29 -0700

Well, by now you know that two-time Championship Subdivision champ Appalachian State went into Michigan and left with a 34-32 win, closing it out with a blocked field goal with six seconds remaining. How does this happen? For one, the Mountaineers didn't go into the Big House with their collective tail between their legs. Secondly, the Michigan defense continued its sieve-like performance for the third straight game. To be honest, the offense minus Mike Hart didn't show too much either. Without Hart's 188 yards and three scores, this one could have been worse than it actually was. Lastly, the Michigan players may have focused more on the "1-AA" part of the opponent rather than the fact that the Mountaineers can play some football. So where do the Wolverines go from here? Oregon comes to town next week in a game that has all the looks of an 0-2 start when you compare the offensive styles of Oregon and Appalachian State. Both teams like to spread out defenses and use their speed on the perimeter. If Michigan and defensive coordinator Ron English can't take care of their issues in the coming week of practice and film study, things could go from bad to worse for Lloyd Carr as far as job security is concerned. Two other games that caught my eye were a pair of wins for Mountain West schools at home. Naturally, the two games were part of a doubleheader on Versus, making the wins by Wyoming and BYU all the more important for the conference. Wyoming held Virginia to three points in a 23-3 win that in all honesty wasn't that close. The Cavs, who some liked to make a move in the ACC Coastal, did very little on offense, and Jameel Sewell didn't look 100% recovered from off-season left wrist surgery. And BYU handled Arizona in Provo, 20-7. Two players making their first appearance on the college stage, QB Max Hall and RB Harvey Unga played extremely well, and a defense that made huge strides a year ago in winning the MWC held Arizona scoreless until the game's final minute. For fans of the Cats who were hoping that the hiring of Sonny Dykes to run the offense would mean an explosive attack, slow down the thinking. When your playmakers don't have a history of consistently making plays (that's a big difference from simply having talent), a new system doesn't turn an average attack into the Indianapolis Colts. Have patience, there's still a long way to go. A great scene in Blacksburg this afternoon as well, but I wouldn't read too much into the final score (17-7) too much for two reasons. One, the emotion of the day was something that no other football team has had to deal with. Secondly, ECU is pegged as one of the better teams in CUSA this season, meaning that they're no slouch. Of course, there were some turnovers that could be deadly in Baton Rouge next weekend, but the Hokies will work out those kinks throughout the week. With all the attention being paid to "Bowden Bowl IX" on Monday, people had better pay more attention to Boston College, who beat Wake Forest 38-28 in Chestnut Hill. Matt Ryan threw for 408 yards and five scores, and corner DeJuan Tribble had three picks on the afternoon. The most important development in this one could actually be the separated throwing shoulder of Wake QB Riley Skinner. Redshirt sophomore Brett Hodges played well in Skinner's stead, but you know that the Deacs will need Skinner if they want to repeat as ACC champs. Right up there with the Michigan game in terms of excitement was Colorado's comeback win over CSU in overtime. Cody Hawkins performed well in his first start for the Buffs, taking some pressure off of the head coach had things not gone so well. Oh, the head coach is his father, which could make for an interesting dynamic in terms of fan opinion if Cody struggles. But with Cody at the helm, the future looks bright in Boulder. Lastly, not to take anything away from Auburn and their comeback win over Kansas State, but the Tigers had no business winning that game. But thanks to 18 penalties and a seeming unwillingness to give left tackle Alesana Alesana consistent help with All-American defensive end Quentin Groves in his first college start. Groves wreaked havoc on the KSU offense in the fourth quarter, pressuring Josh Freeman countless times and forcing the fumble that was returned for the game-clinching touchdown. Auburn is a young team overall, so they should be able to work out the kinks as the season progresses. Almost forgot, don't ever...ever kick the ball to Cal's DeSean Jackson. If you decide to out of bravado and end up getting burned as Tennessee's Britton Colquitt did tonight, you essentially dug your own grave. Not too smart.

2007 Coaching Changes List

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:03:36 -0700

Filled Jobs

SCHOOL - OLD COACH - NEW COACH (Former School)

Air Force - Jeff Bzdelik - Jeff Reynolds
Arkansas - Stan Heath - John Pelphrey (South Alabama)
Binghamton - Al Walker - Kevin Broadus
Bowling Green - Dan Dakich - Louis Orr (Seton Hall)
Butler - Todd Lickliter - Brad Stevens
Chicago State - Kevin Jones - Benjy Taylor
Colorado - Ricardo Patton - Jeff Bzdelik (Air Force)
Colorado State - Dale Layer - Tim Miles (ND State)
Denver - Terry Carroll - Joe Scott (Princeton)
Drake - Tom Davis - Keno Davis
Evansville - Steve Merfeld - Marty Simmons
Georgia State - Michael Perry - Rod Barnes
Harvard - Frank Sullivan - Tommy Amaker (Michigan)
Hawaii - Riley Wallace - Bobby Nash
Illinois State - Porter Moser - Tim Jankovich
Indiana State - Royce Waltman - Kevin McKenna
Iona - Jeff Ruland - Kevin Willard
Iowa - Steve Alford - Todd Lickliter (Butler)
Kansas State - Bob Huggins - Frank Martin
Kentucky - Tubby Smith - Billy Gillispie
Liberty - Randy Dunton - Ritchie McKay (New Mexico)
Long Beach State - Larry Reynolds - Don Monson (Minnesota)
Louisiana Tech - Keith Richard - Kerry Rupp
Marshall - Ron Jirsa - Donnie Jones
MD-Eastern Shore - Larry Lessett - Meredith Smith
Michigan - Tommy Amaker - John Beilein (WVU)
Minnesota - Dan Monson - Tubby Smith (Kentucky)
New Mexico - Ritchie McKay - Steve Alford (Iowa)
Norfolk State - Dwight Freeman - Anthony Evans
North Dakota State - Tim Miles - Saul Phillips
Northern Illinois - Rob Judson - Ricardo Patton (Colorado)
Princeton - Joe Scott - Sydney Johnson
Quinnipiac - Joe DeSantis - Tom Moore
Radford - Byron Samuels - Brad Greenberg
Robert Morris - Mark Schmidt - Mike Rice
St. Bonaventure - Anthony Solomon - Mark Schmidt (Robert Morris)
St. Louis - Brad Soderberg - Rick Majerus
San Diego - Brad Holland - Bill Grier
Santa Clara - Dick Davey - Kerry Keating
South Alabama - John Pelphrey - Ronnie Arrow (Texas A&M-CC)
South Florida - Robert McCullum - Stan Heath (Arkansas)
Southern Utah - Bill Evans - Roger Reid
Texas A&M - Billy Gillispie - Mark Turgeon (Wichita State)
UC-Riverside - David Spencer - Jim Woolridge)
UMKC - Rich Zvosec - Matt Brown
Utah - Ray Giacoletti - Jim Boylen
West Virginia - John Beilein - Bob Huggins (Kansas State)
Wichita State - Mark Turgeon - Gregg Marshall (Winthrop)
Winthrop - Gregg Marshall - Randy Peele
Wyoming - Steve McClain - Heath Schroyer

Unfilled Jobs

SCHOOL - OLD COACH - NEW COACH

South Carolina State - Jamal Brown - ?
Texas A&M - CC - Ronnie Arrow - ?

Legion Expected to Sign With Kentucky

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:40:58 -0700

Michigan Grants Release to Recruit Alex Legion

Jeff Borzello — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 02:40:28 -0700

Michigan 66 - UWM 59

Press Release — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:01:24 -0800

ANN ARBOR, MI - Avery Smith scored 23 points but it was not enough to overcome 26 points from Courtney Sims as the University of Michigan claimed a hard-fought 66-59 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wednesday night at Crisler Arena.

Milwaukee led by five early in the second half and was still within four with under a minute to play but the Wolverines made five free throws to seal the win.

Paige Paulsen added 13 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Massiah had 10 points and seven boards for the Panthers (1-3), who put a major scare into a Wolverine team that was receiving votes in both of this week's national polls.

Dion Harris added 17 for Michigan (4-0), but it was the 6-foot-10 Sims that proved unstoppable for UWM.

The Panthers recovered from a slow start to claim the halftime lead. Michigan scored the first eight points of the game before Milwaukee countered with 10 of the next 12 points to tie the game at 10 just five minutes in. The Wolverines rebuilt a six-point lead at 21-15 but a three by Allan Hanson and a free throw by Sam Mauldin brought the Panthers within 21-19 with 4:57 remaining.

After Michigan pushed its lead back to four at 25-21, the Panthers held the Wolverines scoreless over the final four minutes of the half in taking over the lead. A three by Paulsen brought the Panthers within a point before a three by Smith gave UWM a 27-25 advantage it would carry into the locker room.

A three by Paulsen with 16:38 to play in the game made it 34-29, but the Wolverines countered with the next 12 points for a 41-34 lead. They could not shake the Panthers, though, who pulled within a point at 43-42 on two free throws by Smith and were still within two at 49-47 after another basket by Smith.

The Wolverines then turned to Sims, who scored 10-straight points to give Michigan a 61-54 lead with 2:27 left. A Smith three pulled Milwaukee to within 61-57 with 47.3 seconds remaining, but UWM could get no closer.

2006-07 Preview: #46 Michigan

Joel Welser — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:50:43 -0700

Is this the year Tommy Amaker finally gets Michigan over the NIT hump?