Giant Killers: Michigan Basketball Notches Another Top Five Win

The season is young and yet the excitement around Ann Arbor and the Michigan Basketball team is captivating. Coming off a year in which a well-respected, successful head coach took over the program and started another rebuilding project while limping to ten wins, expectations were tempered.

Coach John Beilein had trouble getting his young team to play correctly last season. They struggled with immaturity, the struggled with the system, they struggled to shoot the three efficiently, they struggled through long scoring droughts which usually sealed the deal on another loss. Basically, they struggled with everything.

Coach Beilein expected it, and said that the players would learn from it and be better as a result of it.

Boy was he right.

They have started this season 6-2, with two victories over Top Five opponents, a 55-52 stunner over UCLA in the 2K Sports Classic and today's 81-73 drubbing of Duke. That is something that the National Championship team of 1989 didn't do, something the infamous Fab Five didn't do. In fact, the last time Michigan beat two or more Top Five teams in a season was the 1986-87 campaign.

Even more cause for elation is the fact the the only two losses of the year were a five-point loss to Maryland, which they were winning at half-time, and a loss to Duke in the 2K Sports Classic Championship Game.

Pandemonium

It was a scene like none other at Crisler Arena.  After putting the finishing touches on what DeShawn Sims called "Definitely the best game of my career. Definitely a great day," 13,751 fans stormed the court and engulfed the players in celebration. It was like they had won the title or something.

"The crowd was great, even if it did almost kill me at mid-court as soon as the game ended," Sims said.

Coach Belein lauded his teams performance but used the Savannah State squeaker to remind everyone that the work isn't over yet.

"We're making progress, and we're starting to believe that we can play with these types of teams," Beilein said. "This kind of finish, and the win a few weeks ago against UCLA, are what we've been working so hard to achieve. It's reward for all those tough losses last season.

"Our guys are believing in themselves, just like the coaches are believing in them."

Team Effort

In today's game against Duke, Michigan forced their will on the Dukies from the opening bell and although they weren't able to pull away until the end, controlled momentum the whole game.

DeShawn Sims, the Junior forward from Detroit, made his second consecutive start after coming off of the bench to start the season and responded with a career day.  Sims had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolverines while star Manny Harris chipped in with 17 points and five rebounds.

The most impressive contributions aside from those two headliners was from bench players and someone they call "Air Canada."

JeVohn Shepard, from Toronto, Canada, got his first start of the season and played 32 minutes, scoring three points and grabbing four rebounds in addition to adding a steal and an assist. His impact went above and beyond the stat line though, as his athleticism and sound defense helped Michigan immensely.

Other key contributions came from sophomore guard Kelvin Grady, who posted nine points and four assists while handling the ball magnificently and keeping Duke on it's heels with his blazing speed and quickness.  He continually set up teammates for good shots, including two key assists to freshman guard Zach Novak, who put Michigan ahead for good by dropping two three-pointers off the feeds.

Keys to the game

Michigan's defensive tenacity and hustle, keeping pace with Duke on the boards, and getting to the line. Michigan shot 81% from the stripe on 22 attempts while holding Duke to just six. They also shot 44% from three-point range while Duke managed just 21%.

Upcoming Schedule    

12/13 Eastern Michigan

12/20 Oakland

12/22 Florida Gulf Coast