Sports
8 — Tuesday, April 15, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Report: Robinson going pro; Stauskas to announce Pair of sophomores will reveal Draft decisions in press conference Tuesday
BY THE NUMBERS Glenn Robinson III
13.1
Scoring average during the 2013-14 season, good for second on the team.
By NEAL ROTHSCHILD Daily Sports Editor
For the second time in the last week, reports surfaced that a Michigan men’s basketball player will be fleeing Ann Arbor for the NBA. This time, it’s Glenn Robinson III. According to the Detroit Free Press, Robinson plans to sign with an agent later in the week. That followed an initial report from Jake Fischer, a Boston Globe correspondent and Slam Magazine writer, that the sophomore forward has already signed with an agent and will declare for the NBA Draft this week. An ensuing CBS Sports report confirmed that Robinson would be leaving school and stated that Robinson had yet to inform the Michigan coaching staff of his decision. Monday evening, the Athletic Department announced via e-mail a press conference to be held Tuesday afternoon. The e-mail did not provide further details, but ESPN’s Jeff Goodman later reported that Robinson and sophomore guard Nik Stauskas would both be revealing their decisions. Robinson was Michigan’s second-leading scorer this season, averaging 13.1 points along with 4.4 rebounds per game. Though he had a propensity to disappear in the Wolverines’ offense at times this year — he scored in single digits nine times — he was assertive late in the season and became a feared scorer with his deadeye midrange jump shot. He is projected as a late firstround or early second-round
75
Career starts in two seasons.
28
Games in which he scored in double digits (out of 37).
34
Projected Draft rank, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Sophomore forward Glenn Robinson will forgo his final seasons of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft and will announce his decision Tuesday, according to a report.
pick. His stock has fallen since last year, when he was projected to go as high as the lottery — a top-14 pick. This follows an ESPN report last Thursday that Stauskas would be declaring for the draft, though Stauskas insisted through Twitter that he had not made his final decision. A year ago this week, Robinson, along with forward Mitch McGary, both announced that they would return for their sophomore seasons. The two are best friends, and whereas last year’s decision was a collaboration between the two, Robinson said after Michigan’s Elite Eight loss that this year their decisions would be conducted more independently because of McGary’s back injury and extended absence.
The report leaves McGary as the only mystery remaining as far as who might be leaving for the pros. Following the announcement that redshirt junior Jon Horford would be transferring, there may be as many as five players leaving the program, with forward Jordan Morgan being the lone departure without eligibility left. While Robinson wanted to play the ‘3’ at Michigan, on the wings and with more ball handling opportunities, personnel necessitated that Michigan coach John Beilein play him at the ‘4.’ When he announced he’d be returning for his sophomore season, Robinson declared his intention to play the ‘3,’ but Beilein was never able to fulfill his wish for any
substantial period of time. When he struggled early this season, Robinson admitted during the NCAA Tournament that he had second thoughts about his decision to come back to Ann Arbor, but that he gained comfort as the season went on. Despite shooting troubles that plagued him during the bulk of the Big Ten season, Robinson hit a series of key 3-pointers in March. He shot 41 percent from behind the arc during the month after making 27 percent of his threes the rest of the season. Robinson was also Michigan’s best athlete. He accounted for the lion’s share of the oohing and ahhing at Crisler Center the past two years with his highlight-reel dunks. Feb. 26, Robinson, the team’s best leaper, was thrown a
cross-court lob pass near the baseline in Mackey Arena with a couple ticks remaining and the Wolverines down one point. Robinson caught it, took a dribble and banked the ball off the glass at the buzzer. He made the shot in front of his father in Glenn Robinson Jr.’s college gym, and the play served as perhaps the highlight of Robinson’s two years. Late Monday night, Stauskas announced on Twitter that he would make his NBA draft decision Tuesday.
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Their NBA Draft decisions.
BY THE NUMBERS Nik Stauskas
80
3-pointers made as a freshman, a Michigan first-year record.
44.4
Career 3-point shooting percentage.
17.5
Scoring average during the 2013-14 season, which led the team.
19
Projected Draft rank, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford.
Baseball set to play home- On baseball: A sub-.500 and-home against Eagles record that says a lot By JASON RUBINSTEIN Daily Sports Writer
If last weekend is any indication, the Michigan EMU vs. baseball team will be a force Michigan to be reckoned Matchup: with at the EMU 12-21; plate and could Michigan 16-19-1 wreak havoc on Eastern When: Michigan in Tuesday 4 P.M., back-to-back Wednesday midweek 6 P.M. games. After taking Where: Ray Fisher two of three at Stadium; Illinois, with Oestrike their lone loss Stadium coming in a 1-0 Radio: pitchers’ duel, MGoBlue the Wolverines (Tuesday) showed their hitting slump is a thing of the past, positioning themselves as one of the most competitive teams in the Big Ten. Michigan (6-6 Big Ten, 16-191 overall) will use the pair of midweek contests against the Eagles on Tuesday and Wednesday to fine-tune the small parts of its game, but it won’t be easy. Eastern Michigan (2-10 MAC, 12-21) beat the Wolverines in both matchups last season — Michigan coach Erik Bakich’s first at Michigan — by considerable margins. The Eagles scored 28 runs over the two games and have a history of playing Michigan tough. “The way Eastern Michigan has been dominant over the University of Michigan in baseball for the last few years, I would hope we come with a pretty big chip on our shoulder and are ready to play,” Bakich said. But with a full offseason under Bakich, the Wolverines look like a brand-new ball club. Michigan’s most consistent hitter is junior outfielder Jackson Glines. The junior
college transfer has been the steady force Bakich craves in the heart of the order. Glines’ 45 hits, .346 batting average and 22 RBI all lead the team, while his 13 doubles also lead the Big Ten. In the early parts of the season, the Wolverines were only finding production from their top five hitters. The bottom of the lineup was the team’s Achilles’ heel, but the Illinois series showed otherwise. Freshman designated hitter Carmen Benedetti found a groove at the plate in Champaign, going 6-for-11 in the five hole while tallying three RBI and three doubles, upping his batting average to .286. The team also found production from right fielder Johnny Slater. The freshman provided quality at-bats consistently throughout the weekend and provided a spark to an otherwise anemic part of Michigan’s batting order — going 4-for-6 with two RBI in the Wolverines’ 17-9 rout Saturday. “Baseball is mostly mental,” Bakich said. “(Benedetti and Slater) both made a lot of progress as this season has gone along, and it’s what you want to see from freshmen. Carmen has been pretty consistent for us, but he exploded in Saturday’s game. “Johnny has pretty much struggled all season long, but he had heck of a game. His batting practice has been night and day since the beginning. He has matured, and we expect big things from John Slater.” On the other side of Washtenaw Avenue, Eastern Michigan boasts three hitters batting over .300 and, though its record may not show it, has an ability to score plenty of runs. The Eagles have scored more than seven runs in 10 contests this year. Michigan will look to weather Eastern Michigan’s strong hitting by throwing fifth-year senior Ben Ballantine. The righthander has struggled of late
and hopes to use the midweek game to regain his early-season form. Bakich also said he has no intentions of pulling Ballantine early, showing confidence in his wily veteran. Wednesday’s starter has not yet been determined. Though riding a current wave of momentum, Bakich is making sure he and the coaching staff keep the team grounded and focused heading into the home-and-home against the cross-town rival — a team that has had more success against the Wolverines than many others. “If our guys have any mental lapse whatsoever in a midweek game, then they’re going to learn a tough lesson,” Bakich said. “We learned that last week against Notre Dame. The coaching staff and myself won’t allow that to happen again — ever again.” NOTE: There is a distinct possibility Tuesday’s will be canceled due to freezing temperatures.
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HAMPAIGN — Illinois had scored in the bottom of the fourth inning to put Michigan baseball down 1-0, and was knocking on the door again in the fifth. With two outs an Illini hitter reached second base, BEN and one FIDELMAN of the Big Ten’s best players, Will Krug, stepped to the plate. The outfielder yanked an 0-1 fastball through the left side of the infield, and the third base coach had no hesitation signaling the runner to head for home plate. Sophomore left fielder Jacob Cronenworth fielded the ball as the baserunner was rounding third and came up gunning. The ball came on a rope to catcher Cole Martin, and the tag was applied just
before the runner could slide around the senior. Martin hopped up and emphatically spiked the ball — his head cocked to the lights screaming for his team. Martin knew this game was big, and that play embodied something the team has exhibited all season: It’s not backing down from anyone. But what separates a contender from the rest is how quickly it can rebound and get back to winning. So where is Michigan baseball in this maze of momentum? Though its overall record has been below .500 all year, conference play was the perfect clean slate opportunity for this team. The only hurdle to overcome would be its conference schedule. Michigan went 6-6 through the first four conference weekends against Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois — not a bad mark considering many of those teams had better
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Catcher Cole Martin shifted momentum in Michigan’s favor when he tagged out a runner at home plate against Illinois.
conference records coming into the respective weekends. Something that’s helped Michigan throughout the season has been spending time around military and security specialists, hearing what they have to say about teamwork and perseverance. On March 3, the team visited Fort Bragg, N.C., where it learned how to embody a “Band of Brothers” mentality from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. More recently, a member of President Barack Obama’s protection detail visited the team when the President was in town for a speech on April 2. “One thing that stuck out to myself and a lot of the guys was (the concept of) failing quickly,” said sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes. Moving forward, it’s time to see if the team can do something that it hasn’t been asked to do often this season: win against weaker lineups. Being consistent enough to sweep, or at least win, upcoming series against Purdue and Northwestern will be what defines Michigan’s season. Anything more than one loss in the six games in those two series will be tough to make up, as the Wolverines also have to face Nebraska and Ohio State before potentially qualifying for the Big Ten Baseball Tournament at the end of May. Every season has highs and lows, but the good teams find a way to battle through and move toward undoubted success. There can be a battle to .500 baseball early, but at some point teams destined for the postseason have to make a turn for the better. Through the early parts of the season, the team was building confidence and perseverance, and now it’s time to show that it has learned those lessons. The upcoming weekends will be a perfect opportunity to prove just that and make a run to the postseason.