Unfazed as underdog
Not much is made of Michigan in preseason polls
Posted: Monday October 19, 1998 06:29 PM
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Ellerbe's Wolverines were knocked out of the 1998 NCAA tournament by UCLA in the second round Jonathan Daniel/Allsport |
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (AP) -- Brian Ellerbe, unlike most basketball coaches, admits he reads newspapers and magazines. So he knows Michigan is picked to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten standings this season.
Most coaches hate it when their team gets put down like that. Ellerbe isn't crazy about it, either. Still, he seems determined to prove the critics wrong.
"Well, there's nowhere to go but up, I guess," Ellerbe said with a wry smile Wednesday during the Wolverines' annual media day. "They don't pass out much hardware in October."
Ellerbe is almost an expert on Octobers. It was just about a year ago that Michigan fired Steve Fisher and named Ellerbe the interim coach. After he guided the Wolverines to 25 wins, the inaugural Big Ten tournament title and the second round of the NCAA tournament, the "interim" tag was removed.
"One of the things I've emphasized to the guys is that we're the defending Big Ten champs," said Ellerbe, who was given a long-term contract over the summer. "We won the tournament last year.
"I think that's been forgotten when things get written."
His biggest challenge this season will be replacing three starters from the frontcourt. Robert "Tractor" Traylor and Maceo Baston both were picked in the NBA draft and Jerod Ward has graduated.
That will swing the spotlight to an experienced backcourt duo of Louis Bullock and Robbie Reid. Both are good perimeter shooters and rank among the nation's most accurate free-throw shooters.
"I wouldn't trade our backcourt for any backcourt in America," Ellerbe said. "Not only do they bring size and athleticism, they also bring experience."
Bullock, beginning his final season at Michigan, is on pace to set the conference 3-point record. He had 93 3-pointers last season while leading Michigan with an average of 17.1 points per game.
"It's possible the backcourt could be the frontcourt of this team," Bullock said. "The chemistry of this team is excellent. There are no egos here."
The vacancies in the frontcourt will be filled by sophomore forwards Josh Asselin and Brandon Smith, plus junior center Pete Vignier. None of them played much last season.
"We lost so many good players from last year," Reid said. "People are going to wonder how we can be good now. But we've got some younger players moving up that I think will really help this team."
Ellerbe said the team's only two freshmen, Battle Creek's Leon Jones and Chris Young from Detroit Catholic Central, also will play.
"If you look at the Big Ten, I don't think anybody would argue that Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin are going to be favored," Ellerbe said. "I think you can throw us all in a hat, after the first three or four teams."
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