The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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cent of his shots from the floor. He also demonstrates a willingness to mix it up more in line with his size (6-9, 245) than his class status, Beilein assured. "With the exception, maybe, of Mitch McGary — and Mitch was 20 at the time — I've not seen a fresh- man embrace physicality like Ricky does," Beilein said. "He just doesn't back down." F r e s h m a n f o r w a r d A u b r e y Dawkins has also shown some flashes, including hitting six three- pointers and scoring 20 in the Big Ten opener against Illinois. His grow- ing connectedness on defense has al- lowed him more minutes of late, and he's taking advantage. But for the most part, Beilein finds himself reminding people, including his own players, that the struggles are those of typical freshmen. The prob- lem there is, Michigan's frosh of late have been atypical, helping fuel a run of two Big Ten championships, two Elite Eight appearances and a narrow loss in the national title game over the past three seasons. Beilein continues to challenge this team. Following a miserable second half in a loss at Purdue, he deliv- ered a not-so-subtle message about toughness and mental fortitude. He later prodded the Wolverines about playing like they were "wearing tux- edoes." Shedding those and slipping on dancing shoes is far from a sure thing, at this point. But it's also not impossible, and the coaching mes- sage centers not on that prize, but the work it takes to make the journey successful. ❏ McCormick Sees Both Sides Of Wolverines ESPN college basketball analyst Tim McCormick keeps close track on the bas- ketball team of his alma mater. He noted early on the Wolverines had a shot at an NCAA Tournament bid, and now says he wants to see some key upcoming games before he has a clear crystal ball regarding Michigan's March. He knows this — for a team written off by some following consecutive December losses to NJIT and Eastern Michigan, the Wolverines haven't been buried yet. "The key word is resilience," McCormick noted. "Some teams don't have to deal with that, if you've got great players, great depth, really good leadership, no injuries. You just go out and play and you're really good, and that's just the way it is. "Other teams that are fighting through challenges, you need resilience, or bounce-back ability. When you lose a tough game … for instance, against Pur- due, Michigan was pretty disappointing in the second half. They showed really good resilience to come back and play so well at Penn State. Penn State has been tough for some people this year, so that's a really good win. "There were definitely times against Illinois and Minnesota where you saw