The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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40 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2017 ing. Everybody was intrigued. They generated a lot of buzz, and they made their school and their fans extremely proud." A TERRIFIC TURNAROUND Beilein talked about Michigan's run and the gut-wrenching self-evaluation following its mid-season malaise. He didn't have a bad team. He was con- vinced of that. He did have a crew that went 3-6 in games decided by five points or fewer in the contests leading up to the Big Ten Tournament. They needed something extra, Beilein understood. He found a perfect example in the outrageous Super Bowl catch made by New England's Julian Edelman, helping Tom Brady and the Patriots to wipe out a 28-3 deficit and pull off the greatest shocker of all time in that game. "The coaches, all of us, gave every one and each other a bit of a speech, that we all had more in us," Beilein recalled. "Even the walk-ons that do not play. 'You have to practice harder. You never talk in practice.' "I know there was a Super Bowl catch by Edelman. That was incred- ible. That there were outliers on this team — we don't know who they are, but they're not going to come forward if we don't work. Everybody could give a little bit more and the sum of all those parts would be enough. "We were so close. We went to Mich- igan State and lost [after being close late]. Up six at Wisconsin with six min- utes to go, we lost that game. We had been up two with 20 seconds to go at Iowa, and we lost that game." Following a chillingly close call on an airplane that aborted takeoff ap- proaching 200 miles per hour, the Wol- verines began winning the close ones. There's no direct correlation, perhaps. But there's no question that the cour- age to get back on an airplane and fly after such an incident tends to lessen any nerves about letting fly with a po- tential game-winning shot. "It created a bond that helped them through the Big Ten Tournament," Mc- Cormick said. "But every game that was distanced from that event, it be- came less and less important. "A near tragedy like that would cre- ate a stronger bond and more chem- istry and togetherness, a unified mis- sion. All of a sudden, the team started really playing with confidence. I would think that started some momentum, but after a while their stellar play is what catapulted them into the national limelight." The stellar play involved a host of characters, but Michigan's seniors clearly stepped to the fore. Forward Zak Irvin found himself mired in a horrible slump during Michigan's mid-season woes, but shook it off to send the Purdue game to overtime and score the only buckets in the extra ses- sion during the Big Ten Tournament. That game propelled the Wolverines toward the title contest, and classmate Derrick Walton Jr. simply did it all thereafter, pouring in 29 points with nine assists in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over Minnesota before scoring 22 in the title clincher versus the Badgers. The point guard earned tournament MVP honors, and the se- nior duo continued their strong efforts into NCAA Tournament play. "I feel like Zak and Derrick, as se- niors, demanded more excellence from their young players," McCor- mick noted of the U-M second-half surge. "They were better leaders, they stepped up in crucial situations, they weren't afraid to take big shots." They came in as freshmen on a team that made the Elite Eight. They appeared destined to endure three straight subpar seasons, due to NBA defections, injuries, etc. Over the final six weeks, they re- wrote that script. "They created a legacy," McCor- mick said. "When we someday hear the names Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin, they will be the leaders that led Michigan on a magical run. "People will remember the plane incident. They'll remember the Big Ten Tournament. They'll remember the games. Their legacy has been ce- mented, and they've also set a stan- dard for the young players. There's going to be a high expectation for next year." A TOUGH EXIT Bowing out of the NCAA Tourna- ment, and thus a college career, is never easy for seniors. That proved es- pecially so for Walton and Irvin, given their close-call victories over the Cow- boys and Cardinals, and how closely they played Oregon. In fact, the Wolverines led by three with 1:48 remaining in the last game. But the Ducks scored the final four points of the ill-fated contest, the last bucket on an offensive rebound, fol- lowing a missed box-out during an errant free throw attempt. Walton himself could have extended the season, coming up short on an open look as time expired in the 69-68 crusher. "Personally, I thought it was the best shot I got all night," Walton said after- ward. "I had great lift on it. I thought it would be a great moment. It just fell short." At the time, Michigan fans in Kansas City's Sprint Center might have as- suaged their disappointment with the notion that whoever emerged from the contest wasn't getting past No. 1 seed Kansas in the next game. After all, the Jayhawks were playing in front of an overwhelming crowd of rabid and deafening fans. Then Oregon knocked off Kansas, 74-60, and Michigan fans did an emo- tional double take. Redshirt sophomore D.J. Wilson notched double-digit points in six of Michigan's seven postseason contests, averaging 15.6 points per game during that span. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN