The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/813087
44 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2017 the plane, becoming a national story. He scored 12 in a 74-70 overtime win against Purdue, setting up a highly anticipated rematch with Minnesota. The Gophers' Nate Mason had re- ceived first-team All-Big Ten honors over Walton, so Michigan's senior stated his case on the court by notch- ing 29 points, nine assists and going 10 of 10 from the line in an 84-77 win. Teammates mobbed him with chants of 'first team!' when he re- turned to the locker room following postgame interviews. "I'm pretty sure that'll be the head- line," Walton said, humbly. "But, to me, I just want to be the best point guard on the floor every time I'm out there. I think I did a pretty good job today." Less than 24 hours later, his team- mates mobbed him on the court after his 22-point, seven-assist, six-rebound performance in a 71-56 win over Wis- consin in the title game. Walton fell to a knee in prayer while his teammates celebrated around him. "I just wanted to relish the mo- ment," Walton said. "It was real now and something that you will have for- ever. I was embracing something that I'd worked so hard to get, and to have it happen is great. "I'd dreamed it, and now I saw it happen. It had finally happened, and it was the greatest feeling ever." Michigan fans chanted "MVP! MVP!" as he closed out the win from the free throw line, and it proved pro- phetic. Walton would get that trophy in the celebration that followed, hav- ing left no doubt. A PLACE AMONG THE GREATS But the captain still hadn't silenced all the doubters with his outstanding Big Ten Tournament performance, and in fact earned a target on his back heading into U-M's NCAA Tourna- ment first-round game with Oklahoma State. CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb pre- dicted — forcefully — that Jawun Ev- ans, the Cowboys' All-Big 12 sopho- more guard, would eat Walton up. "Any of the things that Michigan does well, I think Oklahoma State does as well or better," he said. "For example, Derrick Walton's been prob- ably the best player in the Big Ten over the last month, but I frankly just think Jawun Evans is better." Just before tip-off, Gottlieb went a step further on Twitter. "Derrick Walton has been the B1G best player the last month … he isn't in the same solar system as Evans," he wrote. Evans was good, finishing with 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. But Walton? He was otherworldly, notching 26 points, 11 assists and five rebounds in a 92-91 win. Walton finished 7 of 13 from the floor, including 6 of 9 from long range, while Evans made only 10 of 26 shots. The Michigan captain became only the second player in Big Ten history to record at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in an NCAA Tour- nament contest. The player whose elite company he joined — Michigan State's Magic Johnson, one of the greatest players of all time. Walton also became the first player in the NCAA Tournament since Mar- quette's Dwyane Wade in 2003 to score at least 25, dish out at least 10 assists and collect five rebounds. It took some prodding from Beilein to get the best out of him again. "During one timeout, I coached him pretty hard," Beilein said. "I did not like what I was seeing in the first half, because the pressure that he was seeing, he was deferring again and started giving it to Muhammad [-Ali Abdur-Rahkman], or [saying], 'I'm going to run this play … where we're running it isn't that important.' I said, 'No, we have to get to spots on the floor and you have to have a counter plan.' "He wasn't countering at all … he was deferring. That's when we have to coach him really hard and tell him you have to take over control of this team and run this team." Walton's nothing if not coachable, and he capably executed Beilein's in- structions — not just in that game but throughout the postseason. In seven postseason games, including the Big Ten Tournament, he made 23 triples at a 43.4-percent rate, notched 50 assists and only turned it over 13 times. The entire second half of the 2016- 17 season earned his spot among the Michigan greats. He averaged 18.6 points — more than three points higher than his season-long clip of Walton joined Michigan State's Magic Johnson as the only players in Big Ten history to record at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game, while leading the Wolverines past Oklahoma State 92-91 in the first round. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL