The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 11 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS CHARLES MATTHEWS NOT INVITED TO NBA COMBINE On May 7, ESPN NBA writer Marc Spears tweeted out the 69 players who received invites to the NBA Draft Combine May 17-18 in Chicago, and Michigan redshirt sophomore guard Charles Matthews was not on the list. There had been reports in the days leading up to Spears' tweet that the U-M guard had not received an invitation, but no official list had been released. Matthews announced his intentions to declare for the NBA Draft without an agent April 20, giving him the option to return to U-M next season if he chooses to. The deadline for players that have not signed with an agent to withdraw from the draft and return to their respective schools is May 30. Junior forward Moritz Wagner, meanwhile, said he would be hiring an agent when he declared April 14, and he was one of eight Big Ten players to appear on the NBA Draft Combine invitee list. Matthews averaged 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this past season at Michigan, and was a key part of the Wolverines' run to the national championship game. In fact, he surpassed his season averages in both points and rebounds in U-M's six NCAA Tournament contests, tallying 14.8 and 6.1, respectively. WRESTLER STEVAN MICIC TAKES HOME BRONZE AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS Redshirt sophomore wrestler Stevan Micic, who placed second in the 133-pound weight class at the NCAA Cham- pionships in March, took home a bronze medal in the 57-ki- logram weight class (125.7 pounds) at the 2018 European Championships May 5 in Kaspiisk, Russia. The event didn't start well for Micic, though, who dropped a 6-4 decision to Russia's Zavur Uguev — the world's No. 4-ranked wrestler at that weight — in his first bout. The U-M grappler scored first and last against Uguev, but allowed three takedowns in between. Micic scored on a throw by with just 40 seconds left, but could not score again once the two wrestlers moved back to their feet. Uguev reached the championship match, earning Micic a spot in the consolation rounds. He beat a wrestler from France and then topped Spain's Levan Metreveli Vartanov in the bronze medal match, grabbing a fall at the 5:04 mark. Micic, representing Serbia, took home the country's first- ever European medal in freestyle wrestling. The accolade is actually the second for the Cedar Lake, Ind., native in international competition, however — he also claimed a bronze medal in freestyle in the 55-kilogram weight class (121.3 pounds) at the 2015 Junior World Championships in Salvador, Brazil, when he was a member of Northwestern's program. ATHLON TABS SHEA PATTERSON AS THE NO. 15 QUARTERBACK IN THE LAND On May 2, Athlon ranked the 14 projected starting quarter- backs in the Big Ten for the 2018 season, and placed Michi- gan junior Shea Patterson in the No. 3 spot. Penn State fifth- year senior Trace McSorley claimed the top space on the list, while Michigan State redshirt junior Brian Lewerke checked in at No. 2. Patterson ranked 15th on the national list. "Michigan's 2018 Big Ten title hopes received a boost when Patterson was granted immediate eligibility," the publication noted. "The Louisiana native ranked as a five-star recruit in the 2016 signing class and was pressed into action after Chad Kelly suffered a season-ending injury that year [at Ole Miss]. Patterson started the final three games for the Rebels and threw for 880 yards and six scores, while adding 169 yards on 41 carries. "High expectations surrounded him in his first year as a full-time starter, but he was limited to seven games due to injury last fall. Despite the injury-shortened season, Pat- terson threw for 2,259 yards and 17 touchdowns and com- pleted 63.8 percent of his passes. The junior has to do a better job of limiting the mistakes after tossing nine picks on 260 attempts in 2017. "Patterson should be an impact addition for Michigan this fall." He is expected to win the starting job this fall, while red- shirt sophomore Brandon Peters and redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffrey are anticipated to be his primary backups. — Austin Fox Matthews, who averaged 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2017-18, has until May 30 to withdraw from the NBA Draft if he decides to return to Michigan. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK