With a little more than a minute and a half remaining in
yesterday’s game, Ron Coleman hit a jumper from the side,
bringing the Wolverines’ lead over Michigan Tech to 14
points. The more seasoned players, who were sitting on the bench
after helping Michigan secure that advantage, leapt out of their
seats and cheered wildly.
Why all the fuss over the seemingly minor basket?
It was Coleman’s first game wearing the Maize and
Blue.
The freshman wing had some minutes earlier on in the game, but
it was not until the dwindling minutes of the second half when he
notched his first points in a Michigan uniform.
“I felt good out there,” Coleman said. “We had
a lot of energy, and we put in a lot of effort. That helped me to
play better and feel more comfortable out there. It was a good
experience for me.”
His 12 minutes on the floor gave him the chance to calm his
first-game butterflies.
“Before the game, I was a little bit nervous,”
Coleman said. “Then when I got out there and got into the
rhythm of the game, it went away.”
Freshman walk-on Alex Brzozowicz also received his first chance
to step onto the court as a Wolverine. He played for the final 30
seconds yesterday.
Changing Lanes: The court in Crisler Arena may not have looked
as clean and pure as it normally does during yesterday’s game
between Michigan and Michigan Tech.
Fans may have been a little confused by the white tape
surrounding the free-throw lane and the three-point line.
The changes were part of an approved experimentation by the
NCAA. For any certified games played before January 1, 2005, lanes
and three-point lines will sport the proposed changes.
The three-point line has been moved out from its original
distance of 19-feet-9 to a new distance of 20-feet-6; roughly the
same distance used in international play.
The free-throw lane is now three feet wider, gaining
one-and-a-half feet on each side, making for a much more spacious
15-square-foot area to roam.
In response to requests by coaches, an an arc has been drawn
underneath the basket to assist referees on charging calls. The arc
is two feet from the center of the hoop, and any defensive player
that plants his foot within the arc will be called for blocking if
he attempts to take a charge.
Notes: Sophomore Amadou Ba did not dress in yesterday’s
game due to a knee injury. Michigan coach Tommy Amaker expects Ba
to be available for the season opener next Monday against
Binghamton … Yesterday’s attendance, listed at 9,861,
was actually calculated by the amount of tickets sold to the game
… With the victory, Michigan remains undefeated versus Upper
Peninsula teams. It is 9-0 against Northern Michigan, and now has
two exhibition victories over Michigan Tech.