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Monday, March 13, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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CAMPUS LIFE
Civil rights discussed at ‘Know Our Rights’ event DESIGN BY: MICHELLE PHILLIPS
Freedom House, asylum-seeker resource, to have budget slashed
The DUUD will no longer provide funding for the organization starting March 31 NISA KHAN
Daily News Editor
Freedom House is the only organization in the United States that provides shelter, legal aid and other comprehensive services free of charge to asylum-seekers and victims of human trafficking,
according to TJ Rogers, the Detroit branch’s program manager. The Detroit branch of the organization was founded in 1983 with the growing community of Salvadoran asylum-seekers escaping persecution during the country’s war. Asylum-seekers are individuals who are awaiting decisions on
international protections from a foreign country, while potentially recovering from fear of persecution based on discrimination such as political thought, religion, race or sexual orientation. Refugees — Rogers calls the label essentially an umbrella term — are people who fled a country due to persecution. Upon entering the country, their
applications are considered to be successful, while asylum-seekers are still waiting on a response and working with organizations such as Freedom House in order to have shelter in the meantime. According to first-year Medical student Jack Buchanan, the Freedom House liaison for the See FREEDOM, Page 3A
The series of workshops aimed to educate students about their personal liberties RACHEL LEVY For the Daily
Students were reminded of their rights on Saturday in the School of Social Work Building was centered around personal civil liberties and issues such as rights for protestors, self-care and bystander intervention for sexual assault. “Know Our Rights” was born out of an idea pioneered by seven LSA students, who each met with lawyers, professors and community members over the course of several weeks to figure out what they, as students, could do to make an impact at the University of Michigan. LSA senior ’Dolapo Adeniji, one of the original organizers,
said the community emphasis surrounding the event was core to the mission of the organizers — the education and empowerment of others in an uncertain political environment. “It started as Know Your Rights, but the more we talked about it, we wanted it to be Know Our Rights because it’s very important that it is a community type of thing going on here,” Adeniji said. “It’s not only about me knowing how to assert my rights, but knowing how to assert the rights of others.” Students from all 19 colleges at the University and Ann Arbor community members were in attendance. LSA sophomore Will Krause said he attended because See RIGHTS, Page 3A
University professor leads ice sheet Candidates CSG Party research for insight on climate change for student Movement STUDENT GOVERNMENT
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
seeks unity on campus
The president and vicepresident candidates are outsiders to CSG RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite being outsiders to Central Student Government, LSA juniors Evan Rosen and Dan Sweeney are ready to make waves on the University of Michigan campus as elected leaders. Rosen and Sweeney are running for president and vice president, respectively, with Movement Party. Rosen said he decided to run in order to create a more united campus. “We’re very excited about trying to effect positive change on this campus,” Rosen said. “We have a very detailed and diverse platform that we’re excited to talk about and a lot of people behind us who are trying to make it happen.” The two head Movement, one of the four parties running in this year’s race. Movement’s campaign is based on increasing See MOVEMENT, Page 3A
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Engineering professor Jeremy Bassis is doing his work on sabbatical in California QUINN FALTER For the Daily
Jeremy Bassis, an assistant professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering currently on sabbatical in San Francisco, says he was introduced to glaciology, the focus of his research, by several happy accidents. As an undergraduate studying physics at Pennsylvania State University, he says he discovered climate and environmental research by walking into the wrong classroom. “Penn State is a big campus, kind of like University of Michigan; it’s kind of spread out,” Bassis said. “The first day of class, I was late for my class, and I rushed in at the last minute. And one of the few seats available (in the classroom) was right at the front kind of in the middle. I kind of slinked into that seat and slouched down a little bit. Five or 10 minutes into the class, I realized it was not the class I intended to take.” Bassis says the subject of the class, weather and meteorology, was not something he had thought of before as a point of interest. He approached the professor to ask about research
opportunities on campus in relation to the subject, which he later became involved in. Bassis’s research as an undergrad led to his research as a graduate student at Scripps
Institution of Oceanography as part of the University of California-San Diego. When Bassis arrived on campus, however, the professor under which Bassis wished to study
was on sabbatical. In order to keep himself busy, Bassis began to look for a research project and was offered a research trip to Antarctica to study glaciers, See ICE, Page 3A
N I G H T AT T H E M U S E U M
gov. body to take leap
“Better Than the Rest” look to provide different view on administration JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
MAX KUANG/Daily
Drew Schultz & The Broken Hearts perform at the UMMA After Hours event in the UMMA atrium on Friday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 43 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
To some, making the decision to run for a Central Student Government office without any prior experience within University of Michigan student governments and without a campaign plan may seem like a pretty big leap. But for Engineering sophomores Alec Beljanski and Nathan Minsk, this sort of feat is something they look forward to. Beljanski, running for CSG president, and Minsk, running for vice president, comprise Better Than The Rest Party, a party looking to provide students with an outsider perspective to CSG. Hoping to serve students as representatives who understand the distance some may feel from student government, they look to create a distinct platform between those who are heavily involved See BETTER, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS..........B SECTION
News
2A — Monday, March 13, 2017
ON THE DAILY: FIGHT NIGHT FOR CHARITY
Emotions ran high Saturday night among the University of Michigan’s fraternities. Cheers were shouted, blood was spilled and rivalries were ignited — all before the night’s festivities even began. The inaugural Greek Fight Night, organized by the University of Michigan Boxing Club and sponsored by TITLE Boxing Club Ann Arbor, was held at the Intramural Sports Building, and aimed to raise money for charity. Thirteen social and professional fraternities participated, each using the event to fundraise for a different organization. Twenty-one fights were held over the course of the night. Though most of the participants were male, the event began with three fights between women on the club boxing teams from the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan. The next 18 fights were between two men from different fraternities, although some members of the boxing team also participated. According to a comment on the event’s Facebook page, several
sororities denied invitations to participate, but the University of Michigan Boxing Club does hope to have sororities participate next year. “Unfortunately, after reaching out to several sorority boards, many declined the offer to participate!” University of Michigan Boxing Club wrote. “We hope to include sorority fights for our second annual!” Although all fraternity members were amateur boxers, the men spent two and a half months training before the event with the Boxing Club. Each match was a sanctioned USA Boxing Bout, and officials from USA Boxing were there to moderate the fights. “The guys have been training long and hard for the past month … each boxer is matched up by weight and experience level,” the Boxing Club wrote on its Facebook page. “It is a completely sanctioned event with USA Boxing officials there to look after the safety of the boxers.” LSA sophomore Sam Finn, president of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, participated in the fight because it seemed like a good way
to raise money for charity and have fun with the greater Greek life community. “It definitely seemed like an opportunity to do one of the coolest things I’ve ever done,” Finn said. “And it wasn’t really nerve-wracking because the second you walk in, the only thing you’re focused on is the other person. But it’s definitely a really intense adrenaline rush.” Finn’s fraternity was raising money for the American Red Cross,
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and while they don’t yet know how much money the event raised, he estimates over 500 tickets were sold. The ticket revenue will be split between the 13 different philanthropy organizations. Finn said the night was an incredible experience. “If they let me do it next year, I would 100 percent do it again,” he said.
Emily @emmuhhlay thought about how much I love soup and remembered I have access to an unlimited supply ty @MichiganDining
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UMMA EXHIBIT
Andrew D. Martin @ProfADM Don’t forget to set your clocks forward tonight! Michigan time can only help so much #DaylightSavingsTime
CAROLYN GEARIG/Daily Photographer Ernestine Ruben discusses her exhibit, Ernestine Ruben at Willow Run: Mobilizing Memory, at the UMMA on Sunday.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES “The Changing Legal Services Market in Japan”
Coffee Hour with Mika Lavaque-Manty
WHAT: Shozo Ota, a University of Tokyo law professor , will cover failing law schools, bar exam disasters and sex scandals. WHO: Center for International & Comparative Law WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m. WHERE: Hutchins Hall , Room 120
Guest Master Class: Courtney Miller, Oboe WHAT: Courtney Miller, an assistant professor at the University of Iowa, will teach an open oboe class. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 4:30 p.m. WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, Room 2032
MOVEMENT From Page 1A student involvement in CSG, and ensuring the student body has the opportunity to unite to create a lasting impact. When asked where the inspiration for the name came from, Rosen said there was a lot of symbolism behind it, drawing parallels to the force of a wave. “We see Movement as another kind of term for change,” Rosen said. “We keep moving, keep changing — Michigan is an elite public university, does a lot of great things, but we feel like we can get even better, so we want
CRUISIN’.
WHAT: The next in a series of coffee hour chats held by the LSA Political Science department will feature Prof. Mika LavaqueManty. WHO: Department of Political Science WHEN: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Haven Hall, Room 5769
Academic Innovation Forum on Broadening the University of Michigan Community WHAT: This community-wide forum will explore how the University can continue to broaden its focus on innovation. WHO: Office of Academic Innovation WHEN: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Ballroom
to keep moving forward, and that’s where the movement comes from. Our logo is the wave emoji, and we’re big on that because we see the student body as coming together and forming instead of being individual water droplets — coming together to be a wave, an ocean.” Business junior Ethan Lutz, campaign manager of Movement, reiterated that Movement’s focus is the student body, and the group was looking for ways to make CSG more accessible to the average University student. “We’ve talked about how the school may be a little divided, and we want to bring the school together,” Lutz said. “One way we want to do that is through
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LinkedIn Headshots at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library WHAT: Professional photos will be taken that can be used for LinkedIn and social media profiles to make good impressions. WHO: University Career Center WHEN: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Shapiro Undergraduate Library
PITE Alumni Career Panel WHAT: This panel will feature alumni from the Program in the Environment to hear about what they’ve been doing postgraduation. WHO: Program in the Environment WHEN: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Dana Natural Resources Building, Room 1024
giving the students more of a voice; we want to have more transparent processes within the student government, more open forums, sending out more surveys to gauge student opinion.” While most parties running for CSG have historically had members with robust student government experience at the University, Movement is unique in that most of its executive board members have not served in CSG. Rosen and Sweeney believe they will be able to relate to the student body and bring new ideas and initiatives to the table. “We are very clearly outsiders,” Rosen said. “We’re not part of CSG, most of the people involved in our campaign are not with CSG and I think that results in a lot of new ideas and a lot of change … I think we bring new fresh ideas, and we’re going to reach more people by making it a more fun, creative campaign.” Sweeney pointed out that their lack of CSG experience may be an advantage for the candidates, and that it’s important to their campaign that they address students who have felt estranged from student government, and reach out to students who may not be as politically active and engaged as others. “One of the most exciting things each year, for me at least, is the CSG elections,” Sweeney said. “But what I sort of realize now is that each year it’s sort of the same process … the people that I know that are involved are the same people that have been involved every year. One thing that … is important and integral to our campaign, is focusing on how we can get other people involved who aren’t political activists or really up to date on the initiatives that are being passed — how can we make Central Student Government something the average Wolverine is going to be interested in, and feel like applies to them?”
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MichiganMarchingBand @umichband Last day in D.C. with a shot at the B1G title, it’s great to be a Wolverine! #GoBlue #BeatTheBadgers #B1GTourney #ChampionshipSunday
Xenophobia in the Age of Trump: The Roots, Context and Remedies
WHAT: This roundtable discussion will examine the causes and effects of the rise of xenophobia in the United States. WHO: International Institute WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building, Room 1636
lj meyer @loganjmeyer
LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness Week Keynote Speaker WHAT: This speech from Detroit-based psychologist Amoire Robinson will kick off the LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness Week. WHO: Spectrum Center WHEN: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building, Educational Confernce Center
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FREEDOM From Page 1A University of Michigan’s Asylum Collaborative, many of the asylumseekers aided in Detroit are from the West African region, with an estimate of 90 percent coming from African countries. He explained that, unlike refugees, asylum-seekers are fleeing more isolated violence than active conflict. Because of the lack of recognition by the United States during this process, asylumseekers cannot receive any funding from the government. “Without Freedom House, individuals would be in emergency shelters,” Rogers said; he explainined that getting an apartment after a stay at a shelter would be impossible without being granted asylum by the government. “And emergency shelters typically have 90-day maximum length of stay.” A provider From the linens on the mattress to daily transportation to legal aid, Freedom House provides essentials and support for more than 45 people every day of the year, through cultural and linguistic barriers. According to the Freedom House website, in 2015, the organization helped 144 people, with 110 singles and 10
ICE From Page 1A specifically cracks in the ice, which led him to his current research today. He says he did not anticipate the direction his study took him, as he originally had anticipated that, as a student of physics, he would “be playing with lasers in a basement somewhere.” Bassis continued to study glaciers when he realized the research he was doing — on the ways global warming was affecting the ice sheets in Antarctica — would have a wide-
families. “The ultimate goal of the program is to help our residents secure legal status and to have the necessary skills, tips and tools to be independent and stable and self-sufficient when they exit our program and enter permanent housing,” Rogers said, adding the average length of stay is a year to a year and a half. The maximum length of stay is, however, two years. The organization also has an attorney on site, but also has a partnership with the University and its immigration law clinic. Upon admission to the United States, individuals have a year to submit their applications for asylum. Working with the legal team, the seekers usually take six months to pull together an application of medical records, evidence of injuries and translation of documents. Upon submitting the application, seekers then receive a receipt date with an alien number and are granted three months of residency from that date. Despite having a year for asylum status, the end of those three months can leave individuals as undocumented and at risk of being detained by immigration. Rogers said the receipt serves as proof of an individual seeking safety within the States. In six months from receipt date, one can apply for work authorization, leading
to greater chances of financial independence. “Without Freedom House, they would be bouncing around from emergency shelter to emergency shelter,” Rogers said. “Which increases their vulnerability, especially with this political climate and these executive orders. The vulnerability has the potential to interact and come across immigration officials and that would certainly result in detention and being deporting. And most likely, if you are deported, there is the case once you land back home, you are going to be killed.” In fact, in all facets of Freedom House’s work, the organization has strong partnerships with other organizations throughout the state. From Gleaner’s Community Food Bank which provides meals and nutrition lessons to ProsperUS Detroit for entrepreneurship courses, Freedom House has a personalized schedule of workshops and classes to provide relief to its occupants. Advanced French students at the University can volunteer at Freedom House with either as a tutoring resident or by translating documents for legal aid.
ranging impact. “When I first started, we knew about global warming,” he said. “We were not quite sure how the ice sheets were going to respond. And the big debate was whether or not we should even be worried about the way in which the ice sheets were going to respond within the next century.” Bassis studies the way in which glaciers calve, or break apart. Bassis’s research on the way ancient glaciers affect sea level change was recently published in the research journal Nature Geoscience. Bassis worked on the study with Sierra Petersen, a University of Michigan’s National Science Foundation Ocean
Sciences postdoctoral fellow. Bassis said during the beginning of his career he “was at the right place at the right time.” Certain events, like the disintegration of a particular ice sheet in Greenland around 2002, triggered more investigation in his field. His research, looking at the ways changes in glaciers affect the rise in sea levels and how glaciers are, in turn, affected by a changing climate, portrays a drastically different image of the originally predicted numbers for sea level change.
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RIGHTS From Page 1A he was looking to be more informed given the increased amount of political activism following the inauguration of President Donald Trump. “I want to learn a bit more knowledge about the rights of various people,” Krause said. “There are a lot of things like protestor rights that are very specific, and knowing more about that would be very cool.” Another event attendee, Engineering sophomore Jovana
BETTER From Page 1A with CSG and those who are not. “I think that CSG does a lot of things, but those who are not involved in CSG are not so much interested,” Minsk said. “Very few things come across when they think of CSG. They probably think of the airBus, and then they probably also think of these diversity events and mental health events, those two specifically because we get a lot of emails about them.” Knowing they serve as a party with independence in its own
Monday, March 13, 2017 — 3A Paripovic, echoed Krause’s sentiments regarding the importance of being knowledgable amid current political climate. “I feel like we should all come together because there are a lot of controversial things going on out there,” Paripovic said. When asked about the racist and anti-Semitic and emails sent out to computer science and engineering students a few weeks ago, Paripovic noted she believes they failed to create racial division on campus. “If anything, I think it really brought us closer together,” she said. Paripovic also said the positive response from students
on campus made her think, “I am so lucky to be part of an inclusive community.” During the event, the organizers announced the creation of the “I’ve Got Your Back” campaign — an initiative that aims to distribute pins with different messages to spread awareness about social justice issues and inform others they are allies. “We wanted to do something that you couldn’t just wear and get away with not doing anything,” Adeniji explained.
sense, their decision to run comes with the hope to represent students who also feel this separation from CSG, but as a result, the two expect to end up gaining more experience with CSG in the process. “We wanted to see this experience, we wanted to especially since we have no experience,” Minsk said. “I feel like we’re kind of contrary to a lot of the culture of the CSG elections.” When it comes to campaigning, the two will solely rely on the name of the party itself. Specifically, their hope is when students scroll through CSG’s website and browse through the names of running parties, the
name Better Than The Rest will stand apart from its opposing groups and will garner interest from potential voters. In a discussion of these opposing groups, they stated they feel the eMerge and Movementparties bring essentially the same things to the table. On the contrary, they said Better Than The Rest looks to differentiate itself from these parties, though Beljanki and Minsk do agree with the policies put forward by other parties.
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Opinion
4A — Monday, March 13, 2017
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Recognize we are “broken”
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FROM THE DAILY
Bias incidents require empathy
A
s bias incidents continue to occur across campus, student organizations are pressing the University to reevaluate its responses to such incidents. In the wake of racist fliers that were posted in September 2016, racist and anti-Semitic emails sent out to engineering and computer science students and the defilement of a prayer rug in February, a University of Michigan student organization, Students4Justice, drafted a petition, organized multiple sit-ins and put forward a list of demands addressing the administration’s reactions to the racist incidents. Shortly thereafter, University administrators issued a formal response to each of the demands listed that included, for the most part, descriptions of procedures and programs already in place at the University. While The Michigan Daily Editorial Board appreciates the University’s prompt and specific response, we call on the University to issue more forward-thinking and empathetic responses that establish more concrete goals to combat many of the issues S4J outlined. Though the University highlights a long list of past responses and actions it has taken to combat racist and discriminatory policies and incidents, it continues to ignore many current concerns. When speaking on the underlying problem of affordable housing for students of lower socioeconomic status, for example, the University points to lower rental rates in Ypsilanti instead of attempting to confront the high cost of living in Ann Arbor. This is especially disheartening when considering The New York Times’ The Upshot report on the University’s lack of socioeconomic diversity. Thus, while we commend the University for showing more thought about the issues marginalized groups face on campus, that response depended too heavily on past initiatives, avoiding issues clearly communicated to the administration by students. As a result, the University’s response veers from concrete goal-setting and instead relies on plans lacking in specificity. Furthermore, one of S4J’s main requests was for a “space solely dedicated to community organizing and social justice work specifically for people of color,” and the University responded by saying that the Connector in the West Quad Residence Hall is a “currently identifiable crosscultural (space) on campus.” This response exemplifies a vague solution to a hyperspecific request made by S4J. Ambiguous answers like these
are scattered throughout the University’s response and do not address the specific concerns S4J outlined. But even when comprehensively outlining the work that has already been done to appease prior demands from S4J and other student organizations, the University fails to adequately expand upon how its work can be built upon to continually improve diversity and inclusion on campus. S4J reiterates one #BBUM demand from 2013 calling for a Race and Ethnicity Requirement that “should be required for all students at the University … and should be more selective.” Nearly four years later, only LSA students are required to take a course focused on race and ethnicity. Nonetheless, the University response to this demand consists of referencing “Change it Up,” a program started in the fall of 2014, and involved little clarity for the future of the requirement. Goals with timelines and concrete ways of achieving them are needed to change the campus climate and take on issues of racism and discrimination. Instead of proposing programs and classes that students can partake in, the University should focus on implementing programs that encompass the entire University community. It was commendable that the University noted the new building renaming policy and a roundtable to discuss renaming the C.C. Little Building; however, more could be done to bridge the gap
between administrators and other University members. Furthermore, there is a notable lack of compassion in the University’s response. Instead of providing the initiatives of the past and avoiding the issues at hand, the University should have addressed what S4J asked for first and foremost: “to acknowledge (their) humanity.” In the entire document released by the University, we were hard-pressed to find an instance when the University recognized, on a basic level, how members of S4J, along with many other students, felt after these racist incidents. Though they address their concerns, the nature of the responses seemed removed from the empathy necessary for these students to feel their voices were heard. Instead of using vague language and taking a defensive tone, the University should employ a more empathetic tone for its marginalized students who face unique challenges every day. Not only is it the responsibility of the University to respond to the fears and concerns of its students, but it is also their duty to address students with empathy and recognize the student body’s humanity and feelings. Additionally, as these bias incidents have shown, previous actions — that the University spent most of their response relaying — have not been enough. The University must recognize this and instead of simply digging into the past, think into the future and take concrete, actionable steps to change our campus climate.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU
W
e live in a dark, think one way to imagine how this confusing and idea might impact the University turbulent time. of Michigan would be if students Many of my friends and I were required to engage with frequently struggle the larger Ann Arbor to maintain hope community in some that this country collaborative effort. can figure itself out As students entering a with a president novel situation, we could who won’t distance not adopt a position of himself from white superiority. We would be supremacists, with learning from and with a climate change people we would never denier as the head of otherwise encounter. ISAIAH the Environmental Imagine if this sort Protection Agency ZEAVIN-MOSS of community service and with a man who became a pillar of the described slaves as immigrants educational experience on this leading the Department of campus. It would force us to Housing and Urban Development. consider our standing in the world, But on Tuesday, March 7, to understand our privilege as while listening to the remarks of college students, to work across the Wallenberg Medal winner, difference with people in this Bryan Stevenson, a civil rights community. lawyer and activist, I felt a bit Another vital point Stevenson more hopeful. Stevenson actually hit on was the idea that we, as described hopelessness as the Americans, need to increase the enemy of justice. We have no choice shame index in the United States. beside remaining hopeful, beside By this, Stevenson meant that we believing that change can happen. must willingly confront our past — If we cannot find ways to change Stevenson’s organization, the Equal surrounding circumstances, why Justice Initiative, is working on an are we here? ongoing project to post markers at I want to think about Stevenson’s every lynching site in the country. ideas in the context of our campus, Stevenson pointed out that we are and try to imagine the possible living in a post-genocidal state; outcomes if we collectively decided this country was “founded” and to take the steps he described. How cultivated through that cruel, might we imagine the ways acting massive genocide. In order to move out Stevenson’s positions would forward, we must look back. alter the campus experience, both Here, we can imagine the inside and outside the classroom? impact of the University fully Stevenson began his lecture reckoning with its past — instead by discussing the need to get of a slogan like “forever valiant” “proximate” to people and stories (which appears across campus on that are not familiar to us. He advertisements for the University’s articulated that we must work bicentennial), which denies the directly with the poor, neglected, fact, for example, that University abused and incarcerated among President James Angell made us. And we ought to do this not integral contributions to the 1882 because we, the more privileged Chinese Exclusion Act, or the fact members of society, have answers that there is currently a significant to bestow upon the marginalized; swath of students who feel silenced instead, we ought to approach and ignored on this campus. We these people with an open mind are not always valiant. Nobody and an open heart, ready to learn is. That is a ludicrous idea to even from them. propose, nevertheless to identify Immediately, this aspect of with. It is not only meaningless; Stevenson’s talk reminded me of the act of willed ignorance, of not a kind of community service. I confronting a prejudiced past and
a prejudiced present, is an act of extremely destructive violence. As Stevenson also noted, we must change the narratives that keep us from getting proximate, that keep us from engaging with people across difference. But the University, in fact, loves to promote certain narratives that have this precise effect: How are we, the students, meant to believe the administration is actually working to change itself and change this campus culture if it creates slogans like “forever valiant” to describe our school? That slogan promotes stasis, it promotes ignorance and it promotes a sense that we here at the University are — and have always been — egalitarian. At one point in his lecture, Stevenson asked why we as a society have collectively agreed to silence, to jail and to kill the most broken among us. And I think this relates integrally to an unwillingness to confront our past. The mere fact that people in our society today can be made broken is a sign that our present moment maintains antecedents within the very outwardly and publicly evil past of slavery and segregation. Consequently, we silence them to keep them in their place, to assure they cannot remind a critical mass about the past from which we have all emerged. Stevenson remarked that throughout his 30-year career defending people on death row, he has been made to feel “a little bit broken as well.” But, crucially, he noted that it is in a state of brokenness that we can recognize the power of what it means to be human. By confronting our broken past and working collaboratively with people made broken by our present, we will intrinsically become broken, ourselves. And it is only once we do this, once we accept that collectively, we are and always have been broken, only then can we legitimately begin to heal and to move forward.
Isaiah Zeavin-Moss can be reached at izeavinm@umich.edu.
COLLECTIVE AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY | OP-ED
Media trolling obscures racist climate
O
ver the last week, public criticism (via the news and social media) has been aimed at Students4Justice, an organization that has been fighting for racial justice on campus since September 2016. This criticism stemmed from an op-ed originally published in The Michigan Review, which was then picked up by The College Fix and the Daily Mail. The writers of these articles claimed that S4J’s demand for an activist center where students of color could do social justice work was segregationist, a complete mischaracterization of S4J’s demand and a cynical deployment of an ahistorical definition of segregation. This lead to online harassment of S4J in the form of misinformed critiques, racial slurs and threats. Rooted in gross misconceptions, such concern-trolling directs our attention away from the real question at hand: What will stop the consistent racist attacks and hostility toward people of color in our community? One starting point is better contextualization of the environment in which the demand emerged. While the articles mentioned above de-emphasized incidents of racism against students of color, we want to clarify that racist violence has been a persistent presence on campus. The most recent rash of racist incidents began on Sept. 26, 2016, when white supremacist fliers with anti-Black messaging were posted on campus. Over the next five months, a series of attacks was directed toward students of color. More racist and anti-LGBTQ+ fliers were posted, racist slurs were directed at Black prospective students on a student group chat, a man defiled a Muslim prayer rug in a reflection room and racist emails threatening Black and Jewish students were sent out to University listservs. These incidents were only the most recent examples of overt racist attacks on a campus where 65 percent of incoming students is white, and classes take place in a building named
after former University president and outspoken eugenicist C.C. Little. More recent articles about the S4J demands published in the Washington Post and The Detroit News offer more details about the racist incidents at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, further contextualizing how S4J’s demands arose. A second important context is historical, since the demands made by S4J build on decades worth of organizing to end institutionalized and interpersonal racism at the University. Since the late 1960s, student movements such as the Black Action Movement 1, 2 and 3, the United Coalition Against Racism, Being Black at Michigan which spawned the hashtag #BBUM and the United Coalition for Racial Justice have advanced demands for a more inclusive campus. Many of these movements have called for the University to create multicultural spaces that could foster racial solidarity. S4J’s demands are in the spirit of this tradition and struggle. Characterizing S4J’s call for an organizing space as a return to “segregation” elides this local context and instead misappropriates a historical phenomenon for contemporary political means. Spaces that center around students of color are not the same as a “no-whites-allowed” space as the author of the article published in The College Fix stated or the “non-whites-only space” the author of The Daily Mail article erroneously claimed. Segregation was a legally sanctioned, institutionalized system historically enforced by violently policing Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous people in the United States. It is not “segregation” for marginalized students to ask for a space in which they can build solidarity and participate in antiracist organizing. Instead, this claim was used to harass student-organizers, harassment that included antiBlack slurs, disparaging comments about the intelligence of students of color and calls for a return to segregation in the comments sections of The Michigan Daily,
The College Fix and the Daily Mail articles. The proliferation of racist social media comments, in the hours after The College Fix and the Daily Mail articles were published, illustrates how mischaracterizing S4J’s demands contributed to an already toxic climate in which people felt, and continue to feel, comfortable advancing violent and racist threats. The University administration continues to respond to these threats inadequately, and as a result, students have expressed fears that their concerns will only be taken seriously after students of color are physically injured. At the heart of S4J’s demands was a call for the University to take concrete action against the widespread racism on campus. Now, more than ever, this call to action should be recognized. These racist attacks and social media comments further demonstrate the need for a dedicated activist space where students of color can organize for racial justice on campus. S4J is one of the few groups at the University that is proposing concrete, actionable steps to end white supremacy and racism. The University has put forth the “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” plan, an extensive conceptual strategy for resolving these issues, but it has done so without offering material strategies to ensure the plan’s successful implementation. S4J’s list of demands precisely and powerfully proposes answers to the necessary question: What material structures and resources will allow the work of “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” and the dismantling of white supremacy to be accomplished? Creating an activist center where students of color can build solidarity and engage in social justice organizing is an important step in working toward that goal. Those who value racial justice and equity should (re)consider the importance of S4J’s demands.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com The Collective Against White Supremacy is an Ann Arbor organization.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Monday, March 13, 2017 — 5A
TV REVIEW
TV/NEW MEDIA COLUMN
‘Love’ matures with plot Loss, as seen on television SAM ROSENBERG Daily Arts Writer
When the Judd Apatowproduced “Love” premiered on Netflix early last year, its premise was on the verge of sounding generic: A decidedly low-key sitcom with raunchy undertones about a restless white heterosexual couple in Los Angeles. We’ve already seen this kind of a rom-com plot with Apatow’s films “This is 40” and “Knocked Up.” However, instead of fulfilling the tropes of its executive producer or the clichés of its genre, “Love” ended up subverting expectations by taking a more realistic, humanistic approach to its subject matter, which explored modern relationships through the nerdy Gus (Paul Rust, “I Love You Beth Cooper”) and the rebellious Mickey (Gillian Jacobs, “Community”). It also became one of the most authentic depictions of L.A. on television — FX’s “You’re The Worst,” a similarly themed show, is a close second. Now, in its second season, “Love” still embraces its awkward, cringeworthy humor and naturalistic dialogue, but it continues to develop its protagonists as nuanced characters by placing them in even weirder, funnier and more discomforting scenarios. Even though it fumbles a bit within the first two episodes, “Love” is keen on growing and maturing, effectively distinguishing itself among other new additions of Netflix rom-com shows — Joe Swanberg’s romance anthology “Easy” and Tom Edge’s inventive British sitcom “Lovesick.” “On Lockdown,” the first episode of the new season, picks up where last season ended, with Gus and Mickey kissing at a gas station after Mickey reveals her intentions
to quit dating for awhile. While the first one, still showcases “Love” ’s season finale may have had a bit of flaws when it puts Gus and Mickey an on-the-nose rom-com ending, in a very classic sitcom setup. After “On Lockdown” concerns itself deciding to spend some time away more with the repercussions of from one another, they each hang Gus and Mickey’s pact to not have out with their respective friend sex or date indefinitely. groups and immediately regret As much as they liked to be doing so when each situation apart, the two end up spending reminds them of the trials and the entire night together due tribulations of being single. to a series of unfortunate Gus wants to hang out with circumstances. Mickey can’t stay at his buds at a bar, but becomes her house because her Australian unsettled when a group of women roommate Bertie (the hysterical decide to join them; Mickey grows Claudia O’Herty, distressed as the “Trainwreck”) is seventh wheel “Love” having sex with to the group of Season 2 Premiere Gus’s friend Randy married couples she (First two episodes) eats dinner with. (Mike Mitchell, “Comedy Bang Considering how Netflix Bang”). Later, Gus the characters have and Mickey are acted in previous stuck at Gus’s apartment complex, episodes, it doesn’t come as surprise where the cops have confined that Gus and Mickey are as great the residents as they lead an together as they are horrible people investigation of a nearby loose to everyone else. With his “assholecriminal. This situation sounds disguised-as-nice-guy” demeanor, like an overused rom-com trope at a withdrawn Gus rebuffs Kali first, but thankfully, “Love” does (Tipper Newton, “Southbound”), what it does best by displaying Rust one of the women who joins his and Jacobs’ surprisingly strong group, mistakenly believing she chemistry and their witty banter in was flirting with him when she order to push the story along. After was just trying to be friendly. a hilariously bizarre sequence of Seeing all the couples get along, a Gus and Mickey’s attempt to escape jealous, detached Mickey stirs up the complex, the two still end up in some drama when asking a dirty bed together, but not in the way one question of her own during a game would think. This scene contrasts of Table Topics. Both leave their greatly with the previous episode’s respective parties in despair, but as final moments with an anti-climax expected, they come together for a that will either anger or surprise dialogue-less final sequence, where fans, but nevertheless deliver on Mickey breaks her abstinence and the promise that “Love” wants to the two have car sex to the apt tune give its characters room to evolve. of the Avett Brothers’s “No Hard However, as seen in the next Feelings.” While it was nice to see episode, “Friends Night Out,” Gus and Mickey back together, Gus and Mickey are still stuck in this ending might have been more personal gridlocks, engaged in a rewarding had Gus and Mickey sexual and romantic tension that spent more than just one episode keeps viewers guessing if they without being a romantic couple. can really stay off of each other. This episode, while funnier, more Read more at MichiganDaily.com entertaining and revealing than the
Over spring break, my Grandpa died. I remember my eyes shooting open in the middle of the night, because I’d heard a sound: A single choked sob. My door was cracked open, and I saw that the lights were on downstairs — there was a faint buzzing of the TV in the background, and I heard my dad’s voice. My first thought was that something terrible had happened between my mom and dad. Their marriage was falling apart. Maybe my dad had admitted to cheating on my mom, and she was crying and he was trying to calm her down. I had no particular reason to believe this, except that I couldn’t think of any other reason why they’d be talking in the basement at 4:00 in the morning, with my dad speaking and my mom crying. Unless someone died. I heard Mom come upstairs and I knew I wouldn’t fall back asleep without knowing what was going on, so I went to her room, my heart pounding, dreading the worst. She looked at me, tears in her eyes, and said, “Your grandpa has passed away.” I felt guilty for how relieved I was. My parents were fine. Four days later, we were on the road to Rochester, Minnesota, where the funeral would be held. Grandpa Chuck was my mom’s stepdad, and he’d been married before my Grandma Carol. He and his first wife had had three kids by the time my parents were born, and those kids had kids of their own, and some of those kids had kids of their own. Most of that side of the family lived in Minnesota, so I hadn’t met any of them in my life. This would be the first time I met them — all new uncles and aunts and cousins, or, I guess, step-uncles and step-aunts and step-cousins. As we went to the viewing, and then the funeral, I observed the people around me. Uncle Matt, my mom’s brother, was quiet as usual, sometimes even indifferentlooking, but once I thought I caught him dabbing his eyes with a tissue — or maybe I didn’t. Three of my new cousins all had the same basic characteristics, and I tried in vain to figure out which was which. My new uncle Steve, with the same white mustache and gravelly voice of my grandpa, stood over the coffin, crying as other men rubbed
FILM REVIEW
‘Kong’ is empty but pretty
make him more of an interesting and complex antagonist. Reilly, on Daily Arts Writer the other hand, is the human heart and soul of the piece, and his ability “Kong: Skull Island” is a King to switch between touching drama Kong movie more or less inspired and his trademark screwball by “Apocalypse Now.” If that comedy provides a memorable, doesn’t catch your fancy, this eminently likable character. probably isn’t the movie for you. Then we come to the Eighth This is a gleefully absurd monster Wonder of the World himself, flick drenched in Vietnam War-era King Kong, and here is where pastiche, and it understands and “Kong” truly delivers. Apparently embraces that identity to an insane acting on the complaints that the degree. It’s certainly not perfect — 2014 rendition of Godzilla wasn’t in fact, there’s an argument to be given enough to do in his own had about whether movie, Kong is or not it’s even good given a series of “Kong: Skull — but for what it is, exhilarating action it’s a rollicking good scenes, each one Island” time. more rousing and Rave Cinemas, Film fans will exciting than the Goodrich Quality 16 know that “Kong” last. The sequence takes place in the teased in the Warner Bros. Pictures same universe as trailers where the most recent Kong fights off American iteration of “Godzilla” a small fleet of helicopters is an in preparation for the 2020 early highlight of the film and acts cinematic throw down between as a fabulous introduction to this the two titanic monsters. To the new interpretation of the beloved film’s credit, it avoids the common character. pitfall of trying to build the entire As good as these action beats universe in a single movie without are, the Kong-less ones that feature telling a good, self-contained the human cast facing off against story (see: “Iron Man 2” and “The the Skull Island’s other monstrous Amazing Spider-Man 2”). To inhabitants are even better. They its discredit, it then goes about would have undoubtedly been repeating “Godzilla” ’s gravest stronger had those characters mistake: the complete misuse of its been fleshed out, but as they stand cast and characters. now, they’re still great. Director “Kong” has an almost Jordan Vogt-Roberts, previously ludicrously accomplished cast, best known for his excellent indie including Tom Hiddleston (“I Saw comedy “The Kings of Summer,” the Light”), Brie Larson (“Room”), shows himself to be more than John Goodman (“10 Cloverfield capable creating inventive, fastLane”), Samuel L. Jackson paced sequences that effortlessly (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”) hold his audience’s rapt attention, and John C. Reilly (“The Lobster”), and together with cinematographer and with all this A-list, top-tier Larry Fong (“Super 8”), he creates talent, only the latter two are ever some truly superb, brightly colored given any weight. While the human imagery that compliments the characters won’t be the reason the send-ups to ‘70s era film. vast majority of people see this Even with all that in mind, movie, the sheer amount of screen it’s hard to overlook “Kong” ’s time spent with them necessitates many problems, though. It has a some sort of depth. remarkably skilled cast, yet does Jackson and Reilly are actually nothing with them. The jokes are given solid characterization, and welcome, but they often either correspondingly, they are the don’t work or clash with the tone of highlights of the piece. Jackson what is supposed to be an intense portrays the thinly veiled Colonel scene. While Vogt-Roberts is adept Kurtz stand-in as primarily at creating distinct action scenes, unhinged, but earlier scenes he seems to still struggle with showing his inability to move past balancing his ensemble and tone. the ending of the Vietnam War It’s a wild ride from start to finish JEREMIAH VANDERHELM
— there’s no mistake there — but these problems keep it from being the “Apocalypse Now” homage it clearly aspires to be.
his shoulders consolingly. My other new uncle Tim stood solemnly to the side, more subdued. I thought he looked more like Grandpa, but everyone told me that I was wrong, that Steve was his spitting image. Looking around at everything, I thought about how surreal it was. I’d never lost a close family member before; my closest loss was probably my first cat, or maybe my piano teacher. In any case, I’d never been to a funeral, never heard a family member’s eulogy, never heard “Amazing Grace” blaring from a set of bagpipes. I’d never heard a pastor explaining that that we could feel safe and comforted because our loved ones were in a glorious place with God now. Scratch that: I’d heard all those things before, but only on TV. Being a person that takes in so much narrative means that I’ve always
BEN ROSENSTOCK compared things to TV, but as I get older, it only increases. There have been so many times this year when something happened and I thought about how I’d only ever seen that thing on TV — seeing someone at a party doing a line of cocaine, or walking through the clinical, overlit white hallways of an emergency room, or stepping into a cabin in the middle of the woods. I’d seen countless funerals on TV, but never in real life, and now it was all happening and it was real. That body in that coffin, which didn’t look like Grandpa at all, really was him. Old hymns reverberated throughout the chapel. The stained glass windows depicted warm chartreuse meadows and deep blue skies. I’m not religious, but as we stood and prayed, I felt that this was important. Afterward we drove to the cemetery to bury him, and since he was a veteran, there were several men from the Army who shot rifles into the air. The sun was on my back but it was chilly outside, and as another veteran handed Grandma a folded up American
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Monday, March 13, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle DOWN 1 Gloom partner 2 Cajun veggie 3 Course including romaine and croutons 4 Greenhouse gas protocol city 5 Loved to death 6 Get-up-and-go 7 New cow 8 Mar. 17th honoree 9 Horn of Africa nation 10 Clothing store department 11 Withdraw, with “out” 12 G.I. doll 13 Dead Sea country: Abbr. 19 Lawrence’s land 21 U2’s “The Joshua Tree” co-producer Brian 24 “Enough!” 25 Residents around the Leaning Tower 26 __ up: came clean 27 Saddle knob 28 Aim high 30 Madame Bovary
31 Language of Copenhagen, in Copenhagen 33 Culinary meas. 35 Acorn droppers 37 Pike or trout 39 Seasoned expert 42 Army leader 46 Last Olds models 47 Catch redhanded 51 Place to keep a camper, for short
53 Irritated 54 Mets’ old stadium 55 “Casablanca” woman 56 Boston NBAer 57 Protected from the wind 58 Some male dolls 59 Owns 60 NASDAQ debut 61 Health supplements co.
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03/13/17
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Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Tie up at the pier 5 Basics 9 Expressive chat image 14 “That works for me” 15 “Dang!” 16 Cars sold at auctions 17 Nabisco chocolate-creme cookie 18 Vermeer or van Gogh 20 Postgraduate degree 22 First-class 23 Sailor 24 Tanning lotion letters 27 Golf hole benchmark 29 Snacked (on) to excess, briefly 32 Pinup queen Page 34 __ buco: veal dish 36 Mob kingpin 38 PG-13 issuing org. 39 __ vincit amor 40 Restful resorts 41 Vase material named for its white color 43 Window insert 44 Wiped off the board 45 Genghis __ 48 ’60s tripping drug 49 Took command of 50 “Morning Edition” airer 52 Lion’s den 54 Turning point in tennis, and a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters 59 Casino big spender 62 Veggie in a green smoothie 63 Sleep lab study 64 Where Norway’s Royal Family resides 65 Biblical paradise 66 L.A.’s region 67 Pics on ankles 68 Hair-coloring agents
flag and spoke softly to her, I couldn’t tell if the tears in my eyes were from sadness or the cold sting of the wind. After it was all over we went to my new uncle Tim and my new aunt Paula’s house with the rest of my new family. We all drank and ate good food and watched the funny little kids be funny little kids. At the end of the night we went downstairs and Tim fired up a slide projector, and we all huddled around looking at old pictures of the family I never really knew. The lights were dim, and we were all laughing. Part of me felt like I was intruding on an intimate family moment, but I mostly felt happy that I was able to be here, finally getting to know these people I’d heard so much about from my grandparents. Even if they were this fully-formed family, we had Grandpa in common. When I think of Grandpa Chuck, I think of his stories. I have so many memories of sitting across from him at the dining room table and hearing a story about fishing, or hunting, or his times in the army. On their own, many of the stories were pretty anticlimactic; they were small, subtle, often just about an amusing conversation Grandpa had or something he had to fix on his boat. But there was a quiet force to the way he spoke, something both engaging and calming, and no matter how the story ended, it always felt powerful and complete. At the funeral, when Steve went up and told some last stories about Grandpa, I couldn’t help but think of how they really did look and sound alike. Steve had that same storytelling ability Grandpa had. As he spoke about his father, about how there was a warmth his gruff exterior couldn’t totally hide, I felt myself blinking away tears. Even if I didn’t believe in heaven or hell, this was an afterlife of its own: my mom, and my brother, and Grandma, and Steve, and Tim and all my new cousins and their children. I watched a movie yesterday called “The Father of My Children,” by Mia Hansen-Løve. In the movie, a film producer dies, and his family is left to finish his films while they privately go through their own
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‘THOSE FIVE DAYS’ ‘M’ survives plane crash, rolls to Big Ten tourney title BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer
A little over a month ago, Michigan hit rock bottom. The Wolverines had just lost to Big Ten bottom-dweller Ohio State, and looked completely shook while doing so. But following the game, senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. stood in the corner of the Crisler Center pressroom looking as poised as ever. He knew his team had just hit its lowest point, but realized things could only get better. “If what we’re going through at this point
spearheads a run and us taking the next step in some places we lagged in, then I’m all for it,” Walton said following the Ohio State loss. “I’m more so excited. I think it’ll make it a better story.” And what a story it has become, as the Wolverines have done what looked impossible over a month ago and improbable just four days ago. They’ve won a Big Ten championship. There were a lot of questions asked of Michigan following that Ohio State loss. Could Walton and senior wing Zak Irvin put together complete
performances in the same game? Could the Wolverines’ defense get out of the basement of almost every statistical category of the Big Ten? Did Michigan players overall have a winning mentality? “The loss at home to Ohio State really opened our eyes,” Walton said on Sunday. “I think we played well but we just layed down and that was the biggest moment for us as a team. I knew after that very moment guys took it to heart, and really wanted to make the key adjustments to be successful for the rest of the season. We did that, and that’s why I was so confident going into the rest of the season.” Over the past four days, the Wolverines have turned the weaknesses present against the Buckeyes into strengths. And that all culminated in Michigan’s title-winning 71-56 victory over Wisconsin. The most suspect of all those questions was Michigan’s defense, but after watching today, one would never know the struggles the Wolverines once faced while defending.
Michigan opened the second half on an 11-2 run to get out to a 10-point lead. That stretch included a 5:19 Wisconsin scoring drought and denying the Badgers from getting points from the field for over eight minutes. The Wolverines also were struggling to find points as the second half wore on, but their defense helped Michigan maintain a comfortable lead over that period. “Especially in the second half, we all came together and connected well on all cylinders on the defensive end,” said redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson. “Even when they brought in within six, we were able to get crucial stops and crucial rebounds. I think that’s really what sealed the deal.” But if there was ever a team built to respond to those types of runs, it’s the Badgers. Guard Bronson Koenig and forward Ethan Happ combined to score Wisconsin’s last 12 points of the half, reducing the Wolverines’ lead to only one heading into intermission. Again in the second half, the Badgers began chipping away at an 11-point Michigan lead slowly but with the sort of poise their core group of seniors have become known for over the past few seasons. The Badgers would get within six of the Wolverines, but Michigan had a response
“That’s part of their legacy together, all 16 of those guys.”
every time they were closing in. Irvin and redshirt junior wing Duncan Robinson each hit massive three-pointers when Wisconsin looked like it had found the slightest bit of momentum to get on a run. “I just feel lucky my teammates had that sort of confidence in me,” Robinson said. “I hadn’t really gotten any clean looks in the game. But to get that shot and knock it in was a special moment.” When the Badgers put on a full-court press for the final three minutes of the game, Wilson found junior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman for a slam that brought the fans at the Verizon Center to their feet and all but shut the door on Wisconsin. Wilson was essential in the
first team all-Big Ten player in Happ defensively too. Walton and Irvin were Michigan’s primary drivers on both ends all game long. Irvin was efficient scoring points early on, mixing up cuts to the hoop through the Wisconsin defense and his signature mid-range jumper. He’s put together one of the most consistent runs of his career through the conference tournament, and finished Sunday with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. But no performance could compare to what Walton was doing singleSee CHAMPIONSHIP, Page 2B
Wolverines maintaining their lead down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the second half, while shutting down a
Next tourney up
A long time coming
The Wolverines earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a Friday matchup against Oklahoma State in Indianapolis
Behind its seniors, Michigan finally finished the job and won its first Big Ten Tournament since the title that was vacated in 1998
» Page 2B
» Page 2B
SportsMonday
2B — March 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CHAMPIONSHIP: NO. 8 MICHIGAN 71, NO. 2 WISCONSIN 56
Michigan follows Walton’s lead again I
t started in East Lansing. Before the confetti falling from the rafters, before the practice uniforms and before the plane accident on the runway at Willow Run Airport, the Wolverines had a date KEVIN with the SANTO Spartans. On Jan. 29, Michigan entered the Breslin Center, and the final scoreline didn’t do the tale justice. Michigan was dominated, manhandled, embarrassed. Pick one, they all apply. Or just take Duncan Robinson’s word for it. “We went in there and kind of got punched in the mouth to be honest with you,” he said. Fifteen Wolverines went down for the count. One swallowed his teeth and kept fighting. You can probably guess who that is. He’s the same guy who poured in a game-high 22 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out seven assists to take a Big Ten Tournament championship trophy from Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. He’s the same guy who scored a career-high 29 while pitching in nine rebounds and five assists the day prior to get Michigan there in the first place. He’s Derrick Walton Jr., the man who changed the course of the Wolverines’ season in the way he has always wanted to, but never realized he was. Walton has never desired the role of the vocal leader. That spot had Zak Irvin’s name on it. For a while, that relationship functioned harmoniously. That is, until it didn’t. Now, Walton doesn’t shy away
CHAMPIONSHIP From Page 1B handedly. The senior earned assists on the Wolverines’ first two scores of the half, and midway through the first, went on a personal 9-0 run, hitting three shots from beyond the arc on three consecutive possessions to give Michigan its initial 10-point lead. Most importantly, Walton quarterbacked his offense through a tough stretch in the second half, and put the ball in his teammates’ hands. His 22 point, six rebound, seven assist outing will go down as the final jewel that helped him earn the crown of the tournament’s most outstanding player. The Wolverines leave Washington as the Big Ten’s
“We all came together and connected well on all cylinders.” highest seeded team to win the conference tournament, and, most importantly to them, will be raising a banner at Crisler Center next fall. More than anything, they have a trophy with their names engraved in Michigan basketball lore for what they proved over the past five days. “I wanted them to imagine what it would be like for them to walk into that beautiful William Davidson Player Development Center and see that trophy and tell people about not the four games, the five days, and be able to tell them that story,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “Because that’s part of their legacy together, all 16 of those guys.”
‘M’ draws No. 7 seed in tourney Wolverines will play Oklahoma State on Friday in Indianapolis MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. led by example when Michigan struggled in January, and he did so again this weekend as the Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament.
from opening his mouth — far from it. “Being emotional is fine, but just not bashing guys,” Walton said. “I know I get on Moe (Wagner) all the time. I just cuss him out for no reason.” Still, his entire career he simply wanted his teammates to watch him and follow suit. No poetic pregame speeches, no bull****. Go out. Compete. “That’s all I’ve been taught to do,” he said. Little did he know it at the time, but he finally got his wish in East Lansing. He scored a game-high 24 points and took a beating doing so, going to the line 15 times and missing only once. And the Wolverines still lost. The light bulbs didn’t just go on, Walton turned on a couple of floodlights. “We were down probably 10 or 11 and Derrick was just keeping us in the game,” Robinson said.
“He hit a couple shots where he was really just doing it from playing hard. “He was just making plays, and you could just tell by the way he was playing that he was doing everything he could, leaving everything out there just to make something happen, and I think everyone ... acknowledged, ‘Look, if this guy just did this on his own, and kept us in that game, what can happen if we collectively all follow him and really all 16 of us do it every single day in practice and games?’ ” What can happen? Michigan’s new trophy is the answer. But it’s not just the tournament championship trophy, but how the Wolverines got it. On Jan. 17, when Michigan faced the Badgers for the first time in Madison, the Wolverines surrendered a six-point lead with roughly six minutes left, as Bronson Koenig spearheaded a personal 10-0 run.
Plain and simple, Michigan couldn’t defend, so it couldn’t capture the upset. With 6:19 left in Sunday’s championship game, Michigan found itself in an eerily similar situation. Michigan coach John Beilein called a timeout. Behind a 3-pointer from Vitto Brown and a breakaway layup from Zak Showalter, the Badgers had cut the Wolverines’ 11-point lead to six in 30 seconds. It was either buckle down or go home empty-handed. Koenig went 0-for-7 in the half. Wisconsin made just three field goals in the final six minutes. The Wolverines could defend, and they captured a lot more than an upset. After the game, redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson was asked if this team likes defending. “I think we love it now,” he said. Yeah, this is the same team that gave up over 80 points three times in its first five conference games.
But Walton’s performance in East Lansing changed that. “I think with the Michigan State game, at State, D-Walt really took over,” Wilson said. “And we look back at how many defensive lapses we had and how close we were to winning that game if we just had a few more stops down the stretch. “I think that’s one (game) that everybody really bought in. From then on, it’s been working real good for us.” Now, as the Wolverines prepare to face Oklahoma State — the No. 1 team in adjusted offensive efficiency and one of just four teams above Michigan in that category according to Ken Pomeroy — in the NCAA Tournament, much like Sunday afternoon, they are going to need to win a game with defense and a whole lot of heart. Luckily for them, Walton supplied these 15 with that a long time ago.
By making an unexpected run to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship, the Michigan men’s basketball team earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Sunday, the Wolverines (10-8 Big Ten, 23-11 overall) received the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region of the bracket. They will take on Oklahoma State (9-9 Big 12, 20-12 Overall) in Indianapolis on Friday. The Cowboys finished their season with three consecutive losses, but won 10 of the 11 games before that stretch to secure their spot in the tournament field. If Michigan beats Oklahoma State, it will likely take on Louisville, the No. 2 seed in the region. Other notable teams in the Midwest Regional include No. 1 seed Kansas, No. 3 seed Oregon, No. 4 seed Purdue and in-state rival Michigan State as the No. 9 seed. The finals and semifinals for the Midwest Region will take place in Kansas City, Mo. The Big Ten has seven teams playing in the tournament, with Maryland, Northwestern, Minnesota and Wisconsin earning spots in the field as well. The Wolverines will take on the Cowboys at 12:15 p.m. on CBS.
Walton and Irvin come full circle
W
ASHINGTON — It was a moment that Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin had been anticipating for over three years. Standing on the stage at midcourt of the Verizon Center, MINH holding up DOAN the Big Ten Tournament trophy, they were finally in the place they’d been waiting most of their careers to be. Three years ago, in 2014, the two then-freshmen were in the same position, celebrating at midcourt after the Michigan men’s basketball team won a Big Ten regular-season title. That was their first time hanging a banner at Crisler Center. Now, three years later, Walton and Irvin will come full circle and hang another one after beating Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament title game Sunday afternoon. It was the culmination of four tough years that put both of them through quite a bit of adversity. *** Irvin and Walton both came to Ann Arbor as highly touted recruits expected to continue the momentum set forth by the “Fresh Five” during their NCAA Tournament run in 2013. Irvin was the No. 29 recruit in the country and Indiana’s Mr. Basketball. Walton was the No. 44 recruit in the nation and a finalist for Michigan’s Mr. Basketball. Together, many expected the duo to flourish from the start and keep Michigan at the top of the Big Ten for years. And for a season, they did just that. Walton started as a freshman point guard while Irvin came off the bench as a shooter, a role similar to what junior forward Duncan Robinson plays now, as the Wolverines won the Big Ten regular-season title and made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
But then things started to unravel. Three players — Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary — left for the NBA, leaving behind a depleted Michigan roster to pick up the pieces. Thrust into bigger roles on the team, Walton and Irvin couldn’t quite put the pieces together. With future NBA Draft pick Caris LeVert out for most of the season, and Walton injured down the stretch, Irvin was forced to become Michigan’s primary scorer. But Michigan coach John Beilein called the season a big year for the duo’s growth. “Zak became a better player out of that,” Beilein said. “He really became a better player, and Derrick has a new appreciation for the game because he was out.” It was a trying time for the two, but also an important period of growth: Irvin became a smarter basketball player, evident in his play in Washington this past weekend, while Walton looked a like a player possessed who appreciated the moment given to him this weekend. After rough sophomore years, Walton and Irvin came back with a year of adversity under their belt. Once again, LeVert went down with an injury midway through the season, leaving Walton and Irvin again to pick up the pieces. And for the most part, the duo did well. They both averaged about 12 points and led Michigan to an NCAA Tournament appearance before bowing out to Notre Dame in the second round. But Beilein didn’t believe they were ready for the moment just yet. They got too complacent, happy to just make it back to the NCAA Tournament. “The worst thing that happened to us last year was making the NCAA Tournament,” Beilein said. “We made it, and I don’t think it toughened us up enough.” While their sophomore year was about developing their play, the duo’s junior year was all about developing their drive and desire. Heading into their senior years, taking in all the lessons they’d
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Seniors Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin won their long-awaited Big Ten Tournament trophy Sunday in Washington.
learned so far, they were hungrier than ever. “This past summer, I don’t think I’ve ever worked harder than I have in my entire life, and I wanted this so bad,” Walton said. “I just wanted everything that comes with winning so bad … and being able to come through for my team, that’s all I really care about.” Beilein noticed it as well, citing that as the season progressed, he noticed Walton and Irvin taking the lesson they learned junior year about being complacent and took it upon themselves to make sure the team was ready for the postseason. And, man, did they come to Washington prepared for the postseason. *** One thing that has been consistent throughout Walton’s and Irvin’s four years at Michigan is the number of doubters that have come from outside of the team. For Irvin, it was the thought that he had the affinity to take too many bad shots. And for Walton, the chirp was that he was too small to play point guard and he was too much of a passer. It’s flak that they admit they look at, whether on social media
or in the newspapers, but they’ve also gotten good at keeping it from affecting their play. “Both of them have taken a lot of flak from a lot of different people,” said senior forward Sean Lonergan. “They just block it out better than just about anybody. They stay confident in themselves and this team, and they have guys who won’t let that waver.” Added senior guard Andrew Dakich: “The thing that stands out to me is their mentality. They could probably fade away if things go wrong, but they’ve been consistent with the energy they’ve brought all year.” And this week, the duo laid most of that criticism to bed, maybe for good, with their performances. Walton and Irvin were both phenomenal leading the Wolverines through a grueling four games in four days that saw both of them come up big on numerous occasions. The duo made clutch play after clutch play. Whether it was a dazzling assist, a crucial drive to the hoop or an important 3-pointer, they did it all when their team needed them the most. *** As roommates and best friends,
Walton and Irvin talk often about the legacy they want to leave behind at Michigan. With the duo leading the Wolverines to their first Big Ten Tournament title since 1998 (one that was later vacated), it’s already pretty clear. They’ve come full circle from making it to the title game their freshman year and getting blown out by Michigan State. But if their junior year has taught them anything, they’re hungry for more. The duo will get another chance to come full circle with the NCAA Tournament, when they travel to Indianapolis to take on Oklahoma State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. If Michigan fans remember correctly, Indianapolis is also where the Wolverines lost a heartbreaker to Kentucky on Aaron Harrison’s last-second triple in the Elite Eight in 2014. Three years later, Walton and Irvin will travel back to Indianapolis for redemption. And if this season has taught us anything, they’ll be ready for it. Minh Doan can be reached by email at minhdoan@umich.edu and on Twitter @_minhdoan.
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
March 13, 2017 — 3B
SEMIFINALS: NO. 8 MICHIGAN 84, NO. 4 MINNESOTA 77
Not a coincidence
W
ASHINGTON — After finishing practice in the dark on Wednesday, John Beilein gathered his team to tell a story. The Michigan coach spoke of a team that entered its BRANDON conference CARNEY tournament as an eight-seed, in need of wins to strengthen its NCAA Tournament résumé. It was a team full of experienced veterans and talented youth, who had hit a fair share of speed bumps throughout the regular season, but was poised to make a run in the postseason if they found their heads were in the right place. There was adversity that had to be overcome. The team had issues with their flight the day before they were scheduled for an early afternoon tipoff. But they persevered, easily winning their opening game despite the travel troubles the day before. The team then went on to beat the tournament’s No. 1 seed, and escape a close one against the four-seed to get into the conference championship. No, John Beilein wasn’t predicting the future when he told this story Wednesday. He already lived it. Back in 2005, when he was coaching West Virginia, Beilein took a scrappy yet skilled bunch of country boys on an improbable run to the Big East Tournament championship game. It was one of, if not the most, memorable postseason runs Beilein had been on in his 40-plus years of coaching. Before that tournament, Beilein had little experience coaching on stages as big as the one he was on in Madison Square Garden that year. His team entered New York needing two wins to feel good of its chances of making the NCAA Tournament field. While the run became one of the defining stretches of Beilein’s career, in the moment, every game was a learning experience. He noted how his Mountaineer team came together as one, developed a belief that anything was possible and learned to dream big while staying grounded enough to face the immediate challenge ahead. That Big East Tournament came to shape Beilein’s identity as a coach. And it’s apparent the lessons from it have made an impact on Beilein’s current group, as Michigan has fought its way into the Big Ten Tournament championship. “At the time, we listened to him, but I didn’t really understand what he was trying to say,” said redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson. “I think it was fitting with everything that had happened over the past few days. It matches up to the story he told us.” But the similarities don’t just stop at what’s happened the past four days — they extend to the future as well. West Virginia faced an experienced Syracuse side two years removed from a national title game appearance in the conference championship game. Fast-forward 12 years and once again Beilein will be matched up with a team that made a trip to the national championship two years ago in Wisconsin. While this is where the story took a downturn in 2005 — the Mountaineers lost by nine to the Orange —
tomorrow, Beilein can write a different ending in this latest, almost identical saga. Beilein has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four since then. He’s soaked up every one of his postseason runs and continues evolve his tournament coaching style with every additional game he takes in. More than ever, Beilein realizes this time of year is a mental marathon. Rather than focusing on fixing the negatives, Beilein has built his most successful teams on their strengths. “You have to always believe in your team, especially this time of year,” Beilein said. “Anything can happen. So when you’re with a team all year long, you have a tendency to think too much about their weaknesses and not their strengths. When you have strength of character like we have, and we have multidimensional players, that can really serve you well here in March.” Every game of Michigan’s Big Ten Tournament run has had a moment in which Beilein and his coaching staff has challenged their players to look inward for strength rather than outward at improving their weaknesses. That began in the hotel in Ann Arbor following all of Wednesday’s plane drama, when Beilein realized basketball was the last thing his team should be focused on after all, and brought in counselors to help the players process the accident emotionally so their minds could be clear. Before Purdue, Beilein let assistant coach Billy Donlon preach the simple, yet effective message of “not today” that resonated with the team as they came back and closed out the Boilermakers in overtime. But most impressive of them all, with his team on the verge of breaking after allowing Minnesota to erase a 16-point deficit and tie the game at 55, Beilein called a timeout to get his players’ heads in the right place mentally. “That timeout was nothing about basketball,” Beilein said. “We never bicker with each other. People were yelling at players for not boxing out. People were yelling for not defending. That timeout was like, ‘Hey, guys, I’m not going to yell at you here. Here’s why we win — because we’re connected. Let just get back together. We’re going to win this game if we just stay together and stop pointing fingers. Just go out and guard each other and let the talent you have come to work.’” That timeout was the turning point for Michigan, as the Wolverines jumped back out to the lead after the timeout and never relinquished it from there. Moments like that show how important the mental game is in college basketball’s postseason. That’s the lesson Beilein began to fully understand in 2005, and he has tried to prove his proficiency in the seasons that have followed. On Sunday, Beilein will take the big stage again, with a chance to show how he’s mastered the mindset of March against a team that has shown it year after year in Wisconsin. And if it’s the Wolverines who walk off the Verizon Center floor with the trophy, just remember: it’s more than a coincidence that Beilein had the chance to make sure history didn’t repeat itself twice.
“You have to always believe in your team, especially this time of year.”
Carney can be reached at becarney@umich.edu and on Twitter @br_carney.
Wolverines win thriller KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
WASHINGTON — With just over 12 minutes left to play in the first half, Michigan held a 25-11 lead and sophomore forward Moritz Wagner was living it up on the Wolverines’ bench. He sat grinning ear-to-ear, head reclined back looking at the jumbotron, raising his eyebrows at the pull-up jumper his point guard, Derrick Walton Jr., had just hit. If only he knew what else was coming. Though the Michigan men’s basketball team emerged with an 84-77 victory against Minnesota (24-9), Saturday afternoon’s matchup at the Verizon Center turned out to be a second-half thriller in which Wagner and the Wolverines would need Walton more than ever. “It was another day that, as a coaching staff, you had opportunities to really appreciate your team (like) many times during the year, and that was a great opportunity to sit back and watch them play ball again,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “… What I like best is they played connected again. It was just a gutty performance. When Minnesota made that run to come back, Derrick, Zak, put the team on their back and we got the W.” With the victory, the Wolverines (23-11) advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game, where they will face No. 2 seed Wisconsin. The first half was Wagner’s forum. Michigan’s big man went through a tough stretch to begin the conference tournament, scoring just 11 points on 3-for13 shooting. Only a day earlier, Beilein had said he didn’t like the way Wagner’s shot looked. But on Saturday, it sure looked pretty. Wagner finally found his stroke against the fourth-seeded
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan took a double-digit lead against Minnesota on Saturday, and then staved off a furious rally to advance to the final.
Golden Gophers and finished the frame with 14 points while going perfect from the floor and the charity stripe. With Wagner as the headliner, Michigan’s offense shot 80 percent through the first five minutes to build a 21-9 lead from the getgo. The Wolverines didn’t slow down either, finishing the stanza shooting 63.3 percent from the field en route to an 11-point lead at the break. “They jumped out on us early,” said Minnesota guard Dupree McBrayer. “We was a little sluggish. We thought it would be handed to us. That’s it. We got to come out with more intensity.” And yet, things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows. Wagner picked up his second foul with 7:41 remaining, and with him on the bench for the remainder of the frame, the paint was open for the taking. Twenty-six of Minnesota’s 44 points came from down low, and they attempted just four 3-pointers. For a brief period, it
proved to be the recipe for success. With 7:18 remaining, the Golden Gophers notched a 9-2 run to trim what was once a 16-point Michigan lead down to six. It didn’t last long, though. Coming out of a timeout, the Wolverines went on a 10-5 run of their own to finish with an 11-point cushion at the break. But that cushion vanished rather quickly. Minnesota opened the second half on fire, shooting 8-for-14 from the floor — including three straight from beyond the arc that were interrupted only by a pair of Walton free throws. The connections from deep locked the game at 55 with just over 13 minutes remaining, and concretely shifted the momentum in the Golden Gophers’ favor. The Wolverines kept their head above water but things looked bleak when Wagner picked up his fourth foul with 9:44 to go. The Wolverines were hanging on by a thread, and Minnesota had planted its roots firmly in the paint — dominating Michigan for 14 of
its 23 second-half points. And yet, as the Golden Gophers mounted a comeback attempt that had all the steam to end Michigan’s miracle run, Walton took matters into his own hands. First he knocked down a midrange jumper. Then he buried two daggers from behind the arc to give Michigan a 72-63 lead it wouldn’t relinquish in the final five minutes of the game. “Like we said before the game, nobody cares that you were tough yesterday,” Walton said. “It’s all about what you do today. I took that approach. Helped my team win it whatever way I could.” Walton finished with a careerhigh 29 points, scoring or assisting on 18 of the Wolverines’ 20 points in the final seven minutes. Wagner may have gotten the ball rolling, but Walton finished the job, and now Michigan has a shot at their first Big Ten Tournament title since the Wolverines’ 1998 championship was vacated. That’s certainly something Wagner can smile about.
Walton’s masterful seven minutes MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
WASHINGTON — A sevenminute stretch to end the game defined everything Derrick Walton Jr. is to the Michigan men’s basketball team. With the Wolverines up only one possession against Minnesota on Saturday at the Verizon Center in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the senior guard thought it was time to take matters into his own hands. It started with 7:03 left, when Walton came off a screen from redshirt junior Mark Donnal and buried a jumper with a hand in his face. From there, his best friend and roommate, senior wing Zak Irvin, knew Walton was in the zone. “I’ve seen this so many times,” Irvin said. “It’s nothing new to me. I knew once he hit that pull up, I could tell in his eyes.” The shot was the start of Walton’s seven-minute run, when he had a hand in 18 of Michigan’s final 20 points. It was also succeeded by two dazzling 3-pointers, both of which coming off screens when Minnesota switched a big man onto Walton, to give Michigan a nine-point cushion. The big shots gave the Wolverines some breathing room after Minnesota came back from as much as 16 points down in the first half to tie the game with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. “He’s real clutch,” said redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson. “When (the shot) left his hand, I knew it was good.” But with Minnesota guard Nate Mason putting on a show himself on the other side of the court, Walton wasn’t done. Two possessions after Walton hit the trey to put Michigan up nine, coach John Beilein stayed seated as Walton dribbled the ball up the court, allowing the Detroit, Mich. native to run a play as he pleased. Walton called a pick-androll, drawing two defenders and leaving redshirt junior Mark
Donnal wide open for a layup. “He’s one of those guys that’s going to get his own points, but he’s also looking out for everybody else,” Donnal said. “He’s always looking out for his teammates. He’s always able to find the open guys. Since he’s able to score, it opens up everybody, and we have a lot of weapons that can put the ball in the basket when he throws them the ball.” A minute and 40 seconds later, after Walton winded down the clock, drew a foul, and hit two free throws, he found a pass between two defenders to Wilson, who went up for a thunderous dunk to put the Wolverines back up by nine. It was a pass that Beilein said the team had been trying to complete all season. Saturday night, Walton’s precision was on point, and it finally worked. “That pass to DJ, we’ve been trying to get that all year long and then he was on it,” Beilein said. “That was a big basket.” With Walton in the zone calling his own plays, it showed the amount of trust Beilein had in him to run the offense. It’s trust that has taken a long time — four years to be exact —for Walton to earn. But now that he has it, Walton is running with it. “(Walton and Beilein) have gotten to point where they have a lot of trust in each other, so sometimes (Beilein) will call a play, and Derrick will be like ‘No, no, I got something,’ ” said senior forward Sean Lonergan. Added Walton: “(Beilein and I) have the same mindset, it’s just I get to see it from a different lens because I’m on the court. He trusts me completely, and I know for a fact that he has complete faith in me to make the right call.” Even after Walton’s two assists, though, Minnesota kept attacking on the shoulders of Mason, dwindling Michigan’s lead to three with 49 seconds remaining in the game. At that point, the Golden Gophers began to foul, and Walton was the one to go to the line. Just two weeks prior in Minneapolis, Walton missed
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. carried Michigan on his back again Saturday.
two crucial free throws with the Wolverines down two in overtime that ultimately led to a crushing 83-78 loss. While the circumstances were a bit different Saturday afternoon, the implications were just as big. This time, though, Walton couldn’t miss, nailing both free throws as well as two more 16 seconds later to ice the game and send Michigan to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. All in all, Walton ended the seven-minute stretch with 10 points, two assists and a rebound as well as a steal on Lynch to keep Minnesota at bay. Those final seven minutes capped a phenomenal 29-point, fiverebound, nine-assist night. His 29 points were a career high. It was an outing that captured everything Walton does well for the Wolverines, and one that Wilson said afterward was a “first team All-Big Ten-type performance,” a direct knock to that fact that Mason had been
given the honor over Walton. “I’d very, very surprised if you found anyone in this locker room, maybe anyone in this conference, who doesn’t agree with that,” said junior guard Duncan Robinson when asked if Walton deserved to be on the first team All-Big Ten. But Walton, being the reserved person that he is, didn’t want to get into that discussion after the game, citing that he only wants to be the best point guard on the floor every time he’s out there. It’s a demeanor that he’s shown all season, and throughout the four years of his Michigan career off the court. But with his tenure as a Wolverine starting to come to a close, Walton has shown — especially over the last half of the season — that his play is anything but reserved, citing his “alter ego” when he’s on the court. And with a chance to add a banner to the rafters of Crisler Center, Walton’s “alter ego” might be just what it takes to get it.
SportsMonday
4B — March 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
QUARTERFINALS: NO. 8 MICHIGAN 74, NO. 1 PURDUE 70 (OT)
‘M’ upsets Boilermakers MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
WASHINGTON — Before the Michigan men’s basketball team went into overtime against No. 13 Purdue, Zak Irvin had a message for his team. The senior wing came into the huddle and screamed incessantly, “Not today, not today.” It was the same message that assistant coach Billy Donlon wrote on the locker room wall before the game. The Wolverines had lost to the Boilermakers a year ago in the Big Ten Tournament, and “Not today” was a symbol of the fact that they didn’t want to run into the same fate again. “They ended our Big Ten Tournament chances last year,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “We had to make sure going forward that we came down (to the Big Ten Tournament) to win it. We didn’t come down here to try to make the NCAA Tournament, we came down here to win it.” And in a game pundits called a matchup between the two hottest teams currently in the Big Ten — the teams were a combined 16-4 in their last 10 games — it certainly lived up to its billing as Michigan prevailed, 74-70, in an overtime thriller at the Verizon Center on Friday afternoon. After a wild ending to regulation that saw Irvin tie up the game with four seconds left in the game, he also provided the spark the Wolverines, scoring Michigan’s only two field goals in the extra period to push it to victory. “(Zak’s bucket) was a big one,” said senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. “He got a great look and got two big buckets in a row. I just ran over and told him ‘I’m proud of you, you made a big play in one of the biggest moments of the season.’ ” It was a quick turnaround for
Michigan (10-8 Big Ten, 22-11 overall), which had just beaten Illinois less than 24 hours prior. Many wondered if the Wolverines would have the legs to keep up with a physical Boilermaker team. But Michigan came to play in a tight game in which there were 18 lead changes. “(We) just (had) a warrior mentality,” Irvin said. “Going into the game, not today, we didn’t want to go home. We wanted to be able to outlast Purdue’s toughness and how physical they are.” After sophomore forward Moritz Wagner pummeled Purdue (14-4, 25-7) for 24 points in the two teams’ first matchup 13 days ago, Purdue made it a priority to stop him. And it was effective. Wagner struggled with the physicality of Purdue forwards Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas down low and played just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Wagner didn’t score in the stanza and ended the game with just five points in 17 minutes of action that didn’t see him touch the floor in overtime. “(Purdue) started off switching on me,” Wagner said. “They cross matched. They put (Purdue forward Vince Edwards) on me and (Swanigan) on DJ. “It’s not easy when they cross match because you have to get out of your normal offensive zone.” But in Wagner’s scoring absence, redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson stepped up. The Sacramento, Calif. native scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting in the first half, which included 10 straight points to take the lead back from Purdue as the first half wound down. “That’s the beauty of sport,” Wagner said. “You don’t know who’s gonna go out that day. It’s just a very talented group, a group that is not only talented but also believes
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior Derrick Walton Jr. and Michigan pulled their first upset against Purdue.
in themselves, (and) in each other. We all know what we got, and all we got is all we need. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.” On the other side of the court, the duo of Swanigan and Haas were almost perfect for Purdue. The duo combined for 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the first half. But the second half was a different story as Wilson played exceptional defense on the duo to slow them down — holding Swanigan and Haas to just three and six points, respectively. It was just enough for Michigan to push the game to overtime, where the defense was even better, allowing only one field goal — a desperation 3-pointer by Purdue guard Ryan Cline with time running out.
It was the kind of defensive performance that Wagner had been waiting to see from his team, and he made his voice known after the game that he didn’t want to be labeled as an “offense-only team.” “I’m a little bit tired of being that team that only wins when they hit big shots,” Wagner said. “It kind of bothers you as a player.” Now, it’ll be another quick 24-hour turnaround for the Wolverines, as they will play Minnesota on Saturday afternoon after the Golden Gophers beat Michigan State on Friday. It’s a tough task for a group that has had a whirlwind of a 48 hours. But at least for now, Michigan is just happy its Big Ten Tournament run wasn’t ended in the same fashion as last year.
Wilson shines in all phases KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
WASHINGTON — Billy Donlon is building a reputation for defacing walls. It all started with one word — “streetfight” — scrawled across a wall in Michigan’s locker room before the Wolverines’ regularseason rematch against Illinois on Jan. 21. Thursday afternoon, before the Michigan men’s basketball team faced the top-seeded Boilermakers with a chance to advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, its assistant coach’s antics came back in full force. This time, it was “Not today”, imprinted on a locker room wall at the Verizon Center in between a clock and a TV. When Duncan Robinson saw it, he thought it meant the Wolverines weren’t going to let Purdue do what they wanted on offense. Sean Lonergan echoed Robinson’s statement, explaining the team screams “not today” when it is going through defensive slides. Zak Irvin viewed it as a symbolic declaration Michigan wasn’t going home Thursday. And DJ Wilson said it meant Purdue wasn’t going to knock the Wolverines out of the Big Ten Tournament for the second straight year. He sure as hell made sure of it. The redshirt sophomore forward finished with a game-high 26 points on 11-for-18 shooting, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and pitched in three blocks to boot. More importantly, Wilson seemed to put his stamp on the game when Michigan needed him most, ultimately leading Michigan to its 74-70 overtime victory against No. 13 Purdue. “He was hoopin’, he was absolutely hoopin,’ ” Lonergan said. “DJ’s — you’ve seen it before out of him — he’s a hell of a player. I think that’s what makes this team special. I think you’ve seen it … each and every one of them is capable of having a really big game. “… I think that’s what makes
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Redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson was Michigan’s star against Purdue, piling up a game-high 26 points.
us really hard to stop because you’ve got to play with five guys every single night who are capable of making big time plays. Today happened to be DJ’s day, he seized the moment and took care of business.” And without him, the Wolverines would have been back in Ann Arbor by Thursday night. With 4.2 seconds remaining in regulation, Michigan had knotted the game at 66 behind Irvin’s layup. Purdue was taking the ball out from underneath its basket. It felt like déjà vu all over again. Just nine days prior, the Wolverines had traveled to Evanston only to have their hearts broken by Dererk Pardon’s buzzer-beating layup. Wilson was one of the men who had a chance to stop it, coming inches away from pinning Pardon’s shot to the backboard. Those inches became the difference between an opportunity in overtime and a long trip back to Ann Arbor. So when Purdue managed to push the ball up the court and forward Vince Edwards caught the ball on the left wing and pulled up from beyond the arc, it felt like a cruel twist of fate was about to
befall Michigan for the second time in just over a week. But Wilson made sure that wasn’t going to happen, at least, not today. He managed to tip Edwards’ shot, notching his third block of the day and simultaneously giving the Wolverines an overtime period during which they would ultimately win the game. “It’s kind of a 50-50 play,” said senior forward Mark Donnal. “He’s got the length to be able to disrupt anybody’s shot. Fortunately, he was at the good end of it and he was able to tip it into the air and force overtime.” Michigan would have never been in the situation of losing on a final shot if not for Wilson either. Just over four minutes into the game, Michigan’s big man had already grabbed two of his final three offensive rebounds and finished the half with a game-high 18 points. Ten of those 18 came during an unanswered scoring run with 4:18 left in the first half, prior to which Purdue was threatening to pull away and held a nine-point lead — its largest of the game. With Wagner logging just four minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Wilson’s effort kept the
Wolverines far away from falling into what could have been an insurmountable hole — entering the break with a one-point lead. Though Wilson scored just eight points in the second half, they all came at the right time for Michigan, as he was the only Wolverine — until Irvin’s gametying bucket — to score from the field in the final 7:21, and that doesn’t even account for his defensive performance. With Wagner’s foul trouble persisting in the second half, Wilson was left as the sole rim protector. Though Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas combined for 30 points on 12-for23 shooting, Wilson helped hold them to just eight in the second frame before capping it off with his block. Billy Donlon wrote “Not today” on the wall. DJ Wilson made sure the cost of a new paint job was worth it. “He’s a big fan of his writing on walls and knowing that it can’t come off,” Wilson said. “I don’t how he’s gonna get that off or who’s gonna pay for it, but that’s on him. … I’m not opposed to it. It gets us Ws.”
Hero ball W
ASHINGTON — Zak Irvin had the ball in his hands with the score tied at 65 and just 12 seconds left in regulation. It was bad enough that the senior wing decided to launch a triple attempt that BETELHEM clanged off ASHAME the rim. Worse yet, the clock still read 1.7. Worst of all, Northwestern threw a fullcourt Hail Mary pass and laid it up as the buzzer sounded to win the game. “Hero ball” — a phrase not meant to be a compliment — has been widely used to characterize Irvin throughout the season, and the chorus rang louder than ever before after a tight back-andforth affair in a crucial contest between the two teams tied for sixth place in the conference last Wednesday. Fast forward to Friday afternoon. Irvin had the ball in his hands with just 18 seconds left in regulation. But this time, Michigan faced a 66-64 deficit in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Calling off any help with Purdue guard Dakota Mathias stationed directly between him and the hoop, Irvin put himself in the position of becoming the scapegoat once again. That’s not to say he hasn’t been used to it. Irvin’s start to conference play gave off the impression that he had the potential to be more than an All-Big Ten honorable mention, but he instead fell victim to a lengthy scoring slump. While he dealt with a decreased level of production, his roommate and fellow captain Derrick Walton Jr. became the undisputed go-to guy for the Wolverines. The senior guard posted five consecutive games with over 20 points, notched four doubledoubles and joined Michigan’s exclusive 1,000-point, 400-rebound, 400-assist club. Any betting person watching the game Friday would have wagered a lot of money that the ball would — and should — be in Walton’s hands. But that’s not the way Walton sees it. “You got two guys that want to make big plays in the biggest moments of the game, and you can’t go wrong,” Walton said. “When it’s not him, it’s me, and when it’s not me, it’s him.” Though Walton had a strong first half against the Boilermakers, finishing with 10 points — second only to redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson’s 18-point outburst — he hadn’t put the ball in
the basket at all in the second half. In what Walton described as a frequent “rock, paper, scissors” fight for the big shot between the two, Irvin had the upper hand. With Mathias guarding him closely, Irvin drove to his left and gained enough separation to see daylight. He ran right by Mathias and laid it up off the glass to tie the game at 66 and send it to overtime. “It’s great to have somebody like that,” said junior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman. “Somebody who wants to take the big shots and makes the big shots.” Even better than the climax was his encore performance. Neither team had managed to score for the opening 2:14 of the extra period, and the tension on both sidelines had reached a boiling point. Though he may not have been wearing a cape, Irvin swooped in to take matters into his own hands again. He drove to the basket on back-to-back possessions, bypassing Mathias with ease and putting the Wolverines ahead, 70-67, with 1:53 left on the clock. In an overtime period plagued by misses from the floor and fouls on both sides — the two teams combined for just seven points away from the charity stripe — Irvin embraced a selfdescribed “warrior mentality” and took it upon himself to decide the outcome of the game. That’s not to say he hadn’t already been doing it. While he scored just six points before his clutch streak, he played lockdown defense on Mathias, the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the conference at 45.6 percent, and played all 45 minutes of the game. Mathias hit only one trey all game, and it marked his only points of the contest. “He has handled this perceived slump that he’s had by just becoming a better defender,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “What he gives us in intangibles, the shot is not as important as what he does.” In this particular game, however, his big shots made all the difference. With 7.6 seconds left in overtime, Michigan took a fivepoint lead, forcing Purdue to foul. Before heading toward the bench, Irvin strutted toward the collection of elated Michigan supporters in the stands, sporting a wide grin and raising his arms jubilantly. He might as well have had a giant block ‘M’ in the middle of his chest. “Hero ball” might have a different connotation now.
“The shot is not as important as what he does.”
Ashame can be reached at ashabete@umich.edu or on Twitter @betelhem_ ashame. Please be kind.
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Senior forward Zak Irvin hit the game-tying shot late in regulation Friday.