![]() So the rule was, we wanted to have five passes before any shot went up but we wanted Glen to shoot it.” Mills: Sean kinda jogged my memory and was like, “Remember in the Illinois game when Frieder had told us before the game?” And I was like, “No, what are you talking about?” And he was like, “Remember, he had told us it was Glen Rice’s Senior Day and we wanted to send Glen Rice out the right way against Illinois. Rice: The other players on your team, they think, “Wow, this is our guy, our brother, and he’s not gonna be here anymore after this year.” So everybody gets emotional, and you get sidetracked. Higgins: Glen was pretty much the only senior. Rice: That was one of the worst teams you could play on a very emotional night like that. But the Wolverines had one final regular season test: Illinois, at Crisler Arena, on Senior Night. With the talent-laden roster falling into place after the inconsistent start to Big Ten play, Michigan won five straight games down the stretch. Higgins: What happens sometimes when you have teams with so much talent, you kind of disregard the little things that are important in terms of winning. Seter: The question was, could we gel and could we come together? And could we win consistently?īoyd: It took us a few games to understand, who is a go-to-guy, who’s going to knock down the three when we need it, who’s going to be the rebounder? The Wolverines won the tournament by defeating the Sooners, before rolling through a less-than daunting non-conference slate. The season started with the Maui Classic, where Michigan beat Vanderbilt and Memphis before the season’s first test, a date with then-No. He would just get mad and score 40 points. A great defender, a great position player. Seter: Loy was one of the best rebounders I’ve ever seen in my life. Mills: When you’ve got all these McDonald’s All-Americans on your team, the expectations are gonna go through the roof. Just try to come out, compete, win as many games as possible.Ĭhris Seter, Michigan forward, 1987-92: We knew we had Terry, Loy (Vaught), Mark (Hughes), Rumeal (Robinson) and Glen. Glen Rice, Michigan forward, 1985-1989: We wanted to just come out, try and represent ourselves and the team as best possible. The Daily spoke players and coaches to piece together the story of a one-of-a-kind season. And Sunday, players and coaches from that team will reunite to honor that historic season before Michigan faces Michigan State on Sunday. Thirty years later, it remains the only national title banner hanging at Crisler Center. ![]() But instead, Michigan rose to vanquish its demons - losses to North Carolina in the previous two postseasons and two regular-season setbacks against Illinois - and ultimately win the whole thing. It could have halted Michigan before the team really got a chance to get going. Such a dramatic upheaval so late in the season could have easily derailed a season that had seen the Wolverines lose only seven games. In his place, Steve Fisher was appointed the interim. Athletic director Bo Schembechler fired coach Bill Frieder after he took the head coaching job at Arizona State. It was the week before the 1989 NCAA Tournament, and, after a blowout Senior Night loss to Illinois, the Wolverines should have been focused on the road ahead. The Michigan men’s basketball team walked into practice, only to find its coach missing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |