6The Daily Tar HeelWednesday, April 1, 1992
Fisher and Tab 5' hit Final Four scene
Editor's note: This is the second in a
four-part series.
By Mark Anderson
Senior Writer
"Yes."
A simple answer repeated five times
by five Michigan freshman basketball
players, but one that speaks volumes
about this team's temperament.
After the Wolverines beat Oklahoma
State Friday, a reporter asked whether
the "Fab Five" really thought they could
win four national championships at
Michigan. Straight down the line came
affirmative responses.
"The possibility of a national cham
pionship was a reality to us from day
one," guard Jalen Rose said. "Now it's
a reality to you."
The brash Wolverines then took the
court Sunday and continued to prove
that they are not merely a novelty act.
Michigan disposed of a veteran Ohio
State team, the Southeast Region's top
seed, 75-71 to step into the Final Four.
Any team starting five freshmen
shou Id be thri I led just to make the Final
Four, right? Well, these five freshmen
make Michigan far from just"any" team.
The Wolverines are 1 1-2 with the "Fab
Five" as starters, and if the youngsters
have any say, they are far from finished.
"It's a dream come true, but it's not a
feeling of satisfaction," Rose said. "Our
goals are much higher."
Chris Webber, Rose's teammate on
the All-Region team, said Sunday's win
was just one step.
"Not many players go to the Final
Four, so this is one dream accom
plished," Webber said. "But at the be
ginning of the year, we talked about the
Final Four and winning the champion
ship. We're not satisfied. When you
become complacent, you become a loser.
"We hate losing. We don 't go out and
say it's okay if we lose because we have
next year. If we're waiting for next year,
we should quit now and start practicing
for next year."
These young Wolverines are any
thing but losers. Webber led his high
school team to three straight state cham
pionships, and Rose'sprepteams pulled
the feat twice. In the regional, both
showed why their teams seldom lose.
With Webber playing only 18 min
utes against Oklahoma State because of
foul trouble, the 6-foot-8 Rose grabbed
the reins. He finished with 23 points and
1 1 rebounds, but 18 and seven of those
came in the second half.
Ohio State should have known Rose
was coming Sunday. His jumper with
3:03 left pulled Michigan within 6 1 -59.
His steal led to the tying basket. In
overtime.Rose scored six of Michigan's
10 points, grabbed two rebounds and
had one assist. He finished with 20
points, six boards and four assists.
"Jalen Rose is a very intelligent bas
ketball player," said OSU coach Randy
Ayers. "He has a good feel for the game.
He just took over down the stretch."
Afteradisappointing Friday, Webber
made the most of his second chance
Sunday. Webber's rebound bucket with
28 seconds left sent the game into over
time, and he finished with 23 points, 1 1
rebounds and five blocked shots.
"Man-chi Id" is an overused term, but
Webber may be the definition of that
combination. With a sculptured frame
that defies his 19 years, the 6-9, 240
pounder does everything with author
ity, whether it is punishing unfortunate
shots thrown up in his area or throwing
down lightning-bolt dunks. When he
rebounds, an unsuspecting onlooker
ft MICHIGAN
Michigan Wolverines
Record: 24-8
Coach: Steve Fisher, 3rdyearatMichi
gan (47-23), 3rd overall
Key Players: Jalen Rose (17.9 ppg,
4.1 rpg, 4 apg), Chris Webber (15.6
ppg, 9.9 rpg)
Road to Minneapolis: Defeated
Temple 73-66, ETSU 102-90, Okla
homa St. 75-72, Ohio St. 75-71 (OT)
Semifinals: vs. Cincinnati Saturday,
5:42 p.m., Metrodome, Minneapolis
Keys to the game: No mental letups
against Cincinnati's full-court pres
sure. Get early confidence boost.
could mistake him for Karl Malone.
Despite the physical gifts of the
Michigan freshmen, head coach Steve
Fisher was most pleased when the Wol
verines came together mentally after
Ohio State's 11-0 run in the closing
minutes. Michigan, which blew a 20
point lead to the Buckeyes earlier in the
year, came back to tie the game. Any
remaining doubts that youth and inex
perience would fold Michigan's tents
were finally erased.
The Wolverines still play like fresh
men, now and then checking out men
tally. Sunday, they made the plays when
they had to. Fisher said Rose and Webber
excelled in the most important area.
"From the neck up," Fisher said.
"Both are tremendously gifted physi
cally, but they also possess a lot of
things other people don't. Maybe that's
why we are in the Final Four."
Another reason Michigan is in the
Final Four is Rose and Webber's sup
porting cast. Freshman forward Ray
Jackson, 6-6, is the defensive stopper.
He forced OSU's Jim Jackson into 9-of-2
1 shooting and nine turnovers Sunday.
Freshman Juwan Howard, 6-9, holds
down the middle. Howard matched Ray
Jackson's feat by forcing All-American
Byron Houston into 2-of-14 shooting
and eight turnovers Friday. Freshman
Jimmy King, 6-5, runs the point and hits
the occasional 3-pointer. King scored
15 points in both regional games.
Junior center Eric Riley, 7-0, is the
only player whoproduces anything more
than minutes off the bench. Two years
ago, Riley was second in the Big Ten in
rebounding and in blocked shots. With
Webber out Friday, Riley scored 15
points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Howard and Ray Jackson are the
cornerstones of what can be an intimi
dating defensive team. Only five teams
shot better than 50 percent against
Michigan this year. Sunday, the Wol
verines spent the entire game in the
Buckeyes' faces both physically and
vocally and blocked eight shots.
"Their athletic ability contributed,"
Ayers said. "They never really gave us
a good look at the basket, even on our
penetration."
Fisher, now 1 1 -1 in the NCAA Tour
nament, led Michigan to the national
title in 1 989 after taking over at the end
of the regular season.
"I went through this dream once.
Now, I'll try to relive it,"he said. "Crazy
things have happened, and I've been in
the middle of it. We just hope we can do
what happened in '89."
Softball moves to 24-9
by splitting 2 with ECU
ByJeffMcKlnley
Staff Writer
Just by looking at the statistics for
Tuesday's doubleheader at Finley
Field, it is apparent that the UNC soft
ball team played an evenly-matched
East Carolina squad.
Both teams scored a total of three
runs on the day. The Tar Heels col
lected 13 hits in the two games; the
Pirates totaled 1 1 hits. Each team won
one game, and one run provided the
margin of victory in each game.
UNC coach Donna Papa said she
had expected strong competition from
the Pirates. "Every time we play East
Carolina, they're al waysclose games,"
Papa said. "Since I've been coaching
here, we've never had games where
they've been blowouts. They're al
ways one-run games or games that go
down to the final inning."
Keeping with tradition, Tuesday s
games provided both situations. UNC
won the first game in the bottom of the
seventh inning, 3-2. In game two, ECU
pulled off an extra-inning 1 -0 victory.
In game one, UNC first baseman
Vicki Huff drove in freshman Tanya
Spishak in the bottom of the seventh to
break a 2-2 tie and give the Tar Heels
the victory. Sophomore Paige Lauby
earned the win for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina scored the day's first
run in the fourth. UNC senior center
fielder Theresa Buscemi led off with a
single to center. A Beverly Smith sac
rifice bunt and a Lisa McGloin single
moved Buscemi to third base.
With one out, McGloin on first and
Gamel -
East Carolina 000 0020 251
North Carolina 0002001 391
Parsons and Jones; Lauby and McGloin. W
lauby (13-4). L-Parson (21-6). HRs-none.
Game 2 "
East Carolina 000 00001 163
North Carolina 000 00000 0 4 0
Parsons and Jones; Smith and McGloin. W
Parson (22-6). L-Smith (11-5). HRs-none.
Buscemi on third, senior Julie
O'Shields' sacrifice bunt brought
Buscemi home and McGloin to sec
ond. An error by ECU third baseman
Stephanie Hobson moved McGloin to
third and O'Shields to second.
McGloin scored on Amy Cole's sacri
fice fly, giving UNC a 2-0 lead.
ECU scored its two runs in the sixth
inning. With two outs and a runner on
second, Pirate pitcher Jenny Parsons
singled to right field, scoring Cheryl
Hobson. Parsons advanced to second
on the throw to the plate. Pinch runner
Lisa Corprew scored on the next play
when Mechelle Jones singled.
Game two featured strong pitching
by UNC's Smith and ECU'S Parsons.
The teams battled to a scoreless tie
after seven innings. In extra innings,
the tie-breaker rule took effect. The
rule allows each team to begin its half
of the inning with a runner on second.
Despite the added baserunner, nei
ther team scored in the eighth inning.
In the top of the ninth, ECU's
Stephanie Hobson, the tie-breaking
runner, moved to third on a sacrifice
bunt. With two outs, Cheryl Hobson
singled to left, scoring Hobson for the
winning run.
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t ,., , , , 1 ." 1 "ZZU
ACC honors Lauby's striking week
Staff report
UNC Softball pitcher Paige Lauby
has been named ACC Player of the
Week after posting a 4-1 record last
week, including a no-hitter.
Lauby, a sophomore from El Toro,
Calif., hurled the no-hitter March 25
against Central Connecticut. For the
week, Lauby compiled a I.3S earned
run average, yielding seven earned runs
in 36 13 innings.
Lauby also had complete-game shut
outs versus Ohio University and
Winthrop last week.
For the season, Lauby is 14-4 with a
1.02 ERA.
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