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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Michigan Not Fab, But Fine Fisher Tries To Keep Current Players Focused On Their Present Possibilities

Gene Wojciechowski Chicago Tribune

Even when the record was perfect, Michigan coach Steve Fisher knew his Wolverines were not.

They were good, sometimes even - and Fisher hates this - borderline Fab Five-ish. But perfect? Nope. Perfection doesn’t lose to unranked Memphis on a Saturday and then unranked Pittsburgh on a Monday.

But consider November and December the exhibition season, a shakedown trip that took the Wolverines to Duke, to St. John’s, to Arizona and to a mildly surprising 8-0 record before they tired at the just-completed Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. In 22 days, Michigan, now ranked eighth, took four long road trips, had final exams and played seven games. It showed.

Now comes the hard part: the start of the Big Ten conference schedule. Eighteen games, and hardly a gimme on the list.

Not long ago, Fisher sat in his office and provided a State of the Wolverines address. Surrounded by mementos and photos (of him and Michigan alum Gerald Ford, him and John Wooden, him and former boss Bill Frieder), Fisher broke down his team, player by player, weakness by weakness, strength by strength, and decided the Wolverines had the makings of something special. Maybe not 1989 special, the year Michigan won a national championship, or 1992 and 1993 special, when the Fab Five reached consecutive Final Fours, but special in a different way.

For the first time since the brief but spectacular era of Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King, Fisher has a team no longer obsessed with imitating the Fabs. It took some time, but Fisher finally convinced the Wolverines that Webber & Co. were one of a kind.

“I really do think that is behind us,” Fisher said of Fab Five mania. “I don’t have to remind them. Even though I did before the first practice began, I don’t think I have to remind them that the Fab Five lives no more, that this is not the Fab Five, that we’re different, that we’ve got to be different, that we’ve got to work hard.”

Instead, Fisher sold his latest team on being Michigan men. Forget the NBA. Forget the money. Forget trying to duplicate what Webber did. Think Blue.

“I really have tried to hit on this group with Michigan tradition,” said Fisher, whose Wolverines will open their Big Ten schedule today against Ohio State. “It was here before they were even around, and it will be here long after they leave - them and me. They need to take great pride in representing themselves, this university and this basketball program in the way they would like to be remembered.”

To prove his point, Fisher arranged for Michigan great John Tidwell to speak to the Wolverines at practice one day. “Not one guy knew who he was,” Fisher said.

Former Michigan star Tim McCormick has addressed the team. So has Howard. So has Will Robinson, the first African-American Division I coach. Doug Collins even stopped by.

“We’ve tried to show a realistic approach to the world,” Fisher said. “They all think they’re going to the NBA. It ain’t going to happen. They’re all not going to the NBA. We’ve tried to tell them to live in the present. Not the past or the future, but in the present.”

Maybe that’s why the Wolverines bolted to an 8-0 start, springing rare non-conference losses on Duke at Cameron Indoor and on Arizona at Lute Olson’s place. Most of the time, junior forward Maurice Taylor doesn’t seem as distracted by the thought of an NBA career. It also might explain why Michigan, which has had its share of defections in recent seasons, is now 9-2 and among the favorites, along with Indiana and Minnesota, to win the Big Ten title.

For all intents and purposes, the Wolverines are down to seven players: Taylor, center Robert “Tractor” Traylor, guard Brandun Hughes, swingman Jerod Ward, forward Maceo Baston, guard Travis Conlan and guard Louis Bullock. There isn’t a senior to be found, though Baston, Conlan, Taylor, Ward and Hughes are juniors.

Long gone is Albert White, the sophomore swingman who transferred to Missouri after violating unspecified Michigan team policy. Still around though, is the threat of injuries. Last season, Michigan lost more players to injury than during the combined previous six years. There were two knee surgeries, a broken arm, a foot stress fracture and assorted bumps and bruises.

This season, hardly an ankle sprain. No wonder Fisher isn’t afraid to crack a smile.

“Say we go with what we’ve got - seven guys who are quality Big Ten players. Then, if we want to be real good, it’s essential for us that we go all season with those seven guys,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to keep them together. If we do, we’ll be good. Whether we’ll be better than real good, I don’t know.”