Jace and Juwan postgame. Jace doesn't mince words about the team's lack of effort. From UMHoops:
Sitting behind the microphone speaking to reporters, Jace Howard opened up. About his team?s upset loss to Central Michigan on home turf, about the lackadaisical effort his team displayed, about where it can go from here.
Because after a season in which the Wolverines have played down to lesser opponents and played up to skilled foes, their constant flirtation with disaster caught up with them, and they don?t need to look far for solutions.
?It?s been a trend now, these games ? especially these home games ? I feel like we just have been shooting ourselves in the foot and we?ve been able to sneak out of it,? Howard said. ?And let?s just call it for what it is: we were down in each one down the stretch in the last five minutes and now it finally got us, it finally bit us in the butt.?
Howard?s honesty might come as a shock. All season, Michigan has promised that something better is coming, that the great team they want to become is right there waiting around the corner. But after losing to a MAC opponent ranked 296th in the country on your home court, there?s no time for excuses or promises, and Howard offered none.
Instead, Jace and Michigan coach Juwan Howard pointed to the root of their struggles: effort. All game, like they have all season, mistakes piled up and shot the Wolverines in the foot again and again.
Look no further than Michigan?s board play. Surrendering a whopping 17 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second-chance points, it lost the game through its defensive effort. Those mistakes, ones that have shown up against opponents like Ohio and Eastern Michigan, inevitably cost them a game any formidable high-major team should have easily won.
Juwan echoed the same sentiment, but his concerns lay beyond just the glass. Out of the 11 players he put on the court, only two ? Will Tschetter and four minutes of Isaiah Barnes ? gave him the effort he wanted. And ultimately, that?s all Juwan seems to want after stomaching such a difficult loss.
?(Tschetter) came out and was playing so hard in the second half that he asked to come out,? Juwan leveled, his eyes rimmed with red. ?We haven?t had a guy like that ? playing so hard, giving the energy and effort and then raising their hand to come out ? we haven?t had that in a long time.?
Outside of one performer, the Wolverines didn?t make the extra effort to box out their opponents, to throw their whole bodies at rebounds, or buy into a lockdown defense. During their interviews, it was clear that Jace and Juwan both expected more out of the group.
?It?s the little things and the things you think are simple, but when it gets down to it, it?s obviously something that we are really bad at right now,? Jace said. ?And I feel like once we get ahold of that, we are going to be able to take that next step.?
Because their lineup has all the pieces to be a good team ? Jett Howard will play in the NBA some day, Hunter Dickinson has immense offensive upside ? but it can?t be that if mistakes and errors pile up. And it certainly can?t be that if it lacks an overall sense of effort.
And that?s what pains them the most:
?That?s why it hurts so much right now,? Jace said, choking up a little as he delivered the words. ?Because you know what you?re capable of and you know the team is capable of, but not seeing it is very frustrating.?
At this point, those frustrations have turned into desperation. The season isn?t over, giving the Wolverines time to figure out their woes. No matter if they?ve got a shot at making March Madness ? which Thursday?s loss certainly threatens ? they?ve still got 19 Big Ten games left on the schedule.
But they have to transform that frustration into actual change. Losing to Central Michigan wasn?t a one-off, but rather all Michigan?s poor play finally catching up with it.
?(What) gives me hope (with) this team is how connected this basketball team is and how much we want it, but we?re not playing like it,? Jace said. ?We?re saying things in the locker room, we?re doing it in practice. But when you come out in the game, that?s what really matters and now somethings gotta change ? and it will change.?
The time to make those changes might be too late ? the Wolverines couldn?t avert a disastrous loss to Central Michigan, but they?re still looking for a solution.
?You can hurt all you want but what are we going to do to fix it?? Jace asked rhetorically. ?And I think that comes down to us playing every game like it?s our last and that?s what we have to do. We don?t have a lot of room for error.
?Every second is final when you?re fighting for survival. That?s how we gotta keep on playing because that?s where we?re at right now.?
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