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Show DAILY C6 HERALD Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Rodriguez set to follow Carr at UM Larry Lage THE x ASSOCIATED PRESS Rich ANN ARBOR. Mich. Rodriguez walked through a flashlight lit locker room, down a darkened tunnel and stepped onto the Michigan Stadium field for the first time. "It's beautiful," he said with snow covering his dress shoes. A new era began at Michigan on Monday. The program in college ; football ended its first coaching search since hiring Bo Schem-bechlnearly four decades ago by luring Rodriguez and his spread offense from West Virginia. The process probably lasted longer than the school wanted and it might not have landed its first choice. Yet, Rodriguez didnt have a problem with getting the job after LSUY Les Miles and Rutgers' Greg Schiano turned down reported opportunities to replace the retiring Lloyd Carr. "(I) might have been my wife's third choice, too," Rodriguez joked. n I le is ending a run at West Virginia, a year after turning down an offer to be Alabama's coach. Rodriguez said it took an opportunity of Michigan's caliber for him to leave his home state and alma mater. "Il was a very difficult decision to leave a place where I grew up," said Rodriguez, who was born in Grant Town, W.Va., five miles from the birt hplace of famed M ichigan coach Fielding Yost and about 20 miles from the West Virginia campus. "It was going to take a very special opportunity and a very special place, and I think that's what this is." Rodriguez doesn't expect to coach West Virginia when it plays Oklahoma in the Fiesta win-ninge- st seven-seaso- BowL "My focus is going to be on the University of Michigan," he said. I don't think it best serves West Virginia if I'm thinking about the Big House." Rodriguez, who was to fly back to West Virginia on Monday, hopes school officials agree that letting him leave right away to assemble his new staff, recruit and evaluate ; vj, Continued from CI game. UVSC is coming off a win over Portland and is now 2 9-- on the year. The Wolverines are shooting .470 from the field and are averaging 81.9 points per game. Robyn Fair seasons of frustration and challenges, the Red Devils have come out of the gate at an impressive This is a team that only won two games all of last year. Head coach Nancy Warner deserves a lot of credit for at least getting her team used to the idea of winning basketball games. I don't how Springville will do in a tough Region 7 but it is on the right track. I ' f 1 I I -- . i V turn- - 1 !. 'asm 111-7- 0 I LLOYD: I came away from that contest impressed with the Knights. They are big, athletic, talented and displayed very good Plus I think they are just going to get better as the season progresses. Timpview has a lot of potential but I'll be surprised if I believe they are better than Lone Peak at any point the rest of the season. Tir il TONY DINQAssociated Press football coach at West Virginia, is introduced as the new Michigan football coach on Monday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Rich Rodriguez, former head gan will end Jan. 1 at the Capital One Bowl against Florida. "He's a young guy with great passion and enthusiasm. "I think everybody that loves this place is excited." Rodriguez's hiring marks the second time in eight months that Michigan lured a coach away from West Virginia, following basketball coach John Beilein's Morgantown-to-An- n Arbor path. "There are intangibles in some coaches that make them win wherever they are, and he has them," said Beilein, who lived three houses away from Rodriguez in West Virginia. "Rich was born to be a football banks leads the team in scoring with 22.7 points per game. Sandy Marvin is second with 17.8 and Julie McMurray is averaging 16.1 points per game. "We're not going out there to get worked over. I expect our kids to work hard and be competitive," said UVSC coach Cathy Nixon. "Last year I asked our kids how they felt about playing there. I talked to the leadership of our team and they and they were excited about it. coach" Michigan athletic director Martin and Rodriguez's agent, Mike Brown, said they still have to work on contract details before a deal is signed. They wanted to have this opportunity. This is something I all-ti- UVSC Mexico. "Obviously they're a talented team and we'll have to play at a high level, but I don't anticipate my (kids being afraid. If anything I think the pressure is on Duke." Opponent: Duke Venue: Cameron Indoor Tipoff: 5 p.m. Series Record: 1st Meeting named player of the week DAILY HERALD COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. B YU junior guard Lee Cumin ard has been named the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the first time in his career, marking the third such award of the season for the Cougars. Cummard, a Mesa, Ariz., d native, led the Cougars to wins over Lamar (88-6and last week. ) Pepperdine He shot 75.0 percent from both the floor and 25th-ranke- (86-67- arc the three-poiwhile averaging team highs of 24.0 points, 6.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. Cummard also pulled down 8.0 rebounds per game. He tallied game highs of 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists ylW'm'i shootvs. Lamar on ing from the field and a performance from behind the arc. Cummard's point, assist and field goal totals were all career highs. He also added one blocked shot and one steal while committing zero turnovers. Against Pepperdine he recorded game highs of 21 points on shooting, five assists, a personal-bes- t four blocks and two steals while adding six rebounds. ft ' Gameday BWsCummard ' (8-1- Daily Herald prep sports writer Neil Warner can be reached at nwarner heraldextra.com. Jared Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd heraldextra.com. wanted to do. We have played at BYU, at Utah and at New (5-5- ), m9 WARNER: I still think Timpview hasn't reached its potential. The slow starting T'Birds should come on strong again later in the season. Last year it took a slow start and a bad Nike tournament before the T'Birds got on the same page and put it all together to win a state the championship. I expect Timpview will play much better soon, but I'm telling you, my pick to win 5A is still Lone Peak. I LLOYD: Purely for competitiveness, I don't know if you can find a better tourney than the one in Albuquerque, New Mexido, which will host Lone Peak and two other Top 50 teams from around the country. But it would also a great experience to go to the Nike Tournament in Arizona, which draws the best girls basketball teams year after year. With the variety of divisions, it would be great to soak in the atmosphere with the Utah Valley teams that 0 zk cohe-sivenes- s. out-of-sta- te 10-0- 10-0- to' their potential? This is the time that players head to tournaments. If you could go to one tournament this year, which one would you attend? DeMar-cu- s DURHAM, N.C. Nelson scored 23 points and No. 6 Duke returned from a nine-dabreak for final exams with a victory over Albany on Monday night. Reserve Jon Scheyer added I No. 18 Gonzaga 77, N. Colo18 points for the Blue Devils rado 37: At Spokane, Wash., Freshman Austin Daye scored who shot 60 percent ( 18 points and Micah Downs and had five players score in added 17 for Gonzaga. double figures. They hit 15 of five Downs hit a career-hig- h 26 Duke improved to 10-- for pointers in 10 attempts as the overcame a slow the sixth time in eight seasons, Bulldogs (9-while Hall of Fame coach Mike start to coast to an easy win. Steven Gray, playing for the Krzyzewski earned his 785th first time this season after fraccareer victory to move within a game of tying Lefty Driesell turing his wrist in an exhibition list. for sixth on the game, added 12 points and JerTim Ambrose scored a emy Pargo had 10 points and 24 points for the career-bes- t eight assists for the Zags. Jabrik Banks had 18 points for Great Danes who fell behind by double figures about 5 Northern Colorado (54), which 12 minutes in and trailed by 26 missed its first 13 attempts from range and shot 31 percent points at halftime. from the field overall No. 10 Marquette 80, IPFW 56: At Milwaukee, Dominic James I No. 22 Miami 89, Stetson S3: At Coral Gables, Fla., Brian had 17 points and six assists and Wesley Matthews added Asbury scored 18 points and 15 points for Marquette. Miami won its first game as a 1 The Golden Eagles ) were Top 25 team in five years. Raymond Hicks had 15 playing their second game in k ; three nights after playing just points and James Dews added p !'v 14 for the Hurricanes ( two games the previous two who opened the game with a weeks due to final exams. 194 run. Jaraun Burrows had 13 I Eric Diaz had 13 points for which points for IPFW GERRY BROOMEAssociated Press who lost their trailed by 11 points at halftime. the Hatters The Mastodons opened the sec- fourth straight game and ninth Duke's DeMarcus Nelson (21) drives past Albany's Tim Ambrose during the second half in in their last 10. ond half with a quick 2 run, Durham, N.C. on Monday. y 5 4-- but came unraveled nearly as fast as Marquette answered with a 14-- 2 spurt to put the game out of reach. Hayward finished with 14 points and David Cubillan had 11 for Marquette. ASSOCIATED PRESS In girls basketball last week, Lone Peak outperformed Timpview in good matchup of valley teams. Were the Knights that much better or did the Thunderbirds not play up Without question, my surprise team of the year has been Mountain View. The Bruins won just one game all of last year and this week are ranked Coach fourth and are Jeff Gardner's Bruins are starting to look like his faDuke. vorite team Speaking of surprises, I think Springville is a surprise. The Red Devils are 3 and played Pleasant Grove tough and lost to Spanish Fork on a controversial shot. Nelson leads No. 7 Duke past Albany THE all-tim- WARNER: 4 MICHIGAN 60-2- 6 .342 percent from the field and scoring only 54.3 points per WARNER: This is an easy one. I'd go to Hawaii with Timpview. The year (2002) I went to Maui with Provo ranks as my second e favorite tournament, behind only my trip with UVSC to Australia. Going to Hawaii in December is incredible and watching good basketball while you take a break from the beach can't be beat. Continued from C2 6-- 1. The Rodriguez built West Virginia into a Big East power, winning the con- UVSC Duke three viable options. So far it hasn't been Duke's offense that has turned heads, it has been defense. Duke's opponents are shooting just b3 b isfi parties. Rodriguez is the first head ference championship this year for the fourth time in five seasons and going overall. He helped the Mountaineers earn six straight bowl bids and made them one of the most potent offensive teams in the country. Rodriguez is considered one of the Godfather's of the spread offense that's become the rage of college football. The spread will be a dramatic change for Michigan, a school that's been locked into a more traditional offense and relied "on drop-bac- k passers for years. "I think it's a great hire," said Carr, whose 13th and final season as head coach at Michi- - make the trip every year. n-1 5-- the Wolverines with eligibility remaining is best for both coach to come outside the "Michigan family" as athletic director Bill Martin put it, since Schembechler was hired away from Miami of Ohio in 1969. "Do you have to be a Michigan man to be a Michigan coach?" Rodriguez asked. "Gosh, I hope not." 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