Michigan's win streak -- Shocking, amazing, exciting to say the least

The University of Michigan basketball team has shocked everyone over the course of this past month.

With their win on Saturday over Northwestern, they are riding high on an astonishing 11-game winning streak. This is something that they haven't done since the 1992-93 season when the Fab Five were sophomores.

Every UM basketball team has had to live in the shadow of the Fab Five, especially this year's team.

Before the season started amidst a myriad of NCAA violations discovered over the past decade, not by the NCAA, but the FBI, the university has imposed penalties upon themselves, which should be accepted by the NCAA either in late January or early February.

This was because many of the Fab Fivers, including former UM, now NBA, superstar Chris Webber, and other players after the Fab Five, accepted cash and gifts from UM booster and retired auto worker Ed Martin.

The FBI has found evidence against Martin and his wife that alleges that they were involved in money laundering, illegal gambling, and linked payouts of cash and gifts to UM basketball players.

The penalties/sanctions that UM has self-imposed include paying back the NCAA the $450,000 they earned, forfeiting the games they won, and taking down the banners the teams earned during the time period that all these players played. In addition, and even tougher on the current Wolverines' basketball team, the school cut two scholarships and banned post season play this season.

"A ban on this year's postseason play," a lot of local TV and radio hosts, columnists, fans, and some comedians jokingly asked. "Like they were going to even come close to qualifying for postseason play this year."

Have we, I mean they, OK me too, been wrong on that point?

UM's second year coach, Tommy Amaker, has brought excitement back to Crisler Arena, where there are no Championship banners hanging from the rafters from the 1991-92 to 1997-98 seasons anymore. And, he has done it while dealing with all of the problems surrounding the program this year.

Two players, both guards, are gone from the team -- Dommannic Ingerson left, while Avery Queen, was dismissed. This left Amaker with a team of mostly freshman led by slightly disappointing senior forward Lavell Blanchard, who has been a good player throughout his college career, but not the savior of the program everyone thought he would be.

The team then lost the first six games of this season, and everyone thought "here we go again."

It looked like the Wolverines would be lucky if they won even one game. But they did, and their first win came against Bowling Green, in which they blew out the Falcons 81-57. Ever since, they have been playing better and growing in confidence.

There was a lot of skepticism about whether this young, inexperienced team would be able to win in the Big Ten, at home or on the road. But, they have, even coming from behind to win their Big 10 home-opener against Wisconsin. In that game, they were 15-points down with 6:31 left, but fought back to win 66-65.

Two freshman guards, Lester Abram and Daniel Horton, have become a dynamic duo for the Wolverines in the backcourt. They have fans excited. They also have some fans worried that their early college success might lead to them leave early for the NBA, something that hasn't happened since Robert Traylor left UM as a junior in 1998.

The duo has played with amazing confidence, which was slightly scoffed by many before Michigan's victory on Wednesday over Ohio State in Columbus. They were both asked about playing in front of a hostile crowd prior to the game. Both players shook the question off, and compared it to some of their games in high school in which they played in front of hostile crowds.

Michigan fans aren't underestimating their confidence anymore, especially after winning two games back-to-back on the road in the Big Ten in front of two hostile crowds, Ohio State and Northwestern.

Another player who has been steadily improving this season is Lavell Blanchard, who is averaging 17.4 points and 6.9 rebounds a game, which leads the team in both categories. The way things are going, he'll probably be a first team All-Big Ten player.

Sophomore forward Bernard Robinson Jr. is also becoming a big time player, scoring 12.7 points and grabbing 6.2 rebounds a game.

One potential weakness of this team is its lack of size, and we'll have to see if that comes into play as the season progresses or if the teams' great hustle will compensate for it.

Amaker is garnering serious consideration for Big Ten Coach of the Year, and maybe even National Coach of the Year.

Coming into Michigan after leaving Seton Hall, he knew he had NCAA sanctions, the problem of losing many local state of Michigan recruits to archrival Michigan State, and a lack of excitement from fans looming. But, from the results so far, he seems to be dealing with them well.

Known as being a great recruiter from his time spent as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Duke, and from his previous stint as head coach at Seton Hall, he has carried that selling strength to Ann Arbor.

So far, Pontiac, Michigan native, Lester Abram, chose UM over MSU. He has also signed highly touted Redford, Michigan guard Dion Harris, 6'8" forward Courtney Sims, who is a Nike All American, and 6'11" Brent Petway, for next year's squad. And, he did this during the early signing period, before the win streak and sudden optimism.

MSU Spartan head coach, Tom Izzo, might be shaking at the knees as Amaker has already began to improve the Michigan program. The Spartans, who won the National Championship in 2000, have a strong hold over the rivalry on the hardcourt, but that might change soon.

This season the Spartans have struggled, losing five of their last six games, which includes an embarrassing loss to Toledo at home, and two out of their first three in the Big Ten.

The two teams play their only scheduled game this season in Ann Arbor on January 26th.

For the first time, in a long time, Wolverine fans might actually watch and cheer for their team, instead of making tired insults about how much better Michigan's academic reputation is than Michigan State's.