Like Father, Like Son: Tim Hardaway Jr. Gets Job Done at Michigan

Like Father, Like Son: Tim Hardaway Jr. Gets Job Done at Michigan
John Raffel

Ann Arbor, MI

Tim Hardaway Jr. realizes plenty is expected of him as a college basketball player merely by the name he has.

So far, the Michigan basketball standout has delivered.

Hardaway totaled 27 points in his first two games for the Wolverines. In Monday's 64-47 victory over Towson, he was 6-of-12 from the floor including 3-of-7 in 3-pointers in leading the Wolverines to a 64-47 win.

Hardaway's father, Tim, was a five-time NBA All-Star, and performed 14 years in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers.

Hardaway is coming off an impressive freshman season in which he earned all-Big Ten honorable mention honors and was on the All-Big Ten Freshman team. He played a huge role in the team's drive to a 21-14 overall record and 9-9 Big Ten mark after a 1-6 start.

He's not satisfied on being just the Tim Hardaway Jr. from a year ago.

"You can say it's a different Tim Hardaway," he said. "I'm just trying to get easy baskets and trying to get my team into the game. (Seniors) Zack Novak and Stu Douglass are doing a good job of telling me about trying to be a vocal leader on this team. They're encouraging me every day."

Hardaway was named to the John R. Wooden and Naismith Top 50 Preseason watch lists and comes into his second season with the Wolverines having grown to 6-foot-6, 200 pounds.

Hardaway played with Team USA over the summer and sparked his team to a 7-2 record and fifth-place performance in the U19 World Championships. In nine games off the bench, he averaged 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

At Michigan as a freshman, he averaged 13.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and had a career-high 30 points at Iowa. He also totaled 59 assists.

The Miami native played in Palmetto Senior High School and averaged 31.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 40 assists. He was a three-time school MVP. He signed with Michigan just barely two years ago, Nov. 11, 2009.

Ironically, Hardaway grew up playing soccer but switched in the sixth grade to concentrate everything on basketball.

In Monday's win, Hardaway played a key role in his team's 21-0 outburst to open the game. The Wolverines were outscored 47-43 the rest of the way.

"We can't let up in the second half," Hardaway said. "We have to play all 40 minutes. (Coach John Beilein) talked to us about that. He was very concerned about that. We have to go back in tomorrow and the next day and watch film. It's a mental thing we have to overcome."

It's still November and several weeks before the Big Ten Conference starts. But Hardaway insists games this early in the season are still critical in the whole scheme of things.

"It's definitely a learning process," Hardaway said. "Everyone can see we're making a lot of mistakes out there. It's a learning process with the new guys coming in and a new rotation. We have to come out there and keep on improving as the year goes on."

Time will tell, but Hardaway likes what he sees of the 2011-12 Michigan Wolverines so far.

"I'm very excited," he said. "It's early but anything can happen. We're up to the challenge."