Suspended Michigan point guard Daniel Horton pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor domestic violence Monday.
Horton’s return to the team from his indefinite suspension is uncertain and requires university approval, coach Tommy Amaker said.
Amaker also said he is “anxious” to get Horton back.
“He’s a young man I care a great deal about,” Amaker said. “So we certainly will be welcoming him back at some point. Whenever that takes shape, we will certainly welcome him back with open arms.”
Horton, a junior who was suspended Jan. 25, was accused of grabbing and choking his girlfriend Dec. 10.
“We got into a heated argument, and I pushed her,” Horton told Ann Mattson, the district judge.
The 2004 National Invitational Tournament MVP’s sentencing is scheduled for March 9. Currently out on bond, Horton faces up to 93 days in jail, though his attorney, Gerald Evelyn, said the Wolverine likely will receive probation and counseling.
Horton is second on Michigan (12-14, 3-8 Big Ten) in scoring with 12.4 points per game. He leads the team in assists with 4.2 per contest.
Gophers digging a hole
A week ago, Minnesota was the Big Ten’s Cinderella story. The team was coming off a 60-50 win against then-No. 19 Wisconsin and causing whispers of an improbable NCAA Tournament bid after last year’s last-place Big Ten finish.
Now, those whispers are fading away.
“We’re the walking billboard for ‘what a difference a week makes,'” Minnesota coach Dan Monson said.
The Golden Gophers (16-8, 6-5) dropped consecutive games to Northwestern and Indiana last week, jeopardizing their tournament aspirations.
“Now we’re a team that’s wondering if we’re going to win another game,” Monson said.
Minnesota sits at No. 62 in the Ratings Percentage Index and is one of 29 major-conference teams with a winning conference record. The team’s upcoming schedule features a game at No. 11 Michigan State and a home date against Ohio State, which has won five of six.
“We’re in that dog day-type of situation,” Monson said. “We’ve got to somehow recharge our batteries and our confidence level and get back to playing where we were just a short week ago.”
Still, Monson said he thinks his team’s turnaround from last year’s 3-13 conference record warrants NCAA consideration.
“If you overall look at what we’ve accomplished this season, then you’d probably say these guys deserve a chance to play with anybody,” he said.
Hail to the newsletters
Apparently Big Ten fans just don’t get the idea.
Weeks after NU fans set off Illinois players by allegedly taunting a team manager and throwing food onto the floor during warmups, Michigan’s student section, the Maize Rage, produced a newsletter that fired up Michigan State’s Shannon Brown before Saturday’s game.
“(He) has regressed from scoring 6 points to 4 to 2 in three matchups against Michigan,” the letter said of Brown.
Brown threw down two dunks on the first three possessions en route to a 14-point performance in the 64-49 Michigan State (17-4, 8-2) win. Eight of Brown’s points came in the first five minutes of the game.
“You always try to find little things like that to motivate you,” Brown said. “I guess they felt I was going to score zero.”
Teammate Alan Anderson said he pointed out the letter to Brown.
“I just told him that means he’s going to score zero points this game,” Anderson said. “He said, ‘OK. Watch me.’ And I said, ‘OK. Let’s see then.'”
The Associated Press and mlive.com contributed to this report.
Reach Patrick Dorsey at [email protected].
