As the rules navigating what college basketball coaches can and cannot do during the spring and summer recruiting periods, Michigan basketball coach John Beilein echoed other coaches in another idea.

He’d like to get more time with the players he already has on campus.

“We want more practice time with them outside the season,” Beilein said during the Big Ten teleconference Monday. “That would really make sense. When you think about it, the two hours that we have, you really can’t judge.

“One of the things with early commitments is knowing what you have and many times you’re trying to figure out what you have in that fall, before you start offering scholarships to juniors, and it’s really hard in those two hours to figure out what you have.”

Currently, coaches can’t spend time with players during the summer. When classes are in session, they get two hours each week of “individual work” with players.

Beilein had a taste of it this summer, when he was able to grab 10 practices with his team before Michigan’s Belgian basketball tour in August. It was that tour that Wolverines’ players have said helped them to their current 11-3 record.

With such a young team, they were able to bond a bit more while overseas and also figure out playing styles. Also, coaches were able to get an idea of what some players might give them throughout the season.

“When we went to Europe, we could figure out a little bit what we had, but that’s once every four years,” Beilein said. “I would push for more in the fall, in the spring and then have some summer access as well if they are in summer school.”

Praise for Morris Sophomore point guard Darius Morris might be showing up on the national scene more this season, but Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan knew about Michigan’s leading scorer (15.6 ppg.) and passer (7.6 apg.) a long time ago.

“My son coached against him and my first captain when I was at Wisconsin in 1976-77 coached at Brentwood Academy out in California and my son was an assistant,” Ryan said. “They told me all about him early, that he’s a heck of a player.

“That was a good get for Michigan.”

That "good get" also turned 20 years old Monday.

Road changes Even though Michigan will go on the road for the first time since November when it plays at Wisconsin on Wednesday, not much will change in terms of preparing for a rowdy atmosphere. That's because Beilein usually pumps music into practices because the Michigan student section is behind their bench during home games.

Other things, which are small on the surface but big deals in basketball, are the main focus.

“The Wisconsin arena, with the 17,000 or whatever it holds, is very challenging,” Beilein said. “But it will be different. Different ball, different baskets, different everything. And that’s part of it.

“We’ve only done it one time with a the true road game (at Clemson) and then the neutral games, but we’ll have to adjust.”

This and that In Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, Michigan is among the last eight teams out of his NCAA Tournament field. … Ohio State freshman forward Jared Sullinger was again named Freshman of the Week. He’s earned the honor every week this year except for one, when his teammate, Deshaun Thomas, won it. The only non-Ohio State player to win freshman of the week is Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr., who shared the award with Sullinger on Dec. 27.

Michael Rothstein covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.