John Beilein won’t get excited yet - after all, it is August - but the Michigan basketball coach likes what he see so far from his team.

“I really like our attitude and the progress,” Beilein said. “Some teams will have slower learning curves but right now, the learning curve is pretty good for our young men.

“Some will struggle through it. For others, it’ll be very easy.”

Freshman forward Evan Smotrycz and freshman swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. have played well early, often rotating through with the veteran players, including sophomore guard Darius Morris and junior guards Stu Douglass and Zack Novak.

That group of five has run the floor with good tempo. Running is something Beilein wants to do more of this year.

"We always want to do that," Beilein said. "But being willing to run, right, it’s not just, ‘The coach wants us to run.’ They have to be willing to run."

Christian fights hamstring injury

Forward Colton Christian re-injured his pulled hamstring in practice, leaving Beilein unsure whether he’ll be able to play on the upcoming European trip.

On Sunday, Christian spent most of practice pedaling a stationary bicycle on the side of the court.

“He went to sprint, deflected a pass and grabbed his leg in all the same motion,” Beilein said. “So we have to sit him back, and it is a difficult injury to get better in a short time.”

Last year, former Michigan guard Manny Harris struggled through hamstring issues for much of the season.

Lucas-Perry transfers to Oakland

Former Michigan guard Laval Lucas-Perry, who was kicked off the team this summer, is transferring to Oakland, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

Lucas-Perry sit out one year and have one year of eligibility remaining in 2011-12. He started his career at Arizona and then transferred to Michigan.

He started 22 games for Michigan last year, averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds.

A message left on Lucas-Perry’s cell phone seeking comment was not immediately returned.

This and that

Michigan has had court issues while preparing for the European trip. The humid weather left a film on the court during most morning practices, forcing managers to frequently mop the floor and players to do little more than jog. … During conditioning sprints at the end of practice, Morris and Douglass were often ahead of the rest of the team.

Michael Rothstein covers University of 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