10 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 8, 1995 Leadership role a 'Breeze' for Michigan center- Practical-joking Jennifer Brzezinski tops the Wolverines in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals By Ravi Gopal Daily Basketball Writer It's only fitting that Jennifer Brzezinski's birthday is on April Fools' Day. "I play pranks on people and Ijoke around a lot," says the 6-foot- I start- ing center of the Michigan women's basketball team. "A lot of people think (my birthday) really fits me." Brzezinski's teammates say noth- ing to contradict her. "She's sneaky," freshman Molly Murray said."She looks innocent, so she does get away with some jokes." but she's so dominating out on the court," teammate Jennifer Kiefer said. "We tease her about that." Yet, despite the statistics, she has only now begun to assume a leadership role on the team. Team- mate Amy Johnson, who led the team in scoring last season, was expected to continue her reign into the '94-95 campaign. Johnson is vocal on the court, but it is Brzezinski who is in charge of the squad. "She looks so confident out there," Kiefer said. it is a wonder that she is the team's leader at all, considering her past. Enrolling at the University in the Fall of 1992, she saw action in nine games before falling prey to a knee injury at practice. It was, and still is, the defining moment of her colle- giate experience. "I hate to say my knee injury (is what I most remember about col- lege), but I think just the whole experience was just a learning ex- perience for me," Brzezinski said. "It taught me who I was." Her attitude helped her come back, and it soothed the pain of playing on the two worst squads in the history of Michigan women's basketball. Sporting a combined 5- 49 record (1-35 in conference play), the Wolverines were awful from 1992-94. "Yeah, (my attitude) helped me survive. I can't really think of what else would have happened," Brzezinski said. "You couldn't let it get to you, or it would destroy you." pay. "It was April Fools, which is Jennifer's birthday, and we had her call this girl and be very annoying," Helene said. "I was standing by, and I heard (the worker) hang up the phone, and say 'What a dumb woman!'. "After she hung up on (Jenni- fer), she called back," Helene said, laughing. After being the perpetrator of many pranks, Brzezinski thought she was getting a taste of her own medi- cine when she was admitted into the School of Architecture, since she found out on her birthday. "I was kind of leery, like, 'Is this a joke, or am I really accepted?"' she said. "After all the pranks I'd pulled on other people, I was won- dering if someone was pulling one on me." Comparatively, her pranks are minor. From giving people plastic ants to sending them little gifts with "From: Anonymous" attached, her friends have seen and heard it all. "She's real good at telling sto- ries," Murray said. "You sit there believing her, when it's actually the biggest lie she's ever said." Getting picked on as a freshman is somewhat commonplace, and get- ting picked on by older siblings oc- curs even more frequently. But, even though she is the youngest in a fam- ily of four (she has two older broth- ers and an older sister), Jennifer never got teased. On the contrary, she was the one poking fun at her sister. "I was kind of the jock, and my sister was more into girl things, like cheerleading, and stuff like that," she said. "I would play with my brothers, and we would pick on her, so I wouldn't get picked on too much." Yet, through all the attitude, all who know her say that Brzezinski is quiet at heart. "She gets the job done (on the 1 hate to say my knee injury (is what I most remember about college), but I think just the whole experience was just a learning experience for me, It taught me who I was - Jennifer Brzezinski Michigan basketball center court) in a quiet way," Kiefer said. "She's very quiet," her mother said. "I tried to get her to put her medals on her (varsity) jacket, but she wouldn't." Marley saw that Brzezinski had universal appeal in high school. S "(Her teammates) used to say, 'Even the burnouts like her', which is quite a statement in high school," Marley said. Regardless of who she is around, the quiet prankster goes about her ways, yanking down rebounds, lead- ing her team on. And she has fun doing it. "People say that I always smile,"* Brzezinski said. It's only fitting. Brzezinski On the court though, "Breeze," as she is called by her teammates, is all business. She leads the team in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals. Averag- ing a double-double (13.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game), Brzezinski has been overpowering this season. "She's so calm about everything, JOE WESTRATE/Daily Michigan center Jennifer Brzezinski is noted for her joking wags off the court. On the court she is all business, leading the Wolverines in four statistical categories. EARLY DEADLINES due to Spring Break, 1995 College basketball was a big change for Brzezinski, who was the Most Valuable Player in the Macomb-Oakland Athletic Confer- ence for her four-year high school career. She led Lincoln High School in Warren to 57 consecutive league wins during her stay. "In high school, she scored al- most at will," said Russell Marley, who coached Brzezinski at Lincoln. "Defensively, she was just great." Her talent extends to another area - pulling practical jokes. The Brzezinski family took advantage of this ability. Jennifer's mother, Helene, noted an incident where she andkher co- workers were victims of jokes by a fellow worker. Brzezinski made her PUBLICATION DATE Monday, February 27 Tuesday, Februray 28 Wednesday, March 1 DEADLINE Thursday, February 16 Thursday, February 16 Thursday, February 16 I The Michigan Daily will not be published the week of February 20 -24, 1995 The Japan Student Association Presents; The 1995 Japan Cultural Festival Martial Arts Origami Japanese Festivals Food Tea Ceremony History Toys and Games Calligraphy Sunday, February 12 , noon to 4:00 P.M. in the Michigan Union Ballroom Free admission and open to the public oy ? Harjo WednesdayFebruary 8h * JOIN THE MOST PROMISING PROFESSION OF THE 21ST CENTURY! BECOME A TEACHER! Applications are available at the School of Education, office of Student Services, Room 1033. Call 764-7563 for more information. 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