The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 8, 2000 -11

I horius named Big
Ten Player of the
Week for first time
Michigan junior guard Anne Thorius
was named Big Ten Women's
Basketball Player of the Week. The
Wolverines are currently 8-3 in the
conference and are 16-6 overall and are
Ming a three-game winning streak
ueled largely by Thorius' stellar play.
Last week 7-7 7
Thorius averaged
20 points per
game as the y
W'olIve ri n es l
knocked off No. Y
23 Illinois and
Ohio State.
This is the first -
time in her career Thorius
t Thorius has
received Player of the Week honors.
Thus far this season, Thorius is leading
the team in minutes playing 33.5 min-
utes per game and averaging 8.8
points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per
game.
Thorius hails from Denmark where
she played for current Michigan assis-
tant coach Eileen Shea at-the Rungsted
vmnasium in her native Horsholm.
Damion Logan
represents 'M' in
Al -Star Classic
While some of the Michigan
wrestling team's stars spent the off-
week nursing injuries, 141-pound
Damion Logan represented the team
the 2000 NWCA All-Star Classic,
Old at Jenison Fieldhouse in East
Lansing.
Logan was added to the squad
late, after 133-pound Joe Warren
and 174-pound Otto Olson were
named as reserves, only to fall to
injuries and not participate.
In the event, Logan fell, 7-1, to
third-ranked Oklahoma wrestler,
Michael Lightner.
And although Logan was not able
o win, his mere presence was
extremely important to a team
forced to find new leaders wherever
possible.
Logan, a redshirt-junior from
Garfield, N.J., enters this weekend's
meets with a 22-4 record on the sea-
son.

ER

TO

BE

THE

BEST

Never expected to succeed, Tim Dehr has quietly risen through the ranks
By Rohit Bhave - Daily Sports Writer

Michigan senior Tim Dehr has
little in common with your
typical collegiate golden boy.
No one had predicted four Heisman
trophies for him, or perhaps more
appropriately, four Olympic medals.
In fact, when Dehr transferred to
Michigan after a semester at Western
Michiganfew predicted that the Burr
Ridge, Ill. native would even earn a
spot on the Michigan men's gymnas-
tics team.
Dehr originally transferred after the
Broncos dropped men's gymnastics
from their athletic calendar. Away from
the sport for almost
an entire year, he
enlisted the help of a
Kalamazoo club
coach to help him
find a program where
he could compete.
Michigan men's
gymnastics coach
Kurt Golder heard
about Dehr, and
decided to give him a
chance to walk onto
the team. But he had
vet to evaluate Dehr's
recruiting tape. By
the time Golder was
able to judge Dehr's
prior performance, it
was too late for the
coach to change his
mind; Dehr was
already enrolled at
Michigan.
"After viewing his
recruiting tape, I
called his father and
frankly informed him
that he had a long way
to go, and that I could
not guarantee him
that (Tim) would ever
compete for the
University of
Michigan," recalled
Golder.
At the time,
Michigan was not the
collegiate gymnastics
juggernaut that it is From a shaky po
now; the year before tics to becomea
Golder was hired, the
Wolverine tumblers bumbled to an 0-
16 record.
Yet, despite Michigan's lack of tal-
ent, Golder found very little reason to
believe that Dehr could ever compete,
purely based on his recruiting tape.
What the National Championship
coach could not see on the videocas-
sette were Dehr's incredible intangi-
bles - a voracious work ethic and an
unshakable self-confidence. Dehr's
only gymnastics-related asset at the
time was his ability to judge his own
talent - in the context of Big Ten
gymnastics, it was vastly deficient.
THE LONG ROAD:

watched as a talent-less, spirit-less
Michigan program was transformed in
front of his eyes with the additions of
ueber-recruits Justin Toman and Kevin
Roulston. Dehr also realized that
Golder would not only recruit top tal-
ent, he would teach and inspire it as
well.
What the 1999 All-American
Scholar could not have conceived was
his role in Michigan's first-ever nation-
al championship. Amidst Michigan's
collection of All-American talent, it
would be the former walk-on, Tim
Dehr, who would raise his hand for the

role in the NCAA Finals less than 24
hours before the event.
However, instead of feeling anxiety,
the vault and pommel horse specialist
took the opportunity as an honor.
"I was at my peak," recalled the
senior, "so there was no reason to
worry about missing (my routine)"
Much of his quiet confidence is
derived from his work ethic; Dehr
repeats his routine in practice until he
is satisfied with its effectiveness. His
attitude can be attributed to the lessons
his father, Pete, taught him. But per-
haps most important, Dehr's radical

2000 season, junior captain Justin
Toman excitedly predicted a break-
through performance for his unsung
teammate.
This year, Dehr delivered in his first
home meet against Iowa. He scored a
9.85, part of Michigan's school record
of 39.1 on the pommel horse.
Dehr experienced another honor a
few weeks later when he was selected
to compete in the annual Winter Cup in
Las Vegas. Normally reserved for
those who have competed on the
United States National team, Dehr and
junior teammate Kenny Keener were
chosen as specialists based on video-
tapes of their recent performances.
Dehr will perform on the pommel
horse, while Keener will compete on
the rings.
What makes Dehr's athletic achieve-
ments so impressive is that he accom-
plished them while being named a
Collegiate Gymnastics Association
Academic All-American in 1999.
In fact, he lists his two-term
appointment to the Dean's list last year
as his greatest achievement at
Michigan.
Dehr's daily practices from 2 to 6 at
the Intramural Building take a toll on
him. As an athlete, he does not have
the luxury of writing term papers the
weekend before they are due - he
may have a meet in Iowa that Saturday.

Nor can he take a mid-day nap to
recover from his early-morning class-
es. x
Rather, the Sports Management.and
Communications major must disci-
pline himself to finish his work on a
precisely managed schedule.
The fact that academic success like
Dehr's is not uncommon on ,the
Michigan gymnastics team speaks to
Golder's success as a recruiter ofqual-
itv student-athletes. An astounding
nine Michigan gymnasts received
some sort of academic honor in 1999.
Although his double-duty as an.ath-
lete and a scholar admittedly leaves
him with little time for himself,,Dehr
regrets none of it. He describes his
closely-knit team as family; he cher-
ishes his friendships on the team.
Many other successful Michigan
athletes have been underestimated
upon their arrival at school.
Often, the heart of the athlete, was
not apparent until they actually set foot
in practice. If projected athleticabili-
ty was the lone arbiter of future suc-
cess, the Michigan athletic community
would be devoid of several stars.
Somewhere, Kurt Golder is thank-
ing his lucky stars that he dhid; .not
receive Tim Dehr's recruiting tape putil
it was too late: Michigan would be
without a gentleman, an athlete and a
scholar.


Recently, he was able
Purdue's Luis Branco in
which sealed Michigan's
r the Boilermakers.

to pin
a bout
victory

KIMITSU YOGACHI/Ddoy
of Michigan men's gymnas-

osition as a walk-on, Tim Dehr has risen through the ranks
a leader on the team.

J DAILY SCOREBOARD"
NCAA Basketball
0 k wLAHOMNA aSTATE and. (20 ings .t.4t
NHIL Standings

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RT PTS HOME
0 T2 h1(,64
1 69 21.3-2
4 iO 10-I2-3
2 45 944.3
RT PTS HOME
I 61 165-3
7 56 12.69
2 54 i7-4
6 46 h-174
RT PiTS HOME
i 6 15.8-2
2 65 15-10-1
7 5s 1.12.2
3 56 1394
1 i3 12-11-4
RT PIS HOME
3 69 195-4
2 61 " 13-8-5
4 54 9-11-S
1 50 14-10.4
2 4i 9.11.5
RT PTS HOME
4 75 21.4-2
1 63 165.5
3 56 12.1,-2
5 55 16-8-3
1 U (-617.3
1 33 6.17-3
RT PTs HOME
3 67 19.5.2
1 59 16-4-6.
40 i 1.11-3
5- 35 9.143
4 32 5-16.2

AWAY
10.11.4
1016.3
9.14.4
AWAY
30.1i-i
6-16-4,
S 17.2
7-10-6
AWAY
14.10.4
149-4
9-15-i
10-1i2-4
10.13-4
AWAY
12-1104
11-11-2
7-1i.3
9-1i-'
AWAY
12.11.3
10-105
11.14-i
7-I17-
r1-Ir-a
7-16-3
AWAY
11-13-2
.9-14.2
n-14-i
3.193
3.19-4

first event of the team finals, the pom-
mel horse. And he hit, scoring a 9.500.
The outcome of the meet for the
Wolverines was essentially a foregone
conclusion after Dehr's resounding
success. What could stop them?
College Gymnastics' team of destiny
in 1999 would conquer the NCAA
Finals and assume its throne as the
sport's king. And it was the lightly-
regarded Dehr who led the charge to
excellence.
Golder loves to describe the conver-
sation he had with a friend regarding
Dehr's role in the National
Championship.
"My friend could simply tell (we
would win the national championship)
by the look in (Dehr's) eye before the
event," Golder said.
Dehr received word of his opening

improvement can also be traced to his
urgent desire to compete at the college
level. He knew that if he could not
make the Michigan gymnastics team,
his days of competitive gymnastics
were essentially over.
"I realized that I had to improve to
compete," Dehr said. "I was starting at
the bottom, and I was working my way
up.
His ascent also stemmed from his
resilience. "I used my mistakes as
learning tools," he said.
THE DAws AFTER:
What did the gymnast do following
Michigan's successful season? He ded-
icated his summer in Ann Arbor to the
pommel horse. Having witnessed
Dehr's workouts before the start of the

So the Illinois native
the gym, grinding out
excruciating step at

set to work in
progress, one
a time. He

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NBA Standings

EASTERN W L PCT GB'
Mmi 29 17 630 -
New York: 2S i6 .6(9 1
ilhielphia 26 22 .541 4
Orladt., 24 26,4A) 8 1
Ru~nni , 21 26 .447 .5
New jer1 1 18 29 383 123
Washington 1535 351 3 i.5
CENTRAL W L PCT GB
na na 31 16 .7\.5 2 2 05'_:5:
rInte .26 20-565 4.5:
ome:N 25 203 .6 4.5
Milwaukee 26 24.520 45
lkxunt 24 253SIlt'7
Clevland 19 28,404 11.5
Ctlanta . 1 27 .400 11.i
ChiAc#96.10 35.45420.

HOME AWAY STK'
16-6 11-10 Lot 1
18-5 10-13 too 1
16-5 10.14 Lot I
11-12 21-14 Wx,
17.7 4-I5 Last 1
14.11 4-i8 Woo1
10.14 5.19 L ot2
HOME AWAY sTK
21-2 1-14 Wo I
193 7-17 Won 2
3-b 10- 12 Won 1
14-9 12-14 Last2
15.7 5-16 Wan 2
15.9 4-19 Lst 2
1-10 5-17 Wn" I
6.16 3-20 - Won I

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