The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 9
Petway
lends a
e pin
hand
4 By H. JOSE BOSCH
Daily Sports Editor
Brent Petway told his teammate it was all
right to cry.
It's an odd statement in a world where an
athlete is expected to be indestructible.
But Petway isn't the prototypical team
* leader, and following the shocking death of
DeShawn Sims's brother, Marcus Pruitt, in
November, Petway made a bigger difference in
Sims's life than any of his flashy dunks could
ever do for a game.
Petway happened to be the player Sims
called not long after the tragedy. The senior
said he dropped what he was doing and picked
Sims up, and the two just drove around and
talked.
"(I told him) 'I'm here for you. So whatever
you need, if you need to cry, you need a hug or i
you need to drive and get away,' " Petway said.
"I just let him know he had a solid brotherhood
right here."
Sims said the two of them talk on a regular
basis, and it's clear how much the freshman a BEN SIMON/Dai
looks up to his elder counterpart. Senor Brent Petway was there for freshman DeShawn Sims during a time of treat seed.
"Brent is just the coolest guy," Sims said. man than an impressive stat sheet. self.
"Brent's a great guy off the court, and he does a "It means a lot," said Sims of his connection While Petway and Sims have bonded, thi
lot of special things for people." with Petway. "(And) he always makes sure I'm rest of Petway's teammates also appreciate tI
For most fans, the special things that Mich- all right." leadership he provides.
igan's most electric player does include Earth- It would be easy for Petway to look the other "(His talking) gets guys to play to their ful
shattering dunks and violent denials in the way. Both players are power forwards, and any est potential," junior Ron Coleman said. "H
paint. basketball related advice given to the rookie tells us what to do, and he's a veteran player
And even if a dunk doesn't go in or a shot could potentially cost Petway minutes. guys look up to him and he's very energetic. H
barely eludes his outstretched hands, any time But rather than turn a cold shoulder, the just gets us going."
Petway tries to make a play, he leaves fans senior has taken Sims under his wing and acts Highlight-reel dunks and blocks are his cal
shaking their heads at his incredible leaping as a mentor to him. ing card. His outspokenness is well known.
ability. Whenever Sims makes a mistake on the But the day Petway shined the brightest w
But while dunks and blocks have defined court, Petway is the first one at his side to offer that afternoon, when he picked up a teamma
Petway for his entire career, it's his work off his support and encouragement. And through- in need and just drove around.
the court work that has affected Sims. It's the out the season, Petway has been the one to A hundred dunks could beat that. Just at
kind of relationship that speaks more about a make sure Sims never gets too down on him- DeShawn Sims.
Donadee falls int solid season
Class of '09
stepping it up
he
he
1-
te
so
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ite
sk
James V. Dowd on
Ice Hockey
When Michigan coach Red
Berenson and his staff secured
one of the most decorated
recruiting classes in program
history last year, it seemed like
just a matter of time before the
Wolverines returned to their
dominant form of the mid-1990s.
After all, it's rare that a college
hockey team has a first-round
draft pick coming to school rath-
er than joining the major junior
circuit or minor leagues. So with
No. 3 overall pick Jack Johnson
and No. 25 selection Andrew
Cogliano jumping into maize and
blue sweaters last year, it looked
like Michigan hockey was back.
Since the pair began skating
for the Wolverines, however,
things have been far from rosy.
Once they hit the ice last season,
Michigan jumped out to a 9-1-1
start and an early season No. 1
ranking, but then things started
to slide downhill.
The Wolverines lost both Col-
lege Hockey Showcase games at
home to Wisconsin and Minne-
sota. Then they failed to win the
Great Lakes Invitational while
Cogliano and Johnson played
in the World Junior Champi-
onships. And once playoff time
rolled around, Michigan fell to
rival Michigan State in the CCHA
semifinals and lost its first round
NCAA tournament game against
North Dakota.
As the season began, both
Johnson and Cogliano were opti-
mistic, with a year of experience
under their belts. But once again,
things weren't going as planned.
The team struggled to win
both games of a weekend series
throughout the first half of the
season. When, Michigan fell to
Northern Michigan three weeks
ago on Saturday night, it seemed
like the issue of inconsistency
was here to stay.
But the team's emerging
sophomore leaders, Johnson and
Cogliano, decided to take mat-
ters into their own hands.
This past weekend's series
against Ferris State was the
perfect picture of why the pair
was brought here. The sopho-
mores combined for 13 points,
leading the Wolverines to two
victories over the Bulldogs.
Cogliano unleashed his lethal
shot and stealthy passing skills,
while Johnson demonstrated his
unique combination of soft hands
and raw power with five goals.
There couldn't have been a
better time for newfound con-
fidence among the sophomore
stars. Berenson believes this will
carry over as the Wolverines jos-
tle for playoff positions and pos-
sibly the CCHA regular-season
championship.
"Cogliano has scored in, I
think, every game except one
or two since he has been back
(from the World Junior Cham-
pionship)," Berenson said. "And
you can just see that Jack is now
regaining his form - he is sharp,
he is hungry, he is confident and
he is strong. He and Hunwick
play in 20-something minutes
every game and in all key situa-
tions. And you can just see.what
a difference it makes."
Johnson had struggled to
find the back of the net over the
previous few games, an unusu-
al problem for a defenseman
who had scored relatively often
throughout his career. Instead of
becoming frustrated and turning
to headhunting - for which he
is equally well known - John-
son kept working until the pucks
started going in.
Seeing Johnson come out of his
offensive slump was a welcome
sight for Cogliano, who under-
stands the value of blue-line help
in the opponent's zone.
Over the past few weeks,
Cogliano and Michigan's for-
wards have focused on contrib-'
uting more to the team's defense,
which has resulted in a 6-1
record for the Wolverines in Jan-
uary. Cogliano knows now that
the defense's ability to make the
same effort at the offensive end
or not will be the key to where
Michigan's season heads from
here.
If last weekend was any sign,
things look good.
"Jack (Johnson) had eight
points this weekend," Cogliano
said. "You don't see that every
day of the week. And Hunwick
is doing a good job. He is trying
to pick it up offensively. ... When
they are scoring, we can score,
and that shows that we have to
keep pushing and keep them in
the plays also. They do a good job
and can probably score on their
chancesp erget a shorthanded
rush."
With Cogliano and John-
son maturing and performing'
well, Berenson's vision when'
he recruited two eventual first-
round picks has finally been real-
ized. The Wolverines might have'
finally turned the corner they've
been standing on for months.
By COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily Sports Writer
Imagine falling 30 feet and
landing on your face.
As a sophomore, Jon Donadee
attempted a front 3.5 pike dive off
of the 10-meter platform at a meet
in Austin. The dive went wrong.
Donadee was knocked uncon-
scious and, after being pulled out
of the water by a teammate, was
sent to the hospital. It took him
almost a year to resume training
on the 10-meter.
As an upperclassman, he was
doing back dives off the 7.5-miter
platform in practice when a dive,
again, did not go as expected. But
instead of causing an injury, it
became a humorous memory.
"He does back twisters pretty
consistently, but he came out,
got lost in his twist and came out
doing cartwheels," sophomore
diver Kyle Schroeder said. "He did
a double cartwheel straight to his
feet, which is like the most unbe-
lievable thingever. Justlandingon
your feet is a miracle, especially if
you get lost.
"It was so funny because he's
always able to find himself and
make the dive somewhat better
than what it could have been. He
does that all the time."
After his early setback, Don-
adee, now a senior, has landed on
his feet and come out on top dur-
ing the strongest season of his
career. In his last campaign as a
Wolverine, he hopes to make an
impact at the zone and Big Ten
championships.
Against Indiana two weekends
ago, Donadee qualified for the
NCAA zones in the one-meter
(316.05) and three-meter (310.05).
He was the highest-scoring Michi-
gan diver in the one-meter against
FILE PHOTO
Senior Jon Donadee hopes a strong retulat season wil propel him to greater heights at the Big Ten Championships.
Let's Beat
Ohio State!
2007
1. Double side all of your printing.
2. Use a travel mug at coffee shops.
3. Recycle all of your paper and bottles.
January 28-April 7,2007
University of Michigan Waste Management Services
www.recycle.umich.edu
UsI School of Music,''theatre &Dance
University Dance Company
Choreography by Martha Graham,
guest artist Leyya Tawil, and faculty
Amy Chavasse, Peter Sparling,
Satndra Torijano, and Robin Wilson
the Hoosiers, finishing third over-
all.
He was also the top Wolverine
in the one-meter against Arizona
State and California (fourth place
overall) the one-meter against
Florida (third place overall) and
both the one- and three-meter
against Michigan State and Princ-
eton (third and second place over-
all, respectively).
Donadee, one of two seniors on
the team, has used this season to
continue improving his dives. He
said his progress on the platform
since his sophomore year has been
his greatest accomplishment.
"The dives that Jon is doing off
the 10-meter platform' are diffi-
cult and they take strict attention
to detail," Michigan diving coach
Chris Bergere said. "He has to
stay focused on his training. Oth-
erwise, it could be a disaster up
there, and he knows that.
"He's really made a lot of
improvement his senior year. A lot
of the seniors, on their way out, it's
hard for them to make any chang-
es. Jon has always progressed and
kept getting better."
Before the end of his collegiate
career, Donadee hopes to score
higher in the three-meter dive
and make the finals at the zone or
conference championship meets
in the event. At next month's Big
Ten championships, he said that
he would like to score points in
the platform and both spring-
board events, his goal since his
freshman year.
"I've never scored points for the
team at the Big Ten meet, and it's
the one most disappointing thing
about my career," Donadee said.
"That's my motivation behind this
year."
Bergere said Donadee now has
the ability to score in all three
events.
"It is very likely, but he has to
dive well," Bergere said. "The
competition is pretty tough, but
he's diving better than he ever
has. If he shows up that day, he'll
score. I guarantee it,"
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