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 'as 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," Double your MCAT* Prep - for free! up to a $1,749 value Not sure which of the 19 MCAT dates is right for you? Enroll in an MCAT course in January and prepare for any 2007 test date. 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