The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 7
PERSO
From P
N his tea
lisheda
age 8 past tw
on last
* * edto b
his juni
It was also during that sopho- tinued
more year that Corey began to Thou
do what he is perhaps most well- lass are
known for. Corey I
Before every game, as the many w
lights go out and the starting Core
lineups are announced, Michi- is loud
gan huddles around Corey, sions a
swaying back and forth in a mates
circle. With Corey inthe middle, they ca
dancing and pumping up his their sp
team, all eyes are on him. "Wh
"Sometimes I know what I'm years i
goingto do," Corey said. learn t
"Sometimes I don't. Some- calls fo
times I know what I'm going act wit]
to say, sometimes I don't. says.
Sometimes it's just a spur-the- "Som
moment thing, sometimes it's a ways to
planned-out thing." Someti
With the lights off and the best me
attention on him, Corey's smile a playe
is as wide as the arena's lone might r
spotlight on him. He's either worse.
reminding the team to stay posi- learned
tive, barking about defending within
home court, or urging the Wol- each in
verines to play hard for 40 min- Core
utes. ics tha
Corey's role before the games when h
doesn't surprise Camerron Hei
Cheatham, Corey's best friend sonalit
from Kalamazoo, who now plays ing ev
defensive back for Cincinnati. making
"Corey always likes to dance," throug
Cheatham said. "When we But]
would go to parties, he would be ritt's st
the only one who would dance." profout
Cheatham caught himself. ting th
"He wouldn't be the only one games.
who would dance. He was the "He
only one who actually could nitely
dance. The rest of us would just one th
be chilling." hear i
Corey's laid-back, social tice
nature has made him well liked day," L
* by the team. His attitude allows "But
him to command his teammates' someon
attention when he has some- you cat
thingto say. on to
"He's a people person," you m
Cheatham said. "He can talk at the
to anybody, he can get to know priate
anybody. He's a fun person to whethe
be around in that there's never it's afte
gonna be a dull moment. He's a before
good guy." doing a
After Corey's pre-game gig styles."
commenced during his sopho- His
more season, it's taken off ever more is
since. He's done it full-time the not spe
last two years and he's added to He der
it. During starting-lineup intro- somew
ductions, he executes a cho- one of t
reographed embrace with each "I I
starter. These include Novak's respect
"discount double-check" belt in each
flash and Hardaway's shirt-rip- said. "
ping Superman move. see tha
"That just came with my ing har
interaction with the guys," on the
Corey says. "I've always been tears -
the outspoken one, the goofy as they
one, the silly one. I've always you gai
been the one that interacts with in tho
everybody the most, so it just every d
came from having handshakes other,
outside when we see each other those h
walking around campus to just go thr
being silly in the locker room." game, t
immates, he has estab-
a leadership position the
o years. With no seniors
year's team, Corey start-
become even more vocal
or year, and that has con-
through this season.
tgh Novak and Doug-
the official co-captains,
has taken on the role in
nays.
y, the scout-team leader,
in practices, workout ses-
nd games, telling team-
what they need to do, how
n improve, or just lifting
pirits.
at I've learned over the
s that you just have to
hat a certain situation
r certain ways to inter-
:h certain players," Corey
ae people react certain
you getting in their face.
Imes that's not always the
thod because sometimes
r can shut down and you
make the situation only
So, over the years, I've
that I have to take it
the moment and with
dividual player."
y's leadership style mim-
t of the team's captains
e was a freshman.
incorporates Lee's per-
y and vocal nature, talk-
ery day in practice and
sure his voice is heard
tout the season.
he also channels Mer-
yle by providing the more
nd motivation and get-
e team geared up before
of your t
without p
Beilein sa
It's a fa
was his ft
the Mich
role and'
playing t
but think
be like els
Thougl
ing Mich
Corey sai
taking an
"Certa
think abo
trated," I
seriously
never pur
ferring.
"My fa
things t
selves on
quit, they
up. My da
things w
just give 1
Witht
from Cris
son stepp
Michig
Purdue o
foul shots
home gan
The M
knew tha
been dete
savor the
basketbal
The ta
verine p
received
teammates to do that doubled his scoring output from
laying, and he does it," his previous three seasons. With
ys. a minute left, Corey took the
r cry fromwhere Corey ball on the left wing, streaked
reshman year. Stuck on through the defense and laid it
igan roster without a in off the glass. With that, he
without the promise of matched his point total from the
ime, he couldn't help rest of his career.
of what his life would And in the final possession,
sewhere. Corey grabbed an offensive
h the thought of leav- rebound, turned around, put the
igan crossed his mind, ball in the basket, and that was
d he was never close to it. Four points, a career-high.
y action. It wasn't Novak or Douglass
in days, of course you that scored the final points in
ut it when you're frus- Crisler of their four years. It
he said. "But I never was Corey. After four years of
played with the idea or putting in work away from the
-sued the idea of trans- bright lights, he finally got his
moment.
mily, one of the main But it should come as no sur-
hat they pride them- prise that this didn't matter to
, they're never going to Corey. Michigan had lost.
're never going to give For the past four years, Corey
td never let me just quit has given everything to make
hen I was younger or sure that Michigan would win,
up on things." and they didn't this time.
"Obviously, we wanted to
* win," Lee said. "And I know
that's all Corey is about."
"His motivation is just 'team,'
the air long removed " Beilein said. "He wants to be
sler Center, Corey Per- on a winning team and he wants
ed onto the court. to help us in any way that he
;an, down 15 points to can."
n Feb. 25, was just a few Corey has since topped his
from dropping its first February performance by scor-
ne of the season. ing seven points in garbage time
aize and Blue faithful in a blowout loss to Ohio State in
t the outcome had long the Big Ten Tournament, but he
ermined, but wanted to has long come to terms that his
last moments of home name won't be in the Michigan
[1 until November. record books.
wo icons of the Wol- Young fans won't run up ask-
rogram had already ing for his autograph. He won't
their due. Left were a see a maize No. 32 jersey in the
couple fleet- crowd. k
ing moments But that's not what's impor-
of apathy, tant to Corey. It's not what
) mixed with drives him.
the stinging Three year ago, he discovered
S disappoint- that his role was elsewhere.
ment that "Even though the fans might
e a the two Indi- not see it, if you ask the staff and
If ana natives, the players that are in there with
who returned us every day, I feel like I have
Michigan bas- made enough of an impact. Even
ketball to rel- though it's not on the court, it's
evance, were just as important to the team,"
risler with a whimper. Corey said.
and Douglass were "I know a lot of people might
whisked off the floor not see the things I do behind
obligatory senior-night closed doors. But I believe that I
and Corey was the lone have left a mark."
ICE HO0CK EY
Michigan keeps
CCHA streak alive
By LIZ VUKELICH
Daily Sports Writer
The No. 3 Michigan hockey
team has a lot of streaks to keep
track of.
Some are as small as the team's
latest winning streak, currently
at three games. Others are longer,
like the number of consecutive
times Michigan has received abid
to the NCAA Tournament - 22,
after next weekend's selection
show.
No player really likes to bring
those streaks up, though. Any
possible mention of one being
snapped is something of a taboo
subject in and around the locker
room. It's almost as if just think-
ing it can cause it to happen.
But this week, the Wolver-
ines can sit tight, at least for the
time being. The weekend sweep
of Notre Dame means Michigan
punched its ticket to the CCHA
Tournament semifinals for the
23rd-consecutive year.
"That's a tribute to the players,
the coaches and the support we've
had from our fans," said Michigan
coach Red Berenson on Saturday.
"It's a great situation. They don't
hand it out. We had to pay our
dues, we had to earn that."
When reflecting on some of the
season's rocky points, it's hard
for the team not to get excited
about playing for the Mason Cup
at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena for
another year.
The Wolverines faced a month-
long win drought in November
and tough splits against Notre
Dame, Michigan State and Bowl-
ing Green in the last two months
before ultimately finishing out
their regular season at 21-11- 4.
Some of that has to do with the
program's direction under Beren-
son.
"A lot of really good players
have played here," said fifth-year
senior goaltender Shawn Hun-
wick. "Coach really knows what
he's talking about. The guys from
the last 24 years have been able to
bringthe intensity."
But Michigan's success has as
much to do with the environment
it plays in as the team's storied his-
tory.
The teamtakes pride in the fact
that Yost Ice Arena is one of the
CCHA's toughestvenues to play in
- and Saturday didn't disappoint.
The crowd's energy on Sat-
urday was contagious, with the
fans wanting to send the Wol-
verines off from their last home
game with a bang. When Notre
Dame took a timeout with a min-
ute remaining in the third period,
noise levels seemed to shake the
building's infrastructure to the
core. No doubt communication on
the Fighting Irish bench, situated
closest to the student section, suf-
fered.
According to senior forward
David Wohlberg, that enthusiasm
was what helped Michigan hold
off Notre Dame, even while short-
handed.
"That comes with home-ice
advantage," Wohlberg said.
"The fans here are great and
they helped us out a lot (on Satur-
day). It's one of those things that
you don't forget about when you
look back and see which games
youwon."
Michigan has averaged over
6,000 fans per game this season, a
far cry from the 3,000-some that
left the arena half-full in Beren-
son's first year at the helm in 1984.
By the end of the night, all
Michigan's seniors wanted to do
was to skate off their home ice one
last time following a win.
And they couldn't help but
smile after the game.
"Our class wanted to go out
with a bang," Hunwick said. "We
wanted to get to the Joe to keep
that streak alive. We've got a ton
of streaks to keep alive, and luck-
ily enough, we've been able to do
it so far."
defi-
is the
at you
n prac-
every
ee said.
he's
ne that
n count
bring
essages
appro-
time,
"(When he's
around, there
never gonna b
dull moment
r it's in practice, whether
r the game, whether it's
the game. You'd hear him
mixture of those kind of
leadership role is even
mpressive given that he's
nding time on the court.
ives his authority from
here else, outside of being
he team's go-to players.
believe my teammates
the work that I've put
day in practice," Corey
When your teammates
t you're out there work-
d and putting everything
line - blood, sweat and
- out there just as much
are in practice every day,
n a respect. When you're
se trenches each and
lay in practice with each
and you guys go through
attles in practice and you
ough those battles each
hey gain the respect."
y has the power to call a
eeting or speak up in the
. And when he talks, his
ates listen.
a have to have respect
leaving C
Novak
already
for their,
ovations,
senior remaining in the game.
For the last minute and 14
seconds, the roles from the last
four years were reversed. It was
Novak and Douglass riding the
pine while Person had the ball in
his hands.
And much like the last four
years, Corey's work went unno-
ticed. It was Novak and Dou-
glass who got the royal exits
- the honorary substitution late
in the game so the crowd could
acknowledge what the two had
done.
Corey received no such treat-
ment. He was working while
the attention was elsewhere.
He played the remainder of the
game and walked off the court
in anonymity.
It was a fitting scene, given
the last four years.
But it was also that game
where Corey would put forth the
best performance of his career.
In just 1:14 of time, Corey
ru (. ~ i4E Mo~t- tv5r
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Core
team m
huddle
teamm
gh Corey's rapport with "You
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