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Spor
Fall 2014 - 3E
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Redshirted Donnal
storms into 2014-15
TERESA MATHEW/Daily
Jordan Morgan's career ended in March with a crushing 75-72 loss to Kentucky in the Elite Eight.
HELFAND
From Page 1E
both on a shooting foul. H
three. Robinson three. Ni
sessions now without so
a missed shot. How muc
this?
Michigan needs two to
so John Beilein takes a t
And then LeVert goes oft
kas misses a layup, but
grabs it and
dishes. Staus-
kas, again,
from three
rims out and d
LeVert slashes
into the paint, W1
dives after the
ball and, fall-
ing backward,
dishes back to Stauskas.
miss, but a hand - likely
Julius Randle of Kentucky
rects the ball back in. Tie g
This right here was Mi
season. A flawless, smart offense
(the most efficient, ever, it turns
out, at least since we've started
keeping track of such stats); a
larrison socialist-like insistence on shar-
ine pos- ing the basketball; and more
much as effort than defense. LeVert was
h fun is not going to let Kentucky get the
ball back before Michigan made
tie now, a basket.
imeout. Then Aaron Harrison - that's
f. Staus- Aaron Bleeping Harrison, to
LeVert translate for Ann Arbor readers
- hit the shot
of his young
It's over. J career. Staus-
kas' prayer
on't know went short.
And Kentucky
hat to say." won.
*Michigan
will be back
here again.
Another This feels more certain than it
that of has in forever.
- redi- For Michigan, this hurt not
ame. because it gave Kentucky any-
chigan's thing.It didn't. It hurt not because
it squandered a rare opportunity.
It will come again.
It hurts because it won't be
with this team, this thoroughly
surprising and likable team. It
hurts, because in college basket-
ball today, teams like this are like
comets - brilliant, breathtaking,
brief. It hurts because that photo
feels nostalgic. And it's from
2012. Ithurts because of Morgan.
Morgan is talking about this
team in the press conference
after the game. He's the last one
to speak before it's over.
"Yeah, I mean, just this year
has been the most fun time I've
had, probably, playing basketball,
ever," he says.
It's over now, and it hurts for
Michigan, but I don't know what
else to say except: how much fun
was that?
Managing Photo Editor
Teresa Mathew and Daily Sports
Editor Daniel Wasserman
contributed reporting.
By NEAL ROTHSCHILD
Daily SportsEditor
APRIL 6, 2014 - Of the Michi-
gan men's basketball team's fresh-
men last year, each saw important
minutes and had big moments.
Two of this year'sthree freshmen
did too.
Then there's Mark Donnal. The
6-foot-9 freshman from Mon-
clova, Ohio was redshirted and
rode the bench as his teammates
moved the Elite Eight.
Eventhewalk-ons that entered
blowouts late in the game became
more recognizable than Donnal,
the four-star recruit who flashed
a dynamic inside-outside game in
high school.
The 240-pound newcomer is
reticent and soft-spoken, and if
there were character traits that
would keep him from blooming
into a well-adjusted, productive
freshman, those were a few of
them.
"Coming in, I was a little
timid," Donnal said.
The lack of assertiveness and
the slow learning curve were
enough for Michigan coach John
Beilein to tag Donnal with the
"redshirt candidate" label early in.
the season. In a December victory
over Stanford, fifth-year senior
Jordan Morgan and redshirt
junior Jon Horford both fouled
out. Six-foot-six sophomore Glenn
Robinson III had to play the '5'
in the final possessions, and yet,
burning Donnal's redshirt never
crossed Beilein's mind.
That was the last game before
sophomore Mitch McGary was
ruled out with his back injury,
and so it would be just Morgan,
Horford and a dash of redshirt
sophomore Max Bielfeldt in the
frontcourt the rest of the season.
Donnal said the possibility
of a redshirt was never brought
up when Beilein recruited him,
yet, it still lingered in the back
of Donnal's mind. When Beilein
broached it to him early this sea-
son, he marketed the plan as a
chance to bulk up (he gained 10
to 15 pounds this year), become
stronger and get to learn the
offense.
It sounds nice enough, but that
also meant spending the season
watching from the bench, down
on the opposite end from Beilein,
where the guys who wouldn't be
of service onagiveneveningwere
placed. It was something Donnal
never had to do. It was tough for
him, but he knew there was noth-
ing to do but soak in information.
"Jordan, especially defensively,
just going up against him, I'm
learning from what he's doing
when he's playing against me,"
Donnal said.
Donnal was on the scout team
this season, and by seeing the
angles and nuances Morgan and
Horford played with in practice,
he was able to absorb the new
concepts.
"He's still learning the ins and
outs of the game," Morgan said. "I
don't even remember what Iknew
in high school, but he's learning."
Donnal's not sure when exactly
it was, just that it came around the
middle of the regular season, but
he turned a corner. He'd found
success against Morgan and Hor-
ford enough in practice that he
knewhe belonged.
"I started to pick up every-
thing, and my game started to
come back to me, and I'm getting
in the flow of the college game,"
Donnal said.
If it wasn't for the redshirt,
Morgan and Horford might have
had to worry abouttheir job secu-
rity.
"Over the past couple months,
he's just become really good.
Really dominates, shoots the ball
well."
The tentativeness that plagued
Donnal through the season's first
couple months seemed to disap-
pear.
"Now that I have my confi-
dence back, I know that Ican play
with these guys," Donnal said.
The hallmark '5' of the John
Beilein offense is a guy that can
hang with the best big men under
the rim, but also take hisdefender
outside to shoot the 3-pointer.
West Virginia sensation Kevin
Pittsnogle was the paradigm for
the type of player Beilein wanted
at that position.
But since he came to Michigan,
Beilein's '5' has looked less like
Pittsnogle and more like, well,
Morgan. The outside shot has
never been a threat from Beilein's
center in his Michigan days.
With Donnal, though, that
might change.
"He's told me that he's excited
to have a big man that can shoot
threes," Donnal said.
In a 10-minute open practice
at Lucas Oil Stadium a day before
Michigan's Sweet 16 bout against
Tennessee, Donnal showed fans
for the first time - outside of pre-
game warmups - what he could
do.
He had the most fluid jump
shot of Michigan's big men, he
finished around the rim with both
hands and he had perhaps the
most polished post game behind
Mitch McGary.
Asked if he's thought about
what the team might look like if
Donnal was on the court late this
year, Morgan sidestepped the
question, but made a point with
authority.
"I think about next year," he
said. "I think he's gonna make a
really big difference for this team
next year."
HOCKEY BAND
Rehearses Thursdays
Fall Term 9:00-10:30 PM
Winter Term 7:00-8:30 PM
Be apart of the legendary Michigan Hockey Band
and help bring that fan spirit and tradition to Yost.
BASKETBALL BAND
Rehearses Tuesdays, 7:00-8:15 PM
Support both the Men's and Women's Basketball teams
among the lively Maize Rage crowd- and get the added bonus
of being paid to play at the Women's games!
AUDITION DETAILS:
*Open to ALL University of Michigan students
*Audition consists of scales and sight-reading
*Will be held Sept. 7th-I0th at Revelli Hall
350 E. Hoover St. (South Campus)
*Call 734-764-0582 to schedule an audition time
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