By CHRIS CROWDER

Daily Sports Writer

The 
phone 
camera 
rolls. 

Kelsey 
Mitchell 
and 
Jillian 

Dunston are in the imagined 
setting 
of 
a 
mall. 
They’re 

complaining about being there 
for too long, waiting for Siera 
Thompson, who is shopping.

On the court, Mitchell and 

Dunston 
are 
the 
Michigan 

women’s 
basketball 
team’s 

top 
forwards 
and 
scrappy 

rebounders. 
But 
this 
is 

Instagram, and this is a different 
side of the two athletes.

Thompson returns through 

a door in a sweatsuit outfit, 
asking the other two if they 
like it. The video is supposed to 
include the Webster Dictionary 
word of the day. Today’s word is 
fitness.

Mitchell 
brings 
in 
the 

punchline, “Now she know she 
don’t FITNESS jacket.”

For 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball fans, it seems like 
the senior forward Mitchell 
has just started to come out of 
her shell. After a career mired 
with injuries and a slow start to 
her senior campaign, Mitchell 
has come alive in the past two 
games.

When 
the 
team 
needed 

strength and finesse in the paint 
down by 17 against Iowa on Jan. 

7, Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico turned to Mitchell. In her 
fourth career start, Mitchell led 
an improbable comeback win 
with 15 points and 11 rebounds. 
She rode the momentum to 
another 
stellar 
performance 

against Minnesota three days 
later, nearly earning her second 
straight double-double with 13 
points and nine rebounds.

Mitchell 
is 
soft-spoken 

both on and off the court. But 
it depends who she is talking 
to and the occasion. To her 
teammates, she’s always been 
out of her shell. She is described 
by Barnes Arico as a monster 
on the court but overall even-
keeled. Her emotion was in full 
force when she let out a yell after 
blocking a shot late in the game 
against Iowa. But for the most 
part, Mitchell stays quiet and 
takes care of business.

Scouting reports will say to 

watch her signature slick spin 
move toward the baseline, but 
most people outside Mitchell’s 
team, friends and family would 
know that she has a knack for 
cracking jokes.

“She is hysterical,” Barnes 

Arico said. “She is the funniest 
person I may have met in my 
entire life, and you wouldn’t 
know that probably talking to 
the media. But if you got her 
outside of media, if you ever 

check out Webster’s Word of 
the Day on Instagram, you’ll die 
(laughing).”

Mitchell, 
the 
sophomore 

forward Dunston and the junior 
guard Thompson have made 
multiple 
15-second 
comedy 

sketches, using whatever the 
word of the day is in a witty way 
during the skit. The puns are 
inventive and reveal the comedic 
affinity all three possess. 

In one skit, Mitchell and 

Thompson are sitting down, 
acting like it’s getting late and 
it’s time for one of them to go 
home. Mitchell asks to spend the 
night. Thompson says, “Now you 
know my granny be trippin’. She 
don’t like last-minute stuff.”

Mitchell 
responds: 
“Man, 

ALASKA. Granny Pearl!”

Dunston appears from behind 

a door frame, glasses half way 
down her nose, yelling with a 
drawl, “Yes?!”

In this twisting of words, 

Alaska is said instead of “I’ll ask 
her.”

There’s 
more 
to 
Kelsey 

Mitchell than just a focused 
basketball player. It may have 
taken a while for Michigan fans 
to discover, but with her videos 
as proof, the wait was worth 
it. Now, if she can stay in the 
spotlight, fans will continue to 
uncover the multiple features 
that make up her personality.

‘M’ hosts No. 3 Maryland

By SIMON KAUFMAN

Daily Sports Editor

Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 

coach John Beilein began his 
Monday press conference with 
an unprompted 
injury 
update 

on senior guard 
Caris 
LeVert 

and 
a 
tinge 

of 
tongue-in-

cheek flare.

“You 
all 

want 
your 

Caris 
report, 

right?” Beilein 
asked a group 
of reporters. “It 
seems 
we’ve 

been having the 
injury 
report 

here for about three years.

“The injury report is less 

pain every day, less yesterday. 
We elected not to have him still 
practice yesterday because (we 
want to) let the healing try to 
complete itself. I’m not optimistic 
about (him playing) tomorrow. 
The longer it goes, the more he’s 
going to need two or three days of 
practice, or he won’t be ready or 
we can risk further injuring it. So 
that’s what I got to say and that’s 
what I prefer to say. So if you ask 
me anything more, I already said 
it — and I said it well. It was well 
said.”

The 
Wolverines 
(2-1 
Big 

Ten, 12-4 overall) will likely be 
without their top scorer again 
Tuesday night when they host 
No. 3 Maryland. Meanwhile, the 
Terrapins’ most productive player, 
guard Melo Trimble, is coming off 
a 21-point performance on the road 
against Wisconsin on Saturday.

In Madison, Trimble showed 

why he was the preseason pick 
for Big Ten Player of the Year. On 
top of his game-high 21 points, 
he dished out five assists, and 
with time expiring, he buried a 
3-pointer to send Maryland (4-0, 

15-1) home victorious.

“He just comes down the 

court, there was no panic at all,” 
Beilein said of Trimble’s latest 
performance. “It reminded me 
of a guy we had as well. … He 
obviously, like Trey Burke, is a 
tremendous player, but he’s also 
got — like Trey Burke — a lot of 
pieces around him.”

Maryland has five players 

averaging double-digit scoring 
per contest and plays with two 
true big men, Damonte Dodd and 
Diamond Stone — both 6-foot-11. 
Stone is pacing 13 points and five 
rebounds per game.

Add 
in 
guard 
Rasheed 

Sulaimon, who is pacing 10 points 
and four assists per game, and 
forwards 
Jake 
Layman 
(10.7 

points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists) 
and Robert Carter Jr. (12.6, 6.9, 
1.8), and it makes sense that 
Maryland has been a popular 

Final Four pick.

“They’ve got a lot of people that 

can make good plays for them,” 
Beilein said. “They’ve got seniors; 
they’ve got juniors. We’re down to 
two juniors again for the second 
straight year, so it is what it is.”

With 
LeVert 
sidelined, 

sophomore guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman has started 
in his place. Abdur-Rahkman 
had a career night on Thursday at 
Purdue, scoring a career-high 25 
points. But despite the explosive 
scoring performance, he had just 
two assists in 39 minutes.

“That’s something you have to 

work on, seeing the whole floor 
and not just two actions or two 
players on the court,” Abdur-
Rahkman said. “So I just want to 
get better at that.”

On the defensive end, Abdur-

Rahkman may be more prepared 
than his teammates to take on 

Trimble. The two played together 
when Abdur-Rahkman lived in 
the Washington D.C. area from 
when he was nine years old until 
his junior year of high school, but 
Abdur-Rahkman said Trimble’s 
game has changed since when the 
two used to play together.

Junior guard Derrick Walton 

has also tried to take on more 
responsibility 
with 
LeVert 

injured, but he has struggled to 
find his touch since conference 
play started, going 8-for-25 from 
the field in three Big Ten games.

Tuesday’s game presents an 

opportunity for Michigan to 
get its first marquee win in a 
conference in which home wins 
are essential due to the difficulty 
of winning on the road.

“If you’re going to be in the 

NCAA picture, you’ve got to win 
almost all your home games,” 
Beilein said.

Terps’ Trimble 
talks leadership

By JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

The 
Maryland 
men’s 

basketball team has no shortage 
of weapons, but sophomore point 
guard Melo Trimble proved this 
weekend 
that 
he 

is 
chief 

among 
them.

With 12 

seconds 
remaining 
and the score tied in a difficult 
road matchup at Wisconsin on 
Saturday, the Preseason Big Ten 
Player of the Year dribbled up the 
court and took the game into his 
own hands.

Instead of trying to run a 

play or drive to the rim, Trimble 
confidently 
stepped 
up 
and 

buried a long 3-pointer with 1.2 
seconds left to give the third-
ranked Terrapins the victory.

In October, the Daily caught 

up with the Terrapins’ star 
player at Big Ten Media Day in 
Chicago.

The 
Michigan 
Daily: 

Maryland 
has 
much 
higher 

expectations this year than in 
recent years. Has the team had 
a chance to react to those yet? 
Does 
that 
change 
anything 

heading into the season?

Melo Trimble: I think we’re 

confident as a group, but I think 
more so, we want to work and 
just keep grinding. It’ll take the 
little things to be a great team, 
and I think from the summer to 
the fall ’til now, I think the team 
— the way we’re headed, the 
direction we’re headed — we feel 
that we can do great things, and 
we have a good group.

TMD: 
Over 
the 
summer, 

you got a personal invitation 

from Steph Curry to go to one 
of his camps. What was that 
experience like?

MT: It was a great experience. 

I got a chance to train with Steph 
Curry, I got a chance to be beside 
him. It was very exciting — he 
was the MVP last season and 
won the championship, and just 
being beside him, seeing how 
he shoots the ball was a great 
experience.

TMD: Did you get a chance 

to pick his brain at all? Get any 
advice from him?

MT: I just asked him, “What 

does it take to win?” And he told 
me, “Work ethic.” Work, work, 
work, just being a leader, being 
myself.

TMD: There were a lot of 

high schoolers at the camp, too. 
Were you working mostly on 
yourself, or were you also in an 
instructional role?

MT: I was a teacher at the 

camp, I talked to young guys 
in the groups. It was mostly 
me being a leader, being very 
vocal. I’m not used to teaching a 
group of guys. It’s something I’m 
working on, being a leader. I think 
that camp was a good experience.

TMD: You’re pretty young 

still yourself, with just one year 
of college basketball under your 
belt. What kinds of things have 
you learned in that short time 
that you were able to impart on 
those younger kids?

MT: I would say, just know 

yourself, know what you do best, 
and continue to stay in the gym, 
because that’s what I did. I didn’t 
think I was gonna have the year 
I had last year before the season 
started. It just came from me 
getting confidence (and from) my 
teammates, my coaches, always 
having a good relationship with 
my coaching staff.

Mitchell’s sunny side

Sports
8 — Tuesday, January 12, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Sophomore guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored a career-high 25 points in a loss to Purdue on Thursday.

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Senior forward Kelsey Mitchell has scored double digit points in the Wolverines’ recent wins over Iowa and Minnesota.

Maryland at 
Michigan

Matchup: 
Maryland 15-1; 
Michigan 12-4

When: 
Tuesday, 
9 P.M.

Where: Crisler 
Center

TV/Radio: 
ESPN

Fourth line shows energy, 
Berenson shuffles D-men

Shuart and Dancs 
impress by doing 
the dirty work in 

opportune moments

By MINH DOAN 

Daily Sports Editor

The fourth line of a hockey 

team can sometimes serve as the 
utility line. The line gets to play 
whenever 
the 

coach thinks a 
change of pace 
is needed in the game.

For Michigan, the fourth line 

has been all that and more.

With the Wolverines recently 

adding a seventh defenseman, a 
hole has been left on the fourth 
line. But there are two forwards 
who have consistently been on 
the fourth line there to keep 
it steady: sophomore Dexter 
Dancs and junior Max Shuart. 
The duo combined for just two 
goals and an assist against 
Michigan State this weekend, 
but Dancs’ goal late in the 
first period against Michigan 
State on Saturday jumpstarted 
Michigan’s offensive attack.

“They’re trying to play hockey 

the right way,” said Michigan 
coach Red Berenson. “Part of 
their game is jumping on loose 
pucks and forechecking. You saw 
Shuart do that 
on Friday and 
set (freshman 
forward) 
Brendan 
Warren up for 
a great scoring 
chance. 
And 

then 
he 
did 

that 
with 

Dancs 
on 

Saturday. 
It’s 

just checking 
hard, creating 
a turnover and throwing it in 
front of the net.

“If that line adds energy to 

our team, and can create a little 
offense in the meantime and 

avoid being scored against, then 
they’re a positive on our team.

But like any line in hockey, 

the fourth line isn’t perfect. 
While Shuart centers the line, 
he isn’t a natural-born center. 
Berenson counters this problem 
by grouping the two fourth 
liners with another center at 
certain points in the game so 
that Shuart can play his natural 
position on the wing.

“When we put (senior forward 

Boo Nieves) out there with them, 
Boo is our best faceoff man, 
so that helps take some of the 
pressure off Shuart,” Berenson 
said. “Shuart is a natural winger 
so he can go to the wing, and 
Dancs can go on the off wing and 
still be effective.”

All 
things 
considered, 

Berenson was impressed with 
his fourth line this weekend.

“I thought this was (Shuart 

and Dancs’) best weekend,” 
Berenson said.

PLAYING 
SEVEN 

DEFENSEMEN: 
With 
the 

emergence 
of 
sophomore 

defenseman Sam Piazza during 
the Great Lakes Invitational, 
Berenson has switched from the 
traditional six-man defense to a 
seven-man defensive system.

The system has its advantages 

in that the defensive pairings 
don’t have to be broken up if a 
defenseman goes to the penalty 
box.

That 

means 
that 

Piazza, 
as 

the 
seventh 

defenseman, 
has to rotate 
playing with 
different 
defensemen 
rather 
than 

having 
one 

consistent 
partner.

“It’s been 

different for me,” Piazza said. 
“This past weekend, I played 
with just about everyone.”

The 
seven-man 
defensive 

system 
also 
speaks 
to 
the 

depth 
of 
the 
Wolverines, 

especially with another capable 
defenseman, 
senior 
Kevin 

Lohan, still injured.

Though the unconventional 

defensive system leaves a hole on 
the fourth line, Berenson uses 
the gap to double shift skaters 
and give his other players more 
time on the ice.

The jury is still out on the 

seven-defensemen system, and 
Berenson mentioned that it will 
continue to be evaluated.

“I don’t have a strong opinion 

of it just yet, but I definitely 
think it helped us this past 
weekend,” Berenson said. “It’ll 
be week-to-week whether we 
play it or not.”

SECOND 
STRAIGHT 

HOME-AND-HOME: With a 
home-and-home series against 
Michigan State just completed, 
the 
Michigan 
hockey 
team 

will play another home-and-
home series against Ohio State. 
The Wolverines will travel to 
Columbus on Friday before 
returning home to face the 
Buckeyes at Yost Ice Arena on 
Sunday.

While there is a little more 

travel time required for the 
teams than there was against 
Michigan State, Berenson says 
he is a fan of the home-and-
home series.

“I like it,” Berenson said. “As a 

coach, I like going into the other 
team’s building, where if you 
have a good game, you have the 
chance to sweep at home. On the 
other side of it, the fans get to 
see a game every weekend.”

INJURY UPDATE: Lohan 

has 
been 
out 
since 
mid-

November with a lower-body 
injury. After an original return 
date set for the Nov. 20 game 
against 
Boston 
University, 

Lohan suffered a setback in his 
recovery and was delayed until 
after the GLI.

Berenson told the Daily on 

Monday that Lohan is skating 
on his own and will try to 
practice with the team this 
weekend.

NOTEBOOK

“They’re 

trying to play 

hockey the 
right way.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL

ICE HOCKEY

