6A — Thursday, February 18, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Marody on the way back from illness

By KEVIN SANTO

Daily Sports Writer

As the Michigan hockey team 

left the rink at the conclusion of 
its practice Wednesday, another 
team took the ice — Ann Arbor 
Skyline High School. The Eagles 
had a game that afternoon, 
but 
before 
they 
suited 
up, 

some players and coaches took 
pictures on the edge of the rink.

Little did they know that they 

would get a short speech from 
Michigan 
freshman 
forward 

Cooper Marody.

“I asked them if they’re JV or 

varsity,” Marody said. “And I told 
them I played JV my freshman 
year, so don’t feel like you’re not 
going to be able to make it.”

Earlier this year, it was clear 

Marody had made it himself. 
He wasn’t just another player on 
the roster. He was centering the 
third line and had a hot start to 
the season that landed him first 
on the team in points.

Though 
he 
cooled 
off, 

Marody’s 14 points are still 
good for 10th on the team, and 
he is just eight points short of 
jumping to fourth — behind the 
line of freshman forward Kyle 
Connor and junior forwards 
Tyler Motte and JT Compher — 
in that ranking.

And to the freshman forward, 

much of his early success stems 
from his own ice back home in 
Brighton, Mich.

Roughly 
six 
years 
ago, 

Marody’s father built a rink in 
the family’s backyard at home. 
Now that Marody is in Ann 
Arbor, the ice time has been 
passed down to his little brother. 
But that doesn’t mean he has 
forgotten the days of skating 
alone in his own backyard arena.

“That (rink) is what took 

me to a new level ... being out 
there every day, gaining the 
confidence,” 
Marody 
said. 

“I worked on my hands a lot 
there, worked on a lot of skills. 
That’s how I’ve been able to be 

successful at the higher levels.”

But in the middle of January, 

Marody’s success was quickly 
put on hold when he was 
diagnosed with mononucleosis. 
The freshman has been forced 
to sit every game since the 
Wolverines’ 8-6 win against 
Ohio State on Jan. 17.

Naturally, the nearly month-

long waiting period to get back 
on the ice was frustrating for 
Marody. As if being sidelined 
wasn’t disappointing enough, 
missing out on Michigan’s stellar 
performances 
in 
trademark 

venues made the experience 
even worse.

In 
back-to-back 
weekends, 

Marody was forced to watch 
from home as the Wolverines 
played Penn State in Madison 
Square Garden and Michigan 
State in Joe Louis Arena in the 

“Duel in the D.” Those aren’t 
experiences that come around 
very often.

He was stuck on the outside 

looking 
in, 
as 
Michigan 

continued 
to 

build 
a 
case 

for 
being 

one 
of 
the 

most 
historic 

offenses in the 
past decade of 
college hockey 
— scoring 32 
goals 
in 
the 

seven games he 
missed.

Despite his 

frustration, the time away from 
the ice may have been a blessing 
in disguise for Marody.

“Everything happens for a 

reason — nothing you can do 
about it besides coming back 

stronger,” Marody said.

“When you do something 

every day, you kind of lose how 
cool it is and how special it is. 
I think I gained that back, and 

that’s 
what 

has 
allowed 

me to be so 
successful 
in 

the 
past, 
to 

put that extra 
passion 
(into 

my game).”

Then there’s 

the music — 
another 
area 

into which he 
has put extra 

passion during his time away.

For most people, being sick 

with mononucleosis gives you 
a whole lot of time to sit around 
doing nothing.

While there was some of that 

for Marody, he also put a lot of 
time into schoolwork and playing 
the guitar, something he taught 
himself to do. And Sunday, he 
took it to the next level by starting 
to write his own song.

By Marody’s estimation, it took 

him just 30 minutes to write, and 
yesterday, he produced the final 
product — tweeting the YouTube 
link to the acoustic song.

Now, his Michigan teammates 

are just wondering which one of 
them will get a role in the next 
performance.

“A lot of the guys have made 

jokes about getting featured, 
doing a little bit of background 
singing,” 
Marody 
said. 
“I 

think 
Boo 
would 
be 
good 

to incorporate a little bit of 
drumming in there, because 
he’s a big-time drummer. I don’t 
know about any background 

singing, but I think Boo would 
be good for drums.”

Coming 
down 
with 

mononucleosis also gave Marody 
a unique opportunity to take an 
extended period of time to learn 
from watching his teammates — 
specifically JT Compher.

Compher is about as close 

as Marody can get to a perfect 
example on the Wolverines’ 
roster.

The junior captain centers the 

first line, as Marody did on the 
third, and is second on the team 
in points with 43, good for third 
in the country. That’s without 
mentioning that Compher is 
ranked second nationally in 
assists, trailing leader Tyler 
Kelleher by just two.

But despite all of Compher’s 

eye-popping numbers that are 
largely a product of his finesse 
game, that’s not what stands out 
the most to Marody.

“He’s just a really smart player 

in the first place,” Marody said. 
“I think what really separates 
him is his grittiness and ability 
to stay on guys, win the little 
battles in the corners, all the 
things like that around the zone. 
He’s just relentless all around 
the ice, and I think I really want 
to implement that in my game.”

With Marody set to return to 

game action soon, potentially 
the 
non-conference 
game 

against Ferris State on Friday, 
taking what he has learned and 
translating it into results is a 
likely possibility.

Even with an illness, Marody 

has made the most of every 
minute off the ice as he did on it.

And while he missed the 

celebrity-like thrill of playing 
in the Joe or the “World’s Most 
Famous Arena,” maybe that will 
bode well for Michigan.

Because the next time Marody 

steps in front of crowd at Yost Ice 
Arena, don’t be surprised if you 
see someone playing with the 
passion of a kid in his ice rink 
back home.

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Freshman forward Cooper Marody was off to a blazing start to the season before mononucleosis sidelined him. He could return to game action this weekend.

“When you do 
something every 
day, you lose ... 

how special it is.”

Fouls lead to trouble

By KELLY HALL

Daily Sports Editor

Just 12:50 into the first half 

Tuesday at Ohio State, Michigan 
sophomore guard Muhammad-
Ali Abdur-Rahkman committed 
his second foul on guard JaQuan 
Lyle, who drove to the net for 
a layup. As Lyle sank his free 
throw — one of Ohio State’s 17 
during the game — junior guard 
Andrew Dakich replaced Abdur-
Rahkman, who headed to the 
bench for the rest of the half.

Abdur-Rahkman has proven 

to be a sparkplug on the road 
in senior guard Caris LeVert’s 
absence, 
scoring 
15 
and 
16 

points against Penn State and 
Minnesota, respectively, in the 
two away games leading up to 
the matchup with the Buckeyes. 
Though Michigan was trailing by 
eight points, Beilein benched him.

Ohio State (9-5 Big Ten, 

17-10 overall) headed into the 
locker room at halftime with 
an eight-point lead and never 
relinquished its lead thereafter. 
The second half didn’t get any 
better for the Wolverines (9-5, 
19-8), and the Buckeyes cruised 
to a 76-66 victory.

After the game, Beilein said 

he was very tempted to break his 
two-foul benching rule, but he 
stuck by it.

“But again, (the margin) was 

like two or three points with 
two minutes to go,” Beilein said. 
“There’s no reason to say, ‘OK, 
the sky is falling.’ And then they 
scored the last five points to 
make it an eight-point game.

“So you’re not going to put a 

guy in there with a minute left to 
go with two fouls on him. I don’t 
think that was a big difference. 
I’ll do it if I think the game is 
getting out of control. I didn’t 
think it was with two minutes 
to go (until halftime). I thought 
we were right there, and they 
scored the last two times, and 
we didn’t.”

Michigan 
continued 
to 

make 
detrimental 
mistakes, 

committing 14 fouls in the second 
half. For a team that gives 15.7 
fouls per game — the eighth-
fewest in the country — 14 in one 
half is unusual.

Three Wolverines, including 

Abdur-Rahkman, 
ended 
the 

night with four fouls each, and 
they barely escaped the game 
without a player fouling out. 
Michigan is the only team left 
in the country that hasn’t lost a 
player to disqualification.

Junior forward Mark Donnal, 

who flirted with the mark 
against Purdue and Minnesota, 
avoided the bug against Ohio 
State and ended up leading 
Michigan with 17 points on 
6-for-10 shooting.

When asked about defending 

down low, where the Buckeyes 
outscored 
the 
Wolverines, 

38-28, Donnal said Michigan 
needs to improve on getting 
into position.

“A few times, we got too low, 

and when the offense gets into 
position like that, it’s tough 
to stop the run to the basket,” 
Donnal said. “We just have to do 
a better job of staying locked in 
defensively.”

Ohio State shared the ball 

well, leading to a balanced 
offense with five players scoring 
in 
double 
digits, 
partially 

because Michigan couldn’t find 

an effective defense. Man-to-
man defense seemed to lead to 
the most problems, allowing the 
Buckeyes to draw fouls.

Michigan committed six fouls 

in the first five minutes of the 
second half, including two from 
sophomore 
forward 
Aubrey 

Dawkins in a four-second span. 
More fouls often equate to more 
playing time for the bench, and 
in this case, the substitutions 
didn’t 
help 
Michigan 
much. 

The Buckeyes outscored the 
Wolverines in bench points, 20-9.

The largest deficit was 14 

points with 12:08 remaining in 
the second half, just moments 
after Ohio State reached the 
bonus with its seventh foul.

Michigan seemed to chalk up 

the loss to a mix of fatigue and 
an emotional rollercoaster of a 
week, with a win at Minnesota 
and a victory over then-No. 18 
Purdue at home. Regardless, the 
Wolverines were out of sorts, and 
it was noticeable.

“We just gotta bring it every 

game,” Donnal said. “We had a 
chip on our shoulder for the game 
at Purdue, and unfortunately, we 
just didn’t bring it tonight.”

LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman found himself in foul trouble on Tuesday.

Bakich focuses on gratitude 
for Michigan’s support staff

Fourth-year coach 
has success with 
staff he brought 
from Maryland

By SYLVANNA GROSS

Daily Sports Writer

At the Michigan baseball 

team’s banquet Friday, Michigan 
head coach Erik Bakich spent 
45 
minutes 
introducing 
his 

entire staff. Everyone, from 
the 
groundskeepers 
to 
the 

nutritionist to the parents to 
the 
student 
managers, 
was 

personally thanked. 

Bakich is in his fourth season 

at the helm of the program, aided 
by assistant coaches Sean Kenny 
and Nick Schnabel and volunteer 
assistant coach Aaron Etchison. 

“(The coaches) made it a 

precedent to make a structural 
foundation for a new program 
at Michigan,” said senior left-
hander Evan Hill. “One that 
doesn’t only look at the aspects 
of baseball, but it looks at the 
aspects of life and for us as men. 
One thing that I appreciate in 
my time here is that I’ve become 
a better man. I’ve developed a 
lot. And, more specifically, I’m 
excited about the relationships 
I’ve built and know that they’ll 
be lasting ones.” 

Sophomore 
infielder 
Jake 

Bivens, who received several 
preseason accolades after his 
impressive 
freshman 
year, 

also felt the coaching staff was 
helpful — especially by relieving 
pressure 
that 
preseason 

expectations brought on.

“We have a really talented 

team,” Bivens said. “So that takes 
the pressure off of (individual 
players) and allows us to not play 
out of our comfort zone and our 
abilities. The team and coaching 
staff prepared us well for any 
accolades. We know any individual 
accolade is a team accolade.”

In 2014, Bakich’s first year, the 

team had a total of 29 wins and 

a 14-10 record in the Big Ten — 
good enough to tie for fifth place. 
The second year of Bakich’s reign 
saw the team win 30 games, 
finishing in a tie for fourth place 
in the Big Ten. In the 2015 season, 
the Wolverines continued their 
upward trend and then some, 
finishing with 39 wins and placed 
second in the NCAA Louisville 
Regional after winning the Big 
Ten Tournament. 

Bakich is also the youngest 

head baseball coach in the 
conference.

“We live in a gratitude zone,” 

Bakich 
said. 
“(The 
players) 

say simple ‘thank yous’ all the 
time, just like they should. 
(The staffers) 
sometimes 
have 
a 
job 

that could be 
thankless, but 
our team — this 
team — is very 
appreciative.”

Adding 
on 

to the lengthy 
speech, 
Bakich 
then 

spent another 
10 minutes on his coaching staff. 

He, along with Etchison and 

pitching coach Kenny, came to 
Michigan from the University 
of 
Maryland. 
Etchison 
was 

a former catcher and Kenny 
served as the pitching coach.

“(Etchison) is an outstanding 

player, and now has become an 
outstanding leader,” Bakich said. 
“He’s destined for greatness.” 

Kenny, 
an 
Ann 
Arbor 

native, 
followed 
Bakich’s 

trend of improving the team 
significantly each year. In 2014, 
the pitching staff finished third 
in the league, but in 2015, Kenny 
led the team to second in the Big 
Ten with 513 strikeouts. 

“He’s the best at coaching 

(pitchers) 
in 
the 
country,” 

Bakich said. “That’s not just 
my biased opinion. There’s a lot 
of people who think he’s in an 
elite group of pitching. Other 
programs around the country 
have tried to steal this guy, but 

Michigan — so he’s said — is the 
big leagues. We’re so lucky to 
have his talents and to have the 
type of person he is on our staff.”

The final coach, Schnabel, 

might not have traveled to Ann 
Arbor from College Park, but 
he was a teammate of Bakich at 
East Carolina in the 1999 and 
2000 seasons. Schnabel, like 
the others, contributes to the 
team’s success. In his first year 
as recruiting coordinator, he 
was credited with the 20th-best 
recruiting class in the nation. 

But 
it 
was 
32 
Michigan 

players who won the 2015 Big 
Ten Tournament.

It was the athletes who 

walked out of 
the 
bullpen 

and onto the 
diamond. 
It 

was 
then-

sophomore 
left-hander 
Brett Adcock 
who struck out 
four 
batters 

and 
allowed 

two hits and 
a run in five 

innings. It was his classmate, 
infielder Johnny Slater, who 
had two hits, out of the team’s 
four total, against Maryland. 
And it was then-junior Jacob 
Cronenworth who closed out his 
fourth straight game, pushing 
the Wolverines to the NCAA 
Tournament for the first time 
since 2008. 

But nobody, especially the 

players, forgot the coaching staff 
that got them there.

When 
the 
players 
walk 

onto the field Friday for their 
season opener, all eyes will be 
on them. But the athletes’ eyes, 
when they’re not staring down 
a 90-mph fastball, will be on 
their coaches.

BASEBALL

“(The players) 

say simple 

‘thank yous’ all 

the time.”

The Michigan baseball 
season starts Friday

Check MichiganDaily.com 
throughout the season