8A — Thursday, November 16, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Conversation with Pearson brings Marody’s play to new heights
For Cooper Marody, the road
to recent success started with a
serious talk.
Three weeks ago, Michigan
hockey
coach
Mel
Pearson
called the junior forward into
his office for a conversation
about his practice habits.
Heading into an important
series in State College against
then-No.
15
Penn
State,
Pearson
needed
to
ensure
one of his team’s biggest stars
was practicing to the fullest,
working his hardest and playing
his best come game time. He
underscored
taking
practice
as seriously as any game only
builds better habits for when
the lights shine brightest.
Until that point, Marody
hadn’t fulfilled Pearson’s hopes
in practice, and it showed. In the
first four games, he registered a
lone assist in the Wolverines’
regular season opener against
St. Lawrence and displayed little
other offensive production.
The two discussed his status
on a team that now ranks fourth
in the country with 3.9 goals
per game. They spoke about his
oft-lackadaisical approach to
practice and what is expected
out of a leader day in and day
out.
“You can tell when someone
is working hard and paying
attention to detail and he
wasn’t,” Pearson said. “We knew
he was going to have a prominent
role, so we just wanted to make
sure. Sometimes as a player, you
maybe don’t understand it or
you think you’re working hard,
but sometimes you don’t know.
“He just needed a reminder
and we had to let him know
he’s an important part of our
team, but he had to be one of
the hardest working players.
I’m not saying he was just
going through the motions, I
just thought he thought he was
working. He needed reminders
— the subtle, kind reminders.”
The meeting paid off.
Marody has notched three
goals and 12 assists in his last
six games. Over that span, the
Brighton,
Mich.
native
has
recorded multi-point outputs
in each contest, highlighted by
three-point
performances
in
both matchups against Penn
State and a game-winner and
two assists in a 7-2 rout over
Ferris State on Nov. 3.
And as Marody thrived, so
did Michigan.
The Wolverines split series
against
the
highly-touted
Nittany Lions and Bulldogs and
collected a win and tie — both
in exciting comeback fashion —
against then-No. 4 powerhouse
Minnesota. In short, Marody
has been instrumental in slowly
transforming a team originally
picked to finish sixth in the
Big Ten preseason coaches poll
into an early dark horse NCAA
Tournament
contender
now
ranked 17th in the nation.
“I
can’t
say
it’s
that
conversation, but from that
point on, he’s been really,
really good,” Pearson said after
Friday’s 5-4 overtime victory
against the Golden Gophers.
“He’s
fun
to
watch,
he’s
dangerous and he’s working so
much harder than he was the
first few weeks.”
Both Pearson and Marody
had eerily similar answers about
where the latest outburst came
from. A workmanlike attitude,
attention to detail, confidence
and chemistry on the first line
with senior forwards Dexter
Dancs and Tony Calderone all
point to Marody’s recent surge.
However, it all starts with a
positive mentality in practice.
“There’s a direct correlation
between his work ethic and
his production,” Pearson said.
“I think part of it is mentally,
you’ve got to punch it in
mentally and prepare. … He
started to pick it up when we
went into Penn State, which we
needed him (to do) in a tough
rink. It’s not a coincidence his
hard work paid off. Sometimes
it doesn’t, but I’m glad it did
in this instance because it
reaffirms
working
hard
in
practice.”
A
big
Tom
Brady
fan,
Marody
constantly
watches
his videos, which emphasize
the importance of practice.
Nevertheless, even after taking
cues from the former Michigan
football star, Marody believes
Pearson’s gentle nudging came
at the right time.
“(Brady) stresses that when
he was here, he had to prove
himself every day and practice
every day like they were trying
to replace you,” Marody said. “I
knew the importance of practice
from that, but it was just a great
reminder by Coach to talk about
that and just try to approach
every practice like it’s a game
and it needs to be like that.”
Pearson
showed
Marody
videos of himself, illustrating
when low energy in practice
translated to miscues in games.
Marody
wasn’t
in
proper
position, didn’t capitalize on
opportunities to move the puck
and was often beat up and down
the ice.
The coach also noted the
tough position Marody’s level
of effort put him in. How could
Pearson continue to reward one
of his best players with extra ice
time, especially on the power
play, when he wasn’t a top
worker?
But over the past three
weeks, Marody has changed his
mentality and become more of
a role model during practice.
It has paid dividends for both
himself and his teammates.
Dancs
credits
some
of
Michigan’s
recent
success
to
Marody’s
newfound
determination.
“Coop’s
a
super
talented
player,” Dancs said. “He has
elite offensive skills and I think
with a guy like that when he has
confidence, he’s really scary to
play against. I think that over
the last six games, he’s gained
that confidence and now that
he has that confidence, you
get more and more and keep
going and going and it’s like a
locomotive going forward. …
He’s on the top of his game.”
It was a tough climb to the
top.
Marody
is
focused
on
playing his first full season
as a Wolverine. In January
of his impressive freshman
campaign, he was sidelined
with mononucleosis for the
remainder
of
the
season.
The next fall, he was ruled
academically ineligible to play —
partly due to the previous year’s
illness — and laced up for just
18 games as a sophomore. Now
healthy, Marody is on track for
career-highs in all categories.
His 16 points this season
are seventh-best in the NCAA
and his 13 assists rank second.
Tied for first in the Big Ten
with 10 points — one goal and
nine helpers — Marody was
named the conference’s Third
Star of the Week following his
two-goal, two-assist weekend
against Ferris State.
But to Marody, none of the
accolades matter when it comes
to the upcoming tasks at hand,
such as facing top Big Ten
opponents like No. 9 Wisconsin
this weekend and making a run
at the NCAA Tournament.
“I think it’s an honor to
be given those things, but I
don’t put much self-worth into
that at all,” Marody said. “It’s
nice to receive awards and
acknowledgment, but that can’t
be your focus. You can’t be
doing things to receive awards,
you do things to help your team
and help yourself be the best
player you can be.
“I think the road is just
starting for our team. We’re just
10 games in and it’s going to be
a long season and we have to
be better moving forward. The
past is the past and we’ll focus
on the future.”
For Marody, that future looks
bright.
A
serious
talk,
which
redirected
Marody’s
course,
led to a player with a newfound
confidence and a necessary
spark in his game. It didn’t take
long for Marody to return to his
elite playmaking abilities from
his freshman year.
All it took was a conversation
with his coach.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Now starting, McKeon needs celebration work
When it comes to celebrating,
Sean
McKeon
is
no
Odell
Beckham Jr.
The
sophomore
tight
end scored his first career
touchdown in the first quarter
of Michigan’s 33-10 win over
Minnesota on Nov. 4.
McKeon,
of
course,
was
pretty excited — perhaps too
much so.
After sprinting in untouched,
he ran straight to the corner
of the endzone and promptly
shushed his own home crowd.
McKeon realized towards the
end what he had done. But it was
already too late, so he went on
with it before returning to the
bench and celebrating further
with teammates.
“I was pretty emotionally
fired-up,” McKeon said, smiling,
Tuesday night. “Just had a lot of
adrenaline going through. Not
really sure why I did that, but I
guess it was kinda funny.
“It might be my thing now, but
we’ll see. They all made fun of
me a little bit for it. It’s alright.”
Sophomore left guard Ben
Bredeson
counts
McKeon
as one of his best friends on
the team. He was happy that
McKeon finally scored — and
also admitted he was “one of the
major guys” who
gave
McKeon
“some crap” for
his celebration.
“I
saw
it
the
next
day,
actually,
and
sent it to him
immediately,”
Bredeson
said
Tuesday
night.
“Just wanted to
make sure that
he knew that I knew.”
So it was clear McKeon hadn’t
practiced his celebrations. But
he had worked on everything
that went into scoring the
touchdown.
McKeon’s two biggest goals
this offseason were to bulk
up to 250 pounds and earn
the starting tight end job. He
currently
weighs
245
after
losing some weight during fall
camp. He did hit 250 at one
point, though, and he’s also the
starter now, leading Michigan in
receptions and receiving yards
in two of the past three games.
His
25
catches,
256
receiving
yards and two
touchdowns
— first, second
and
first,
respectively, on
the team — are
simply the fruits
of his offseason
labor.
McKeon
spent a lot of time in the weight
room over the summer. He also
spent a lot of time with redshirt
freshman quarterback Brandon
Peters, often texting his friend
to join him at Schembechler
Hall.
“From day one, we’ve been
working out together, throwing
and catching balls together,”
McKeon said. “We used to come
in on weekends, early mornings,
and throw. I think we’ve got
a good connection because of
that.”
All of that work built on the
foundation McKeon laid his
freshman year — a foundation
that began with the help of
former tight end Jake Butt.
McKeon,
who
enrolled
early in the winter of 2016,
recalled leaning on Butt in
those early days. The freshman
from Massachusetts was the
neophyte.
The
veteran
All-
American was the mentor.
McKeon watched film of Butt
running routes. He followed his
lead in blocking exercises. The
pair completed drills that used
tennis balls instead of footballs.
One
of
those
involved
McKeon using one hand to snag
balls bounced against a wall.
Another involved him turning
around quickly to catch balls
thrown by Butt. Naturally, it
took some time to adjust.
“I wasn’t too great at it at
first, but after a little bit, I got
a little better,” McKeon said.
“That helped out a lot and just
catching footballs, too. Footballs
and tennis balls. It’s all about
hand coordination and reaction
time.”
McKeon still talks to Butt
occasionally. Just two weeks
ago, Butt — a fifth-round draft
pick of the Denver Broncos
this past spring — FaceTimed
his young protégé. The two
caught up on life and, obviously,
football.
The latest piece of advice he
gave McKeon was to strengthen
his neck and shoulders while
staying flexible.
Of course, there was nothing
about touchdown celebrations.
That’s for McKeon to learn on
his own.
Tyree Griffin presents
next test for Michigan
The Michigan men’s basketball
team wasn’t supposed to get its
first major test until it went to
Hawaii.
Last Saturday, though, North
Florida stayed
close with the
Wolverines
for most of the
game. Monday,
Central
Michigan
pushed
them
even
further.
Now, Michigan
(2-0) isn’t in any
position to take
teams
lightly.
Thursday,
Southern
Mississippi
(1-0)
will
be
the
next
challenger.
The
Golden Eagles
struggled
last
season, finishing with a dismal
9-22 record and placing near the
bottom of the Conference USA
standings. This wasn’t abnormal
for Southern Mississippi, which
has won a combined 20 games in
its three seasons under coach Doc
Sadler.
Even still, the Golden Eagles
provide
some
things
that
Michigan hasn’t seen to this
point.
For one, they predominantly
play man-to-man defense. The
Ospreys and Chippewas both
employed variations of a zone, and
the Wolverines had mixed results.
Thursday will be the first glimpse
of how Michigan will fare against
a more traditional defense.
Additionally,
Southern
Mississippi may possess the most
talented player the Wolverines
have faced thus far in guard
Tyree Griffin. Griffin started
15 games for Oklahoma State in
2015-16 before transferring at the
end of the season. After sitting out
last year, Griffin is now the focal
point of Sadler’s offense – he led
the team with 21 points in their
season opener.
Michigan coach John Beilein is
friends with Sadler, so he’s familiar
with his style of play. In fact, at
his press conference Wednesday,
Beilein was complimentary of his
counterpart.
“(His teams have) always been
… very much of a containing man-
to-man,
fundamentally-sound
teams, play from the inside out,”
Beilein said. “He’s done a great
job at just getting players to play
fundamentally sound and just
win with strong, strong, man-to-
man defense.”
For its own part, Michigan
will be looking to do something it
hasn’t done yet this season: blow
out a lesser opponent.
The Wolverines’ game against
North Florida did end up looking
more lopsided than it was, as
they got hot from three-point
range and simply overpowered
the Ospreys. Against Central
Michigan,
though,
Michigan
never truly found its groove
offensively, and it only won by
seven points.
Perhaps the Wolverines’ first
look at a man-to-man defense
will allow their superior talent
to shine through, as they’ll face
more one-on-one opportunities.
There’s also a case to be made
for Michigan simply not having
gelled together yet. With so many
new faces, that will simply take
time.
After Southern Mississippi,
though,
the
Wolverines
are
essentially out of time. Maui is
five days away, and with it, the
first Power 5 conference teams
Michigan will face. If things
aren’t figured for Beilein’s team
by then, there’s a far better chance
their perfect record will be soiled.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore tight end Sean McKeon aspired to become Michigan’s starter, and now leads the team with 25 catches.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Junior forward Cooper Marody has excelled since having a conversation with Mel Pearson about his practice habits, notching 15 points in the last six games.
BENJAMIN KATZ
Daily Sports Writer
MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor
They made fun
of me a little
bit for it. It’s
alright.
The Wolverines’ starting tight end was the butt of some jokes after he scored
his first touchdown against Minnesota and proceeded to shush his own crowd
Southern
Miss at
Michigan
Matchup:
Michigan
(2-0);
Southern
Mississippi
(1-0)
When:
Thursday
7 P.M. ET
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
BTN PLUS