8 — Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Jon Teske growing at center spot

When 
Frank 
Martin 
got 
to Crisler Center for South 
Carolina’s practice on Friday, 
he saw junior guard Zavier 
Simpson and pulled him aside.
“Listen, I was watching the 
film from two years ago,” the 
Gamecocks’ 
coach 
recalled 
saying. “You and (Jon Teske) 
were like two kids. … Now, I’m 
watching you guys play. You 
guys are like, unbelievable how 
much better you guys are and 
how different you look.”
Two 
years 
ago, 
as 
the 
Michigan men’s basketball team 
found itself on an improbable 
run to the Sweet 16, Simpson 
and Teske — both freshmen 
— largely rode the bench. The 
latter played all of three minutes 
per game, a 7-foot-1 kid whose 
basketball acumen could be 
boiled down to 85 inches.
Even last season, as Teske 
stepped into a role backing 
up Moritz Wagner, he grew 
noticeably, but that archetype 
remained, in large part, correct.
Teske affected shots at the 
rim, threw down the occasional 
lob and usually managed to keep 
the Wolverines afloat when 
Wagner was sitting. Questions 
as to whether he could replace 
the since-departed German in 
full remained.
Just over a month into this 
season, Teske has put those 
questions to rest.
Michigan might be better off 
with Teske starting instead of 
Wagner. The junior hasn’t just 
affected shots at the rim, but all 
over the court. He has turned 
into an example that strength 
coach Jon Sanderson will hold 
up for every big-man recruit that 
walks through the Wolverines’ 
door 
for 
his 
strength 
and 
athleticism improvements.
Toward 
the 
end 
of 
the 
first half Saturday, with the 
Gamecocks 
still 
hanging 
around, Teske charged through 

an open lane to put back a miss 
from Simpson. Seconds later, he 
found himself on the perimeter, 
defending 
South 
Carolina’s 
Maik Kotsar. He stayed in front 
of the big man on a drive, then 
blocked his shoot like a dad 
defending his kid in a driveway.
That’s a sequence Teske might 
have been capable of doing once 
in a blue moon last year. Now, 
it’s the norm.
All told, he finished Saturday 
with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 
to go with nine rebounds and 
three blocks over 29 minutes. 
That’s more than he played in 
any single game last year. It’s 
also the fourth time he’s hit the 
29-minute benchmark this year.
That, in part, is a matter of 
necessity. Michigan has yet to 
find a viable backup at the ‘5,’ 
with redshirt sophomore Austin 
Davis struggling and freshman 
Brandon Johns tied to the 
bench.
More 
importantly, 
it’s 
a 
matter 
of 
growth. 
Wagner 
wasn’t the only reason Teske 
never played 30 minutes in a 
game last year. Teske simply 
wasn’t capable of doing so, even 
when Wagner was hurt.
After Saturday’s win, the 

10th straight to start the season 
for the Wolverines, sophomore 
guard Jordan Poole was asked 
whether he thought there would 
be a transition period in the 
wake of last season’s Final Four 
run. He didn’t hesitate in his 
answer.
“No,” 
Poole 
said. 
“Only 
because, where has Michigan 
dropped off in the last couple 
years? Guys leave all the time. 
These coaches do a really good 
job preparing the next guy, next 
man up. That’s our mentality. 
And being able to have guys step 
into the role, it’s just normal. Of 
course you got a Final Four run, 
we had guys who left for the 
NBA. But we’ve been practicing 
against those guys all last year. 
I feel like they set us up for 
success.”
No player exemplifies that 
more than Jon Teske.
“I think it’s just the type 
of kids (Michigan coach John 
Beilein) recruits,” Teske said. 
“He knows he can develop them 
into good players after a couple 
seasons if kids are willing to 
work hard, stay here in the 
summer and work on their game.
“I think that’s what happened 
to me.”

Positive attitude keeps Gingell working toward dream

When college athletes talk 
about how much they love their 
school, it usually comes across 
as canned or cheesy — almost 
like it was the kind of thing they 
were encouraged to say, not 
their true feelings.
But 
when 
Jake 
Gingell 
tells you how much he loves 
Michigan hockey, it’s clear he 
means it.
Sitting in Yost Ice Arena 
discussing 
his 
journey, 
the 
normally confident, emphatic 
freshman 
defenseman 
turns 
quiet. In a voice much softer 
than usual, he’s happy to talk 

about 
what 
the 
Wolverines 
mean to him.
“I still wake up sometimes and 
feel like it’s a dream,” Gingell 
said. “I love every second of it.”
Gingell’s journey to play at 
Michigan started in Sept. 2013, 
when he committed to play for 
Mel Pearson, then head coach at 
Michigan Tech.
But in the fall of 2017, just a 
few weeks before Pearson began 
his first season at the helm of 
the Wolverines, Gingell flipped 
his commitment to Michigan.
“(Pearson’s) 
the 
main 
reason why I came here,” 
Gingell said. “(Pearson) and 
(Michigan assistant coach Bill 
Muckalt) were both coaches 

that recruited me originally to 
go to Michigan Tech, so once 
they came here, I just thought 
it would be best 
that I came here 
with 
them 
as 
well when they 
gave 
me 
that 
opportunity.”
What 
made 
Gingell’s 
decision to join 
the 
Wolverines 
even 
sweeter 
was the fact that 
he’s a native of 
Dexter, Mich., which is just 
about 20 minutes away from Ann 
Arbor. After playing four years 
of junior hockey in the USHL — 

two years in Omaha, Neb. and 
two years in Youngstown, Ohio 
— Gingell was ready to be closer 
to home.
And 
the 
proximity 
to 
home 
wasn’t 
the only thing 
drawing Gingell 
to 
Ann 
Arbor. 
His 
cousin, 
Jason 
Gingell, 
was a kicker for 
the 
Michigan 
football 
team 
from 2005-07.
“I always grew up watching 
Michigan hockey,” Gingell said. 
“My cousin played football here, 
so I’ve just always been a fan of 

Michigan. He’s a lot older than 
me, too, so it’s been for a long 
time.”
When Pearson 
first 
started 
recruiting 
Gingell, 
he 
was 
impressed 
with the young 
player’s attitude. 
And throughout 
his 
junior 
career, 
Gingell 
continued 
to 
display 
the 
attitude 
that 
caught Pearson’s eye. It was one 
of the biggest reasons Pearson 
gave Gingell the chance to come 
to Michigan with him.
“First 
and 
foremost, 
it’s 
just the character,” Pearson 
said. “He’s just dripping with 
character. He’s a hard-working, 
honest, humble young man. 
And then to put on top of that, 
that’s how he plays the game of 
hockey, too. He plays with some 
grit and determination. He’s an 
honest hard worker, and he’s a 
leader.”
That 
hard-
working 
character 
has 
been 
tested 
somewhat 
this 
season as Gingell 
has dressed for 
only one game, 
which 
was 
on 
Nov. 3 against 
Lake 
Superior 
State. 
He 
was 
listed 
as 
the 
seventh defenseman — the one 
who plays without a partner and 
doesn’t have consistent shifts.
But behind the scenes, in 
practice, his work ethic hasn’t 
wavered.
It’s taken Gingell a bit of 
time to adjust to college hockey, 
perhaps because of the two 
years he spent in Omaha playing 
in the USHL. On that team, his 
coach largely used him as an 
old-fashioned 
enforcer. 
The 
majority of his time on the ice — 
which wasn’t much — was spent 
fighting.
In 106 games for the Lancers, 
Gingell 
totaled 
196 
penalty 
minutes.
“He plays tough,” Pearson 

said. “He plays honest. He plays 
physical, 
and 
consequently, 
you get a lot of penalties. He’s 
a strong player. 
He’s probably, if 
not our grittiest 
player, he would 
be right there.”
Now, 
at 
Michigan, 
Gingell 
is 
expected to play 
with a bit more 
nuanced 
style. 
He’s spent the 
majority of the 
season working on his skating 
and puck-handling in practice.
Keeping a positive attitude 
when you aren’t getting in 
games is hard, but Gingell has 
stayed committed to making 
himself the best player he can 
be.
“You’ve just gotta try to 
improve in some way every day,” 
Gingell said. “Instead of feeling 
down on myself, I just try to 
pick something to improve on 
in practice every day. I think 
I’ve been doing that. I’ve been 
making 
crisper 
plays and been 
better with my 
hands and feet, 
and I just feel a 
lot better about 
practices.”
And his hard 
work is not going 
unnoticed.
“He’s 
made 
really 
good 
strides,” 
Pearson said. “He’s made some 
tremendous improvements so 
far. He had to get a little bit 
quicker, had to work on his 
hands and just handle the puck 
and do things a little bit faster 
and quicker and smoother with 
that, and he’s made tremendous 
strides in both those areas.”
Saturday morning, Pearson 
watched Gingell skate before 
the Wolverines’ game against 
Minnesota. He was struck by 
how much more comfortable 
Gingell looks on the ice. 
“Sometimes, it just takes a 
little bit longer for some players 
than others,” Pearson said. “But 
he’s got all the intangibles you 
lo for.”

ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Jon Teske has played 29-plus minutes in four different games this season.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson recruited freshman defenseman Jake Gingell to come to Michigan after Pearson accepted the coaching job in the fall of 2017.

“(Pearson 
is) the main 
reason why I 
came here.”

“He plays 
tough. He plays 
honest. He 
plays physical.”

“First and 
foremost, 
it’s just the 
character.”

