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.”