The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 — 7

Juwan Howard has already 
been the Michigan basketball 
coach for nearly six months, 
and you’d still be hard-pressed 
to find a day that’s gone by 
without 
him 
mentioning 
confidence.
A 
19-year 
NBA 
veteran 
himself, Howard understands 
the value of confidence better 
than most. Though he’s a first-
time head coach, he saw it 
first-hand during his six-year 
stint as an assistant with the 
Miami Heat.
Now, he’s applying it in Ann 
Arbor.
Sophomore 
guard 
David 
DeJulius is the perfect case 
study. As a high school senior, 
the Detroit native averaged 
26.3 points, 8.1 assists and 7.7 
rebounds en route to a third-
place 
finish 
in 
Michigan’s 
Mr. Basketball voting. Fast 
forward to the next year, when 
he played a grand total of just 
five minutes in the Wolverines’ 
eight January games and didn’t 
score a point.
“Last year, you might get a 
few minutes at a time, so you’re 
trying to make sure that you 
make a basket or something,” 
DeJulius said. “(It) was really, 
really rough for me because 
I really spent a lot of time 
devoting my life to basketball, 
so it was really tough not 
playing.”
That’s no longer the case, 
and DeJulius has Howard to 
thank.
DeJulius 
has 
posted 
a 
combined 19 points and 15 
rebounds 
on 
60-percent 
shooting across the last two 
games. He hasn’t hesitated 
to let it fly from beyond the 
arc, with seven of his 10 shots 
during that span coming from 
deep. Despite barely scraping 
the six-foot mark, DeJulius 
ranks second on the team in 

rebounds, trailing only 7-foot-1 
center Jon Teske.
So far this season, DeJulius 
has 
been 
visibly 
more 
comfortable with the ball in his 
hands, especially in transition. 
Though a three-game stretch is 
a small sample size, he’s played 
at least 30 more minutes than 
any other reserve.
“This is like giving CPR to 
my basketball career,” DeJulius 
said.
Under Howard, DeJulius’ 
fellow 
sophomores 
are 
undergoing 
a 
similar 
renaissance. Forwards Brandon 
Johns Jr. and Colin Castleton 
have provided a combined 82 
frontcourt minutes off the 
bench, while sophomore guard 
Adrien Nunez, who saw more 
than five minutes of action in 
only one game last season, has 
started each of Michigan’s first 
three contests.
“I feel confident out there on 
the offensive floor,” Castleton 
said. “(Howard) is just saying 
the 
same 
things 
everyday, 
preaching the same things into 
our ears everyday so we hear 

it every single day whether it’s 
film, walkthroughs, practice or 
even (when he) sees us outside 
of practice, just implementing 
that into our heads so we can 
hear positive things, positive 
thoughts no matter what it is 
on the court. (He’s) telling us 
that he trusts us, and having a 
coach that trusts you gives you 
a lot of confidence.
For a Michigan program 
that 
could’ve 
easily 
spent 
the first month of the season 
reeling from the departures 
of former coach John Beilein 
and last year’s three leading 
scorers, the emergence of the 
sophomore class has provided 
a much-needed spine. Even 
with prized freshman wing 
Franz Wagner on the shelf due 
to a wrist fracture, the early-
season 
confidence 
appears 
contagious.
With 
the 
Wolverines 
nearing a stretch of games 
against ranked opponents, they 
might just score a few resumé-
building wins if the confidence 
Howard has instilled continues 
giving way to on-court results.

Half of Michigan’s backcourt 
for the season has never been in 
doubt. 
Zavier Simpson, senior point 
guard and leader of the Michigan 
men’s basketball team, has had 
his starting spot locked up since 
before Juwan Howard came on as 
head coach.
The 
other 
guard, 
though, 
has been a question mark since 
an injury to freshman forward 
Franz Wagner has forced Eli 
Brooks into starting at the 
‘3.’ For the beginning of the 
season, Howard has turned to 
sophomore guard Adrien Nunez 
to complete his starting five. 
But as Nunez has struggled on 
both ends of the court, Howard 
has 
relied 
increasingly 
on 
another sophomore guard: David 
DeJulius.
Usually the first off the bench, 
DeJulius has embraced his sixth-
man role on this team.
“That’s kind of my identity,” 
DeJulius said. “Before the season, 
we had our meeting to make sure 

I can affect the game, and make 
sure that I’m improving and 
getting to another level, so that’s 
my job. That’s my main focus.
“I just try to be aggressive — 
take what the defense gives me, 
and at the same time, defend. I 
don’t get any plays ran for me, 
really, but I just continue to stay 
aggressive. I just play my role and 
do whatever I can to stay out there 
on the floor.”
But he may not be the sixth 
man for long. 
Despite having started in all 
three of the Wolverines’ games 
this season, Nunez has only 
played 41 minutes 
—the other four 
starters average 
98.5. As it stands 
now, 
DeJulius 
ranks 
fifth 
on 
the 
team 
in 
minutes played, 
with 81 on the 
season, followed 
sophomore 
forward Brandon 
Johns 
Jr., 
and 
then Nunez.
In 
crunch 
time 
during 
the 
season 
opener 
against 
Appalachian State, when the 
Mountaineers 
whittled 
the 
Wolverines’ 30-point lead to a 
slim four-point margin, DeJulius 
— not Nunez – was Michigan’s 
second guard.
Howard, 
it 
seems, 
trusts 
DeJulius, and is leaning on him 
more and more.
“He’s super confident, and 
that’s great – he’s a competitor,” 
Howard said after Michigan’s 
20-point defeat over Elon on 
Friday. “David wants it. He puts in 
a lot of work – comes in at practice, 
comes in on off days. Now he’s 
just getting up shots, but he’s also 
getting into the film, learning the 
game, and that’s some of the best 
teaching right there, so overall, 
I’m so happy for him.”
DeJulius has not let his coach 
down. He’s shooting 46.2 percent 
from the field, and an impressive 

37.5 percent on his three-point 
attempts. 
In statistic after statistic, he 
leads the bench. His rebounding 
— a favorite point of Howard’s — 
has looked better and better over 
each game, notching 17 on the 
season so far, second-highest on 
the team behind only Teske.
“We talk about rebounding a 
lot, but that’s just something that 
I do, because every game, I don’t 
hit shots – that’s just kind of how 
it is – but at the end of the game, I 
want to know that I affected the 
game defensively, and rebounded 
the ball,” DeJulius said. “You 
can’t be mad at 
yourself if you 
know you gave it 
your all at the end 
of the game.”
Nunez, 
though, 
has 
been less than 
stellar, shooting 
41.7 
percent 
from the field, 
and 30 percent 
from the arc. At 
times, he’s appeared to struggle 
defensively, 
playing 
just 
11 
minutes in last Tuesday’s game 
against Creighton, easily the 
most talented competition this 
Michigan team has faced so far 
this season.
More and more, it seems that 
DeJulius is the natural choice to 
start, and that it’s only a matter 
of time before he does. After 
riding the bench for much of his 
freshman year, looking up to 
and learning from Simpson, it’s a 
challenge DeJulius is ready for. 
“Every game, I’m just trying to 
continue to grow, I’m continuing 
to grow,” DeJulius said. “I’m still 
going through growing pains, 
getting more experience, so I try 
not to rush anything. I just try to 
take whatever the defense gives 
me.
“Each and every game, I watch 
film, and see where I can be more 
aggressive, and I just feel like it’s 
more of a feeling thing.”

‘This is like giving CPR to my basketball career’

Juwan Howard impacting David DeJulius, other sophomores, with new confidence and energy

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

Wolverines drop Big Ten final on PKs

It took penalties to decide 
the winner of the Big Ten 
Tournament.
A 
high-intensity 
Big 
Ten 
championship match resulted in 
a battle between Michigan (11-
4-5 overall, 4-1-3 Big Ten) and 
Indiana’s (14-2-4, 7-1-0) freshmen 
goalkeepers. 
The 
Wolverines 
ultimately fell to the eighth-
ranked 
Hoosiers 
4-3 
during 
penalty kicks.
“I’m really, really proud of their 
effort, their commitment, their 
quality today, and certainly we’re 
disappointed,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach Chaka Daley. “We thought 
that we could be champions. PKs 
is a harsh way to lose, but at some 
point you gotta decide the game.”
At the start of the game, 
Indiana 
had 
control 
of 
the 
midfield, using its physicality to 
block off Michigan players from 
the ball and aggressively maintain 
possession. 
The 
Wolverines’ 
midfielders’ attempts to push back 
were often thwarted. However, 
Michigan’s back line proved to be 
its reliable strength as the defense 
limited Indiana’s opportunities on 
goal. Freshman goalkeeper Owen 
Finnerty made an impressive save 
14 minutes into the half to stop 
Indiana forward Victor Bezerra’s 
powerful shot from just outside 
of the box. Finnerty deflected the 

shot for a corner kick, showing 
that he has what it takes to fill the 
cleats of Big Ten goalkeeper of the 
year, Michigan senior Andrew 
Verdi, who has been out since 
October 25 after suffering an 
injury against Wisconsin.
The Wolverines’ front line 
was finally able to ramp up the 
pressure on the Indiana goal in 
the final two minutes of the first 
half, and they kept that aggressive 
mentality in the second half 
when they started to dominate 
possession.
The Wolverines earned their 
spot in Sunday’s championship 
after defeating Penn State 1-0 in 
the semifinals Friday afternoon, 
when 
senior 
forward 
Jack 
Hallahan scored a strong free 
kick shot up and over the wall of 
Penn State defenders and chipped 
off the post before connecting 
inside the net.
Sophomore forward Derick 
Broche continued to be involved 
in plays towards the box during 
Friday’s semifinal, being one of 
the main point-producers for the 
team overall this season with six 
goals and three assists. But in 
Sunday’s championship, Broche 
missed a golden opportunity in 
the second half for the Wolverines 
to secure a goal in the second half 
inside the six-yard box when his 
attempt to hit the far post missed 
over the net.
The Wolverines had other 

opportunities during the second 
half with six shots on goal, 
while the Hoosiers had zero — a 
surprise, 
considering 
Indiana 
had 22 shots during its semifinal 
matchup against Maryland.
Michigan’s final fate would 
have been different if it could have 
capitalized on one of its chances 
on goal during the second half.
In 
the 
penalty 
shootout, 
Finnerty was unable to make a 
second save to maintain the 3-3 
tie and the Hoosiers celebrated 
their second straight Big Ten 
Tournament victory.
The Wolverines held the No. 
8 team to just four shots during 
the match. Despite the loss, this 
championship game marked their 
10th shut-out of the season, a 
program record.
Now, Michigan awaits the 
announcement of the NCAA 
DI men’s soccer bracket on 
Monday. The top-16 teams will 
host the opening rounds of the 
tournament.
“We’ll play another home game 
at Michigan in the near future, 
hopefully it’s Sunday so our guys 
can get a little bit of rest and we’ll 
go from there. But I think we’re 
definitely deserving of a top-16 
seed,” Daley said. “It’s the first 
time in our program’s history 
we’ve gone for three NCAA 
Tournaments in a row, so it’s an 
exciting time for the growth of 
our program.”

OLIVIA MCKENZIE
For The Daily

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
The Michigan men’s soccer team lost to Indiana, 4-3, in the Big Ten Tournament final on Sunday afternoon.

Lambert’s woes emblematic of team

With one quick look up 
the ice, Cam York knew his 
teammate had a chance to make 
a game-tying play.
The freshman defenseman 
saw sophomore forward Jimmy 
Lambert streaking through the 
neutral zone and fired a stretch 
pass from blueline to blueline, 
right to the tape on Lambert’s 
stick. Lambert had a step on 
defenseman 
Jerad 
Rosburg, 
and freshman forward Nick 
Granowicz was just behind 
Lambert coming down the right 
side of the ice.
Lambert had a split second 
to decide whether to shoot the 
puck himself or pass across to 
Granowicz on the backdoor. 
That split second grew into 
a full second, then two. The 
hesitation 
gave 
Rosburg 
a 
chance to sprawl across the ice 
to block the shot he thought was 
coming — but it never came.
As he searched for the right 
decision, Lambert overhandled 
the puck and lost 
control of it. A 
brief moment of 
lost control led 
to a neutralized 
scoring chance. 
Instantly, 
Michigan’s 
chance to tie the 
game was gone.
“He was trying 
to 
rush 
and 
then whether to 
shoot or pass, I think he was 
in between and he just lost 
control of it,” said Michigan 
coach Mel Pearson on Monday. 
“That sort of sums up not only 
how the weekend went but 
how our season is going right 
now. We get a great play, great 
stretch pass coming in and 
then you get overthinking and 
you overhandle it and the next 
thing you know, you’re losing 
the puck.”
It wasn’t the first time in 
the 
Wolverines’ 
seven-game 
winless skid that Lambert has 
missed on a Grade-A scoring 
chance.
On Nov. 8 against Minnesota, 
freshman 
forward 
Johnny 

Beecher sent a pass to a wide-
open Lambert on the doorstep 
of the net. Lambert fanned on 
his attempt at a shot before 
tumbling onto the ice, his 
chance at a game-winning goal 
gone.
“Good opportunity coming 
down the slot, just whiffs on it,” 
Pearson said after that game. 
“He had three or four (whiffs). 
Once you’re not scoring and 
you’re a forward, you really 
start to press. 
... It can get in 
your head, and 
we’ve 
got 
to 
get 
somebody 
in here to calm 
these guys and 
have them relax 
and not worry 
about 
that, 
because 
it’ll 
come.”
For Lambert, 
so far, it hasn’t.
He has been held without 
a point since Oct. 19 and has 
only one goal and one assist all 
season.
“I don’t really care, honestly,” 
Lambert said. “I’ve been getting 
chances every night, so — a lot 
of people in my life have always 
told me that if you’re not getting 
chances, then it’s time to be 
worried. But I’ve been getting 
chances every night, so sooner 
or later, it’s going to go in.”
And 
while 
Lambert’s 
offensive slump stands out after 
he led all freshmen in points 
last year with four goals and 
nine assists, his difficulties are 
only one example of a problem 

that’s spread throughout the 
locker room for Michigan. In 
the 
Wolverines’ 
seven-game 
skid, they’ve scored two or more 
goals in a game just twice and 
have been shut out once.
“I think we’re so uptight 
right now,” Pearson said. “Just 
relax and be the player you 
are and just simplify it. We are 
overhandling the puck. The 
more you handle it, the more 
opportunity you have to lose it 
or to miscue with it. Just keep 
it simple.”
No one around the program 
seems overly concerned about 
the lack of offensive output. 
The common refrain is that 
Michigan is getting chances and 
working hard, and eventually 
the Wolverines’ luck will turn 
and pucks will go in the net.
But 
through 
12 
games, 
Michigan ranks 43rd of 60 
teams in the nation with 23 
total goals and 51st in goals per 
game at 1.92. The Wolverines 
are dead last in the Big Ten 
standings with only one point of 
the 18 possible.
If Michigan is going to 
turn this around, players like 
Lambert will need to step up and 
become consistent contributors.
But as Lambert has shown 
lately, 
getting 
opportunities 
isn’t 
enough. 
Games 
aren’t 
decided by shot differential, 
they’re decided by goals scored 
— and the Wolverines have 
demonstrated an inability to put 
the puck in the net.
And there’s no prize at the 
end of the season for the team 
with the most opportunities.

ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Sophomore guard David DeJulius is shooting 46.2 percent from the field after a strong performance against Elon.

I just play my 
role and do 
whatever I can 
to stay out there.

BAILEY JOHNSON
Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert has struggled to generate offense.

Once you’re not 
scoring ... you 
really start to 
press.

