RIVALRY EDITION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN x OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY GET HYPE BY SNAGGING A COPY OF THE RIVALRY EDITION BEGINNING 11.26.19 8— Thursday, November 21, 2019 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com How Juwan Howard’s push for faster pace of play has affected Jon Teske Jon Teske is a busy man these days. As the starting center for the Michigan men’s basketball team, Teske has done it all so far this season. Through three games, the 7-foot-1, 265-pounder has played 93 minutes and averaged 16.7 points, nine rebounds, 2.7 blocks and shot 55.9 percent from the field. Teske has developed from only playing 61 minutes as a sophomore into one of the Wolverines’ most reliable players and one of the best bigs in the conference. Even during his time as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, now-Michigan coach Juwan Howard admired Teske’s game from afar. Now, under Howard’s tutelage, the hope is Teske takes another leap as a senior. “With Jon, his game has improved year by year,” Howard said after the Wolverines’ 70-50 win over Elon on Friday night. “He played a lot away from the basket so when I got the job here, I was like, ‘I want to utilize his post presence.’ He embraced it. We worked on it this summer. We’re gonna use him in that post, as well as from the outside.” So far, it’s gone according to plan. It’s still early and Michigan has yet to enter the meat of its schedule, but Teske has asserted himself both offensively and defensively. No one has been able to challenge Teske in the paint and while his perimeter shooting isn’t on par with last year’s percentages, opposing teams are still forced to respect his range. In addition to focusing more on Teske’s post game, Howard’s emphasis on up-tempo, transition offense has also benefited Teske’s statline. He was already a capable rim-runner for his size, but the Wolverines’ quick pace highlights that aspect of Teske’s game and has made for an entertaining brand of basketball. “Everyone can run the floor,” said sophomore guard David DeJulius. “Even (Teske), he’s 7-foot-1, is running and beating guys up the floor. It feels real good, once I get the rebound, I push it out to (Zavier Simpson). Zavier takes two dribbles and then throws the lob to Jon. Just the atmosphere, it’s very fun basketball. Not just for us, but also for the spectators.” With that said, Howard’s offensive philosophy does have a downside: It wears on his team. Teske specifically has looked visibly winded after spurts of transition offense. With little frontcourt depth though, Michigan can’t really afford to have him not on the floor. Sophomore forwards Colin Castleton and Brandon Johns Jr. provide some length off the bench but are too inconsistent to rely on for long periods of time. Redshirt junior center Austin Davis has some experience, having played in some important games under John Beilein, but doesn’t appear to be a go-to option for Howard. Against Creighton, the best team the Wolverines have faced and another fast-paced offense, Howard had to replace Teske seven minutes into the game due to fatigue. “Big fella was working hard,” Howard said after the Bluejays game on Nov. 12. “Big Jon at times got a little tired. You’re playing against a team who plays with pace. They loved to get up and down in transition. They also shoot threes in transition and want to put our ‘5s’ in a lot of ball- screens, to make them guard. It’s a lot of movement.” Going forward, Michigan will have to grapple with the fact that a play style that accentuates some of Teske’s best qualities may also pose problems for him later in games. As of now, the lack of reliable length behind Teske — and his stellar performances — means the more he plays, the better. In up-tempo games though, that’ll surely be a balancing act. Why has the Wolverines’ offense clicked? It’s all in the little things Over the last month, as Michigan’s offense has rounded into shape — finally starting to look like the high-powered machine that was promised during the offseason and what it so plainly wasn’t during the season’s first five weeks — the explanations from the program have been simple. Better execution. A lack of turnovers. The natural learning curve that comes with a new offense over the course of the season. It’s not rocket science, or even a wholesale change on coordinator Josh Gattis’ part, to hear the Wolverines tell it. Merely, it’s just the little things. “Just playing good. Playing better,” said running backs coach Jay Harbaugh. “I think steadily over the course of the year, we’ve gotten better and better and cleaned things up that were — things that weren’t going our way early, whether it be taking care of the ball or just being assignment-sound. “Gradually as we’ve gone on, individuals have gotten better. The units, the running backs, the line, receivers, the quarterbacks. Everyone’s kinda elevating their play, and you’re just seeing that happen here at the end of the season, what it looks like when a bunch of different individuals do it together.” During the early part of the year, when the offense couldn’t get started against the likes of Army, Wisconsin and Iowa, Michigan couldn’t seem to stop fumbling. After an Oct. 12 win at Illinois in which the Wolverines nearly let the Illini claw back after jumping out to a seemingly decisive lead, Michigan led the nation with 17 fumbles. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson, dealing with an oblique injury, seemed reluctant to run the ball. The offense itself didn’t run smoothly. Since the following week, when the Wolverines came tantalizingly close to a comeback at Penn State, all of that has shifted. In the last 14 quarters, they’ve scored 141 points, including blowing the doors off rivals Notre Dame and Michigan State. Patterson has made use of his legs like he did in 2018, keeping zone-read looks when defensive ends have overplayed the run and forcing them to acknowledge the threat. And Michigan has lost just one fumble, which came toward the end of a blowout win. It’s undeniable that certain tweaks have been made in the offense — that much is plain for any onlooker to see. But the little things, those that don’t come through Gattis’ headset on Saturday, are what seem to matter most. “A lot of people say the Penn State game (was when things changed), second half, and I think it definitely started there for sure,” said senior tight end Sean McKeon on Monday. “Kinda just eliminating all the turnovers was a big thing. Really being able to finish drives with a kick, like coach Harbaugh says, either a punt, field goal or extra point.” Senior left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. was asked Monday if the preseason characterization of the offense — that it would walk into the opener against Middle Tennessee State ready to light the world on fire — was unfair in retrospect. He didn’t give a yes or no, but noted that an adjustment period was needed. He didn’t need to add that those outside the building weren’t particularly willing to acknowledge that at the time. Now, though, it’s obvious not only that an adjustment period was needed, but that it has passed. The Wolverines moved the ball on Michigan State with ease last Saturday, scoring 44 points and finishing with 470 yards. They ended every drive but two with a kick, and things have looked that way for nearly a full month of games. It’s not what people envisioned in August. But it bodes well nonetheless. “It’s a little bit expected to get better as the course of the year goes,” Jay Harbaugh said. “Obviously you’d like to do that from the get-go and play your best, but unfortunately that’s not how it goes all the time. “You’re always gonna start somewhere and graduate, gotta build from there.” Danna making the most of his chance Michael Danna had never experienced anything close to this, running out on the field for one of the best-known rivalry games in college football, helping his team blow that rival to bits and hoisting the Paul Bunyan Trophy up in the Michigan Stadium end zone. These were the moments Danna — who spent the first four years of his career at Central Michigan before joining the Michigan football team as a grad transfer — came here for. The moments Danna will never forget. And as they’ve come, Danna has taken the time to absorb them. Even the biggest NFL- bound stars usually get three years at a school. Danna got one. He’s known since he got to Ann Arbor that he has to embrace every last second before they slip through his fingers. “I feel like I just got here and it’s coming to the end,” Danna said Tuesday. “But it’s been the blink of an eye and it’s already the end of November and I’m just trying to make the most of every opportunity I get being here.” Danna still talks to his friends with the Chippewas and has been following their quest for a MAC West title. But he has no regrets of leaving the place that was home for four years — after all, with the Wolverines, he’s gotten to play on the biggest stage. Beyond that, he’s upped his game and proved he belongs in the Big Ten. When asked in what area he’d improved the most, Danna listed off the two aspects of being a good defensive end: pass rush and run stopping. At Central Michigan, he played almost exclusively as an edge rusher. With the Wolverines, he’s done that in addition to 2-technique, 3-technique and 5-technique as part of a four- defensive end package defensive coordinator Don Brown designed because of the wealth of pass- rushing talent. Though Danna comes off the bench, he’s become even more useful simply because he’s developed that versatility. Coaches know he can play anywhere. So they find a spot for him. “Everyone thought he was a pass-rusher only, so (impressed with) how he’s handled the run game and the role that he’s played,” said defensive line coach Shaun Nua on Wednesday. “It’s hard to not start and just go in there cold.” He later added: “Anytime you have a great player like Mike Danna, you can’t leave him on the sidelines.” Danna’s bright-eyed attitude has been key in his ability to step in seamlessly. This is his only shot, so he can’t miss out on anything. Because of it, he’s worked that much harder. When he first arrived in the offseason, Danna got to work in the weight room, and others noticed. They knew someone with that kind of effort would fit right in as one of them. “It’s not easy because you’re coming in, first you’re leaving a family you have in terms of the last team he was with,” Nua said. “And then a different culture there, adjust to a new culture, whatever it is, it’s not easy to go in and just be accepted, be welcomed with open arms but that kid’s attitude is — that young man’s attitude is special.” Since he got to Michigan, Danna hasn’t worried about tomorrow. He hasn’t worried about next week. He hasn’t worried about anything but the seconds unfolding in front of him. It’s a mentality that’s allowed him to carve out a role even among a glut of pass-rushers — the 30 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries speak to that. And as the moments come and go, one thing is for certain: Danna will cherish every one. “Gratitude is a very special thing, and that’s exactly what Mike Danna has,” Nua said. “He appreciates every single second that he gets, every little moment that we go through, good or bad. And he learns fast from it. “I just wish I had him for four more years.” CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily Senior center Jon Teske is adjusting to the pace of Juwan Howard’s offense. ETHAN SEARS Managing Sports Editor ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Editor ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Michael Danna’s lone year with the Wolverines is almost at its end. I feel like I just got here and it’s coming to an end. NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily The Michigan football team’s offense has found its rhythm of late.