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Sports
Wednesday, December 11, 2019 — 7A
Birthdays and Santa: Quick hits with Jack Summers and Keaton Pehrson
The Daily hockey beat used
to run a video series during the
2011-12 season called “Quick
Hits.” They were one-on-one
interviews with players that
covered everyday life and all of
its funny moments. But now, for
budget reasons, it’s in written
format.
For the last edition of the
semester, The Daily’s Molly
Shea and Tien Le sat down
with
linemates,
sophomore
defenseman
Jack
Summers
and
freshman
defenseman
Keaton Pehrson, to discuss the
upcoming holiday season and
their teammates.
***
Molly: We heard that it’s your
birthday today. So, what’s your
favorite birthday that you’ve
ever had?
Keaton: Oooh. That’s tough.
It’d probably be one when I was
younger. Oh! I know which one
it is. It’s my Golden Birthday
when I was 10, and we went
to the Water Park of America
in Minneapolis. Got to stay
overnight at the water park with
a bunch of my buddies.
Tien: What about you, Jack?
Jack: Uhhhh. Probably just
going to Zap Zone. Me and my
buddies used to always go every
year for my birthday and their
birthdays, so that was always a
fun time.
Tien: Molly just turned 19 the
other week.
Jack: Oh really? What did you
do for your birthday?
Molly: No. I’m 22. And I went
to Rick’s.
Molly:
You
guys
are
a
defensive pairing, if you had to
come up with a nickname for
your pairing what would it be?
Jack: Probably something like
salad.
Keaton: Salad guys?
Jack: The salad men?
Keaton: Salad men!!!!
Tien: Why?
Jack: The hair. Long hair.
They both run their hands
through their hair.
Keaton: Because the salad.
It’s greasy.
Jack: Long hair. It’s called
salad.
Molly: Ohhhhhhhh.
Tien: Fair enough. So you
guys played juniors together, do
you have any fun memories from
that time together?
Keaton: I think it was fun
just getting to play with him.
Knowing we were both going to
Michigan, build some chemistry
early and then know we’re going
to go to college together was
pretty cool.
Jack: Yeah we played together
that first year as a D-pair, so it
was just good getting to know
him early.
Molly:
Favorite
holiday
tradition?
Jack:
The
team
always
gets together for a Christmas
gathering before we all leave
for break. So that’s pretty fun.
Otherwise, just being able to go
home for a week and spend time
with the family and catch up
with everyone and see everyone
is always a good time.
Keaton: Yeah, getting to see
family. I have a little pond in my
backyard so we’ll shovel it off a
rink and everyone will go skate
out there. Which is pretty fun.
Tien:
Favorite
Christmas
song?
Jack: That’s tough.
Keaton:
All
I
Want
for
Christmas.
Jack: Mariah Carey!
Keaton: Yeah, Mariah Carey.
That’s a good one.
Molly: If you had to switch
lives with someone on the team,
who would you pick?
Keaton: Oooh. I’d go Cam
York. I’d wanna know what it’s
like to have all those Instagram
followers.
Freshman
Cam
York
has
12.5k followers on Instagram,
meanwhile Keaton has 1,475 and
Jack has 794. Oof.
Jack: Man, I don’t know.
Probably the same. He lives a
pretty good life.
Keaton:
See
what it’s like to
be famous. It’d
be nice.
Molly:
When
did
you
stop
believing
in
Santa?
Jack:
Oooh.
I think I was
pretty
old
honestly.
Keaton: Mine
was pretty late, too.
Jack: Maybe 10?
Keaton: Oh mine was later
than that. It was probably, wait
when’s middle school?
Jack: Eighth grade?
Keaton: No.
Jack: Freshman year?
Keaton: No. Probably like fifth
or sixth grade. Right around
when you’re getting ready to go
to middle school.
People
would
always tell me
but
I
would
always say, “No.
He’s real!”
Molly: If, for
whatever reason,
the pilot couldn’t
fly
the
plane,
who would you
trust the most?
Jack: Probably
(Jack) Becker. He’s definitely
the smartest guy on the team for
sure.
Keaton: I’d say him, or Strauss
(Mann). Strauss is just … not
weird but … he’s a little different.
So that’d be something he’d
know how to do maybe. Just fly
a plane.
Molly: Are you superstitious
about any pregame routines?
Jack: Not really. I just do
everything the same, every time.
It’s not really a superstition. It
just gets my mind right. It’s not
too much.
Keaton: Yeah, not really.
Molly:
Nick
Blankenburg
mentioned you like to sit in
seat six in the stands before
warmups.
Jack: Yeah. Row six, seat six. I
just always do that.
Because
that’s
not
superstitious at all…
Molly: Why’d you choose six
as your jersey number?
Jack: So I grew up playing
baseball, and that was always
my baseball number. So when I
had to choose between hockey
or baseball, I picked hockey. So
I always kept six in memory of
baseball.
*Nick Blankenburg enters the
room*
Nick
*panicking*:
We’re
about to start lift. Can’t be late.
Or else I’m screwed.
Tien: Alright, last question.
So if you were stranded on a
deserted island with someone
from the team, who would you
pick?
Keaton: I’m going to go with
Winny (Adam Winborg). He
seems like he’s got survival
skills, and he’s a pretty big man.
We could fend for ourselves, I
think.
Jack: Yeah, definitely him.
Keaton *has an epiphany*: Oh!
Ooh! Is it (the recording) still
going? Luke Morgan actually.
That guy is a survival man.
Illinois bigs the focus for Wolverines
Last Friday, the Michigan
men’s basketball team scored
103 points against Iowa. One-
hundred-and-three.
Under former coach John
Beilein, the Wolverines had only
scored above 100 points six times
— and never against a Big Ten
opponent. Michigan seemingly
only managed to crack triple
digits against low-level non-
conference foes, and based on
Beilein’s more elaborate, drawn
out offensive plays, it seemed to
be almost on accident.
But things are different under
new
coach
Juwan
Howard.
The Wolverines are launching
3-pointers in transition, playing
with pace and
getting
shots
off early in the
shot clock. So
when Michigan
treks down to
Champaign
on Wednesday
to
square
off
against Illinois
— the Big Ten’s
highest scoring
offense — the
game is sure to be a barn burner.
For those not familiar with
the term, a barn burner indicates
a high-scoring affair for one of
those inexplicable reasons that
only locals understand. But
Wednesday’s
matchup
has
the potential to
not just light the
barn on fire, but
take the rest of
the farm with it.
The
Illini
have
already
put up over 100
points
twice
this
season,
highlighted
by a 120-point smackdown of
Hampton. In the effort, Illinois’
prolific offense was led by
its two bright stars — center
Kofi Cockburn and guard Ayo
Dosunmo, who both dropped 20.
Cockburn has been having
a monster season, averaging a
double-double with 16.3 points
per game and 11.2 rebounds per
game. Also averaging 1.3 blocks
per game, the 7-footer has a
physical skill set that reads like
a grocery list.
“Strong,
tough,
physical,
inside presence,
plays
extremely
hard, very good
on the low block,”
Howard
said.
“Another
thing
that stands out is,
(he’s an) excellent
offensive
rebounder. Built
with
a
lot
of
toughness
and
his
frame
just
breathes toughness all over him.
So we have to, of course, match
his toughness. Our guys are very
competitive, and they’re not
afraid, but they love competing
against any big that steps on the
floor.”
In short, he’s
going to be a
problem.
The last time
Michigan saw a
physically gifted,
dominant
big
down low — the
Hawkeyes’ Luka
Garza on Friday
— he destroyed
his career high
and bruised the Wolverines for a
whopping 44 points. Then again,
the big man took 32 shots and
no one else in a black and yellow
jersey could hit a cloud from an
airplane, leading to a 12-point
Michigan win.
While Cockburn undoubtedly
presents a challenge, senior
center Jon Teske is certain that
the big man is nothing he hasn’t
seen before.
“It’s another big body,” Teske
said. “In the Big Ten, you play
against a big center every night.
He’s another one. We gotta
be ready for him. He’s a big,
physical big man down there,
and we just gotta hold our own.
He’s gonna get his looks, he’s
gonna get his touches and he’s
gonna score points. We’re not
gonna shut him out, he’s gonna
get his, and we just gotta limit
what he does.”
Teske’s answer is fairly telling
in how the Wolverines are
going to look to play Cockburn.
In
previous
games
against
prolific bigs, Michigan’s game
plan has been to limit the fouls
called on Teske and backup
bigs sophomore Colin Castleton
and senior Austin Davis, letting
the opponent pad the stat sheet
while trusting the Wolverines’
offense to inflict maximum
damage on the other end of the
floor.
And if Michigan does get in
foul or injury trouble — as was
the case Friday with Teske on
the bench and Castleton in the
locker room with a lip injury —
the Wolverines have the depth to
respond and maintain pressure
in the low post on both ends of
the floor.
It worked Friday, when the
third digit of the scoreboard
was lit up for just the seventh
time in nearly 13 years. And on
Wednesday, Michigan is hoping
— between Teske, Castleton,
Davis and a bit of luck — to tack
another one in the win column.
‘M’ bench limiting scoring droughts
Midway through the third
quarter on Sunday, Michigan
found itself on the wrong end of
an Oakland run.
After hitting only one field
goal
in
four
minutes,
the
Wolverines
saw
their
once
13-point lead dwindle down to
just four with 2:18 remaining
in the quarter. Meanwhile, the
Grizzlies were on fire, scoring
13 points over that same stretch.
Michigan needed a spark.
Sophomore
forward
Naz
Hillmon delivered, notching six
points in two minutes. With her
help, the Wolverines closed the
third quarter with an 8-0 run
of their own, re-establishing
the lead and putting an end to
Oakland’s upset bid.
Runs are a normal part of
basketball. For various reasons,
practically every team will go
through stretches where the
shots just aren’t falling. On
Sunday, physical and emotional
fatigue likely came into play
for Michigan, as it was coming
off of an overtime win against
Syracuse just three nights prior.
“That was a really tough
recovery after Thursday,” said
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico. “I knew that today we
were still kind of physically
and emotionally exhausted and
that it was gonna be a little bit
of a grind, but we figured out a
way to do it and it was a great
victory.”
The key to surviving these
scoring droughts lies in damage
control. When the Wolverines
go through stretches where
they struggle to score points,
they need to rely on their strong
defense, hit a couple easy layups
or make substitutions to give
their starters a rest and allow
fresh players a chance to make
a difference.
On Sunday, it was Hillmon
who snapped the Grizzlies’ run
with two layups and two free
throws. Limiting the damage
becomes a lot easier when
Michigan relies on its leading
scorer to pick up easy baskets
when they desperately need
them.
“I don’t even know her
numbers, but I know they’re
high,” said sophomore guard
Amy Dilk. “Every day we try to
get the ball to Naz and let her
do her work — especially if it’s
one-on-one, they can’t handle
that.”
But the Wolverines can’t
always count on Hillmon to
provide that spark — especially
since she is currently nursing
a minor ankle injury. They’ll
have to get it from some other
options
down
the stretch, and
with a lot of
players
seeing
significant
playing time so
far this year, the
prospects seem
pretty good.
Michigan’s
freshmen
in
particular
provide
great
scoring options off the bench.
Guard Michelle Sidor has been
capable from three so far,
shooting 13-for-33 — the most
makes on the team. She has not
been afraid to shoot the ball in
her various appearances this
season, and her high-energy
style of play makes her a great
spark off the bench when shots
aren’t falling.
Center Izabel Varejão has
also been a solid change of
pace
as
a
substitute.
Her
6-foot-4
frame
makes
her
incredibly difficult to guard in
the post, and she’s sunk a pair
of threes this year as well. If
she can continue to develop
her post game and cut back on
turnovers, she’ll be a reliable
weapon when the starters are
struggling to score points.
It’s not just the freshmen,
either. Junior guard Priscilla
Smeenge and sophomore guard
Danielle Rauch both played
meaningful minutes on Sunday,
demonstrating
the Wolverines’
depth
and
providing
Barnes
Arico
with even more
options
when
the team needs
a spark.
“We’re
only
as strong as our
weakest
link,”
Smeenge
said.
“I feel like our 11th person
and whoever’s coming off the
bench can do a really good job
of contributing”
Michigan will need those
contributions from the bench
even
more
as
the
season
progresses. Its opponents will
go on runs — after all, they’re
just part of the game — and it
will have to hope that its depth
can continue to produce in
high-pressure situations.
MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore defenseman Jack Summers still wears the number six as an homage to his childhood days playing baseball, before he committed to hockey full-time.
Strauss is just
... not weird but
... he’s a little
different.
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Writer
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore forward Colin Castleton will be key against Illinois on Wednesday.
EMMA MATI/Daily
Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon helped Michigan fight off Oakland last week.
(Cockburn is)
an excellent
offensive
rebounder.
We gotta be
ready for him.
He’s a big,
physical big.
I feel like our
11th person ...
can do a really
good job.