The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 — 15

Matthew Beniers adds more elite 

playmaking ability

An old school center, Hunter Dickinson 

built for Big Ten competition

Here’s 
the 
thing 
— 
the 

Michigan hockey team didn’t 
need another forward in its 
incoming 
recruiting 
class. 

It already had two commits 
likely to go top 10 in the 2021 
NHL Draft, and another two 
borderline first-rounders eligible 
for the 2020 Draft. 

Without Matthew Beniers, the 

Wolverines would have an elite 
class of scorers and playmakers 
coming in this season. 

With 
him 
it’s 
downright 

ludicrous. 

Beniers also projects as a top-

10 pick in 2021, and it’s easy to 
see why. His quick feet and puck 
skills helped him notch a team-
leading 18 goals in 44 games for 
the U.S. National Under-18 Team 
last season, but he’s more than 
just a pure goal scorer. 

“His competitiveness on the 

puck, his willingness to win 
puck battles, to block shots, to 
do the dirty things that help 
you win hockey games really is 
what makes him special,” Seth 
Appert, a former U.S. National 
Team 
Development 
Program 

coach, said. “And then his talent 
combined with that makes him 
very unique.”

Beniers’ quick hands give 

him an inherent advantage in 
one-on-one situations, and his 

positioning at the turnover was 
enough to create that scenario. 
But 
what 
makes 
this 
play 

impressive is that he wasn’t even 
the first to the puck — the replay 
clearly shows that the defender 
hacked at it first. 

From there, Beniers manages 

to collect the bouncing puck, 
push it through the defender’s 
legs and still control it enough 
to deliver a perfect pass to his 
teammate. In a span of seconds, 
he showcases impressive speed, 
puck control, vision and balance. 
It would have been the assist 
of the tournament if not for a 
ridiculous save from Sweden’s 
goalie. 

This is an example of two 

teammates perfectly in sync. 
From the moment he picks up 
the loose puck in front of his 
own goal, Beniers knows where 
he’s going with it. He waits just 
long enough for his teammate to 
get past the defense while still 
avoiding an offside, and then 
delivers a perfect puck for a 
golden scoring opportunity. 

The ability to see the play 

developing, identify a passing 
lane and send a flawless pass 
that quickly is invaluable at 
the collegiate level. That level 
of instinct and understanding 
can create odd-man rushes and, 
ultimately, goals. 

“(At the NTDP, we) try to 

get our players to play this 
aggressive, attacking, instinctual 

game,” Appert said. “He has a lot 
of those things innately as well, 
and I think those things were 
just enhanced here.”

Again, Beniers knows exactly 

where he’s going with that puck, 
but this time, he’s deceptive 
about it. He uses his eyes to draw 
the defender toward teammate 
Dylan Peterson — No. 25 in the 
video — opening up space to 
hit fellow Michigan commit 
Thomas Bordeleau just outside 
the slot. Bordeleau casually 
undresses the defender, and the 
rest is history. 

When 
the 
season 
starts, 

college hockey will likely be an 
adjustment for Beniers. He’ll be 
playing against opponents that 
are older and more experienced, 
and he could be in for a rude 
awakening.

But 
he’s 
been 
through 

that before. In 2019, at just 17 
years-old, he was called up for 
the Under-18 World Juniors 
Championship, where he played 
alongside a certain Jack Hughes. 

“The beauty of him getting 

called up that first year is that 
he can slide in any role,” Appert 
said. “He’s skilled enough to play 
with Jack Hughes if there’s a 
spot on Jack’s line, but he’s also 
gritty enough to fulfill roles that 
the bottom six forwards have to 
fill.” 

Hunter 
Dickinson 
is 

comfortable in his own skin — all 
7-foot-1, 255 pounds of him. 

In an era of basketball where 

the traditional post-up center 
is 
an 
endangered 
species, 

Dickinson’s bruising style of 
play makes for a refreshing 
throwback. 

“Hunter, 
he 
understands 

he’s a post player,” Mike Jones, 
Dickinson’s high school coach at 
DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, 
Md., said. “He’s unique. He can 
shoot threes and pass the ball 
as well as anybody, but he also 
knows he can be extremely 
effective on the block close to the 
basket. A lot of bigs don’t want to 
do that. He’s very good at it.”

The 
Wolverines 
need 

Dickinson, a four-star center and 
the 42nd-ranked recruit in the 
247Sports composite rankings, 
to contribute right away. Two-
year starter Jon Teske graduated 
in the spring, leaving Dickinson 
and fifth-year senior Austin 
Davis — who has yet to start in 

his collegiate career — as the only 
centers on the roster. 

To contend in the Big Ten, 

having a viable center is essential. 
The conference ran through the 
position a year ago, and figures 
to do the same in the upcoming 
season.

No Power Five conference 

features a more potent collection 
of big men than the Big Ten. It’s 
a group headlined by first-team 
All-American 
and 
Naismith 

Award finalist Luka Garza, who 
comes back to anchor Iowa in his 
senior season. 

Kofi 
Cockburn, 
a 
7-foot-

1, 290 pound wall of muscle, 
turned down the NBA to return 
to Illinois for his sophomore 
campaign. Micah Potter and 
Nate 
Reuvers 
make 
for 
a 

dynamic duo of stretch-fives at 
Wisconsin. 
Purdue’s 
Trevion 

Williams torched Michigan for 
36 points and 20 rebounds last 
season. Trayce Jackson-Davis is 
a budding star for Indiana. 

The list goes on. 
It’s no easy task for an 

experienced center to tackle, 
let alone a freshman embarking 
on his first foray into college 

basketball. But if anyone is up for 
the challenge, Jones is confident 
that it’s Dickinson. 

“He’s 
always 
performed 

well against guys his size, guys 
with reputations,” Jones said. 
“When the bright lights come on, 
Hunter’s there. He’s a big-game 
player. He’s used to playing in 
big games with the spotlight on 
him, getting a ton of attention. 
I think he really thrives in that 
environment.”

Playing 
at 
a 
perennial 

basketball 
powerhouse 
in 

DeMatha afforded Dickinson 
multiple 
rendezvous 
with 

premiere talent. In January, the 
Stags squared off against Rancho 
Cristian in a nationally-televised 
showdown on ESPN. 

The meeting pitted Dickinson 

against 
Evan 
Mobley, 
the 

nation’s third-ranked recruit and 
consensus No. 1 center. While 
Mobley poured in 22 points and 
11 rebounds, it was Dickinson 
who stole the show, anchoring 
DeMatha with 28 points and 
three blocks in a 69-61 victory. 

BRENDAN ROOSE

Daily Sports Editor

JARED GREENSPAN

Daily Sports Writer

COURTESY OF RENA LAVERTY / USA HOCKEY’S NTDP

Freshman forward Matthew Beniers and some teammates are projected to be top-ten picks in the 2021 NHL draft.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE JONES

Freshman center Hunter Dickinson will bring post presence to Michigan, according to his high school head coach.

Three positives for Akienreh 

Johnson’s fifth-year

Meet Howard’s Herd: How eight 
guys made Section 130 fun again

In a moment of pressure, 

Akienreh Johnson knows how to 
deliver.

Johnson receives a pass out 

of the paint from Amy Dilk. She 
fires it around the three-point 
line to Haily Brown. Brown sinks 
the three.

It’s the biggest assist of senior 

guard Akienreh Johnson’s career. 
With under 20 seconds left in the 
fourth quarter of the semifinals 
of the 2020 Big Ten Tournament 
against Northwestern, Michigan 
has just secured the win. 

Johnson 
delivered, 
and 

Michigan will need her to 
continue to deliver this season as 
a fifth-year senior.

Johnson was granted a fifth-

year by the NCAA in early April. 
She suffered from a season-
ending ACL injury during her 
freshman year and petitioned 
the NCAA shortly for a fifth-
year after last year’s season was 
canceled due to COVID-19. 

Last 
season, 
the 
guard 

dominated the floor, securing her 
spot as a starter for Michigan. As 
one of two seniors last year, the 
Wolverines counted on her to 
lead the team both on and off the 
court as the captain.

This year, the Wolverines will 

continue to rely on Johnson’s 
leadership and versatility on 

the court. To better understand 
Johnson’s best assets, The Daily 
breaks down some film:

Post-entry passes
This clip, from Michigan’s Big 

Ten Tournament semifinal game 
against Northwestern, highlights 
Johnson’s 
crucial 
post-entry 

passes. She assesses her options, 
pivoting multiple times before 
committing to the pass in the 
paint. She finds then-freshman 
forward Naz Hillmon under the 
basket for an easy layup. 

Hillmon and Johnson have 

proven to be a formidable duo 
on the court. Their ability to 
read each other leads to multiple 
assists and points.

Most of the time, Johnson’s 

post-entry passes lead to buckets. 
But it’s not just the passes that 
make Johnson useful in the 
frontcourt. Equally important 
is Johnson’s willingness to be 
selfless. Later in this game, she 
dribbles around the arc waiting 
for the opportunity to give it 
to Hillmon. She understands 
her role on the team, and had 
the third-highest assists last 
year with 76 — only one behind 
Hillmon.

3-point shooting
Even with her high assist stats 

last season, Johnson dominated 
the three-point line all season. 
Here, she looks calm under 
pressure, with a Rutgers defender 
flying in her face. 

Last season she made 22 

threes, with a .364 shooting 
percentage, the second-most on 
the team.

Johnson’s ability to shoot 

makes 
her 
an 
even 
bigger 

threat offensively. It makes her 
challenging to guard. With her 
snappy post-entry passes as 
well as her impressive shooting, 
defenders have a hard time 
covering both aspects of her 
game on the offensive end.

Height
Johnson is tall for a guard, 

standing 
6-foot. 
In 
NCAA 

Division 1, the average height of 
a women’s basketball player is 
5-foot-6. 

Here, 
she 
bodies 
one 
of 

Rutgers’ guards, forcing her to 
make a bad pass. Johnson easily 
blocks the pass and takes the 
ball down the floor for an assist 
to then-sophomore guard Amy 
Dilk.

Her height also factors into her 

high rebounding and steals stats. 
Last season, Johnson averaged 
6.5 rebounds per game, with 208 
on the season. In steals, she led 
the team with 49.

Overall, 
it’s 
Johnson’s 

variability 
that 
makes 
her 

irreplaceable in the Wolverines’ 
lineup. Her shooting and passing 
ability, coupled with her height, 
make her virtually unstoppable 
on the court.

Whether you’ve been to a 

Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 

game in person or watched one 
on TV, you’ve seen them.

Perched in Section 130, eight 

individuals decked out in cow 
costumes jump up and down 
over the course of two hours, 
pumping up the Wolverine 
faithful and jeering opposing 
players. 
These 
costumed 

students, known as Howard’s 
Herd and previously known 
as the Bee-Line, have become 
one of the most visible and 
recognizable parts of attending 
or watching a Michigan game.

Three years ago, Section 

130 
was 
a 
more 
relaxed 

alternative 
to 
the 
student 

section. Featuring cushioned 
seats instead of benches found 
in Section 129, where the Maize 
Rage student section resides, 
most fans seated in Section 130 
spent much of their time sitting 
down and casually watching 
the game.

But in 2017, the Maize Rage 

decided it was time to change 
the culture of Section 130. 
One meeting, the Maize Rage 
announced they were looking 
for eight members to attend 
every game in Section 130 to 
try and increase its spirit and 
engagement. For senior Drew 
Hirselj, the decision was a 
no-brainer.

“I mean, getting free food 

vouchers 
and 
guaranteed 

seating?” Hirselj said, “It was 
one of the biggest no brainers of 
all time for me. I was sold right 
away.”

Then 
freshmen, 
Hirselj 

and seven friends attended 
Michigan’s first game of the 
season against North Florida, 
where they led Section 130 in 
chants, distracted opponents 
taking free throws and wrote 
quips on a whiteboard to poke 
fun at Osprey players. The group 
had succeeded in energizing 
the section, but they still felt 
like they needed an identity to 
separate themselves from other 
Maize Rage members.

“We were actually called 

the 130 Boys for those first few 
games,” senior Josh Goldstein 

said. “Then someone had the 
idea to have us dress up in 
bumblebee costumes to honor 
John Beilein and things really 
took off from there.”

As Big Ten-play kicked off 

in 2018, so did the “Bee-Line.” 
Decked in bee onesies, the 
eight freshmen presided in the 
front row of Section 130 and 
served as one of the most visible 
figures of the Crisler Center 
crowd that saw Michigan start 
15-1 at home.

“In the first half, we’re 

doing what we can to help on 
offense,” Goldstein said. “In the 
second half we’re helping out 
on defense.”

When the season came to 

a close, Beilein took the time 
to meet the group that paid 
homage to him at each game, 
giving them fist bumps and 
handshakes before posing for 
a photo. The moment served 
as validation for the Bee-Line, 
who were starstruck by their 
namesake’s support.

ABBIE TELGENHOF

Daily Sports Writer

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

EMMA MATI/Daily

Fifth-year senior guard Akienreh Johnson can help Michigan with her six-foot height and smart post-entry passing.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Howard’s Herd, previously known as Beilein’s Bee-Line, reinvigorated section 130 at Crisler Center.

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