Wednesday, September 16, 2020 — 17 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Yost through the eyes of the equipment manager The dull whir of the skate sharpening machine sets a fitting background noise. Masked up in an empty Yost Ice Arena, Long-time Michigan hockey equipment manager Ian Hume sits at his desk, a wall of skates to his left. Before our interview can begin, a visitor arrives. Freshman forward Phillippe Lapointe enters the office, asking if his skates are done. It’s a simple question, but there’s a lot more to it. Hume works with Lapointe to figure out how much extra steel he wants on his blades. Though a simple interaction, Hume is doing what he does best: getting to know his players. “Now I know where to start with him and we’ll go from there,” Hume said. “It’s kind of a feel thing. I’ll make a couple of adjustments and try to get him dialed in.” Hume is a hockey guy through and through. He grew up in Canada, and like many Canadians, hockey was his lifeblood. “When I was growing up as a kid, there were two seasons; it was hockey and road hockey,” Hume said. “You played road hockey when the snow went away and when the snow came back we were in the rinks or outdoor rinks or ponds or whatever. It was just hockey, hockey, hockey.” Hume got on Michigan’s radar by working in junior leagues in Ontario, an area in which Michigan recruited heavily. There, he got to know former coach Red Berenson, and after getting married, he and his wife moved to Ann Arbor, where he kept in touch with Berenson. Then, he literally walked into a job. “I just happened to walk in (to Yost) one day in July and they were doing a kids hockey camp,” Hume said. “I knew Red pretty well by that point and I just walked in to see how he was doing and he said ‘You couldn’t have come in here on a worse day.’ ” Berenson had just seen multiple assistants, his video guy and his equipment manager leave the program for the University Illinois at Chicago’s hockey team. Ironically, that program no longer exists. Berenson asked Hume if he was still looking for a job and Hume told him he was. He was offered the equipment manager position on the spot. “He cleared it with administration and 31 years later I’m still here,” Hume said. “So I owe where I am and all my experiences; I owe that to coach Berenson.” Hume was on Berenson’s coaching staff for nearly his entire tenure, and he stayed on when head coach Mel Pearson took over in 2017. “Red wasn’t necessarily negative, but I would say that Red was old school.” Hume said. “(Mel’s) different then coach Berenson. He wants it to be fun for the players and I think he wants it to be fun for us. There can be enough negativity when people aren’t playing well, and so it’s pretty easy. He likes to be very positive.” Hume’s official role is to handle all the equipment-related tasks. He’s in charge of getting all the jerseys, pads, helmets, decals and anything else you could think of ready for the players. The process to pack all of that up for a road game is relatively easy. What takes a while is gathering and replacing the extra equipment that travels with the team all season — including five sticks per player for a road trip. “We take enough stuff so that if there’s a problem, we’ve usually got it covered,” Hume said. Talking to him, it’s clear that he’s so much more than just the equipment manager. Hume has an open-door policy, and whether players want to talk about equipment adjustments or are just tired of coaching and want to chat, Hume is there. “(Hockey’s) the longest college season. It’s a long grind from when you start in September and you don’t end sometimes until mid April,” Hume said. “It may not be physically demanding as far as the number of games you play, but you’re practicing and it mentally can wear you out. So you get guys that come in and shoot the breeze about whatever.” Through those conversations, Hume has gotten to know a lot of players in the program in his three decades at Michigan. He’s noticed a trend. The less tinkering a player does, the more success they usually have. “One of our sayings is it’s not the tools, it’s the carpenter,” Hume said. “Most guys are pretty good, but some guys are finicky and they don’t need to be.” Former Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes exemplified this. Hughes had an incredible career at Michigan and continued to perform in his first year in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks. He piled up 43 assists and is a finalist for the Calder Trophy — awarded to the top rookie each year. This instant success was no surprise to Hume. Hughes went through very few sticks and just wanted his skates to be kept sharp. “(He) was literally no maintenance,” Hume said. “The kid just wants to play.” At this point, Hume has seen it all. Even in a pandemic, he’s still going into work, checking in on his players and keeping everyone’s skates sharpened — extra steel and all. But it’s not really about the equipment. It’s that every guy on the Wolverines can come in and talk to Hume about anything. It’s been that way for 31 years. “Teams can change, personnel can change, people can change,” Hume said. “But it’s the relationships you build that last forever. I think that’s what’s unique about hockey.” Film Breakdown: What to expect from Austin Davis’s fifth year with ‘M’ Over breakfast with Michigan coach Juwan Howard last February, Austin Davis’s fate for this upcoming college basketball season was sealed. The then-redshirt junior would be returning for a fifth year in the fall. It wasn’t too long ago that Davis was largely an afterthought. He struggled to acclimate to the college game, sitting out his first year and playing sparingly over the next two seasons — just twice did he see double-digit minutes over the course of 2017-18 and 2018- 19. Last season seemed destined for more of the same. Davis started off as the third- string center, leapfrogged in the rotation by sophomore Colin Castleton. He sat on the sidelines for seven of Michigan’s first eleven games. And yet he managed to turn a corner. Davis flourished under Howard’s tutelage, establishing himself as the backup to Jon Teske. In a Big Ten stacked with viable big men, he was a revelation. “It’s great to have Austin Davis on our side,” Howard said after an 89-65 win over Indiana last February, a game in which Davis contributed 11 points. “Austin is wired the right way. He’s such a giver. Total team guy. Never tried to go for his numbers or do anything he’s not good at. Come in with the right attitude in practice, working hard. Buying into the teaching and the developing. And he’s going out and having a great carryover game after game.” With Teske having graduated in May, Davis’s importance is magnified. Michigan’s other true big man is freshman Hunter Dickinson, and while Dickinson is talented, the transition from high school to college necessitates a learning curve — just ask Davis. The Daily took a closer look at what went right for Davis during his breakout campaign and where there’s room for improvement entering his last go-around. The pick and roll was more integral to Michigan’s offense than almost any other offensive set last season. According to Synergy, the Wolverines averaged 28.5 points per game off the pick and roll, the fourth highest total in the nation. Luckily for Davis, it’s an element of the game in which he excels. In this clip taken from Michigan’s February matchup with Rutgers at Madison Square Garden, Davis frees up the ball-handler, Eli Brooks, with a textbook screen. As Brooks veers right, Davis’s defender hedges out, leaving him in the clear. Brooks threads the needle with a bounce pass and hits Davis in stride. Rather than force up an ill-advised shot, Davis flashes his poise. He possesses the wherewithal to recognize the help defender blitzing in from the far corner to front him on the block. Working methodically, he gathers himself, takes a dribble and ducks under the air-borne defender. When a second defender closes in, he bides even more time with another successful fake, making for an easy basket. Davis’ actions on the court are often coherent. It’s when he rushes that his play deviates — shuffled feet, forced shots. He is at his best when he slows the game down. On this play, even after point guard Zavier Simpson stumbles with his dribble, Davis holds his ground down low. The patience pays off, with Simpson squeaking free and finding Davis for the two-handed slam. A portion of Davis’s pick and roll success can surely be attributed to Simpson’s ability as an orchestrator. Now, Davis will have to rely more heavily on the trio of Brooks, graduate transfer Mike Smith and freshman Zeb Jackson to execute the two-man game. Second-chance points are back-breakers, and no Wolverine displayed a knack for securing offensive rebounds quite like Davis did last season. Out of his 62 total boards, 24 occurred on the offensive end — a 37 percent clip that stood as the highest mark on the team. This play begins with a similar sequence as the prior one. Davis sets a ball screen and both defenders chase the ball- handler, collapsing on David DeJulius. DeJulius, though, isn’t looking for Davis. On the other side of the court, Brandon Johns Jr. walls off Indiana’s Rob Phinisee with an off-ball screen, freeing Brooks for a shot attempt. While not the focal point, Davis nonetheless strives to make an impact: he beelines into the heart of the paint, positioning himself for a possible offensive rebound. By the time Davis’s defender leaves DeJulius, he’s too late — Davis, as if on defense, is boxing out. When Brooks’ three-pointer falls off, Davis out-wills four Hoosiers for the rebound, using his 6-foot-10, 250 pound frame to his advantage and finishing off the move with a layup in traffic. If there’s a clear area where Davis has room to grow, it’s perimeter defense. By all means, Davis is a traditional big man. His scoring radius is largely confined to the paint. Jump shots, let alone 3-pointers, are absent from his arsenal. And in today’s era of basketball, the stretch-‘5’ is a hot commodity. A big man like Davis can thrive in the paint on the offensive end, but only so long as he can venture outwards on defense. Against Ohio State, Davis matched up against versatile big man Kaleb Wesson. Here, Wesson catches the entry pass with his back to the basket before quickly pivoting to face the hoop, leaving Davis vulnerable to a dribble-drive. Wesson lulls Davis with a few jab-steps then darts right. A slow first step dooms Davis, who winds up on Wesson’s backside and commits a foul. In guarding the inside- outside big, Davis has to make a concerted effort to be out far enough to contest a perimeter shot. Last year against Wisconsin, for instance, he was a virtual non-factor due to his inability to challenge three- point threats Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers along the arc. Without Teske, Michigan will need Davis to stay on the court for long stretches and out of foul trouble. Improved individual defense is therefore all the more imperative. Last year, after spending three seasons riding the bench, Davis proved he could hold his own among stiff Big Ten competition. If he can continue to make strides, he will not only help ease Dickinson’s transition to the college level, but also make Michigan all the more dangerous. Drew Kendall in no rush Drew Kendall was supposed to be committed by now. On Aug. 28, the four-star offensive linemen — a top target for Michigan in the 2021 class — told 247Sports that he’d be committing in the next week. It would have been the end to a four-horse race between the Wolverines, Boston College, Duke and Stanford. Instead, there’s been radio silence from Dedham, Mass. “He’s very open-minded and he’s not rushing to make a final decision,” Panos Voulgaris, Kendall’s coach at Nobles and Greenough School, said. “And I think the fact that it doesn’t look like we’re gonna be playing any games, it hasn’t expedited the decision at all. “So he’s being patient and he wants to have the most clarity on making a final decision. So no rush at this point.” That may not be a bad thing for Michigan. After losing four- star guard Rocco Spindler to Notre Dame last month, Kendall seems to be the best remaining option on the 2021 board at the position. The Wolverines have four offensive line commits for the class — centers Raheem Anderson and Greg Crippen, both four stars, four-star tackle Giovanni El-Hadi and three-star tackle Tristan Bounds. Kendall, a top-10 guard and top-130 recruit on 247Sports’ composite score, would fit nicely into that mix. “I think athletically and technically, he’s gonna be ready to go (in college),” Voulgaris said. “It’s just a matter of being put in an environment where there are several other players at his level. And getting used to that speed and to the pace of practice and to what Power 5 football demands. So it’s just a matter of acclimating.” Voulgaris said Kendall is over 265 pounds right now and could develop to as big as 295. Even over a summer marred by COVID-19, he found ways to work out. “He made a lot of gains in the weight room, with his strength numbers,” Voulgaris said, “and also with his numbers on the field as far as agility time, explosiveness, speed, quickness, all that stuff.” Kendall’s father, Pete, had a 13-year NFL career as an offensive linemen after a college career at Boston College. He works on the Nobles coaching staff now, and Voulgaris credits him with much of Drew’s development. Voulgaris said Kendall has been exposed to gap, man and zone run schemes in high school, making his transition to college easier. In Massachusetts, it’s unlikely there will be a high school football season this fall. Coupled with a recruiting dead period, that puts situations like Kendall’s in limbo. Instead of a season, there’s an indefinite run of practices without anything to practice for or any college coaches coming through town. “Naturally he’s disappointed, like everyone who’s a competitor, by not playing in the games,” Voulgaris said. “But he’s controlling what he can control, and making sure that he takes advantage of the practice time that he has and this extra time in the weight room and he’s gonna make gains where he can.” Even in those practices, Voulgaris sees Kendall leading and setting the tone, other players looking up to him. He’s seen Kendall display that sort of attitude since they first met, three years ago. “Even before I ever saw him get onto the field, this is someone who loves the game of football and you see it in the way he communicates about it, the way he interacts with coaches,” Voulgaris said. “His desire to learn the game, whether it’s on the white board, in the film room or when it comes to the actual being on the field and getting better from a physical standpoint and a competitive standpoint.” JOSH TAUBMAN Daily Sports Writer COURTESY OF MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Equipment manager Ian Hume has been working with the Michigan hockey team for 31 years. FOOTBALL ETHAN SEARS Managing Sports Editor JARED GREENSPAN Daily Sports Writer ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily Fifth-year senior center Austin Davis turned a corner last season after starting on the bench, behind Colin Castleton and Jon Teske in Michigan’s rotation. It’s great to have Austin Daivs on our side.