The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2019 coaching staff, that it was going to be new beginnings. I had to continue to work with the mindset that better days are to come." X-TRA INTENSE WORKOUTS DeJulius sees his role on this Michi- gan squad as clear cut. "It's being aggressive, playing downhill, scoring the basketball, suck- ing in the defense, creating for my teammates, putting them in position to be successful, as well as shooting the ball," DeJulius noted. "Just mak- ing plays, and on the defensive end, playing alongside of a guy like X, that really helped me on the defensive side since I got here. "It's just matching his intensity on the defensive end and continuing to take pride on that side of the floor." "X," of course, is senior point guard Zavier Simpson, the fiercest of the Wol- verines. Simpson takes no guff from anyone and gives out plenty of it. For a competitor like DeJulius, that's red meat. DeJulius can and will play either guard position this year, but he's often set against Simpson in practice. The pairing can lead to some fire- works, which neither the senior nor the sophomore carries off the court when the whistle blows, according to DeJulius. If a practice attendee didn't know better, he'd think the two were mortal enemies. Not so, says the challenger. "We're at it," DeJulius assured. "Off the court, our relationship is so close. But we're two mature guys that know the difference between off the court and on the court. We understand that, between the lines, we want to make each other better. We want to compete. "Off the court, he's a big brother of mine. I've learned so much from him, and he's learned some things from me. We just continue to make each other better, each and every day." But then the whistle blows again. "We actually had one about a few days ago," DeJulius mused. "It was one of those heated discussions, just getting in each other's faces, talking, barking, getting after it. But immedi- ately after practice, we hugged, shook hands. "We knew. We know that in between the lines, we're not just doing it for ourselves, but we're doing it for the team as well, to show them we've got to have this competitive nature, each and every day this season, for us to be successful." Whether it involved that incident or another from a different practice, McCormick watched DeJulius refuse to be X-ed out while getting ready for the season. "He's very tough," McCormick said of DeJulius. "Earlier this year, there was a practice that just amazed me. Zavier Simpson is a bulldog. He's very confrontational as a player. He's very tough and aggressive and physical. "Dave DeJulius went right at him. They battled like they were on the playground. I loved that, and learned about his tenacity. That told me a lot about his future." DeJulius hopes his future is now. He's come a long way from playing on the Fisher-Price rim his mother got him when he was only 4, which got the ball rolling. He's not the player he was in third grade, when he got pink-slipped from a team in unexpected fashion. "I got cut from the basketball team — for a girl," DeJulius recalled. "That really, right there, was the motivator." He wound up playing for The Fam- ily, an AAU powerhouse, performing with a standout he'll see later in the season — MSU's Cassius Winston. Their paths diverged when DeJu- lius witnessed one of the greatest point guards ever at Michigan perform. "Trey Burke was here," DeJulius recalled. "He was taking college bas- ketball by storm. It really made me a Michigan fan. "I'm from Detroit, so I came out and watched guys like Manny Harris when he was here. Watching him, Tim Hard- away Jr., all the first-round draft picks and guys that went on to be successful, DeJulius played a total of just 96 minutes last year over 25 games, and posted 14 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL