'Big Nasty' Teske Evolving into Quite a Weapon for the Wolverines
12/1/2018 11:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Mark this down as the game in which "Big Sleep" became "Big Nasty" for the Wolverines.
John Beilein, the University of Michigan head coach, said he didn't even think about doing it. But in the middle of his postgame talk with his team, while praising 7-foot-1 center Jon Teske's dominating effort in the win over Purdue, Beilein dropped that nickname.
"'Big Nasty' had 17points and eight rebounds on them," Beilein said. "He went Dwight Howard on them."
The Wolverines whooped and hollered, and "Big Nasty" couldn't stop smiling.
When asked about the new nickname, Teske said, "Yeah, I guess. But they still call me 'Big Sleep,' too. I just laughed when coach said that. He can call me whatever, but I'm just going to be out there playing my game."
The original "Big Nasty" was Arkansas power forward Corliss Williamson, who was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1994 NCAA Tournament in leading the Razorbacks to the championship.
Saddi Washington, the Wolverine assistant who coaches the big men, said, "He's coming out of his shell, and we need him to do that. He's transitioning from being a role guy to the guy in relation to our interior play, and he's doing a good job with that."
Teske did it all in the Wolverines' 76-57 win Saturday (Dec. 1) over the defending Big Ten regular-season champion Boilermakers:
He drained not one, but two three-pointers. When the second one went down, he nodded his head repeatedly while backpedaling to ready for defense.
"I was happy to see that one go down," said Teske, who was 1-for-10 on treys this season coming into the game. "I was going to go up for a third one, but I'd rather have (Jordan) Poole (who was 5-for-5 behind the arc for 21 points) shoot it than me.
"They have all the confidence in me taking it, and I'm not going to force anything. But when it's open in the offense, I was able to knock down a couple."
Beilein noted: "Those two threes back-to-back is a huge step now for him."
He had not one, but two alley-oop dunks on feeds from Charles Matthews. When Matt Haarms, the Boilermakers' 7-foot-3 sophomore came over to help double-team Matthews, the result was Teske open and awaiting a present from Matthews.
"We practice that every day," said Teske, "and he came off and luckily found me, and I put it home. The crowd is amazing on those. They give us energy and we give them energy."
He had a game-high eight rebounds, including six on defense to start fast breaks. Beilein believes Teske has evolved more in this area of his game than any other.
"Even earlier this year," said Beilein, "he wouldn't even get balls that were coming to him. His hands were down boxing out. Saddi's worked real hard with him: 'Get your hands away from your body (and raised).' Now he's getting the ones that come to him and also getting the ones over here (the coach took several steps to his right to demonstrate).
"Those are what we call 'stretch rebounds,' rebounds out of your area. That's huge for him to be able to do. Now, he has to do a better job of getting the (defensive) rebound and outletting it quicker."
He dove for a loose ball to keep a possession alive, just as he did during a pivotal point Wednesday (Nov. 28) in the win over North Carolina.
"If there's a loose ball on the floor," said Teske, "you go get it. Fifty-fifty balls are important in these types of games. I'm just trying to help the team."
He took six shots overall and made all but one. He shot six free throws and made all but one, including the last four.
"He's got a very clean stroke," said Washington. "And he's worked a tremendous amount in the spring and summer. That has empowered him to take those shots, and I think as he sees the ball go in more, he'll have even more confidence to take those shots."
Beilein added, "That's a confidence thing that will empower him going forward. … And it's really hard to defend a 5 who can shoot it."
He did it all, and it's been an astonishing evolution under Washington, who became the big man coach the year Teske arrived from Medina (Ohio) High.
"He's been a great help," said Teske. "It's him and me, one-on-one. He has all the trust in me to go out there and play hard and play smart."
Washington said he's "great" to coach.
"He's really calculated in his thought process," said Washington. "Once you bring something to his attention, he's really good at applying it. Once he has success with it, he kind of embraces it.
"He's great to coach, and the guys really encourage him to be 'Big Nasty,' and we need him to continue being aggressive on both sides of the ball because he does change the game for us. He's done a great job of assuming that role, and picking up where Moe left off. Even from a defensive standpoint, he has really good feet for his size, and hopefully we can continue to build on that. I love his progress, and he's going to be good for us."
Moritz Wagner, known to all as "Moe," was a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers after leading Michigan to the NCAA championship game last season. Teske remains in touch with him.
"Moe will text me once in a while and we'll talk some, too," said Teske. "It's a great year for him, and I'm trying to keep up with him and staying in contact. I hear from Duncan (Robinson of the Miami Heat) as well. They're doing great things and I always enjoy watching Moe play. He just tells me, 'Keep playing hard and stay active on both sides of the ball.'"
In other words, stay nasty, "Big Nasty."
Teske scored five points and had 12 rebounds in 20 games and 61 minutes of playing time as a freshman two years ago. He showed no signs of being the runner-up in the Ohio Mr. Basketball voting to a player who is now his point guard, Zavier Simpson.
However, Teske began showing signs last year as Wagner's backup. His breakout game was a 14-point effort against Purdue in the Big Ten championship game, when he dunked on 7-foot-2 center Isaac Haas, and started acting nasty. He averaged 3.4 points and 5.9 rebounds on the season.
Teske has gotten on a roll in the last four games, scoring a career-high 17 points and grabbing six rebounds against Providence before adding a career-high 12 rebounds and seven points against Chattanooga. Then he had six points, five rebounds and five big blocks in 34 minutes against North Carolina. "Big Nasty" played 31 minutes against Purdue.
His averages for the season: 8.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
And there's no individual statistic to show how he alters the shots opponents take.
"He's big protection at the rim," said Beilein. "He's not necessarily a shot-blocker, even though he has good numbers. But all of a sudden, you've got to shoot over this huge man. He's 7-1, 255 pounds, and he's got those quick feet."
Those numbers are going to rise if what Teske's shown recently becomes the norm. And he's up to the increased playing time after working hard at Camp Sanderson, the summer training regimen with Wolverine strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson.
"I just feel stronger and, conditioning-wise, I feel a lot better, too," said Teske. "I'm able to go in longer spurts."
Beilein said players are required to spend eight weeks with Sanderson, but Teske doubled that to 16 weeks.
"For him to come in and spend all of that time with Coach Sanderson says a lot about who he is," said Beilein. "It's just starting to pay off, and as he continues this growth, who knows what's going to happen for him."
Teske is an intriguing player on an intriguing team that is now 8-0, and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll.
The "Big Nasty" mention in the postgame locker room was interesting, and I asked Beilein why he decided to call him that.
"I did that?" Beilein asked, raising his eyebrows.
So, maybe it was just a Freudian slip, a viewing of the coach's unconscious thoughts.
"No," said Beilein, "that wasn't planned."
But he was glad to hear Teske enjoyed it.
"I've spoken many times with Jon," said Beilein. "I've said, 'You are so talented, and don't let your gentle personality get in the way of your success. You can be so much more successful with just a little more edge to your game, edge to your confidence. Let's go!'
"And he's doing it."
