For most of this season, DeShawn Sims has shown flashes of greatness -- a half here and there.
But a fully dominant game from Sims in a victory had been missing since December.
And only Manny Harris knew how to bring it out.
"I didn't let him quit," Harris said Thursday, after Sims produced a career-high 29 points in the season-defining win over Purdue. "Not quit, but get complacent and settle for what he's doing. I stayed in his ear, stayed in his ear, and he wanted it tonight."
Since Sims and Harris have strengthened their bond this season -- becoming roommates after sharing a summer of playing together in Michigan and outside the state -- they've learned to push each other.
"We knew how important it is," Sims said. "We knew sacrifices have to be made within ourselves, me and Manny both. We had a big team meeting (Tuesday), and there were some emotional things from obviously the past up until now. We said this win is not (as) important for our tournament bid, just for Michigan, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, this win will show how much we developed over the course of one year together."
Against Purdue, Sims had his first 20-point game since December. He had scored double figures in only three of the previous six games.
Coaches noticed it and spent practice early in the week positioning the game around their "big" man, who has developed one of the league's most versatile post games.
"Last year, because of (center) Ekpe Udoh, he was learning to pass, he was learning a lot of skills he has right now, and he was shooter who could play inside," coach John Beilein said. "We said, now you're a big man, as small as you are inside at 6-7 1/2 -- and we're probably lying there -- you're a big man who can shoot. He's really got good post moves and can shoot."
The combination was on full display Thursday as Sims sat in the post, hitting 12 of 14 shots inside the arc, and then dropped the game's signature play by draining a shot-clock-beating three-pointer with 4:42 remaining, pushing U-M's lead to a game-high 16 points.
"It was kind of like a charmed thing," Sims said of the shot. "Everything busted loose after that three."
After the game, when he had finished his second-highest minute total (34) since Jan. 7, he showed it.
"It was a real drain," he said, slumped at his locker, gulping Gatorade. "I'm really tired, more emotionally than physically."
If he's that tired after each of the next two games, Sims might have earned an opportunity absent from every bigger-man predecessor in Ann Arbor's past decade: an NCAA tournament berth.
The combination was on full display Thursday as Sims sat in the post, hitting 12 of 14 shots inside the arc, and then dropped the game's signature play by draining a shot-clock-beating three-pointer with 4:42 remaining, pushing U-M's lead to a game-high 16 points.
"It was kind of like a charmed thing," Sims said of the shot. "Everything busted loose after that three."
After the game, when he had finished his second-highest minute total (34) since Jan. 7, he showed it.
"It was a real drain," he said, slumped at his locker, gulping Gatorade. "I'm really tired, more emotionally than physically."
If he's that tired after each of the next two games, Sims might have earned an opportunity absent from every bigger-man predecessor in Ann Arbor's past decade: an NCAA tournament berth.
But a fully dominant game from Sims in a victory had been missing since December.
And only Manny Harris knew how to bring it out.
"I didn't let him quit," Harris said Thursday, after Sims produced a career-high 29 points in the season-defining win over Purdue. "Not quit, but get complacent and settle for what he's doing. I stayed in his ear, stayed in his ear, and he wanted it tonight."
Since Sims and Harris have strengthened their bond this season -- becoming roommates after sharing a summer of playing together in Michigan and outside the state -- they've learned to push each other.
"We knew how important it is," Sims said. "We knew sacrifices have to be made within ourselves, me and Manny both. We had a big team meeting (Tuesday), and there were some emotional things from obviously the past up until now. We said this win is not (as) important for our tournament bid, just for Michigan, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, this win will show how much we developed over the course of one year together."
Against Purdue, Sims had his first 20-point game since December. He had scored double figures in only three of the previous six games.
Coaches noticed it and spent practice early in the week positioning the game around their "big" man, who has developed one of the league's most versatile post games.
"Last year, because of (center) Ekpe Udoh, he was learning to pass, he was learning a lot of skills he has right now, and he was shooter who could play inside," coach John Beilein said. "We said, now you're a big man, as small as you are inside at 6-7 1/2 -- and we're probably lying there -- you're a big man who can shoot. He's really got good post moves and can shoot."
The combination was on full display Thursday as Sims sat in the post, hitting 12 of 14 shots inside the arc, and then dropped the game's signature play by draining a shot-clock-beating three-pointer with 4:42 remaining, pushing U-M's lead to a game-high 16 points.
"It was kind of like a charmed thing," Sims said of the shot. "Everything busted loose after that three."
After the game, when he had finished his second-highest minute total (34) since Jan. 7, he showed it.
"It was a real drain," he said, slumped at his locker, gulping Gatorade. "I'm really tired, more emotionally than physically."
If he's that tired after each of the next two games, Sims might have earned an opportunity absent from every bigger-man predecessor in Ann Arbor's past decade: an NCAA tournament berth.
The combination was on full display Thursday as Sims sat in the post, hitting 12 of 14 shots inside the arc, and then dropped the game's signature play by draining a shot-clock-beating three-pointer with 4:42 remaining, pushing U-M's lead to a game-high 16 points.
"It was kind of like a charmed thing," Sims said of the shot. "Everything busted loose after that three."
After the game, when he had finished his second-highest minute total (34) since Jan. 7, he showed it.
"It was a real drain," he said, slumped at his locker, gulping Gatorade. "I'm really tired, more emotionally than physically."
If he's that tired after each of the next two games, Sims might have earned an opportunity absent from every bigger-man predecessor in Ann Arbor's past decade: an NCAA tournament berth.
