The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2025 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Men's Basketball Guard Nimari Burnett Graduate guard Nimari Burnett was a holdover from last year's abysmal 8-24 season, and he has come out on the other side as a key member of a new-look U-M team with Big Ten regular- season title aspirations. With so many new pieces on the roster this year, having Burnett as a veteran leader and calming presence has been invaluable. Michigan knows what it can expect day to day with the veteran guard, and it rubs off on the rest of the program. Burnett transferred to Michigan prior to the 2023-24 season after two years at Alabama, where he was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2022. His strong academics continued in Ann Arbor where he earned a U-M Athletic Academic Achievement honor in 2024. Burnett's desire to succeed and win in every aspect of his life has made him a model teammate and player for the Wolverines. "If I could give one word for Nimari, it would be consistent," assistant coach Justin Joyner said. "He's a consistent player, which is obviously the product we see on the floor. He's a consistent human being. He's got a great attitude every day. He's a great person. So, for us, he's a leader in a lot of ways, but I think the best way he leads is by example. "You can lead in a lot of different ways, but he's a guy that brings it every day. He's a guy that's really consistent with his effort, with his energy and with his focus. He's a great model for younger players to look up to." Burnett, averaging a career-high 10.1 points in 2024-25, has started every game in a Michi- gan uniform since joining the team. After starting his career at Texas Tech and Alabama with a combined 39 games played and nine starts between 2020-23, he has become the model of consistency within the Michigan program. "I'm just doing everything that I possibly can and trying to win with literally everything, even in practice," Burnett said. "Whether it's the scout team or we go against each other, we've got to win every single possession, every single play. I think if you have that mindset, doing it every single day at a consistent level, then ultimately you'll be consistent. And also, just believing in your habits and your work ethic and what you do on a day-to-day basis. "Being invested into it, I think that breeds consistency." Burnett is currently enrolled in the Rackham Graduate School at U-M, studying social work and real estate development. — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Softball senior Lauren Derkowski: The right-handed pitcher from Elmhurst, Ill., was ranked as the No. 45 overall player in the nation heading into the season by D1Softball. com. She was joined by junior third baseman Maddie Erickson on the list (No. 60). Derkowski started the season with two straight complete-game shut- outs in wins over South Florida Feb. 7 and Illinois State the next day. In the latter victory, she struck out 10 batters and upped her career strikeout tally past 500. Sitting with 505 through the Feb. 9 loss to Georgia Southern, she is only 13 away from climb- ing into the top 10 in program history, with Haylie Wagner (2012-15) currently standing 10th with 518 punch outs. Baseball junior Mitch Voit: The infielder from Milwaukee, Wis., was tabbed as a preseason third-team All- American by Baseball America. Entering the 2024 campaign, he held a 4.67 career ERA with 66 strikeouts in 98.1 innings pitched, and he had a batting average of .281 with 19 doubles, 21 home runs and 78 RBI. He was named first-team All-Big Ten as a utility player and made the All-Big Ten Tournament team as a first baseman a season ago. Women's basketball freshman Syla Swords: The guard was named Big Ten Fresh- man of the Week for the third time this season Feb. 10, leading the Maize and Blue to a pair of big road wins, at Nebraska (78- 60) and Michigan State (71-61). She's the only first-year player in the conference to earn fresh- man of the week honors three times this season. The Sudbury, Ontario, native reg- istered 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists versus the Cornhuskers and put up 19 points, 6 assists and 5 boards against the Spartans. Men's basketball junior Danny Wolf: The Yale transfer was named one of 10 finalists for the Karl Malone Award, handed out to the na- tion's top power forward. He's the Big Ten's lone representative on the list. At the time of his Feb. 6 selection, he was averag- ing 12.3 points and 10 rebounds per game — the only player in the conference to average a double-double — adding 3.6 assists and 1.6 blocks. — Clayton Sayfie Burnett, who has started every contest for U-M since his arrival last season, was averag- ing a career-high 10.1 points per game through mid-February. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL