The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/432566
BY JOHN BORTON E very athletically inclined father-son duo experiences that moment. It might be when the younger blows by the older in a shock-engendering sprint. Perhaps it's a wrestling take- down, on an elder no longer letting up. For Richard Doyle Jr. and Richard Doyle III, the moment arrived in the driveway of their Florida home. The younger Doyle, a.k.a. Ricky, a fresh- man forward for John Beilein, stood only 6-3 then, a far cry from his pres- ent 6-9. Of course, he hadn't reached high school yet. The elder Doyle, a former profes- sional basketball player who checks in at 6-10 or so, was pushing his son. He'd never pushed Ricky into basket- ball, but once the kid wanted to go there and genuinely get better, dad cranked it up. His words echoed in the 13-year- old's ears. As a big guy, you've got to make sure you know how to run the court. You can't be one of those soft big guys. You've got to be tough. And now, squared off on the paved proving grounds, dad issued a chal- lenge. Doyle recalled: "He said, 'You've got to make sure you come at me. When you go up strong, you go up strong.' My dad just knew how to push my buttons, get me mad. "I remember just knocking him down in the driveway. I did a drop- step move, and I just hit him as hard as I could. He fell on the driveway, and was like: 'Oh. Oh, man.'" For the son, the moment marked a breakthrough, a triumph on the road to getting where he wants to go. Prone on the pavement, Doyle's dad likely felt a surge of pride as well. That feeling welled up again in the waning moments of Michigan's wild, nerve-jangling 68-65 win over Syra- cuse at Crisler Center. Junior guard Spike Albrecht stole the show that night, nailing clutch three-pointers and piling up nine assists. Had it not been for the rookie, there might not have been a show to steal. Doyle scored a dozen points with six rebounds in that ACC-Big Ten Challenge test, staking a claim for future contributions in Michigan's SETTLING IN Freshman Ricky Doyle Is Growing Up Quickly