The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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future. A bad break gave him, and eventually his son, a bit more of an international flavor. "He was in the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp, and predicted to be picked by the Dallas Mavericks," Doyle said. "He ended up breaking his ankle in the camp, and went as a lot lower pick." The elder Doyle participated in an NBA summer league, but accepted an offer to go play in Pau, France. He performed 11 seasons there, before retiring and taking up photography as a hobby. That avocation eventually took him to the Seychelle Islands, where he met his future wife, Lenka, who was mod- eling for a photo shoot. She gave birth to Ricky in France, and by the time he was 5, he'd already traveled to the Czech Republic (where Lenka comes from), Trinidad and St. Martin. Ricky's memories are centered in Florida, where they settled when he was around 5. Despite the young- ster 's evident height inheritance from his father, Doyle insisted he owned his athletic course. "Growing up, he was never the type of dad who forced something onto me," Doyle assured. "It was, 'Whatever you want to do, I'll let you do it. Just know I'm always there to support you.' "I always swam. I did that compet- itively, growing up, but at the end I just got burned out. I ended up pick- ing up basketball. I said, 'Hey dad, I like this game of basketball.'" Before long, he really liked it, and thus began the training sessions in earnest. Doyle's middle school coach — whose wife, the former Amy John- son, played basketball at Michigan — helped the youngster along in many ways. His dad supplied the low-post workout grind, and Doyle eventu- ally became an FABC Class 4A all- state performer at Bishop Verot High School. Doyle averaged 24.8 points, 9.9 re- bounds and 1.9 blocks per game as a senior. He'd been hearing plenty from Michigan in recruiting, and opted to tip off his visits with a trip north. "I decided to take my first official there, and I just fell in love with the school," Doyle said. "My dad was like, 'You should look around and see other schools.' "I said, 'Dad, I really like this school. I can't think of anything wrong with it, other than being re- ally cold.' I wasn't used to that, be- ing down in Florida, but I'm getting pretty used to it." Doyle laughed, knowing the warm greeting he's received at Crisler tends to take the chill off. The home crowd has quickly taken to his flashes of ability on the court, along with the enthusiasm he demonstrates. The rookie celebrates slam dunks with the best of them, and he doesn't have to manufacture the excitement he brings to the court, according to Beilein. "He's really embracing this op- portunity to play college basketball at this level," Beilein said. "Since he started playing basketball, he has dreamed of doing this. He's watched us on TV the past two years, and now he is out there, getting a behind-