The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/982919
40 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2018 2018 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY CHRIS BALAS D etroit East English Village point guard David DeJulius wasn't a Michigan-level re- cruit heading into his junior season, but he was close. The 6-1 point guard, a Rivals.com three-star prospect at the time, just needed a bit of tweaking to become the high- major prospect he wanted to be and knew he could be. Turns out Michigan head coach John Beilein was the perfect guy to provide it. One lesson was all it took for DeJulius to take the advice and run with it to the gym every night, where he put in hundreds of extra hours and perfected his stroke. It benefited both of them when De- Julius improved his game dramati- cally. He committed to Beilein last year and shot up the rankings to fin- ish as a four star ranked No. 95 over- all in Rivals.com's updated 2018 list. Beilein said he wanted to see a more consistent jumper before he committed to DeJulius — then he was in the stands for a game when DeJulius hit nine three-pointers and offered hours later. "He first started recruiting me in June going into my junior year," De- Julius recalled. "He gave me a few tips and shot pointers, and it really motivated me knowing the Michi- gan coach wanted to give me tips he wanted to see in my game. "I implemented them, and it af- fected my shot dramatically. He's big on rotation, making sure you have enough spin on the ball … he was making sure I got my shot up with enough arc." DeJulius listened, and he learned. By his senior year he was deadly from long range, shooting 42.0 per- cent from behind the arc in becoming one of the top shooters in southeast Michigan. He averaged 26.3 points, 8.1 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game and finished third in the state's Mr. Basketball voting behind MSU- bound point guard Foster Loyer of Clarkston, and future Michigan teammate and four-star power for- ward Brandon Johns of East Lansing. East English bowed out in the first round of the state playoffs, a stunning setback to Detroit Edison, but still enjoyed a very good year. A victory over Loyer and Clarkston proved to be a highlight, with De- Julius willing his team back from DeJulius entered his junior season as a Rivals.com three-star recruit, but ended his prep career a four star and the No. 95 prospect nationally. PHOTO BY AUSTIN FOX ON THE RISE Signee David DeJulius Bursts Into The Top 100 After An Elite Senior Season