If basketball doesn't end up working out for Michigan sophomore center Hunter Dickinson, career opportunities might come in the strangest of places.
Professional wrestling, perhaps.
Acting head coach Phil Martelli believes so, citing the outgoing temperment of his All-American big man and on-court antics as the perfect combination for a character in the WWE.
Not as a fan favorite, however, but a jeering heel.
"Many of you have heard me say this," Martelli said. "If it does not work out in basketball, I dare any of you to deny me this fact, he will be a WWE villain. He won't be a good guy, but he'll be a villain. He will sell a lot of tickets for WWE."
The absolutely insanity of someone with NBA stardom on the horizon ditching basketball to make a mockery of arenas around the world in a wrestling singlet. Ditching the hardwood for a squared circle. Add a steel cage around it and the craze gets even more colossal.
Of course, it's not Martelli admitting that Dickinson has dreams of sporting a luchador mask for a living, but rather Dickinson's in-your-face attitude that energizes his teammates and irks opposing clubs. He's fueled by competition to the same degree as professional wrestlers in search of a world heavyweight championship.
Add a rivalry with Michigan State to the equation and the emotions let fly.
"The rivalry is definitely strong and everyone knows about it," Dickinson said. "I'm just trying to get myself motivated as much as I can."
Dickinson finished Tuesday's 87-70 win over the Spartans at the Crisler Center with a career-high 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting, nearly totaling a double-double with nine rebounds. At various points of the game, after converting a bucket, Dickinson would stare down the MSU bench and begin jawing, to the point where Tom Izzo had enough of the barking.
Izzo found himself at the center of attention with long, drawn out heckling from the Michigan faithful. The referees even looked as if they were tired of Izzo walking onto the court and venting out his frustration.
That only stoked the flames for Dickinson.
“I remember after the game at Michigan State, coach Izzo had a lot to say to me, a lot of good things,” Dickinson said. “After this game, he didn’t say anything. I feel like he got a little upset. (Smiles) I don’t take it personally.”
When asked if Dickinson shook the hand of Izzo following the game's end, he reminded the media of Izzo not wanting the handshake line to fizzle out after Juwan Howard's five-game suspension due to slapping a Wisconsin assistant coach, saying that Izzo is a man of his word.
Let it be known that Dickinson isn't this uncontrollable personality but revels in letting out the side of him that finds a way to get under the skin of opposing players and coaches. If Izzo or anyone else has a problem with the high jinks, it doesn't bother Dickinson, who would prefer watching the frustration of others boil into losses against Michigan.
Dickinson can certainly find an off switch given the situation, but when a performance against an in-state rival includes a career-setting scoring record, trash talking might get incorporated somehow or some way.
There's a fine line with everything though and Martelli stressed that point after the game.
A head coach needs to worry about all five players on the court and run a system designed to win basketball games. Being told by the referees that one of the players is causing too much disruption means that the line has been crossed.
"The extracurricular? Not for me," Martelli said. "Do your personality. I'm not asking somebody to become like a monk. Certainly not. He's a true character."
Why Dickinson's the way he is on the court is because of the mantra set forth by the team under Howard, who preaches only the toughest, nastiest, and hard working play for Michigan. That's undeniably done from Dickinson and will most certainly carry on that mantra with the Big Ten tournament set to begin in less than two weeks.
"It's starting to get close to not having many opportunities to kind of amp up for the end of the season," Dickinson said. "We're just trying to get as much momentum as possible which is helpful at this time of the year."
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