When the discussion turns to David Michaels during his first two college years, the young man himself doesn’t hold back during this brief flashback.
“Average,” Michaels deadpans. “I didn’t see basketball as an outlet for me as a profession so all I was thinking was that, ‘hey, I made the team.’ I was content with just having my name on the roster. I was just an average person in general. I underachieved to the highest level.”
Through a process of true internal transformation, Michaels completed his career at Whitman College at a level no one could have imagined.
“You would have never thought it a year and a half ago,” Whitman coach Eric Bridgeland says. “Never.”
Now he finds himself completely fixated on his hoop dreams. He’s even caught the eye of two NBA clubs. You’re probably wondering who David Michaels is and who he played for. Michaels, a 6-7 small-forward, was one of the nation’s top division III players this past season for Whitman, a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The most notable Whitman athlete may be Olympic skier Holly Brooks.
Those undrafted rookies from the NBA Draft with big time college hoops pedigrees will get the chance to prove the draft boards wrong with summer league invites. Then there is Michaels. He understands the situation. The odds are against him. In recent years Devean George (Augsburg) is the flag bearer for league hopefuls in Division III. George was the 23rd pick in the 1999 draft by the Lakers, winning a trio of rings. Working out in his hometown of Las Vegas at Impact Basketball with the talents of Dion Waiters, Michael Snaer and Ashton Gibbs, Michaels can see the goal, yet how much work needs to be put it in.
“His work ethic is insane,” Bridgeland says. “He’s obsessed. He’s eating right, he’s lifting. He doesn’t lift to get through a work out…he lifts to dominate the workout. There’s a big difference there. He gets up at 6 a.m. and is on a treadmill for a half an hour before he does anything. I don’t think it’s any question that he’ll be on an NBA roster two to four years from now.”
The roots of Michaels’ turnaround trace back to December of his junior year. It was Christmas time and the team was getting ready to go their separate ways for the break. Bridgeland gave his men a speech on staying committed throughout their free time, imploring them to get in the gym, sharpen their skills and stay in shape, more specifically running eight miles.
Someone needed to hear it more than others.
“In three semesters he was going to be a man and he had to provide for himself,” says Bridgeland. “I truly felt like we hadn’t changed him or gotten him ready for how he needs to be once he graduates.”
For some reason, Michaels’ “average” ways were no more. He ran the first six miles on his own. His work during a tournament in Arizona served as a launching pad for a renewed outlook on life.
“I knew that I didn’t finish my eight miles,” Michaels recalls. “Knowing coach Bridgeland and his mentality, I got nervous that he might find out that I didn’t run my extra miles. So that next morning for some reason, I don’t really know what happened, but I woke up the next morning at about 5 a.m. wide awake. Just went into the fitness center that they had in the hotel, jumped on the treadmill and ran about two and a half… three miles.”
After a successful tourney run, Michaels decided he wanted more. He would get in the gym every day at six in the morning to build his skill, strength and conditioning. On and off the court there was a desire and purpose in his work. That carried over into the summer months working with assistant coach Stephen Garnett four hours a day, completing his days playing pickup ball at the local YMCA.
Michaels solidified one of the best seasons in Whitman history as a senior, averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds while also leading the way in steals and blocks. What was more impressive was he shot less than 11 times per outing, shooting 55 percent from the field. He reached the 30 or more point plateau four times. During a game against George Fox, he put on a showcase of 22 straight points en route to a career high 40. It was a steady climb from his 5.4 point average as a freshman.
“I’ve been a coach now for eleven years and I’ve been at Division I and II institutions and I’ve worked with four guys that are in the NBA right now,” says Bridgeland. “I’ve never had a player develop over the course of a season like David did. It was like well, we had him out to 15…17 feet , he was playing the four for us and then by Christmas I was like well maybe we’ll get him out on the wing a little bit because he’s shooting the three like mad. Then we got into the middle of conference where we just tweaked our offense and just started giving him the ball farther and farther out and just letting him go. Most guys don’t develop during the course of a season. They develop during the offseason.”
Aside from playing in the NABC All-Star game and earning Northwest Conference Player of the Year honors, Michaels was invited to the Portsmouth Invitational, spotlighting the nation’s top seniors. He was the first Division III player to receive an invitation in almost ten years. One can imagine the jump in sheer athleticism faced during the April showcase.
“I feel like skill wise, most levels of schools, they all have the same skill players,” says Michaels. “But playing at Portsmouth, it just really showed me how much more athletic those guys were than anyone at my level. The speed of the game was incredibly quick. Even the bigs that ran the floor….you know they can run. They run so graceful down the floor. Even to stay with the bigs is a challenge. The guys are a lot bigger, a lot taller, whereas I was one of the tallest guys on my team in college. Now, I come to Portsmouth I’m just like one of the average guys out there. ”
While scouts will knock Michaels Division III competition, his upside may intrigue some. Mainly a post player at Whitman, Portsmouth forced Michaels to spread his game out to the wing, where he projects at the next level. This is something he continues to work on with his shooting, lateral quickness and dribble breakdown ability.
“Jordan Brewer, who is his agent from Pro One Sports, he said the Spurs said two to four years if he keeps working and develops,” Bridgeland says. “I’ve heard one to three years from somebody else from the Bulls. He’s a 6-7 wing that is as green as can be and shoots 46 percent from three. How many guys shooting 46 percent from three? He’s got that weapon and his IQ is very high. I see him picking stuff up rapidly.”
Michaels has a keen sense of his immature past and hoops-filled future. That’s the beauty of this game. No matter the level, if the work is put in, the ball doesn’t have to stop bouncing early. Having not worked out with NBA teams, Michaels is honest with himself. At the moment his focus is finding the right situation whether overseas or in the D-League to develop his ever growing perimeter skills.
Michaels has the eyes of at least two big league clubs though, more than enough to keep the dream alive.
“It’s a huge honor just knowing where I came from,” he says. “Just knowing that it’s been such a crazy ride to get here, to hear someone say that I have potential and they could see me playing at the highest level in a few years is really inspiring to me and it drives me every day that I’m in here at Impact. Just knowing that if I keep improving and I keep my head down and stay focus and push through the distractions and keep my goal in mind like I did all last year, I know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Just to know that the hard work that you’re putting in is for a purpose and there is something waiting for you at the other side.”
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