University of Minnesota Athletics
Bauer Power; Junior Forward Michael Bauer
3/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Bauer's energy during the game can get anyone with a pulse to jump up and start rooting for the Golden Gophers. Once he gets going, it's nearly impossible to stop, much less keep it from building upon itself. The crowd feeds off it. His teammates draw motivation from it. Heck, even Mike Bauer feeds off Mike Bauer's energy. It gets the Maroon and Gold pumping in the veins and revs up Williams Arena. It powers the Minnesota basketball team to victory. And for as much wear and tear as it puts on Bauer's body, he can't imagine playing any other way. Yes, he may be bruised and battered, drained of all life by the time the final buzzer sounds, but it is worth it all as long as he feels he got the most out of himself and his team.
"Mike's definitely an energy guy," senior guard Kevin Burleson said. "He's a guy that is consistent with his energy. That's one thing that most players have a hard time doing. When the game is going well, it's easy to get energized, but when it's going bad, sometimes the energy isn't there. Mike's not like that. He's consistent with his energy. A lot of times I look for him. I draw on his energy because a lot of times things don't go well on the court and you look at Mike and he will pump you up and get you going. That's something any team needs. He's a great motivator that way."
"The team definitely feeds off it," Bauer admitted. "I've heard from many of my teammates that they are encouraged by it when I'm out there. When I don't show up, like last year a couple nights I didn't show up as far as energy goes, it resulted in low energy for the team. I'm kind of the energy guy on the team and the team follows me."
Bauer is an individual who wears his emotions on his sleeve, make that his jersey. And he may as well because you can read what he is feeling all over his face. Instead of trying to keep it under wraps on the court, he leaves it all out there. Just think of the game winning three-pointer Bauer made this year over Georgia. After the ball rattled through the hoop as the buzzer was sounding, he turned around to face the television camera. As the lens tightened in on Bauer, all that could be seen was the pure joy in his eyes and smile.
People have described Bauer as playing with reckless abandonment. His hustle and energy combined with the passion he plays with means that he is all over the court, contributing whenever and wherever he can. "Mike has done a tremendous job of becoming a guy that makes great hustle plays," associate head coach Mike Petersen remarked. "I think he's probably taken more charges than any other player in our league. He'll block shots. He'll dive on loose balls. He makes those kinds of plays. The one thing about Mike is when he makes a mistake, it's going to be a mistake that comes from trying to make a play. And you've got to have guys like that. He's always trying to make a play to help our team win. It's not just his jump shot, he makes a ton of unselfish plays. The best one I can think of is a charge. The best example is in the Penn State game, he took five charges by himself, and he had two of them in the first minute. The first two Penn State possessions ended in charges that Mike took. He single-handedly stopped their offense."
"Mike knows he does a lot of talking and is an energy guy," Burleson added. "He knows he has to back it up too. It's different if you're just talking, trying to get guys motivated but then you don't do the dirty work. But he backs it up and does the dirty work every game, every practice. And guys respect him for that. People wouldn't listen to him if he didn't do that. He plays that way and he's not afraid to sacrifice his body for the team. That's something that you need. Mike's a tremendous scorer, but defensively he takes charges, gets defensive rebounds. And that's what you need to do."
Bauer admits that there are times when being the energizer can be challenging, especially when he does not get off to a great start. Part of growing as a person and as an athlete has meant finding different ways of motivation rather than forcing shots and bringing the team down.
"Sometimes I feel myself pushing a little bit too much, but that comes with recognizing your own game," Bauer said. "You either have to calm yourself down or take that energy and channel it a different way. It's funny to hear that everyone calls my playing style `reckless abandonment.' It's controlled energy, but I just probably show a little bit more than most players do."
There is a give and take relationship Bauer has with his teammates when it comes to energizing each other. The majority of the nights, Bauer will be the motivator, getting the team revved up to play. But if for some reason he's a little off that night, he needs to be able to rely on his fellow Gophers for encouragement. "My teammates, I kind of rely a lot on them to help pick me up and try and pick them up when they're down. And guys have done the same thing, like Kevin Burleson has done the same thing for me before. My teammates are the guys I need to rely on to win the game."
Bauer also looks further down the bench to the coaching staff for motivation. While Dan Monson does most of the directing, Bauer compared his game time mentality to that of Petersen with his high intensity and energetic coaching. "Coach Pete is a little bit like me. He always seems like he's had a half a pot too much coffee. He's pretty much the same way as I am in he wants to do everything to win. He shows his emotions on his sleeve and you can just tell he wants to win that bad."
"I think Mike and I do have similar approaches and emotional approaches to the game," Petersen confirmed. "Mike really feeds off big plays and he's an emotional guy. A lot of what makes him a great player is his energy and his emotion. I'm that way a little personally, and I was that way a lot as a player. So I think he's right on that and it's good for me to hear that he does appreciate that and does feed off it and it does help him. As a coach, all you're every trying to do is help guys play and if my demeanor can help Mike, that's awesome."
"When plays with a reckless abandon, usually good things happen, sometimes it gets a little wild. But he does. And just like he feeds off that, our team feeds off of that. He brings that emotion to the game and it's an emotion he's trying to share and an energy he's trying to share with his teammates. It's not a selfish `look at me'-type thing, it's a `let's go, let's win'-thing."
So get on your feet for Mike Bauer. There is no way you can resist it. If you love the game of basketball, or even if you're just a half-hearted fan, you cannot hide how much Bauer draws you into the game. It's a rough and tumble, winner take all game that Bauer plays, and anyone who can emit so much passion on the court deserves to be cheered.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. (Courtney welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu) I have a dare for all basketball fans. I dare you to watch Michael Bauer during a game and not get emotionally drawn in by his play. I bet you can't. There is no way that any sports fan can watch Bauer without cheering when he flops to the ground taking a charge. It is impossible to resist putting your hands together when he is feet in the air, making the opponent look like a fool while Bauer blocks his shot with perfect timing. How can you not smile when you see his fists pumping and brown hair shaking after nailing a pretty little 20-foot jumper?
Bauer's energy during the game can get anyone with a pulse to jump up and start rooting for the Golden Gophers. Once he gets going, it's nearly impossible to stop, much less keep it from building upon itself. The crowd feeds off it. His teammates draw motivation from it. Heck, even Mike Bauer feeds off Mike Bauer's energy. It gets the Maroon and Gold pumping in the veins and revs up Williams Arena. It powers the Minnesota basketball team to victory. And for as much wear and tear as it puts on Bauer's body, he can't imagine playing any other way. Yes, he may be bruised and battered, drained of all life by the time the final buzzer sounds, but it is worth it all as long as he feels he got the most out of himself and his team.
"Mike's definitely an energy guy," senior guard Kevin Burleson said. "He's a guy that is consistent with his energy. That's one thing that most players have a hard time doing. When the game is going well, it's easy to get energized, but when it's going bad, sometimes the energy isn't there. Mike's not like that. He's consistent with his energy. A lot of times I look for him. I draw on his energy because a lot of times things don't go well on the court and you look at Mike and he will pump you up and get you going. That's something any team needs. He's a great motivator that way."
"The team definitely feeds off it," Bauer admitted. "I've heard from many of my teammates that they are encouraged by it when I'm out there. When I don't show up, like last year a couple nights I didn't show up as far as energy goes, it resulted in low energy for the team. I'm kind of the energy guy on the team and the team follows me."
Bauer is an individual who wears his emotions on his sleeve, make that his jersey. And he may as well because you can read what he is feeling all over his face. Instead of trying to keep it under wraps on the court, he leaves it all out there. Just think of the game winning three-pointer Bauer made this year over Georgia. After the ball rattled through the hoop as the buzzer was sounding, he turned around to face the television camera. As the lens tightened in on Bauer, all that could be seen was the pure joy in his eyes and smile.
People have described Bauer as playing with reckless abandonment. His hustle and energy combined with the passion he plays with means that he is all over the court, contributing whenever and wherever he can. "Mike has done a tremendous job of becoming a guy that makes great hustle plays," associate head coach Mike Petersen remarked. "I think he's probably taken more charges than any other player in our league. He'll block shots. He'll dive on loose balls. He makes those kinds of plays. The one thing about Mike is when he makes a mistake, it's going to be a mistake that comes from trying to make a play. And you've got to have guys like that. He's always trying to make a play to help our team win. It's not just his jump shot, he makes a ton of unselfish plays. The best one I can think of is a charge. The best example is in the Penn State game, he took five charges by himself, and he had two of them in the first minute. The first two Penn State possessions ended in charges that Mike took. He single-handedly stopped their offense."
"Mike knows he does a lot of talking and is an energy guy," Burleson added. "He knows he has to back it up too. It's different if you're just talking, trying to get guys motivated but then you don't do the dirty work. But he backs it up and does the dirty work every game, every practice. And guys respect him for that. People wouldn't listen to him if he didn't do that. He plays that way and he's not afraid to sacrifice his body for the team. That's something that you need. Mike's a tremendous scorer, but defensively he takes charges, gets defensive rebounds. And that's what you need to do."
Bauer admits that there are times when being the energizer can be challenging, especially when he does not get off to a great start. Part of growing as a person and as an athlete has meant finding different ways of motivation rather than forcing shots and bringing the team down.
"Sometimes I feel myself pushing a little bit too much, but that comes with recognizing your own game," Bauer said. "You either have to calm yourself down or take that energy and channel it a different way. It's funny to hear that everyone calls my playing style `reckless abandonment.' It's controlled energy, but I just probably show a little bit more than most players do."
There is a give and take relationship Bauer has with his teammates when it comes to energizing each other. The majority of the nights, Bauer will be the motivator, getting the team revved up to play. But if for some reason he's a little off that night, he needs to be able to rely on his fellow Gophers for encouragement. "My teammates, I kind of rely a lot on them to help pick me up and try and pick them up when they're down. And guys have done the same thing, like Kevin Burleson has done the same thing for me before. My teammates are the guys I need to rely on to win the game."
Bauer also looks further down the bench to the coaching staff for motivation. While Dan Monson does most of the directing, Bauer compared his game time mentality to that of Petersen with his high intensity and energetic coaching. "Coach Pete is a little bit like me. He always seems like he's had a half a pot too much coffee. He's pretty much the same way as I am in he wants to do everything to win. He shows his emotions on his sleeve and you can just tell he wants to win that bad."
"I think Mike and I do have similar approaches and emotional approaches to the game," Petersen confirmed. "Mike really feeds off big plays and he's an emotional guy. A lot of what makes him a great player is his energy and his emotion. I'm that way a little personally, and I was that way a lot as a player. So I think he's right on that and it's good for me to hear that he does appreciate that and does feed off it and it does help him. As a coach, all you're every trying to do is help guys play and if my demeanor can help Mike, that's awesome."
"When plays with a reckless abandon, usually good things happen, sometimes it gets a little wild. But he does. And just like he feeds off that, our team feeds off of that. He brings that emotion to the game and it's an emotion he's trying to share and an energy he's trying to share with his teammates. It's not a selfish `look at me'-type thing, it's a `let's go, let's win'-thing."
So get on your feet for Mike Bauer. There is no way you can resist it. If you love the game of basketball, or even if you're just a half-hearted fan, you cannot hide how much Bauer draws you into the game. It's a rough and tumble, winner take all game that Bauer plays, and anyone who can emit so much passion on the court deserves to be cheered.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. (Courtney welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu)
