Michel: from the blacktop to big stage Brandon University alumni series: Through the decades

The thought of university basketball didn’t cross David Yul Michel’s mind growing up.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/01/2021 (1161 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The thought of university basketball didn’t cross David Yul Michel’s mind growing up.

He didn’t make it to Brandon University or become Canada’s defensive player of the year thanks to his high school coach making connections with post-secondary teams. In fact, he didn’t even play high school basketball.

Michel grew up in the community of St. Francois in Laval, a suburb of Montreal. Around age nine, some basketball courts were built close to his home and he played every day throughout the summer with friends. He ended up playing some community club ball, but that was it.

Brandon Sun files
Yul Michel was named Canada West's defensive player of the year in 2007 and the national DPOY in 2008.
Brandon Sun files Yul Michel was named Canada West's defensive player of the year in 2007 and the national DPOY in 2008.

“I graduated, started working, buying a car and started life at 18. But I never stopped playing. I was playing because I loved it,” Michel said via Facebook video call.

Michel joined a travelling squad, the Diamond Ballers, and played three years with the team. Then out of nowhere, his future changed course in 2003.

“This gentleman Jerry Hemmings came to Montreal and was looking for players. He knew a couple of guys who were coaching already, Trevor Williams and those guys told him ‘If you’re looking for players who didn’t commit yet … you should go to the rec,’” Michel said, referring to the Parc du Moulin he often played at.

“… Jerry Hemmings had the guts to go to a rough neighbourhood … he wanted to recruit all the team I was playing with but half the guys committed to Northern Michigan.

“Hemmings came to my place and asked my mom if it’d be OK if he’d take me away from Montreal to come to Brandon and get my education.”

So the six-foot-one point guard took an absolute leap of faith and headed for the Wheat City, hardly knowing a lick of English before starting an education degree at an English school.

Michel said the transition was made easier since Hemmings also recruited his friends Mario Joseph and Robens Josephat. However, Hemmings ended up on a sabbatical that season and was ultimately replaced.

The next few years featured an unenviable coaching carousel for the Bobcats to deal with. Reggie Carrick stepped in and the team finished 12-8 in Canada West conference play. The team got hot enough in the playoffs and won bronze, but went two-and-out at nationals in Halifax.

Next, it was BU women’s coach Les Berry jumping ship to the men’s team. He guided BU to a 15-5 record but a similar last-place fate in the final eight.

“You learn a lot from different leaders. I remember the first year with Carrick it was really hard because you can tell I have a big accent,” Michel said.

“It was my first year playing basketball and running a team in English. We got guys from (California), Calgary, Manitoba, guys from all over the place and their only language was English.

“Les Berry coached the women’s team at the same time I was playing for Carrick. A different approach … really sarcastic, but really hard and a really good leader.”

Barnaby Craddock hopped in the hot seat next, and a few players had enough at that point. Michel said a few teammates including Joseph and Josephat weren’t thrilled about a third coach in as many seasons. But he was determined to say, if nothing else, for his degree.

The team slid back to 10-10, losing its opening playoff series to Winnipeg in the 2005-06 season. Then the tune changed. The coach stayed.

Michel was coming off a Canada West second-team all-star season, averaging 15.1 points per game to sit second behind Adam Hartman’s 16.6. He also led the team in assists, sitting fifth in Canada at 6.0.

But surprisingly before his fourth year, Craddock sat the Montreal native down and told him he wanted him to take on a defensive role and transition to more of a pass-first point guard. He had the scorers in all-Canadian Dany Charlery and sharpshooting Brandonite Chad Jacobson. The best way for Michel to help the team win was to help them shine.

“I was all about winning. I was the type of guy that if I scored two points that game but we won, I’m cool with that. If I scored 15 points and that’s what the team needed from me to win, there were some games I scored a lot, I was just doing what the team needed me to do to win basketball games,” Michel said.

“During the summer Barnaby went to work. He recruited a couple of guys, great shooters and great big men and my fourth year was a fairy-tale story.”

Sure enough, Michel’s scoring output dipped to 11.6 ppg, with Charlery and Hartman averaging a combined 31.2 ppg. Add 18 ppg from the two big men Yur Whyms and Stevens Marcelin and The ‘Cats took off.

They went 20-2 — the two losses were by a combined two points — and reached the Canada West final, losing by three to UBC.

Brandon Sun
David Yul Michel #11 of the BU Bobcats slips past Jeffrey Lukomski #5 of the UofR Cougars during playoff basketball action at the BU gym. (FILE/Brandon Sun)
Brandon Sun David Yul Michel #11 of the BU Bobcats slips past Jeffrey Lukomski #5 of the UofR Cougars during playoff basketball action at the BU gym. (FILE/Brandon Sun)

Charlery and Hartman were first-team conference all-stars while Michel was named the Canada West defensive player of the year. On top of that, Craddock won the Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial trophy for top coach in the nation.

“That fourth year we’d go out together, we were always, always together. Everybody knew their role, everybody was willing to sacrifice for each other and for the best of the team. And we had a coach for two years in a row,” he said with a laugh.

“As a point guard who had to control the team, it was hard to every year change systems. When Craddock stayed for two years in a row, we ran almost the same system.

“The reason why we went 20-2 is because everybody was getting along. The difference between my first year and my fourth year … is everybody was always together. We didn’t have any segregated groups in the team.”

The work wasn’t done yet. BU headed to Halifax having gone six years since an opening-day victory at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport — now U Sports — championship.

The Bobcats made quick work of the Windsor Lancers, with Michel dropping 17 points on seven field-goal attempts, adding nine assists.

Then they ousted the St. Mary’s Huskies 79-74, this time getting 55 combined from Hartman, Charlery and Jacobson.

That set up what proved one of the strangest finals to date. Two high-powered offences clamped each other down, resulting in an all-time low 52-49 final against the Carleton Ravens with Brandon on the wrong side of history.

“We knew we could beat that team. That game I think both coaches did their job. We took all the first options from Carleton and Carleton took out all our first options,” Michel said.

“It was really low-scoring because nobody could score. Both teams wanted to play fast and if you look at the game, there was not one team who allowed the other team to play fast. It was a half-court game so both our teams were uncomfortable playing that style of play. It came with defence and us on our part, we didn’t do a good job. Multiple times they got 20 offensive rebounds. If you tell me the other team took 20 offensive rebounds and you only lose by three … you cut that in half … it was a tough one.”

The following season, Craddock moved away to coach the University of the Fraser Valley men’s team, spending five years there before taking his current job with the University of Alberta men.

Assistant coach and former Bobcat Mike Raimbault took the reins and the team hardly missed a beat, unless you count an exhibition loss to Acadia at the Wesmen Classic over the Christmas break.

The Bobcats went 20-2 once more, then lost to Alberta in the conference semis before beating Calgary for bronze. With only two Canada West berths and a wildcard up for grabs, however, BU was left to await a decision from the powers that be.

It came down to Brandon and Acadia and that seemingly random game was the difference. Michel’s career came to a sudden end.

“It’s tough. It was tough because you only have a window of time in your university career. You only have five years to achieve what you want to achieve and it’s to win a national championship. It’s not easy to win a national championship. Everything has to be aligned perfectly. There’s some people that play five years and don’t go to a national championship any year. I was able to go three times,” Michel said.

“To come that close to realizing my goal … it was really hard to swallow. There were a couple local kids like Adam Hartman and Chad Jacobson, imagine if they would bring a national championship to Brandon? They were a big part of our success, so it hurt. It really hurt.

“When you lose a national championship game by three points, the only thing you think is I’m going to go into the summer and work hard … so next year we can get over the hump. Not having that chance to go, it hurts.”

Michel put up 15.2 ppg and 5.1 apg and was named the defensive player of the year for the entire nation, providing little solace.

“It was cool. The only thing I didn’t like was we didn’t go to nationals. That was our main goal and personal achievement, yes it’s cool, but you’d rather be recognized as a national champion,” he said.

Brandon Sun
David Yul Michel #11 of the BU Bobcats sits by himself along the wall of the BU gym while waiting with teammates to find out whether the Bobcats would gain a wildcard berth into the CIS national championships in Ottawa.  (FILE/Brandon Sun)
Brandon Sun David Yul Michel #11 of the BU Bobcats sits by himself along the wall of the BU gym while waiting with teammates to find out whether the Bobcats would gain a wildcard berth into the CIS national championships in Ottawa. (FILE/Brandon Sun)

“They look at champions another way. I know that because I’d been on winning teams before. My travelling team, we dominated for a long time. When I walk in Montreal people only remember me as a member of the Diamond Ballers because we were winning all the time. It’s the same thing here. In Brandon, everybody’s going to remember Joey Vickery, Keith Vassell because they won a national championship.

“Me, I was there for five years, I got so close but I don’t think I’m going to be remembered as Joey Vickery or Keith Vassell.”

Michel stayed in the game, however, joining the Quebec Kebs of the Premier Basketball League for a few seasons, then playing for the National Basketball League of Canada’s Montreal Jazz in 2012-13, the club’s only season before going under.

Then it was on to the next chapter. Michel had his education degree from Brandon and started substitute teaching. He now works as a sports co-ordinator at a Montreal high school and runs the after-school programming. In addition, he assistant coaches the Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM) men’s team with Mario Joseph.

“It’s really cool because I love basketball and to be coaching with one of the guys you played with,” Michel said.

“We’d go on the road and I’m still in connection with Chad coaching in Saskatchewan, Nathan Grant coaching in Laval, Barnaby at Alberta.

“Two years ago we went to Alberta and played Alberta, Barnaby was there, he kicked our butt,” he said with a laugh. “After that, he came to our place, we won. It’s fun.”

Michel is married going on 10 years to Shelley Quintos, with daughters Aliya Star, 8, and Ana Skyler, 6.

He’s still in touch with many of his Bobcat teammates. He said they had a call with the 2007 national finalist team over the Christmas break and virtually everyone was on the line. While he says he may not be remembered like other Bobcat greats, it was an experience he won’t forget.

“I spent five years in Brandon and it was like it was my second home. To this day I still have connections with a lot of people in Brandon,” Michel said.

“… The experience I had there was priceless. I wouldn’t change it for the world. It was fun playing basketball, meeting people, travelling all over Canada to play basketball, I really thank Jerry Hemmings for the opportunity he gave me.

“He gave me the opportunity and I got a degree off of that. I’m using my degree right now … now I’m doing what I love to do with sports.”

Looking back, the Michel sums up what the game means to him quite simply.

“Love. Basketball was my first love. Since I was nine years old when I picked up a basketball, and to this day, this is how I earn a living. Basketball was my first love,” he said, pausing with a giant, cheeky grin before continuing. “My wife’s going to be pissed but that’s the truth.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen

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