Lime and coconut? Don't ask Michigan

It's NCAA time.

And yes, Stanford has a good chance at winning it all. But the Stanford swimmers at the NCAA Championships will probably try to steal a glimpse of their classmates' basketball game between races.

And even better, Michigan is still in the hunt for this one, though you wouldn't know it by watching them practice. Unlike many teams on the cusp of their biggest meet of the year, they're just as loose in practice as they were the week before they dismantled Michigan State on Feb. 6.

The swimmers popped out of the pool after one of their final workouts and fished around in coolers of ice for the thick protein shakes they gulp after workouts.

"Look out." This from Derya Buyukuncu, who will be swimming in the 100 and 200 back, and the 100 fly.

His crumpled drink box almost hits me in the head. He laughs.

"So how do you get the lime in the coconut?" coach Jon Urbanchek asks, but no one seems to hear. He singles out Tom Malchow and asks him.

"Tom, how you get the lime in the coconut?"

No limes or coconuts seem to be lying around, until Urbanchek points to a printout of Stanford's swimming website on the bulletin board.

Oddly enough, it pictures a lime and a coconut, and the question that Urbanchek has been repeatedly posing is written across it.

The swimmers take notice, and one finally bites.

"So what is it?"

"I don't know," Urbanchek says. "I guess we'll find out."

"I think it's pretty stupid," another swimmer pipes up, barely concealing the team's feelings toward the Cardinal.

n n n

Malchow and Buyukuncu stand together watching their teammates race at the end of practice. They lean toward one another, occasionally nodding.

Discussing strategy? Two Olympians combining notes before their big races?

No. Hoops.

"Yeah, the Nuggets," Buyukuncu says, laughing. "They're gonna win it all."

Malchow smiles. Buyukuncu's love for basketball is a standing joke on the team.

The only bigger joke is his favorite team - the Chicago Bulls.

Questions to his teammates about his love for the five-time NBA champions draw eye rolls and smiling groans.

"He's a foreigner, and all foreigners love the Bulls," Malchow says.

Urbanchek wanders over, but Buyukuncu has drifted off to bury himself in the sports section.

Urbanchek overhears Malchow and grabs a passing Chris Thompson.

"Hey, Chris, does Derya like the Bulls?" he asks.

"Oh, just a little," Thompson shoots back.

Buyukuncu found his precious Bulls growing up in Turkey, and moved to California just in time to catch their first world title from this side of the Atlantic. He also fell in love with another American cultural standby - ESPN. Espeically a certain show that showed highlights of his Bulls every night.

But SportsCenter wasn't merely a way to follow his Bulls, or even a way to satify his appetite for sports. He learned to speak better English watching the show.

No, he doesn't feel the need to give new names to his teammates or speak in clever phrases. But every morning, after early practice, he goes back to his apartment and watches his favorite show with bagels and cereal.

But his final morning swim is over and done. This is his last meet for Michigan. Three races and that's it.

He can still practice, and will do so until he graduates next December. But he said he won't be able to contribute to the team anymore, and that's the worst part about leaving.

He's not done yet. He can still win a national title for Michigan. And he won't let distractions hurt his final act.

Even the Bulls game during tomorrow night's finals won't distract him. Some things are more important, after all.

He can always catch it on SportsCenter.

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