ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Juwan Howard hasn’t been shy about making Michigan’s title aspirations known since the day he arrived.
He checked one achievement off the list last season when he guided the Wolverines to their first outright Big Ten regular-season championship since 2014. And after reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and falling a shot short of reaching the Final Four, that has only fueled Howard’s pursuit of an elusive national title.
“I’m a competitor and I’ve always been that way,” Howard said during the team’s media day last month. “That’s my makeup and that’s where I’ve been from when I set foot on this campus — always built on winning. And that will never stop. The goal is to get one.”
Heading into Wednesday’s season opener against Buffalo, the expectations are higher than ever in Year 3 of Howard’s tenure. The Wolverines enter the season ranked No. 6 in the nation — their highest preseason ranking since the 2012-13 campaign — and edged out Purdue as the pick to win the Big Ten in a preseason media poll.
They’re also viewed as one the favorites to cut down the nets in April thanks to their blend of talent, depth and backcourt experience, giving them a realistic shot at bringing home the program’s second NCAA title and first in 32 years.
The high hopes are buoyed by a pair of returning starters in sophomore center Hunter Dickinson, last season’s Big Ten freshman of the year, and fifth-year senior guard Eli Brooks, who opted to come back for an extra season that was granted due to the pandemic.
“They're better versions of themselves from last year,” assistant coach Phil Martelli said on WTKA’s “The Michigan Insider” last month. “People will say, ‘Yeah, but Hunter was a second-team All-American.’ Yeah, but let's be honest. Hunter did not start the first five games last year. He wasn't quite ready yet and ended up a second-team All-American.
“Eli was the best defender in the Big Ten. He's better. He's a more confident distributor, he has the ability to forget the last shot. If he misses a shot, who cares. I don't think that was Eli earlier last year. So those two guys are reasons that we're better (this season).”
Brooks and Dickinson will lead the team alongside a new face in grad transfer DeVante’ Jones, the best guard in the Sun Belt last season. Michigan struck gold with Mike Smith as their grad transfer point guard last year and will look to do it again with Jones, who — like Smith — made the move to Ann Arbor to chase a national championship.
But Jones could make an even greater impact than Smith. According to Dickinson, Jones is a “ballhawk” who is more defensive-minded, and he has a floater that allows him to finish better over defenders around the rim. On top of that, Jones is bigger, stronger and an equally capable distributor.
"I knew what I was getting myself into when I committed to Michigan. I had no problem with deferring to other guys,” Jones said. “It's really an easy transition for me knowing that I'm passing the ball to guys that I can trust, knowing they can score the ball at a high level.
“Looking back on (Michigan’s) history, I did a lot of studying on Trey Burke. I love seeing the big shots he made and everything he did for this program. That’s something I want to be a part of. The potential for this group is very high. … I feel we don’t have a ceiling. We’re a very dangerous group because we’ve got a good mixture of youth and vets."
The Wolverines lost a ton of production with Isaiah Livers, Franz Wagner, Chaundee Brown and Smith moving on to pursue pro careers. Yet instead of rebuilding, Michigan is reloading with the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class that’s headlined by a pair of top-20 prospects in forward Caleb Houstan and big man Moussa Diabate.
Houstan is an elite shooter — fellow freshman Frankie Collins compares him to Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson — who is already projected to be a lottery pick, while Diabate has been called a freak athlete by several teammates.
Included in the freshman collection are guards Kobe Bufkin and Collins, wing Isaiah Barnes and forward Will Tschetter, and all of them can make a difference in their own way.
“Moussa with his length, his defensive ability. His shot has gotten a lot better. He's putting a lot of work into that,” Houstan said. “Frankie being able to make plays and his athleticism as well. Kobe is a natural scorer, really smooth. Will can really shoot the ball, is really good defensively and can rebound. Isaiah is real athletic and can shoot it. We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things."
With so many new faces come a fair share of questions. Who is going to step up and help replace all the lost 3-point shooting? Can Jones make a seamless transition at point guard? How will the freshmen adjust to the college game and adapt to new roles?
While every new year brings new hopes, new challenges and new targets, the Wolverines plan to approach this season with the same mentality.
“I think coach used a good line. He said we're still kind of the underdogs,” Dickinson said. “We're not the overwhelming pick to win the conference. We still are battling with Purdue in a lot of polls to see who is going to win the conference.
“He said we're not the hunted, we're the hunter. I think that's a great point. We're not the No. 1 team in the country. We're not the only overwhelming favorite in our conference. I think, for us, we're still the team that's hunting down other teams.”
Ready or not, the thrill of the hunt is set to begin. And just how quickly all the pieces fall into place for the Wolverines could determine the size of their prize.
“The goal is always to win the Big Ten Conference and win an NCAA championship. That goal will never ever stop while I’m the coach here,” Howard said. “Last year was last year. It was a good way to learn and see where you can grow as a coach and as a team.
"We’re going to do whatever we can to accomplish those goals."
Buffalo at Michigan
— Tip-off: 6:30 Wednesday, Crisler Center, Ann Arbor
— Outlook: The team will raise its 2020-21 Big Ten regular-season championship banner during a pregame ceremony and the first 5,000 fans will receive a mini banner. … Guards Zeb Jackson (non-COVID illness) and Frankie Collins (leg) are both “day to day,” according to coach Juwan Howard. … This is the first meeting between the programs since 1935. … Buffalo was picked to win the Mid-American Conference in the preseason coaches poll.
