The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1051817
44 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2018 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL need someone to get the ball to. He has been asked to be more aggressive and has shown an assertiveness in his dunks. "I'm so proud of him" Livers said. "Last year, he wasn't looking to score. He was passing up wide-open dunks, and now he's looking to dunk on peoples' heads. That's what he's been doing all offseason." Michigan's guards can look for Teske to slam it home whenever they get into trouble, which was the case at times versus Norfolk State. "I just got open down low on the baseline, and the guards found me," Teske said. "They were playing zone, a matchup zone, and a couple of our shots weren't falling. I was just trying to finish around the rim, and that's what I did." While Wagner was an offensive force with the ability to stretch the floor, Teske is more of an all-around player, capable of playing strong defense. Teske has only attempted three three-pointers in his career two games into the 2018-19 campaign, but he's worked on adding that shot to his repertoire, which will make him even more dangerous on offense. "I consider him one of the dogs on defense," Livers said. "He's just everywhere. He can guard the pe- rimeter if we need him to down the stretch. That's what he's really worked on in his offseason." One of Teske's best traits, espe- cially on the defensive end, is his mobility. It makes him a valuable de- fensive chess piece. "We like his feet," Beilein said. "He's very unique for a 7-1 guy. He really can move his feet. We're not hesitant on switching a ball screen late, and we're not hesitant about throwing it up to the rim." Michigan is going to rely on Teske to play significantly more minutes than he did last season, when he av- eraged 12.3 minutes and 3.4 points per game. If Michigan is going to have success this season, Teske will need to up those numbers quite a bit. His improved conditioning will help him increase his minutes load. Against Norfolk State, Teske played 27 minutes, and he added 21 against Holy Cross. "What I like about him right now is he doesn't get tired like he used to," Beilein said. "We can really play him through a media timeout and still keep him in there. He's been trend- ing in the right direction. I think we can get 30 minutes out of him if we needed it." — Andrew Hussey ISAIAH LIVERS WILL COME OFF THE BENCH Sophomore forward Isaiah Livers is adjusting to a completely new role this season. After starting 22 games last year, including the national champion- ship game against Villanova, Livers is coming off the bench for Michi- gan. He will still play significant minutes for the Wolverines just like sharpshooter Duncan Robinson did last season, when he opened just 19 games but still ranked fifth on the team with 25.8 minutes per game. Michigan head coach John Beilein is confident that Livers can handle the switch. "It's the same way he did [adjust] last year," the coach explained. "He was virtually that last year, a starter in name only with Duncan in there. He'll fill his role, and he may play more minutes. "In our scrimmage he may have played more than anybody. He gives us this presence on defense, talk- ing and doing some things. But we also have other needs on offense, so I thought we needed to go with Iggy [Brazdeikis, the freshman]." In the season opener against Nor- folk State, Livers was the second Wolverine off the bench. He finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two three-pointers in 25 minutes. In game two, he finished third on the squad with seven points and led the way with 10 rebounds in 25:36 of action. Before the season, Beilein was happy with the growth Livers had shown in the offseason. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • The 37 points Michigan held Holy Cross to Nov. 10 were the fewest by an opponent since an 80-33 victory over Delaware State on Dec. 12, 2015. • The entire five-man freshman class — guards David DeJulius and Adrien Nunez, and forwards Brandon Johns, Ignas Brazdeikis and Colin Castleton have all made at least one appear- ance this season, meaning none of them will redshirt (barring injury). • After trailing Holy Cross 24-18 at halftime of the Nov. 10 game, U-M outscored the Crusaders 38-13 the rest of the way. • Junior center Jon Teske's 4.5 blocks per game were the most in the Big Ten and seventh most nationally as of Nov. 12. Wisconsin fifth-year senior center Ethan Happ is the only other player in the conference tallying more than 3.0 (he's averaging 4.0). • Sophomore guard Eli Brooks (40.0 percent) is the lone player on Michi- gan's entire roster shooting better than 28.6 percent from three-point range after two games, and U-M's overall 20.0 shooting percentage from behind the arc ranked last in the Big Ten as of Nov. 12. • Junior point guard Zavier Simp- son's 6.0 assists per contest were tied for seventh most in the conference as of Nov. 12. • When U-M defeated Holy Cross 56-37, it marked the first time the program had scored 56 or fewer points in a game and still came out with the win since a 53-50 triumph over Texas on Dec. 6, 2016. • The Wolverines' 45.5 rebounds per game marked the third most in the Big Ten as of Nov. 12. — Austin Fox After two games, Teske ranked third on the team with an average of 9.0 points per game and second with a clip of 6.5 rebounds an outing. He also led the way with nine blocks. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL