The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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44 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2019 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL BEILEIN IS IN FAVOR OF A REDSHIRT RULE FOR BASKETBALL In the summer, Michigan head coach John Beilein lobbied for a rule similar to football's that would allow play- ers to appear in a certain amount of games and still retain a redshirt. It's four for football players (generally a third of all games), and Beilein figured 10 might be good for basketball play- ers — enough to give them a good idea what it's like to sit the bench and only play five minutes a game. "Overall, just a great rule," Beilein said at the time. "We could go to Jan. 1 and if they play on Jan. 1, you've used up your year. If you haven't, then you could decide to redshirt. "Let them make the choice instead of doing it in the preseason." He used D.J. Wilson as an example. Wilson, now in his second year with the Milwaukee Bucks, redshirted as a freshman after suffering a knee injury only five games into the season four years ago. "He came in two days later and said, 'Coach, I want to redshirt. My body is not ready for this,'" Beilein recalled. "Now, all of a sudden, he's the 17th pick in the [2017 NBA] Draft. That was a good move." Beilein said his lobby- ing efforts have fallen on deaf ears so far, but he strongly believes it can change. It's best for everyone involved, he said, but especially the players. "That would be the best rule for us, because you could actually play and come back with- out penalty," he said. "We should have it. I had proposed that in a couple meetings, but it never amounted to any- thing. It has to happen. "Right now it's good for players, because in their fifth year they can actually transfer if it's not working out. The redshirt, which was so tremendous before, isn't what it once was in bas- ketball because of that fifth-year transfer rule." — Chris Balas CENTER AUSTIN DAVIS STILL STRIVING FOR IMPROVEMENT Michigan is off and running this year, but there is one potential weak- ness — depth. Head coach John Beilein is still looking for a backup center, and redshirt sophomore Austin Davis has yet to fill that void, as hoped. "I think the game speed is still the biggest issue with Austin. We put him into the game, and the guys [he's guarding] are quick," Beilein said. "He's growing every single time, but he's been watching film for three years, and his basketball acumen has got to continue to grow for us to play him more minutes. "He's sort of learning what he has to do." He is making mistakes first-year players — as in those in their first year receiving significant playing time — make and grow from, Beilein said. But the coach isn't going to extend the bench before anyone's ready, and he doesn't feel the need. "Some of the best teams are doing exactly what we do [playing seven guys]," Beilein said. "I'm very hopeful. We switched Austin and [freshman] Brandon [Johns] the last couple days. Both of them are outstanding on the scout team … they're both works in progress. "We're going to be as ready as we can be to lengthen the bench if we need to, but I'm not worried about anybody getting tired." Davis was averaging 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 4.8 minutes through 10 games. — Chris Balas MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Michigan's 89-78 victory over South Carolina Dec. 8 represented the most points any team had tal- lied on the Maize and Blue this sea- son, with the previous high being 67 from North Carolina in Michigan's 17-point win over the Tar Heels Nov. 28. • The Wolverines' 10-0 record is their best 10-game start to a season since the 2012-13 club got off to a program-best 16-0 mark. That team went 31-8 and advanced all the way to the national championship game, where U-M fell 82-76 to Louisville. • As of Dec. 10, Michigan held a 24-1 record in its previous 25 con- tests dating back to last season, with the lone loss coming at the hands of Villanova in the 2018 national title game. • Through 10 games, five Wolver- ines were averaging 4.1 or more re- bounds per game — junior center Jon Teske (6.8), freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis (5.2), redshirt ju- nior guard Charles Matthews (4.8), junior guard Zavier Simpson (4.8) and sophomore guard Jordan Poole (4.1). Michigan only had two players tally 4.1 boards or more last season — forward Moritz Wagner (7.1) and Matthews (5.5). • The Maize and Blue's 62-60 vic- tory at Northwestern Dec. 4 marked their first win in Evanston since Jan. 3, 2013 — a stretch of three straight losses. In fact, Michigan's winless drought at Northwestern had been its longest active streak at any Big Ten venue. — Austin Fox The Wolverines are hoping redshirt sopho- more Austin Davis, who was playing 4.8 minutes per game during the team's 10-0 start, will grow into a more prominent role as the team's backup center. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL