The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1252590
16 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2020 2 0 2 0 B A S K E T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G I S S U E BY JOHN BORTON J uwan Howard's second collec- tion of Wolverines has already gone through more changes than Dr. Bruce Banner on an angry week. They may not be done, either. For those keeping score, since the Wolverines walked off the Banker's Life Fieldhouse court on March 12, they have: • Officially added three incoming freshmen — 7-2 center Hunter Dick- inson, 6-7 forward Terrance Williams and 6-7 swingman Jace Howard — as spring signees, after inking 6-4 guard Zeb Jackson in the fall. • Added 5-11 graduate transfer guard Mike Smith from Columbia. • Saw sophomore guard David DeJulius, sophomore forward Colin Castleton and freshman guard Cole Bajema opt out via transfer. • Confirmed the return of rising sophomore guard Franz Wagner, who for a time contemplated an early entry into the NBA Draft. • Added a late transfer, getting rising senior wingman Chaundee Brown from Wake Forest. Brown represents major — and po- tentially immediate — impact. Since his school fired head coach Danny Manning, Brown has applied for a waiver of the one-year period of sitting out upon a regular transfer. There is no doubt, either, that he could hit the court running. Brown averaged 12.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game last season for the Demon Deacons. A strong free throw shooter, he knocked down a shade less than 84 percent on the campaign. He also played a key role in a pair of huge Wake Forest wins. Brown notched a career-high 26 points, con- necting on 11 of 16 field goals, to help take down No. 23 Xavier Dec. 14. He then delivered 24 points with nine re- bounds in pushing the Deacons past Duke Feb. 25. He also notched a dou- ble-double against Notre Dame Feb. 29, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds. The effort against Duke wasn't a one-time occurrence, either. As a sophomore, the former consensus top-40 recruit nationally scored 21 points with 10 rebounds in Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium against the No. 4 Blue Devils. He averaged 11.9 points and 5.0 rebounds that year, while making 30 starts. "Coach Howard said the great thing about me is that I can play mul- tiple positions — the two, the three and a little bit of the four," Brown noted. "He likes that versatility, and I told him I can be whatever he needs me to be. I'd like to play any posi- tion I can for him. I'm a tough-nosed player who always goes hard. "I lock it up on defense and like to get out in transition and into the lane, and get fouled while going to the hole. I can pull up, too, and shoot the three pretty well. I just compete and do whatever will help my team win. I'm a great leader as well." Brown would love to play imme- diately, but makes it clear he's a Wol- verine, either way it goes. "If I have to sit out, I'll gain a lot more knowledge of the team's sys- tem," he confirmed. "I'm 100 per- EVOLVING ROSTER Juwan Howard's Second Squad Sorts Itself Out, With One Major Question Remaining One major unknown remains for the Wolverines — will forward Isaiah Livers, who declared for the NBA Draft, return for his senior season? PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL