The Wolverine

December 2022

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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DECEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 35 If Michigan fans weren't already giddy about the national top-50 prospect, they are now. "It's tough not to mention Jett Howard as the first observation," Boesch noted, regarding his early impressions of the Wolverines. "Jett is not going to score 30 a night, or anything along those lines, but what he has brought to this team is exactly what it needed coming into the season." Howard came back to earth a bit in the second game, tallying 9 points on 2-of-8 shooting (2 of 7 from 3-point range) and 3 rebounds against Eastern Michigan. "You wondered how they would re- place those at that wing position," Boesch added. "Jett's ability to create for himself, his ability to hit an open shot after a good pass from a teammate? The early returns are really good. "Jett's solid play — coupled with the step forward that [sopho- m o re g u a rd ] Ko b e Bufkin has taken — has given me a lot of confidence in what Michigan has in its starting five." Bufkin played in 28 games off the bench last season, the McDonald's All-American averaging 3.0 points per game. Weight and strength gains in Michigan's conditioning pro- gram have allowed him to progress. Bufkin scored 8 points with 3 assists, a block and a steal in the opener, after lighting up Ferris State for 21 — includ- ing 3 of 5 3-pointers and 6-for-6 at the line. He followed that up with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals against EMU. "That, to me, has been very positive," Boesch said. "I think Michigan's starting five can compete with any starting five in the Big Ten." The starting five gets filled out by junior forward Terrance Williams II and grad transfer point guard Jaelin Llewellyn, who came from Princeton. How the Wolverines shape up behind those starters has the broadcaster's at- tention. "The bench is the piece that I think will continuously evolve," Boesch said. "It's safe to say that [freshman guard] Dug McDaniel is going to play a valu- able role on this team. It's safe to say that [grad transfer guard] Joey Baker is going to play anywhere from 12 to 25 minutes per game, be a 3-point threat and know his role. "[Freshman forward] Tarris Reed Jr. is going to have to play, and I think he took a big step forward in the first reg- ular-season game versus the exhibition, where I think he struggled a little bit. "There are some pieces and some options, and I think over the course of the next month or so a few of those get sprinkled in. "Juwan Howard has traditionally gone from a bigger rotation at the start of the season to really trimming it down at crunch time in February and March, where it's eight, maybe even seven, de- pending on the roster." Jett Howard's early success could also open things up even more for Dickinson. T h e A l l -A m e r i c a c e n te r b u rs t o u t of the gate with 22 points and 12 re- bounds on 9-of-11 shooting in the sea- son opener, and then surpassed that with a 31-point effort on 13-of-17 shooting while adding 7 rebounds against Eastern Michigan. "That was what Michigan was hoping for with Caleb Houstan last year," Boesch said. "Caleb had those games where he allowed Michigan to do that. They just weren't as consistent as I think a lot of people wanted. "Look, it's really difficult to come in as a freshman and make that instant im- pact. It's difficult to just pick up and go. Where Jett benefits is the background he's from, being around his dad, being around all these NBA players. He played with some great players when he was in high school down in Florida." Boesch observed Dickinson having a bit more room to operate at times early on. At the same time, the veteran showed the ability to power through when that wasn't the case. "Regardless of how teams face Hunter Dickinson on the inside, he's still going to get a lot of double-teams, and some triple-teams sprinkled in," Boesch said. Brian Boesch, U-M men's basketball radio play-by-play announcer "I think Michigan's starting five can compete with any starting five in the Big Ten. The bench is the piece that I think will continuously evolve."

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