The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1484283
DECEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 39 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL HUNTER DICKINSON IS OFF TO AN MVP START Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson returned for his junior season for two rea- sons — because he loves the school, and to play for a national championship. He also has parts of his game that can continue to improve, including his outside shot and his defense. Though he's never been one for individ- ual awards, there could be some residual effects, as well. He's got a chance to be- come Michigan's second Naismith Player of the Year (Trey Burke), and he's off to a great start in his candidacy. Dickinson scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the opener with Purdue Fort Wayne and dominated on his way to 31 points in a victory over Eastern Michigan to start the year. He notched a double- double in the former by adding 12 re- bounds and finished with 7 boards in the victory over EMU. He was shooting an incredible 78.6 per- cent through the two games (13-for-17 vs. EMU and 22-of-28 overall), and in an in- dicator of what he's concentrating on this year and how much his teammates have stepped up, had yet to attempt a 3-pointer. "I remember the first double team that I got, I kicked it I think to Kobe [Bufkin], and then Kobe swung it to Joe [Baker]," Dickinson said after the win over Purdue Fort Wayne. And my first reaction was, 'Don't do that [double-team] this year.' We definitely have a lot more shooting. It's defi- nitely a big difference from last year. "The guys who came back put a lot of work in, and then we did a great job finding the guys that fit that mold for us. That will help our offense." Dickinson is taking his time, too, and not forcing the passes to the shooters. Though he had only 1 assist against 3 turnovers in the first two games, he often got the "second assist" as for- mer coach John Beilein used to say — a hockey term — by getting the ball moving. In short — the ball isn't getting stuck as much. "We've got a good mix of guys that are able to be plugged in and out," Dick- inson said. "A lot of guys that are very versatile and able to play many positions, so I think it's just a matter of guys knowing multiple spots. I think that's the big- gest and most important thing for us." Dickinson came to Michigan in part to be coached by Juwan Howard to get to the NBA. Though his skill set isn't ideal for the modern-day game, some pro scouts believe he'll get there. "Hunter is, in the three years I've been coaching him, a high-IQ player," Howard said. "He's very unselfish — a great passer. When he gets double-teamed, he's going to do his best to make the right play by finding open guys. With the spacing we have on the floor, Jett [Howard] is going to be recipient of it. T-Will [Terrance Wil- liams], Kobe, Joey, the list goes on … "I think I might be the toughest and hardest person on Hunter because I just expect more. But yeah — give the young man credit. He knows that. He doesn't mind that I challenged him. He doesn't mind being coached. He enjoys going out there and competing, and it's tough some- times when you have smaller guys that are walking underneath you, beating on your arm." Dickinson gets the "Shaq" treatment sometimes — how NBA teams used to beat up on big man Shaquille O'Neal, of- ten without consequence from the refs — but has continued to play through it. "He was so big and stronger than all the other guys that I think people expect for him to dominate and expect him to take a lot of abuse," Howard said. "But Hunter, he's just working … and he's done an amazing job of leading, as well." ❏ Junior center Hunter Dickinson totaled 53 points and 19 rebounds in U-M's first two games of the 2022-23 campaign. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2022-23 U-M MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE & RESULTS Date Opponent Time* (TV)/Results Nov. 4 Ferris State (Exhibition) W, 88-75 Nov. 7 Purdue Fort Wayne W, 75-56 Nov. 11 vs. Eastern Michigan^ W, 88-83 Nov. 16 Pittsburgh* 6 p.m. (ESPNU) Nov. 17 Arizona State/VCU+ TBD (ESPN2) Nov. 20 Ohio 7:30 p.m. (BTN) Nov. 23 Jackson State 8:30 p.m. (BTN) Nov. 29 Virginia% 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) Dec. 4 vs. Kentucky# 1 p.m. (ABC) Dec. 8 at Minnesota 10 p.m. (BTN) Dec. 17 Lipscomb 4 p.m. (BTN+) Dec. 21 vs. North Carolina$ 7 p.m. (ESPN) Dec. 29 Central Michigan TBD Jan. 1 Maryland 4:30 p.m. (FS1) Jan. 4 Penn State 7 p.m. (BTN) Jan. 7 at Michigan State 2:30 p.m. (FOX) Jan. 12 at Iowa 7 p.m. (ESPN2) Jan. 15 Northwestern TBD (BTN) Jan. 19 at Maryland 7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) Jan. 22 Minnesota TBD (BTN) Jan. 26 Purdue 9 p.m. (FS1) Jan. 29 at Penn State 12 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 2 at Northwestern 7 p.m. (ESPN2) Feb. 5 Ohio State 1 p.m. (CBS) Feb. 8 Nebraska 6:30 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 11 Indiana 6 p.m. (ESPN) Feb. 14 at Wisconsin 9 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2) Feb. 18 Michigan State 9 p.m. (FOX) Feb. 23 at Rutgers 8:30 p.m. (FS1) Feb. 26 Wisconsin 2 p.m. (CBS) Mar. 2 at Illinois 7 p.m. (ESPN) Mar. 5 at Indiana 4:30 p.m. (CBS) * All times Eastern ^ at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit + at Legends Classic, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. % ACC/Big Ten Challenge # at London Showcase, O2 Arena, London, England $ at Jumpman Invitational, Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.