The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2023 THE WOLVERINE 71 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Three Best Players 1. Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin Only a sophomore, he's performing like a veteran, some- thing the Wolverines have needed. He's scored in double figures each of the last six games and eight of the last 10, impressing with his ability to get to the rim (he's shooting twos at a 52.5 percent rate since Jan. 19). He's also defending at a high level. His recent emergence and consistency have earned him NBA Draft buzz, with The Athletic's Sam Vecenie projecting Bufkin No. 28 overall to the Houston Rockets in his Feb. 16 mock draft. 2. Junior center Hunter Dickinson It's hard to argue Dickinson isn't Michigan's most valuable player, given the heavy workload he carries and attention he draws from opposing defenses. He's scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games, highlighted by a 25-point out- ing in a 77-69 win over Ohio State Feb. 5. He's been named Kenpom.com's MVP four times in the 10-game stretch. 3. Freshman guard Jett Howard Howard's play has declined since his Jan. 22 ankle injury, which cost him the next game against Purdue and forced him to play at less than 100 percent health after that. He's shooting just 44.4 percent on twos and 31.4 percent on threes over his last nine games — down from his season marks of 50.0 and 36.9, respectively — but has still come up huge on the offensive end at different points. Howard hit 6 three-pointers against Nebraska Feb. 8 and 3 versus Ohio State Feb. 5. He has been in double figures six of the last nine outings, including two 20-plus point performances. Key Moment Michigan and Michigan State were tied at 72-72 with two minutes to play Feb. 18, before the Wolverines reeled off a 12-0 run to close things out and win going away. The stretch was highlighted by sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin's contested, late-shot clock three-pointer after losing and regaining control of the ball, freshman forward Tarris Reed Jr.'s block on the ensuing defensive possession and junior center Hunter Dickinson knocking down a triple the next time down. Best Highlight Northwestern guard Boo Buie had the ball at the top of the key with just under eight and a half minutes to play, down 16 points, Feb. 2 in Evanston. He picked up his dribble and surveyed the defense, but then Michigan sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin poked the ball out of his hands, tracked it down, took one dribble, gathered and threw down a ferocious dunk with his left hand, before screaming at the Wildcats' student section. That put the Wolverines up 55-37 in the 68-51 win. Bold Prediction Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin is quickly garnering hype for the NBA Draft, and we'll predict he tests the waters but chooses to return. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie pointed out Feb. 16 that his age makes him an interesting prospect for NBA teams to consider drafting. Considering he's 18 years old, younger than any other scholarship player on Michi- gan's team, he's really the age of a freshman. "There are currently no freshmen in college basketball averaging at least 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from the field, which is what Bufkin is doing right now," Vecenie wrote. His jump shot has improved, but he's shooting only 34.4 percent on threes this season (31-of-90), even after going 8-of-12 over the last three outings. That could hold him back from being a high enough pick to want to leave after his second season in Ann Arbor. — Clayton Sayfie Superlatives For U-M's 10 Games From Jan. 19 To Feb. 18 Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin has scored in double figures for six consecutive games and eight of the last 10 through Feb. 18. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL plays and led Michigan to places it hadn't been in decades, winning the Big Ten title in 2012 (first time since 1986) and making the NCAA championship game in 2013 (first since 1993). Michigan was on the rise before Burke's arrival in 2011, but he took it to another level, putting the program back on the national map and making it the modern-day power- house it is today. "It would be an honor," Hardaway said of seeing Burke recognized in that fash- ion. "He worked his tail off to get to that point, to help us get to where we needed to go in both of his years of being here. I know I'll be the first one through that door when his name is called, hopefully." "I would just say, you could probably count, maybe not even on one hand, the amount of players that have come through this school that have had the impact that Trey had," Stauskas added. "My freshman year when we came in, it was eye-opening and humbling to see how special of a player Trey was. We used to call him 'Young A.I.' [NBA great Allen Iverson] all the time. You guys would see it, the kind of tough shots he was hitting, the way he handled the ball, the way he carried himself, it was very much in that manner. "To see his jersey go up in the rafters one day, that would be very well de- served, and I would definitely love to be there to celebrate that too." — Clayton Sayfie