The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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[ 2023-24 BASKETBALL PREVIEW ] 38 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2023 utes. While nobody knows exactly what it will look like, Martelli is pleased with the team's progress. "The players are responding really well," he said. "We don't have a guy you can throw the ball in there and he's going to score. But we have versatility. We have a competitive spirit, and we're making progress. "I more look at this team as maybe that's the way college basketball is going to be. You can have your baselines, but you're re- ally building a team each year now. That's really what we're doing. We're building a team this year." He and the rest of the coaches are hope- ful they have the pieces for a good squad that will exceed many expectations. ❑ BY THE NUMBERS 2nd In the Big Ten in Kenpom's adjusted defensive ef- ficiency is where Michigan ranked during league play last season. During the conference season, U-M led the Big Ten in effective field goal percentage defense (47.6). The Wolverines were fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency. For the entire season, U-M checked in 48th nationally on of- fense and 47th on defense. 4 Of the Big Ten's top five leading scorers from last season have departed the conference. Purdue center Zach Edey paced the league with 22.3 points per game and is returning for this season. 6 Straight NCAA Tournaments for Michigan basketball until the Wolverines missed the Big Dance last season. That streak was the seventh longest in the country. U-M also had made five consecutive Sweet 16s until the 2022- 23 campaign, which was a Big Ten record. Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are the only other teams to have accomplished the feat since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams and six rounds in 1985. 11 More points per game in Kobe Bufkin's second sea- son than in his first marked the biggest year- over-year increase in the Michigan program in the last 15 seasons. He averaged 3 points per contest as a freshman in 2021-22 and 14 as a sophomore last year. The next highest jump came from Caris LeVert (2013 to '14) and Darius Morris (2010 to '11), each with a 10.6-point in- crease. 16 NBA Draft picks in the last 11 years for Michigan, which leads the Big Ten and is six selections ahead of second-place Michigan State. The Wolverines saw guards Jett Howard (No. 11, Orlando Magic) and Kobe Bufkin (No. 15, Atlanta Hawks) both go in the first round this past summer. They became the 10th and 11th Wolverine first-rounders since 2013, a mark that also leads the Big Ten in that span. Indiana is second with six. 19 Years of age for freshman guard George Washington III — the Wolverines' lone player under 20 years old. Sophomore forward Tarris Reed Jr. is U-M's next-youngest player; he turned 20 Aug. 5. 33 Made three-pointers by sophomore guard Dug McDaniel this past season, the most by a returning player on the roster. Senior forward Terrance Williams II is the only other returnee who drilled double-digit triples, finishing with 17. 37 Is where graduate Olivier Nkamhoua placed in On3's ranking of the top transfers in the coun- try this offseason. He checked in as the second-best power forward. Graduate Nimari Burnett slotted as the 37th-best shooting guard to transfer and graduate Tray Jackson ranked 39th among power forwards. 45.7 Percent was sophomore guard Dug Mc- Daniel's clip on mid-range jump shots a year ago, ranking fourth in the Big Ten among those who attempted 35 or more, per Synergy. 241 Combined games played for Michigan's three incoming gradu- ate transfers, with 85 career starts — forward Olivier Nkamhoua (112 games, 58 starts), forward TRAY JACKSON (90 games, 18 starts) and guard Nimari Burnett (39 games, nine starts). The trio has played at a combined five different schools, with Jackson having attended Missouri (2019-20) and Seton Hall (2020-23) and Burnett having gone to Texas Tech (2020-21) and Alabama (2021-23). Nkamhoua joined U-M after four seasons at Tennessee. 2015 Was the last time before this season that Michi- gan brought in just one freshman in its recruit- ing class, with forward Moritz Wagner being the lone signee that season. Guard George Washington III is the Wolverines' only freshman this year. 1,047 Minutes played for sophomore Dug McDaniel last season, the most by a U-M freshman point guard since Trey Burke in 2011-12 (1,227). — Clayton Sayfie PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS