The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BASKETBALL14-15 Kameron Chatman (6‑7, 210), will also vie for time at the power forward po‑ sition. Wilson missed the Italy games with a broken finger but returned to practice in October, and his upside has the coaches salivating. He's long, athletic enough and focused on get‑ ting better. Chatman, meanwhile, is a potential matchup nightmare on offense for op‑ posing defenses. "Kam can handle and pass, and so can D.J.," assistant LaVall Jordan said. "The versatility of this group is excit‑ ing. If the guys can play different spots and do different things, you can play through them. "Kam's a very high‑level IQ guy and passer. D.J. can rebound the ball, push it in transition and lead the break." Wilson is also a potential defensive standout. He's not an explosive leaper, but he makes up for it with his reach. "He's not necessarily a quick jumper, but he is a long jumper who can make up for an opponent's quick‑ ness with his length," Alexander said. "He meets guys at the rim, will be able to change and alter shots. "What he brings to the table on of‑ fense more than anything is a very, very formidable skill set in the high post. Often times, he'll be able to pick and pop, get the ball and beat oppos‑ ing bigs to the rim and create advan‑ tages that way for us." He's proven to be a good shooter, Jordan added, with an extremely high motor. His perimeter skills are up there with former Wolverines McGary and Evan Smotrycz (now at Mary‑ land), Alexander added. "He's a guy who can play on the pe‑ rimeter, be comfortable and make de‑ cisions, use his length to create some advantages on the inside," he said. "The one thing he'll bring that will excite the fan base is an unbelievable motor." And Chatman — some believe he's got the potential to be the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year. He needs to develop physically and improve his three‑point shooting — 33 percent last year at Portland (Ore.) Columbia Christian, assistant Jeff Meyer noted — but he's oozing with potential. "With his vision of the floor and his ability to us the dribble to create, we actually saw him as a Jalen Rose‑kind of backcourt player early on," Meyer said. "At 6‑6, he can see over the de‑ fense and he plays the game with his eyes turned out. "A lot of kids play the game with their eyes down. We don't look for those kids at our level. There are kids who play with their eyes out and can see the game in front of them … he's always looking to make a play for a teammate. That's what he values, and he's giving us the ability to use him in ball screens." What they're looking at in the fresh‑ man class overall is baptism by fire, Alexander said, but all are proving to be extremely coachable, willing to do what's required at each position. They've all demonstrated a keen abil‑ ity in early practices to pick things up quickly. How soon that translates on the floor is yet to be determined, but the staff's past success with underclass‑ men makes another big year a real possibility. ❑