Michigan’s season ended one game short of what was probably its ceiling, an outstanding Elite Eight run that capped a championship season. Head coach Juwan Howard earned all the accolades he received, and he’d be the first to trade them in for a spot for his team in the Final Four … yes, one the Wolverines should have gotten.
There’s no shame in saying it. The Wolverines probably overachieved and underachieved a bit in the same tournament. Getting past LSU and FSU (comfortably) was an accomplishment, no matter what anyone says about the draw. The Wolverines picked them apart on offense and smothered Florida State defensively in playing with the same moxie they did midway through the year, and they did it without Isaiah Livers.
But it was surreal watching an average at best, one-man UCLA team celebrate a Final Four in front of us courtside Tuesday night, and it never should have happened. Several things had to go the Bruins’ way just to eke out a 51-49 win. Johnny Juzang had to have an elite game (he did, with 28 points). The Bruins had to outwork Michigan’s bigs on the glass to prevent second-chance opportunities.
Junior Brandon Johns had zero rebounds in 30 minutes (unacceptable) and frosh big man Hunter Dickinson had two total in 29 minutes.
The Wolverines missed at least eight shots at the rim, though many were contested, Dickinson had an easy dunk get flushed early when a great pass went through his hands, an obvious hook and hold against Dickinson was missed that could have been a four-point swing — no clue why they didn’t go to the monitor on that one — and U-M still had three shots to win at the end.
It wasn’t meant to be. U-M got sucked into UCLA’s pace, played a terrible game and yes, gagged one away. And it’s okay to say it was a team effort, a disappointing showing from the top down.
Put it this way … say Michigan football beat Ohio State and slayed some dragons to get to finally get to the Big Ten championship game, needing only a win over, say, 7-5 or 8-4 Northwestern team for the title. Say they had better players, needed to control one player and minimize mistakes in order to get there, but played a slopfest.
Most would be irate.
Final Fours don’t come around very often, folks, and when you’re that close to hanging that banner and are playing an 11 seeded play-in team, you’ve got to get it. Gonzaga’s Mark Few has been to two — two — in his 22 years. Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim has five since 1976 despite having some stacked teams.
And to score 49 points against that team is, frankly, a big of an embarrassment. That wasn’t 2019 Texas Tech or some lockdown defensive team they were facing.
So again, it’s okay to say the end of the season was a major disappointment. The season as a whole certainly wasn’t. Any time you win a Big Ten title and make it to the Elite Eight, and you do the latter without one of your best players — a guy who affects your spacing because of his ability to shoot at 45 percent clip — it’s a great accomplishment.
“The message is, we should be very proud of each and every one of them on how they have sacrificed, worked extremely hard throughout the year back in June and making all this work,” Howard said about falling short of the National Championship goal. “There are a lot of folks that deserve a lot of credit outside of this team that have really breathed a lot of life into the group.
“But at the end of the day, we learn from this and we will grow from it. Definitely we all will get better, starting with me first.”
Experience is huge when it comes to knowing what buttons to push in the postseason. Howard, the AP Coach of the Year, is only going to get better and better in those situations. There will be many more postseason games like this, and each one will add to his bank.
Again, in no way is that discounting what he’s accomplished in only two years on the job. This season has been remarkable. His next challenge will be to add elite recruits to the program (which he is) while keeping them all happy, preserving the culture that’s been in place for years now and in which he firmly believes … a group of players who are brothers with each other and rooting for each other’s success.
****
So, what’s next?
No. 1, getting Eli Brooks back for a fifth year as a liaison between the present and future. He’d be huge in helping teach the freshmen — Frankie Collins, Zeb Jackson — and being that calming presence and defensive stopper that can help win games.
He’s also been the guy the last two years who has hit big shots to stop opponent runs, too, probably one of the more underrated players in the Big Ten.
Those close to it have told us Howard and Co. have made their pitch, and it’s looking better and better that Brooks will put a professional career (Europe, most likely) on hold for another year at U-M. (CLICK HERE FOR OUR LATEST UPDATE ON BROOKS FROM THIS MORNING.)
For Hunter Dickinson, it’s about getting stronger with strength coach Jon Sanderson — he wore down at the end of the year and got moved too easily — and developing his jump shot. Some feel he could have been a factor with an elbow jumper this year to add to the Wolverines’ offensive arsenal given his nice stroke from the free throw line, but that’s something that should absolute be on the table this summer (along with a right hand. He was too predictable with his moves, and teams were on to him down the stretch).
Senior point guard Mike Smith will probably be working in Chicago. While he was better than expected getting to the rim and finishing, he wasn’t the guy who could routinely break down a defense and get to the rim whenever needed, or drive and dish.
There’s hope Collins and McDonald’s All-American shooting guard Kobe Bufkin will be those guys eventually, but Collins needs to improve his jumper. He’s a bigger version of Xavier Simpson if he doesn’t, and he’s got too much potential to be limited.
That’s not taking away from what Simpson accomplished, of course, and Michigan fans can only hope Collins is as good a passer. But at least a mid-range jumper and and the occasional floater would prevent defenses from sagging on him.
Caleb Houstan will play early, and he could have a Nik Stauskas-type impact as a frosh shooter. His presence should open the floor for Collins and others and, hopefully, prevent as much doubling when they feed Dickinson in the post.
Expect Howard to continue to push tempo, too. He wants to play faster, and U-M was only mid-200s in that area this year. Getting more easy buckets in transition and getting into sets earlier before defenses can get set will likely be an offseason
****
Finally, a final word on Franz Wagner …
It’s going to be tough to stomach if he goes out on such a low note, 1-for-10 from the floor, 0-for-4 from three and four points, but he probably will. And he won’t be the only Michigan player in history to lay an egg in his last NCAA Tournament game.
Jalen Rose went something like 7-for-19 in an Elite Eight loss to Arkansas before declaring in 1994, and he missed lay-ups down the stretch in a tight game. Louis Bullock came back for his senior year, but he went 7-for27 in his last NCAA game in 1998 … also a loss to UCLA.
It appears Wagner is going to be a lottery pick. Given how much he and his family care about U-M, it wouldn’t be a complete stunner if he decided he couldn’t leave on this note (though again, we absolutely don’t expect it). If he does, though, his legacy is going to be one of “what could have been,” like an Ignas Brazdeikis. Fair or not, fans remember the guys who stuck around much more fondly than those who seem to be in a hurry to leave.
At the same time, at least he’s not one of those fringe players leaving even though he may or may not get drafted. He’s going to make a ton of money, and it’s clear he loves U-M.
There’s no shame in saying it. The Wolverines probably overachieved and underachieved a bit in the same tournament. Getting past LSU and FSU (comfortably) was an accomplishment, no matter what anyone says about the draw. The Wolverines picked them apart on offense and smothered Florida State defensively in playing with the same moxie they did midway through the year, and they did it without Isaiah Livers.
But it was surreal watching an average at best, one-man UCLA team celebrate a Final Four in front of us courtside Tuesday night, and it never should have happened. Several things had to go the Bruins’ way just to eke out a 51-49 win. Johnny Juzang had to have an elite game (he did, with 28 points). The Bruins had to outwork Michigan’s bigs on the glass to prevent second-chance opportunities.
Junior Brandon Johns had zero rebounds in 30 minutes (unacceptable) and frosh big man Hunter Dickinson had two total in 29 minutes.
The Wolverines missed at least eight shots at the rim, though many were contested, Dickinson had an easy dunk get flushed early when a great pass went through his hands, an obvious hook and hold against Dickinson was missed that could have been a four-point swing — no clue why they didn’t go to the monitor on that one — and U-M still had three shots to win at the end.
It wasn’t meant to be. U-M got sucked into UCLA’s pace, played a terrible game and yes, gagged one away. And it’s okay to say it was a team effort, a disappointing showing from the top down.
Put it this way … say Michigan football beat Ohio State and slayed some dragons to get to finally get to the Big Ten championship game, needing only a win over, say, 7-5 or 8-4 Northwestern team for the title. Say they had better players, needed to control one player and minimize mistakes in order to get there, but played a slopfest.
Most would be irate.
Final Fours don’t come around very often, folks, and when you’re that close to hanging that banner and are playing an 11 seeded play-in team, you’ve got to get it. Gonzaga’s Mark Few has been to two — two — in his 22 years. Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim has five since 1976 despite having some stacked teams.
And to score 49 points against that team is, frankly, a big of an embarrassment. That wasn’t 2019 Texas Tech or some lockdown defensive team they were facing.
So again, it’s okay to say the end of the season was a major disappointment. The season as a whole certainly wasn’t. Any time you win a Big Ten title and make it to the Elite Eight, and you do the latter without one of your best players — a guy who affects your spacing because of his ability to shoot at 45 percent clip — it’s a great accomplishment.
“The message is, we should be very proud of each and every one of them on how they have sacrificed, worked extremely hard throughout the year back in June and making all this work,” Howard said about falling short of the National Championship goal. “There are a lot of folks that deserve a lot of credit outside of this team that have really breathed a lot of life into the group.
“But at the end of the day, we learn from this and we will grow from it. Definitely we all will get better, starting with me first.”
Experience is huge when it comes to knowing what buttons to push in the postseason. Howard, the AP Coach of the Year, is only going to get better and better in those situations. There will be many more postseason games like this, and each one will add to his bank.
Again, in no way is that discounting what he’s accomplished in only two years on the job. This season has been remarkable. His next challenge will be to add elite recruits to the program (which he is) while keeping them all happy, preserving the culture that’s been in place for years now and in which he firmly believes … a group of players who are brothers with each other and rooting for each other’s success.
****
So, what’s next?
No. 1, getting Eli Brooks back for a fifth year as a liaison between the present and future. He’d be huge in helping teach the freshmen — Frankie Collins, Zeb Jackson — and being that calming presence and defensive stopper that can help win games.
He’s also been the guy the last two years who has hit big shots to stop opponent runs, too, probably one of the more underrated players in the Big Ten.
Those close to it have told us Howard and Co. have made their pitch, and it’s looking better and better that Brooks will put a professional career (Europe, most likely) on hold for another year at U-M. (CLICK HERE FOR OUR LATEST UPDATE ON BROOKS FROM THIS MORNING.)
For Hunter Dickinson, it’s about getting stronger with strength coach Jon Sanderson — he wore down at the end of the year and got moved too easily — and developing his jump shot. Some feel he could have been a factor with an elbow jumper this year to add to the Wolverines’ offensive arsenal given his nice stroke from the free throw line, but that’s something that should absolute be on the table this summer (along with a right hand. He was too predictable with his moves, and teams were on to him down the stretch).
Senior point guard Mike Smith will probably be working in Chicago. While he was better than expected getting to the rim and finishing, he wasn’t the guy who could routinely break down a defense and get to the rim whenever needed, or drive and dish.
There’s hope Collins and McDonald’s All-American shooting guard Kobe Bufkin will be those guys eventually, but Collins needs to improve his jumper. He’s a bigger version of Xavier Simpson if he doesn’t, and he’s got too much potential to be limited.
That’s not taking away from what Simpson accomplished, of course, and Michigan fans can only hope Collins is as good a passer. But at least a mid-range jumper and and the occasional floater would prevent defenses from sagging on him.
Caleb Houstan will play early, and he could have a Nik Stauskas-type impact as a frosh shooter. His presence should open the floor for Collins and others and, hopefully, prevent as much doubling when they feed Dickinson in the post.
Expect Howard to continue to push tempo, too. He wants to play faster, and U-M was only mid-200s in that area this year. Getting more easy buckets in transition and getting into sets earlier before defenses can get set will likely be an offseason
****
Finally, a final word on Franz Wagner …
It’s going to be tough to stomach if he goes out on such a low note, 1-for-10 from the floor, 0-for-4 from three and four points, but he probably will. And he won’t be the only Michigan player in history to lay an egg in his last NCAA Tournament game.
Jalen Rose went something like 7-for-19 in an Elite Eight loss to Arkansas before declaring in 1994, and he missed lay-ups down the stretch in a tight game. Louis Bullock came back for his senior year, but he went 7-for27 in his last NCAA game in 1998 … also a loss to UCLA.
It appears Wagner is going to be a lottery pick. Given how much he and his family care about U-M, it wouldn’t be a complete stunner if he decided he couldn’t leave on this note (though again, we absolutely don’t expect it). If he does, though, his legacy is going to be one of “what could have been,” like an Ignas Brazdeikis. Fair or not, fans remember the guys who stuck around much more fondly than those who seem to be in a hurry to leave.
At the same time, at least he’s not one of those fringe players leaving even though he may or may not get drafted. He’s going to make a ton of money, and it’s clear he loves U-M.
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