Michigan basketball has had a rough start so far in the 2022-23 season and here are three Christmas wishes for the Wolverines.
The Michigan basketball team has a non-conference game to play next week before it hits the heart of the Big Ten schedule and so far this season has been a disappointment.
Michigan has barely escaped a few times at home against teams ranked outside the Kenpom Rankings top 100 while losing close games to Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia.
Each offered an opportunity to secure a marquee victory and bolster an NCAA tournament summary that is clearly lacking. The Wolverines also lost their former starting point guard and the lack of experienced guard play was a problem.
We’ll see if Michigan basketball can overcome all of that, but here are three Christmas wishlist items that could really help.
Young people grow up fast
Dug McDaniel is going to have to grow fast if Michigan basketball is going to have a successful season this year. You can’t win games in the Big Ten unless your point guard is playing well.
Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin can help manage the ball but that puts them out of position. The best roster and some of the best basketball games the Wolverines have played this season came against Minnesota when McDaniel had his best game.
He’s not always going to make three 3-pointers. But if he finds some consistency with his shooting and more with his playmaking ability, that will be huge for the Wolverines. If Tarris Reed, Will Tschetter and Youssef Khayat can also grow quickly and bring some depth, that would also be huge.
A consistently good Kobe
We’re really starting to see Kobe Bufkin make that sophomore transition. He started the season a little slow but is showing the ability that made him a McDonald’s All-American.
Bufkin has scored 22 points in consecutive games and connected on six of eight 3-pointers. Over the past four games, Bufkin is 8-for-11 from 3-point range. He’s actually hit double figures in six straight games, despite shooting less than 50% in a few of them.
Bufkin has started to assert himself as a scorer and with him and Jett Howard averaging double digits each night, this team should be in a position to win a lot of games in the Big Ten.
Hunter Dickinson’s Dominant Self
Hunter Dickinson has been great this year, but sometimes he left a lot of meat on the bone. Bufkin and Howard scored 39 points in the loss to North Carolina. If Dickinson was in single digits and played anything close to a good game, Michigan wins.
Dickinson needs to do a better job on the boards, a better job defensively and needs to be a better leader – he could have been thrown against the Tar Heels with several techniques and lost his temper a few times against Armando Bacot who surpassed all night.
Some of the pieces are starting to come together and while it’s never going to be a great defensive team, it should be one of the best offensive teams in college basketball, and if Dickinson dominates the stretch like he’s done the season last it will be.
He will also make the NCAA Tournament which is far from a guarantee at this point.
Michigan basketball has had a rough start so far in the 2022-23 season and here are three Christmas wishes for the Wolverines.
The Michigan basketball team has a non-conference game to play next week before it hits the heart of the Big Ten schedule and so far this season has been a disappointment.
Michigan has barely escaped a few times at home against teams ranked outside the Kenpom Rankings top 100 while losing close games to Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia.
Each offered an opportunity to secure a marquee victory and bolster an NCAA tournament summary that is clearly lacking. The Wolverines also lost their former starting point guard and the lack of experienced guard play was a problem.
We’ll see if Michigan basketball can overcome all of that, but here are three Christmas wishlist items that could really help.
Young people grow up fast
Dug McDaniel is going to have to grow fast if Michigan basketball is going to have a successful season this year. You can’t win games in the Big Ten unless your point guard is playing well.
Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin can help manage the ball but that puts them out of position. The best roster and some of the best basketball games the Wolverines have played this season came against Minnesota when McDaniel had his best game.
He’s not always going to make three 3-pointers. But if he finds some consistency with his shooting and more with his playmaking ability, that will be huge for the Wolverines. If Tarris Reed, Will Tschetter and Youssef Khayat can also grow quickly and bring some depth, that would also be huge.
A consistently good Kobe
We’re really starting to see Kobe Bufkin make that sophomore transition. He started the season a little slow but is showing the ability that made him a McDonald’s All-American.
Bufkin has scored 22 points in consecutive games and connected on six of eight 3-pointers. Over the past four games, Bufkin is 8-for-11 from 3-point range. He’s actually hit double figures in six straight games, despite shooting less than 50% in a few of them.
Bufkin has started to assert himself as a scorer and with him and Jett Howard averaging double digits each night, this team should be in a position to win a lot of games in the Big Ten.
Hunter Dickinson’s Dominant Self
Hunter Dickinson has been great this year, but sometimes he left a lot of meat on the bone. Bufkin and Howard scored 39 points in the loss to North Carolina. If Dickinson was in single digits and played anything close to a good game, Michigan wins.
Dickinson needs to do a better job on the boards, a better job defensively and needs to be a better leader – he could have been thrown against the Tar Heels with several techniques and lost his temper a few times against Armando Bacot who surpassed all night.
Some of the pieces are starting to come together and while it’s never going to be a great defensive team, it should be one of the best offensive teams in college basketball, and if Dickinson dominates the stretch like he’s done the season last it will be.
He will also make the NCAA Tournament which is far from a guarantee at this point.