You may have heard that Michigan won The Game on Saturday, so this is a mere appetizer to Brian's forthcoming column on an epic performance from the gridiron that will live in Wolverine lore for eternity. 

 

THREE UP

How awesome is it to have Juwan Howard? Seriously, this guy is a former NBA all-star and three-time champion (twice as player, once as coach) that supports the football team in freezing weather with the joy and enthusiasm of an elementary school child whose biggest dream is to watch his beloved Wolverines knock off those jokers from Columbus. 

This isn't some charade for optics. The man genuinely loves Michigan and consistently supports all sports despite a schedule that is undoubtedly running thin on leisure time. Oh yeah........did I mention Coach Howard won an outright B10 championship last season, reached the Elite 8 and reeled-in the number one recruiting class in America?

We are lucky to have him. Extremely lucky.

 

Moussa Diabate playing time. It's becoming increasingly clear that Moussa should be getting the bulk of available minutes at the PF spot and may very well be the third best player on the team right now. After averaging 14 minutes per game during the first three contests of the season, Diabate played nearly 22 minutes a game over the last three.

While Brandon Johns is still holding down a starting spot, Moussa is now in the closing lineup. That says a lot about where this is likely headed. During the last three games the freshman sensation is averaging nearly 11 points and over 6 rebounds on 78% from the floor while looking the part of a lottery pick on multiple occasions. 

 

Frankie Collins, flashing. He hasn't garnered a ton of buzz, but quietly put together solid backup minutes in games against Arizona and Tarleton. In 14 minutes against the Wildcats, he graded out relatively equal to both Jones/Brooks per my UFR. But for a charge, he would've actually graded out higher than both.

Collins has looked very good as a playmaker for others, as demonstrated by his 30.3(!) assist rate.  A functional Frankie for 10-12 minutes a game at the backup PG spot allows Eli Brooks to slide off-ball more, where his role as more of a traditional floor-spacing shooter alleviates spacing issues. Perhaps more importantly, if Jones isn't up to par, Juwan Howard can have a shorter leash with his substitution patterns.

[AFTER THE JUMP, treys down]

 

THREE DOWN

Hunter Dickinson touches. Michigan's All-American big man is only taking 8.3 FG attempts and 2.5 FTs per contest over the last three games and his usage is down nearly three points in relation to last season. There can be no sugar-coating here, Juwan Howard simply has to find more ways to get Hunter the ball in positions to score or make plays for others. 

Dickinson is among the most potent offensive weapons in America and the offense simply has to run through him while he's on the court. He makes life easier for every other player on the team with his ability to collapse a defense consistently and either score or makes passes that lead directly to assists or bring about the hockey variety. 

 

Defense, in general. The team was nothing short of brutal against Arizona and hasn't been up to par on that end of the court so far this season. Some of the early woes could be explained away with a shift from drop-coverage exclusively to a more prominent role for blitzing ball-screens with Dickinson. But the Arizona game saw mostly drop-coverage and the Wolverines were still quite poor defensively.

Some of this is undoubtedly the natural consequence of having smaller guards that don't possess great agility, particularly against an Arizona team with size/athleticism in the backcourt. But the team has shown bad habits in terms of overhelping against dribble penetration, taking unnecessary gambles when going for steals and simply getting lost on screens. This is the end of the court I'm most curious to see when Michigan takes the floor against UNC. 

 

The wing position. The Wolverines simply aren't getting enough at the SF spot in any area. The perimeter shooting and defense in particular are falling well-short of expected performance levels. Caleb Houstan has been a target of most criticism, and he's certainly played a role, but Williams and Bufkin haven't provided much spark either.

Juwan Howard needs this position group to be a net-neutral and fast. All other position groups have been at least above-average and having someone emerge from the Houstan/Williams/Bufkin/Jackson group would solve a healthy amount of the early season issues.