Hoops Preview 2021: Wrap & Predictions
The season tips off at 4 pm Eastern. The Bowling Green preview is here. The women have already opened their 2020-21 with a comfortable 18-point victory over a tournament-quality Central Michigan squad. Let's wrap up this preview.
The Story
Writing The Story Before I Have To Rewrite The Story. Wanting it to be next year while also maintaining appropriate basketball-related excitement for this year.
The Position Previews
Guards. A legitimate battle between Eli Brooks and Mike Smith.
Wings. So many options, only so many minutes. Franz!
Bigs. Three! Three legit bigs! Ah ah ah.
The Mailbag
Who's The Playmaker, Recruiting Success, The Ceiling, Roster Depth. Looking at the range of outcomes and more. Franz!
The Big Ten Roundtable
The top tier. Bah, Wisconsin. It's crowded up here.
The rest. Still some potential tourney teams in here, too. Also: Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State.
The Schedule.
It exists. It's useful to know. Michigan's Big Ten draw had a minimal impact on their expected wins.
The Podcast
The 2020-21 Hoops Preview. Franken-pieced together from segments recorded over the course of the last few weeks, so if you feel like you've heard a lot of this before, skip to the Big Ten segments for the new stuff.
Five Questions Five Answers
5Q5A. Who's going to start, how will their style change from last season, and more.
The Game Preview
Bowling Green. Tougher than your usual season opener. Still eminently beatable.
A Few Stupid Predictions
- Franz Wagner averages 16 points per game and makes first-team All-Big Ten
- Hunter Dickinson and Brandon Johns are splitting the center minutes by tournament time
- Chaundee Brown is a do-everything standout in part because he shoots better than 35% on threes
- Michigan finishes second to Wisconsin in the Big Ten at 18-7 (13-7 B1G), earns a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, and makes a run to the second weekend
May we all get through this season safe and healthy. There's no content after the jump.
November 25th, 2020 at 2:54 PM ^
Football is obviously front and center at Michigan, but hoops has always been my #1 sport since I was very young, so I have been enjoying the ten-year run of Michigan hoops success...and am excited for what the team will look like under Coach Howard this year and for years to come!
November 25th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
Can Chaundee Brown play nose tackle?
November 25th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
Safe and healthy. Fingers crossed.
November 25th, 2020 at 3:29 PM ^
Is this the Mike Smith's Hair Appreciation thread?
November 26th, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
November 25th, 2020 at 3:33 PM ^
Brandon Johns has been compared to DJ Wilson since he got to Michigan, so forgive me for making another one. But the energy around him feels like Wilson before break out. Some aren’t optimistic about a break out, some don’t think he can play the 5...
Wilson protected Wagner on defense and put defenses in no-win situations. No matter what, they had to guard a near 7 footer who could shoot, drive, finish, and pass with one of their bigs. Johns could similarly complement Livers/Wagner 2.0 or Dickinson.
November 25th, 2020 at 3:58 PM ^
Play hard, have fun, go Blue!
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