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Nothing But ‘Net – Week #11 – 02/01/2021 – COVID-19 Shutdown & Mid-Term Grades

The (#4) University of Michigan men’s basketball team didn’t play any games this week, due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.  Michigan’s record stands at 13-1 (8-1 in the Big Ten).  Michigan is still all alone in 1st place in the Big Ten standings.

What Happened?

This was week #1 of a 2-week shutdown for all University of Michigan sports.  This week, Michigan had 2 games postponed:

01/27/2021 Penn State (away)

01/30/2021 Indiana (home)

Next week, they will postpone 2 more games:

02/03/2021 Northwestern (away)

02/06/2021 Michigan State (home)

At this point, there is no news about whether or not UM sports will resume beginning 02/07/2021, and there is no news about when the postponed games will be rescheduled.  Of course, squeezing these 4 games into the last 28 days of the regular season will be a challenge, especially if Michigan or any of their opponents have to postpone further games.  The schedule is written in pencil this season.

Mid-Term Grades

It’s a little past mid-season, but this seems like a good time to hand out (near) mid-term grades:

Freshman Eligibility

  • Hunter Dickinson (A) – Hunter has been the core of this team.  He leads the team in scoring (15.1 points/game), rebounding (7.2 rebounds/game), shooting percentage (68.8%), and blocked shots (20).  He scored in double figures in the first 11 games of the season, but hasn’t hit double figures in the last 3 games, now that every team is double-teaming him every time he touches the ball in the paint.  Once he figures out how to pass out of the double-teams without throwing the ball away, he’ll be just as valuable as he was when he was scoring.
  • Jace Howard (Inc.) – Jace is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 8 games, for a total of about 26 minutes, and has scored 7 points.  He’s learning.
  • Zeb Jackson (Inc.) – Zeb is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 10 games, for a total of about 62 minutes, and has scored 10 points.  He’ll get his chance at point guard next season.
  • Terrance Williams II (C) – Terrance is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 13 games, for a total of about 103 minutes, and has scored 30 points.  He looked good in some of the non-conference games (7 points vs. Oakland, 10 points vs. Central Florida), but he has way too many 0-point games.  He’s learning.

Sophomore Eligibility

  • Brandon Wade (Inc.) – Brandon is a preferred walk-on.  He hasn’t played in a game yet this season.  He’s part of the scout team.
  • Franz Wagner (B+) – Franz has been very good defensively, but inconsistent offensively.  He is 3rd on the team in scoring (12.0 points/game), 2nd on the team in rebounds (7.1 rebounds/game), 2nd on the team in blocked shots (17), and 1st on the team in steals (20).  He still hasn’t found his 3-point shot this season.

Junior Eligibility

  • Jaron Faulds (Inc.) – Jaron is a preferred walk-on.  He has played in 5 games, for a total of about 18 minutes, and has scored 2 points.  He’s part of the scout team.
  • Brandon Johns, Jr. (B) – Brandon has played a lot at center when Michigan plays “small ball”.  The results have been uneven.  He isn’t scoring much (4.6 points/game), and he isn’t rebounding as well as he did last season (2.5 rebounds/game).  He is shooting a nice percentage from 3-point range (5-for-8 = 62.5%).
  • Adrien Nuñez (Inc.) – Adrien is on scholarship, but he’s not part of the main rotation of players this season.  He has played in 8 games, for a total of about 27 minutes, and has scored 4 points.

Senior Eligibility

  • C.J. Baird (Inc.) – C.J. is a walk-on.  He has played in 2 games, for a total of about 6 minutes, and has scored 2 points.  He’s part of the scout team.
  • Eli Brooks (B+) – Eli has mostly played shooting guard, with occasional stints at point guard.  He’s 5th on the team in scoring (8.8 points/game), 2nd on the team in steals (14), and he hustles when he’s in there.  He’s a very good defender, and he’s what’s known as a “glue guy”.
  • Chaundee Brown Jr. (B) – Chaundee is the “6th man” on the team this season, and he’s had some great games (19 points vs. Bowling Green, 18 points vs. Central Florida, 13 points at Nebraska, 14 points vs. Northwestern, and 14 points at Minnesota), and a lot of mediocre games.  He’s 4th on the team in scoring (8.8 points/game), and 4th on the team in rebounds (3.3 rebounds/game).
  • Austin Davis (B) – Austin was the starter at center for the first 5 games, until he injured his foot.  Dickinson started in his absence, and did well enough to keep starting, even when Austin returned after missing 5 games.  Austin is very smooth and efficient scoring in the paint, and he plays good defense, but Dickinson is even better.  Still, it’s great to have a dependable backup.
  • Rico Ozuna-Harrison (Inc.) – Rico is a walk-on.  He hasn’t played in a game yet this season.  He’s part of the scout team.
  • Isaiah Livers (A) – Isaiah is the other MVP on this team.  He’s a senior leader, and a fierce competitor.  He’s 2nd on the team in scoring (14.6 points/game), 3rd on the team in rebounds (6.0 rebounds/game), 3rd on the team in blocked shots (13), and amazing from the free throw line (34-for-36 = 94.4%).
  • Mike Smith (B) – Mike has done a very nice job running the team as the main point guard.  He has had some very good games offensively (16 points vs. Bowling Green, 10 points vs. Ball State, 10 points at Nebraska, 16 points at Maryland, 16 points vs. Wisconsin, and 11 points vs. Maryland), and a lot of mediocre games offensively.  Michigan doesn’t really need him to score much, so any points he chips in are a bonus.  He leads the team in assists (78), but also in turnovers (35).  He’s 2nd on the team in 3-point shooting percentage (16-for-34 = 47.1%).
  • Luke Wilson (Inc.) – Luke is a walk-on.  He has played in 1 game, for a total of about 3 minutes, but he hasn’t scored.  He’s part of the scout team.

What’s Next?

This week, Michigan was supposed to play two games: at Northwestern on Wednesday (02/03/2021) and home vs. Michigan State on Saturday (02/06/2021).  Due to the 2-week COVID-19 shutdown, these games will need to be rescheduled.

Even though the games are postponed, this column is not.  I’ll be back next Monday with updates on the shutdown, and (hopefully) a preview of Michigan’s upcoming games.

Go Blue!