The Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team has a plethora of vital newcomers on this year’s squad, with fifth-year senior guard Mike Smith, freshman center Hunter Dickinson and senior guard Chaundee Brown best fitting the bill.

All three have made key impacts in their own unique ways, with Brown, for example, having garnered a reputation for his stifling defense, positive attitude and nose-to-the-grindstone mentality.

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Brown only scored one point in Michigan’s 67-59 win at Wisconsin this past Sunday, but it nevertheless marked a milestone — the 1,000th of his career, the majority of which came during his three years in Winston-Salem as a Wake Forest Demon Deacon.

Head coach Juwan Howard awarded Brown the game ball in front of the team in the locker room following the win over the Badgers, and spoke briefly about how blessed the club is to have him on this year’s squad.

“It meant a lot to me and the teammates and coaches,” the senior admitted this afternoon, referring to Howard’s gesture. “Coach didn’t have to say all that but did anyway, and it showed how much he cares and how much I do for this team.

“My teammates being happy for me meant a lot to me as well. I knew coming here would be a sacrifice and that I wouldn’t have to score a lot, because we have plenty of talented guys around. I bought into the role I’m playing now and will do anything to help my team win.”

The ‘team first’ mentality Brown personifies is one of the primary reasons Michigan is 14-1 overall, 9-1 in league play and arguably the best team in the country. The culture Howard has carried over from the John Beilein era has continued to thrive, with the former deserving a lot of credit for the way he has not only embraced it, but added his own wrinkles to it to turn it into the brotherhood and accountable, hardworking environment it is today.

“It’s exactly what I expected,” Brown said this afternoon, when asked if the Michigan environment is what he thought it would be when he first transferred here. “Through zoom visits I had with coaches, they told me they’d push me because they want me to be the best version of myself.

“We do every drill with a purpose and it’s not just to waste time. That’s a standard here and we do everything for a legit reason. Some coaches do drills just to bide time, but Coach has an explanation for every drill and how they apply to games.”

Some thought the two-week layoff would derail the Maize and Blue, though the team quickly squashed that notion with their win at the Kohl Center this past Sunday, a venue that has oftentimes been described by those around college basketball as the equivalent of getting a root canal.

Howard and the leaders on this year’s squad made sure the players did what they were supposed to do from a physical and mental standpoint during the layoff, and as a result ensured the shutdown wasn’t going to stop their momentum.

“Mental toughness is a key thing for us,” Brown insisted. “People thought we’d come out with excuses after the two-week layoff, but we knew we had enough time to prepare. The legs are tired and a little sore now, but at this point in the season you have to put that to the side.

“We’re doing special things as a team and can’t think of how tired or sore we are — we need to just keep going. I tell myself all the time not to change what I’m doing, because we’re winning at a high rate.

“My role is to defend and rebound, so there’s no reason to change anything with my game.”

The selfless Brown — who averaged 12.1 points per game last year as a junior at Wake Forest — has seen his scoring average dip to 8.3 so far this year, but again, that’s not a knock on him, but a testament to the understanding of his role and the phenomenal scorers Michigan has on its roster.

Brown has instead helped spearhead a dominant Michigan defensive attack. He has served as the catalyst on a unit that ranks No. 3 in the country from a field goal percentage standpoint, allowing opponents to shoot just 37.4 percent from the field.

Only one other Power Conference school in the entire nation is allowing teams to shoot less than 39.9 percent against it (USC, at 37.9 percent).

“[My mindset is] to intimidate the person with or without the ball,” Brown explained. “I try to discourage them and make them very uncomfortable and not allow them to get into their offense.

“I feel like that’s my job. Our biggest strength on defense is that everyone can guard the one through five positions. Hunter switched on [Wisconsin fifth-year senior point guard D’Mitrik] Trice a few times last game, for example, and kept him in front of him.

“We can switch one through five when we have to, and a lot of teams aren’t able to do that.”

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