After starting the season 18-1, the Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team lost two of its final three regular-season games to wrap things up with a 19-3 record. There was a number of reasons for the March losses to Illinois and Michigan State, though freshman center Hunter Dickinson shouldered the entirety of the blame this afternoon on a Zoom call with reporters.
Dickinson still posted respectable stats between the two setbacks (averaged 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds), so simply putting it all on his shoulders certainly wouldn’t be fair.
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He also noted that part of the reason Michigan has gotten off to slow starts in games lately has been due to his performances.
“It’s my fault,” he said. “I haven’t been as efficient down low and that makes it harder on the rest of the players. When I’m efficient and dominant down there, it opens things up for other guys.
“Opponents come in more and that creates more space. I’ve been putting in the work and trying my best to get back to where I was. If I hold up my part and continue to be efficient, it’ll open up the game for my teammates and that will make things easier for them.
“I’ve been rushing a little too much. Earlier in the year, I was taking my time. Taking my time in practice is really something I’ve focused on lately, and teams are starting to play me more on my left shoulder — I’m trying to use my right hand more.”
When asked why U-M hadn’t been playing as well lately following the club’s loss at Michigan State this past Sunday, potential ‘complacency’ was a word senior forward Isaiah Livers threw out in the postgame.
Having wrapped up the outright Big Ten regular-season title just three days earlier against those same Spartans, U-M being a little complacent heading into Sunday’s rematch was likely nothing more than human nature.
That’s an unacceptable excuse in the eyes of head coach Juwan Howard, of course, who is making it clear to his squad how crucial it is to be fully dialed in heading into every game from here on out with the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments on deck.
“It starts with the head coach, and Coach Howard will never accept anything less than our best from us,” Dickinson confirmed. “He’s great at tapping into what gets us going and getting us prepared, and making sure we don’t have slipups.
“Last practice was great at reinforcing our habits, and that’s something he kept going back to. These practices before the tournament should be the most beneficial ones we’ve had all season, to get back to what we’d been working on since June.
“Hopefully this will be a motivated Michigan team that goes 9-0 and raises two more banners.”
Those two more banners Dickinson referenced are of course a Big Ten Tournament banner and a national championship one, both of which are realistic and attainable goals for the Maize and Blue.
The club will have to regain the swagger and mojo it played with earlier in the year if it hopes to do so though, back when it was dominating its competition and blowing out opponents on nearly a game-by-game basis.
The recent slump could actually be serving as a wakeup call for Michigan, with Dickinson admitting the upcoming one-and-done setting teams will be competing in helps “lock you in.”
“We’re tired of losing,” the 7-1 freshman confirmed. “Losing is never fun, especially when you get beat by 23 to Illinois and then to your in-state rival. That lights a fire under you — it has under me and for the others.
“Some might say we’re on a downward slope, but with this team and coaching staff, maybe that’s the motivation we needed to assure it doesn’t happen again. We’re good at seeing when we’re not in a good position, and Coach Howard has made it clear we’re not allowed to lose another game … or we’re going home.
“You could see that in yesterday’s practice.”
Notes
• Senior guard Eli Brooks suffered an injury just five minutes into Sunday’s game at MSU and had to be carried over the court before being spotted later on the bench in a boot. Brooks’ stats may not jump off the page (8.7 points and 2.9 assists per game, and a 36.4 percentage from deep), but his importance to the team is understood to those in and around the program.
“Eli and [sophomore guard] Franz [Wagner] are probably our best defenders,” Dickinson opined. “Something that’s not always noticed by others is Eli’s leadership. When he wasn’t on the bench at MSU, him talking to us is something we all missed.
“When we don’t have him, it’s a lot tougher to win. We still have the guys in place to right the ship. We’ll just miss him though for however long he’s out. When Eli opens his mouth, you can tell how bad he wants it by not having one of his teeth [which was knocked out after an elbow to the face earlier this season].
“He’ll be back whenever he’s physically able to be back.”
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