'We Play TEAM Basketball Here At Michigan' — Isaiah Livers
Various reasons have led to the Michigan Wolverines basketball’s 10-0 start this season, with the team having executed at a high level in basically every phase of the game so far.
From an individual standpoint though, freshman center Hunter Dickinson has been arguably the most important cog in the Maize and Blue’s early-season success. He scored a career-high 28 points tonight in the 82-57 beatdown of Minnesota, doing his damage on an efficient 12-of-15 from the field.
The Wolverine guards deserve some credit for Dickinson’s big night as well, with fifth-year senior point guard Mike Smith’s six assists leading the way on what was a 17-assist night for head coach Juwan Howard’s crew.
“They make it pretty easy for me when they give me good entry passes,” Dickinson laughed after the win, referring to his guards. “I’m fortunate for my guards out there, who make good passes.”
“Hunter’s patience and the way he’s becoming more of a vet [is what impresses me most about him],” senior forward Isaiah Livers added. “He’s playing like he’s a sophomore out there, even though he was young and wasn’t in the best shape when he first got here.
“Hunter scores on angles and is also a lefty — it’s hard to guard a big who’s a lefty. He’s doing it all out there. I think he messed up one of [Minnesota junior center Liam] Robbins’ plays [when we were running it] in practice and Coach Howard stopped the practice and got on him — that’s the kind of culture we have.
“Hunter is a two-way player and I’m proud of him.”
Robbins was/is in the midst one of the best years of any center in the Big Ten, averaging 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and a league-best 2.8 blocks per game prior to tonight.
Dickinson held him to just five points on two-of-nine shooting, while also tearing him up for the aforementioned 28 points.
“I was excited to go against another top big man, not only in the conference but in the country,” the freshman explained. “I respect him so I came in with a good mindset and Coach had a great game plan to come out successful today.
“We really drilled the game plan during the week on how to guard their bigs, and our guards did a good job of applying ball pressure.”
Michigan held a narrow 32-26 lead at halftime, but blew the game wide open when they came out of the second half gates on fire. They outscored the Gophers 50-31 during the half, thanks to a 37-8 start and a stretch that saw the Maize and Blue go on a 20-0 run.
“I just really enjoy it when guys like Mike, [sophomore guard] Franz [Wagner], [senior guard] Eli [Brooks] and Isaiah are all hitting their shots, because it makes it easy for me when teams don’t double-team me,” Dickinson said when asked about the second half explosion.
“I get excited for my teammates when they’re playing well.”
What Dickinson described above is a sign of culture, something John Beilein instilled during his time here and Howard has continued flawlessly.
“Guys have goals, but everyone understands those goals won’t come unless we all lock in as a team and into the Michigan culture,” Livers exclaimed. “Coach Howard talks about buying in — everyone from top to bottom has bought in, even the managers and the support staff.
“Everyone here just wants to win. Guys aren’t trying to score 30 every night and shoot 30 shots — we just want to win and enjoy each other’s success. We play team basketball — that’s what we do here at Michigan.
“We make the extra pass and we’re not afraid to give up the ball. We’re happy for guys’ success and we lock in defensively. I think we’re the team to beat. We’re a really hard team to beat when everyone is clicking.”
So why is this year’s Michigan squad clicking so much earlier than the majority of Wolverine clubs over the last decade or so?
“It’s because everyone came in this offseason and summer and it wasn’t a normal offseason — we couldn’t go out and party and travel around Ann Arbor,” Livers recalled. “We connected as a team.
“Instead of doing stuff like that, I would ask Hunter what his favorite foods and video games were, and T. Will [freshman forward Terrance Williams] what he likes to do besides play basketball.
“I hung out with Mike and [senior guard] Chaundee [Brown] a little bit too, and made sure as a leader we were all connected. It seems to be working and we’ll continue it.”
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