Former Michigan basketball coach John Beilein’s abrupt departure two years ago set the stage for Juwan Howard’s head coaching debut, and the transition has gone as smoothly as anyone could have hoped. The blend of the old and the new — and Howard’s ability to not only preserve the culture, but also build upon it — has the Wolverines rolling approaching the midway point of the Big Ten schedule.

U-M is 7-1 with impressive blowout wins of Wisconsin, Maryland (twice) and Minnesota. They recently blew out the Terrapins with leading scorer Hunter Dickinson scoring only three points, sharing the ball and making 12 of 24 triples in the win.

Beilein has kept a close eye on Michigan and all the Big Ten teams working as a Big Ten analyst, and he’s been impressed by what he’s seen.

“We had some teams where we needed a guy to have a good game every time or we were in trouble. They don’t need that,” Beilein noted. “They’ve got scorers. They’ve got two wings that are 6-7 and 6-9 in Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner. Those are two NBA wings, now, and then you’ve got a big center. Those are like the teams we had with Nik [Stauskas], Glenn [Robinson III] and Mitch [McGary].

“That’s got some stuff to it. Those are good players, and Chaundee Brown is a guy who will get interest in the NBA because he’s a ‘three-and-D’ guy. So … they’re a true team.”