The Michigan basketball has long been a program of high-level development. It was that way under John Beilein, the winningest coach in U-M history, and that trend appeared to continue in year one under Juwan Howard — at least when it came to the blossoming of redshirt junior and soon-to-be redshirt senior forward Austin Davis.
He played a total of 143 minutes coming into last season. Then, he became a mainstay in the U-M rotation in 2019-20, logging 10.7 minutes per game in 24 contests and averaging 4.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, and played his way into a fifth-year invite back to the club.
He's recovering from an offseason successful shoulder surgery and is expected to make a full recovery before the start of his final season in Ann Arbor. When he is back and healthy, U-M radio analyst Terry Mills expects Davis to be even better than what Howard and the Wolverines came to expect out of him last season.
"Going forward, I would expect Austin Davis to step his game up a little bit more." Mills told The Wolverine. "Playing under Juwan, we’ve seen how he’s flourished."
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Davis began last season as the third big man, behind Jon Teske and Colin Castleton. By the end, he was a true sixth-man, contributing in big moments. He made the transformation from role player to key piece as the season progressed.
"I think he took his game to a next level," Mills said. "Having talked to Juwan a lot, I said, ‘He used to be a guy that OK you put him in. He’s got five fouls to give. He may give us a couple minutes.’
"But all of the sudden, you see him in there and I said to Juwan, ‘I think this guy is serviceable. I think he’s a guy that can give you some minutes.’ Not, ‘let me get him in there and give me five fouls then sit back down.’
"I think his confidence went a long way."
His confidence will be crucial, especially on a team where depth in the U-M frontcourt appears to be thin.
"I haven’t got an opportunity to see a whole lot of [incoming freshman center] Hunter Dickinson play. Just with Austin Davis, I think that he definitely, by default right now, you might have to look at him as being the starter coming in, unless something drastic happens."
The 6-10 big put up outstanding numbers per 40 minutes last season, averaging 18.3 points and 9.7 rebounds. But, Davis has never played more than 17 minutes in a game, so it remains to be seen how effective he can be in starter's minutes.
Either way, the return of Davis is a net positive for the Wolverines.
"He’s another one of those guys that goes about his business, but great teammate, great guy to have around," Mills said.
With the losses of Zavier Simpson and Teske, U-M will be looking for leadership. Davis is undoubtedly a captain candidate and will be looked at as a leader.
"I’ll tell you what, he’s seen a lot here during his time — going to the finals, Sweet 16 — he’s seen a lot," Mills said. "I think he can really reach out to a lot of those guys — especially younger guys coming in — and help them along the way."
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