Michigan Wolverines basketball is breaking in six freshmen that make up the nation's No. 3-ranked 2021 recruiting class according to Rivals.com, including guard Kobe Bufkin, a Grand Rapids, Mich., native.

The McDonald's All-American missed significant time with a wrist injury during his prep senior season, but averaged 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists in five outings. Now a few months of workouts and a couple weeks of practice into his collegiate career, Bufkin is getting acclimated to the step up in competition.

"The biggest adjustment for me is pace change," he said at Michigan Basketball Media Day. "The game moves a little bit faster. Right now, I’m just focused on locking in defensively, and doing all I can to help the team."

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Head coach Juwan Howard and Co. are working the 6-4, 175-pounder in at both point guard and shooting guard. He has the ability to play both — and play both at a high level — as well as mix in on the wing.

"One and two," Bufkin said when asked what positions he's playing in practice. "Kind of a combo guard. Just doing whatever they need me to do on the perimeter."

He has no preference on either spot, which is exactly what he told TheWolverine.com over the phone in the spring. Howard and the staff didn't promise he or the other freshmen anything — except for an opportunity to compete. The program's 'For Competitors Only' mantra is one Bufkin embraces.

"It just means that you can compete every day," he said. "If you want something, you can grab it. So just keep on doing what you’re doing. I’ve always been the type of guy to work hard, and I feel like that’s why Juwan had interest in me. It’s a great culture for me.

"We’ve had many talks as freshmen. We just focus on trying to get better every single day, making the team better in any way that we can and buying into what Juwan’s putting us through. That’s our main focus right now."

Bufkin is very likely to play as a freshman, with the question being how much. Fifth-year seniors DeVante' Jones and Eli Brooks are the big favorites to start at point and shooting guard, respectively, but there is an opportunity for backup minutes at both spots, after Chaundee Brown left for the NBA following last season.

Learning from Jones and Brooks has been a focus of Bufkin's.

"I like to pay attention to lots of Eli and DJ," Bufkin said. "If you look at them, they’re basically doing everything right. So if you want to learn something, you just look at them first, and then repeat what they do."

He's getting better and better, and still has 26 days to do so until the team opens its season against Buffalo.

While it's not the case for many freshmen, the defensive end of the floor is coming easier to Bufkin at the current moment, while he's still trying to pick up the entire playbook and process all the different things a guard in Howard's complex offense is required to.

"Defensively, it was a little bit easier just because I was so focused on that when I was in high school, just didn’t want to get behind defensively, that was my main focus — off the ball and on the ball," he said. "Offensively, there are a lot more reads than high school. Obviously, you have the ball in your hands [in high school], and when you’re the star, you’re expected to score.

"Just being able to play with others — I’ve always been able to do that, coming from a program like The Family AAU team — so it wasn’t really hard, it was just getting adjusted."

Bufkin added that one of his main focal points heading into the season is his spot-up shooting, specifically in transition.

"Just doing whatever I can when I get on the court, as well as off the court," Bufkin said of his mindset heading into the year. "Just encouraging my teammates, and also being ready to hit the ground running when they call my number."

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