Growing Stronger

At different points in Michigan’s 84-73 win at Maryland, the Terrapins had made 9-of-11 triples (hitting several they had no business making), made senior forwards Isaiah Livers (seven points) and Chaundee Brown (0) non-factors offensively and went on an early, second-half run to grab a four-point lead.

They’d finish 59 percent from three-point range, making 13 triples overall …

And they needed a late second-half run to avoid getting thoroughly blown out in their own gym.

As it was, Juwan Howard’s squad opened a 19-point lead at the four-minute mark before coasting to an impressive win, their eighth straight and third in Big Ten play.

Freshman Hunter Dickinson promised heading into the game he’d carry a chip on his shoulder to face the hometown team that didn’t recruit him, and did he ever. He dominated in the post, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, added 11 rebounds and let the Maryland bench know about almost every bucket.

Those who weren’t aware of him before certainly are now. Dickinson’s emergence has been one of the stories of the year in early Big Ten play, his savviness and ability around the rim something the Wolverines probably haven’t seen since the late Robert Traylor in the mid-1990s.

It took “Tractor” a few years to become as polished as Dickinson is now. He’s been that good, and while conference teams will (at some point) figure out how to make him play to his off hand, he’s taken advantage of every opportunity and every mismatch to become one of the Big Ten’s best players regardless of class.

“Hunter’s a competitor,” Howard said. “You’ve seen that all season since we started. That was one of the biggest reasons I recruited him, because I love the fact he loves basketball, is a great person, is a hard worker and he’s a competitor.”

And he’s got a great memory. He glanced to the Maryland bench after almost every bucket, including a few and-ones on which he simply overpowered the defense, and did his best not to chirp at them. He picked up a technical foul on one on which he swore he opened his mouth but thought better than to say anything, after which his coach pulled him aside and told him to save his talking for after the game.

From there, he let his performance do it for him. He and senior point guard Mike Smith (16 points, six rebounds, six assists) have developed a chemistry, and the offense hummed with the two on the floor together. Dickinson played 32 minutes, all 20 in the second half despite some good minutes from junior Brandon Johns (six points) in the first half, and there was no slowing him.

It was sophomore wing Franz Wagner, though, who got them going early. He hit two early triples on his way to a 3-for-7 night, added four assists and was outstanding again defensively.

He looked like the guy he’d seen in the summer, Dickinson said in the postgame — “a lottery pick” – and picked up the slack after Livers rolled his ankle a bit.

Maryland fell to 1-3 in conference play, falling after stunning Wisconsin in Madison earlier this week, and won’t be among the upper echelon of Big Ten teams this year.

In fact, the Wolverines have yet to face a squad that will.

But this group is starting to earn the attention of experts nationally — former Michigan head coach John Beilein, now with the Big Ten Network, is one of them — for its unselfish play and relentless intensity.

“I’m not surprised. When I wanted to pick a school, I looked at the roster,” Smith said. “The team I wanted to play for, I wanted to play with some guys that are pros or going to be pros and make a lot of money, because it’s going to make my job easier and I’ll make their job easier.

“We all can work in unison to come to one goal we want, and that’s a championship.”

Pundits might have scoffed at those words earlier in the year. Most aren’t now, thanks to a group of guys who just want to win, enjoy playing together and who seem to blend better than anybody could have expected.

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