Michigan Wolverines basketball recruit Hunter Dickinson is now officially a U-M incoming frosh after signing his letter of intent. The seven-footer recently shared his thoughts on playing for Juwan Howard, losing Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd and more.
Former U-M coach John Beilein had been recruiting Dickinson as well, but probably not as hard as others like Notre Dame. Dickinson admitted it was tough to tell the Fighting Irish and others ‘no,’ but he felt at home with Howard.
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“There were other schools recruiting me since my freshman year, so that’s definitely something I didn’t take lightly,” Dickinson told The Front Office. “I was definitely valuing those schools because of that loyalty, recruiting me so long, but Michigan, even though it wasn’t Juwan, Michigan the school was recruiting me. Coach Beilein was still recruiting me, and I was still interested in going there with Coach Beilein there.”
He doesn’t know what would have happened — if he would still have come to U-M — but Howard left no doubt.
“Juwan being there, I took my visit and something I really remembered was him and his personality,” he said. “Being around him was really fun. He was really enjoyable to be around. Hearing him talk about the University, how much he loves it, the time he had there … he really enjoyed it. That was something I took as wow, this man went to the University, played there, he was at my position. I feel like out of all the coaches, his was the most relatable story.”
Dickinson watched the Wolverines closely throughout the year, impressed at what he saw. The Wolverines won the Battle for Atlantis by trouncing an elite Gonzaga team and finished .500 in the Big Ten without one of its best players in Isaiah Livers for most of the year.
“Seeing him coach and be able to beat the top universities his first year with players he had never recruited — they were given to him — was really impressive to me,” Dickinson said. “Just that, then strength coach Jon Sanderson is one of the best in the country. I feel like that’s what I need to take my game to the next level. That was important to me, as well.”
He called Howard and Sanderson part of the “big three” he expects to help him win and get to the next level. Assistant Howard Eisley, too, helped pique his interest.
“Coach Howard obviously being a big man coach during practice, to get coached by somebody who played in the NBA is something significant to me, different from all the other schools,” Dickinson continued. “Having Coach Sanderson, one of the best strength coaches in the country, also playing for Ohio State, he knows what you go through, and him developing me will probably be the most important thing.
“But Coach Eisley coached in NBA, and like Juwan knows what it takes to get there. With him pushing me to improve my guard skills that big three of them will be the most important thing in my development.”
High Expectations
Winning two high school conference championships and a Peach Jam title with Team Takeover on the AAU circuit were highlights for Dickinson at the prep level, and he expects the winning to continue at Michigan. He tweeted out a note of encouragement for Howard after five-stars Isaiah Todd and Josh Christopher spurned U-M earlier this week and has no doubt this year’s Wolverines will still flourish.
“Yeah, we lost two top 10 kids. Losing Isaiah was probably hard for Michigan fans because he was committed so long, but I think Michigan fans need to realize that we’ve got a good class and team,” he said. “Our class coming in of me, Zeb Jackson, Terrance Williams and Jace Howard, we’re pretty good ourselves, Mike Smith coming in from Columbia. That team alone would be good.
“But we’re also returning possibly Franz Wagner and Isaiah Livers, Brandon Johns and all of them. I think our team is definitely going to be one of the best in the country. We lost two good players, but I think even without them we’ve got Juwan Howard, one of the best coaches in the country, and [the assistants]. I think they can do it with anything, but I think we definitely have the talent to get to the top in the country.”
Doing it in Ann Arbor, he added, will make it even sweeter.
“Michigan definitely is a very, very large alumni base and fan base in general. I get snaps and DMs every day saying stuff. I try to answer them all, but it’s pretty hard sometimes," he said. "The fan base is pretty crazy, but in a good way, part of the reason I went to Michigan, our alumni base and fan base.
“I want a school that is large but not too large. Michigan is a pretty big campus, but the support from outside, I feel like there’s going to be hundreds of thousands of people supporting Michigan basketball. I think that’s something that will help us.”
His final message to Michigan fans?
“Just be excited for next season,” he said. “Because it should be a good one.”
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