Too Close For Comfort: Dickinson Saves U-M In Overtime Win Over Oakland
Juwan Howard is going to need his second Michigan team to play in some tight games in order to find out who he can count on. Sunday night’s game with Oakland wasn’t supposed to be — and shouldn’t have been — one of them.
With some of the veterans struggling, especially sophomore wing Franz Wagner, the Michigan coach turned to a pair of his talented freshmen down the stretch. Terrance Williams (seven points, two assists in 14 minutes) and Hunter Dickinson have played together for years in AAU ball, and it looked like it in an 81-71 overtime victory over the Golden Grizzlies.
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“I trust them, and also we needed a spark,” Howard said of his decision. “Those two guys are very talented, skilled, know each other very well. I knew versus the zone with the two of them, one playing at the free throw line and the other playing at the low block, we would have some continuity where they could work off one another, which they did a very good job of.
“Give Terrance credit. He looked very poised as he was catching the ball at the free throw line making some very good plays, passes to Hunter. Hunter did a great job of finishing.”
To the tune of 19 points on 6-of-8 field goals and 7-of-9 free throws. He also added four assists when the Wolverines finally figured it out and started playing through him in the second half.
While Wagner was turning it over five times (he did grab 13 rebounds but scored only six points) and senior point guard Mike Smith was on the bench in foul trouble, contributing only two points in 18 minutes, Dickinson took over. Senior Chaundee Brown (1-of-10 triples) was also struggling with his shot, so the Wolverines started pounding it inside.
Dickinson was up to the task.
“He has a high IQ, sees a play before it happens,” Howard said. “We joked about it while recruiting him, but we always talked about the way he sees the play … a ‘point five.’ He has a very good knack of finding open men and being very patient with the ball in his hands, as well.”
He played with the confidence of a veteran, and he saved U-M from an embarrassing loss against an in-state, 30-point underdog.
He’ll likely be in the starting lineup going forward — fifth-year senior Austin Davis (six points in 13 minutes) got the nod for the second straight game — and he’s made huge strides in the months he’s been on campus.
“He’s the type of guy that is hungry, wants more information, loves the idea of working with a guy like myself who played at the highest level,” Howard said. “At times it’s just the two of us when NCAA rules allowed us to get work individually together one on one. I enjoy it. I love it when he reaches out to me and asks if he can get work in.
“That’s the beauty of having a guy like Hunter who wants to get better. I enjoy that, because I’m always a player development coach first. That’s how I first started out.”
They needed every bit of the new and improved Dickinson, who took over in overtime — and that’s a bit disconcerting. The Wolverines were sloppy with the ball in turning it over 20 times, with senior Eli Brooks also adding five, and seemed lackadaisical, especially in the first half.
But when it came winning time, they made the plays they needed to make. On a weekend in which heavyweights Virginia and Kentucky lost to overmatched foes, Howard’s team pulled one out.
“I learned our guys did a great job of staying the course. How the score was going and the time, give Oakland a lot of credit for making some shots, some tough ones when they had to make them with a hand in the face,” Howard said.
“Mentally, guys didn’t get down on themselves or start pointing fingers. They trusted the process, stayed with it. We had to grind.”
And again, that’s a bit troublesome.
But Howard now has more film of what works and who plays well together, and it’s only game two. There will be bigger tests to come, but he’s found a few more combinations that work … and a big man who has the potential to be really, really good.
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