Previewing Michigan basketball ahead of exhibition game versus Northwood

Michigan basketball will hit the floor for the first time of the season on Friday night as it takes on Northwood at the Crisler Center at 7 p.m. Juwan Howard won't be in attendance as he continues to recover from a heart surgery he had in September, so Phil Martelli will fill in for the Michigan head coach.

Jace Howard and Jaelin Llewellyn will also be out for Michigan. Howard will miss four to six weeks with a stress fracture in his knee and tibia, the program announced on Friday morning. Meanwhile, Llewellyn is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in December last season.

Last week, Michigan reportedly beat Marquette in a secret scrimmage. The Golden Eagles are a preseason top five team in the AP Poll, and they're a projected No. 3 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament by Joe Lunardi.

A starting five of Dug McDaniel, Nimari Burnett, Tray Jackson, Olivier Nkamhoua and Tarris Reed Jr. is expected on Friday night.

Here are three things to watch during the game (which will air on B1G+) and throughout the season.

Dug McDaniel was forced into early playing time as a true freshman last season when Llewellyn went down with an injury. Although he was young and inexperienced, McDaniel handled the tough task with extreme poise and maturity.

He averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 30.8 minutes per game. He shot a respectable 35.5% from beyond the arc, and he commanded the offense very well.

Meanwhile, Tarris Reed Jr. had a solid freshman season as well. Even though Reed wasn't thrust into a starting role — Hunter Dickinson anchored the center position for the entirety of the season — Reed played significant minutes alongside, and backing up Dickinson.

Reed averaged 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in his true freshman season behind Dickinson. He showed great flashes of talent and is thought to have a high ceiling.

Barring injury, McDaniel and Reed should start every game for Michigan in 2023-24, and the two sophomores will be instrumental in Michigan's success this year as it looks to bounce back from a disappointing 2022-23 campaign.

If McDaniel and Reed make big strides in their games, Michigan's ceiling is immediately raised significantly for the upcoming season.

Michigan brought in three transfers from the portal, one of which was former Tennessee Volunteer Olivier Nkamhoua. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward is expected to be a major contributor for a Michigan need that desperately lacked solid forward play last season.

Nkamhoua's stats weren't overwhelmingly impressive during his time at Tennessee — his best season saw him average 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds — but he will fill a major need for this Michigan team.

During media days a few weeks prior to the season's beginning, Nkamhoua sounded off on the doubters who don't expect much of Michigan this season.

The Wolverines were picked to finish 11th in the Big Ten preseason media poll, which is the lowest they've been in the Juwan Howard era.

"We're not worried about the rankings," Nkamhoua said. "We're not worried about proving people wrong; we're worried about proving us right. We put in work every day; we put in pain every day; we're in the trenches every day."

For a team that had big contributors at all four positions except for at the '4' last season, Nkamhoua, who has verbally expressed his desire to be a pro, will be able to showcase his talent to NBA scouts in his last season of eligibility.

Michigan has two scholarships empty on its roster this season, and with Jaelin Llewellyn and Jace Howard out due to injury, it'll be a tight rotation to start the season for the Wolverines.

Howard is expected to be back sometime in December, while Llewellyn, who's been practicing in non-contact form, should be back relatively soon.

Beyond the starting five, Michigan won't have a deep bench for roughly the first month of the year. Players like Terrance Williams II, Will Tschetter and Youssef Khayat will all have to produce at levels higher than they did last season for Michigan to be successful.

Williams had a rough junior year in 2022-23, but he's shown flashes in his time at Michigan. If he can shorten the time between the flashes of talent, he could develop into a solid piece off the bench for Michigan.

Tschetter and Khayat are younger players who still have much to prove. Both players will be fighting for playing time alongside Williams.

At 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, Tschetter averaged just 2.3 points per game last season in his redshirt freshman year.

Meanwhile, Khayat, who was playing as a true freshman last season, put up 1.3 points per game.

Guard depth is also very slim with Llewellyn's absence. Freshman George Washington III will spell McDaniel when the sophomore needs a breather, but aside from Washington, Michigan doesn't have many options at guard coming off the bench.

Depth is arguably the biggest question mark for this team heading into the season.

Tune into the exhibition game on B1G+ at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

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