Views from the Bench with CJ Baird: Three players to watch this season

As a fan of college basketball for years, I have found that the national championship-winning teams have a fair combination of young talent and experience to push them to a title. Teams such as Duke in 2015, Villanova in 2016, and Virginia in 2019 have had these combinations and gave them the best chance to succeed in the grueling season. Teams that are hyped for their NBA potential players but don’t have the necessary experience more often than not do not win the title. For example, the heralded 2015 Kentucky team with Karl Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, and Willie Cauley-Stein and the 2019 Duke team with Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish were the most talented teams in the country by far. Each of those players had incredible potential and have had successful NBA careers. However, they did not win the title in their respective years since they were beaten out by teams with more experienced players. Michigan’s team for the 2021-2022 team has the combination necessary to win the title, and I wanted to break down a few key players to a title run. I must preface this with the fact that I believe Hunter Dickinson, Eli Brooks, and Caleb Houstan are going to be watched closely by everyone this season, so I want to give an in-depth description of certain players that may not get the attention they deserve.

Since he joined the team in 2018, Brandon Johns Jr.'s most impressive improvement has been his shot selection and decision-making. As an extremely talented player and athlete, it’s hard to come to a college team where you often play as a backup to future NBA forwards Ignas Brazdeikis and Isaiah Livers. Most players would have transferred after their sophomore year in his situation to be a star somewhere else. Brandon has found his way into the lineup not only because of his extreme talent but also for his ability to play a role every time he hits the floor. This season he will be asked to do much more for the team, and he will be key in games where Michigan has a size advantage against teams like Iowa and Michigan State. His role will revolve around rebounding and post-up scoring. Since he is not the same shooter as Isaiah Livers, look for Coach Howard to add multiple sets which places him at the top of the key or blocks for isolation opportunities against switching teams to put pressure on the rim, or provide spacing for timely shot-making.

Johns’ primary position will be power forward this season and has the potential to be a prolific scorer in the post. His feel for sealing defenders and post-up attacks was extremely valuable in the team’s NCAA tournament run last year. He showed this skill in a lot of games; however, it was most evident against LSU in the tournament. Watch Michigan’s first possession of that game here from 1:41-2:09. I think Johns’ energy is evident throughout the entire possession and he exploited a mismatch in a late clock situation. Look for more of his activity this season.

T-Will has been outlined as the X-Factor for Michigan’s bench by many fans and media outlets surrounding Michigan. Last year, he found floor time because of his grit and tenacity on both ends. Terrance’s intangible skills set him apart as a member of the bench because of his versatility and ability to fill a role depending on minute allocation and foul trouble. In a program with high profile scorers such as Dickinson and freshman Caleb Houstan, Terrance fits perfectly into the system with his ability to hit shots created by the attention on these two players and his ability to feed the main scorers with his unique passing ability. His most underrated skill is his ability to feed a player in the post with his bounce passes. This skill will be essential to many of the sets run by Coach Howard, since he will have a strong post presence with Dickinson and Johns getting the majority of the post touches in the offense. This skill is incredibly valuable to high-volume post players as evidenced by the success of Luka Garza the last few years at Iowa. Connor McCaffery was consistently the best post feeder in the Big Ten when Garza was dominant. Garza’s scoring was primarily under the basket because he got the ball in advantageous positions due to post feeds from players like McCaffery. While I believe Terrance is a better all around player than McCaffery, I think the post-feeding skills will be key to getting Michigan easy baskets.

An example of McCaffery’s pass to Garza can be found here at time 1:02 in the video. My emphasis is on the defender’s position and where Garza catches the pass. Its a short clip and a bang-bang play; however, I think the pass angle and reception by Garza are key to highlight this point. Terrance has similar skills in this area and will give Dickinson and Johns the best ability to succeed without stagnating the offense.

Zeb’s freshman year at Michigan showed flashes of strong potential. His ability to create shots for himself and others improved as the year progressed. Like many freshman guards, he had to learn various pick-and-roll situations early due to the stronger defense and quicker reads. Additionally, Zeb’s athleticism and finishing ability made him a scoring-focused guard in his first year. This year look for Zeb to make the jump to a better facilitator within the offense. This will help bring more playtime for the young guard since he will then be able to play minutes for Jones and Brooks throughout the season. Zeb paired with athletic freshman Moussa Diabate could be a deadly pick and roll combination because of their ability to put pressure on the rim. Furthermore, Zeb’s development of his jump shot will be key for floor spacing when he is off the ball. His progression will be key in providing Michigan with a reliable bench guard in the case of foul trouble or injury to Brooks or Jones.

Last year, injuries to Eli Brooks hurt the team’s chances to win arguably more than higher scorers such as Isaiah Livers. Brooks’ absence became apparent in issues of ball movement, shooting, and defensive IQ. Zeb built confidence late in the season and has the necessary skills to keep the offense flowing with other lineups and his jump will be key to consistently winning in the best conference in college basketball.

Although these clips are short, I think Zeb’s growth as a basketball player is extremely clear in the comparison of these two plays. His confidence in his shot and consistency of his form from three exponentially improved from January to March of last year. Zeb’s confidence to shoot two threes in the Texas Southern game in March Madness last year was incredible for such a young player.

Zeb shot against Minnesota 17:50-17:58: Notice his lean back after his follow through and the sheer distance of the shot.

Zeb shot against Texas Southern in March 2:37-2:49: The confidence and flow in his shot grew incredibly in a few months. This confidence will carry into this season and push Michigan to another level.