In the light of Michigan’s great football season (and preparing to continue with a W against Ohio State), it is time for us Wolverines to prepare ourselves this November as the basketball season quickly approaches. After finishing 23-13 and ending the season with a loss to Notre Dame (63-70) last year, Wolverine Basketball is looking to bounce back strong this season and reclaim its spot as a top contender in the NCAA Tournament again. Let’s take a deeper look at what the University of Michigan Basketball Team has to offer this season in terms of recruits and potential starters.
RECRUITS:
Upon the departure of backcourt players like Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht, securing young, talented guards became one of the main focuses for Michigan during the recruiting season. With guards Xavier Simpson (4-star) and Ibi Watson (3-star) joining the roster this year, the Michigan fans should expect some interesting rotations in the backcourt. Known for his agility and ability to score, Xavier Simpson is expected to make immediate impacts upon joining the team and continue grow as a player throughout the season. Under the senior leadership of guards like Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin, both Simpson and Watson could develop rapidly on their games and prove themselves as part of the backcourt rotation.
In the past year, the lack of frontcourt talents has cost Michigan their returning ticket to the Elite Eight and Final Four. This season the team has brought in Jon Teske (4-star, 7’0”), and Austin Davis (3-star, 6’10”) in order to add some height to the frontcourt. With the current roster loaded with mostly guards and forwards, freshman center Jon Teske might be expecting a good share of minutes either off the bench or possibly as a starter.
POTENTIAL STARTING LINEUP:
Guard: Derrick Walton Jr. (Senior)
Guard: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (Junior) / Zak Irvin (Senior)
Forward: Zak Irvin (Senior) / Moritz Wagner (Sophomore)
Forward: Mark Donnal (Senior) / Andrew Dakich (Senior)
Center: Mark Donnal (Senior) / Jon Teske (Freshman)
University of Michigan's Women's Basketball is off to an incredible start with wins over Wayne State (93-41), Oakland (101-63), and Niagara (107-35). On November 14th, Junior Katelynn Flaherty was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll and Kysre Gondrezick was named Big Ten Freshman of the week! The lady wolverines are home this weekend on November 18th vs. Howard and early next week on November 21st vs. Western Michigan. Catch a game and go blue!
Other men's and women's winter sports to keep an eye out for can be found on the Michigan Athletics website, MGoBlue.com.
Contributed By: Eric Gao