Michigan basketball: Bigger Kobe Bufkin knows his emergence is key
Juwan Howard’s fourth Michigan basketball team will look much different than it did in 2021-22, and not quite as expected. Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate left for the NBA and starters DeVante’ Jones and Eli Brooks are gone, as well.
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Of all of them, Brooks might be the hardest to replace. As assistant Phil Martelli said recently, he was probably the Michigan MVP last year for his play on both ends. He’s the primary reason Kobe Bufkin didn’t get more run (though the young frosh needed to improve, too), because Brooks was always in the right place at the right time, too valuable to keep off the floor.
Bufkin knows just how big those shoes he’ll be asked to fill were. He told play by play man Brian Boesch on the Defend the Block podcast he learned a lot from Brooks, and he’s taking his training seriously.
“It’s obviously going to be tough not having him on the floor. He did pretty much everything we needed him to do last year and more,” Bufkin said. “Not having him on the court is going to be different, but it’s an adjustment we’re going to have to make.
“I felt myself coming around, kind of catching up with everybody toward the end of my freshman season. Obviously, I didn’t get to display it because we were already in flow, and our guys were doing very well. But I felt like I was coming around at the end in practice. This year, I’m looking to make that jump.”
Bufkin, a former McDonald’s All-American, had his moments last year, but he was only 17 years old when he played. He was slender, too, and needed added strength.
An offseason with strength coach Jon Sanderson has helped rectify that. Bufkin looks like a new man, and he feels like it, too.
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“The game was a bit different, but it’s definitely starting to slow down for me this year. I notice it every time I play basketball now,” he said. ”I put on nearly 20, 25 pounds since I’ve been here, at the beginning of my freshman year, a lot of that being from this spring. And I notice the difference every time I step on the court.”
His three ball has been much better, he said, and he’s gaining more and more confidence in it. Defense is his priority, though, and Brooks is his still his role model.
“Defensively, I’m trying to model myself after [him],” he said. “Just taking a lot of pointers from him and watching a lot of film on him …
“I’ve matured a lot [too]. I feel like I’ve found my way to navigate throughout campus. What I had to do was [find] the fat I could cut out my life to make it simpler, because obviously living this life can be pretty hectic.”
But he’s gained mental and physical strength, and he’s ready for an expanded role this year. His play could go a long way toward determining what kind of season U-M has, and he’s preparing like he knows it.
That’s a great sign for both Michigan and Bufkin heading into the season.
